What would a car look like if it was built for the easiest serviceability possible from the ground up?

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nyrb001@reddit

MK2-3 diesel Volkswagen. Everything is super accessible. Mechanically very simple drivetrain. The entire nose of the car comes off easily.

I mean the original beetle too of course - can swap an engine in an hour.

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We could start with building something that included a built in diagnostic system, readily available technical literature & a willingness to continue producing parts for it long after its production run has ended.

The actual design wouldn't matter as much if there are documents on how to do it & cheap parts available when it does fail.

Simplifying the design so as to not use specialty tools would be the next step.

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Due_Citron6089@reddit

built-in diagnostic system

This applies to the Land Rover Series 1/2/3 & “classic” Defender.

Is it leaking? No - needs oil.

Is it overheating? Yes - needs water.

Is it rattling? No - must’ve fallen off.

You could probably disassemble it with ~6 sizes of wrench/sockets (except for the bastard years that were a mix of metric & imperial)

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

My car is really close to this.

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saabstory88@reddit

You're going to hate the answer, but this already exists. I'm an Indy mechanic who works on EVs. Tesla does exactly this today, they are some of the easiest cars to work on. All service manuals, labor times, and wiring diagrams are free and on their website, and they're the same ones they use for internal service. The cars have a built in diagnostic system, service mode, that end users can activate which even allows module programming with no fees. Even their paid technician software is the cheapest by a hilarious amount. In the past when they stopped making roadster parts they just put all of the design files and firmware online so you can make/modify your own parts. But there's really only one part I can think of that they don't make anymore that's critical (Gen 1 DCDC), but everything inside it is COTS and repairable. You can even order parts from them direct online.

When I find another brand this easy to work on, you'll hear me shouting it from the rooftops.

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Distinct_Rope@reddit

Damn, I had no idea..

My background is Heavy Duty On-road Tech

Freightliner has been consistently shoving more stuff into smaller spaces generation after generation.

My company refuses to replace one of our dieing diag laptops due to extremely high software liscence fees.

The software is necessary & poorly documented with there ever expanding list of fault codes the trucks can produce.

Further service manuals are behind a second paywall on a terribly indexed website.

Searching up parts and there availability is behind a third pay wall on a second site.

I suppose I figured that's what the entire auto industry was up to as well..

You would think for a vehicle that's directly tied to its own profit margin that operators would want simple, effective & cheap serviceable trucks but the industry keeps proving me wrong.

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jojowasher@reddit

there have been some designs like this, Porsche had a concept that was supposed to last 20 years, and this was in 1973!I also remember seeing a concept car that had an easy remove rear pod of in the car that you could just go to a dealer, swap the entire engine pod and get a refurbished one in 15 minutes.

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stonewall028@reddit

those cars already exist, they're called the 8th-9th gen toyota corolla and the 6th-7th gen honda civic.

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Apprehensive-Cycle-9@reddit

Willy’s jeep

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noladutch@reddit

Or basically any old truck. I have a 60 f100 and it is a dream to work on.

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PM_ME_UR_HBO_LOGIN@reddit

I was gonna say old trucks were 100% designed around this concept. The easiest to work on+most reliable vehicle that can be theorized is basically trucks old enough to have no design considerations besides working and retrofitted with EFI while using modern oils.

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jking7734@reddit

My ‘65 F100 is pretty close to that

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noladutch@reddit

Probably even easier that twin i beam is pretty indestructible.

Everything else is even better the six is the 300 based engine.

Enjoy your rig.

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jking7734@reddit

Thanks

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Apprehensive-Cycle-9@reddit

Yeah I mean ford is what made those wwii jeeps so good. Even the famous grill was out of necessity to stamp it efficiently in production and became what Jeep is known for (designed by ford)

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noladutch@reddit

Well to be fair the design that won that became the jeep was American bantam. They didn't have the capacity build enough so willys and Ford took over.

Lots of brains from lots of companies made the wwii jeep.

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Competitive-Reach287@reddit

Jeep (now) uses a seven slot grille, the Ford design was nine slots.

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Apprehensive-Cycle-9@reddit

Oh good catch and thanks for correcting me

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Loveschocolate1978@reddit (OP)

Have you ever worked on one before?

