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Besides, on cold morning starts the underhood thrashing of noisy belts drown out the exhaust noise. I replaced the belts at 45k miles, but it still is noisy until warmup.
My wife and I currently have 2003 300M's. I had a 2000 (turned in on lease) and my wife had a 2001 (totalled when she bottommed out and ripped open the oil pan). This was paid off through our car insurance.
The 2000 was very much like the 1999. There were very few bugs in the 99 (for a first year car) and these were mostly gone by 2000. The main computer on my 2000 died about 2 weeks before lease turn in @ 35,500 miles. I had a left pull that was eliminated when I replaced the OE Goodyear tires. The automatic temperature control did not work properly -- it was always too cold. Dealer could not fix. But the car ran beautifully, got better gas mileage than the later models and I could not find a better car for the price as a replacement.
Neither my wife nor I have had any problems with our 2003's. However, as always with a used car purchase, you do take your chances.
Personally, I feel that both my 300M's (2000 & 2003) have been the best cars I have ever owned. That includes the 2004 Crossfire that my wife and I share.
Hope this helps.
Wonderful car, still a looker. Wherever mine is...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
Keep an eye out on Ebay! or Half.com. I will eventually be getting around to listing my original radio. It's the one with the cassette, CD changer controls, 3-band equalizer, and Sirius satellite capable (w/ factory Sirius receiver and necessary cables).
Well, now the car has 16,000 miles and I'm still not having any problems with the vehicle. But, the 300M sure feels different after driving the A4...
I've noticed that for some reason, after the last maintenance done to the car (before 16k) the car has become a lot heavier...normal?
Also, driving a Multitronic tranny on the A4, the AutoStick seems weird...ex. I was on first gear, went to 5,000 r.p.m. and the engine was roaring but it seemed pretty sluggis and i still have 6000+ redline! is this normal?
Other than that, the radio knob seems to be not functioning correctly, when I try to lower the volume really fast, the music gets louder! and sometimes, lowering the volume will simply not lower anything as if the knob is spinning for no cause...
Anyways, I'm planning to get the knob checked up, as of the car feeling a little heavier after the last maintenance and the AutoStick...I'd be very happy if you guys could post a few of your thoughts...
My big hello's to my old pals who've helped me so much, bigmike5, tayl0rd, intrepidspirit, laurasdada, and all the others...
We also are in the middle of our 2 day mid winter thaw in MN, roads clear and temp of 41 today after -15 ten days ago. So I just hopped out to the garage and tried to get the radio display to stay on "clock" with the Time switch.
No luck. Nothing in the owners manual even.
FYI if you read earlier posts I have been semi active in this group since I got a 04 red 300M last spring (I should say my wife's M who lets me drive it in the winter so she can drive our 4WD Grand Cherokee). No problems with the car, seems to handle OK in moderate snow but hard to critique compared to a JGC. I am looking forward to spring, pop open the sunroof (41's not quite warm enough for that especially being stuck at work until almost dark).
BTW we have the 6 CD changer radio. No satellite radio (my son works at Best Buy and we got a real deal on XM which I prefer over Sirius anyway) and no Nav screen as I have a built in compass in my head (long story, but I never get lost except for Boston). We did try out an earlier less loaded 300M with single CD that scrolled the name of the songs across the screen which I thought was kinda neat and surprised this radio does not offer it. My 18 year old son wishes it was MP3 compatible, but I'm sure it's a late 90s design before this MP3 craze came on strong. Oh yes, my 01 Grand Cherokee's radio does toggle between radio frequency or clock, and it's a single CD system, but very similar to the 300Ms in operation which is one reason we picked the 300 vs other vehicles ... other than the lights/wipers most other controls are similar to the Jeeps which is kinda nice when you get used to something and the design is pretty good.
But don't worry, she can still scoot along quite nicely. Maybe you and your mom can take both cars out on the freeway. Run the A4 against your M up to, say, 100MPH. Don't want to get too crazy. That will dispell your fear of your M being sluggish as you're watching its taillights get smaller on the horizon. :-)) Despite a nice power band, it still takes just a little longer for the 300M to get into its sweet zone thanks to the transmission. (Now that I think about it, that's probably why they gave us Autostick to begin with. When you punch it on the freeway, I don't think it actually shifts all the way down to second gear if you're doing more than 55MPH. I think the torque convertor does some trickery in third gear to spin up the engine a little more. But that's just my opinion.)
