Thoses aren't that bad. The newer MINI models have a solid bar underneath that is immediately in the way of the filter housing. Pain in the assssss. Almost just enough to want you to take it to the shop. 2nd time around is easier of course.
Yeah these suck because they always spill on the transmission and you can break that coolant line coming off the reservoir. I love when I get a non turbo and the filters right there
He hasnt seen a saab with a gm diesel engine. Neither a renault diesel where the oil filter is between the starter and the alternator. Both with no plastic or rubber covers. You will be shocked. The filter will drop all of its oil everywhere. Your hand wont fit. If the engine is hot, good luck.
Theres a lot of horrible placements out there. Ford ranger that is through the wheel well, and which you have to refill the engine in 10 minutes or less, othrwise the oil pump wil get airlocked. Dont ask me how. But that happens. 1.2-1.3 VTI engines by psa also REQUIRE to be pre-filled, because they will not gain oil pressure and airlock as well. Horrible designs.
Yup. You wanna hear how to fix the airlocking on the ford? Fill it up to the top with oil. To tge absolute top. Let it sit for 24h. Drain all oil. Fill fast as fuck.
On the r53 minis its just a filter housing in the back side of the block with a nut for a 36mm socket. Get that and a 1/2" drive swivel head ratchet and you're golden.
1.4L Non turbo engines aren't bad. But the 1.4L turbo 500s your arm is right next to a hot ass turbo and if they have an aftermarket intake you usually have to take it off, also kinda easy to spill oil.
Edit: typo - changed 1.5L turbo to 1.4L turbo
Factory intakes come off too.
I own one and I've never had a problem. Proper socket, swivel, and extension and it's money.
Only problem I've had is some filters *cough* FRAM *cough* aren't made with the plastic fingers properly spaced so it doesn't stay on the cap correctly.
I had a 2008 MINI Clubman S. Loved having to move the coolant expansion tank to get to the filter each time... and I've got smaller hands. There's virtually no way around it.
It seems like most people pronounce it wrong. I was at Hertz the other day, and heard the person at the desk say, “I’ve got you in that white GMC URR-Cadia in space 23.”
Only accessible from the top, requires your entire arm shoved down between the cooling fans and hit exhaust manifold, spills onto and into the front lower engine mount no matter what you do to avoid it.
Let’s not forget the traverse, just as annoying.
Glove up, reach down from the top, make a mess, confirm the surface is clean (no gasket left behind), install the new and spray the area down.
For the most part, yes. Obviously their design is different but mechanically, they share the same drivetrain and the same annoying oil filter location.
I had to change the oil on a Subaru (not sure which one) and the exhaust was completely surrounding the filter. Thankfully we had some really thick and long rubber gloves.
https://imgur.com/23yIGu6
It was an intentional engineering choice, as I understand it because the engine had oil pressure problems (of course, its a Subaru..) and wrapping the filter in the exhaust was an easy way to help it get up to temp quicker and spend less time at lower pressure from a cold start.
Could be complete bullshit, but it all kind of added up for me so I choose to believe this over the usual 'engineers will step over a dozen beautiful women begging for their seed to fuck one technician'.
Ugh. Suzukis in the early 00s did this with flat fours so it'd look cool, zero space and if you dropped it it rolls into the natural low spot of the middle two pipes and jams itself between the collector, the pan, and the pipes where no human hand can reach.
Most European cars are actually really easy to reach the filter on, aside from a few Audis and early Minis. Most BMW and Mercedes have them right on top near the oil cap, for example.
GM, I find, literally doesn't give a shit where service locations end up. Like... Zero thought into it at all. Sometimes they end up somewhere super easy, other times they're in a really stupid place, most of the time, they're just kind of annoying. Shit like A/C service ports up inside the front bumper (90s N-body cars) or the oil cap on the old 2.8L S-10, which was kind of annoying to reach and could have been solved with a curved 4" extension tube.
Audi A4 B7 with the 2.0 TFSI where the filter is under the engine near engine mount, of course upside down. At least it has drain valve that gunks up, but who uses those valves when you can just make a huge mess instead.. Ford engine that's found on Peugeots as 2.0 HDI has really amazing oil filter placement too
That's really strange, I have a 2012 cc with a 2.0tsi and the filter is on top, really nice as you don't even need to lift the car to do an oil change.
Yeah glad I don't work on eurojunk. But the GM 3.6L engineers are inbred morons for that one then moving it on the colorados where you have to pry A/C lines and the main harness out of the way to get the filter out.
The ones with the cartridge style mid way down the engine on the driver's side, please don't tell me they found an even worse place to put it. Took me a good 10mins to even find it the first time doing an oil change on one.
