Who designs this shit???

[Sleek-Jet]

Before I begin, let me say that all the auto manufacturers seem to do this these days.

Driving back from Binny's last night I notice that one of my headlights is out in the Acadia. Fuck.

A couple years ago I replaced both headlight housings because one was clouded up to where the light couldn't make it through and the other had been broken by a flying piece of debris on the interstate. To do that I had to take the front bumper facia off, what a PITA. I noticed during this work that really the only good way to replace a lamp would be to remove the housings from the car.

Which brings me to today. I tried getting at the lamps from the top, I could get the rear cover off but not enough leverage to twist the lamp out of the socket. Damnit. I was able to peel the inner fender cover back enough to reach up in and pull the lamp out, but it takes two hand to remove the electrical connector and that was almost impossible with the inner fender panel in place. Did both sides just because. Now my arms looks like I shoved them through a plate glass window. Not to mention I ended up breaking the plastic retaining clip on the plug, because US auto manufacturers can't use the European style clamps, those come apart without flexing a brittle piece of plastic.

Who the fuck designs a headlight system that requires you to dismantle the front of the car to properly replace a lamp? Would it have been so hard to design an access pannel in the inner fender well?

/rant...

Time for a beer.

 

[4Waters]

Engineers with tiny hands. No joke, my dad turned wrenches for Ford for 35 years, ford kicked back M-time for warranty work on a power steering hose on a Taurus he got an engineer out there and the engineer said "you don't have to do all that see my hand fits just fine" my dad said you hand is half the size of mine. They approved the M-time.

 

[Shlbyntro]

Had same issue with parking light bulbs on the excursion. In order to change the bulb, you had to remove the headlight assembly followed by the parking light/signal assembly which included a shroud cover or two. I took the opportunity to update to newer 1piece Harley headlights. 4hrs of headache to replace essentially a $1 bulb.

In fairness some modification was needed for the newer headlight assemblies but damn.

Beer me too!

 

[Flying_Lavey]

Before I begin, let me say that all the auto manufacturers seem to do this these days.

Driving back from Binny's last night I notice that one of my headlights is out in the Acadia. Fuck.

A couple years ago I replaced both headlight housings because one was clouded up to where the light couldn't make it through and the other had been broken by a flying piece of debris on the interstate. To do that I had to take the front bumper facia off, what a PITA. I noticed during this work that really the only good way to replace a lamp would be to remove the housings from the car.

Which brings me to today. I tried getting at the lamps from the top, I could get the rear cover off but not enough leverage to twist the lamp out of the socket. Damnit. I was able to peel the inner fender cover back enough to reach up in and pull the lamp out, but it takes two hand to remove the electrical connector and that was almost impossible with the inner fender panel in place. Did both sides just because. Now my arms looks like I shoved them through a plate glass window. Not to mention I ended up breaking the plastic retaining clip on the plug, because US auto manufacturers can't use the European style clamps, those come apart without flexing a brittle piece of plastic.

Who the fuck designs a headlight system that requires you to dismantle the front of the car to properly replace a lamp? Would it have been so hard to design an access pannel in the inner fender well?

/rant...

Time for a beer.

Thats why the 99 to 2007 truck headlights are the greatest engineered piece ever made!! Pull 2 pins and the entire assembly is out in your hands. Can literally change a light bulb in 2 minutes from popping the hood to closing it.

Sent from my LM-G710VM using Tapatalk

 

[spectras only]

They do this on purpose so the average Joe would have to take the car/truck to a shop to change a bulb. Make work projects for licensed mechanics. Back in the ol days, grandma could do all that in her Chevy, Ford or Chrysler no problem.

 

[WhatExit?]

I helped a buddy change the battery on his Lincoln MKX (Ford Edge lookalike) and it involved disassembling most of the air intake and a lot of other plastic components. Took way too long just to replace the battery

 

[Yellowboat]

I helped a buddy change the battery on his Lincoln MKX (Ford Edge lookalike) and it involved disassembling most of the air intake and a lot of other plastic components. Took way too long just to replace the battery

The vw suv it's under the passenger seat. It's a 900 replacment

 

[mjc]

In my years working for IBM we had the same problems, engineers don't think their stuff will break so not designed to come apart easy.

