Above is a shot taken this morning of the multi-media screen in our long-term 2008 Cadillac CTS. Everything is normal here.
Last night, though, the audio emitted nothing more than the sounds of flatulence, complete with little pauses and ripples just like the real thing. Changing channels, cranking the volume, switching among AM/FM/XM... nothing curbed the poop.
So many fart jokes to choose from that my mind is frozen. One might say... constipated.
Jason Kavanagh, Engineering Editor @ 13,280 miles.
wobbly_ears says:
03:22 PM, 10/ 2/08
Simple Answer.
It's a GM vehicle. Designed & assembled by your friendly UAW workers.
Head over to your local GM dealer (if they are still in business) to get it fixed (till something breaks again soon).
25 Billion for this doomed company?
actualsize says:
03:36 PM, 10/ 2/08
I had something like this happen to me in the CTS. Not the audio flatulence, mind you; a couple of speakers went silent (but deadly) in my case.
What I call the Bill Gates solution worked: key-off, wait ten seconds, reboot. Is it a coincidence that this audio system uses Microsoft Auto as its OS?
I hope the software development standard (release with bugs, fix with service packs or updated versions along the way) doesn't creep into cars. I won't ever buy brake-by-wire or any other crucial electronic automotive technology if the computer software development ethos crosses species into autmotive software development.
In any event, I seriously doubt this is an assembly line worker issue. The components of a system like this are put together on a supplier's line and shipped to the assembly plant for installation by line workers. And the engineers are not UAW, by the way.
zoomzoom22 says:
03:39 PM, 10/ 2/08
Good job, GM. Something the Lexus IS and BMW 3Series won't do. How about instead of issuing sales incentives to sell your cheap cars, you just stop making cheap cars?
7driver says:
04:01 PM, 10/ 2/08
"I hope the software development standard (release with bugs, fix with service packs or updated versions along the way) doesn't creep into cars."
It's a Microsoft thing, not a software development ethos. Great. You just offended scads of medical instrumentation, avionics and other life-critical SW engineers.
In any case, all you other guys should be Microsoft bashing, not GM bashing. Go Linux!
bimmerjay says:
04:47 PM, 10/ 2/08
"I hope the software development standard (release with bugs, fix with service packs or updated versions along the way) doesn't creep into cars."
It already has. BMW is on version 31 for the 3-Series PROGMAN powertrain/vehicle software. I'm not sure what the latest iDrive software version is, but there are far fewer updates than for the PCM. On previous cars I've gone in for software updates to fix known bugs.
The fact of the matter is that ANY software-driven component has a potential for bugs and may need upgrades, it's been like this for years.
ih8hyundai says:
05:05 PM, 10/ 2/08
Look at it this way. At least it won't have to be torn down and rebuilt over a period of 2 weeks to correct the issue.
:)
mr_bots says:
08:26 PM, 10/ 2/08
Probably just needs a reboot or update. I love how cars are getting more and more complicated. Its getting where cars are getting software updates as often as a computer. Also, its not just Caddy or GM, its every car maker.
dougtheeng says:
05:40 AM, 10/ 3/08
This is just a drawback of having the complex system in your car. I imagine that more basic radio arrangements don't fail, but then again you can't find a steak restaurant on them.
I am avoiding the switch to these complex systems.
stingray454 says:
06:57 AM, 10/ 3/08
Doesn't this car have the Bose system? Could very well be a problem with a Bose amplifier. I'm not a big fan of Bose car audio.
wobbly_ears - could you possibly be any more biased? Maybe you should move to Japan. There are hardly any electronics made in the U.S. by UAW workers anymore. 99% of the car electronics comes from China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Korea, etc. I can guarantee you that navigation system and audio system was NOT manufactured in the U.S.
actualsize says:
07:10 AM, 10/ 3/08
7 driver: Fair enough. I've worked in a mil-spec environment before. But you know what I mean. Add "consumer" or "PC" in front of the word software, if you like. I'm sick of computer problems in which the approved solution is either (a) turn it off and reboot or (b) let's re-install the OS.
7driver says:
10:25 AM, 10/ 3/08
"Add "consumer" or "PC" in front of the word software, if you like. I'm sick of computer problems in which the approved solution is either (a) turn it off and reboot or (b) let's re-install the OS."
Sorry, I say it's still a Microsoft thing.
My household runs MacOSX, Vista, XP and Linux all on same/similar hardware. Guess which ones require reboots/re-installs and which ones are problem-free.