Ask anyone that has to work on cars and they will confirm my opinion of design engineers. What works good on paper does not always work well in the real world. I've heard horror stories about having to pull the engine just to replace a timing belt or water pump.
I know they are trying to build a cheaper, more reliable vehicle. But they should be required to work on that vehicle once the prototype is built. I don't mean in a fully equipped shop with all the proper tools. I'm talking in the driveway with a decent set of hand tools.
There would be changes made, trust me.
Case in point, my heater blower quit working. Something I deemed pretty doggone important driving home the other night. I diagnosed the problem was in the ignition switch because if I wiggled the key just right I could make the fan come on for just long enough to really piss me off when it quit again.
When I dug out my trusty Haynes manual I was in for a surprise. The last ignition switch I messed with was on a '68 F-100 and it definitely was a 1 piece monster with a gazillion wires. This 2002 edition was broken down into 2 parts. The key cylinder and the electronics module. Getting to it was another story. I had to disconnect the battery, disassemble the steering column covers and remove the tilt mechanism. Then I had access to the ignition switch, but I still had to remove the key cylinder and several screws to change the electronics module.
Without a Haynes manual I'd have never figured it out.
But here's where the sadist part comes in. As I'm feeling pretty good about myself and putting everything back together I crossthreaded one of the screws that holds the tilt mechanism. The steering column framework is made from machined aluminum and the screw from hardened steel. It doesn't take an expert to figure out what's wrong with this picture. A dab of Loctite and I managed to get the screw to stay in place. I don't look forward to removing it if I ever have to in the future.
Let's hope I get another 100,000 miles out of this switch before we have to cross that bridge.
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