# Stupidest product design you’ve experienced **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 25, 2023, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621 "2023-03-25T02:57:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 98
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1941 "2026-04-15T15:17:04Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > the battery itself is virtually inaccessible when attempting to replace My old VW Mark IV GTI required removing the driver side headlight to replace the battery. It wasn’t too terrible, and mostly only made a 10 minute job a 30 minute job. My old BMW R1150R motorcycle required removing the gas tank to replace the battery. That made a 10 minute job a 60 minute job. Both annoying and stupid designs. On my current two cars and motorcycle replacing the battery is a 10 minute job. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1942 "2026-04-15T15:49:25Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > Batteries used to be located in a spot where it was easy to access, but apparently not anymore. Oh goodness, yes, the battery on the Rogue Sport I had 2018-2024 was buried under so much air cleaner ducting… ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1943 "2026-04-15T16:18:25Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > Usually called a pendant. But those fully attached to the chain have their own problems. The whole chain often starts migrating, sliding the pendant up toward one shoulder or the other. My wife has some, but generally avoids them, no matter how cool an individual piece may be. There are advantages and disadvantages to both kinds. I’ve never had an issue with the entire pendant (when attached in a specific spot) migrating over a shoulder or whatever, but I can definitely see it happening. Yeah, the free-floating pendants often wind up with the clasp in front right next to the pendant. But you can wear them with a different chain if you like. > [@TRC4941](#): > > I think about this practically every day. I do have a bra that has the adjusters in the front, but it’s not my favorite bra as a whole. Yeah - there are certainly issues there. Years back, basic bras like Playtex had the adjuster in the front. The strap, however, was not fastened down - you’d feed it through the adjuster and then it had a loose end. As in, it was quite possible for it to come out entirely, leaving that side with no support until you could get to a bathroom and fix it. Did this happen often? No. Did it ever happen? Ohhhhh yeah. I haven’t seen one with that flaw in decades - they’ve learned to use the kind with the end fastened to the sliding adjuster buckle, thankfully. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1944 "2026-04-15T17:13:48Z")
Back in the 1970’s, there was a car, I’ve forgotten which, that had the battery under the rear seat. I know this because a friend had one, and I was one of a batch of people in the back seat (pre seat belt etc. laws, you put as many people in there as could fit) when our cumulative weight brought the seat springs into contact with the battery and the seat tried to catch fire. We emptied that car out in a great hurry, and the fire went out. I don’t remember how we all got back home. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1945 "2026-04-15T17:17:15Z")
Wasn’t the VW Beetle’s battery under the back seats? Though I don’t remember ever having heard such a story about a burning Beetle back seat. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1946 "2026-04-15T17:20:56Z")
I don’t think it was a Beetle, though I might be wrong. I think it might have been one of the later VW’s. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1947 "2026-04-15T17:21:17Z")
Yes, the Beetle’s battery was under the back seat. Not sure if other old rear-engined VWs put it there as well, although I wouldn’t be surprised if they did since they were kind of based on the original Beetle design. And I have heard other stories about them catching fire that way. IIRC it required putting a _lot_ of weight on the back seat, though. ---
**Author:** ![thorny\_locust](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thorny_locust/32/431_2.png) [@thorny\_locust](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thorny_locust)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1948 "2026-04-15T17:26:14Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > IIRC it required putting a _lot_ of weight on the back seat, People did, though. It was amazing how much you could fit in those cars. And there weren’t any legal restrictions at the time about only one passenger per seat. Or if there were, certainly nobody enforced them. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1949 "2026-04-15T17:28:54Z")
VW Beetle, perfect clown car. There used to be numerous competitions of “Most people squeezed into a Beetle” in the days. ETA: and I get claustrophobic just thinking about it… ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1950 "2026-04-15T17:46:18Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > Yes, the Beetle’s battery was under the back seat. For a short period of time, I drove a 66 Beetle with the battery under the back seat. IIRC, it was a 6-volt battery. I bought the car from my Grandfather when I was desperate for wheels and had little money. Served me well for a couple of years until I could afford something better (and bigger). And I never had more than two people in the back seat. Hell, I’m not sure I ever had _any_ passenger in the back seat. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1951 "2026-04-15T17:49:42Z")
> [@Railer13](#): > > . IIRC, it was a 6-volt battery. Yes, in the sixties VW Beetles still had 6V electrics. Used to be a PITA. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1952 "2026-04-15T17:50:27Z")
Other VW vehicles based on the Beetle also had the underseat battery and I think some Audi vehicles did as well. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1953 "2026-04-15T17:53:39Z")
This all changed with the 1973 VW Passat, which was built on a common platform with the Audi 80, and the 1974 Golf (Rabbit in the US), which were both front engine and front wheeled. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1954 "2026-04-15T18:17:27Z")
My Prius has its 12 volt battery under the trunk to be accessed by pulling the top of the trunk off. Thankfully when I suspected that the battery was dying, I researched where it was and so I cleaned out my trunk before I took it to the mechanic rather than assume that it was in the front of the vehicle. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1955 "2026-04-15T19:51:03Z")
My then GF later wife bought a new Audi 5000 in ~1986. Battery was under the RR passenger seat. The last 3 BMWs I’ve owned have the battery under the trunk floor. Fortunately you only need to access that compartment to replace the battery. The dedicated jumper connections are in the engine compartment in readily accessible spots. But the first time you look in there and don’t find any battery as a familiar landmark is kinda weird. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2026, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1956 "2026-04-15T19:59:58Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My then GF later wife bought a new Audi 5000 in ~1986. Battery was under the RR passenger seat. My family had several Audis from the 1980s and 1990s which is how I remembered this. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1957 "2026-04-16T14:15:25Z")
> [@Mama\_Zappa](#): > > The strap, however, was not fastened down - you’d feed it through the adjuster and then it had a loose end. I forgot about those! If they did come undone, it took forever to figure out how to re-thread them. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1958 "2026-04-16T14:46:58Z")
At least you had the other side to use as an example. Unless you had a double wardrobe malfunction. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1959 "2026-04-16T15:27:30Z")
> [@thorny\_locust](#): > > And there weren’t any legal restrictions at the time about only one passenger per seat. Or if there were, certainly nobody enforced them. I put 5 friends in the front/only seat of my C10 Chevy pickup once. So that would be six college students. Not small people (I was 6’3"). It worked, but was a bit chummy. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2026, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621/1960 "2026-04-16T15:36:11Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > I put 5 friends in the front/only seat of my C10 Chevy pickup once. So that would be six college students. Not small people (I was 6’3"). It worked, but was a bit chummy. My mom picked us up, and 3 other kids from a family we were close to, at school once. In Dad’s old Mercedes. 2 bucket seats, a bench seat for 3 in the back. It was… cozy. And the reason she fetched us was because there was snow, and the buses weren’t going to come on time or something. Yeah, perfectly safe. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=97) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupidest-product-design-you-ve-experienced/981621.md?page=99)