either, you come round and change my headlight bulbs for me, or i hunt you down and kill you slowly with a cheese-grater.
I once had a Peugeot that needed a screwdriver in order to top up the oil. Total pain in the arse. I almost considered just buying a funnel and refilling through the dipstick hole.
You were putting the screwdriver in the wrong place then.
No. You had to undo a jubilee clip to take a pipe off in order to put the oil in. And keep a spare one as they had a habit of seizing/snapping. First time I did it, I went to the dealer and the mechanic said everyone came in with the same question once.
accountants
end of thread
Loads of cars are like this nowadays
Loads of cars are like this nowadays
In these times of zero accountability & personal responsibility, I would suggest that no one person designed it... It was achieved through committee, focus groups, promoted to levels of incompetence middle management meetings, doubtless a few more meetings and possibly some whizzy CAD type program, gant charts and a 'colour-me-beautiful consultant.
Job done!
I imagine marketing have realised that 'ease of changing light-bulbs' isn't a huge market demographic 🙂
Vauxhell means committee. I'd never buy one- you rent them at airports.
you rent them at airports
no you curse when you lose in the in the hire car lottery
As above. I think the last person to blame is the designer.
You missed my 'joke' then 🙂
Sensible post - have you found the hatch in the wheel arch liner? That's how you do it. It's pretty easy then. Certainly easier than my A4 which is a headlights out job requiring taking inductions pipe work off too.
Girl at work has a Nissan Pixo, it might as well be made out of tin-foil. You have to remove the drivers side headlamp to change the bulb. Surely that would then put it out of alignment, ie MOT failure?
As above, the accounts department in Russelsheim.
Nope, the hardest one is the Renault Scenic. It's a main dealer job to change a lightbulb.
Ironically they are French, so it is mandatory to keep spare bulbs in the car. So, if you have a bulb out, frog plod stop you and insist you change it.
You can't
Sensible post - have you found the hatch in the wheel arch liner? That's how you do it. It's pretty easy then.
hatch, yes.
still far from 'easy'
i've decided that the cheese-grater of death will need to be a very old, rusty, blunt one.
i don't know what car that is, but my zafira looks nothing like that...
but thanks anyway! 🙂
Can you not just pop the whole headlight out ? That's what I do with our Mondeo. Couple of bolts holds it in so doesn't mess the alignment up.
Just don't drive at night. Simples 😉
[i]Nope, the hardest one is the Renault Scenic. It's a main dealer job to change a lightbulb.[/i]
Same as the last of the Vectra's. I got one of the first and had a headlight bulb go, the handbook should you how to change the n/s one but stated that the o/s was a dealer job. After stripping off the bumper and various other bits I had to agree.
Took it to my local dealer and they gave me a look when I asked if they could put a new bulb in, and after an hour they'd managed it - and didn't charge...
The first generation micras had a rubber bung instead of a screw on oil cap. Easy to remove 20 minutes of devilment and swears trying to get it back in again
Nope, the hardest one is the Renault Scenic. It's a main dealer job to change a lightbulb.Ironically they are French, so it is mandatory to keep spare bulbs in the car. So, if you have a bulb out, frog plod stop you and insist you change it.
You can't
Far from the only car that's like that - given legal requirements to carry spare bulbs in various EU countries, cars where you can't DIY at roadside with no or minimal tools should fail type approval IMHO. That's the only way you'll ever persuade the designers/accountants to make them easily changeable (having said that the ones on my 406 are a no-tools 2 minute job - must remember to check when I get a new car).
total man fail.
i couldn't fit my stupid big hands though the wheel-arch-hatches.
so my girlfriend did it.
you may mock me as you see fit, now.
My old Puma was a royal pita to change a bulb; take out radiator grill undo more Torx bolts holding headlamp unit in place, disconnect drainpipe and wiring, spend several frustrating minutes wiggling the headlamp unit around to get it out of the car, remove covers on back of light housing, finally change bulb, reverse procedure. About ½ to ¾hr to replace, comes under 'roadside repair' in the handbook! 😯
The first generation micras had a rubber bung instead of a screw on oil cap. Easy to remove 20 minutes of devilment and swears trying to get it back in again
Ha! Yes... 🙂
My former boss had a Renault Megane - he tried to change the bulb, but couldn't, so took it to the dealer. They had to take the bumper off, because their 'mechanic with the tiny hands' wasn't in that day...
My former boss had a Renault Megane - he tried to change the bulb, but couldn't, so took it to the dealer. They had to take the bumper off, because their 'mechanic with the tiny hands' wasn't in that day...
I was changing the bulb on my 2000 avensis the other day - Reading the internets it suggested that you'd need the hands of a 2 year old child to get down there and change the thing.
It just so happens that I had a 2 year old child kicking about and was about to go and wake her from her nap until I read the post about 4 down that suggested removing the battery thus making more space to change it.
In defence of Toyota, it's not that bad if you have small hands (I don't)
total man fail.i couldn't fit my stupid big hands though the wheel-arch-hatches.
so my girlfriend did it.
you may mock me as you see fit, now.
Your dead as a man now...put on a French maids outfit and ask her what she wants for breakfast... 😐
Hmm yeees, A4's are a PITA. My brother in law has one. Always gets me to change it. I appear to have have very dextrous fingers.
Ford Focus also a PITA. Had to move the battery to get enough room to put the bulb in. Wouldn't have been so bad if it wasnt Christmas morning and I had to collect the in laws!
Pretty sure Mk2 Mondeo's require the headlight taking out too.
Mitsubishi Galants are quite a fiddle too!
Sounds nearly as bad as changing beetle spark plugs.
A friend of mine had a Citreon C5. That was a hateful piece of crap - to change the headlight bulbs it took the two of us two hours (and he's a sparkie). We had to remove the battery and airbox (i think) among other things. What always astounds me is that the french insist that you carry a full spare set of bulbs in your car, then design cars that are impossible to change the bulbs on at the roadside!
I imagine most of those cars are easy to fix - if you've got a left hand drive one.
Having to move all the gubbins to the right side probably causes all those tight squeezes.
When changing the light cluster on a MK3 golf I had to re-solder the plug on as half way through the MK3's they changed the design of the connector, so the light fitted fine but I couldn't connect it!
MADNESS
My bosses Vectra is like that. Easy to do one side, other side you have to start undoing all kinds of stuff to get at it.
But in response to your original question, someone who had a load of cheap, grey plastic to use up, cheap, grey seat material and thought there'd be a gap in the market for people waiting to die who would love a car with an interior like that. Beige jacket included FOC.
[i]Nope, the hardest one is the Renault Scenic. It's a main dealer job to change a lightbulb.[/i]
I've got a Grand Scenic diesel and found I could do both without too much trouble. Had to take the battery out for the nearside and it was a bit of a contortion round pipework on the offside but otherwise ok.
I read somewhere that the Zafira steering wheel is not centred - its slightly to the left. I never noticed until it was pointed out. Now it annoys the hell out of me. How do you design a car with an off centre steering wheel?
Could be worse, old cars with Lucas sealed beams you can't replace the bulb, only the entire headlight! On the plus side it's pretty quick, on the downside it ruins the alignment. Next time one goes I'll probably convert it to H4's.
Mark IV Golf is a bumper off or use a small child's hand to change the bulbs - Manual says 'Dealer only' - utter arse...
Original Merc A-class,bulb changing routine consists of looseing bolts to both front wings(which are plastic)front bumper edge and then headlamp bolts then a wrestling match to remove said headlamp,once out its a doddle.
Its definetly a conspiracy to deter the public from doing ANY of there own maintenance.