Pre-delivery inspection auditing system and method
First Claim
1. A method of obtaining information indicative of a condition of a vehicle at delivery to a customer, comprising the steps of:
- (a) enrolling a subscriber into a vehicle notification message service following delivery of the vehicle to the subscriber;
(b) accessing pre-delivery inspection vehicle data using a telematics unit of the vehicle;
(c) transmitting the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data from the telematics unit to a central data system;
(d) comparing, using the central data system, the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data to benchmarks used to audit the pre-delivery inspection performance of a dealer;
(e) constructing an initial notification message at the central data system based on the condition of the vehicle at delivery to the subscriber using the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data;
(f) sending the notification message to the subscriber via an electronic messaging system.
14 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A vehicle email notification system in which pre-delivery inspections by dealers can be automatically audited to help insure that vehicles are being delivered to customers with the proper initial values of such things as tire pressure and fluid levels. The notification system uses triggers to initiate the generation and transmission of email messages that provide diverse types of dynamic vehicle information to the owner or other authorized subscriber. This information is also used by the manufacturer to determine dealer compliance with pre-delivery inspection requirements. The email notifications are triggered by different events, some of which are independent of the vehicle (e.g., a monthly trigger), and others of which occur at the vehicle, such as a mileage or low oil life trigger. The notification system builds and sends to the subscriber an email message that contains the dynamic vehicle information and identifies any detected vehicle condition for which action is needed.
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Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of obtaining information indicative of a condition of a vehicle at delivery to a customer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) enrolling a subscriber into a vehicle notification message service following delivery of the vehicle to the subscriber; (b) accessing pre-delivery inspection vehicle data using a telematics unit of the vehicle; (c) transmitting the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data from the telematics unit to a central data system; (d) comparing, using the central data system, the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data to benchmarks used to audit the pre-delivery inspection performance of a dealer; (e) constructing an initial notification message at the central data system based on the condition of the vehicle at delivery to the subscriber using the pre-delivery inspection vehicle data; (f) sending the notification message to the subscriber via an electronic messaging system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of obtaining information indicative of a condition of a vehicle at delivery to a customer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving information from a dealer indicating that the customer has taken delivery of the vehicle; (b) accessing vehicle data that indicates the status of vehicle conditions checked during a pre-delivery vehicle inspection using a telematics unit of the vehicle; (c) transmitting the vehicle data from the telematics unit to a central data system; and (d) determining, using the central data system, whether the status of at least one of the vehicle conditions falls outside of a predefined criteria used to audit the performance of a vehicle dealer after performing a pre-delivery inspection. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method of obtaining information indicative of a condition of a vehicle at delivery to a customer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) providing a vehicle having a telematics unit; (b) setting a mileage trigger in the vehicle at a mileage value that indicates that the vehicle has recently been delivered by a dealer to a customer; (c) delivering the vehicle to a dealer; (d) receiving measured tire pressure data from the telematics unit over a wireless communication system in response to occurrence of the trigger; and (e) comparing, using a central data system, the tire pressure data to a range of desired tire pressure values that a vehicle dealer should establish on the vehicle before delivery to a customer; (f) determining if the tire pressure data falls within the range of desired tire pressure values; and (g) auditing the pre-delivery inspection compliance of the vehicle dealer based on the determination. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19)
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20. A method of obtaining information indicative of a condition of a vehicle at delivery to a customer, comprising the steps of:
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(a) receiving information indicating that the customer has taken delivery of the vehicle from a dealer; (b) accessing vehicle data indicative of at least one condition of the vehicle at the time of delivery of the vehicle to the customer; (c) transmitting the vehicle data from a telematics unit of the vehicle to a central data system; (d) comparing, using the central data system, the vehicle data to at least one predefined criterion associated with new vehicle deliveries; and (e) determining compliance by the dealer with a pre-delivery inspection requirement based at least in part on the comparison in step (d). - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23)
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Specification