Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
From time to time, we have exterior lights that go out in cars. Sometimes you might have a headlight that goes out and needs to be replaced. So this is what they should do for safety purposes. Lets say you're driving along and a light goes out. There should be a warning light that goes on at the dashboard telling you a light is out. They should make all the exterior lights on cars easy to replace so you can do it yourself. That way, if you're driving at night and a headlight or a tail light or some other exterior light goes out you can find a safe spot to park and replace it yourself with a bulb you might keep in your trunk. So then you can resume your drive safely with all your proper lights working instead of having to take your car to a repair shop to get the light fixed.
Everyone should know if one of their headlights is out. Turn signal light out results in fast flashing of turn signal on the side with the burnt bulb. But I agree there should be some form of alert as to burnt tail lights (low, brake, and reverse). As a curtesy I try to let other drivers know if one of their tail lights is out.
But I agree there should be some form of alert as to burnt tail lights (low, brake, and reverse).
In the past, BMW and a few others did this. It gave a warning light telling you exactly what was out. Then they dumbed it down to say some light is out.
It would be trivial to include this in the mandated infotainment system
In the past, BMW and a few others did this. It gave a warning light telling you exactly what was out. Then they dumbed it down to say some light is out.
It would be trivial to include this in the mandated infotainment system
Volvos used to alert you to which light you had out. I don't know if they still do or not.
Lot cheaper to just ck your car periodically. That kind of notification system would probably add at least $500 to the cost of a car. Headlights, you should be able to see a visible difference when driving, brake lights, should have a signal/notification but as for others, not necessary. Yearly inspections catch those that are important.
I work in the "auto business", and I have some experience in Lighting. When designing a car, there are serviceability requirements of course, but often they may get compromised due to cost or packaging ("fitting everything"). It's not a perfect world in automotive, so "always" and "never" should be avoided. If a car met every single requirement without deviation then it would probably be inefficient, not profitable, look unattractive, and would not sell. No one cares about how easy it is to change a bulb if the car looks like crap.
Most studio appearance people won't accept visible fasteners like in the past, and they are rejected if engineers propose them. And they like lamps that look "custom", not lamps that use standard bulbs which limits how cool they can design them to look. So then you need to either remove the entire lamp or replace the bulb from the back (which is difficult in most cases due to limited hand access). So you need to remove the lamp, which is not always easy.
Also realize in this case that the lighting technology in most new vehicles is increasingly going away from halogen bulbs, or already has, and is moving to LED's which have very long life so it may never fail. Now you ask yourself "why are we designing them to be so easily removed at higher cost when it happens so rarely and limits our creativity." I get that it's a safety issue and must be serviceable but the gray area is how you define "easily" or "rarely".
I hear many theories people have with varied opinions on certain things that they consider "musts" on cars. But what they fail to realize is how much cost that it would add or the complexity of it. If it's something you need to do to stay competitive, or if you can market a certain feature to help you sell more cars, then fine. Otherwise you're adding cost to a product (often adds cost to ALL models to offer a feature, and not only just the model with that feature) for something that few people will ever need to use, or even realize exists, and/or while adding complexity to the assembly line (always a big deal).
Last edited by KO Stradivarius; 08-16-2018 at 12:49 PM..
I hear many theories people have with varied opinions on certain things that they consider "musts" on cars. But what they fail to realize is how much cost that it would add or the complexity of it. If it's something you need to do to stay competitive, or if you can market a certain feature to help you sell more cars, then fine. Otherwise you're adding cost to a product (often adds cost to ALL models to offer a feature, and not only just the model with that feature) for something that few people will ever need to use, or even realize exists, and/or while adding complexity to the assembly line (always a big deal).
There are so many "musts" on cars today that I would gladly do without. Get rid of all the "infotainment" for one. I can see the value if you don't know how to keep your passengers from ripping the car apart (or to keep you from ripping the passengers apart ). With so much available via smartphone now are these things even necessary? Also, get rid of GPS systems. Hand someone a phone app if they request it. I'd rather use my own brain to locate myself thanks very much and would probably be better at it. A map doesn't need batteries or a signal to function. OK, I am a dinosaur who drives a car old enough not to have any of this interactive stuff but when I have to rent a car that does I find it dangerously distracting, confusing, and frankly, obnoxious. Mood lighting? Oh come on! I would hope to be able to select a car without that stuff.
There are so many "musts" on cars today that I would gladly do without. Get rid of all the "infotainment" for one. I can see the value if you don't know how to keep your passengers from ripping the car apart (or to keep you from ripping the passengers apart ). With so much available via smartphone now are these things even necessary? Also, get rid of GPS systems. Hand someone a phone app if they request it. I'd rather use my own brain to locate myself thanks very much and would probably be better at it. A map doesn't need batteries or a signal to function. OK, I am a dinosaur who drives a car old enough not to have any of this interactive stuff but when I have to rent a car that does I find it dangerously distracting, confusing, and frankly, obnoxious. Mood lighting? Oh come on! I would hope to be able to select a car without that stuff.
If you don't like such features, then don't buy a car with one. Many models are available in base trim without such infotainment/GPS systems and with a simple radio.
But I love my infotainment setup and how it integrates with my phone which never leaves the pocket. Voice commands, talk to text, etc etc. Actually makes the can much more enjoyable to drive vs my wife's car which just has a basic radio.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
). With so much available via smartphone now are these things even necessary? Also, get rid of GPS systems. Hand someone a phone app if they request it. I'd rather use my own brain to locate myself thanks very much and would probably be better at it. A map doesn't need batteries or a signal to function. OK, I am a dinosaur who drives a car old enough not to have any of this interactive stuff but when I have to rent a car that does I find it dangerously distracting, confusing, and frankly, obnoxious. Mood lighting? Oh come on! I would hope to be able to select a car without that stuff.