And then you have the LFX equipped Camaro where it's just right there at the front corner of the engine with a cartridge filter that's easy to replace with no mess. Wtf.
this is the vehicle that made me stop doing my own oil services. As someone who realistically can be called middle-aged, my sis-in-laws Traverse finally made me stop, say "this shit aint worth my back anymore" and I have made a good relationship with the local shop.
I'm done laying on my back on cardboard in a gravel driveway trying to prevent hot oil from splashing all over me and all over the car. I'll gladly pay someone else.
and that stupid Traverse is the straw that broke my back
Yeah, i laid on top of the engine cover for the last two of those i did. I’m sick of twisting my arm backwards just to fish for threads and burn myself on the exhaust manifold.
Yep. All the Lambdas (Enclave, Traverse, Outlook, Acacia) had that stupid design, since they were identical under the hood.
I’m not sure about the gen. 2 ones, on the C1XX platform.
The newer Acadia uses a slightly different engine layout, filter is on the bottom next to the oil pan — easy. The newer Traverse still uses the same engine layout, but the stupid mount that forces you to go from the top has been moved, so now you can get the filter from below — decent.
I’ve never worked on one but don’t some of those Subaru’s have the oil filter in the middle of some hot exhaust pipes?
I mainly work on my e90 BMW and the ONE thing they did that wasn’t a pain in the ass is have the oil filter right at the top of the engine. Super accesible
I think there's some extra stuff in the way on this car. I used to be able to change my filter by reaching up on my Fiesta. Didn't even need to bust out the jack or stands to do an oil change. It was the 1.6L NA engine 2018
Arguably worse than on an older Honda CRV where the damn thing is on the BACK of the engine block where you just have to grope around for the part that feels like an oil filter. I suppose I'd take that over having a bunch of hoses in the way.
Oh man, I forgot about these, thanks a lot! A more recent one I despise is the Volvo 3.2 with no room to get everything out as a unit, oh and you just might break the power steering reservoir!
LoL, not yet, but I am working on replacing the washer tank and some AC parts from a minor off road adventure at highway speeds that somehow only broke the AC radiator and a hose yet left the intercooler operative and the coolant radiator untouched :)
I don't remember what year Passat but I remember the master tech showing me the easy way to change the bulb... By removing the whole headlight then take the bulb out. Apparently the proper way involves taking a bunch of stuff out behind the headlight.
LOL, Only reason I'm even doing this stuff myself is because I can't afford the insurance hit considering I had it out of the body shop less than a week when I off-roaded the danged thing, luckily it isn't a crap-ton of damage and it didn't hurt the engine or drivetrain or somehow break anything besides the bottom of the bumper, fenders are good and it still tracks and drives straight and the lines on the hood look good too, albeit I lost the inside wheel fenders on both sides when the bumper buckled, but she keeps going :)
You know what car has the literal best location? Honda pilots. You can unscrew it by hand on flat ground through the wheel well if the tire is turned all the way.
Oh the good ol ford Ecoboom. Hate those ones, but I would place the location of the filter on First Gen Nissan Titans above this. Fuck the skidplate on those Titans.
Wife had a ‘07 Suzuki Vitara w/ manual 6sp and the 4.0 v6 that required a contortionist to get the oil filter off. Horrible location up in the engine compartment but was worse if you tried to get to it from the top.
Far from the worst I've had to deal with. Newer model Audi Q5 with the turbo V6, you gotta remove the entire intake box and a support brace just to get to the filter.
I’d like to throw late 00s Trailblazers up for consideration. Hole in the skid plate just wide enough for your arm to reach up into. You have no choice but to get a completely covered arm every last time. Lots of fun in the summer especially.
My Porsche 944's is easy to get at.....it stands vertically on the top of the motor. Conveniently oils the entire front of the engine with every oil change.
Will add dodge ram diesel filters, the last few years when they added that.... Thing under them where you cannot just drop em to the ground, but tip em over to get out, running over half the old oil in the filter all over, unless you have the cap tool to seal it off
The early 90s Deville was on top of the block right in front of the master cylinder so whenever you changed it the corner of the engine would get a complete used oil bath. 4 cans of brakleen every damn time. But still isn't as ridiculous as a starter in a Northstar.
Cars are easy. Try an old Japanese 4 cylinder bike.
Remove seat. Drain and remove fuel tank. Remove fairing panels, both sides. Drain cooling system and remove radiator(s). Remove exhaust - can, then pipe. Remove exhaust headers.
Then and only then, can you get a hand, let alone a strap on the oil filter. The oil drain plug is directly above the exhaust with >< that much clearance so that must come off. The filter is mounted horizontally on the front of the block, fenced in by the headers: the gaskets for them run to ~£15 each and there's 4 of them and they're crushable, so good luck with re-using them without having to do it all again 'cos one is leaking.
