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TPMS... parte deux

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OK... who let that damned "wet blanket" back in here????

 

Considering that TPMS is (in the US) a federally mandated safety feature.... Can anyone guess what could happen if a vehicle suffered a tire failure that resulted in the loss of life or a permanent disability? And the fatality investigation found that the TPMS had been "tampered with" and the paper trail led right back to your bay?

 

I have several customers with load range D tires... on a freakin' F350... WTF is that about? Having a penis-mobile isn't enough... they need fancy wheels and inappropriate tires. I have been asked a few times if there was anything I could do to keep the warnings at bay... "not without exposing myself to some very real liability".

 

Years ago, motorists and mechanics alike could be cavalier about vehicle safety. No seatbelts, no DRLs... not even a motorcycle helmet.... But times have changed. For every motorist that wants us to delete an emissions control or defeat a safety feature.... there are hundreds of motorist depending on us to make sure these things are working properly...

 

In this modern world, being cavalier might be setting yourself up to be a "test case" in a court of law.

 

Now, I don't want to sound like Chicken Little.... and I really don't think that the "sky is falling".... But, at this time, it is vitally important for us to conduct ourselves in a professional manner. If we want to be treated as professionals... if we expect to be paid as professionals..... "if ya wanna talk the talk - ya gotta walk the walk...".

 

If we continually "bend" the rules (to the breaking point especially) some will regard us as charlatans and others as prostitutes... we'll do anything for a buck... "Hey, sailor... wanna get lucky?".

 

Some of you younger guys might regard me as a righteous old pr!ck.... My boss sometimes regards me as a righteous old pr!ck -usually when I tell him that he does NOT want THAT job in HIS shop). I used to be an "anything for a buck" guy... then I got smart. I started turning away those "dubious" jobs... The jobs that ask us to step outside of "convention".... I wont cut out your cat... but I will sell you a new one.... I will fix your broken things but I will not defeat them.... Let's just say that "I do well.... very well...".

 

Back to the accident investigators... I do several vehicle inspections each year for the RCMP to determine if the vehicle had an "influence" on either causing the accident or if the vehicle exacerbated the outcome of the accident. Usually, they would release the vehicle to me on the understanding that I would sequester it away from prying eye and probing fingers....

 

The last two inspections I performed had an RCMP officer in attendance from the time the vehicle was delivered to me until the time I deemed the inspection was complete.... Taking notes throughout the process, I might add.... His attitude wasn't very cavalier....

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IF (and thats a big if) it even works at all that is. Either way this is way too much rigging for a customer, its more of a personal vehicle kind of hardware update idea. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/readthis.gif


Now now Jim, I did not forget the CYA disclaimer
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I admit I missed that in my haste, Jeff.... But there's a lot of techs out there in slow shops.... Having anything in the bay can be cause for celebration and somebody, somewhere is going have that mix of knowledge and experience that emboldens him into adding to his "experience" (good judgement comes from experience.... unfortunately, experience comes from bad judgement).

 

Unless you work in my shop, I wont pretend to tell anyone how something is going to "go down" (hell, even then it doesn't always work).... All I'm trying say is that if a tech is about to do something... and that something doesn't "taste" very good.... now is probably a real good time to weigh the pros and cons honestly....

 

If a guy IS working in a slow shop.... something is very, very wrong.... and it should be fixed....

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I agree completely Jim! That is why this is the ONLY place I will share such ideas. I know that my audience here is smart enough not to listen to me /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/icon_crazy.gif Thanks to Keith and his careful watch over who he lets in /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/notworthy.gif

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