5 ms·

I would be afraid to ask some people in the US to refill their washer fluid. It will end up in the coolant or possibly oil. Although some diesel owners can appa

I would be afraid to ask some people in the US to refill their washer fluid. It will end up in the coolant or possibly oil. Although some diesel owners can apparently handle refilling the AdBlue tank or the dealer handles it.

arprocter 10y ago
The British driving test contains questions with the hood/bonnet up 'where would you add oil?' etc
- Grishnakh 10y ago
  Most Americans would never pass that test. It's a wonder we can even figure out the gas and brake pedals, and even there we frequently get confused, and then sue the automaker for "unintended acceleration".
  - aidenn0 10y ago
    My wife got a new car, and I looked up in the owners manual for what kind of oil it takes. The manual's section on changing oil was "To change oil, take car to an authorized Kia workshop." I died a little inside that day. [edit] Fortunately there was an "SAE 5W25" indicator on the oil reservoir cap.
    - Grishnakh 10y ago
      You should get a new Mazda. I have one, and changing the oil doesn't get much simpler, though I do need to use tire ramps to get under the car, though I don't think that's too unusual for a car. The bottom is covered in a big plastic cover for aerodynamics, and there's a small access panel that's easily removed for access to the drain plug and filter (which are right next to each other). Take out the plug (you need a big allen socket, not too exotic), drain the oil, and then just reach up and turn the filter to get it off (the filter is mounted with the opening upwards, so it won't spill oil all over when you take it off). Put the new one back, replace the bolt (with a fresh crush washer), replace the access panel, then put 0W-20 in the port that's right on top of the engine. I'm pretty sure the owner's manual just has a section telling you which grades of oil are suitable for which season. From everything I've seen, if you want a car that you can work on yourself, Japanese is the way to go, and German is the absolute worst. Japanese cars seem to be designed for serviceability much more than other makes. German cars seem to be designed to be as hard to work on as possible without special tools, and American cars seem to be in the middle somewhere, and instead of being intentionally hard to work on, they just didn't think about it too much.
      - johnward 10y ago
        Surprisingly, my Cadillac has an easy oil change. Drop-in filter right on top. But changing a light bulb requires disassembling the front-end.
      - BoorishBears 10y ago
        My 2012 Mazda 6 is missing two low beam headlights because replacing them takes removing parts of the wheel well, about 2 hours of labor according to some sources. Modern cars generally aren't that DIY friendly.
        Grishnakh 10y ago
        It's not that easy on my 2015 Mazda 3 either, but from what I've read you just need to pop out the inner wheelwell lining to get to them. Not super-easy, but not too terribly horrible. Mine has HIDs so the bulbs shouldn't need replacing any time soon. My wife's 2005 Volvo S40 has really easy-change bulbs though: they look impossible to get to, but the trick is that you slide a metal clip up, and then the entire headlight assembly slides right out. Modern cars can be very DIY friendly when carmakers design them that way.
      - aidenn0 10y ago
        I actually love Mazdas. I currently drive a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3. It's fairly workable, other than the simple fact that there is zero room under the hood. We have 4 kids and they are large enough now that they don't fit well in my wifes previous car (Mazda 5), and Mazda no longer makes a full-size minivan.
        Grishnakh 10y ago
        Yeah, the new 3rd-generation 3 has a lot more room under the hood than the 2nd generation. It's nice to see a carmaker going backwards from that whole "cab forward" BS with jam-packed engine compartments. Did Mazda ever make a full-size minivan? The 5 wasn't; it looked like a slightly larger Fit. If I had to buy a full-size minivan now, I'd get a Honda Odyssey. My mother has one of those (2015 model) and it's great.

arprocter 10y ago

The British driving test contains questions with the hood/bonnet up 'where would you add oil?' etc

Grishnakh 10y ago
Most Americans would never pass that test. It's a wonder we can even figure out the gas and brake pedals, and even there we frequently get confused, and then sue the automaker for "unintended acceleration".
- aidenn0 10y ago
  My wife got a new car, and I looked up in the owners manual for what kind of oil it takes. The manual's section on changing oil was "To change oil, take car to an authorized Kia workshop." I died a little inside that day. [edit] Fortunately there was an "SAE 5W25" indicator on the oil reservoir cap.
  - Grishnakh 10y ago
    You should get a new Mazda. I have one, and changing the oil doesn't get much simpler, though I do need to use tire ramps to get under the car, though I don't think that's too unusual for a car. The bottom is covered in a big plastic cover for aerodynamics, and there's a small access panel that's easily removed for access to the drain plug and filter (which are right next to each other). Take out the plug (you need a big allen socket, not too exotic), drain the oil, and then just reach up and turn the filter to get it off (the filter is mounted with the opening upwards, so it won't spill oil all over when you take it off). Put the new one back, replace the bolt (with a fresh crush washer), replace the access panel, then put 0W-20 in the port that's right on top of the engine. I'm pretty sure the owner's manual just has a section telling you which grades of oil are suitable for which season. From everything I've seen, if you want a car that you can work on yourself, Japanese is the way to go, and German is the absolute worst. Japanese cars seem to be designed for serviceability much more than other makes. German cars seem to be designed to be as hard to work on as possible without special tools, and American cars seem to be in the middle somewhere, and instead of being intentionally hard to work on, they just didn't think about it too much.
    - johnward 10y ago
      Surprisingly, my Cadillac has an easy oil change. Drop-in filter right on top. But changing a light bulb requires disassembling the front-end.
    - BoorishBears 10y ago
      My 2012 Mazda 6 is missing two low beam headlights because replacing them takes removing parts of the wheel well, about 2 hours of labor according to some sources. Modern cars generally aren't that DIY friendly.
      - Grishnakh 10y ago
        It's not that easy on my 2015 Mazda 3 either, but from what I've read you just need to pop out the inner wheelwell lining to get to them. Not super-easy, but not too terribly horrible. Mine has HIDs so the bulbs shouldn't need replacing any time soon. My wife's 2005 Volvo S40 has really easy-change bulbs though: they look impossible to get to, but the trick is that you slide a metal clip up, and then the entire headlight assembly slides right out. Modern cars can be very DIY friendly when carmakers design them that way.
    - aidenn0 10y ago
      I actually love Mazdas. I currently drive a 2007 Mazdaspeed 3. It's fairly workable, other than the simple fact that there is zero room under the hood. We have 4 kids and they are large enough now that they don't fit well in my wifes previous car (Mazda 5), and Mazda no longer makes a full-size minivan.
      - Grishnakh 10y ago
        Yeah, the new 3rd-generation 3 has a lot more room under the hood than the 2nd generation. It's nice to see a carmaker going backwards from that whole "cab forward" BS with jam-packed engine compartments. Did Mazda ever make a full-size minivan? The 5 wasn't; it looked like a slightly larger Fit. If I had to buy a full-size minivan now, I'd get a Honda Odyssey. My mother has one of those (2015 model) and it's great.