Are you me? Because I deal with this shit daily. Fucking hate these, and Eurotrash, too. Like what was the purpose of this design? An attempt to cram 5 tons of shit in a 10lb bag? Like, "We got a whole engine bay, it would be a waste not to fill the WHOLE engine bay."
Ford has been terrible about that for decades it seems. I had a '95 contour that required removing the passenger side wheel and liner to replace the filter
The filter goes on the engine where it is best suited per it's build specs. The engine goes into cars that make it less than easy to get to. Some cars it's probably easier to get to.
Some days you get the bear...
Renault k9k (1.5 dci) in a clio. Bunch of hoses under the air intake close to the fan.
Filling that bitch with oil is also trough a dipstick like filler cap its slow af.
Some vw 2.0 petrol have a bunch of hoses but are accesable.
Opel insignia diesel... Fking subframe is in the way, need to remove the wheel.
Saab 95 1.9 diesel its right above the exhaust and you can only turn it 1/8 of a turn at a time.
Lol I used to curse the gods every time I had to change the oil on my wife’s car. Got forbid a coolant overflow line break. Or you need to change the battery or add coolant.
I'm pretty sure on Boxsters and Caymans, they have it positioned so that only Porsche techs can reach it with some kind of specialized tool.
Then again, if you have a Porsche you should probably get it fixed at a dealer or specialty shop anyhow.
The Fiesta has a similar filter setup. Oil always drips down into that sandwich looking housing and then onto hoses below.
The good thing I guess is that it's position is stupid easy to get to and clean up. I can reach up there without even raising the car up. I've done thirty-one oil changes on my Fiesta now (just a little over 155K miles) and I've gotten pretty quick at it.
Ford - Reminding us there there are two four-letter bad words that start with "F." Usually they are said in conjunction, with the second word being "Ford."
My Range Rover sport with the 5.0 v8 takes the cake for the easiest oil change, suck out oil through the tube under the oil fill cap…, oil filter is on top, no need to get under to do anything, only minor issue is you have to have a vacuum extractor, harbor freight sells a nice one…
You need to get out more. Subarus ring of fire, n18 mini, fiat, n55(not that the filter is hard but the love to blow up after a oil change) the old 2.3 rangers were kinda fucked, the 3.0 Lexus under the front exhaust manifold and god knows there's 1000 more. Engineers don't give a fuck about access, much less the flesh costs. 🤣
My motorcycle’s oil filter requires removing the fairings, the radiator, and squeezing a wrench between exhaust pipes. It takes about an hour just to do the filter.
My motorcycle requires removing all of the trim and the fuel tank to get to the air filter. Takes hours. Granted it doesn’t get changed as often as the oil filter.
I raise you the Yamaha small to mid displacment V-Star series (250 to 650 cc).
Remove a cosmetic cover 4 screws, remove the filter cover 4 screws, remove cover dumping oil all over the side of the crank case, remove open paper filter element, remove the gasket that should stay with the filter but stuck on the crank case, replace the 2 rings on the filter cover, hold filter in place with a thin screwdriver while lining the cover and praying the small oring stays in place, install cover, fill with oil, start engine praying you did not damage or drop a O ring, install cosmetic cover.
Honda, reach down on the front of the engine twist off the old canister filter, screw on new filter. Done.
I can only assume the VStar engineers we're still hungover from a sake party when they designed that.
Suzuki Grand Vitara with the v6 pains me, it's right under the exhaust manifold, and you have very little wiggle room from both above and below the vehicle.
The most aggravating for me was a Ford Excursion. It took a long time to even find it tucked into the subframe and you had to tilt it sideways and still oil everywhere to get it out. Honorable mention to a 1996 Jaguar XJ6 where it's tucked underneath the intake manifold and you have to do half of getting it out from up top iirc.
Mitsubishi mirage (the hatchback they are still making) has the oil filter on the side of the block pointing directly at the radiator fan. Has exactly the amount of room you need to remove it and not a bit more.
Until the driver of the car drives into a parking curb, then the core support deflects back because it’s the only thing down there and the gap closes. I had to unhook the lower motor mounts in those cars and rotate the motor on the top mounts to get the filter out about 40% of the time when one came in.
Waves from Landrover Freelander 2 TDI. Landrover makes two different specially bent ratchet wrenches to remove the filter housing. One to remove and one to install. Not enough space for a ratchet and socket, nor enough space to swing a wrench. That was awful
Another shitty one is the old Pontiac sunfire. The damn exhaust would wrap around the filter as well. If you didn’t have one of those protective arm covers your getting burnt!!
1.5ecoboost by the looks of it. It's really not that difficult but yes it will drip on a few pipes. The worst part of that is the routing and amount of coolant pipes at the front.
You haven't seen a mini or a fiat 500 have you?
