Lemon Law? It’s In the Numbers!

By Donald Ladew

There are between 7,000 and 14,000 components in a modern automobile. The factors that make this number go up and down are less significant than that with any number there a lot of bits and pieces that could fail.

Lemon Law

Why is this important? With lemon law, it always comes back to defects and whether they can be repaired. As a person interested with statistics and involved with the lemon law, the defects are essential.

Much has been written about the mechanical components in automobiles, but what about computer components? In terms of defects it makes no sense to count the engine control module (ECM) as just one more component, equivalent to a cylinder head or shock absorber. The ECM shown has a couple hundred components on both sides of the circuit board, any one of which can fail. The modern car may have as many as 30-50 such computers all networked together.

There is an even more important point as reported by “Discovery News.” If you bought a premium-class auto recently, the various computers probably contained 100 million lines of computer software code. This is nearly as much software as there is in an Airbus passenger aircraft. This is a whole hell of a lot of bits and bytes.

Bad Coding

For example, one bad line of code could cause the EGR control valve—an engine component—to operate incorrectly. This in turn could cause the engine to run rough and consume excessive amounts of oil. When caused by the engine control computer, it’s a hard defect to locate, especially if it is intermittent. Toss in the fact that these computers often operate in environments more hostile than the surface of Mars…well you see where this leads.

This level of complexity has a price. IBM—one of the world’s largest software companies—says that approximately 50% of warranty costs are related to electronics and their embedded software. Countless recalls costing hundreds of millions of dollars have been issued to correct problems related to computers and computer software failures.

Estimated Defects

Some years ago Clarence Ditlow, the director of “The Center for Auto Safety” suggested that as many as 10% of the cars sold in California qualified as lemons. This number seemed a bit high; 5% may be a better number. Either way if you went with 5% and added another 10% for people who had problems with their vehicles but didn’t know about the lemon law, or just had extraordinary patience, you would still have 85% of cars sold that were operating well and not driving their owners crazy.

People with defective vehicles make a lot of noise.

Even though the number of people is far smaller than those who have no problems, they are trying to live with the defects. In the lemon law it would be easy to become cynical about manufacturers and dealerships.

Repetitive Defects

For today, let’s see the glass half full or in this case around 85% full. Somewhere out on the highways and byways, approximately 85% of new car owners don’t have repetitive defects that can’t be fixed. This is a very good thing, and we all need some good news in these difficult times.

Just in case, the next time your car gives you trouble and the technician cannot correct the defect, ask him if he checked that all the software programs were the updated version and are operating correctly.

Author Information

Donald Ladew is a contributing writer for Norman Taylor & Associates, a California Lemon Law practice.

What Does It Take To Get A Driver’s License?

Driving a car is a privilege, not a right, which means you must pass a state-mandated test in order to receive your driver’s license. Actually, two tests is more like it: a written or oral test demonstrating your understanding of various signs, laws, and procedures as well as a road test.

Requirements for obtaining a driver’s license vary from state to state, but generally most states require that the following steps be taken.

Eligibility

Most states require you to be a citizen of that state or a legal resident in order to obtain a driver’s license.

You must be of a certain minimum age, have correctable vision, and be responsible enough to handle driving a car.

Learner’s Permit

Some states allow drivers to obtain a learner’s permit before getting their driver’s license. With a permit, young or new drivers can drive a car only with a licensed driver present. Restrictions and requirements vary from state to state, but usually mean that the leaner can only drive during certain times of the day (such as daylight hours) and must have a permit for a specific length of time before being eligible to take their road test.

Permits are often given following a written test; some states shorten the learning time if new drivers complete a certified driver’s education course.

Practice and Study

Drivers are expected to spend ample time practicing their driving skills in advance of taking their road test.

Practicing parallel parking, hand signals, stopping and starting, driving under various road conditions and learning the laws, procedures, alcohol limits and signs as outlined in the driver’s handbook are critical steps to successfully prepare for solo driving.

Road Test

On the day of taking your road test, arrive at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office with all of the necessary paperwork in hand including your permit, insurance, your adult escort’s driver’s license as well as other required documentation. Be prepared to pay whatever fees are assessed and carefully follow the DMV officer’s instructions as you get behind the wheel to take your road test.

Stay calm, stay focused. Put into practice everything you have learned over the past several months as you drive. Listen, act and obey as your DMV officer instructs you through each part of your examination.

Did you pass? If so, congratulations – you’re now a licensed driver. If you failed your test, cheer up: lots of people need to take their test again. Give yourself some time to pull everything together, returning to the DMV when you’re ready to try again. And don’t be too hard on yourself — a USA Today article outlined had difficult driving tests have become.

Photo Credit: Rita Mezzela

Rebates For Buying, Using An E85 Vehicle

E85 vehicles or flex fuel vehicles (FFV) are select cars, trucks, SUVs, crossovers and commercial vehicles which run on E85 fuel. E85 represents a blend of ethanol and regular gasoline, with 85% of the mixture consisting of ethanol and the remaining 15% gasoline. Ethanol is developed from a number of different products, including corn, but E85 can only be used in vehicles which have been factory developed to use this fuel. Your owner’s manual will indicate whether your car can run on E85 fuel.

Ethanol is usually derived from corn and, thanks to government incentives, can yield nice incentives for the buyers and drivers of flexible fuel vehicles (FFV).

Because E85 fuel produces fewer harmful emissions, some government agencies offer consumers rebates or tax credits when they purchase these types of vehicles to encourage the purchase of FFVs. Right now, Congress is considering legislation that would provide a rebate or tax credit for purchasers of E85 vehicles, similar to what is already extended to most hybrid and a handful of lean burning diesel vehicles. At the moment, no federal rebate is in place.

State Level Incentives

On the state level, E85 vehicle owners may be able to find a rebate by visiting their state’s Environmental Protection Agency website or similar agency. For example, in Illinois, the Illinois Alternate Fuels Rebate Program is one of the most comprehensive programs of its kind. The program encourages drivers to fill up with E85 at least fifty percent of the time in order to qualify for a rebate. Drivers must save their receipts and submit that information to the state at the end of the year along with required forms and paperwork in order to receive rebate for up to $450 annually. In addition, purchasing an FFV vehicle can result in a one time rebate for up to $4000 for Illinois residents only.

Go to the The Alternative Fuels and Advanced Vehicles Data Center, a US Department of Energy site, to find what incentives are available for your state. A detailed map of the US with each state outlined is given, whereby you can click on your state to find which incentives are in place. Keep in mind that the Department of Energy list may not have the most up to date information, therefore go directly to your state’s official website, such as www.nj.gov, to review current information.

Fed Incentives Soon?

Lastly, bookmark www.irs.gov to keep pace with federal government programs related to FFVs. When new legislation is passed by Congress and signed by the president, that information will be posted to the IRS website, particularly if a federal tax credit is involved. Alternately, check the Department of Energy site for related updates.

See Also — Hybrid Incentives and Rebates – Region by Region