^^^^^

The Lovely Girlfriend’s car does that. I got in her car once to move it for her, not being aware of that feature, and thought the car was trying to eat me as soon as I shut the door!

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

rear hatch that can open as you approach it with your arms full of whatever <snip>I just keep it off, since you can't walk behind the car without opening the hatch.

Is that feature easy to arm / disarm without a lot of icon tapping and searching? If so, I would love to have that on my LYRIQ, just arm it after pulling into a parking slot at Publix, and disarm it after unloading the groceries at home.

Seems like it would just be a software upgrade to the LYRIQ, as all of the necessary pieces are already there -- power liftgate, and proximity detection that unlocks the doors when I'm close to the vehicle with the fob in my pocket. Software update would just need to tie the pieces together.

The Hyundai Elantra rental I turned in today had this feature for.the trunk.
Walk up to the back with the key & it would beep 4 times & pop the trunk. Neat feature.
Our Expedition has the foot activated lift gate, hit amd miss when it decides to work.

quote:

Originally posted by vthoky:
^^^^^

The Lovely Girlfriend’s car does that. I got in her car once to move it for her, not being aware of that feature, and thought the car was trying to eat me as soon as I shut the door!

We've had a few shorter ladies in the office over the years. We also have a warehouse, so employees will leave their cars at the office when they fly, due to our close proximity IAH.
I'm the resident car guy so I usually park them in the warehouse. Have had a few cars try to 'eat me' when starting, as they try to return to their programmed setting [I'm 6'2" in boots, compared to the 5'2"-5'4" of them]

TLG is a good sport about it.

I think she pointed and laughed….

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:
My driver side seat slides all the way back, automatically, for easy entry and exit. After pressing the "Start" button, the seat and side view mirrors go to preset position for Driver 1 or Driver 2, depending on which key fob was used to unlock the door.

I love this feature. It scared me the first time it did it but I'm used to it now. Just don't leave anything behind the driver's seat. Like kids.

What I miss from my BMW (always miss the HUD) is that the right mirror will tilt down when I'm in reverse so I can see the curb. In my alfa, I just programmed seat memory #3 to have the right mirror tilted down so when I try to parallel park, I'll hit the #3 button first.

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:

rear hatch that can open as you approach it with your arms full of whatever <snip>I just keep it off, since you can't walk behind the car without opening the hatch.

Is that feature easy to arm / disarm without a lot of icon tapping and searching? If so, I would love to have that on my LYRIQ, just arm it after pulling into a parking slot at Publix, and disarm it after unloading the groceries at home.

Seems like it would just be a software upgrade to the LYRIQ, as all of the necessary pieces are already there -- power liftgate, and proximity detection that unlocks the doors when I'm close to the vehicle with the fob in my pocket. Software update would just need to tie the pieces together.

It should be programable, Settings -> Vehicle -> Comfort & Convenience - Hands Free Exterior Storage Access and set it to On

Lets discuss the "engineering" on the fuel evaporator system on my 2025 Grand Cherokee: The gas pump nozzle auto shutoff failed and I overfilled the gas tank. Drove for a week but the gas gauge did not move even though I drove 175 miles. Showed full. I went to refuel but no joy! The fuel nozzle just clicked off rapidly and I was lucky to get a gallon into the tank. Still no movement of the gas gauge. Since I did not know how much gas was actually in the tank, off to the dealer it went. After a week, they said no codes were stored and they were clueless. So they contacted someone from Jeep who said I should drive it 150 miles to see if the problem will self correct. The Jeep expert thought the evap system was flooded with gas and when the tank was low enough, the evap system would clear itself and allow normal refueling. So, after getting the dealer to agree to pay to tow it back to them when I ran out of gas, I went off on a weird road trip. At the 80 mile point... The gas gauge began to drop! Eureka! So... To shorten this tale, the Jeep guy was right, the problem self corrected. My question to Jeep Engineering is this: Why in hell does an evap system failure cause the damn gas gauge to stop operating? Shouldnt the two be separate systems?