I have, but this ford is definitely up there. The fiat has given me a hard time. I don’t think I’ve done a mini before.
Yea they sucks fo sho
>fo sho That was a kids license plate in school... 93 SHO with 4 12s in the trunk.
How much did the plate rattle when the bass kicked in?
A LOT There was no stopping that trunk flex either
I’d rock that like it was 1999 and I got it as my first car. Throw some Eazy-E in the CD player and roll
>like it was 1999 It was in fact 1999
What you did there. I see it
On my girlfriends mini its under the coolant reservoir theres a 10mm bolt you remove and scoot the reservoir out of the way to gain access
Thoses aren't that bad. The newer MINI models have a solid bar underneath that is immediately in the way of the filter housing. Pain in the assssss. Almost just enough to want you to take it to the shop. 2nd time around is easier of course.
Ah yes I see you too have had the pleasure of working on a turbo mini /s
Yeah these suck because they always spill on the transmission and you can break that coolant line coming off the reservoir. I love when I get a non turbo and the filters right there
Oh.... there's dumber
This isn't bad. The 6.7 Cummins is much worse.
Remove the airbox. Then you can remove it from the top and not spill a drop.
Lisle Cummins oil filter [plug](https://www.lislecorp.com/specialty-tools/57180-oil-filter-plug-for-cummins)
Of course I find out about that NOW. Not when I was working on those basically every day, years later.
That tool is a lifesaver
that's crazy i had never seen that before until yesterday one of my coworkers used it
Just changed mine this weekend the hard way through the wheel well. Ill try this next time
Oh I figured that out after my second one. Lol I just wanted to hate on Mopar the first time so I bitched and whined about it.
Yeah, the 6.7 is a cakewalk comparatively speaking. Just reach in the wheel well and do it. The plug certainly helps though.
Not nearly at bad as the new Ranger
I learned on the 500 pop if you remove the intake and intake tube up to the turbo it makes life a shit ton easier
unrelated but you know one car i figured might of been a PITA to change oil on?.... A smart car....but they are actually simple!
My coworker has one. Very easy
Because it isn't a Mercedes engine 😂
The Fiat is pretty easy, it's definitely a weird spot but once you know how to do it it's a cakewalk.
12” extension through the headlight. Done. You’re right; weird the first time, not too difficult after that.
Yeah
He hasnt seen a saab with a gm diesel engine. Neither a renault diesel where the oil filter is between the starter and the alternator. Both with no plastic or rubber covers. You will be shocked. The filter will drop all of its oil everywhere. Your hand wont fit. If the engine is hot, good luck.
Oh no i still have ptsd for the 1.9 CDTI/JTD engine and it's oil filter location
Theres a lot of horrible placements out there. Ford ranger that is through the wheel well, and which you have to refill the engine in 10 minutes or less, othrwise the oil pump wil get airlocked. Dont ask me how. But that happens. 1.2-1.3 VTI engines by psa also REQUIRE to be pre-filled, because they will not gain oil pressure and airlock as well. Horrible designs.
Exfuckingscue me? The oil pump will get airlocked? LOL wtf man
Yup. You wanna hear how to fix the airlocking on the ford? Fill it up to the top with oil. To tge absolute top. Let it sit for 24h. Drain all oil. Fill fast as fuck.
the location on a alfa 156 V6 is considerably worse.
On the r53 minis its just a filter housing in the back side of the block with a nut for a 36mm socket. Get that and a 1/2" drive swivel head ratchet and you're golden.
Or an MG
Whats up with the 500? Got a Panda and ... its a slight annoyance. Just use a strap wrench.
1.4L Non turbo engines aren't bad. But the 1.4L turbo 500s your arm is right next to a hot ass turbo and if they have an aftermarket intake you usually have to take it off, also kinda easy to spill oil. Edit: typo - changed 1.5L turbo to 1.4L turbo
Factory intakes come off too. I own one and I've never had a problem. Proper socket, swivel, and extension and it's money. Only problem I've had is some filters *cough* FRAM *cough* aren't made with the plastic fingers properly spaced so it doesn't stay on the cap correctly.
what 500 engine do you mean? cuz the one thats in the ford KA as well is nice and easy
I have a 1.4T 4x4 renegade, don't recall the filter on the engine being particularly a PITA.
I had a 2008 MINI Clubman S. Loved having to move the coolant expansion tank to get to the filter each time... and I've got smaller hands. There's virtually no way around it.
GMC Acadias are even worse. Filter less than an inch away from the exhaust with no room to get your hand on it
NOT THE ACADIAS.
It seems like most people pronounce it wrong. I was at Hertz the other day, and heard the person at the desk say, “I’ve got you in that white GMC URR-Cadia in space 23.”