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

I have, and sure for their age they're easy, but there's modern tech that makes some aspects much easier.

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Apprehensive-Cycle-9@reddit

No. Would love to get my hands on one. Supposedly soldiers could fully assemble it from crate to finished in 4 minutes. Very easy to swap out full axles etc

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lord_flashheart2000@reddit

Or a VW Thing

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aquatone61@reddit

100%. The military jeep was meant to be taken apart to be shipped and assembled quickly by troops using basic hand tools.

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MagnusAlbusPater@reddit

Or the Ford Panther platform.

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robindawilliams@reddit

Maybe a 1990s Defender, which is a willys jeep with a roof and doors but absolutely nothing you'd consider helpful towards insulating, sound deadening, crash protecting or wind defecting.

You can climb into the engine bay to work on the fully mechanical diesel engines and the entire body goes together like Lego. It's just aluminum panels and a ladder chassis.

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StimpyMD@reddit

2wd 1995 ford f150 with the i6 300 and 5spd manual.

You can stand in the engine bay and no job took more than an hour.

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United_News3779@reddit

For true ease of access, the 1985 F350 was the goat. It was the last year that 1ton pickups were 1

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

An '87 F350 with a 460 was the last carbed Ford.

A '93 with a diesel and manual transmission was the last without a computer.

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ai_bot_account@reddit

I had one of these with the exception of 4x4 and 4 speed manual. It was reliable and simple like you said but it got 10 mpg and low power.

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StimpyMD@reddit

I could get about 18 with my single cab long bed. It also had dual tanks so I could go 600+ miles on a fill up.

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jaqattack02@reddit

I think it's something about Ford's from that era. I've got an 02 Crown Vic and outside of the rear shocks, everything else has been easy as pie to work on.

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overheightexit@reddit

r/Unnecessaryapostrophe

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Heavy_Gap_5047@reddit

Like mine.

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PlanetExcellent@reddit

A 65 Beetle?

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ExaminationFit1931@reddit

A Toyota Corona...look it up.

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SlippinYimmyMcGill@reddit

I know for fucking sure that the oil filter wouldn't be sideways on the engine.

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Einstiensbrain@reddit

Checker Taxi Cab 🚕

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squirrel8296@reddit

Something like an older Jeep, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz (inline engines only, not the V8s+), or pick up truck.

You want a relatively simple drivetrain with a longitudinally mounted inline engine driving either the rear wheels only or all four wheels through a simple manual transfer case. Older BMWs with inline engines would also be on this list if their hoods opened the right way instead of backwards like a British car.

While a lot of folks hype small front wheel drive vehicles with a transverse inline 4 cylinder, like the Corolla and Civic, their front suspension ends up doing a lot so it's it's surprisingly difficult and expensive anytime the suspension needs servicing. Also, servicing the engine is a lot more difficult than any longitudinal engine, especially the ones that have timing belts where you have to do half the job from the hood and the other half from inside the wheel well. Or, even worse, on certain older VWs (like the New Beetle) where the entire front has to come off the car to do some regular engine servicing, like a timing belt.

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YeahIGotNuthin@reddit

Would it also have to meet occupant and pedestrian safety standards, and any fuel economy requirements? Because those are some of the reasons cars don’t do tractor things.

I promise you, it isn’t because the car manufacturers don’t know there’s such a thing as “tractors.”

”We have a WHAT division?” - nobody at the part of Ford that builds pickup trucks

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Loveschocolate1978@reddit (OP)

Tractor trailer = semi-truck. Not a farm tractor. Here is an example of what I meant in the post: https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/big-rig-semi-trucks-open-260nw-2569798565.jpg

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YeahIGotNuthin@reddit

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/iSdBQTjTeaU/maxresdefault.jpg

*"We have a WHAT division?"* - nobody at the part of Volvo that builds cars

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Loveschocolate1978@reddit (OP)

It would have to meet all minimum US federal requirements.

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YeahIGotNuthin@reddit

Welp, so much for the replacing-the-bonnet-on-a-passenger-car idea then.

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espressocycle@reddit

You can't work on tractors anymore either.

