Very happy to read that Peter`s brake light warning issue is now resolved. There is no doubt that modern vehicles are complex beyond belief, and unnecessarily so for those of us who were well used to using hard won skills enough to be tad more involved in the process of enjoying our sports cars, but then as we age I guess the on board decision making to keep us that little bit safer and provide occasional reminders should our skill level not be quite as sharp as it once was, might just be thought of as an advantage on occasion..thinking along the lines of Bing bong, getting rather close to something, indicated in green red and amber dependant on proximity and to what corner, or check fuel level etc.etc.etc.Hmm..?
Put my P car in for a MOT, scheduled brake fluid change, and as a precautionary measure to have it`s 10 year old AGM battery replaced and coded in, a one day dealership process, finished off with a complimentary wash and interior fresh up having been through a Direct Dialogue Bay session, no doubt as part of the battery coding, accompanied with a print out of a circa 50 point checklist where assessments are made on each point on the list and are ticked off as either green amber or red and rounded off with tread depth across each tyre and brake pad friction material thickness measurements. The bill came to £615. Admittedly I imagine the tasks were pretty straight forward, and part of a well practised routine, which is quite a bit different from tracing an intermittent fault such as Peter experienced on a digitally controlled electrical circuit, and which can eat up quite a few expensive hours of time, if not longer..Unfortunately. Had I not taken the opportunity to check that all the brake bleeding nipples were capable of being released (two per caliper) the bill had potential to be considerably increased, apparently the norm at the dealership is to replace the whole caliper and it`s holding bolts if a bleed nipple shears off which may not be uncommon in out of initial guarantee period machinery..?
Another real world example, my good lady`s 4x4 JLR would not carry out the usual locking sequence which includes folding the mirrors and flashing the indicators sounding beeps etc.etc.etc. all via the fob, and had to be locked and unlocked with the key having to remove a cover from the door handle and partly disassemble the fob.... Things used to be so much simpler...! With a bit of research it seems there may be a bit of a known fault across JLR production where the drivers door lock might be suspect, and which turned out to be the case requiring the whole sealed plastic lock mechanism to be replaced... Not only that but as part of a apre Covid maintenance programme it seems JLR required that the power steering rack be replaced and each of the brake flexy hoses too..All done FOC on a car that has never been off road and with circa 25k miles on the clock, while in for it`s five year check up and service. The whole experience from the agents was felt not well handled and were it not for questioning the need for the rack and brake flexible hoses replacement I had the feeling they would have added that cost to the bill... all of which was a very different experience from the P car operation... which seems a pity.
Another issues with the JLR is that a chromed plastic speaker grill mounted in the rear passenger door, had it`s grill damaged (don`t ask) approx 100mm in diameter, estimate repair cost not including labour..? Just south of £1k. Apparently the whole door card has to be replaced as the plastic grill is not available as a separate item.
With vehicles being assembled robotically it seems ever more components are clicked or glued together for ease of assembly, sealed for life and ultimately not designed to be repaired but replaced as a unit which is all somewhat frustrating for an old geezer who was brought up by parents of the make do and mend society, who were rather more self sufficient than the expectations of younger folk..? Given all that surrounds us today and looking forward... I suspect some back tracking and sharpening up on make do and mend might be on the cards... I pity those in place now trying to repair kit without the knowledge of it`s components basic function or design principals involved in the entirety of its assembly, and who are used to replacing ever larger multifunctional assemblies, perhaps a tad like the door lock mechanism on the JLR ...?
In times past I would use a bit of heat around the area of the caliper to coax a seized brake nipple to release as opposed to risking breaking it off flush with the caliper by being too forceful, Though on the bright red and decoratively marque identified callipers... not really an option without a lot of extra effort to restore finishes... Though apparently there are ultrasonic means of attempting to release seized brake nipples available these days which saves the decorative paintwork etc. all prior to drilling and old fashioned engineering processes..? I guess it is all just part of the evolutionary process, as is becoming a grumpy old man
