Dumb ideas from the manufacturer

[Calaber]

A few years ago, I replaced the trans oil in my daughter's XC Barina. The owner's handbook stated that the oil did not need changing for the life of the car and that a special, long life oil was used at the time of manufacture.

I didn't like that idea, and as the car had travelled over 100,000 since new and never had the oil changed, I drained and refilled it. The old oil was as black as sump oil and the new oil was the usual pale pink colour. The changes were definitely better with the fresh oil.

On another thread at present, an SV6 owner is asking how to check and change his auto trans oil and apparently, the five speed auto doesn't have a dip-stick and is meant to be "sealed for life". It's interesting that both these examples are Euro transmissions, not Holden ones, so perhaps the Euro's just drive them till they drop, but we tend to keep our cars a long time in Oz and servicing is vital to achieve that.

I reckon this attitude to servicing auto's is a bloody stupid idea, guaranteed to prevent owners from having their cars serviced to ensure a long life. Anybody got other examples of stupid or annoying design by the manufacturer?

[Maxxiz]

Cars that arent made with cupholders, really grinds my gears.

[stocky]

A few years ago, I replaced the trans oil in my daughter's XC Barina. The owner's handbook stated that the oil did not need changing for the life of the car and that a special, long life oil was used at the time of manufacture.

I didn't like that idea, and as the car had travelled over 100,000 since new and never had the oil changed, I drained and refilled it. The old oil was as black as sump oil and the new oil was the usual pale pink colour. The changes were definitely better with the fresh oil.

On another thread at present, an SV6 owner is asking how to check and change his auto trans oil and apparently, the five speed auto doesn't have a dip-stick and is meant to be "sealed for life". It's interesting that both these examples are Euro transmissions, not Holden ones, so perhaps the Euro's just drive them till they drop, but we tend to keep our cars a long time in Oz and servicing is vital to achieve that.

I reckon this attitude to servicing auto's is a bloody stupid idea, guaranteed to prevent owners from having their cars serviced to ensure a long life. Anybody got other examples of stupid or annoying design by the manufacturer?

i think ford autos have the same problem with having no dipstick

[Not_An_Abba_Fan]

Sealed for life generally means that it is a dealer only service. One model Falcon is like that too, but the oil can be changed. I think it is meant to idiot proof the maintenance of a vehicle.

As part of the major service the trans oil is changed, but it can only be done by a service centre.

[bloodyricho]

stocky u r wrong the dipstick on the Ford gearbox is located behind the steering wheel but just in front of the drivers seat on all their models . lol

[CANYONERO]

holdens wisdom to channel all the windscreen rain water straight into my drivers window and on my arm, leg and anything in my door pocket. so friggin annoying.

[ryno_vrx]

holdens wisdom to channel all the windscreen rain water straight into my drivers window and on my arm, leg and anything in my door pocket. so friggin annoying.

+1 i hate having to put the window up just so i can hit the washers to clean the windscreen without getting soaked

[TVR-190]

thats why i have a weather shield ^^^

Also agree on the cup holder issue. what were they thinking

[Blown V6 Hatch]

i think ford autos have the same problem with having no dipstick

Yeh, EF onwards don't have a dipstick as such, but they can still be serviced. They have a fill plug like a manual gearbox, so you have to get under the car with it running and keep filling it until it dribbles out the hole (same as a manual) it can be a bit of a painful operation but they certainly aren't "sealed for life".

Here is one for you, had a BF V8 in the other day with the 6 speed auto, it had a smashed trans pan (made of plastic, hit a brick), pulled the pan off and the filter is part of the pan (unlike a normal auto where you just replace the filter). Now the pan it self is nearly $400 (to us, not retail) and the oil can't be purchased from anyone but Ford (no one else makes it) which is $50 a litre (again, to us not retail) and it takes 8 litres. So, there is about $800 in parts, add mark up on the parts and labour and that about a $1000 trans service....Who is going to pay $1000 for a trans service? Absolutely rediculous!

[stocky]

Yeh, EF onwards don't have a dipstick as such, but they can still be serviced. They have a fill plug like a manual gearbox, so you have to get under the car with it running and keep filling it until it dribbles out the hole (same as a manual) it can be a bit of a painful operation but they certainly aren't "sealed for life".

yeah we did this with a mates BA. luckily we had a hoist

[Adds_05]

holdens wisdom to channel all the windscreen rain water straight into my drivers window and on my arm, leg and anything in my door pocket. so friggin annoying.

yes i also hate this,really gives me the shits

[TMM]

VY annoyances:
-Removing the battery to change my drivers side headlight/parker/indicator globes.
-Having to pry up that red plastic insert on the door lock to remove door trims
-Sun glasses holder on the roof. Metal frame sunglasses + dark coloured car + hot day = 3rd degree burns to face.

[acarmody]

holdens wisdom to channel all the windscreen rain water straight into my drivers window and on my arm, leg and anything in my door pocket. so friggin annoying.

I AGREE, so freakin annoying.I used to give one of the guys at work crap for having one of those plastic things that on on the window frame, those plastic things, now I'm thinking of buying one.

[strgas]

European / USA designs and ideas in Australian cars , might work well in other countries but not here ie , freeze plugs in engine blocks not brass welsh plugs , indicators on the left hand side of the steering wheel .