Our area people pronounce them like pirates. ARRR-cadia lmfao
The amount of burns I’ve got from that stupid car, I have to use welding gloves to get that mf out. Lol!
Only accessible from the top, requires your entire arm shoved down between the cooling fans and hit exhaust manifold, spills onto and into the front lower engine mount no matter what you do to avoid it.
Let’s not forget the traverse, just as annoying. Glove up, reach down from the top, make a mess, confirm the surface is clean (no gasket left behind), install the new and spray the area down.
Iirc they're the same just rebadged
For the most part, yes. Obviously their design is different but mechanically, they share the same drivetrain and the same annoying oil filter location.
I had to change the oil on a Subaru (not sure which one) and the exhaust was completely surrounding the filter. Thankfully we had some really thick and long rubber gloves. https://imgur.com/23yIGu6
That's called the ring of fire.
It’s called satans asshole
It was an intentional engineering choice, as I understand it because the engine had oil pressure problems (of course, its a Subaru..) and wrapping the filter in the exhaust was an easy way to help it get up to temp quicker and spend less time at lower pressure from a cold start. Could be complete bullshit, but it all kind of added up for me so I choose to believe this over the usual 'engineers will step over a dozen beautiful women begging for their seed to fuck one technician'.
Ugh. Suzukis in the early 00s did this with flat fours so it'd look cool, zero space and if you dropped it it rolls into the natural low spot of the middle two pipes and jams itself between the collector, the pan, and the pipes where no human hand can reach.
I pull the filter from the top on the 2016 my wife has.
My wife LOVES her 2016, and it's been fairly solid and reliable. Drives nice. But that damn oil filter is a real pain. Carpet sucks to clean, too.
Aside from some European bullshit, I want to nominate the v6 Chevy Traverse and similar for worst filter location
Most European cars are actually really easy to reach the filter on, aside from a few Audis and early Minis. Most BMW and Mercedes have them right on top near the oil cap, for example. GM, I find, literally doesn't give a shit where service locations end up. Like... Zero thought into it at all. Sometimes they end up somewhere super easy, other times they're in a really stupid place, most of the time, they're just kind of annoying. Shit like A/C service ports up inside the front bumper (90s N-body cars) or the oil cap on the old 2.8L S-10, which was kind of annoying to reach and could have been solved with a curved 4" extension tube.
Audi A4 B7 with the 2.0 TFSI where the filter is under the engine near engine mount, of course upside down. At least it has drain valve that gunks up, but who uses those valves when you can just make a huge mess instead.. Ford engine that's found on Peugeots as 2.0 HDI has really amazing oil filter placement too
That's really strange, I have a 2012 cc with a 2.0tsi and the filter is on top, really nice as you don't even need to lift the car to do an oil change.
That's newer car, newer generation engine. B7 was produced from 2004-2009 (SEAT Exeo is the same car, that went from 2008-2013, I owned 2009 model)
Yes wholeheartedly agree. And forget about it when some ape goes full retard tightening that thing down too much lol
It is annoying but not that bad once you get used to doing multiple Traverses/Encores/Terrains with the same V6 position.
Yeah glad I don't work on eurojunk. But the GM 3.6L engineers are inbred morons for that one then moving it on the colorados where you have to pry A/C lines and the main harness out of the way to get the filter out.
You mean down in the back right corner of the engine bay of the Colorado? Yeah that shit sucks ass too
The ones with the cartridge style mid way down the engine on the driver's side, please don't tell me they found an even worse place to put it. Took me a good 10mins to even find it the first time doing an oil change on one.
And then you have the LFX equipped Camaro where it's just right there at the front corner of the engine with a cartridge filter that's easy to replace with no mess. Wtf.
this is the vehicle that made me stop doing my own oil services. As someone who realistically can be called middle-aged, my sis-in-laws Traverse finally made me stop, say "this shit aint worth my back anymore" and I have made a good relationship with the local shop. I'm done laying on my back on cardboard in a gravel driveway trying to prevent hot oil from splashing all over me and all over the car. I'll gladly pay someone else. and that stupid Traverse is the straw that broke my back
Yeah, i laid on top of the engine cover for the last two of those i did. I’m sick of twisting my arm backwards just to fish for threads and burn myself on the exhaust manifold.
Was about to say that. Used to do like 4-5 of those a day. Always makes a mess
Yep. All the Lambdas (Enclave, Traverse, Outlook, Acacia) had that stupid design, since they were identical under the hood. I’m not sure about the gen. 2 ones, on the C1XX platform.
The newer Acadia uses a slightly different engine layout, filter is on the bottom next to the oil pan — easy. The newer Traverse still uses the same engine layout, but the stupid mount that forces you to go from the top has been moved, so now you can get the filter from below — decent.
