Vehicle: Car: Service
Car toolkit   (+7)  [vote for, against]
For when you need it.

Most car manufacturers supply some minimal tools with the vehicle.

This is largely pointless as what can be achieved with one screwdriver and a spark plug wrench is minimal.

The proposal is that car manufacturers be obliged to supply, with each new vehicle, a toolkit suitable for executing a variety of basic maintenance tasks (stopping short of removing the cylinder head or changing a half-shaft).

If there are no 8 or 11mm bolts on the vehicle, then there are no such sockets or spanners in the set; similarly, screwdrivers are chosen to fit just the screw heads on the vehicle.

This would have two, possibly more, benefits:

Travelers experiencing a breakdown, even if they personally lack any technical skill, can be sure that if they can locate a competent individual, then tools to effect a repair are available.

Vehicles will not suffer further damage through attempts at roadside repair using inappropriate or unsuitable implements.
-- 8th of 7, Dec 05 2010

[+]
... and available from the manufacturer since the dealers would much rather you brought the vehicle in to them for maintenance.
-- FlyingToaster, Dec 05 2010


(+) Though if I had my way everything would be fastened with cotter pins and wingnuts...ok maybe the odd Roberton's screw head, but that's it.
Complete disassembly and reassembly with one tool.
-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Dec 05 2010


// one tool //

That would be [21Quest], presumably ?

// dealers ... rather you brought .. [it] in to them //

Many motorists stranded on a rainy, windswept roadside would prefer that too. It's not always an option.
-- 8th of 7, Dec 05 2010


//stranded on a rainy, windswept highway//
ahh, in which case you're going to want stuff like a spare accessory belt(s), a set of various replacement lights, fuses, maybe a couple of the more common circuit breakers... code-reader, multimeter, air-compressor, pressure-gauge, shop manual...
-- FlyingToaster, Dec 05 2010


//Stopping short of removing the cylinder head//

But then you'd just have auto manufacturers making vehicles where, for example, changing a spark plug would require removal of the cylinder head (AND the windshield wipers, wiper deck, heater air intake cowling, throttle body, upper intake manifold, fuel rail, injectors, serpentine belt, and alternator). Like, for example, my Ford Windstar.
-- lurch, Dec 05 2010


Computer manufacturers do that too. I remember many a knuckle scraped trying to push or pull a part just the right way to get to a motherboard. Bastards.
-- Voice, Dec 05 2010


Baked-ish. But the point is that ALL manufacturers should be obligated to do this.

Also, are you seriously the sort of person who would want to be seen driving a BMW on a public highway ? What if your friends and family found out ?

// changing a spark plug would require removal of the cylinder head //

Similar designs have been in production for many years from Peugeot, Trabant, and particularly Citroën - some of whose models require removal of the complete inlet manifold and ancilliaries to permit adjustment of the alternator belt tension.
-- 8th of 7, Dec 05 2010


Audi, Porsche, Mercedes, even the Bugatti Veyron ... all high quality vehicles from Germany (Well, Alsace for the Veyron, but a VW design) that lack the inescapable social stigma of being a BMW driver ...

Better to sexually molest baby goats, or play the piano in a whorehouse, than drive a BMW.
-- 8th of 7, Dec 05 2010


Jezza is our God.
-- 8th of 7, Dec 05 2010


This is not an idea. Cars have virtually always had toolkits. Car toolkits used to be more comprehensive than they are now. Isn't this Advocasy?

That aside:

Both the motor manufactureres and legislators are trying to reduce the motorists involvement in maintenance and repair of vehicles. This goes hand in hand with the increase in the number of motorists who have no understanding whatever of the 2 ton machine they are in charge of.

It's not enough just to supply the tools. Motorists should be encouraged to understand their vehicles.
-- Twizz, Dec 06 2010


The McLaren F1 came with a beautifully-made Titanium tool set, which was funny as no one in their right mind would ever dare doing DIY maintenance on a McLaren F1.
-- hippo, Dec 06 2010


A CAN interface display?
-- Dub, Dec 10 2010


I'm pretty certain mechanics would approve, as this would significantly increase their business volume from fixing botched do-it- yourself jobs.
-- RayfordSteele, Dec 10 2010


I once re-attached a front suspension strut to a Morris Minor using a metal coat-hanger. It lasted about a month, and when it finally gave way, I simply replaced it with another one.
-- xenzag, Dec 10 2010


Well, Morris Minors were pretty cheap. How long did you keep the coat hanger ?
-- 8th of 7, Dec 10 2010


This is still a good idea. [+] I remember my old Saab needing some star-shaped screwdrivers or something...well, don't laugh, maybe they were ratchets, or something with a handle. I don't use them, but someone fixing the car needed them.
-- xandram, Dec 10 2010


Still a good idea [+].

I once, absolute truth, got a Talbot Alpine going with a nail-file as my only tool.
-- Frankx, Nov 18 2019


Holding a nail-file to someone's jugular and yelling "drive, you bastard" barely counts.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Nov 18 2019


// got a Talbot Alpine going //

The question is not "How ?", but "Why ?" ...
-- 8th of 7, Nov 18 2019


//why// Broken down on the A9, only way home, and no tools.

Why a Talbot Alpine... not my choice!
-- Frankx, Nov 18 2019


Nail-file as some sort of wedge, maybe on a loose contact, is my guess. Maybe even file a better contact?
-- wjt, Nov 21 2019



random, halfbakery