dirtmover wrote:
LMWatBullRun wrote:
If my cord shows its age, then I will replace it with a better cord, not whine about it to the Feds.
it is not reasonable to expect wiring to last forever. Admittedly, one would expect such wiring to last longer than 8 years, but it's out of warranty. Contractually, Jeep has no obligation for this, which means that it is ours.
Block heater cords are a common cause of vehicle fires. They will start in the garage overnight and spread to the house while the occupants are asleep. If they're lucky they will escape.
This is unfortunate, but I am reminded of Heinlein's quote- "Stupidity cannot be cured. Stupidity is the only universal capital crime; the sentence is death. There is no appeal, and execution is carried out automatically and without pity.” The idea that we can engineer anything to keep a moron from getting hurt is the sort of Progressive foolishness that plagues all productive enterprise. It's asinine idiocy to think that one could forestall all of the possible ways that idiots can hurt themselves, especially as vehicles age and wear out.
If you do proper inspection and maintenance, you have no problem. If you don't, you suffer the consequences. I had an acquaintance who bought a new car and drove it for 60,000+ miles, at which point the engine failed. It turned out that he had NEVER changed the oil.
He got no sympathy from me or most of his other acquaintances.
dirtmover wrote:
We see this scenario play out all too often in regions where block heaters are used routinely.
"We?" We
who, exactly? And where is your source for your assertion? How many such incidents occur yearly in Canada and these presently united States? Out of how many block heater equipped vehicles? Facts, please, not hyperbole.
dirtmover wrote:
You might be capable of spotting the hazard and taking action yourself
Yes, because I understand that house current needs to be properly insulated from its surroundings.
This is pretty basic stuff. I learned it at a young age. Maybe 6 or 7?
dirtmover wrote:
and you may not care if others lose their vehicles/homes or worse.
On what basis do you promote such an outrageous libel? I deeply resent the imputation, and demand an immediate retraction and an apology. You have NO basis for such a comment.
dirtmover wrote:
The reality is that a huge percentage of the population don't inspect their block heater cables on a regular basis, probably wouldn't see it if there was an issue anyway or understand the risks.
Then they had better pay somebody who does know the risks to check it for them, or suffer the consequences! It is not my responsibility or anyone else's to play nanny to an overgrown baby. If you are an adult, YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS. Rand said it very well- "One can ignore reality, but one cannot ignore the consequences of ignoring reality."
dirtmover wrote:
Further they wouldn't expect this sort of failure in what is a relatively recent vehicle.
Only an idiot would not comprehend the risks of cracked insulation on 120 volt wiring, especially if it is exposed to sun and rain. And recent? Some of the NA CRDs are almost 10 years old; the last of the 2006s will be 8 this summer. Anything over 10 years is classed as an end of life vehicle, and lots of places won't finance them! Recent, indeed!
dirtmover wrote:
This is where the lawyers, the Feds and mandatory recalls come in but they can only act proactively if failure incidents get reported. This is where product owners have a duty to play their part.
Duty?
What duty? Where do you come up with this moral inversion? By what right do you assert such a thing? What standards are those that you think establish such an obligation on me? What code are YOU using, to make such a claim?
What you are saying is that if somebody is too stupid to inspect their vehicle, and replace a wire with cracked insulation on it that this somehow makes me responsible to deal with the situation? Ridiculous!
dirtmover wrote:
Of course, you just make sure you look after #1
Of course I look out for myself, and my family and my friends. That IS my duty, and *I* do it! If others did the same, and paid more attention to taking care of themselves and worried less about trying to mind other people's business, the world would be a much better place.