Corsa- why is changing the battery so awkward?

jack of all

I bought a new battery for a 06 Corsa last week and set to put it in the car on Friday evening, thinking this would be a 20 min job, how wrong was I! To get at the old battery (which is located at the back of the engine bay, tucked under the "water deflector" on the passenger side) I had to remove both wiper arms ( a job in itself), remove the water deflector and manoeuvre a wiring loom/ tray into the bargain. When I had put in the new battery it was another awkward job getting that plastic trim back in place, getting everything just right. Definitely not a job you could do in an emergency at the side of the road. Why do manufacturer's do this? I bought the battery from a local motor factors but I wonder would Halfords have done it for the the €6 or so that they advertise, if I'd bought from them!!!":rolleyes:

johndaman66

In fairness that sounds like a bit of a nightmare for what should be a pretty routine and perhaps one of the most basic maintenance jobs you could carry out on a car. There was me thinking Opel were being contrary about it by putting a clamp which was difficult to access on the Vectra I drove which would only hold certain batteries.

I'd imagine the Halfords guys wouldn't go near it if theres that kind of work involved or else they'd be charging you a hell of a lot more than €6. A nosey through their terms and conditions would probably reveal I'd be thinking. If it was their average college student type guy chances are you would end up spoon feeding him through the job so as to speak.

Rovi

In the never-ending quest for improved aerodynamics and efficiency, the practical considerations of basic maintenance are falling further and further down the list of things cars manufacturers factor into their design processes. :mad:

How often do we see threads in here about the difficulties people have doing what should be a simple roadside thing like changing a bulb?
Crazy stuff like having to dismantle the grill and bits of cooling system, or having to remove a wheel and bits of plastic wheel arch to get at the headlight bulbs, for instance!

Or, as we have here, where it appears that the manufacturer starts by placing a battery on the production line and then building a car around it.

A sceptical mind might suspect that it's a plot to make people always go to authorised dealers for every little job...


Didn't one of the Swedish manufacturers (Saab or Volvo?) used to send its new design people to work for a few months in a main dealer workshop, so that they'd have some understanding and sympathy for the people who have to work on the vehicles out in the real world?
Or did I imagine that?

johndaman66

Rovi wrote: »

A sceptical mind might suspect that it's a plot to make people always go to authorised dealers for every little job...

I reckon it is more to do with that than aerodynamics and/ or efficency and I'm not a particularly sceptically minded person. Lets face it, parts and maintenance is where the gravy is for manufacturers/ and main dealers.

jack of all

It is poor form though; as an avid DIYer/ have-a-go type of guy I was lucky enough to have more than the necessary tools for this job, but I'm guessing the average joe won't have a full set of torx drive bits and the necessary extensions to perform basic stuff like this.

Wheelnut

I agree that it's stupid to make simple jobs awkward and it seems to push the DIYer to the side-line in favour of the main dealer.

On the other hand, the manufacturer probably asks himself how often does this part need to be changed. In the case of a battery it will probably last about five years. (I know some only last three and others go on for seven or more years). So if your Corsa lasts for fifteen years you will probably only need to change the battery twice. No need to add cost to the design by improving the accessability!

I think that's the logic behind some of these horrible designs.

Lucifer

While they are an awkward enough battery, you dont need to take off as much as you did. I usually only remove one screw and the 13 holding in the clamp. From doing loads of them you learn the easy way to doing them.