[542458]

I wonder what happens when you get into a bad crash, somebody decides to sue, and it comes out that your car was running modified software. Would you be exposing yourself to any liability?

[jevinskie]

Massad Ayoob recommends against [0] using a defensive firearm with, say, a modified trigger due to potential liability. [1] This situation seems similar.

[0]: http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2011/01/brad-kozak/the-mass...

[1]: http://www.royblack.com/files/Alvarez.pdf

[bravo22]

I can imagine a few ways that you could.

Say you installed a media player. Now you'll have to convince a jury that you didn't install a media player just so you could watch videos while driving, and therefore were distracted at the time.

[djsumdog]

Most in-dash sat/nav units aren't allowed to play any video in most states. You can bypass/disable it, but that can run you into liability issues.

I had a SatNav where an "unable to detect park gear" warning always showed up (I had a stick shift, so it the wires were connected to the hand-break). The guy at the shop couldn't figure out why it was shorting so he just disabled it and said, "Don't watch DVDs while driving."

You know I never did use the DVD player in there ever, not even while parked, in the 5 years I had it.

[CamperBob2]

This always comes up in these threads, but I don't understand how it would be any different from millions of cars running around with modified engines, suspensions, brakes, non-OEM tires and wheels. If it can be shown that your modification contributed to the accident, then liability will be apportioned accordingly. Usually it can't.

[542458]

But software is much more complicated. If I put aftermarket suspension in, it's pretty unlikely that it will significantly screw up my brakes. But with software, it's a lot harder to say what affects what, especially considering how many cars have a single computer that handles both critical and non-critical tasks. A media player mod could very well screw up the brakes by hogging system resources or crashing the computer. If my insurance refuses to pay out after a crash on account of that, do I have to prove my mods to be safe?

NB: I have almost no idea how liability and insurance works in the US.

[netsharc]

He needs to wire the "deploy airbags" trigger to also do "reset software to factory default.".

[mschulkind]

Aren't you already liable for all damage in an at fault accident? If you modified it yourself, I'm not sure there's any blame that can be shifted around.

[wolrah]

If whoever you hit's lawyer manages to make a case that the accident was worse as a result of your modifications, you might have a problem.

[masters3d]

Not before tesla disables the car.:) from what I read, any kind of hacking can get your vehicle disabled.

[jeena]

I guess it's like if you replace the breaks yourself.

[Hemera-]

This is exactly how I think of it. No one questions people doing mechanical work on their car, but touch the software and you get crucified.

[Smurfix]

People still don' (want to) understand software.