Can we talk about the difference in engine bay cleanliness between modern cars and 90s models?

I worked on a 1996 F-150 yesterday, and then a 2022 Honda Civic today. The difference in how the engine bays are laid out is crazy. On the Ford, I could actually get to the spark plugs and belts without pulling half the intake off. That Civic had plastic covers over everything, and it took me 20 minutes just to find the dipstick. Has anyone else noticed how much harder newer cars are to work on because of all the shrouding and covers?

2 comments

2 Comments

gavin_reed20d ago

The plastic covers are basically a conspiracy by dealerships to make you pay them for basic maintenance (and it's working). All that extra shrouding just hides problems until they're way worse than they needed to be.

ninabutler20d ago

Yeah but I gotta push back a little on the conspiracy theory angle. My buddy is a dealer tech and he actually hates those plastic covers too, theyre a pain for him as much as anyone. The real reason is mostly noise and aerodynamics, they shove all that plastic on there to meet EPA sound regs and squeeze out 0.2 extra mpg on the highway. That said, its still frustrating as hell when you gotta pop three clips and a quarter turn just to see if you even have power steering fluid.