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YeahIGotNuthin@reddit

Software…

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ThingyGoos@reddit

That reaction would be correct though, because ford tractors got bought out years ago, and have been owned by both fiatagri, and currently are a part of the CNH group. Even before they got bought and lost the name, I'm fairly confident that the agricultural side of the business was very seperate for a long time

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SkiyeBlueFox@reddit

I could've sworn Ford tractors was started by an entirely unrelated guy to capitalize on the car brands good name

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Fuzzy_Park109@reddit

The oil filter location on the FT86/BRZ is a good start...on top of the engine, at the front!

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Loveschocolate1978@reddit (OP)

I always thought this was an interesting idea, but was a bit confused as to the overall savings because as I understand it, the oil still needs to be drained from the bottom of the engine, correct? I suppose someone could use a pump to remove the oil through the dipstick tube, however, I've heard this doesn't remove all contaminants as well as a conventional, underside oil change.

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WhichStatistician810@reddit

They’re pretty good, it would lose points for the spark plugs. I also have to deduct a point for when youve just finished a job and drop a socket and it gets jammed between the manifold and under tray, happened to me yesterday after changing all the tensioners and remarking on how easy it was to get to them

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GirchyGirchy@reddit

Since Subaru calls for 60k plug change intervals, that's a valid complaint. Our Outback's near that mark and I'm not looking forward to it.

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spannermeetworks@reddit

Audi 3.0tdi also

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Soggy-Car-4548@reddit

Checker Marathon (Taxi). Those yellow ones associated with old school NYC.

Checker Marathon

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Popular-Tomato-1313@reddit

Second gen crv

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Jumpy-Stress603@reddit

1976 Ford Pinto or Mercury Bobcat, same year.

Or 4-cylinder 1978 DL242 Volvo sedan.

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Watery_Octopus@reddit

Very big with empty space to access all fasteners without disassembling unrelated components. Imagine doing motor mounts without dropping a subframe, for example.

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ThaiTum@reddit

It would probably be an electric vehicle. Those are already easy to service, what little needs to be done.

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_EnFlaMEd@reddit

An electric car that is completely modular. Each module just unclips or has pins to pull out. Zero tools required. If something in the module fucks up, you just swap the whole thing out.

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Informal_Ad4399@reddit

I'd love this, but I don't live in an area where they use salt.

You're buying a modular rolling chassis that gets better each time agit is replaced. New and better tech goes in when replacing old stuff.

The rust belt would kill the chassis before any replacement part would fail.

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Nervous_Hurry_9920@reddit

Yeah. Electric cars.

But the batteries are fairly dangerous to service, so they would need a more modular system.

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Competitive-Reach287@reddit

You can swap out an entire battery pack on a Kia Soul EV in about 15 minutes. Servicing that pack (checking and replacing dead cells) is probably a little more involved, however.

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saabstory88@reddit

They are very modular, and there are very few friends in the market that are not easily safed. I work inside of them every day

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EuroCanadian2@reddit

That's more or less the way many of them are made now

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Nervous_Hurry_9920@reddit

Ah, makes sense. I drive an old, paid off car. Been out of the game.

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redditisahive2023@reddit

I have been giving my buddy shit. Because his Rivian has had warranty on oil leaking from a gear box.

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jontss@reddit

I'm not understanding why this is surprising.

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Ok-Entertainment5045@reddit

Because EV people love to brag about no oil changes and less maintenance. They still have things that need maintenance. Also, in my experience working with electric motors they work until they don’t and are not easy to repair. It’s more of a replacement type deal.

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jontss@reddit

Yeah the early versions of my EV were known to have bearing failures. The bearing was non replaceable so you needed a whole new motor.

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saabstory88@reddit

I am an Indy EV mechanic and rebuilding motors are one of my shops specialties. Which motor do you think is not servicable?

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jontss@reddit

Most major components are either like 10 hours of labour on my EV or non replaceable.

Heck, they removed the differential fill port.

To change the air filter on the generator requires replacing the whole intake manifold.

They basically designed it with the idea that if anything major breaks you'll simply throw out the car.

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Apprehensive-Cycle-9@reddit

Which EV do you have?

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jontss@reddit

i3.

