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Comment by andysinclair | Hacker News Reader

> The other big disadvantage is the failure mode: if the screen fails, a whole set of functionality becomes inaccessible

Yep, the touch screen in my car cracked recently and the AC got stuck on a very low setting and was constantly blowing out cold air - there was no way to adjust it without using the screen.

It is not only the single point of failure that is annoying but the fact that to control the AC you need to use the touch screen in AC mode which mean switching from GPS mode or radio mode etc. Very distracting when driving.

Car designers: Please give us more knobs!

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To be entirely fair I had the exact same problem with a "knob" interface. The variable resistor in the AC knob broke down putting the AC in the "just blow air as hard as you can, always" mode.

With a fully digital solution it should even be easier to provide workarounds for situations like that (e.g. remote screen on your phone). I'm not a big fan of touchscreens in cars though, but this particular argument doesn't feel strong to me.

I can replace a resistor pack for $20 with a single Phillips screwdriver. I can even (and have) replaced a transistor when I couldn’t find the part in stock (I had a box of large transistors from an old project). With a screen I am at the mercy of the dealership for what seems to amount to a ‘coolness factor’. Hard pass.

If everything is operated through the touch screen you lose a lot when the screen fails. With knobs only the function of the knob fails.

Even older cars have cables (as in mechanical linkages) connected to those knobs.

The auto dealer's profit model is to keep the lights on with new car sales and make the real money through their service department.

Easily broken things equal more money for the service department.

I hate all the new stuff on cars because it's just more stuff that can break.

Source: I was a mechanic for a few years between stints at university.

I can see this happening in a lot of these cars. Tesla does have a phone app that does most of the crucial things, assuming your car has data. You can adjust the climate controls, close the top, lock or unlock, start the car. Adjust the seat heaters.

I think it suits contemporary culture that cars with any kind of luxury pretense would catastrophically break in a small number of years.

Elon doesn’t want gross poors driving our beloved Tesla 3s in five or ten years!

The whole idea of the Tesla 3 is that poor(we) people will drive them in 5 to 10 years.

But you buy them new, not via the second hand market when Musk earns nothing.

So much for environment friendly.

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