Dear Subaru ...

[Doc4]

One headlight and one tail light out in my 2013 Outback. I spent $170 at the mechanic's shop to get the car half-disassembled so the bulbs could be replaced. Took all morning.

Last time I burned out a headlight in my 2003 Toyota Tundra, I popped the hood and had the bulb changed in 3 minutes. Cost: one bulb.

*sigh*

 

[EL Alamein]

Get it done at the dealer? They love to keep the dealers in business.

Chris

 

[shavefan]

I need to replace the headlights on my BIL's Camry. Wheel well liners and front bumper need to be removed for access. Ugh.

 

[simon1]

One headlight and one tail light out in my 2013 Outback. I spent $170 at the mechanic's shop to get the car half-disassembled so the bulbs could be replaced. Took all morning.

Last time I burned out a headlight in my 2003 Toyota Tundra, I popped the hood and had the bulb changed in 3 minutes. Cost: one bulb.

*sigh*

I hear ya. One Chevy the wife had the inside fender cover had to be taken off, and a brace removed...just to get to the battery. That one is long gone.

What is it that the people say that work on things? I wish the ones who had designed this had it up their ....

I have a Silverado that is only a few years old and there are constant recalls on it to get things "reprogrammed". I'm getting sick of it.

I have an '84 Camero that now has a 350 engine, Vortec heads, Edelbrock manifold, and other goodies, that works. Also have Dad's old '90 F-150 with over 200,00 miles on it and it still runs, but needs an oil leak fixed and some other minor things. That is my next project.

Although, to be fair...there are many Federal regulations that auto makers have to follow now.

 

[cleanshaved]

I hope my thermostat does not need replacing. it's hard against the firewall.
$800 for the stealership to replace.
many parts to remove and lower engine to get access.
who ever decided it was ok to not adapt the engine from when it was designed for east/west to being used in a north/south so it could be access needs to get another job.........too late he and the rest of his work mates had to.
..

 

[brucered]

One headlight and one tail light out in my 2013 Outback. I spent $170 at the mechanic's shop to get the car half-disassembled so the bulbs could be replaced. Took all morning.

Last time I burned out a headlight in my 2003 Toyota Tundra, I popped the hood and had the bulb changed in 3 minutes. Cost: one bulb.

*sigh*

You have to remove the entire grill/surround and headlight assembly to change a bulb on my 2019 Tundra.

They don't make it easy any more.

 

[Toothpick]

Even my cheap Ford Fiesta requires an engineering degree to change the lightbulb. Don’t have to remove the bumper completely, but you have to loosen it. And then remove the entire headlight assembly. At least that’s what I watched. Haven’t had to do it yet.

 

[kelbro]

We just replaced our 2017 Outback with a 2020. I don't see any access to these headlights either.

 

[Mojo88]

I had a Pontiac that required removal of the air conditioning unit to replace the spark plugs..

 

[KeenDogg]

We had a Mazda MPV once. Had to take the entire air plenum off the engine just to change the rear spark plugs and coils. And the coils were known for going bad At 100k it started missing occasionally. I had already replaced the front plugs and coils. I sold it to my mechanic and moved on. The makers dont want us working on stuff anymore.

 

[Raissermesser]

Have twice had to replace one of my truck bulbs. Official way requires removing the fender. Have long enough fingers to reach the base and twist. Second time, found that my long nosed Vicegrips (tm) made things easier. OTOH, the one on the other side required removing so much stuff, I took it to a dealer. Didn't even attempt to change the car's headlight bulb.

Replacing the battery requires removing a brace in the truck and car. An older model car belonging to my mother required removing a brace and the fuse box. My father must have gotten frustrated, because the top of the fuse box is secured with duct tape now.

However, the worst instance of poor design I've seen was an old car we had where replacing the serpentine belt meant removing a motor mount.

 

[Raissermesser]

We had a Mazda MPV once. Had to take the entire air plenum off the engine just to change the rear spark plugs and coils. And the coils were known for going bad At 100k it started missing occasionally. I had already replaced the front plugs and coils. I sold it to my mechanic and moved on. The makers dont want us working on stuff anymore.

The era: 1970s. Two uncles who were mechanics were convinced that those who designed vehicles should be forced to repair them.

 

[Ad Astra]

Yup. Wife's Passat = dealer to change headlight.

My old Ford: five minutes my time.

It cannot be an accident. I'd like to see the engineer's memo: "In order to support dealer revenue, headlights are to be placed under 16 star screws and four body panels ..."


AA

 

[Atlantic59]

Cars can be engineered to be easy to service. Subaru used to be pretty good for this, with a few quirks as all makers have. Unfortunately, the "no user serviceble parts inside" trend has really taken hold. Maintenance is less frequent, so serviceabiity gets lower priority.

 

[hydro-magic]

Even oil changes are made to be hard on a lot of new cars. My wife's Toyota takes me almost 2 hours to change. Have to loosen up the front bumper so you can get a skid plate off that allows you to get to the oil filter housing. Toyotas used to be very easy to work on. I had a first gen Tundra that I think you could do almost anything to with 4 sockets.

 

[KeenDogg]

The era: 1970s. Two uncles who were mechanics were convinced that those who designed vehicles should be forced to repair them.

Smart men.

 

[Bakker1964]

Changing the cabin HEPA filter in my Nissan requires removal of the glove box, followed by a reach in and around to unscrew the cover to access the filter. Manual says it needs to be done every 25k. I did it ONCE at 50k and, when I passed 100k, I just removed the damn filter altogether and left it. It is now marginally dustier in the cabin, but the airflow is GREAT.

Oh . . . and it was one type of screw to remove the glove box, and a second type for the vent cover.

 

[deafficianado]

Those Volvos from the late 70s where a whole lot easier to self maintain. I had a Mercedes turbo diesel coupe from that era which I wish I kept. Nowadays all these car companies are looking just to make more money. Its startling how many vehicles advertisements I see on tv. Sheesh it’s been over a hundred years since the invention of the internal combustion engine and sadly there is no major alternative aside from some electric choices. The Super Bowl advertised an electric Hummer & Mustang which was cool. I wonder if hydrogen will be the next big thing. - Sorry, going off topic and rambling.

 

[njpaddy]

My cost to replace a headlight bulb in my wife's 05 Ody was $14 for the bulb on amazon, but I think the dealer only charged $30-35 when I had it done 5 years earlier. Two tail light bulbs, bought locally, were $10 and easy enough to install myself. We replaced the Ody mid-2018. We looked at Subaru, but bought a Rav4 instead. We never considered bulb replacement when car searching. After reading this thread, I went right to youtube and, thankfully, both head and tail bulbs on the Rav still look easy enough to still do myself.

 

[RichL]

My old accord, high beams easy to reach in from under the hood. The low beams and side markers on the other hand. Turn the wheel all the way to the side or take it off, remove 5 plastic clips and peel away half the fender well for a blind reach in.

And don't get me started on replacing the windshield fluid reservoir. I've said it many times, the engineers that decide these kinds of things are good ideas, are clearly NOT the people working on them, and I'm an engineer!