(Ive touched on this before,) There must be at least a few cars that have made it to the end of their drivers ownership without the bonnet being opened.
The `sealed` bonnet, that is. Sealed and never opened between garage services, due to negligence from either laziness, or ignorance and expecting not to have to open the bonnet on a modern car.
Perhaps a car would have to have certain qualities to do this.
very low oil consumption - able to go the full service interval without top up
Large washer reservoir. But then, Ive known some owners who don`t actually use the washers.
Ultimately it seems down to the oil consumption.
I wonder how many cars are making it to two years and 20,000 miles without opening the bonnet and whether bonnet hinges ever seize and snap off at service time?
What a triumph though for anyone who`s actually succeeded at never doing anything but drive and yet sold it on at the same price as us regular checkers. Even more so if there wasn`t a trace of worry in doing that.
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Between services my bonnet gets lifted purely for windscreen wash top up.
Last time was some point during the winter cos I remember the roads had been very salty.
If engines were supposed to be kept clean and nurtured they would be inside the car rather than outside! :)
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My car could go for a year without checks, it doesnt consume any fluids, has a low screenwash warning light and I would notice any leaks on my garage floor. But I still do an engine compartment visual check and fluid level check weekly, along with tyre pressures. I had some seriously rough motors in my youth and old habits die hard. I have never been asked about service records at trade in time. I believe in catching problems early before they become expensive.
Edited by Old Navy on 31/08/2009 at 20:06
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I have a friend....no really I do honest......who does big mileages, more or less 50k a year. He tends to buy cars at auction. He'll choose a suitable one, usually ones which already have 100k or more on them so they sell cheap and if successful in bidding for it will keep it for a year or so before selling it on.
He has a policy of only opening the bonnet if a warning light demands it and certainly never spends money on routine servicing. It pains me to say it but by and large he gets away with it.
Not fair really but there it is......
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I have a mate who told me a story a couple of years back, of some bloke he knew who was a site manager or something, visiting building sites up and down the country.
He reckons this bloke had a Nissan Primera, which he had done 60,000 miles in and he told my mate, he had never serviced it, put oil in it, or even opened the bonnet.
Hard to believe but supposed to be true.
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I think it certainly possible to barely lift the bonnet between services, due I think to:
( compared with older cars, perhaps 20-30 years ago )
- Low / no oil consumption.
- Hydraulic tappets needing no adjustment.
- Modern poly-vee belts needing no adjustment.
- Fuses very seldom blowing.
- No carburetor dash pots or similar to re-fill.
- No distributor points to check or set.
- No tuning up of carburetor needed.
- No greasing / lube points.
- Modern cars do not generally leak any fluids.
- No clutch cable adjusments needed.
- No decokeing required.
Some of a certain age, will remember when all of these things needed to be done.
Most would not be understood by todays motorists.
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Most modern cars there's little need. Other than a top up of oil, which for me is about 6months after the service, I rarely open the bonnet. Normally its to wipe things over and check screenwash. Even then the average washer bottle is big enough to last quite a long time. Never ever needed to top up brake fluid or steering fluid, if the warning light comes on, then means a leak and a trip to the garage anyway.
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Yes, my certain age means that I can tick all that list, todays cars are a doddle until they go wrong and need a computer literate mechanic (contradiction?).
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Didn't a small Audi have a more-or-less sealed bonnet?
Fluid top-ups were behind the grille, which hinged.
I think the bonnet had to be lifted off.
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I fear that people who never open the bonnet may find that when they do need to open it, it is indeed 'sealed', in fact 'seized'. Car-specific forums tend to have regular posts about the problem and it can be very fiddly (or expensive) to rectify. Might be worth just opening it now and again to be sure the release is working properly and to give it a bit of lubrication.
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Not so modern either but i had the job of draining and refilling the oil including cleaning out the oil cooler when my then georgeous neighbour with the to die for legs decided to top her (proper) mini radiator up....i don't need say any more do i..;)
I've forgotten the car, but the legs...
