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Ohio man says software update disabled car, leaving $1,600 bill and little options
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this post was submitted on 12 Jul 2026
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This is really common. Mass produced cars as early as 1980 have had boxes with software on them, but the idea of "updating" it outside of recalls was invented in the late 90s. It had to work when the car was sold. Thanks to technological innovation we've devolved from this.
"Why does it need software updates?
Because it connects to the internet.
Why does it connect to the internet?
Because it needs software updates."
This goes for everything: computers, game consoles, appliances, and more. In a recent visit to my family's house, I turned on the game console to play a game, but it would not let me until I did a software update than would take two hours. Then it would force a game update that would take an hour. But the last time that I played the game, everything worked fine.
When I was younger, there were no updates to game consoles or games. We would play games and be cognisant of the minor glitches they had, which were perhaps annoying, but less so than not being able to play at all.