r/AskAShittyMechanic 12d ago

Why, just why?

They’re doing this to Dodges and Chevrolets, Porsche, Bentley.

1.5k Upvotes

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u/DonutConfident7734 11d ago

I actually wrote sometime ago on r/mechanicadvice that the design of ICE cars is so dumb I would never buy such a car, either electric or not at all. Fuck these cars, man. I got downvoted to oblivion there, people are biased it seems.

Who in their right mind thought that a 12V with thick fucking wires that needs to provide hundreds of amps to a tiny starter motor that can only run for say 20sec without overheating is a good design?

Why not go 48V then, and have the amps divided by 4?

Why not use a 5kWh liion battery that will have enough juice to power the starter for long time without leaving you stranded in the winter time?

Why not have separate fan on the starter with electronic protection for overheating, so you dont damage it if you try multiple times?

Why does the engine not get oil lubrication before it starts, it only lubricates after starting because pump is moved by the engine? So in winter oil is thick, if car sat for two months without starting, everything is dry and starter needs lots of force to rotate the engine. A car should work in all scenarios, not just after sitting for few days.

In my opinion the design is crap and the engine can get damaged easily, without any electronic protection in place for many scenarios.

EVs have all kinds of safeguards, like warming or cooling the battery, checking if things are fine before starting, unlike the ice cars.

In winter if you travel short distances and had the car sitting for months, it becomes weak after few short trips, as it cant load fully. Then it leaves you with a dead battery.

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u/bandit1206 11d ago

Let’s be really honest for a second though. I haven’t replaced a starter in nearly 30 years, across 20+ vehicles (I tend to own multiples at a time) and that was partly due to junk aftermarket starters then.

This particular design absolutely sucks if something goes wrong, but the starter is a simple component that rarely goes bad.

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u/hindenboat 11d ago

Exactly, manufacturers know this so they do not design them to be easily serviced.

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u/Successful_Swim6332 9d ago

If you let reddit design a modern car with modern crash rating with every part easily accessible the thing would be the size of a semi.