Stupid design / difficult repairs caused by "packaging"

[M4cruiser]

Having recently repaired a washer motor pump, it set me thinking. Why put the whole bottle in the front wheel arch - where it's a lot more difficult to get to it? You can't even easily test the electric connections without removing the wheel arch lining, and breaking some of the plastic clips in the process!

Do you have any more examples!

Another that springs to mind is the lack of a full-sized spare, just for convenience of the designer and CO2 reasons. Ludicrous.

[M4cruiser]

Miserablegit said:

Whilst I agree entirely with the light nonsense that requires a bumper removal and seems to be the reason so many people are driving with duff lights it doesn’t help when manufacturers go the other way:
https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com...

Agree it's silly to make it too easy, but surely acceptable to make opening the bonnet (or boot) necessary to change a bulb. That's sensible security, and true on my car(s).

[M4cruiser]

stickleback123 said:

Miles easier to get a wheel off than put one on and line it up, then hold it in place while you get a couple of the bolts in place to hold it there. Easier with studs, but still much harder than taking a wheel off.

I know plenty of people, and not just women, who'd have a real struggle doing that with a modern 19"+ wheel.

Good point, but it's odd that many "French hatchbacks" (i.e. shopping / commuter cars) have bolts not studs. Changing a wheel on my OH's car is a pain, the rear ones will just about stay in place whilst you rotate it to line up the holes, but the front ones won't.

Also the spare is under the floor (accessed/released from inside the boot) but it was even beyond my strength to get it out and back in again without another assistant. That's just crazy. I think Renault just want you to call them out and pay them for it.

[M4cruiser]

stickleback123 said:

finlo said:

Was the one she removed not full size then?

Miles easier to get a wheel off than put one on and line it up, then hold it in place while you get a couple of the bolts in place to hold it there. Easier with studs, but still much harder than taking a wheel off.

I know plenty of people, and not just women, who'd have a real struggle doing that with a modern 19"+ wheel.

... and when you've done it, where do you put the full sized one!!!!! By definition it won't fit in the place the space saver came out from. Slight inherent design cock-up.

[M4cruiser]

Nealio said:

The hole the filter goes in is smaller than the filter so you have to sort of squash it in and hope it springs back to the right shape when its inside.

Edited by Nealio on Monday 17th February 18:43

The pollen filter on the Clio has this squashy feature too. And you have to be in the footwell to squash it in.

[M4cruiser]

Starfighter said:

Lower the jack a little so that the tyre is effectively on the ground and close enough to align the top bolt.

That's one way sure, but when I'm working on it at home it's usually on an axle stand, so it would mean jack up the trolley jack, remove axle stand, lower down (and that's not easy to do in small amounts with a trolley!, so back up a little at a time until one of the bolts aligns) then for safety go up again and re-install the axle stand for the rest of the procedure.
A workable (but slow) solution though, starfighter, so thanks for that.