LubeLogger: Self-hosted, open-source vehicle service records and tracker | Hacker News Reader

LubeLogger: Self-hosted, open-source vehicle service records and tracker

github.com

112 pointsthunderbong45 comments

I would love something like this targeting a broader category of machines. For example, keeping track of when I last changed the oil in my lathe or pressure washer and notifying me to do some kind of regular maintenance. Somewhere to keep track of what kind of oil to buy (for example) alongside a digital copy of the machine’s manuals as well as the ability to log maintenance records.

I used to use Notion for some of this, but they didn’t quite have the functionality I wanted a few years ago.

I'd like something like this with NFC support. I should be able to scan a tag, and the logs page for that tag just automatically pops up, and anyone else can also scan it and access the page, with full offline sync.

Accounts could just be tags too. Hit "Write user credentials to card", tap a blank card, hand it to someone.

Or you could do challenge response auth. Tapping the card gives you access to that note for some selectable time period, no accounts or settings, the tag is the note.

+1 my cars are relatively easy to keep track of (modern), but I own ~15 smaller engines that all have specific timelines and requirements.

Currently using a google doc with a section for each. It has no built-in reminder capability

Check out greaseboss.com.au, its an RFID tracking technology for zerks in industrial operations. It tracks zerk by zerk how much grease, the timing and grease type.

I would be just as interested in this for subsystems of my house (HVAC, plumbing, lights, "exterior", cleaning, etc).

This is a nice project, but I like the simplicity and portability of a google docs file that is just a running log. I can just give that file over to a new owner.

+1.

My GF is a highly successful person, her sister is a highly successful person.

I had to create a Sheets for them to reconcile expenses so it shows who paid and who owes what - and I had it load images of their shared dog in the sheet for them...

I made GF owner, and they have been using it for ~3 years now with a tab for each month. It was a life saver over reducing my noise on their $ bickering sisters thingamajig.

Anyway - build a google doc/sheet/etc for others when they need it, to keep things quiet. These women are so smart, but couldnt manage a split bill for stuff in any given month, until I built that Sheet - and they thank me to this day....

But its SO fn simple to build things in Sheets/Excel (MS' greatedst program - watch Martin Skrelli's vids on youtube to see how powerful Excel is)

Oh yes! Build quick stuff for folks, yields so many dividends! My wife was doing work for her Anthropology professor, translating coordinates using some goofy coordinate system that some paleontology folks use. Was constantly referring to some page in a book and copying stuff out, making mistakes.

I made her an Excel macro to take the coordinates in one column and generate the translation in another. Simple, took under an hour.

Used it for years. Generated a sensation in the department. So, yeah, worth doing.

Want macro - build a Sheet and send it here.

> Sheets/Excel (MS' greatedst program

I regularly refer to Excel as one of the only pieces of software that I consider to be "good" software and that I actually like.

Though, I never had to use Excel on a Mac. I hear it got worse after some bad MSFT/AAPL stuff happened.

Aside to linux what do you think the best software ever made?

we need a hall of fame for software.

(the reason i mentioned linux is just because of its cloud % )

I'm curious - do you put new entries at the top of the bottom of the Google Doc? Do you include copies of receipts as well?

I’ve tried both ways and currently just append to the top with a date stamp.

I have an existing method for storing receipts and documents for everything so I just put my receipts there and include a link to it.

I’ve been using Road Trip MPG on iOS for everything car related. It saves a CSV to Dropbox or iCloud and lets me use it between multiple devices. Really happy with it!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/road-trip-mpg/id298398207

Interesting project. It's sad that the internet has spoiled me, as I thought this meant something different. But I digress.

The internet has shown you a world of possibilities!

Cool project, lovely website at https://lubelogger.com/.

In the hope that the maintainers of https://lubelogger.com/ read this: On the homepage under "Showcase" the left and right chevron buttons for seeing more images are shown black on a dark background and are hard to spot.

I'm curious what people do with their service records. I used to keep detailed logs until I found I never needed to go back to them. The car tells me when the oil needs changing and the tires need rotation and all the other standard maintenance. So I just go in when the car says I should. My car also shows me the milage for my last three tanks of gas, so I just check that after each fill up to make sure it's in line with expectations (did I do a lot of city driving this tank, highway, etc). If it's not, I tell the mechanic something is wrong because the milage is too low.

I've never sold a car to a stranger before. All my old cars either go to my dad (who eventually donates them after driving them into the ground), donation, or in once case back to the dealer who didn't care about the service record at all.

So what do y'all use your service records for?

So you don't plan your maintenance well-ahead, and you trust your car producer not to try to take advantage of you (like imposing shorter maintenance intervals then really needed). You also apparently own modern car, and you bought it new, and authorized maintenance is available nearby, and they are probably competent enough. Nothing's wrong with it, but as you see, there are plenty of conditions which could be different for other people. Not to forget that many actually sell their cars after some time, not leaving them to relatives.

