Zathras
Well-Known Member
Compressor-refrigerant based car air conditioning has been mainstream for 50+ years now; granted it's a harsh application (and there have been government-forced changes to refrigerants and the like) but you'd think they'd have the reliability figured out.
Actually, I'm positive they do have the reliability "figured out"; they know what materials and designs work. But they are under tremendous pressure from bean counters to make the system come in at bare minimum cost and minimal weight and the lowest possible drag on fuel economy, so they end up underdesigning the parts. Or the suppliers themselves cut corners and deliver parts below spec because they are skimping on materials or QC or both.
In spite of our technology and advances in manufacturing, so many appliances and products are basically disposable junk compared to how they were made 40 or 50 years ago. Yeah, it's cheap but I'd rather pay more and buy something that lasts. /Soapbox mode over.
Edit: /Soapbox mode resumes
In response to Cobra Jet's post... if I ran a car company, I'd be closely monitoring warranty claims and complaints (especially on new models), and would have an "action team" for each car model to come up with hotfixes for problems that are clearly widespread. Or at least plans to make fixes on a year by year basis. But (not just on Ford) it seems like some car models just have the same problem areas for years before they are fixed, and it baffles me that you can run a business that way.
Actually, I'm positive they do have the reliability "figured out"; they know what materials and designs work. But they are under tremendous pressure from bean counters to make the system come in at bare minimum cost and minimal weight and the lowest possible drag on fuel economy, so they end up underdesigning the parts. Or the suppliers themselves cut corners and deliver parts below spec because they are skimping on materials or QC or both.
In spite of our technology and advances in manufacturing, so many appliances and products are basically disposable junk compared to how they were made 40 or 50 years ago. Yeah, it's cheap but I'd rather pay more and buy something that lasts. /Soapbox mode over.
Edit: /Soapbox mode resumes
In response to Cobra Jet's post... if I ran a car company, I'd be closely monitoring warranty claims and complaints (especially on new models), and would have an "action team" for each car model to come up with hotfixes for problems that are clearly widespread. Or at least plans to make fixes on a year by year basis. But (not just on Ford) it seems like some car models just have the same problem areas for years before they are fixed, and it baffles me that you can run a business that way.
Sponsored