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saabstory88@reddit

Not replaceable by the dealer. I have an independent EV shop and when you ignore what BMW tells you is serviceable, they are quite pleasant to work on. The engineers actually did design these cars to be repairable, but theres no procedure in ISTA so they won't do it

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ThaiTum@reddit

On our Tesla it took them 2 hours to replace the entire drive unit. Generally I found the EV related parts that move the car are designed to not need service.

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MRV-DUB@reddit

Im biased but the one time largest auto manufacturer ,already made 21+million of them . The original aircooled Beetle . Need a new engine ? Go have lunch ...it will be done when you get back. I just pulled one out last week 15 min .

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BigPapaJava@reddit

Make it body on frame construction with panels that easily come off to allow access anywhere.

Oil filter on top of the engine with a Fumoto valve instead of a drain plug.

Inline 6 engine, mounted longitudinally, with a lot of room in the engine bay.

Ground clearance high enough to climb under the vehicle and access things without lifting it.

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Fancy_Chip_5620@reddit

It would look like an old picture truck with a removable front cross member

Lifting the motor up and struggling to yank the pan off kinda sucks on those old truck ls

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4linosa@reddit

It wouldn’t have a combustion engine.

The brakes would all be discs with slot loading pads.

The filters for the A/C wouldn’t be hidden behind the glove compartment.

The lubrication points would accessible without a lift and without removing wheels.

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GrumpyBearinBC@reddit

My brick nose Ford has one of the largest engine bays made. It is wide enough to fit the 460 and long enough to hold the 300 inline 6 cylinder

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Due_Ad_6085@reddit

All filters on top. All bolts either metric or SAE not both.

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Visible_Document_376@reddit

VW bug

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aquatone61@reddit

A VW Beetle, Citroen 2CV are 2 examples that come to mind.

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No_Topic5591@reddit

Mechanically simple (and spacious under the bonnet). Minimal electronics, and all software conforming to an open standard (like OBD, but without any proprietary stuff, and including engine maps etc as well).

The other huge factor is that the car should be completely ubiquitous. If you look at all the "cars of the people" - cars like the Renault 4, Fiat 500 (original), Citroen 2CV, Lada Riva, etc, they were so incredibly common that all the spare parts for them (belts, spark plugs, etc) were stocked in every regular gas station and corner shop.

I've been saying for decades, that Western governments need to create a new "car for the people", for the developing world. Places like India and Africa have huge populations, but currently still have incredibly low rates of car ownership - but as they get wealthier and the middle classes grow, that's certainly going to change. If you get another billion people start driving ICE powered cars, that's going to have serious implications for CO2 emissions and the environment. We're lucky it didn't already happen with China - fortunately, they saw the business opportunity that EVs presented, and are now well on the way to dominating the global car industry with EVs instead.
We need something small, simple, rugged, easily maintained, adaptable to different uses (car, pickup, van etc), that can be manufactured ultra-cheaply (even if it has to be subsidised) in vast quantities, and that will be relatively non-polluting.

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MarchCompetitive6235@reddit

Ideally, it would be something modular, certain sections could be easily removed and replaced or serviced. Parts would be common and available. Things would be accessible and everything would have a grease fitting.

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External_Brother1246@reddit

A tube frame race car, with a completely removable body.

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NegotiationLow2783@reddit

Beetle

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Schwhitey@reddit

A bike, specifically a fixie

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ForeskinForeman@reddit

I have a 1974 Pantera, and it is surprisingly easy to work on just about everything except the front of the engine. That requires removing the firewall, which isn’t that difficult. Maybe 20 minutes for removal. There are some difficult to reach areas but for the most part everything is just right there in the engine bay.

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SprJoe@reddit

A Tesla - very few mechanical parts to be serviced.

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Pundersmog@reddit

I’ve thought a lot about this. The dog box design of old full size vans is pretty amazing. The design absolutely fails when you need to access it from the front.

I think if the dog box design was combined with a forward tilting cab over style body it would improve significantly. Even just recessing the engine further back and higher in the van design would be a big improvement. I think we’ve seen that in some military vehicles but of course we sacrifice interior space.

One thing I love about sci fi spaceships is that they have an engine room. I’m thinking of firefly specifically. There’s something so visceral about driving a van with the dog box off. Not unlike being a motorcycle and hearing a weird sound and just looking down to diagnose.

