Poor Design (not tractor)

[37chief]

I have a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The low beam bulb burned out. The dealer wanted 275.00 plus to change it. There are a couple ways to change the bulb. Remove a access cover in the wheel well. Impossible. remove the front plastic bumper. Or remove the air cleaner in the engine compartment. I went that route. If I had arms, and like a monkey it would have been much easier. I got it done, and didn't remove much skin. Now tomorrow I get to replace the battery under the passenger seat. Really Looking foreword to that also. What were they thinking, when they built this car? Stan






















Stan

 

[stdsch40]

They are thinking that they are going to make bank off of you one way or the other. No mystery at all.
I could give you all kinds of 'corporate' justifications for the way its designed, but none of it will ease your frustrations.

 

[Tgrasher]

I really think that part of the engineering quest for vehicles anymore is to design them so they can not be repaired by the owner or at least make it so hard that it discourages someone from trying it.

 

[Steve in IL]

Products today are designed with an oppressive oversight by cost accounting (the bean counters). Everything is analyzed. Component cost, assemble ability (cost), warranty cost, etc. Unfortunately, repair ability doesn’t really get considered.

 

[Gary Reif]

I have a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The low beam bulb burned out. The dealer wanted 275.00 plus to change it. There are a couple ways to change the bulb. Remove a access cover in the wheel well. Impossible. remove the front plastic bumper. Or remove the air cleaner in the engine compartment. I went that route. If I had arms, and like a monkey it would have been much easier. I got it done, and didn't remove much skin. Now tomorrow I get to replace the battery under the passenger seat. Really Looking foreword to that also. What were they thinking, when they built this car? Stan









Stan, I replaced the battery under the passenger seat in my 2915 Grand Cheroke about a year ago, I dreaded it but turned out it was a lot easier than I expected, just run the seat forward and up as far as it will go. Makes it easy to access the battery.

Gary

 

[Gary Reif]

Stan, I replaced the battery in my 2015 Grand Cherokee about a year ago. I just ran the passenger seat all the way forward and up, made it pretty easy to access the battery.

 

[wore out]

"What were they thinking, when they built this car?"

What were YOU thinking when you bought it?

 

[Russ from MN]

"What were they thinking, when they built this car?"

What were YOU thinking when you bought it?

We had a Jeep once, never again!

 

[Gambles]

There used to be a few models out there where you could change the heater core from underneath the hood. On other models, it was a 30 minute job. Now you usually have to rip out the entire dash.
Does anyone think that’s a coincidence?

 

[Dennis K]

Engineers should be made to work on vehicles for a year before they get to design something.

 

[ss55]

I have a 2015 Jeep Cherokee. The low beam bulb burned out. The dealer wanted 275.00 plus to change it. There are a couple ways to change the bulb. Remove a access cover in the wheel well. Impossible. remove the front plastic bumper. Or remove the air cleaner in the engine compartment. I went that route. If I had arms, and like a monkey it would have been much easier. I got it done, and didn't remove much skin. Now tomorrow I get to replace the battery under the passenger seat. Really Looking foreword to that also. What were they thinking, when they built this car? Stan






















Stan

Sometimes the service manual or even U-tube can help figure out a repair.

 

[stdsch40]

Engineers should be made to work on vehicles for a year before they get to design something.

You don't have any idea what a real engineer does, nor do you comprehend the 'corporate' process in putting products on the market or why.
I've had to listen to amateurs blamming engineers for all sorts of so called 'poor' designs for the past 40 years. Do you happen to appreciate 'good' designs? Because the OP has some difficulty changing a light bulb (likely wasn't aware of the correct/simple procedure) you go ahead and blame the engineer, not the 'corporation' or the managers, or the profit system, or the bankers, or all the rest of everything else. Just maybe the design engineer said it was not a great idea but was over ruled by the 'board of directors'. And, you know what engineers or anyone that actually wants to go into that profession spend alot of time on their own working on things in the real world.

 

[37chief]

You don't have any idea what a real engineer does, nor do you comprehend the 'corporate' process in putting products on the market or why.
I've had to listen to amateurs blamming engineers for all sorts of so called 'poor' designs for the past 40 years. Do you happen to appreciate 'good' designs? Because the OP has some difficulty changing a light bulb (likely wasn't aware of the correct/simple procedure) you go ahead and blame the engineer, not the 'corporation' or the managers, or the profit system, or the bankers, or all the rest of everything else. Just maybe the design engineer said it was not a great idea but was over ruled by the 'board of directors'. And, you know what engineers or anyone that actually wants to go into that profession spend alot of time on their own working on things in the real world.