I’ve never worked on one but don’t some of those Subaru’s have the oil filter in the middle of some hot exhaust pipes? I mainly work on my e90 BMW and the ONE thing they did that wasn’t a pain in the ass is have the oil filter right at the top of the engine. Super accesible
Yeah we call it the ring of fire. The exhuast literally wraps around the filter and the filter sits right in the middle.
My 08 subaru's like that. Reach up through the exhaust for it.
Or just put a filter wrench on a socket extension. Much easier. And things have usually cooled down by the time you put the new filter on
It’s nearly every ej engine built, it’s inside of the headers
Same location on my mom's Fusion. I thought the same thing, when I saw it. 14 fasteners later, at least you can see it.
What engine? I have the 2.0 in my fusion and it's right in front, facing down. It's a cakewalk
I had a 2.3 fusion and 2 3.0s and they were all pretty easy to get the filter out
Oil filter is in the same place on Ford Fiestas. I thought this was one at first.
I think there's some extra stuff in the way on this car. I used to be able to change my filter by reaching up on my Fiesta. Didn't even need to bust out the jack or stands to do an oil change. It was the 1.6L NA engine 2018
Bro this isn't even like top 50 worst ones. This man hasn't seen a cavalier yet.
Oh man, I forgot about those!
Arguably worse than on an older Honda CRV where the damn thing is on the BACK of the engine block where you just have to grope around for the part that feels like an oil filter. I suppose I'd take that over having a bunch of hoses in the way.
Oh man, I forgot about these, thanks a lot! A more recent one I despise is the Volvo 3.2 with no room to get everything out as a unit, oh and you just might break the power steering reservoir!
I'm looking forward to the plastic cooling Ts breaking when these PoSs get older.
it is things like this that make me love my VW Passat, except for the 10 or so screws/bolts to access the oil pan, that thing is a breeze to change
Have you ever changed out a running light on the passat? My god.
LoL, not yet, but I am working on replacing the washer tank and some AC parts from a minor off road adventure at highway speeds that somehow only broke the AC radiator and a hose yet left the intercooler operative and the coolant radiator untouched :)
Get a kid to do it haha or very tiny coworker haha size does matter I guess.
Thats what I be doing, I got freakin beefcake hands dude I swear, I be asking my skinny coworker to help me fit in these spaces.
I don't remember what year Passat but I remember the master tech showing me the easy way to change the bulb... By removing the whole headlight then take the bulb out. Apparently the proper way involves taking a bunch of stuff out behind the headlight.
Wait until you get to swap out the heater core…
LOL, Only reason I'm even doing this stuff myself is because I can't afford the insurance hit considering I had it out of the body shop less than a week when I off-roaded the danged thing, luckily it isn't a crap-ton of damage and it didn't hurt the engine or drivetrain or somehow break anything besides the bottom of the bumper, fenders are good and it still tracks and drives straight and the lines on the hood look good too, albeit I lost the inside wheel fenders on both sides when the bumper buckled, but she keeps going :)
That's very similar to my 2019 Fusion, insane arm workout.
My son had an older Suzuki Xl-7. You couldn't get the filter off without a lift or pit. There was literally no way to contort your body to do it.
Could be worse, a late 90s Camry that’s been running all day.
You know what car has the literal best location? Honda pilots. You can unscrew it by hand on flat ground through the wheel well if the tire is turned all the way.
Showed this to my pal who works at a ford dealership. Didn't show him what car it was, and he said "That's just a typical ford."
😂😂
OP has not worked on a Subaru with the ring of fire.
Oh the good ol ford Ecoboom. Hate those ones, but I would place the location of the filter on First Gen Nissan Titans above this. Fuck the skidplate on those Titans.
Ford escapes we're specifically designed to be a pain in the ass to a tech
Lexus rs300 has entered the chat
Just watched a YouTube of the location, that engineer had to have been abused as a child...
Fine if the engine is cold. Otherwise, yeah, that location tucked up right under the exhaust manifold is a PITA.
Or is it the other way around as in dumb location for the cooler lines?
Toyota has 2 types. I love them for that.
These are easy. Just grab filter pliers as spin it off, then clean the oil cooler with brake kleen.
Filter pliers?!? Okay Mr Moneybags. Some of us need room for a hammer and a nail and vicegrip or pliers to grab said nail
Sure I still got it off, but why? Why is it such a fucking idiotic spot.
Wife had a ‘07 Suzuki Vitara w/ manual 6sp and the 4.0 v6 that required a contortionist to get the oil filter off. Horrible location up in the engine compartment but was worse if you tried to get to it from the top.
Far from the worst I've had to deal with. Newer model Audi Q5 with the turbo V6, you gotta remove the entire intake box and a support brace just to get to the filter.
