An Apple iPhone Update Might Have Just Left Some Car Owners Stranded

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

An Apple iPhone Update Might Have Just Left Some Car Owners Stranded

This article was published by Joe Donaldson (@Joey D) on September 22nd, 2017 in the Automotive News category.

 

[Roxanne]

The same applies for the official Gran Turismo "Beyond the Apex" App as well

 

[Tunerguy21]

Am I the only one that thinks the app is/was stupid (or at best, unnecessary)? Is it really that much of an inconvenience to carry a key on you?

 

[Famine]

Am I the only one that thinks the app is/was stupid (or at best, unnecessary)? Is it really that much of an inconvenience to carry a key on you?

There are a surprising number of apps like it though. And others - Renault has one that gives your car a tachometer if it doesn't have one, for instance.

 

[Tunerguy21]

There are a surprising number of apps like it though. And others - Renault has one that gives your car a tachometer if it doesn't have one, for instance.

Which I find odd, but not unexpected. I'll be honest, this is the first I'm hearing of the app (that I remember at least), so I'm not up to speed on everything this Ford app could do, but it seems silly and unnecessary to have an app to unlock and start your car, when there's a perfectly good key that comes standard and does the same. Now, I'm sure in theory it was a good idea; say, for instance, you happen to forget your keys or lock them in your car. You then boot up your app and unlock your car. That's perfectly acceptable, but you know for a fact that when you put something out like that stupid things are bound to happen.

That Renault one does sound useful though, but are there really still brand new cars that don't come with tachs? At least ones that would need them?

 

[Famine]

That Renault one does sound useful though, but are there really still brand new cars that don't come with tachs? At least ones that would need them?

Every car needs a tach! Well, not electric ones, maybe.

I'm only aware of the Twingo off the top of my head. There may be others.

 

[Obelisk]

As bad as this is, I want to bring up something.

Don't these Ford models also come with keys? You'd have to be dumber than dumb not to carry a physical set of keys alongside the smartphone that operates the car.

 

[Joey D]

As bad as this is, I want to bring up something.

Don't these Ford models also come with keys? You'd have to be dumber than dumb not to carry a physical set of keys alongside the smartphone that operates the car.

You've met people right?

It incredibly likely this burned a few people already, especially if they're the ones that just leave their keys in the car and lock/unlock the door with their phone. I personally would never trust a smartphone to operate my vehicle, but there are people out there that would.

 

[Obelisk]

You've met people right?

I haven't met anyone that stupid yet.

The worst I've seen is people leaving their boots open.

 

[Northstar]

So I guess you can say the app was Found On Road, Dead?

I haven't met anyone that stupid yet.

The worst I've seen is people leaving their boots open.

Consider yourself lucky, I've seen people that would make someone getting burned by this app seem like a genius.

 

[cartrucks]

So the same situation applies if the user’s phone runs out of battery? Then they can’t leave until they charge their phone. That does sound like a useless option.

 

[TeamCZRRacing]

And this, ladies and gents, is why we don't make our cars so damn dependent on our devices. Sure, have the ability to sync music and movies from your phone to your car - that's pretty cool. But making it possible for people to get stranded just because something happened to an app? That's taking it too far. I say, keep the requirement for a physical key and go back to traditional mechanical connections between the wheel and the suspension, and from the pedals to the throttle body/brake system. So then, you can have all the cool new smart features in the center console, but have it where it's less likely that you'll get stranded and it's impossible for hackers to make your car do dangerous stuff over WiFi.

 

[Simmpa]

Modern technology in a nutshell, people never had some backup plan if things went wrong?

 

[Famine]

Don't forget also that this was a $400 option as recently as 2014, with a $40pa subscription fee. Anyone who'd just started their fourth year (or just coming to the end of their third year) of subscription might be justified in feeling a bit pissed off even if they weren't locked out.

 

[12thgear]

Ford did drag their feet on this given how long iOS 11 was available to devs and even the public as a beta. But in the US app store Ford Remote Access shows an update date of Sept 21st, with iOS 11 support added. Ford can cross "what's the least we could do?" off the list.

 

[HuskyGT]

Who the heck goes out without their car keys? Relying on a phone to unlock/start/drive your car seems a bit irresponsible.

 

[TexRex]

John Q Fordowner heads to work, using Remote Access to unlock and start his F-150.

I know him--he lives right across the street--but he drives a decade-old E-class and should be unaffected by this.

 

[Mason Methot]

Now, I'm sure in theory it was a good idea; say, for instance, you happen to forget your keys or lock them in your car. You then boot up your app and unlock your car.

*Locks keys and phone in car*

If I owned a new Ford with the payed app option, I'd still bring my keys, but still use the app (it's only common sense). Yeah it's kinda useless app, but I might still use it just because. Another thing people need to understand is that, if you own an iPhone...it's battery is bound to die on you. And if you left your keys at home, well, you have only yourself to blame.

But honestly, is the app even necessary? Like, I can remote start with my keys, and my car will auto unlock when my keys are near it and lock when they are afar. So no need to unlock when I'm a mile away with my phone. What else does the app do? Check fuel level? Why not just check when you get in the car. You'll be getting in anyways. Tell me where I'm parked? Google does that for me... It automatically tells me where I've parked...

Ugh...