'03 Rendezvous air filter change-what were they thinking?

[imported_48Rdmstr68Skylrk]

Here's to wishing a raging case of hemoroids to the moronic designer who came up the air filter on the 2003 Rendezvous. He managed to take what used to be a simple and enjoyable task that any backyard mechanic could perform in about 5 minutes, and turn it into an hour long project that involves removing the air mass detector and ajoining hoses just to gain access to the removable filter cover. On top of that, the available space to pull the air mass detector out of the "flexible" hoses is so tight that if the hoses didn't have any flex at all you'd be out of luck. You practically have to be Hulk Hogan to wrestle the darn thing out of the way just to get to the nice little flip clips that offer easy access to the filter. The designer really had his head up his behind on this design!!!

Has anyone developed a method to make this any easier? I followed the instructions in the shop manual.

[Guest my3buicks]

Tom, I changed mine in a Pep Boys parking lot in about 10 minutes - I think the trick is to throw the book away - ingenuity and brut force work great!!!!!

[imported_48Rdmstr68Skylrk]

I was worried that I would break or crack the air mass detector by forcing it the way one has to in disconnecting and reconnecting the hoses. The point I was trying to make with my dry humor is that, by design, air filter replacement should be a very easy thing to do. One should not have to disassemble anything other than the cover to the air cleaner. The air filter is an item that requires regular maintenance/inspection/replacement. My 99 Olds cutlass has the same type of filter cartridge but the designers managed to connect the air ducts in such a way where you only have to remove the box cover to gain access to the cartridge. I guess the Buick designer didn't think many Buick owners would take the do-it-yourself route and instead would rely on their mechanic to do the job.

[HurstGN]

OK, Tom, start by taking a chill pill........

Better take another, you're still fuming a little.......

OK, here's the deal. You're talking about a Buick here. A vehicle with the target demographic age of, well, lets say dirt+1. Now we all know good ole "dirt+1" here isn't too inclined to <span style="font-style: italic">ever</span> open the hood of the vehicle. We all know that if you never open the oil cap, or any other fluid cap under the hood, the fluid can't be contaminated, and therefore lasts forever. Add to the fact that "dirt+1" can't read the itty bitty print of that darn manual. "dirt+1" wishes that the print was larger, therefore requiring a thicker manual be printed that can be sat upon so "dirt+1" could actually have a chance at seeing over the steering wheel. Anyways, height aside..."dirt+1" is going to take the vehicle to the dealer and let them fix any problems. "dirt+1" just needs a heftier checkbook now-a-days, but doesn't understand why. That's OK though. The nice young man or woman that works on the vehicle can fix anything. These youngsters are so smart when it comes to these things. "dirt+1" merrily pays the $150 bill for changing the air cleaner and drives off. All is good. "dirt+1" is happy. "dirt+1" has alzheimers and can't remember how much that check was written for just 5 minutes ago. The dealer is happy. Everyone's happy, except the poor tech that had to suffer the ordeal of changing the filter. But the tech is young and life is unfair, he/she will get over it.

So you see Tom, you're just younger than the engineer accounted for. I can fix you up tho....got $150 and some alzheimers?

I feel your pain...I know some 90's Grand Prix's required you to remove a front fender support brace to get to the air cleaner. Oh yea, nothing like taking off structural components to reach a part.

Wanna have a battery hunt next?

[imported_48Rdmstr68Skylrk]

Hey Dan - I just sent you an e-mail on your yellowdart e-mail account reference the GL regional. go check it out.

[Guest my3buicks]

I personally don't think the Rendezvous was targeting the traditional as you put it "dirt + 1" buyer. This vehicle was targeted toward a much younger population section, although probably the soccer Moms & Dads that don't have time to change the filter and take it to the dealer anyways.