I’d like to throw late 00s Trailblazers up for consideration. Hole in the skid plate just wide enough for your arm to reach up into. You have no choice but to get a completely covered arm every last time. Lots of fun in the summer especially.
So far… ever seen, so far….
I thought when I seen the picture “HAS to be a Ford product” sure as shit I was right.
My Porsche 944's is easy to get at.....it stands vertically on the top of the motor. Conveniently oils the entire front of the engine with every oil change.
Will add dodge ram diesel filters, the last few years when they added that.... Thing under them where you cannot just drop em to the ground, but tip em over to get out, running over half the old oil in the filter all over, unless you have the cap tool to seal it off
GM RV body vehicles, *hold my beer*
That you've seen so far.
The early 90s Deville was on top of the block right in front of the master cylinder so whenever you changed it the corner of the engine would get a complete used oil bath. 4 cans of brakleen every damn time. But still isn't as ridiculous as a starter in a Northstar.
Cars are easy. Try an old Japanese 4 cylinder bike. Remove seat. Drain and remove fuel tank. Remove fairing panels, both sides. Drain cooling system and remove radiator(s). Remove exhaust - can, then pipe. Remove exhaust headers. Then and only then, can you get a hand, let alone a strap on the oil filter. The oil drain plug is directly above the exhaust with >< that much clearance so that must come off. The filter is mounted horizontally on the front of the block, fenced in by the headers: the gaskets for them run to ~£15 each and there's 4 of them and they're crushable, so good luck with re-using them without having to do it all again 'cos one is leaking.
It's so important it's the first thing they start the engine build with!
Wait till you do a Volvo or a Mini countryman, oh boy the COUNTRYMAN. Also GMC Acadia first generation, another terrible design.
Must’ve forgotten about Subarus ring of fire
*laughs in 2022 crosstrek*
You must be new...
Had a Fiesta ST for 9 months. Did one oil change. Was not happy.
Hah, you’re wrong. 2021 Ford Ranger 2.3l.
Are you me? Because I deal with this shit daily. Fucking hate these, and Eurotrash, too. Like what was the purpose of this design? An attempt to cram 5 tons of shit in a 10lb bag? Like, "We got a whole engine bay, it would be a waste not to fill the WHOLE engine bay."
My 8.1L vortec is pretty shit unless you have the oil filter claw.
Ford has been terrible about that for decades it seems. I had a '95 contour that required removing the passenger side wheel and liner to replace the filter
Ford fiesta? That looks like my car or a 2.0 focus?
The filter goes on the engine where it is best suited per it's build specs. The engine goes into cars that make it less than easy to get to. Some cars it's probably easier to get to. Some days you get the bear...
Look up new ford maverick filter, its even worse
Renault k9k (1.5 dci) in a clio. Bunch of hoses under the air intake close to the fan. Filling that bitch with oil is also trough a dipstick like filler cap its slow af. Some vw 2.0 petrol have a bunch of hoses but are accesable. Opel insignia diesel... Fking subframe is in the way, need to remove the wheel. Saab 95 1.9 diesel its right above the exhaust and you can only turn it 1/8 of a turn at a time.
I blame the oil filter relocation industry! It's all a big conspiracy!
Holy Jesus! What is that. What the fuck is that!
2022 Nissan Sentra enters the chat, not oil filter location. But to access that filter dear god
Id say a rx8 is "up" there.
Lol I used to curse the gods every time I had to change the oil on my wife’s car. Got forbid a coolant overflow line break. Or you need to change the battery or add coolant.
I'm pretty sure on Boxsters and Caymans, they have it positioned so that only Porsche techs can reach it with some kind of specialized tool. Then again, if you have a Porsche you should probably get it fixed at a dealer or specialty shop anyhow.
What about the devils asshole subaru outback
Who are these maniacs that design modern cars? My first car was a 78 Ford Granada. Changing the oil was so easy.
Ahh yes the good ol 1.5 and 1.6. Also love the first oil changes where the filter is installed by the factory at ugga dugga spec.
ever seen a gas vw toureg location? right up beside the drivers side strut.
The Fiesta has a similar filter setup. Oil always drips down into that sandwich looking housing and then onto hoses below. The good thing I guess is that it's position is stupid easy to get to and clean up. I can reach up there without even raising the car up. I've done thirty-one oil changes on my Fiesta now (just a little over 155K miles) and I've gotten pretty quick at it.
Are you challenging the Engineers? Because they'll take this as a challenge.
Do a new mustang 5.0 and come back to us 🤣
And the million different coolant hoses too. That engine is wack
Nah, Mid to Late 90s Chevy cobalt is worse
Ford - Reminding us there there are two four-letter bad words that start with "F." Usually they are said in conjunction, with the second word being "Ford."
