Modern car design.

fretmeister

New battery for my Focus today.

Needed to remove the air filter unit completely to do it. In an old car it would have been a 10 minute job. Now an hour of sodding about with the filter and moronically designed brackets.

Bloody stupid.

LooseMoose

Replacing a cabin filter, a SERVICE ITEM, on a Renault Megane Coupe, requires removal of the pedals. THE PEDALS. Even then unless you’re double jointed with hands no larger than a small child’s, you have no chance.  Oh and you need to get the driver seat out too as otherwise you can’t lie on your back to get at the bolts. Screw you, Renault.

Stevepage

Had to do the same when I needed to replace the battery in my Mondeo. Changing the cabin filter in the Mondeo was a fiddly pain in the arse too. So was changing the oil filter actually.

Hopefully the CRV I have now will prove easier but as it has a transverse engine I don't hold much hope

RaymondLin

I think to remove the headlight in a Focus involves taking off the bumper...I mean WTF, it’s a headlight, you can already touch it, the entire face is exposed, why can’t they doesn’t it like my Volvo, 1 clip, no tools, disconnect 1 cable and the entire unit comes out the front of the car.

But the cabin filter in my car is a PITA, it’s somewhere in the passenger footwell, behind a million other things.

fastonebaz

I think in a lporsche cayenne they have to remove the seat

Fretwired

fretmeister said:

New battery for my Focus today.

Needed to remove the air filter unit completely to do it. In an old car it would have been a 10 minute job. Now an hour of sodding about with the filter and moronically designed brackets.

Bloody stupid.

In my BMW the battery is in a compartment in the boot. It's a garage job.

GoldenEraGuitars

When we owned a 2007 megane scenic (shudders... literally!) I had to replace a headlight bulb. Popped the hood, removed the rubber cap and thought “mmmm... no?”

I left it for another day but about a week later I coincidentally realised I was about to pass Renault in Ballymena (we didn’t get the car there, we bought it privately). I asked them to do it for me and just before they took the key I asked the price and how long it might take.

”Yer lookin at £120 plus VAT plus materials so ye are hey”. 

“£120 plus VAT plus a bulb?” I asked, “whys that?” He proceeded to tell me the wheel had to come off along with a few other parts and the quarter panel and usually the bumper. The “mechanic” stepped in laughingly to say “haha unless yiv got small hends?!” Once I had finished my awkward laugh at his shit joke I asked how much the bulb was on top of the price.... just £30 apparently.

I said to them to give me a few mins and I walked outside and popped the hood again. I took the bulb I bought (£4) and proceeded to remove the rubber cab. I managed to get my hand into the fitting, I’ll not lie... it was sore, but after a few minutes of manoeuvring the bulb clicked into place. With the car facing the showroom service desk where Bonzo A and Bonzo B were sitting I flashed the lights and waved. Off I drove with my £4 bulb thus saving me over £180.

So yes, “newer“ cars are awful for changing things on. But french cars are proper shit. (Sorry for rambling!)

RandallFlagg

Citroen C4 Picasso owner here, I've read that the problem with the Renaults and Citroen cabin filters replacements is due to the fact that the location and access is designed for continental left hand driving so access would normally be via inside or by removing the glove box, but is compromised when they switch the pedals for right hand drive for UK use.

fretmeister

I just heard that the TVR Cerberus  needs a wheel off and the wheel arch removed.

And apparently the batteries they fitted as stock were cheap and often failed after a couple of years. 

Twats. 

ICBM

RandallFlagg said:

Citroen C4 Picasso owner here, I've read that the problem with the Renaults and Citroen cabin filters replacements is due to the fact that the location and access is designed for continental left hand driving so access would normally be via inside or by removing the glove box, but is compromised when they switch the pedals for right hand drive for UK use.

Correct. The brake pedal also operates via a linkage that runs across to the LHD position because the master cylinder is still on that side.

I can back up SCRelics about the headlamp bulbs too - but I have very small hands, and I can change one easily in 30 seconds. It has occurred to me that I should offer it as a service at a third of the Renault rate .

Danny1969

Crankshaft position sensor on a Mk7 Transit, it's on the back of the engine half way up where you can't see it and can only just get to it. Stevie Wonder would have done the job quicker than me, literally have to do the whole job by feel alone.  