I had a run-in last night in my Special as I was trying to merge onto the freeway. I punched it to get up to speed after hooking through a really sharp onramp (man, this car handles like a slot car!), and there was some person trying to keep me from merging in front of him/her. They probably heard me punch it (had to go under an overpass) and he/she punched it too. From the looks of the headlights, it was a Maxima. It was basically a deadlock. They couldn't gain any ground on me, and I wasn't increasing the space between us (two people in my car); not until about 70MPH when I started to pull away. I got up just enough speed to merge in, then came out of it just before 80MPH. Cops have been patrolling that section of the freeway heavily lately.
I think if one had to give up their M, moving to a TL would help ease the pain...
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
When my wife's 2001 was totalled, I retrieved everything from her car, including her custom clockface. Unfortunately, when she bought her 2003 M, I couldn't find it in the bag of "stuff" I retrieved and I haven't been able to find it since. Too bad, because I think that clockface was part of her decision-making process to buy another M...
TL has generic digital clock...
Snow: If it makes you feel any better, the OEM Bridgestone's on my '05 Acura TL are terrible in the snow also... So far the TC/VSC/ABS has kept me going.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I would think that probably 50% of vehicle disablements would probably be due to flat tires. So Chrysler saved maybe $25-$30/car for 3 years of coverage by providing such a lame service. I realize they decontented the cars without revealing what they had taken out, but reducing the roadside service without letting you know (until you need it) is the ultimate in cheapness, and in my opinion, stupidity. As the owner/lessee of 3 late model Chryslers, is this how they value my business? Spending millions of $ in advertising to gain new customers and then dismissing them with this penny-ante treatment?
Thanks for nothing, DC!
One of the reviews of the 300C went on to say that it replaced athe 300M, but unlike the 300M it had a bold exciting design while the 300M was rather ordinary. Maybe in 2005 it is ordinary looking because the styling has been integrated into many other cars. In 1998, the 1999 was one of those "love it or hate it" cars because of it's bold styling.
We'll see what they have to say about the 300C styling around 2011...I bet it won't seem so exciting any more...
I had the chance last May (when my wife totalled her M) to opt for the 300 (she would have taken over my M). The hemi was tempting, but not readily available at that time. And both my wife and I much preferred to have a 300M with the 3.5L engine than a 300 (touring or limited) with the same engine. In fact, my wife said she would not drive a 300 with any engine...so we got her a 300M demo (fully loaded) @ $10,000 off MSRP.
From what I have seen, I don't know that Chrysler/Dodge is in our future, especially after seeing the disappointing Charger...
I'm a skier, too if that is what your alias implies. Best thing you can do in winter!
I do still miss my M but I'm enjoying the TL more and more. The quiet ride and great power (at higher RPMs) put a smile on my face. Not to mention, a la the 300M (which is seriously more handsome than the 300C), the excellent style both in and out. Like the M, the TL is a great car and value!
My M was great in the snow, never a problem. The TL (and I blame the tires. They claim "all-season," I believe they're really three season!) not so hot. But it has gotten me there and back, just with extra caution.
67,000 miles with no real problems in the M. A couple of new tires, brakes done around 60,000 miles and windows and tranny module in warranty, but it started every day and was just a pleasure to drive.
I probably could/should have kept it one more year, but I was in the mood and Honda was offering 2.9% financing so I moved on.
I continue to hope it has found a good home.
Good luck with the Avalon. See you on the slopes!?
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
But I have a question: has anyone ever done tire siping with a touring tire? I was looking at tires for a grand prix a couple years ago and both Tires Plus and Firestone had recommended siping (maybe I am not spelling it right, but it's adding horizontal grooves to performance tires to get more winter "bite"). I went with the Traction T/As but now with the Michelins, while I know I'd void any warranty, these dealerships would "sipe" them for $20/tire for added winter traction. I just thought I'd see if any forum readers ever tried this as to be honest, I was skeptical but yet with tire shops pushing it seemed like it might be legit.
