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Comment by Aardwolf | Hacker News Reader

If it's this important, does the onboard computer of the car not check this and warn if needed? If not, why not and why did humanity end up in a state where clunky apps are needed for this when the car already has all the electronics it needs for this?

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People are accustomed to the coping mechanisms: aggressive battery replacement (on a schedule / at the first sign of struggle) or letting the battery deteriorate until the car fails to start and then asking for a jump / calling a tow truck. People see these inconveniences as inevitable, not as the result of a missing feature that really ought to be standard. Manufacturers don't feel pressured to do better so they don't do better.

If not, why not and why did humanity end up in a state where clunky apps are needed for this when the car already has all the electronics it needs for this?

(Almost) No one is making their car purchasing decisions based on the existence of a car battery health feature.

I mean, probably nobody looks at whether a stick to measure the oil level is integrated in the oil cap either, but it's still there fortunately (or do you need an app for that too these days?)

Unfortunately, a lot of vehicles these days, mostly high-end, do not come with oil dipsticks anymore[0]. I know that Audi starting switching to sensors-only around 2012, and I believe BMW started even earlier than that.

[0]: https://www.motorbiscuit.com/oil-dipsticks-disappearing-at-a...

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