legacycentral bbs

What elements of the Legacy design bother you most? What things would you like to change if you could have input into the design phase?

For my part I think I would change the way that the trunk is set up. There is this spot for water to runoff just below the rear window but when you open the trunk water flows down over the edge of the lid and onto whatever is lying in the trunk. This has always annoyed the hell out of me not to mention that water flows right in through top of the window even if it's only cracked open a little bit.

sun visors.....who the hell uses a plastic piece on a wear surface
door lock cylinders
speedo cable base

more power & no auto trannies

Electrical connectors-Specifically the o2 sensor connector
Trim- no need for that much chrome
lights on the 90-91- fogs, and none of that gray stuff in the back
N/A models- no reason to have any
Space- Need more leg and headroom
folding mirrors- standard

Yeah, that gray interior stuff is annoying. It never seems to fit right. I think I'll replace it now. As far as the N/A's go I'm not sure that's a DESIGN flaw. However, I agree that it would be nice if they manufactured more of them here in the states.

The electrical connectors I can understand because they need to be very secure and keep the elements away from the connections.

I don't like that I can't open the trunk from the back with my bare hands (I have to use a key or pull the handle by the driver's seat).

I'd like it if the trunk arms were shielded and covered so that you wouldn't have to worry about crushing your cargo when you closed the trunk.

I think it was dumb to use plastic for the body of the turbo coolant filler tank.

Female-style coil towers are kind of annoying; male-style ones give you clear feedback once the ignition wire terminals have made proper contact. As a bonus, the crimp-on terminals are the same as those for the plugs.

Why aren't speed bleeders standard on all cars? Ditto for Fumoto-type oil drain valves.

Since they have almost all the infrastructure already in place, I don't see why they wouldn't have made the coolant temperature gauge on the dash an actual gauge, with markings in degrees.

I would like it if I had infinitely variable dash dimming instead of having to pick between 4 settings. I'd also like infinitely variable wiper speeds.

It's a little weird that the hydraulic clutch has about 2 centimeters of free play at the top and that it's not meant to be adjusted.

No fog light option seems silly, especially with the 92-94 turbo models whose bumper covers have specific spots for them. Funnily enough, it was a dealer-installed option on early 1990 models only apparently.

The front lighting on the 90-91 models is terrible; poor headlamps and turn signals that you can only see from the front.

On 92-94 models the sidemarker lamps should have been set up from the factory to work as turn signals too.

I prefer it when the entire center of the steering wheel acts as a horn button rather than having the little buttons on the spokes. I also prefer standard manual 3-point seatbelts over the automatic shoulder belt with manual lap belt.

I wish my turbo had map pockets built into the backs of the front seats. As far as I can tell, only LSi models had that. Ditto for the fore/aft adjustable headrests.

I hate having to press my sunroof close button twice to get it to close fully.

It would have been cool if all the power window switches, at least on the master switch panel, had auto-up and auto-down. Auto-open and auto-close would have been cool for the sunroof too.

Most of these aren't so much design flaws as design omissions... And some of them have been fixed in later models.

Random Heater cores .

Checked Haynes... looks like I'll be taking out the center console, dash, steering column cover, glove box, and a/c box in front of heater core (we'll see about that, I'm not discharging my system). In other words everything behind the windshield and in front of the shifter.

Ditto on the headlights... they're just plain terrible, barely light anything.

I hate having to press my sunroof close button twice to get it to close fully.

It is annoying, but it is a safety thing so you don't close the roof on stray fingers which you may have pointing up. I know a few times I would of closed the thing on my fingers if it weren't for it

Mark,

fenders that collect dirt (look in them when your door is open)

Windshield sprayers that dribble onto the passengers when the windows are open

Cloud-happy headlights (dunno fellas, my 90 high beams are better than the glass ones on my bmw)

Rear door locks that trap the back passengers when they break (although its funny)

frameless windows- prone to leaks, rattles

plastic trim around the windows

different differentials on manuals and automatics

Better fuel economy, 250 hp stock, no automatics, and it can fly

I changed a bunch of stuff so vrg3's comments dont make sense anymore

the ease of which rust occurs on multiple places on the car.

MK

LegacyT wrote:It is annoying, but it is a safety thing so you don't close the roof on stray fingers which you may have pointing up. I know a few times I would of closed the thing on my fingers if it weren't for it

I've never had that problem. I do sometimes get my hair caught in a closing sunroof or window if the wind is blowing, though.