BTW, I just called the sales manager at our DC dealer to discuss possibly buying the extended warranty as I need to do that in the next month to get his guaranteed special price w/i the first ownership year. It's tough to justify $900 as still NO problems with the car after a year and 8500 miles, superb quality. Or perhaps today I just found my first problem: with lights on automatic turning on the wipers don't switch the lights on. I checked the overhead console and it's programmed correctly ... seems odd as everything else is working. This is a nit, very livable, but maybe unless I goofed something up my first in warranty failure. We still are very pleased with the car; while I have gotten used to the new 05 300 styling my wife would never consider owning one. They are finally starting to show up in the northern states like MN where we live, perhaps some AWD models are arriving as a RWD powerful car just does not cut it in the snow belt. We plan to keep our 300M at least another 6-7 years yet.
Dave in SE Minnesota
Regarding the lights/wipers, and you may already know and have discounted this, on my '99 M with the lights in "auto" once you turn on the wipers the headlights by design don't come on for 10 seconds. I never had a problem. Once you turn the wipers on, did you check the headlights after 10 sec. had elapsed?
I have an '05 Acura TL w/Bridgestone Turanza EL42 tires, avoid them like the plague if you are driving in snow! The BFG Traction T/A seemed to get pretty good reviews on tirerack.com. I may have to switch myself...
Invest the $900 in a conservative investment (CD, Money Market, Savings Bond...). If you need reparis, you've got the money earning (nominal) interest. If you never need out of warranty repairs, well, same deal, you've still got YOUR money! IMHO & YMMV.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
I for one would never do that for the simple fact I drive too fast. Never had anything less then Z on my M.
You have the PHP, right? Those of us with the 118 mph limiter would be legal with t's (although my preference is higher-rated).
Based on what the DOT has published on their web site, the speed rating does not affect or determine the handling characteristics of a tire. The tire manufacturer could make tires that were identical except for the speed rating. Most of the time they make the tires different for other reasons. Usually the rubber compounds and tread patterns are different for better dry or wet traction and tread wear. I imagine if the market wanted it they could make a Z-rated tire that would go 80,000 miles. However, to do that would require compromising handling as the rubber compound would have to be much harder to get the wear characteristics. For most driving we do in our 300M's most any speed rating would do (assuming you stay close to the speed limits!) Any handling differences would be due to what the tire manufacturer determined for a particular tire line not the speed rating.
Today, my mom was comming home (2002 300M) and she was on the freeway on-ramp...accelerating to about 60M.P.H. when she said her top (Dome/Map) lights started giving out a light show...flashing (turning on/off/on/off). She went ahead and manually turned the lights off, so they wouldn't come back on, and after a minute, they did the same. I went ahead and drove the car around, about 10 minutes ago, and nothing came up. Any ideas? Is this a sign of something that shouldn't be happening/will happen in the future? A possible warning?
Don't bother to take it to a dealer. This is an automatic "unable to duplicate problem" for them...
Missin' the M, lovin' the TL.
'21 Dark Blue/Black Audi A7 PHEV (mine); '22 White/Beige BMW X3 (hers); '20 Estoril Blue/Oyster BMW M240xi 'Vert (Ours, read: hers in 'vert weather; mine during Nor'easters...)
BACKGROUND:
My 2001 300M with the 3.5 engine has given me a trouble-free 118K miles so far. I drive it 65 miles each way to work, 120 miles, every day. It gets regular maintenance done, with oil changes at about 4K intervals, usually. It burns about a quart of oil every 4000 miles, which I guess is about par for the course, considering the mileage.
PROBLEM:
I was wondering if any 300M owners have experienced this problem. Recently it began to have a strange condition, which only happens once in a while, perhaps 2x per week, and only happens when the car has been driven and is up to it's normal operating temperature, is then parked and turned off for a few minutes, and then is re-started. The idle is then extremely rough, (perhaps as if the engine is not getting nearly enough fuel?) Giving it a little throttle while parked, the stumble will gradually go away after about 10 seconds or so, and will smooth out. No check engine light comes on, ever.
I am worried that this may be a prelude to the car quitting entirely, but before I take it to a dealer and get raked over the coals for every kind of maintenance and fix he can dream up, I figured I'd better post here.
I was thinking it may be the fuel filter (has never been changed). I don't know where on this car the fuel filter is hiding. I am capable of replacing it, unless there is some outrageously complicated procedure required to do so. Should I start with that?
Any help / info much appreciated! Thanks! -Rob
I have sad feelings, though, because either Buick or Pontiac look doomed to extinction.
Happy Easter to all!
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