 

[707dog]

my escalade is the same way have to pull bumper cover and drop the fender wells broke 4 of those damn brittle clips, loved my denali and older tahoe pull 2 pins 2-3 min job

our 09 charger was a bitch too i ended up letting the dealership do it. since we only had it 2 months and it would fill up with water when we washed it whole front nose had to come off(thats what they said)

 

[SBMech]

The manufacturers are fully aware of this, they do it just to force most people to go in to the dealers. Generates work, because they don't really make shit off of sales.

I look like I brawl constantly because of the cuts, bruises and scrapes I get daily just from working.

Vehicle repair is not for pussies anymore, half of the shit requires bumper covers to come off for ANYTHING lighting related.

I actually stock around $500 in plastic fucking clips at this point, since they are around $3-10 a piece depending on the manufacturer...yea fuck you Jeep and your $15 dollar plastic rivets!

 

[rush1]

New Chrysler Pacifica company car I have uses two battery's, they both died after only a year . The dealer charged 1400 dollars to replace them !
Not under warranty because i put 54 thousand miles on it in the first year.

 

[Shlbyntro]

So I just learned that book time on bleeding air out of the cooling system on a 6.7L Powerstroke is 4hrs and is something like a 17 step procedure. Wtf goes on inside the heads of those engineers?!

 

[1cole280S]

My daughters 06 STS Cadillac...... requires inner finder wells, front bumper, plastic trim under hood all to be pulled apart just to replace the head lights....... not a fun job laying in the driveway at home....just did this two years ago.... got home from work Wednesday last week head light out again ....
This time it went to the shop it was far easier to spit out $300.00 than roll around in the driveway for 6 hours..... crazy thing is you go that far and only one bulb is out.... but you know damn good and well if you don’t change them both you will be doing it again in a week.....

 

[SHOCKtheMONKEY]

My mom has a Volvo you have to take off part of the intake to replace the driver side bulb...Good grief!

So to answer the question MF'n cocksuckers.

 

[1cole280S]

There are some really good flashlights on the market now and duct tape holds things in place really well.....

 

[Shlbyntro]

There are some really good flashlights on the market now and duct tape holds things in place really well.....

Ya but how long does it take to change the batteries in those flashlights?! And here we are at the same dilemma haha

 

[Bpracing1127]

Service is an after thought, it’s all about assembly. The mfg want you to lease a car every few years before these items need service.

Everything is built on a assembly line, there when they put these lights in prolly the easiest step

 

[1cole280S]

Service is an after thought, it’s all about assembly. The mfg want you to lease a car every few years before these items need service.

Everything is built on a assembly line, there when they put these lights in prolly the easiest step

Yup they put the bulb in when it is laying on the table in front of them.... before it goes out to the assembly lines

 

[spectras only]

Good thing that I can pretty much fix anything on my car. To replace the thermostat in my Viper, the intake manifold has to come off. There are 3 bolts holding the cap but that's not the problem. It has a special tall stat that wouldn't come clear without the removal of the intake. Never seen a vehicle that the thermostat cap wasn't easy to spot/remove. Well, the all aluminum Viper engine was designed by Lamborghini, so I can't blame US engineers,lol.

 

[was thatguy]

Don’t ever try changing anything on any newer car without exploring you tube first.
Lots of people have lots of tricks for changing things like bulbs and belts and stuff.
I lost a headlight bulb on my assigned fleet F250 a couple years ago. Our shop mechanic was like “leave it and take that other truck, it’s a pain in the ass, I can’t get to it right now”....
Well, I wasn’t doing that because all my shit was in my assigned truck.
I googled it and watched a dude do the same thing in 15 minutes, he showed exactly which shroud bolts, exactly how far to pry the grill out, exactly how to do it fast.

The mechanic kind of freaked when I had it done in less than 30 minutes, then I showed him the video and he was like FUCK YEAH!

Changed out the power window assembly last year in my Tahoe, had never done one in my life.
Was done in about 45 minutes thanks to a drunk mechanic on you tube!

 

[buck35]

The wife's cub cadet has a 10cent piece of metal that engages a switch from the break pedal to start. Took about two hours to find, 2more to remove 1 fockin screw holding it in and at least another hour to start said screw . Thing is recessed by the frame and near impossible to reach.

 

[monkeyswrench]

One day I go to my friends shop...he's a hell of an engine builder, always neat stuff going on. He has a Ferrari on a lift, and it looks like a cartoon. It looks like this thing just puked out its guts, crap everywhere! I figure he's doing some whizbang high end stuff. Last year he had built a motor like that for a Bonneville car, so could be... I ask him what the deal was. Aside from some profanity, he said super cars suck. He was doing "Maintenance"...a timing belt job Now, I cringe at doing them on normal stuff, but kind of thankful I don't work in those circles!

