Battery, Starter, Fuel Pump – Oh My!

General Motors has announced a prognostic vehicle health function intended to notify customers before specific vehicle systems fail. The announcement is a huge step forward for the industry into a realm of anticipating problems rather than just reacting when something has gone wrong. The only problem is that GM has chosen to focus on some very specific areas that are going to have limited traction with consumers and dealers.

The GM Authority blog has the details: https://tinyurl.com/q8nlj5x General Motors Announces Industry-First Prognostic Tech To Predict Component Failure

Available on some MY2016 vehicles, the system will notify vehicle owners if there are indications that the battery, starter motor or fuel pump appear to be on the verge of failure. B ased on algorithms designed to support what is known as “condition-based maintenance” the customer is notified via email, text message, in-vehicle alerts or through the OnStar RemoteLink smartphone app.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I think this is a wonderful feature, but I’d make some changes.

1) Let’s focus on tires

Tires generate tens of thousands of dollars a month in revenue for the average dealer. In fact, tires represent the single highest revenue generating aftermarket item after fluids.

In a time when service cycles for fluid changes and brake repair continue to get longer and longer, tires remain a relatively steady and relatively frequent customer touch point. Dealers understand this, as do OEMs. There are probably more OEM executives and engineers working on tires today than are working on telematics.

Tires need to be balanced and wheels aligned to insure proper wear. Tires need to be properly inflated to maximize fuel mileage AND safe operation of the vehicle. Tires need to be rotated.

2) Critical point of customer defection

Taking care of the customer’s tires is critical. When the average driver gets a nail in a tire, they are most likely to go to the most convenient retail tire chain or service station for a replacement or repair.

Once the customer has moved outside the OEM dealer network there is a good chance they are lost to the OEM, maybe forever. Car makers should be focusing on the day to day health and maintenance of tires and the preservation of the customer connection.

3) Customer frustration with tires

Talk about a customer pain point! The average customer can’t stand tires. Tires are expensive and they are a headache to keep inflated, balanced and aligned. This is to say nothing of the fact that in an ideal fantasy world we should always, as consumers, be replacing all four tires.

While tire pressure monitoring systems have been mandated, their performance varies and they do not always identify which specific tire has a problem. But given the fuel efficiency and safety implications – to say nothing of the potential revenue – of maintaining tires, a prognostic system that would have some sizzle with consumers would be capable of monitoring:

• Balance
• Alignment
• Inflation
• Tread wear

I can’t remember the last time I got the “rated” mileage on a set of tires. The reality is that if the consumer takes proper care of the tires and they do not fulfill their warrantied mileage, the customer is entitled to a refund. (Less than 0.5% of consumers make tire warranty claims - source: Tire Intelligence) What about a prognostic tire health monitoring system that could aid the customer in recovering such a warranty payment?

4) Dealer integration

A more serious failure of the new prognostic system, though, is the lack of a closed loop integration with dealers. The system ought to provide for a real-time notification of the customer in a non-distracting manner via the connected on-board system.

A truly intelligent prognostic system would enable the customer to speak with a live assistance agent in real-time. That agent would be equipped with all of the appropriate vehicle history along with the diagnostic code and could reassure the customer as to the nature of the problem while managing any necessary response – roadside assistance, vehicle replacement or, more importantly, a bona fide dealer appointment.

Most important, the live assistant would handle all of these arrangements on behalf of the customer and his or her preferred dealer – rather than just connecting the caller to the dealer. This is the kind of closed loop system that improves customer satisfaction and customer retention.

And isn’t that what connecting cars is all about?

Battery? Starter? Fuel Pump? I can’t even remember the last time any of those systems failed in a car of mine. But tires? Those damn things need attention all the time!