It's a saddle bag type tank (two separate tanks). With no vent, they could not equalize.

I was told it was a pressure issue. One Youtuber claimed to have fixed a similar issue by tapping on the tank near the intake with a hammer!

Go by what you were told then, no biggie.

quote:

Originally posted by rizzle:
It's a saddle bag type tank (two separate tanks). With no vent, they could not equalize.

Speaking of engineering idiocy, I helped my buddy change the fuel pump on his Pontiac Torrent that had a system like that. What a freaking nightmare. Had to drop the drive shaft and the exhaust (of course the studs broke off and had to be drilled out before we could put it back together), because they ran through the middle of the tank, then finally could drop the tank. Damn fuel pump had two separate pickups with connecting hoses, and cost over $700. Maybe not the stupidest thing I've ever seen, but it was close.

Best fuel pump I've done was in my 05 Chevy Impala. That car was otherwise a piece of garbage, but it had an access panel under the rear seat that you could open and access the fuel pump. 30 minute job if you were slow and stopped for a snack in the middle.

I guess you could say I have been fortunate to see automotive progress from the early 70's up till now, recently retired, but it was fun.
Keeping on subject, The engineers really aren't to blame, they could design cars today that would last 30 years or more if they were told to.
Same goes with anything else designed today.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: rizzle,

Although I haven't personally experienced it, the headlight assemblies on 2007-2013 GM pickups have a hidden fastener that is hard to access without a lot of effort. I often see OEM headlight assemblies for sale with at least one or two mounting tabs broken off, in particular the afore-mentioned one. You shouldn't have to remove a fender, fender liner, and / or bumper to replace a headlight assembly. JMHO, YMMV.

quote:

Originally posted by Glynn863:
Although I haven't personally experienced it, the headlight assemblies on 2007-2013 GM pickups have a hidden fastener that is hard to access without a lot of effort. I often see OEM headlight assemblies for sale with at least one or two mounting tabs broken off, in particular the afore-mentioned one. You shouldn't have to remove a fender, fender liner, and / or bumper to replace a headlight assembly. JMHO, YMMV.

Agreed. Especially when the preceding design only required the removal of two pins and depressing one clip. Why make something worse when you already know how to do it well?

I would guess the newer design costs less and is faster on the assembly line.

Management controls car quality, ease of repair, years ago and to this day. I'm not defending engineers, it's all about making the top brass rich.
For those that remember Ross Perot, he really stirred up a storm at GM in the 80's.
AI overview:
Ross Perot, after selling EDS to General Motors in 1984, aimed to modernize the automaker's slow, bureaucratic manufacturing processes. As a board member, he harshly criticized GM's management, famously stating that, "at EDS when we see a snake we kill it. At GM they appoint a committee to study snakes".

Perot's key insights and criticisms regarding GM manufacturing included:
Decentralization: Perot advocated for moving decision-making away from the 14th floor of the GM building and closer to the factories, where the actual work of building cars took place.
Faster Innovation: He pushed for quicker, more agile development, suggesting that engineers should be able to redesign failing parts in weeks rather than months.
Quality Focus: He argued for better quality and, while serving on the board, personally addressed customer complaints to understand issues.
Eliminating Perks: He believed executives needed to face the same reality as customers, suggesting they buy cars from dealers rather than using specially pre-serviced, perfect vehicles.
Cultural Change: He famously noted that reviving GM was like "teaching an elephant to tap dance".

GM has continued to get worse since.

I sometimes daydream about a vehicle purposely built to be as reliable, long lasting and completely owner serviceable as it is possible to make.

quote:

Originally posted by 229DAK:
My Dad wanted to choke the GM engineers. We had a '57 Chevy BelAir he bought used from a little old lady (true). He could change all but one spark plug - with the eighth (closest to the firewall and to the left, IIRC) one had to drop the engine to get to it.

My Dad had Billy (me) to change that plug.

As an engineer….i foresee more special tools in your future. Muhahahaaaa.

Maybe some tire sizes nobody stocks, and lots of plastic clips that must be broken to disassemble.