 

[was thatguy]

One day I go to my friends shop...he's a hell of an engine builder, always neat stuff going on. He has a Ferrari on a lift, and it looks like a cartoon. It looks like this thing just puked out its guts, crap everywhere! I figure he's doing some whizbang high end stuff. Last year he had built a motor like that for a Bonneville car, so could be... I ask him what the deal was. Aside from some profanity, he said super cars suck. He was doing "Maintenance"...a timing belt job Now, I cringe at doing them on normal stuff, but kind of thankful I don't work in those circles!

Right?

That’s probably a $10K timing belt or more!

Our old C5 needed a clutch, Ive done countless clutches in lots of stuff over the years.
Googled it...next call was to a corvette shop in Sac for an estimate.
No way I was doing that.

 

[rcmike]

Ram 3500 lost a bulb.. I got to remove the radiator shroud, remove the grill, open the fender liner, reach way the hell in there and find and pull the tab, unbolt the front half, pull the housing, remove 6 bolts on the back of the housing, find the correct light, unhook the electrical, and finally, you get to the bulb.. It's insane..

 

[monkeyswrench]

It's all just nuts and bolts...Just now you have to remove more crap to find the nuts and bolts you need to get to!

 

[Yellowboat]

One day I go to my friends shop...he's a hell of an engine builder, always neat stuff going on. He has a Ferrari on a lift, and it looks like a cartoon. It looks like this thing just puked out its guts, crap everywhere! I figure he's doing some whizbang high end stuff. Last year he had built a motor like that for a Bonneville car, so could be... I ask him what the deal was. Aside from some profanity, he said super cars suck. He was doing "Maintenance"...a timing belt job Now, I cringe at doing them on normal stuff, but kind of thankful I don't work in those circles!

A lambo has about 17 drain plugs to do a 20k oil change

 

[BONER]

I worked on and wrote service on cars for alot of years. I was always under the impression that Engineers smoked the best Weed and took the best Acid. That's really the only logical explanation of how they come up with the shit they do...

 

[Sleek-Jet]

Don’t ever try changing anything on any newer car without exploring you tube first.
Lots of people have lots of tricks for changing things like bulbs and belts and stuff.
I lost a headlight bulb on my assigned fleet F250 a couple years ago. Our shop mechanic was like “leave it and take that other truck, it’s a pain in the ass, I can’t get to it right now”....
Well, I wasn’t doing that because all my shit was in my assigned truck.
I googled it and watched a dude do the same thing in 15 minutes, he showed exactly which shroud bolts, exactly how far to pry the grill out, exactly how to do it fast.

The mechanic kind of freaked when I had it done in less than 30 minutes, then I showed him the video and he was like FUCK YEAH!

Changed out the power window assembly last year in my Tahoe, had never done one in my life.
Was done in about 45 minutes thanks to a drunk mechanic on you tube!

Where do you think I got the idea to go in through the fender well?

A three piece inner fender well would solve the problem nicely, but it would probably cost another $5.00 on the production line.

 

[was thatguy]

Where do you think I got the idea to go in through the fender well?

A three piece inner fender well would solve the problem nicely, but it would probably cost another $5.00 on the production line.

I actually you tubed your bulb change after I read your post and saw exactly what you talked about!

 

[RitcheyRch]

When I was working Design on some of the McDonnell Douglas and Boeing airplanes we always had to work with the Human Factors group which made sure items were able to be removed and repaired. I don't think any of the auto manufacturer do this,.

 

[HALLETT BOY]

The hardest part is getting the customer to pay for the repair at your shop , they have absolutely no idea. Try explaining why a headlight bulb is $100 and it takes 2 hours to install it , they usually leave skid marks .

 

[Taboma]

One feature I truly miss about my 12' F150 Platinum was when you lifted the hood, the grill raised with it --- wow, how cool, easy access to the radiator and I could easily brush or pick all the desert debris and insects out.
New ones, Ahhhh fuck no, that was too easy, let's bury those components and just let the bugs and rocks collect on the cooling fins.
On my 12' EB, they smartly placed the license plate to the side so the turbo intercooler got good clean air flow. Of course in some climates, too much airflow allowed the intercooler to work to good and collect condensate. Plus marketing discovered it bothered some folks OCD.
New Raptor, nawwww, fuck no, offset looks weird, marketing screamed, so despite the objections of desert testers and engineers, let's put the plate centered directly in front of the intercooler. But to cover our asses, we'll put a note buried in the owner's manual simply stating "Remove front license plate when offroading"

 

[Ouderkirk]

Before I begin, let me say that all the auto manufacturers seem to do this these days.