[acarmody]

My folks had a Ford Mondeo, two problems with that car, European make, and a Ford.

They sold it because, A) 4 gazillion rattles/noises, B) Auto sparky said the wiring insulation was degrading because it wasn't good enough for the Australian climate.

[Cheap6]

I think that the trend towards sealed for life trans. is probably a good thing. Engines will probably go that way too - the biggest reason that they (engines) don't atm is that the some of the oil is inevitably consumed by the engine requiring top up. Appparently much of the work the oil filters have to do atm is to remove contamination introduced when the oil is changed. Sealed for life eliminates that.

I understand it used to be that regular cylinder head removal was required for decoking and valve resurfacing. I wonder if when that was first stopped people were saying that would cause early engine failure?

In my experience Euro. cars tend to be pretty clever in some ways but dumb in others: e.g. the current Focus has a plastic radiator support panel integral with the bonnet catch. Break the bonnet catch - give them a few years to get brittle - and the entire radiator support has to be replaced. Maybe they won't break and maybe there is a service fix if they do but that doesn't seem all that clever to me.

The left hand signal stalks piss me off too, particularly with manual trans. (although they are disappearing too); I refuse to buy any car with one.

The degradation of the wiring insulation is supposed to happen because the plastics used are intended to breakdown in landfill (check a plastic shopping or garbage bag after a few years, even if kept at room temp./conditions - same idea but shorter time span). Anyone think that there will be "classic" (now contemporary) cars in a few decades?

[Blown V6 Hatch]

Sealed for life engine & trans will never happen....No manufacturer/oil company will ever be able to make an oil that will last 300 odd thousand K's. As long as we have petrol engines, the oil will need to be changed, you always get dirty oil with a petrol engine.

In regards to classic cars, i think the classic cars of today will always be the classic cars for aslong as people can keep them on the road. I can't see the cars of today ever becoming classic cars, apart from very limited runs but there aren't many limited run cars anymore. I can't see a VT Commodore for example being around for another 40 years like the FX Holden has been. Know what i mean?

[UFO]

VE: Air Con comes on automatically, even when you want to just have fresh air hitting the windscreen (yes I know it works better with air con, but sometimes you just dont need it and warm air does the trick).

I WANT FULL CONTROL OF MY AIR CON! I want to decide when to use it, not Holden . I bet they've done it under the guise of 'user friendlyness' but in reality it uses the air con more so it needs more frequent servicing or recharging (I have no idea, just a theory).

[SweetWagon]

VE: Air Con comes on automatically, even when you want to just have fresh air hitting the windscreen (yes I know it works better with air con, but sometimes you just dont need it and warm air does the trick).

I WANT FULL CONTROL OF MY AIR CON! I want to decide when to use it, not Holden . I bet they've done it under the guise of 'user friendlyness' but in reality it uses the air con more so it needs more frequent servicing or recharging (I have no idea, just a theory).

Actually using the aircon more frequently prolongs its life, even in winter its good practice to run it for a few mins every week to lubricate the seals

[the_trademarc]

Actually using the aircon more frequently prolongs its life, even in winter its good practice to run it for a few mins every week to lubricate the seals

Yep. Too true.
I never use my A/C, went to use it when I had to take my Grandma out, and boof nothing.
Turns out I snapped the seals becuase it was so rough. Had to replace the whole A/C unit.
Barloworld Holden was good though, covered the Labour under Warranty but said I would need to pay for the Unit because it was my fault...which is true.
Now I just put it on once every fortnight.

[ari666]

and the oil can't be purchased from anyone but Ford (no one else makes it) which is $50 a litre (again, to us not retail) and it takes 8 litres. So, there is about $800 in parts,

GT350 skylines the same. they have an 8 speed tiptronic auto which is meant to be "sealed for life" the trans fluids called "liquid gold" no sh1t! its cos' its a gold colour. 300 bucks for 4 litres and it takes 8. my business partner was faced with buying a new trans fr $24,000, changing to manual for around 10,000 instead he just bought a crappy gt350 for 250,000 yen (about 3 grand) and we are gonna wreck it for the trans

its all the frogs fault. damn euro trash.

oh p.s. the VK has a wiper switch on the indicator stalk AND an intermittant switch on the dash... why 2???? WHY? and the dumb thing is, every time i go to squirt the windscreen it almost always turns on one of the indicators

[neet_wagon]

man i wish i had your job ^^^^^

[Dayvo]

Changing the alternator on any front wheel drive car .You nearly always have to strip half the motor to get them out .

[Sabbath']

oh p.s. the VK has a wiper switch on the indicator stalk AND an intermittant switch on the dash... why 2???? WHY? and the dumb thing is, every time i go to squirt the windscreen it almost always turns on one of the indicators

VH has that too...really dont understand. Maybe it's so the passenger can have a crack at it.

[System]

wash the car, open the boot to get the shammy etc etc, the drip line from the back of the boot- go RIGHT inside, getting stuff wet...

and i agree with the windscreen one :P

and with older models:

having ONE part of the dash dust free- for tapping it every time to get the fuel gauge to work :P, EVERY time in my old VR