But anyway, wouldn't it make more sense to have the roof stop closing if an obstruction is detected? Current to drive the motor would go way up and it could indicate to the control unit that it should stop (or maybe even reverse) the motor.

How do you find yourself closing the sunroof with your fingers sticking through it, though? I can't imagine the situation.

scottzg wrote:Windshield sprayers that shoot into the passengers when the wipers are on

Into the passengers? You mean through the sunroof? You may want to adjust the nozzles' aim using a pin or needle.

But that does remind me of another annoyance -- the windshield wipers happen to deposit large amounts of water right at the top of the travel on the driver's side, and it collects and falls onto my left knee if the window is open. I don't know how that could be easily avoided, but I haven't had the problem in other cars. It's especially annoying when it's not raining but I just want to use the washer. I don't like having to roll the window up, spray, wait for it to dry, and then roll the window back down.

Cloud-happy headlights (dunno fellas, my 90 lights are brighter than the glass ones on my bmw)

There's a lot more to headlights than perceived brightness. The beam pattern on 90-91 lights is just ridiculously bad.

frameless windows

I love this! Now when I work on friend's cars I frequently bang the corner of the window frame into my shoulder or something because I forget it's there.

Its hard to explain so I got a pic everybody who drives my car seems to wnat to use their thumbs to open close the sunroof



Mark,

Pretty much everything that's been stated and the fact that at any speed above around 65 mph the wiper on the drivers side tends to float over the spot right in my field of view while my passengers get an unobstructed perfect view of the road

I do that sometimes, but I don't grip the inside of the panel like that, looks like you are trying to rip it off. Anyways I agree taht stop is kinda annoying but I rarely use the sunroof cause the damn sun is always in my eyes when I open it(kinda defeats the purpose of having one if i'm never using it, but i didn't pay specifially for it so i dont care). Can't believe I forgot that chipping trim.

Oh and of course.. the crap 4EAT.

Oh and of course.. the crap 4EAT.

Heh, Agreed.

Mark - That is a habit to break! =)

I don't use the sunroof too much when the sky is clear because I just feel warmer because of the direct sunlight. At all other times, though, I use it a lot. Even in the dead of winter.

Scott - Your washers dribble onto the passengers? How does that happen? Mine drips onto the driver as I described above.

And my comment about the headlamps still makes sense. :) Even the high beam pattern is pretty crappy. Your BMW probably has really crappy lights too - what year/model is it?

no attack seatbelts
intercooled from the factory
and a little bit bigger hood scoop

rear center seat position is horribly uncomfortable, not for an adult.
so car only really seats 4 adults, and one very unlucky child

rain gutters....cant open driver side or passenger side window a 10th of an inch and you get dripped on....

- plastic sunvisor brackets
- plastic trunk opener lever
- trim gap that drips water when front windows are cracked
- trim paint that chips revealing the chrome underside
- sunroof sealant that turns to sponge over time
- horrible headlights (even the 92-94)
- no adjustable intermittent wipers
- no auto up/down for other windows
- little spot in front of front doors and behind fenders where leaves sit
- power antenna that hits spoiler on turbo models when trunk is open
- lip on rear wheel wells where dirt loves to sit

and of course a factory intercooler for north america

yeah i hate that dirt area, when I took my snorkus out I noticed it, and started cleaning it, I had a mound of a few pounds of dirt there, quite nasty

legacy92ej22t wrote:Pretty much everything that's been stated and the fact that at any speed above around 65 mph the wiper on the drivers side tends to float over the spot right in my field of view while my passengers get an unobstructed perfect view of the road

This is easy - just buy one of those blades with a plastic 'spoiler' on it. I've had to do this on virtually all of my more performance-orientated cars. The little spoiler presses the blade onto the screen harder as the speed rises. I've driven at 100 in the rain (on an empty freeway - I'm not insane...) and been able to see fine. Unlike my poor passenger!

Horrible sunvisors (although, I just wear sunglasses)

More rigidity from chassis braces like the STI has

Better steering wheel with more feel (already done)

Variable wipers and one-touch windows, as mentioned

No black and chrome side molding

front and rear spoilers for the wagon (more stability would be nice)

different color interior lights

no beige interiors

nicer side view mirrors with less drag/frontal area

more appropriate materials for interior door handle return spring retainer (so I don't have to fix it with a small steel rod).

I think rust-wise these cars are great! Try an older Subaru, Datsuns, or a contemporary Honda for real nightmares.

I can't belive noone said better cup holder placement!