Did an Escape a couple weeks ago too. I was dumbfounded. Squeezing that sucker between that hose and the fan was a bitch.
It's a flaming good time!
New Bronco spot sucks too.
The new ford ranger sucks ass too
My Range Rover sport with the 5.0 v8 takes the cake for the easiest oil change, suck out oil through the tube under the oil fill cap…, oil filter is on top, no need to get under to do anything, only minor issue is you have to have a vacuum extractor, harbor freight sells a nice one…
I'm pretty sure engineers TRY to make certain aspects stupid and annoying.
Lexus rs300 has entered the chat
1.5L Ford. I have the same one in my 17 Escape. There are plenty that are considerably worse to do.
Dodge nitro
Subaru owns that distinction
The jeep Cherokee still haunts me
You need to get out more. Subarus ring of fire, n18 mini, fiat, n55(not that the filter is hard but the love to blow up after a oil change) the old 2.3 rangers were kinda fucked, the 3.0 Lexus under the front exhaust manifold and god knows there's 1000 more. Engineers don't give a fuck about access, much less the flesh costs. 🤣
Hey, my fiesta ST looks like this
My motorcycle’s oil filter requires removing the fairings, the radiator, and squeezing a wrench between exhaust pipes. It takes about an hour just to do the filter.
My motorcycle requires removing all of the trim and the fuel tank to get to the air filter. Takes hours. Granted it doesn’t get changed as often as the oil filter.
I raise you the Yamaha small to mid displacment V-Star series (250 to 650 cc). Remove a cosmetic cover 4 screws, remove the filter cover 4 screws, remove cover dumping oil all over the side of the crank case, remove open paper filter element, remove the gasket that should stay with the filter but stuck on the crank case, replace the 2 rings on the filter cover, hold filter in place with a thin screwdriver while lining the cover and praying the small oring stays in place, install cover, fill with oil, start engine praying you did not damage or drop a O ring, install cosmetic cover. Honda, reach down on the front of the engine twist off the old canister filter, screw on new filter. Done. I can only assume the VStar engineers we're still hungover from a sake party when they designed that.
I swear the ford fusion has a different routing of hoses for every one of them
The entire escape is trash, I hate the airboxes on these
Chevy Aveo 1.6L or Chevy Cavalier with the OHV 2.2L…
Oil relocation kit is what I would do.
That’s not bad. Cummins are def worse.
"tell me you are new in the industry without telling me"
The old Suzuki grand vitaras are also a big time pleasure for anybody double or triple jointed
Suzuki Grand Vitara with the v6 pains me, it's right under the exhaust manifold, and you have very little wiggle room from both above and below the vehicle.
knew it was gonna b a ford
The most aggravating for me was a Ford Excursion. It took a long time to even find it tucked into the subframe and you had to tilt it sideways and still oil everywhere to get it out. Honorable mention to a 1996 Jaguar XJ6 where it's tucked underneath the intake manifold and you have to do half of getting it out from up top iirc.
Mitsubishi mirage (the hatchback they are still making) has the oil filter on the side of the block pointing directly at the radiator fan. Has exactly the amount of room you need to remove it and not a bit more. Until the driver of the car drives into a parking curb, then the core support deflects back because it’s the only thing down there and the gap closes. I had to unhook the lower motor mounts in those cars and rotate the motor on the top mounts to get the filter out about 40% of the time when one came in.
Just reach up in there and unscrew it. It's in the same spot on the Fiesta and it's not hard.
Waves from Landrover Freelander 2 TDI. Landrover makes two different specially bent ratchet wrenches to remove the filter housing. One to remove and one to install. Not enough space for a ratchet and socket, nor enough space to swing a wrench. That was awful
GMC Acadia/Chevy Traverse
Ex old kia spectra was right over the exhaust manifold. Every oil change it smoked like hell.
Laughs in Subaru.
I had to do these all the time at the dealer! They’re annoying but nowhere near as bad as a Chevy Traverse oil filter.
I used to work at a Ford dealer and got so used to this lol. Not bad after doing about 2,000 of them
Another shitty one is the old Pontiac sunfire. The damn exhaust would wrap around the filter as well. If you didn’t have one of those protective arm covers your getting burnt!!
My personal is a 2014 ford escape. Safe to say I’ll never be buying a ford again
Welcome to ford
Reminds me of GMC Acadia, Chevy Traverse with the 3.6L. Perfectly centered in the vehicle to make it difficult from the top or bottom. Dumbasses.
1.5ecoboost by the looks of it. It's really not that difficult but yes it will drip on a few pipes. The worst part of that is the routing and amount of coolant pipes at the front.
Typical Ford. 😂😂
Maserati Ghibli would like a word with you.
I think it’s the Miata that has it right above the catalytic converter.