[6219_Rules]

Most modern cars are made to be basically disposable. The major corporations want you to take them to the dealership for maintenance. The age of the shade tree mechanic is over at least where modern cars are concerned, unless, of course, you are really good with computer components and have the tools. I hear this from professional mechanics all the time, who have left the corporate world to work on diesel trucks to make a decent living due to the expense of the tools, the hours and the wages that they get now. That is only one source so maybe its skewed but I think generally it is showing a problem in the industry. That and the rapid changes in technology, keeping cars around for 10 years is not cost effective.

That is one reason I own the cars I do, because it is cost effective for me. And I love older cars.

Not everyone does or wants to deal with them. Its good we all have the choice. <img src="http://www.aaca.org/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

[Reatta Man]

A lot of this frustration is caused by the myth of the 100,000 mile maintenance interval.

If you look in your manual, it may tell you to wait as long as 30,000 miles or more before changing the air filter. Yet, if you live anywhere near dust, pollen, sand, dirt roads, high winds, etc., then the idea of waiting that long to change the filter is suicide for your engine.

Same can be said of Dexcool coolant. There are tons of problems with leaving that stuff in the radiator for 100,000 miles. Some transmissions are sealed...you change the fluid when you replace the transmission. Insane!

Don't let the frustration of changing the filter discourage you. If you want it to last, do the maintenance, or have it done.

Be SURE to complain on those quality surveys Buick sends out to owners. Some of those surveys go right back to the people responsible for fixing the problem. Another solution is to change to an oil-soaked cotton gauze type filter, such as a K&N or Kool Blue filter after your car is out of the factory warranty. They require you to remove the entire air box, which would REALLY fix the problem.

Joe

[NTX5467]

Regarding DEXCOOL, GM's own internal survey of returning lease vehicles determined that lack of maintenance is what caused most of the problems, plus people putting green in with the orange and getting "mud". In those cases, there is a TSB out on how to correct those problems. Some vehicles tended to be worse than others too. In the shop, we saw many more S-10s with those issues (which was the primary coverage of the TSB).

Scenario -- coolant level drops due to lack of maintenance or a weak radiator cap. One reason most new GM vehicles have a "Low Coolant" light on them now, even pre-DEX in some cases. Although green is supposed to be compatible with orange in "emergency situations" and flushed and refilled with orange (to maintain the advantages of DEXCOOL) as soon as possible, few owners do that thinking "It's all the same, just a different color" so then they suddenly have cooling system/heater operation problems that could have been avoided in the first place.

With the demise/marked decrease of the full service gasoline station, hoods don't get raised nearly as much as they probably should, whether by a dealer technican during a scheduled oil change or the owner (if they might do their own maintenance). In reality, unless the windshield washer fluid runs low or some other warning light comes on, there's usually no real reason to raise the hood between scheduled maintenance visits anyway.

The comment about a typical Buick owner's demographics and their approach to car care might be realistic in some cases, but the same basic vehicle architecture is typically shared with other GM divisions too. The configuration of modern air induction systems is nothing like it used to be. Lots of convoluted tubes and resonators and other things to make them work quietly and somewhat efficiently (i.e., more things to take off to get to the job at hand). Personally, I'd rather deal with those things than a mass of vacuum lines from an '80s V-8 engine (an Olds 307 V-8 maybe??).

Even the older cars were not easy to work on in all situations. Remember the Pontiac V-8 ('65 era) whose #2 spark plug was buried under the a/c compressor bracket (one mechanic called it "a 50,000 mile spark plug)? Or the Pontiac Grand Prix ('77 era) starter cable that ran from one side of the car, under the front of the motor, and then to the starter? Or the old "in chassis" overhauls and re-bore jobs where the boring bar could not bore the rear cylinder as the cowl was in the way? Buicks, Chevrolets, Oldsmobiles, Fords, Chryslers, imports--they've all had some of these things from time to time.

In some cases, modern vehicles are better than the older ones. How much more maintenance did the older vehicles require compared to modern vehicles, just to last 80,000 miles before they needed major repairs?

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467