Stupid modern cars!!

[vexorg]

A guy at work has an audi A6, he asked for some help as he got a low oil warning on the dash. Went out to look at it and turns out that new Audis have no dipstick!!

The display is supposed to show it on the infotainment system, but the oil level part only had the message that the oil level will be shown once the engine is at working temperature, been running for 2 minutes, and engine is off.

Awkawrd as you dont want to run an engine if it's low on oil, then dont know how much to put in from a gauge that never came up.

[Robsey]

Those crazy Germans.
They sure like to make things confusing.

I presume the best bet is to use the old conventional rule of thumb.
Assuming max is 1 litre above min.
He could put just one litre of oil in.
That should be enough to kill the message, but not enough to over-fill the engine.

But - yet another assumption - assuming the level sensor is not faulty.

[vexorg]

It makes me nervous blindly adding oil, though you'll probably find 99.99% of new cars are never checked between services.

[chrisp]

Yes, they seem to be making modern cars increasingly user-unfriendly, with no engine oil dipsticks, no auto-transmission dipsticks (and therefore no way to add fluid to the transmission except when the car is up on a garage lift), batteries that need "programming" when they are replaced and, worst of all, no spare wheel and just a pot of goo which is quite likely not to work. And I see some new cars are now offered without even the option of a spacesaver spare - and nowhere to store one even if you buy one yourself.
I think it's all aimed to get everyone needing to go to dealerships for everything - even the simplest items which we all used to do ourselves.

[Robsey]

I just cannot find a modern car that I like.

I prefer good old fashioned cars that are easy to work on.

Even as I get older and less willing to do the more awkward jobs myself - easy jobs mean cheaper jobs.

[ilovedmymantas]

Yes, they seem to be making modern cars increasingly user-unfriendly, with no engine oil dipsticks, no auto-transmission dipsticks (and therefore no way to add fluid to the transmission except when the car is up on a garage lift), batteries that need "programming" when they are replaced and, worst of all, no spare wheel and just a pot of goo which is quite likely not to work. And I see some new cars are now offered without even the option of a spacesaver spare - and nowhere to store one even if you buy one yourself.
I think it's all aimed to get everyone needing to go to dealerships for everything - even the simplest items which we all used to do ourselves.

I could never have a car with no full sized spare , I'm too old now

I think you're right about dealerships. Their noses must have surely been put out of joint( - they lost money ) when servicing was opened up to any garage

I just cannot find a modern car that I like.

I prefer good old fashioned cars that are easy to work on.

Even as I get older and less willing to do the more awkward jobs myself - easy jobs mean cheaper jobs.

I'm the same. I pity the next generation of (electric) car owners who won't be able to do anything because they've never been taught. They'll never know the highs & lows of car ownership.
Society is definitely dumbing down

[Mk3alan]

My son's an armed police officer and their squad have a batch of new Volvo hybrid something or other cars. When being used in anger the battery is depleted rather quickly whereby they then display a dashboard full of warning lights and they go into 'limp home' mode!
Just the job when chasing someone!
If they are then driven around in this mode for half hour or so they restore the discharged battery and normal service is restored - till next time. Highly unsuitable, whoever chose them wants sacking, wasting tax payers money.
Be much better bringing a few Senators back I reckon and no doubt a lot lot cheaper to run.

Alan

[vexorg]

My worst expereince of dealers dumbing things douwn was with vauxhall. We make the mistake of buying a new antara, my wife loved the look of it.

Fell for the "lifetime" warranty, so got them to service it. First service was £300, there was one item on the receipt, for oil change. When I bought it they had offered free servicing for 3 years, then told me they couldn't as it was 4x4 and they aren't cover. I asked about the 4x4 checks, it got blank looks all round.

Then the fun started, I asked what exactly do they do for the service, because the handbook doesn't say. Again, they didn't know, the computer prints the job card based on milage and age. If I was unhappy with what was being done then I should have said before the work was done.

Second service I was prepared for them, or so I thought, "tell me what you are doing in the service", oh no we cant, the computer only prints out the job card once it's booked in, and issues their price. After banging my head of the service counter, I was eventually told to call vauxhall customer services. I was told that vauxhall will not give out the service plans as that means other companies can service the car, and for lifetime warranty they want only vauxhall to service it. I was left speechless.

I sold it the following week, mainly due to many (many) issues not covered in the "lifetime" warranty, and put vauxhall off my new car list for life.

[chrisp]

Even when you can get a list of items in a service on a newish car from its manufacturer, if you look closely at it, it's a long list of "checks", and about the only thing they actually do is change the engine oil & filter. And the charge for this "service" is typically around £300-400! Trouble is, you've got to get it done at the Dealership if the car is within its warranty period, otherwise the warranty is voided.

[James McGrath]

The customers are partly to blame. Remember it's a consumer market (for the most part anyway), if peope only bought cars that were easy to work on then all cars would be easy to work on.

People have become so busy/lazy. When was the last time anyone saw one of their neighbours wash their own car? People who do it themselves are definitely in the minority.

The average motorist has changed dramatically over the last half century.
Driving has become more and more of a necessity since the 1960s (I'm looking at you Dr Beaching!) whereas there used to be a higher proportion of enthusiasts like us.
There are far far more female drivers than there used to be too, I think it's fair to say that the average woman is not as interested in opening up their bonnet and checking the oil as the average male is.

People are busier than they were before too and don't have time for simple car maintenance.

[vexorg]

The customers are partly to blame. Remember it's a consumer market (for the most part anyway), if peope only bought cars that were easy to work on then all cars would be easy to work on.

Not sure I follow that logic, dealers are doing this purely for money. How do you define cars easier to work on when selecting cars in the past 20 or so years. From what I've seen the entire industry has made the shift, so there is no choice that consumers had.

[James McGrath]

Not sure I follow that logic, dealers are doing this purely for money. How do you define cars easier to work on when selecting cars in the past 20 or so years. From what I've seen the entire industry has made the shift, so there is no choice that consumers had.

It's not logic, it's just how a free market economy works.
Manufacturers main source of income is the money that customers give them for their products.
If peope didn't buy their products, they would eventually cease to exist.

Manufacturers would not have been able to get away with this 30 years ago. There would have been an outcry, no one would have bought their cars and they would have been forced to change to stop themselves going bust.
Today there aren't enough people who care to make a difference.

[Robsey]

I would like to think you were right James, but a lot of manufacturers supply multiple marques.

PSA own Peugeot, Vauxhall, Opel
Who also share parts with Citroen, Renault, DS and Saab.

Ford have links with Volvo, Mazda pre-2008 Jaguar and Land-Rover.
The list goes on.

I am inclined to be very sceptical like David - I think manufacturers are far too big to be significantly affected by consumer opinion.
Besides - there is a huge element of the population that are not motoring savvy like we consider ourselves to be.

You only need to look at how a lot of our peers drive (their version of driving) to realise that common sense is not that common.

A lot of younger drivers (not picking on them) are looking for whatever is cheap to run, or what looks very fast.
With very little regard for small print, terms and conditions and so on.
Who truly reads terms and conditions these days.?

So I believe that manufacturers are able force their hand with a big dollop of....
You get what you are given, like it or lump it.

Sadly James, we are in the minority.

[vexorg]

Even as consumers, I cant see how we would avoid this, short of not buying any cars. Fleet cars would still have been sold, and many people want their new car.

If we say it started happening 80's to 90's, what cars should we have bought to prevent it. I have only bought 2 new cars in my life, though technically none since they weren't in my name (I just pay for them!), nd second had if down to what you can find at the right price, or because you want it as a fun car.