It's probably a good thing that certain people leave the bonnet shut.
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ifithelps
I also seem to remember that the Audi TT engine compartment was unable to be accessed by the owner. There was, I think, an external access point to enable water to be added to the screen washer.
Maybe we are wrong because surely there must be some TT owners on this site who would have been in touch by now.
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I also seem to remember that the Audi TT engine compartment was unable to be accessed by the owner. There was I think an external access point to enable water to be added to the screen washer.
It was the Audi A2 that had the "service flap" disguised as a radiator grille. I'm pretty sure the TT has a normal bonnet!
The A2 did also have a (very small) bonnet, but it wasn't hinged - you unbolted it and lifted it straight off.
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>>Perhaps a car would have to have certain qualities to do this.
>>
The monitoring features for parameters of the "oily bits " are around.
Electronic dip stick I guess being the key one.
My 98 125K Mondeo uses virtually no oil between annual services.
The batteries on all three family cars are sealed.
How many petrol heads know how to check an auto box for oil?
The only remaining problem is coolant loss / top up.
IMO, as I have mentioned before, what is required is to simply move the washer reservoir to the boot / rear wing.
I would like a proper remote level indicator. Failing that a simple system like my old old Sierra - a rubber dipstick attached to the filler cap. It irritates me that my current indicator only shows when the level is low.
The Mk I Focus has a filler tube that ges throug an immediater 90 degrees so you havve zero idea of how much fluid is on board.
There is no real logic to retaining the washer bottle in its historic up front position.
many cars pump water to the rear screen so it is just reversing the process.
This change to the washer bottle position gives a much simpler requirement.
All thicko needs to know is
1. carry on putting the correct fuel in the back ole
2.( trying to avoid confusion :-( )lift the boot lid / hatch to top up the washer bottle.
3. Do NOT on any account unlock the bonnet !
no more putting wrong fluids in wrog reservoir?
Simple or have I missed something ?
When will a mainstream car maker implement my suggestion followed by the money making idea of charcging a premium for a locked bonnet that only approved operators can access.
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Perhaps there is an argument for leaving the bonnet shut. There was a recent thread on technical where it seemed the sump plug hadn't been fully tightened after a service. Certainly one engine that would have benefited from not having an oil change.
We used to have an old adage that certain equipment was looked after by a man and a dog. The man was there to feed the dog and the dog was there to stop the man touching the equipment.
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I open the bonnet at least once a month for
1. topping up windscreen wash
2. check oil level
3. visually check brake fluid & coolant level
4. check battery level indicator
If human skull was open-able like a bonnet, how many people you think would have opened it frequently to fix loose screws on head?
:o)
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My car lets you check the oil from the drivers seat so in theory I could go twixt services without opening the bonnet. However being from the old school I like to check the fluids for myself. Lots of folks don't seem to bother checking much and by enlarge get away with it.
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The only thing that ever needs topping up on mine is the windscreen wash. Its not used any oil in the 1700 miles I have owned the car for. I check the brake fluid every now and then and I also check for other obvious things such as damaged cables and the condition of the aux belt.
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I've spotted one or two useful things by opening the bonnet and doing my weekly checks, er, every week. Frayed drive belt, oil filler cap left off (not my car), battery loose, windscreen washer filler pipe rubbed through on aircon pipe (guess careless assembly at the factory), negligible brake fluid (not my car) and more ...
The current driving test demands that the candidate knows how to open the bonnet and eg check the oil etc.
I'm suspicious that I bought our first Citroen AX from a person who skimped maintenance. The engine oil was genuinely lumpy when I did its first oil change and there was a uniform light coating of grime everywhere undisturbed even on the dipstick handle and oil filler. The bonnet catch was slightly rusty and the cable had a rough action. We were lucky it lasted a while.
