- 02/21/2014
- 1 Min Read
- By: Uilleam Ross
Have Auto Designers Ever Worked on Their Own Cars?
You know the drill: All you have to do is grab the bulb with the two fingers of your left hand, twist your arm a certain way and reach into that dark tight space that you can't quite see into.
Have you ever noticed that in your car's owners manual they never tell you these kinds of details? And these days, many manuals just recommend that you take your car to the dealer to get a light bulb changed. Do their mechanics have more flexible digits than normal humans?
In today's design it's easy to see that packaging “efficiency”, weight reduction, more features and options makes the car designer's tasks admittedly difficult.
In today's design it's easy to see that packaging “efficiency”, weight reduction, more features and options makes the car designer's tasks quite difficult. Transverse engines with fairly short hood spaces really pack things in tight and now you have to include a tasteful engine cover so that all those unsightly wires and gizmos are hidden from the eyes of the mere mortals who are allowed to own and drive these masterpieces of engineering.
Looking at nearly all modern car designs, it is clear that their designers never had to stick their own hands into the engine bay of their creation. Whatever happened to those days when you could stand next to your engine in the engine bay? I recently restored a '95 Land Rover Defender that was a stripped down ex-military version of this legendary beast. With its 2.5L non-turbo diesel, it was a joy to work on. Plenty of under the hood space and not many plastic bits, so you could literally climb right next to the engine to do what you had to do. It only had eight electrical circuits, no electronics on this thing and a minimum of wiring. And finally, I didn't have to contort or otherwise mangle myself to change out a light bulb which, by the way, I had to do fairly often (some things never change when it come to the “features” of British vehicles).
On the other hand, many you know about changing the right side low beam headlamp bulb in a P2 Volvo (XC/V70, S60, S80). There is no way a normal human can fit a hand down in the space provided between the rear of the headlamp housing and the control box bay and still be able to grab the bulb holder, while twisting it counter-clockwise. We won't even mention the turn signal bulb on that same side or the rear turn signal bulbs.
It's clear when you see a car being built on the assembly line that these aspects of the design have not been considered. The entire engine/gearbox/subframe unit is placed into the car from below. Bulbs are already pre-installed into the light housings, which are then placed on the car as a unit.
Now as the DIY car owner/mechanic, consider the problem.
Taking a headlamp bulb change as an example, what would a dealer charge to change it? Keep in mind that despite what the manufacturers and dealers may say, their mechanics are mere humans with the same size hands as the rest of us and in most cases no special tools to do this simple job. So, if it takes you 30 minutes to change that Volvo S60 headlamp bulb which cost you $18.95. The dealer's mechanic at $80/ hour is not going to change their $21.95 bulb a whole lot faster. Your total is $18.95 and a couple of scrapped knuckles. Their total is around $61.95 plus whatever you spent on coffee and candy bars while you waited the two hours in the waiting room for the mechanic to do his 30 minute job.
What's the worst component placement you have ever had to deal with during a DIY repair?
About the Author: Uilleam Ross
Uilleam (Bill) Ross is a 60 year-old retired 30-year veteran of the IT industry and a 45-year car guy. Living in Western Head, Nova Scotia, he now indulges his passions for landscape photography and cars, principally Volvos and Land Rovers.
