>A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues...
I think using the term for a software update is abusing the language a bit. And may confuse people who have a real recall where the thing has to go to the dealer.
Waymos are fleet vehicles. Recalls go to the owners, just like with other fleet vehicles such as rental cars, taxis, limos, delivery services, utilities, and city/state/federal government. It doesn't really matter who is whose customer.
I really want car companies to just automate publishing “recalls” for every commit pushed to any car ever. Flood this broken term and force a distinction between “the airbags will literally explode and destroy your face” and “the radio volume is too quiet sometimes”
A "recall" is a specific regulated action. It is announced as a recall because that is what is legally required according to the NHTSA. There is no wiggle room here.
We really need a better term for when an urgent software update for a vehicle is issued. The extreme majority of the population completely misunderstands it when a "recall" is done when it's actually just an OTA software update.
Wikipedia has
>A product recall is a request from a manufacturer to return a product after the discovery of safety issues...
I think using the term for a software update is abusing the language a bit. And may confuse people who have a real recall where the thing has to go to the dealer.
Yes, "recall" brings to mind serious issues like the gas tank exploding on the Ford Pinto.
I had one for my car because the airbag inflators were starting to go off more like a hand grenade than as intended.
Also I think it's wrong to call something a recall if it's not owned by customers. Waymo is a service.
Waymos are fleet vehicles. Recalls go to the owners, just like with other fleet vehicles such as rental cars, taxis, limos, delivery services, utilities, and city/state/federal government. It doesn't really matter who is whose customer.
aw, I was having fun imagining 3,800 Johnny cabs just immediately changing route to go to headquarters.
The difference between that and usual software updates I'm guessing is the cars are pulled from service until the update takes place.
Recall makes for better headlines.
I really want car companies to just automate publishing “recalls” for every commit pushed to any car ever. Flood this broken term and force a distinction between “the airbags will literally explode and destroy your face” and “the radio volume is too quiet sometimes”
A "recall" is a specific regulated action. It is announced as a recall because that is what is legally required according to the NHTSA. There is no wiggle room here.
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Gah, thanks for this. Thought I was used to that slight-of-hand but this one got me
Legally and technically true, and I hate it.
We really need a better term for when an urgent software update for a vehicle is issued. The extreme majority of the population completely misunderstands it when a "recall" is done when it's actually just an OTA software update.
We've updated the title above. Thanks!