Millions of drivers use smartphone apps to drive their vehicles on a daily basis, but few are satisfied with them and it’s hard to find independent reviews of how well they work.
This is the result of customer research by JD Power and my own new vehicle testing.
JD Power reports that 38% of owners used apps developed by the automaker on at least half of their drives last year. The figure is likely to increase in 2022 as features become more widely available and sophisticated.
Despite this, application issues were the third most common issue in JD Power’s 2021 Initial Quality Survey.
Apps, which almost every brand offers, allow drivers to do everything from scheduling service appointments and starting a vehicle remotely, to planning trips and paying for vehicle charging electrical. Apps can also offer simple diagnostics like checking tire pressure or accessing “Hey Alexa” in-car digital assistants.
But they frequently fail, due to connectivity issues, incorrect information, and other issues.
Many users abandon apps out of frustration.
Widely used, often frustrating
“Owners are looking for accurate, real-time information about their vehicle that many apps currently don’t provide,” said Frank Hanley, senior director of global automotive consulting at JD Power. “While app speeds are improving, accuracy and stability are not in many cases. The apps also lack many features that owners want, leading many owners to say that the app is not brings no real value.
This makes the whole process a waste of time for everyone – the customers who raised their hands in frustration and the automakers who invested a lot of time and talent into the apps and features they’re supposed to control.
Applications are not limited to luxury brands or even expensive vehicles. Some cars and SUVs at the heart of the market offer advanced applications.
National brand owners are the biggest app users, with 50% of users saying they use the app on half of their drives and 27% saying they use it every time, according to JD Power.
Common complaints included connection speed and a poor explanation of features. JD Power studied 32 brands for its survey.
Apps can be very handy. A test vehicle’s key fob sat on my kitchen counter for days thanks to a feature that allowed my phone to act as a key through an app. Another app allowed me to quickly charge an electric vehicle simply by plugging it into a commercial DC charger, saving me a lot of time and not a little frustration compared to using the proprietary apps of several charging companies.
Unfortunately, automaker apps are much harder to activate than the quick and easy apps smartphone users have come to expect.
I need a human for WHAT?
When I programmed a vehicle specifically to test its application, it took over half an hour for an automaker expert working in my driveway to connect it to the company’s server. On top of that, I was told that it could take days for its features to be available, as the apps department works during bankers’ hours.
Human intervention? What is 2006?
Automakers love to think their products are especially complicated and important, but millions of people have securely activated smartphone apps for vital financial and medical transactions in seconds, at their convenience, not their supplier’s. .
And I turned off the light. A company representative came to my house. Customers, who have just handed over thousands of dollars for a new vehicle, are told they have to do it at the dealership, sometimes scheduling an additional visit.
If the App Store worked this way, no one would ever have cared if the birds were angry.
Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or mmphelan@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Learn more about automobiles and sign up for our automobiles newsletter. Become a subscriber.
#Car #smartphone #apps #offer #lots #features #convenience