For generations in this country, learning how to change the oil, check vehicle fluid levels, and perform basic auto repair and maintenance has been a tradition passed down from father to child. With a popped hood, flashlight and a grease rag, many Saturday afternoons have been spent in the family garage with dad or grandpa showing the next generation how to avoid home car repair mistakes or how to check for leaks.
Knowing the fundamentals of BMW, Mercedes or VW automotive repair and how your vehicle works can help uphold the life of your car. By paying attention to leaks, low fluid levels or worn out parts early on, you can ensure these problems are addressed early, which can reduce San Diego auto repair costs.
Are Computerized Vehicles Making DIY Auto Repair a Thing of the Past?
Today’s vehicles however are more complicated than those from a generation ago. Involving multi-component, computer-coded systems, VW and BMW auto repair for newer model vehicles is more difficult to perform. According to the Auto Alliance, a group of international automakers including BMW, Ford, GM, Mazda, Mercedes- Benz, Mitsubishi, Porsche, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo, vehicles today are too complex for the weekend home-mechanic to work on.
Saying that cars’ computer codes are protected by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), the Auto Alliance is proposing that performing auto repair on your car is a copyright violation and thus against the law. These automakers were seeking for the right to sue car buyers for performing auto repair on their own vehicles.
Could Performing At-Home Auto Repair Really Become Illegal?
Fortunately for drivers, in 2015 the U.S. Copyright Office ruled with the people saying owners had the right to perform car repair and modification on their own vehicles. However, the ruling was only in effect for three years.
While performing BMW auto repair on your own car may not be illegal (yet), auto makers are certainly making this task more difficult. Rather than inviting you to understand and explore the functionality of your vehicle, today’s auto manufacturers are almost blocking you and making you work harder than ever to perform your own auto repair.
Too Many Barriers Deter At-Home Auto Repair
Obstructive plastic engine covers, for instance, are a major automotive repair deterrent for young drivers who aren’t familiar with what’s under the hood. Though some debate that these plastic covers help keep the hood area cleaner, most believe they serve no real purpose and just get in the way when you’re trying to perform auto repair. To the novice car owner, they seem to block access to the mechanical components under the hood as if to say “don’t touch.”
Sealed Components Prevent at Home Auto Repair Diagnosis
In addition to plastic blockers covers, many modern BMWs, Volkswagens, and Toyotas have completely sealed systems that prevent you from seeing what’s going on inside. Transmission system and even the famed oil dipstick are disappearing making it almost impossible for car owners to check both fluid level and quality. In order to see what’s happening, you have to bring your vehicle to an auto repair shop in San Diego for an inspection and diagnosis. This is more costly for you and keeps you in the dark about what’s really happening with your vehicle.
Drivers Know Less about Routine Oil Changes
While most everyone can agree that longer lasting fluids and using recycled or synthetic oil is good for the environment, it is not without its downsides. Nowadays, most vehicles no longer require the 3,000-mile oil change thanks to synthetic oil. As much of a good thing as this is, it has led to a set-it-and-forget-it mentality among most drivers. People used to manually check the quality and levels of their engine oil. Now they just bring it into the auto repair shop for an oil change when the BMW, VW, or Mercedes signals that it is required. Yet they really don’t know what is going on with their vehicle.
Transmission Repair Becoming Almost Impossible to Perform at Home
Most transmission systems today are completely sealed so that the fluid can’t be assessed. Auto manufacturers argue that transmission fluid lasts a lifetime and therefore doesn’t need to be looked at. While it may last longer than before, at a certain mileage your transmission fluid will need to be replaced. The sealed system requires that this transmission repair is performed at an auto repair shop. Replacing the fluid is no longer a simple job and has become a much more labor-intensive and costly automotive repair.
Though you can still perform auto repair in your home garage, expect automakers and their lawyers to try to make this task more difficult for you whether in the form of sealed systems and plastic coverings or copyright laws.