My model is a 2015 Grand Cherokee which Much different, than the 2015 Jeep Cherokee. Stan

 

[37chief]

"What were they thinking, when they built this car?"

What were YOU thinking when you bought it?

I thought that was a nice car with all leather interior, Michlin tires, and a nice powerful motor.. That cost almost as much my house. Stan

 

[scootergmc]

It's still not very hard... but for what it's worth, most engineers I know have neither dirty fingernails or calloused hands.

 

[stdsch40]

It's still not very hard... but for what it's worth, most engineers I know have neither dirty fingernails or calloused hands.

Well there is a difference between pajeet software 'engineers' and real engineers you likely have not been exposed to. Do more research outside social media.

 

[RCP]

Before I retired, I was an engineering manager for a company that built locomotive engines, just to give my frame of reference. There was definitely a shift in hands on experience between my graduating class (BME 1978) and my son's class (BEE 2007). Most of the graduates in my class worked on their own equipment out of necessity (lack of money) or because they enjoyed doing it (fast cars). My son's graduating class had far fewer motor heads than mine, they were willing to pay others to do work for them and they were less interested in building fast cars. Fortunately for me, my son took our time in the shop to heart and works on his own equipment now (airplane, Scout, Surburban, Toyota, lawn mowers, motorcycles, house projects etc.). While he was going to college, some of his classmates that he helped with repairs and upgrades, asked him where he learned to do these things, he said from his family. That made me proud and laugh, because he used to tell me that his high school friends didn't have to do the things we did.
Today's engineering is all about reducing cost of manufacturing, using existing parts and ease of production assembly. These requirements often times are at the expense of serviceability.

 

[used red MN]

How about the 2012-19 Ford 3.5 and 3.7 V6 water pump driven by the timing chain, these are in Explorers and the Edge and some other models. Here is a photo of me in the middle of changing mine at 95K. The small sprocket at the bottom of the V in the chain is it. Also when you pull the pump out you get a gush of a couple quarts of coolant that goes right in the oil pan.
I saw a video about some guy touting the use of synthetic oil as being the “savior” to this water pump coolant seal lasting a long time. This in fact has zero to do with how well the coolant seal will last. The normal pump weep hole has a channel that opens back to the engine block passage that is open to the side of the block. If the seal fails that seals either the oil or the coolant it would leak out of that weep hole. So essentially engine oil never touches the coolant seal unless the oil side seal leaks. And FYI the weep hole will leak out and drip off the bottom of the A/C pump.
And I got to do it twice essentially the timing cover is only sealed by RTV and has to be “fished” in there to get it in and out. So I had missed a spot and it leaked oil.

 

[Duey C]

Sometimes the service manual or even U-tube can help figure out a repair.

A bit (a lot) nicer than the Chevy Traverses! Same concept!

 

[Fixingfarmer]

The manufacturer is selling you the name only anymore the jeep Cherokee we had was my favorite thing to work on from 1995. Very famous for a bullet proof engine and ease of maintenance with that inline 6. Such a far cry from that in 10 years it’s so sad the toilet tank is about empty it seems like to me. There can’t be much water left to flush they learned nothing from 2008 and even less from the latest round of fun. They are pretty sure people will pay anything for a pickup which in this economy seems absolutely absurd.

The alternator being buried down by the front axle on the Ford explorer we owned. I am shocked how many things are that way having mostly grown up around pickups where even today on most brands they are accessible. Gm isn’t immune to it either unfortunately. I think they have done one thing right the small pickups have a diesel offering now that people asked about for years and the inline options are coming back. My mom the other day was touting her v6 in her ford edge so she can get from the stoplight to the accident much quicker I guess(she might actually have lucked out she avoided the worst ecoboost) but a v block anything is more complicated and expensive to build. As long as you are willing to put a turbo on an inline 4 or 6 when it fails it seems like that is the future. Now if we could just get them to figure out a decent one doesn’t need to be liquid cooled we would be in business. I wonder if any aftermarket kits that bypass those coolant lines exist