Beyond engine specific access. Things like steering and suspension do seem to improve stability the more secured they are. But even something overly attached is not a problem when access is easy. Imo access without a lift would be ideal.

I’ve got more thoughts but am tired of finger typing.

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boatsnhosee@reddit

4th gen Chevy C/K

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glenndrives@reddit

Early Toyotas. They used to advertise that you could perform almost all preventative maintenance just lifting the hood.

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espressocycle@reddit

I don't know about that. I tried rebuilding a carb on one and the screws were made of butter.

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tecnic1@reddit

1997 Honda Civic

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jking7734@reddit

I believe there used to be a car built like that. It was called a Checker Marathon

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Inconsequentialish@reddit

This is a political and legal question more than anything.

No proprietary, locked software or proprietary computer electronics. No screen at all would be best, but something that's conceivably replaceable in 20 years would be amazing. (For example, the connection to the screen should be via some form of USB-C using standard protocols, and the software should be open-source.)

Speaking of screens, now that screens are pretty much universal, I have NO idea why diagnostic info and capabilities and complete user and service manuals aren't mandated to be available via the screen. (I mean, I KNOW why; it's just not logical.)

OBD2 is standard, yet manufacturers have been allowed to hide and lock away more and more and more functions. I would love to see actual enforcement and a return to the original mandate and standards of OBD2.

For that matter, why aren't service manuals and diagnostic software available free to owners?

Any special tools needed to service the car should be provided free to owners and mechanics. Either they come with the car, or they're available free upon request within 24 hours. For expensive and bulky items, some sort of "library" would be acceptable.

Easy to access jacking points that work with floor jacks. More cars lately seem designed so that they can only be lifted with a two-post lift in a shop.

No proprietary or unusual fasteners. (Toyota comes to mind as the closest to this ideal. Ford and GM just love to invent stupid new kinds of fasteners, and do dumb crap like sprinkle butter-soft Torx button head crap into suspensions.)

No proprietary or unusual electrical connectors. Pick a system and stick with it. Harley-Davidson, for example, often (but not always) uses Deutsch connectors and it's quite nice for repairability. Damn near every other vehicle uses a complete hodgepodge of weird connectors that all do the same job, yet they're from several different manufacturers, and they insist on inventing new ones.

Better long-term corrosion resistance on fasteners. Toyota and Honda seem to be the only ones that pay any attention to fastener quality.

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timschwartz@reddit

Backup cameras are mandatory (at least in the US), so screens are also mandatory.

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superperps@reddit

Anything with a small block 350 in it.

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_synik@reddit

1923 Ford Model T

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KaleidoscopeIcy9271@reddit

I'm thinking it would be a 'parts-bin special' in a durable, modular shell designed for serviceablity- So a Checker cab, or a Grumman LLV, or maybe even an air-cooled Beetle. Or some modern version of it. The Slate concept seems like a good starting point for a shell. Make a modular engine system, ICE and battery from 4th gen Toyota Prius platform for example, so you can go the 'Prime' route for more electric range. Also have a full electric option from another source. If you want it basic ICE, there's a million options, although emissions regulations will be the limiting factor. Safety regulations would severely limit the 'ease of access' workaround, although having modular assemblies that are easy to remove would help. I think a better focus would be on 'remove these 10 easily-accessable bolts and remove this big of car for easy access'.
It could be done, I feel like if we didn't have to have free market capitalism giving us 30 different brands with full lineups we could focus on making something like this, because it needs the economics of scale to really work.

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058kei@reddit

Horse and carriage? XD

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Magnum-3000@reddit

Canyonerrrroooooo!

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stu54@reddit

Slate truck. Drivetrain needs no service, suspension and the rest is cheap and simple.

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dinglebarryb0nds@reddit

I checked in on those yesterday. Allegedly coming out end of this year for like 27,500 base price. I don’t know for sure but ev incentives are no longer a thing right

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Vault702@reddit

Depends on the state. Slate is only selling in the US market at least at first and federal tax credit for EVs ended September 30, 2025.

