Most mechanics will tell you—it never feels like engineers think about the people who have to fix their vehicles. That’s why one mechanic was stunned when he started a strut replacement on a Lexus RX350. Instead of battling buried bolts, he found easy-access panels. No trim to remove, no wasted time. The moment was so surprising, he had to post a video online. His caption? “Bless this engineer.”

Lexus made his life easier, and that’s not something mechanics say often

Doing struts on a Lexus RX350, proof that not all engineers are awful people.
byu/AdmiralTwigs inJustrolledintotheshop

“Easy access panels to the top strut nuts,” he explained when someone asked what they were looking at. Others in the Reddit thread were just as shocked. “That’s a f***ing miracle!” one user wrote. Another mechanic summed it up: “Lexus is the best. Has been for a long time now.”

But here’s the truth—no engineer wants to make repairs harder. Every part of a car is a trade-off. More space makes repairs easier, but it takes up room, adds weight, and costs money. As one mechanic put it: “It’s not the engineers so much as it is the bankers telling them to slap it together yesterday with the cheapest materials.”

Still, some automakers make life easier for mechanics. Toyota and Lexus, in particular, have a reputation among mechanics for smart design. “I’ve found that Toyota and Lexus usually (not always) engineer things for easy serviceability,” one tech said. Another added, “Toyota’s design and execution methodologies are amazing.”

And it’s not just about making jobs easier—it’s about making cars last. Lexus has topped J.D. Power’s Vehicle Dependability Study two years in a row. “Lexus ranks highest overall in vehicle dependability,” the report stated, with Toyota taking the top spot for mass-market brands. Owners keep these cars longer, and smart design like this is a big reason why.

Of course, not every job is this easy. Even Lexus has its pain points. One mechanic in the thread warned about a different Lexus procedure, “Now try to replace the lower control arms and come back and tell me about those engineers.” Another joked, “As an engineer, I’m going to need this person’s name and location. The council of engineers will need to deal with this quickly, otherwise, he might start giving us a good name. Can’t have that.”

But for once, a mechanic had something nice to say about an engineer. And that alone is worth celebrating.