by "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
Published 10/13/2017 at 14:37
by "functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
Published 10/13/2017 at 14:37
Tags: rants
; raves
; Volvo
STARS: 3
My wife and I decided we needed a bigger car than my 3-series wagon for our family, now featuring two kids and two dogs. Sure, we all fit nicely in the 3'er. But not with much of anything else, like food or clothes for a weekend.
Not wanting a big SUV, we looked at bigger wagons, namely the Volvo XC70; we also considered the Subaru Outback, but a particularly good example of the Volvo came up, so we jumped on it. I do believe we’ll pay more to maintain the Volvo over its lifespan, but that’s not based on any real information, just the general “European car tax” ingrained in my head despite the fact that I own two high-mileage BMWs that have been (mostly) wonderful to us.
This week, however, I was given a little gift by the Basic Auto Repair Gods when I had a headlight bulb out. My co-worker with a 2011-ish Subaru said he had to take the front wheel and fender liner out to change the headlight bulb in his car. I chuckled and said “I’ve changed a bulb in my E46 while pumping gas - and I finished before the pump did.” But I hadn’t done the Volvo yet. I knew in my parents’ Volvo it involved removing the airbox. Not a big deal, but not a gas station no-tools job.
Above is an actual screenshot from a video titled “Headlight bulb replacement Subaru Outback - the easy way” and you might notice it’s FORTY-TWO MINUTES LONG and also the image captured includes a brake caliper.
Now, while the Volvo took more than a minute, I have never seen such a clever mechanism on a modern car, although to be fair my data set is quite limited. In our 2012 XC70, there are two metal tabs you can pull up - they look like tent pegs - and then the
whole headlight assembly slides out!
You disconnect the wire harness, and place the assembly on any convenient flat surface. Then the back of it comes off with a few clever, simple latches, and bam. You’re in.
The bulb housing even indicates which direction to spin the thing to remove the bulb (duh, it’s counter-clockwise). It might take a touch longer than the easiest-to-reach bulbs in fixed headlight assemblies, but the ease and comfort is second to none.
Don’t take my word for it, there’s a youtube video for “Volvo XC70 Headlight Bulb Replacement” (2008+) and you guessed it, it’s 44 SECONDS long.
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Thank you, Volvo!
Happy Friday, everyone!
"wkiernan" (wkiernan)
10/13/2017 at 14:50, STARS: 1
Changing the headlight bulb in an NB Miata takes no more than two minutes and can be done with no tools except your fingers, except of course for
the atomic-powered chainsaw you’ll need
to get through the clear plastic of the blister-card package with the new headlight bulb in it.
"CobraJoe" (cobrajoe)
10/13/2017 at 14:57, STARS: 1
My old ‘04 Mustang had the similar “Remove clips, remove headlight” style bulb replacement. It was amazing.
But we have a 2012 outback, it’s easier to remove the whole bumper and remove the headlights. And of course those headlights are reported to die quickly.
"Urambo Tauro" (urambotauro)
10/13/2017 at 14:59, STARS: 2
I haven’t put enough thought into this to come up with really firm numbers, but just to throw this out there: I believe that any component that is expected to last fewer than -oh, I don’t know- 150,000 miles , ought to take... say, five minutes at most in order to access.
Sure, I’d love to have a quick-change transmission, or a readily-accessible timing chain. But it’s the wear items (bulbs, brakes, filters, etc.) that are more important to be able to get to. And that should go for timing belts, too.
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/13/2017 at 15:01, STARS: 0
So, when you do one, just do them all? That would be tempting if they’re less than $20/each
"functionoverfashion" (functionoverfashion)
10/13/2017 at 15:01, STARS: 0
The one from Napa, anyway, came in a nice little cardboard box. My 3-year old could have opened it.
"Lumpy44, Proprietor Of Fine Gif" (lumpy44)
10/13/2017 at 15:02, STARS: 0
Haha my last bulb change was 10 minutes trying to get the new bulbs package open and 30 seconds installing too!
"CobraJoe" (cobrajoe)
10/13/2017 at 15:03, STARS: 0
Did both low beams, mostly because that’s all we ordered.
But I was very careful to make sure there was no oil on the glass and that they worked before reassembly.
"Klaus Schmoll" (klausschmoll)
10/13/2017 at 15:13, STARS: 0
The first gen Mazda 6 had a similar design where you had to remove the fender liner. I know of people who got so pissed off that they sold the vehicle after the first bulb went out. I believe this was done to help dealers get more traffic, but was outlawed in some markets a couple of years ago. The reason being that light bulbs are critical to road safety and should be possible to change at the side of the road without special tools.
"Captain of the Enterprise" (justanotherdayinparadise)
10/13/2017 at 15:50, STARS: 1
My expeditions headlights worked the same way
"Spasoje" (Spasoje)
10/13/2017 at 20:05, STARS: 1
Love that feature! Replacing bulbs on my XC90 actually puts a smile on my face every time because of this.
BTW welcome to the Volvo family!
"NojustNo" (front24200)
10/13/2017 at 21:22, STARS: 3
Just like moms buick
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"BaconSandwich is tasty." (baconsandwich)
10/13/2017 at 23:58, STARS: 0
Would would have thought a Buick would have such a redeeming feature? I never would have guessed.