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RHS1959@reddit

My Saab 900 was very easy to work on , even as a driveway mechanic. Saabs were literally designed by aircraft engineers. Aircraft require regular maintenance, so serviceability is a design factor. My Saab’s hood opened at the windshield and tipped forward on a double hinged mechanism and gave clear access to the full engine bay from both sides. If you need access from the front, the full hood removes and re-installs easily with two bolts. Since the engine is installed “backwards” the belt driven accessories are next to the firewall, not crowded behind the radiator and fan shroud, and the clutch can be replaced from above without removing the engine or transmission from the car. Neat trick.

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Pit-Viper-13@reddit

I was looking on YouTube how to replace my heater core. Saw the entire dash has to come out and it takes two techs who know what they are doing two entire days.

Came to reddit and this was in my feed.

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txcancmi@reddit

I've replaced many heater cores. It was always clear to me that dashboards were designed to be assembled once, and never disassembled for service.

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3rdgenerX@reddit

89 Toyota pickup with the 22RE and crank windows, wish I could find one

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VW-MB-AMC@reddit

An old VW Beetle comes close. The whole engine comes out in less than 5 minutes.

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74orangebeetle@reddit

My username relevant...haven't had it for a long time/but would've loved to do an EV conversion. One I had was rusting out/would've been a bad candidate for it though.

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VW-MB-AMC@reddit

I have two Beetles myself. If an EV conversion was not so expensive, and my country's equivalent of the DMV was not so backwards and difficult to work with I would strongly consider to have one of them converted. Or our W123 Mercedes would also work very good for a conversion.

I would also like to have an old American cruiser with an electric motor.

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1TONcherk@reddit

The whole front clip would tip forward, or at least a vertical service position hood like old Volvos or Mercedes and some BMW.

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JCDU@reddit

Realistically it would cost a fair bit more, and be worse in a lot of ways.

Here's an actual car designer talking about the stuff people love to complain about:
https://www.theautopian.com/no-car-companies-dont-design-parts-to-fail-the-second-the-warranty-is-over/

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Tool_junkie_1972@reddit

2CV is the only answer.

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OGbigfoot@reddit

It would look like a Lada or Volkswagen Beetle.

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jontss@reddit

Maybe old Beetle. Not the 2000ish or newer models.

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OGbigfoot@reddit

Lol yeah. My last beetle was a '67.

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Mattna-da@reddit

Pretty much a diesel Toyota LC70 but modified to allow exposed stainless steel socket head Allen bolts everywhere so it only takes minutes to replace anything

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EuroCanadian2@reddit

If only Lego made real cars.

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pkupku@reddit

The original VW beetle. Air cooled. Engine drops out with a floor jack and removing four bolts.

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Toowoombaloompa@reddit

I'll see your Beetle and raise you a Hillman Imp. Water cooled, but the block was aluminium and could easily be lifted out by hand. Rear engine, rear drive.

Added bonus: early models were hella unreliable so you got plenty of practice at maintenance and repairs!

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Brixmis51@reddit

Good choice. I was going to suggest Series LandRover or Austin Mini, but I'm glad the Imp got a comment.

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Human-Time-4114@reddit

“Curious to here”

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One_Evil_Monkey@reddit

You're missing a whole shit pot full of minute details here.

What year we talking about?

A hood/bonnet that tilts... gee they did that with the C3 through C6 Corvette.

Then again there's the whole Model who gives a shit. Where each side lifts up on each side of the engine like gullwings as in Ford until 1927.

Something that was perfectly servicable in relatively modern times... it'd literally have manual locks, windows, steering, brakes, transmission, 4 or inline 6 cylinder.

But in reality, there's no such thing any more.

Slap a computer on it and call it a day.

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Gubbtratt1@reddit

It would be a body on frame pickup. Engine bay either tractor style or a flip front. Cab on hinges with a hydraulic jack like on cabover lorries, except it flips to the side. Bed is mounted via four excenter latches. Solid axles on leaf springs, manual transmission, carbureted petrol engine (if serviceability is the only goal) or mechanical diesel engine (if a bit of reliability is also fine). The drivetrain would be British for the international market, as that's what's easiest to find spares for. Russia and North America would get domestic stuff instead.

This would obviously pass zero safety or emissions regulations anywhere in the civilised world, but replace the engine with something modern and limit it to 60kmh and you have yourself a perfectly legal tractor. As tractors doesn't need to be inspected you can then swap in an old engine and remove the speed limiter.

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