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Warning from the dash Console: "Only the specialist personnel of a qualified specialist workshop should open the hood. Access by the customer is not permitted.

Warning from the dash Console: "Only the specialist personnel of a qualified specialist workshop should open the hood. Access by the customer is not permitted.”

littlecranky67 5y ago
Since when do I need permission from the manufacturer to do with my property as I see fit? Legally, we (in Germany) already have the case that opening up a device not necessarily voids the warranty, so I wonder why they go with that.
- kube-system 5y ago
  That is the law in the US too. It's likely just a matter of persuasive messaging. They might not be able to void your warranty, but they might be able to lead you into thinking they can.
  - dane-pgp 5y ago
    > they might be able to lead you into thinking they can. I can't help wondering if there is or should be some sort of law against corporations doing this. If they are trying to mislead you into not making use of a right which is legally yours, that feels a bit like fraud, or practising law without a licence. I'm reluctant to suggest that the government should limit even corporate free speech so much that companies become afraid to put warnings on things, and corporate lawyers would probably just come up with even more convoluted ways of phrasing things to technically comply with the law (or maliciously comply with it to make people hate the law), but perhaps some well-funded consumer body should be able to name and shame companies that do this.
    - littlecranky67 5y ago
      Splitting hairs here, but Mercedes would argue that it is meant to signal to leasing/rental cars that the user is not allowed to open (based on the rental agreement) so in those cases at least, it is not complete missleading.
    - kube-system 5y ago
      The FTC in the US has gone after companies that literally tell their customers that something invalidates their warranty, when under law, it wouldn't. But I feel like "you are not permitted" is an entirely different thing. It is so vague that it doesn't really have a clear meaning, and it leaves the reader to fill in the blanks.
- throwaway0a5e 5y ago
  Ever since the "you need to lock out tag out a circuit to change a cosmetic cover plate in your own home and you're just asking to be killed if you don't wear arc flash gear while doing it" crowd grew up and became PMs capable of "adding value" to design decisions that didn't really need any thought given to them in the first place. This kind of crap is just a reflection of the affects of modern culture that prizes risk aversion after you filter it though a massive corporate bureaucracy (like Mercedes)

Warning from the dash Console: "Only the specialist personnel of a qualified specialist workshop should open the hood. Access by the customer is not permitted.”

littlecranky67 5y ago

Since when do I need permission from the manufacturer to do with my property as I see fit? Legally, we (in Germany) already have the case that opening up a device not necessarily voids the warranty, so I wonder why they go with that.

kube-system 5y ago
That is the law in the US too. It's likely just a matter of persuasive messaging. They might not be able to void your warranty, but they might be able to lead you into thinking they can.
- dane-pgp 5y ago
  > they might be able to lead you into thinking they can. I can't help wondering if there is or should be some sort of law against corporations doing this. If they are trying to mislead you into not making use of a right which is legally yours, that feels a bit like fraud, or practising law without a licence. I'm reluctant to suggest that the government should limit even corporate free speech so much that companies become afraid to put warnings on things, and corporate lawyers would probably just come up with even more convoluted ways of phrasing things to technically comply with the law (or maliciously comply with it to make people hate the law), but perhaps some well-funded consumer body should be able to name and shame companies that do this.
  - littlecranky67 5y ago
    Splitting hairs here, but Mercedes would argue that it is meant to signal to leasing/rental cars that the user is not allowed to open (based on the rental agreement) so in those cases at least, it is not complete missleading.
  - kube-system 5y ago
    The FTC in the US has gone after companies that literally tell their customers that something invalidates their warranty, when under law, it wouldn't. But I feel like "you are not permitted" is an entirely different thing. It is so vague that it doesn't really have a clear meaning, and it leaves the reader to fill in the blanks.
throwaway0a5e 5y ago
Ever since the "you need to lock out tag out a circuit to change a cosmetic cover plate in your own home and you're just asking to be killed if you don't wear arc flash gear while doing it" crowd grew up and became PMs capable of "adding value" to design decisions that didn't really need any thought given to them in the first place. This kind of crap is just a reflection of the affects of modern culture that prizes risk aversion after you filter it though a massive corporate bureaucracy (like Mercedes)