Nissan is recalling more than 236,000 small cars in the U.S. because the tie rods in front suspension can bend and break, possibly causing drivers to lose steering control.
They work the same way. But they don’t look the same, are made of something else and weight much less for the same performance. Even just changing the alloy slightly can have a massive impact.
You’re getting downvoted but absolutely right. The pressure on engineers to reduce cost, weight, cost, cost, and weight is immeasurable. This should have been caught in PT testing, and also after the first recall, but mid-level managers are very willing to sign off on engineering changes if there’s any chance of reducing cost. And weight. But mostly cost.
They work the same way. But they don’t look the same, are made of something else and weight much less for the same performance. Even just changing the alloy slightly can have a massive impact.
You’re getting downvoted but absolutely right. The pressure on engineers to reduce cost, weight, cost, cost, and weight is immeasurable. This should have been caught in PT testing, and also after the first recall, but mid-level managers are very willing to sign off on engineering changes if there’s any chance of reducing cost. And weight. But mostly cost.
Which furthers my point. They have been “improving” them for decades. They shouldn’t fail.
There are a ton of metrics that can and have been improved. One of them is reliability, it went down. Now they fix it.