ELECTRONIC HEADACHES
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• Your feature "Five Rounds of Boxing Clever" (CM April 4) made interesting reading.
Accepting that these electronically controlled gearboxes make the driver's life easier there is — as always — another side to the coin. If my experience with our Company cars is anything to go by the electronics themselves are not too reliable, cannot readily be repaired and are expensive to renew.
Our accountant's Renault has had ignition and automatic gearbox failures caused by defective `brain boxes', as the dealer calls them, resulting in two costly accounts. I have lost count of the number of electronic instruments replaced on our saleman's Maestros — again not a cheap operation. Finally, I must mention the Chairman's Mer cedes-Benz, on which a seemingly minor brake problem led to the replacement of the control unit for the anitlock system at a cost of more than £1000. None of these items can be affected by driving techniques.
If this experience is to be repeated on these latest electronically controlled gearboxes, it will more than offset any saving on mechanical repairs. Already I have heard from another operator of a gear lever problem on a Mercedes equipped with their EPS system which cost over 2800 to rectify. An expensive gear lever! "Of course it was done under warranty" he said. Fine, but what happens when the warranty runs out?
Replacement parts costs of this gadgetry would, I suggest, be enlightening. I shall also be interested to hear if any other operators share my misgivings.
Fleet Engineer Kent (Name and address supplied)