One thing I've learned over the years fixing cars is always do proper research first. I once spent half a morning taking out half the dash on a Clio to get to the heater motor ... then decided to stop for a coffee and browsed a forum where someone had discovered if you remove the wiper motor access plate at the top of the engine bay you could get on the heater motor from there. 

boogieman

Danny1969 said:

Crankshaft position sensor on a Mk7 Transit, it's on the back of the engine half way up where you can't see it and can only just get to it. Stevie Wonder would have done the job quicker than me, literally have to do the whole job by feel alone.  

One thing I've learned over the years fixing cars is always do proper research first. I once spent half a morning taking out half the dash on a Clio to get to the heater motor ... then decided to stop for a coffee and browsed a forum where someone had discovered if you remove the wiper motor access plate at the top of the engine bay you could get on the heater motor from there. 

Similar thing on the Sierra steering column bearing, which is just a nylon doughnut that sits inside a rubber grommet. I followed the Haynes manual to replace it, which involved disassembling half the dashboard, disconnecting the ignition switch and steering lock and then taking out the steering column. Took me most of a day. 

The guy at the local garage laughed his bollocks off when I told him... all I needed to have done was undo a couple of bolts on the column clamp, slide the column up a bit to slip the old bearing off, replace it and nip everything back up. A half hour job. Apparently Ford garages did it this way too but actually charged the hours for the Haynes/official Ford method. 

ICBM

There are a couple of amps I’ve worked on where I needed to change something on the main PCB, and spent about half an hour removing it - involving undoing all the pots, some wiring and other stuff - to get at the underside, then when it’s finally removed, seen the access panel on the bottom of the chassis put there for that exact reason and held on by four screws...



Of course, most amps *aren’t* designed like that by people with repair experience, and you really do have to take the whole board out.

randella

LooseMoose said:

Replacing a cabin filter, a SERVICE ITEM,

Having changed the cabin filter myself on a number of cars, I find it hard to believe they're a service item.. None of the ones I changed had ever been replaced at a service, at any rate.  The LHD/RHD thing makes sense, but it's not exactly fair to the customer.  Either it's a service item and you do the work, or it isn't and you don't.

skunkwerx

Heh. I’ve owned a mk1.5 and mk2.5 focus, and currently have a Megane coupe. 

For the focii, the mk1 and facelift, you can just about squeeze in to get the headlight back off. 

The mk2-2.5 you can just remove the headlamp on its own, same as the Megane, 2 screws and a retainer bolt. 

The cabin filter though is freaking annoying.
pedals out job which is just madness. 

ICBM

skunkwerx said:

The cabin filter though is freaking annoying.
pedals out job which is just madness. 

Even more madness is that if you know exactly where it is under the carpet and press very hard on the end of the linkage, it’s possible for the passenger to operate the brakes...

(Definitely true on my 2005 Scenic, I haven’t actually tried it on the new one.)

strtdv

Hyundai i30 headlight bulb replacement generals required removal of the whole headlight unit, not very clever.

The BMW battery in the boot thing can cause issues. There are flaps/vents in the boot that open into the wheel arches to equalise pressure so the passengers ears don't pop when the boot gets closed, but they can stick open and let water in when you're driving in wet weather. This lets water in, which gathers in the lowest point, which is the battery compartment (which also contains a junction box). I had 2 inches of water in mine when I noticed the sloshing sound, and from what I've read I'm not the only one with that problem.

SRich

Amazing how many times Renault have figured in this short thread so far.....

I had a Clio RSi back 20 years ago and couldn't FIND the dipstick (other than the one that bought the car in the first place) until many days later.......again you had to have child's hands to find the very short dip at the front of the engine. No chance of doing it when the engine was anything other than stone cold.

Salut mes Amis!

spark240

fastonebaz said:

I think in a lporsche cayenne they have to remove the seat

Not quite.....but it is under the seat ;-)

Paul_C

Whereas I recall seeing the engine bay when my sister owned a Morris Minor - you could climb in and walk round the engine

guitargeek62

Can’t say I’ve ever had to replace a cabin filter, yet another benefit of riding motorbikes!