Dangerous Ignition Interlock

[Zeugknight]

I was required to have an ignition interlock installed in my vehicle by Penndot which is the state of Pennsylvania. It was installed on October 25th. The device asks me to periodically blow into the device to continue driving. The issue is that when that happens, the windshield wipers stop worling, so if they are on they stop right in the middle of their cycle and stop making it hard to see out of the windshield. Also the odometer and every other gauge on the dashboard stops working. The automatic windows wont go down or up. The brakes give out a little. The lights go off and if your in reverse you cant switch to drive or park. The brake lights dont work aswell. Im assuming the shop that installed it hooked it up wrong. I have been to them every month and they say its connected right and they let me leave everytime. I think its too dangerous, especially when raining or snowing, to drive. So i wonder what I can do legally and whether the shop or the company who sells the devices are liable.

 

[quincy]

Which IID did you have installed?

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Sure there is some liability because they likely warrant their work. Have you been to the installer and let them see what is happening?

 

[quincy]

Sure there is some liability because they likely warrant their work. Have you been to the installer and let them see what is happening?

He said he's been there every month.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

What I meant is at any of the times he was at the shop did the car fail as described so the shop could see it.

Also, I would think that such a failure would generate error codes in any modern car. These can be read by most shops.

 

[quincy]

It sounds like the IID is draining the car battery.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

Very heavily if it is affecting the power brakes. That should throw a code.

 

[quincy]

Very heavily if it is affecting the power brakes. That should throw a code.

You would think so.

Using a different IID might work.

 

[Zeugknight]

The company that leased the device is SmartStart. I have asked them every month to try and fix it. I asked SmartStart what to do and they said to tell the shop, which I have. So they then tell me to write and incident report on their website. I have yet to go that route yet. It just seems like both of them dont care at all and dont realize how dangerous it could be.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

But first, the OP needs to prove to the installer there is a problem. The best way to do that is to demonstrate the problem.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

The company that leased the device is SmartStart. I have asked them every month to try and fix it. I asked SmartStart what to do and they said to tell the shop, which I have. So they then tell me to write and incident report on their website. I have yet to go that route yet. It just seems like both of them dont care at all and dont realize how dangerous it could be.

You really need to at least try and follow their instructions. The time you spent on this site could have been spent on theirs.

 

[Zeugknight]

The brakes work but once im done blowing into the device and it analyzes the breath sample and accepts it, if I am on the brakes they give out for about a second and the pedal goes to floor almosy

 

[Zeugknight]

Ok i will file the incident report online right now. Which they wont get back to me for at least a week to 2 weeks.

 

[quincy]

The brakes work but once im done blowing into the device and it analyzes the breath sample and accepts it, if I am on the brakes they give out for about a second and the pedal goes to floor almosy

Check your battery voltage or have your installer check it. Your battery needs to be around 12 or 14 volts when running.

You are not receiving any reading on the device? It sounds to be a battery issue or possibly an issue with the curly cord. Or, it could be a defective IID.

Filing an incident report as advised is good.

 

[Zeugknight]

The last time I went to the shop the mechaniv said he did some things to the device and I should be good. So i drive away and same problems. I came back and told him it was still happening but he didnt seem to care. Not once did he want to see what truly is going on amd he said I can bring it back another day because they are busy now. How can a mechanic let a person drive a car away knowing what the issues are?