[cperciva]

Is it any worse than what other manufacturers deal with? The 2019 Honda Accord shares some parts with the 2018 Honda Accord which shares some parts with the 2017 model... when something breaks in my Honda the first question is "do they still make/use this part or did they change it in newer models?"

[michaelmcmillan]

A former Tesla employee, who worked on their IT infrastructure and whose NDA has expired, has revealed the technical shit show going on behind the scenes at Tesla. (I'm a Tesla fanboy as well, but this is scary).

https://twitter.com/atomicthumbs/status/1032939617404645376

[chupasaurus]

If someone wants to copy-paste some parts instead of pictures, here's the link to all his posts in that thread.

https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=38...

[deadbunny]

That is a highly amusing/horrifying thread.

[AceJohnny2]

Gee, I hope they have some kind of system to track that. Maybe software even?

[axaxs]

You jest, but years ago I worked for one of the largest auto parts places. You have no idea how many times you'd input year, make, model, and trim, just to be presented with multiple choice questions. Nobody knew how big their drums were, in inches, or the number of blades on their fan, the length of their belts, etc. Apparently a lot of mixing and matching happens. Some folks legitimately had to give us a prior year for us to find the right part.

[m463]

If you've ever been to a tesla service center, it's kind of interesting.

Cars glide in silently and when they sit there for a bit the words "Service Mode" come up in maybe 5" high letters on the dashboard.

There are lots of technicians on their computers. The car info comes up on the specific car and shows lots of history, where and when it was last serviced and so forth.

Each car seems to have it's own personal list of options and features, that shows up on the website when searching for cars, or when signing into you car portal.

folks have taken the time to document them:

https://github.com/timdorr/tesla-api

https://github.com/fredrikfjeld/tesla-options-decoder

I think all cars are like this, but telsa is less rigid / concerned about model years and just consults the database for the specific car's info at every step.

[nevi-me]

The dealerships use VIN numbers, which end up getting you the exact part you want, even if the same car model of the same year has different parts. I suppose some of the retailers don't have this privilege.

[gonzo]

"Vehicle Identification Number numbers"?

[hunter2_]

Just like PIN number, ATM machine, CAC card, and "is that a work PC or personal?"

It's a very typical construction, for whatever reason.

[cperciva]

"is that a work PC or personal?"

I disagree with putting this one into the same category. The "personal" in "PC" means "used by a single person; not shared" which is quite different from the meaning of "not belonging to an employer".

[TeMPOraL]

At least you use LED as a noun. In Poland, I constantly hear people saying "LED diode". I keep correcting this and "PIN number" indiscriminately.

[mbertschler]

Is that an LCD display?

[guardiangod]

Yep. Just went thru that 2 days ago with my father's GMC W series truck. The air filter I got from the retailer is for the previous generation, even though that's what their system says for the truck.

I had to hand the old filter to the store staff and have him copy the FRAM part number.

[floatingatoll]

For the most essential part of a normal gas engine - motor oil - my local parts center outright asked to see my engine to confirm the oil spec printed on it, even though every car for a decade in my product line had the same oil. Not because they expected to be wrong, but because they could not risk being wrong. I can only imagine what they’ve seen that makes them so wary.

[semi-extrinsic]

Whenever I go to the dealership to get an original part (typically if there's several slightly different variants available and I don't know which I need), they just input my license plate number into their system, then click through a menu to find the part (like chassis->steering->link arm->left side). Takes about 30 seconds, they show me a picture to confirm it's right, then they go grab my part from the warehouse. (This is a European manufacturer.)

[afturner]

I find it hard to imagine they wouldn't

[NullPrefix]

That was sarcasm

[AceJohnny2]

tangentially, MFW I realized hours later who I sarcasmed at.

[TeMPOraL]

If it's like any of the bunch of MES systems I've seen or worked on, it's utter garbage bordering on crime against humanity.

[code_duck]

I’ve had a couple of American cars and apparently year-by-year or even in the same model year the manufacturer changes the location of certain parts, which I didn’t expect. Mechanics and I have had trouble finding various parts like fan relays and cabin air filters.

[StillBored]

Mid year ECR's to fix problems are not uncommon, but tend to be fairly minor.

What source are you using for where a part is placed? I've seen similar things (relay is under drivers dash, when it reality its under the passenger seat or some nonsense like that) when using crappy documentation (chiltons, or similar which does a "teardown" on a single year and then sells it for the entire generation). I can't remember seeing these kinds of errors in actual manufacture/dealer shop manuals.

[code_duck]

I attempted to learn the locations by comparing it to other vehicles in non-official documentation or instructional videos online. I’m not sure what resources the mechanics have.

The fan relays, for instance. Apparently Chrysler moved the location between 2006 and 2008, and I had a 2007. In the 2007 models, apparently the relays are in one of three places. Actually four, as mine where is somewhere entirely different which was difficult to access without a lift.

Next, a cabin air filter for my 2015 vehicle. Two lube places have tried to replace t and been unable to find he location (they say it’s oke of two places). They said they think I don’t have one, which is contrary to what the manufacturer says.

[wil421]

This is pretty common. My 2017 and 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee had small differences. My 2000 E46 also had small differences including having an Iron block that was switched to an Aluminum block. Not to mention small design choices like knobs, switches, and buttons.

Dont you want manufacturers to fix something mid production if they find an issue?

[code_duck]

My assumption was that the process was more rigid, and everything was thoroughly standardized and determined before the car went into production.