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I check the levels on both our cars every fortnight, though they rarely need topping up. As with Hawkeye I've noticed things that need attention from time to time, such as leaking injector return pipes. I am the only person to ever look under the bonnet in my road of thirty somethig houses, and have often been asked by neighbours if there is something wrong with the car when I have. I'm sure half of them think I am a skilled mechanic because I do minor jobs like oil changes and and brake disc and pad replacements, in fact one of them remarked along those lines to SWMBO. I just can't understand the blind faith people have that nothing needs even a look between service intervals that go up to 20,000 miles.
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My car is a VW Passat 1.9TDI. Presumably, being a Volkswagen, the engine is at the back somewhere although there are metal bits of some sort under the bonnet. LOLOL
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I find it's also a good idea to check under the bonnet after a 'professional' service. That way you find the bits left loose, 'inadvertently' missed etc. Over the years I've had wheel nuts left loose, brake fluid reservoir cap left barely on, battery cover missing completely, engine oil grossly overfilled, dipstick hanging out, air box fasteners left loose and so on. No particular individual garage either - I don't especially trust any of them.
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I have also had brake reservoir caps left off after a service, so after a service the bonnet is up, and i visually check things myself
My Car also warns for things like Low oil (not to be confused with no oil), low windscreen was etc, but the bonnet will be up at the very least once every two months to visually check and top up when needed.
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It can't be long before cars come sealed for life, like batteries, with no provision for checking or servicing anything.
They will have a green light, meaning it is working, and a red light, meaning time to put it in a recycling bin and buy another one.
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With any new car I spend quite a bit of time in the first few weeks of ownership looking under the bonnet, to address any shoddy assembly-line work (have found this on every new car I've owned ... badly routed hoses, hoses not fixed firmly on mounting spigots, badly routed wires etc) and to index things like oil usage.
Once all this is done, I will lift the bonnet maybe once every 2-3 months just to top up the washer fluid and a quick visual check of levels.
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With any new car I spend quite a bit of time in the first few weeks of ownership looking under the bonnet, to address any shoddy assembly-line work (have found this on every new car I've owned ... badly routed hoses, hoses not fixed firmly on mounting spigots, badly routed wires etc) and to index things like oil usage.
Since I haven't got the slightest idea what route my hoses should take or what a mounting spigot is I fear that my staring at the contents of the engine compartment would not be of much use. Far better to leave it to the professionals on my part.
By the way Oilrag re title of post a motorist is simply one who drives cars. It has nothing to do with their maintenance. Failure to look under the bonnet does not make you a non motorist.
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My niece who is a stunner - highly intelligent - loads of qualifications - totally clueless and is now a social worker bought a new Golf and only person to open it was mechanic who wanted to find out why it had seized up.- he asked if she had checked the oil - "what's that?" - was I sympathetic - Not a chance.
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check all was well. It was.
HJ
Heh heh.
I notice you don't join in when everyone is telling stories about how idiotic they were when young, HJ. I bet you could though.
:o}
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" pop my bonnet to check all was well. It was."
It even forced me to have another peek HJ, despite it being open to admire the engine every few days. Had to put a couple of drops of oil on the bonnet hinges before I could close it though...
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It even forced me to have another peek HJ despite it being open to admire the engine every few days. Had to put a couple of drops of oil on the bonnet hinges before I could close it though...
Then it was worth doing. I learned my lesson when I opened mine one day needing a huge pull on the release lever. It wouldn't close again and I had to drive around with some trepidation with it held on the first catch. Dealing with a Renault, I had to remove half the front of the car to get to the mechanism to free it off. It gets a silicone grease squirt every week now!
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Hmmm,
having started on older rougher motors but bought a new one in 1998 and still got her
Always but always lift the bonnet about once a month or so and check all fluid levels & battery etc
205,000 miles and counting, origional head gasket too.
when on repeated annual holidays to france germany spain portugal etc in various cars
lift and check EVERY day
cheaper than useless AA 5***** insurance
A Corsa or equivalent as a replacment for a well loaded Galaxy????
Yep, I checked
Leave that trailer and roof box and surplus childern behind
Scheesh
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I've heard people mention car bonnets before. If I knew where and what my car's bonnet was I might open it and look under it, if only out of curiosity!
:-D
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