722 gearbox problem 'cover-up'

[KeithJG]

Yes, we all know that regular light bulbs are built to expire at around 1000 hours thus leaving the light bulb manufacturer room to charge more for his 2000 hour alternative.

One of my friends used to work for Luxrams the light bulb people and the hours of burning are determined by the thickness of the material on the filament which burns off when the bulb is on.

Coloured bulbs have a lot thicker material on the filament wire as mostly coloured bulbs are in more difficult for places to access...eg: advertisements.

So now the modern way of motors seems to put the lights on the hatch or boot lids which is ok if one only drives during the day....but what if at night , the filaments are hot in the sidelight bulbs and they blow when one slams the boot down!!

Just another way to gets profits in my eyes and cause problems for owners which will include a fine from the police as you have lights blown and don`t know about them........another example.

OR are they led `s......Lol

 

[KeithJG]

Generally, claims of planned obsolescence always strike me as a fundamental misunderstanding of how engineering and economics work.

The idea that car companies deliberately design components to fail in order to generate revenues from the repairs is just ridiculous. If that were a sound business practice, British Leyland would have been the world's most successful car company and Toyota and Honda would have disappeared without trace.

I owned Volvo`s for about 30yrs..... so why and how after the Ford buy out did Volvo suddenly go from a £14 million deficit to a profit in 8/10 yrs ?....there was a recession part of the time!

I had enough of the prices escalating for parts so bought my first Mercedes instead of feeding Ford.

Go to a Volvo owners forum and read about the S60 and especially the V50 with the Ford diesel engine and all will be revealed.

 

[Mr Kripling]

So now the modern way of motors seems to put the lights on the hatch or boot lids which is ok if one only drives during the day....but what if at night , the filaments are hot in the sidelight bulbs and they blow when one slams the boot down!!

You might have a point if it was the car companies that made the bulbs. Perhaps it's a conspiracy between them and Osram, Philips and GE...

I owned Volvo`s for about 30yrs..... so why and how after the Ford buy out did Volvo suddenly go from a £14 million deficit to a profit in 8/10 yrs ?....there was a recession part of the time!

Since when did Volvo ever make a profit under Ford?

 

[stumpy1]

I'd sell the car and move on. Life's too short for these battles. A bit like the chap on here with his S Class......

 

[AMGeed]

Yeah, but that guy is clearly a nutcase.

The only thing he did wrong was pursuing a lost cause and losing all his savings IMO.He had morals which is more than can be said for the MB management concerned with that case.
I know someone else who did that. Instead of paying £10k for alleged damage to his neighbours property during a new build, this guy took it all the way to high court , barristers and all at £600 ph. He lost, had to sell up after losing over £600k in court costs and damages. Doesn't always pay to take on someone with more money than you

 

[AMGeed]

Nice car though

You would know Nick

 

[Mr Kripling]

The only thing he did wrong was pursuing a lost cause and losing all his savings IMO.He had morals which is more than can be said for the MB management concerned with that case.

I know a solicitor who said their most lucrative clients are the ones who pursue actions "on principle"...

One of my mantras in life is to stay out of courts whenever possible.

 

[Doodle]

"It doesn't matter what I believe. It only matters what I can prove".

Clearly Mr Carlyle didn't take heed of that one.

 

[NickyQuinn]

I concur with your car's symptoms!! irritating and seriously frustrating!

 

[st13phil]

I know a solicitor who said their most lucrative clients are the ones who pursue actions "on principle"...

There are two groups of people who can afford to have "principles" when it comes to legal action: the very rich, and those who have nothing more to lose. The vast majority sit somewhere in the middle and have no choice but be pragmatic.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Sorry if I was unclear. I did not search the model-specific recalls.

I meant that if you and other 722.9 uses think there's a safety issue here that the manufacturer has not held their hand up to, i.e. a voluntary recall, then you should report it to them and let a body of evidence amass, or otherwise.
That's how the system used to work 20 years ago when I worked there.

Fair point.

I don't think, in any honesty, that there is a safety issue.

It's a shame in a way as it would be a 'shoe in'!

Cheers,
Robert

 

[Pitts Pilot]

Who else needed to Google "pyrrhic"?

My vocabulary has grown by one word this morning.

I am currently re-reading "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, saw it and thought I'd try it out

Robert

 

[Ted]

That is one great read.

 

[Tim203]

Interesting comments on design life of components. I used to work in the "body in white " industry building and commissioning production lines. I believe most design and development in the motor industry is exceptionally good and some brilliant cars are created. Sadly it all goes wrong because these companies are often run by accountants who undo all the good work by penny pinching with perhaps little regard or understanding of the consequences further down the road of the vehicles life. I heard that Toyota some years ago led the way in accepting that suppliers needed to make a living ( and a profit) on parts supply, perhaps this is reflected in their vehicles reliability!

 

[wongl]

Toyota has introduced many great systems and processes (Lean, Kan Ban, Poka Yoke, etc) over the years - some of which has been adopted industry wide including Six Sigma. Despite this, Toyota has had its fair share of bad publicity of late due to poor manufacturing quality.

Sometimes, adopting the best design and/or manufacturing methodologies will not catch an unreliable design. This is especially true when one is pushing the boundaries or adopting new technologies that is immature.

 

[Pitts Pilot]

722.9 transmission problem

Visit to 'Valvebodytech' in Luton done.

They hooked up the car to a Star machine and looked at the live data with the engine running and found nothing amiss.

Interestingly they first checked the batteries.

Apparently faulty battery/s are a common source of transmission problems.

Yes, I was surprised to hear this, but they were quite adamant.


Another visit planned in 10 days time. This time car to be left over-night so they can see the cold start data - which is when it is jerky.

Watch this space.....

Cheers,
Robert