Driving back from Binny's last night I notice that one of my headlights is out in the Acadia. Fuck.

A couple years ago I replaced both headlight housings because one was clouded up to where the light couldn't make it through and the other had been broken by a flying piece of debris on the interstate. To do that I had to take the front bumper facia off, what a PITA. I noticed during this work that really the only good way to replace a lamp would be to remove the housings from the car.

Which brings me to today. I tried getting at the lamps from the top, I could get the rear cover off but not enough leverage to twist the lamp out of the socket. Damnit. I was able to peel the inner fender cover back enough to reach up in and pull the lamp out, but it takes two hand to remove the electrical connector and that was almost impossible with the inner fender panel in place. Did both sides just because. Now my arms looks like I shoved them through a plate glass window. Not to mention I ended up breaking the plastic retaining clip on the plug, because US auto manufacturers can't use the European style clamps, those come apart without flexing a brittle piece of plastic.

Who the fuck designs a headlight system that requires you to dismantle the front of the car to properly replace a lamp? Would it have been so hard to design an access pannel in the inner fender well?

/rant...

Time for a beer.

Sounds like the Chrysler LHS that I had many years ago. Stupid thing was completely inaccessable to change the headlamp and had to remove the entire housing.

 

[Baja 252]

They used to design stuff for repairs. I remember in the late 70's I was fighting getting the rear spark plug out of my 70 big block Vette. After fighting it for awhile I got the bright idea to go thru the inner fender with a long extension. I took the front tire off and what do you know a factory made slot in the inner fender cut in the exact spot to access the plug. The good old days.

 

[WhatExit?]

New Raptor, nawwww, fuck no, offset looks weird, marketing screamed, so despite the objections of desert testers and engineers, let's put the plate centered directly in front of the intercooler. But to cover our asses, we'll put a note buried in the owner's manual simply stating "Remove front license plate when offroading"

Really? I never saw it but good thing I don't have a front plate on mine. What other tips/tricks do you have the Gen2 Raptor?

 

[Taboma]

Really? I never saw it but good thing I don't have a front plate on mine. What other tips/tricks do you have the Gen2 Raptor?

Have you read the 2018 (or appropriate year) Ford Raptor Supplement ? Page 32 in small print is where they recommend the plate removal. Otherwise the supplement has great info.

In addition my Raptor test engineer neighbor recommended (Other than driving it like you' stole it :
Put a couple of sand bags in the ass-end (to improve the unsprung weight to sprung weight ratio ---- very light new bed = skidderish ass-end on certain rough roads -- washboard)
and drop the fronts 10 lbs and rears 14 lbs, that combo improves offroad handling. Assuming you can air back up before you jump on the freeway home.

If it's new truck, chances are the idiots at the dealership didn't drop the tire pressure from as-shipped 45-50 psi down to recommended 38 psi ---- mine was dancing like it had ants in it's pants when I left the dealer --- I'd even asked them to check them, nope, fell on deaf ears.

Mine is used to tow our Rzr (now Wildcat XX) offroad up some often sketchy washed out dirt roads up to our ranch property. So I've always got tongue weight on it and even at 38 psi, it's far superior over the washboard then was my Platinum towing the same trailer. Now if I could just put Fox shocks on the trailer
Otherwise I haven't taken it offroading, but if there's anything in particular you'd like to know I can ask my neighbor.

The only other tip I have came from another neighbor who's best buddy's with the Raptor test (And destroy) engineer neighbor (But won't really apply to you) ---- DO NOT ask test engineer to go to the desert with you and show you Raptor tips and tricks and give you a driving lesson ---- not unless daddy will buy you a new Raptor when you return

Cuz according to my neighbor, unless your skid plate is dented and scratched up and your running boards are bent, you're NOT doing it right lol

 

[rivermobster]

When I was working Design on some of the McDonnell Douglas and Boeing airplanes we always had to work with the Human Factors group which made sure items were able to be removed and repaired. I don't think any of the auto manufacturer do this,.

Saab did...

That car was So easy to work on. I was the 2nd or 3rd Saab master tech in So Cal.

But I'm sure You know, they started out building jets.

 

[Yellowboat]

If they made engineers work on what they are designing for a year, we could change the oil with out having too pop the hood