Inferior Component Design and manufacture within the car trade

What is Inferior Component Design? Well they don’t make things like they used to. We’ve all heard this from our parents and elders in whatever field we move or work in. I’d always just dismissed this because, of course things aren’t the same.

For a start we have automation, robots that can build a whole car sub-frame without any help from humans, and without error. Then we have mass production along with cheaper global design and production.

Then we have manufacturers cutting costs to the bone, so the outcome is inevitable. Unfortunately, when all these events combine, something must give, and were now starting to see the effects of these cutbacks. Inferior component design and Inferior component manufacture are responsible for stranded motorists, all over the UK.

Why is it that a 1996 Audi is still running fine with the same key and ignition, and yet ignitions of 2011 Audi A3’s, have stopped turning? Or what about the 2016 Seat Flip Keys that are cracking within 24 months, when they used to last 15 years?

Lastly, no-one who has a new Ford Custom or Transit can believe that the door lock is so badly designed and built, with so many have been broken into because the door lock design.

These are examples of both inferior component design and manufacture and we’ll examine these cases and many more. When car owners are stranded and unable to use their vehicle for days or weeks on end, they deserve to know why it’s happening and what can be done about it.

Inferior Component Design Case Study Audi A3 Ignition Failure

Having an Audi car is a status symbol. Although it’s just a Seat or Skoda, just having an Audi badge can make you feel good! The trouble is that owners of Audi A3 vehicles, and similar models are becoming stranded because of Inferior Component Design.

One day, if you own one of these, you may find yourself with a key that will not turn the lock. It happens with little warning, and on cars that are not that old. Cars built around 2010 onward are the ones that we’re seeing. The latest is a 2015 VW Beetle with the same problem. The lock housing is at fault, failing very early on in its life. Click here to look at this in depth.

Inferior Component Design Case Study New Style Ford Flip key

It shouldn’t be that hard to make a key that lasts, however moving parts have really messed modern car keys up. Before the days of flip out blades, life was easy. There were no moving parts, we were unaware.

However, now even the cheapest cars have flip keys. The problem is that poor design and manufacture mean the amount of flips you get is not very many. Blade stops springing out, simply because the mechanism has worn out, after just 4-5 years! Read more here

Inferior Component Design Case Study New Style VW Flip key

Why is it that a 1996 Audi or Volkswagen flip key is still working, built to last? However, keys made between 2010 -2014 are falling to pieces? Shown below is a new style VW key, and the designer made a simple mistake that is causing so much grief.

The blade is held into the hinge by a pin. This has been this way since the dawn of flip keys back in 1996. Audi and VW made seemingly indestructible keys that inspired a whole generation of wannabees.

However, fifteen years on and they have dropped that baton. Metal isn’t magic. If you don’t use enough of it, or use the wrong grade of material, you’re going to get problems.

When they designed the hinge, the (part that holds the blade), they basically forgot these simple principles. The hole does not have enough material, its hasn’t been made strong enough. Want to see this in more detail? Click here.

Inferior Component Design Case Study Mitsubishi L200 key

The chip that lets the car start is without doubt, the most important piece of electronics on the car. After all, without it, the car isn’t going anywhere! So you’d expect the car key designers to consider this when designing a key. However Mitsubishi seem to have forgotten all about it, a complete afterthought. Instead of the chip being protected, it’s fully exposed, and frequently lost.

Read on to find out how Inferior Component design is leaving Mitsubishi motorists stranded.