To be clear I wasn't saying there isn't a use for this. I was saying I don't have a use for it and was curious as to what uses other people have.

> So you don't plan your maintenance well-ahead

Do people do that? I've never known anyone who plans it ahead, they just budget for it monthly and save the money to do it when they have the money and it's needed.

But this is interesting none the less.

> You also apparently own modern car, and you bought it new,

1/2 my cars I purchased used and were at least four years old when I bought them. It's true, I'm not buying 20 year old cars.

> and authorized maintenance is available nearby, and they are probably competent enough

How does having service records help with these issues? I don't see the connection.

> Nothing's wrong with it, but as you see, there are plenty of conditions which could be different for other people.

Yes, which I acknowledged. That in my situation it never comes up, but I was curious what other situations exist where it matters.

> Not to forget that many actually sell their cars after some time, not leaving them to relatives.

Only 1/2 my cars when to my dad, the other 1/2 I donated or sold to a dealer. Neither requested maintenance records. And when I bought my used cars I didn't ask for maintenance records. Which is why I asked if anyone actually asks for those and won't buy the car if they don't have it. I've only ever seen it as a nice to have during a car sale.

How do you know that the mnfr is imposing shorter service intervals? Guesswork? Gut instinct?

Personally I have no idea. But I guess an experienced car mechanic can know more.

I use my vehicle's maintenance screen to track when service work has to be done. But I use fuelly.com to track my mileage.

It's been great but as they have added features, videos, animations, etc. over the years it's become very slow to use on my phone. And the entry fields don't default to numbers anymore (the iPhone used to present the keypad keyboard for them). I've been looking for a lightweight (aka fast) replacement for a while.

https://www.fuelly.com/car/lexus/gx470/2004/chiph/266955

I will say that their site is a great resource to use when shopping for a car, as the mileage they report is by real owners and not EPA estimates. Click "Research Vehicles" - they have everything from Abarth to Yugo.

Haha, was just thinking about this yesterday. Taking care of a 2012 Nissan Sentra and sometimes I lose track of the lifetime warranties of parts.

Started an Excel last year for it, although I’d be saving a lot more money if I did that earlier…

Great idea, I regularly got the urge of making something like this myself.

It would be interesting to add a database of Make and model.

An open source vehicule maintenance planning database containing the maintenance tasks and their period would be a great sister project. In it one could also add all the additional data concerning the vehicule usual "weaknesses". Because the car that pollute less is the one that you keep a little longer, focusing more on car maintenance instead of constantly churning new cars will make these kind of data essential in the future.

> It would be interesting to add a database of Make and model.

One pretty comprehensive source for US cars: https://vpic.nhtsa.dot.gov/api/

I use Obsidian to keep a maintenance log with metadata. I am interested to see what a tailored application looks like, though.

Needs EV support, but still it looks like a very useful self-hosted logger. It should do the job for many households.

It would me amusing to log my supercharger vs home charger sessions with “lubeloggger” which I assume is a reference to oil changes!

I used to track all of this as well. Now I drive an EV and there is absolutely nothing left to track.

The only thing I get to "spreadsheet" with is the ever disappointing km/KW. Which is something I try to avoid to not trigger my range rage.

Interesting. How many vehicles and how old are they that you need something like this?

I have a truck, an old car, and a couple of motorcycles. Keeping track of maintenance, observations, parts, etc. across them is important. For a long time ive used a spreadsheet with no issue, so not sure I’d set this up myself.

Great idea!

Does anyone know if there are any similar projects for keeping track of housing costs, renovations documents with a todo board?

Nice! I use a Google Sheets doc to track my car maintenance but it's a cool project you've made :)

Neat! I keep them in a Notion database right now, but this seems like a fun solution

Isn't this the same as a notebook in the glovebox?

Much better than my spreadsheet! Thanks for sharing.

put it on a blockchain to be a disruptor in the used car market

get dealers/shops to integrate

I may be missing the point, by what does the "Lube" in the name signify

Oil changes.

Think “jiffylube”, not pr0nhub.

ah fair enough xd, my bad for being pedantic

I noticed that you don't have the option to tag something "Done" in the project planning screen. You can be planning it, doing it, or testing it but you can't tag it done.

Looks nice. I use an excel sheet for mine right now.

For fuel consumption I track a running average of the last X fillups where X is equivalent to the oil change interval. That helps identify performance issues as you can see your fuel economy decreasing as it nears time to replace plugs, air filters, etc. I also break out parts replacement by system - transmission, engine, transfer case, differentials, wire harness, lighting, etc just as you would use in ordering parts. That way specific items are easier to find in the maintenance records just by searching records for specific systems. It helps to understand the expected lifetime of your parts and to spot things like differences between OEM and aftermarket parts from specific parts suppliers.

Good job with this.

Would you be willing to share your spreadsheet template?

This is going to be like a "found a safe in my new house" reddit. (TLDR; not gunna share it.)

I actually did. The previous owner could not open it because the front panel got disconnected from the electronics at the inside and he didn't bother to look further.

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