Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Every 4-headlight car I have ever seen in the US illuminates all four headlights on hi-beam. The "Low beam" lights actually have 2 filaments. The normal lo-beam filament throws the beam basically down on the street in front of the car. When switched to hi, the normal filament turns off and the other filament illuminates, throwing a further beam. When you hold back the hi-beam switch, it actually illuminates both of the filaments (in the low beam bulb)at the same time.
SO, back to my question. It just seams somewhat coincidental that both low beams have the one filament burned out and not the other. Or, is the Aurora unlike any 4-headlight car I've ever seen and actually turns out the low beam bulbs altogether when the hi-beams are on?
Does your car actually cut off both low beam lights? or just change the beam? Thanks again for the response.
Thanks to Matrixfrog and fjk57702. Guess I've learned something. You're right Matrixfrog- The high beams would only have one filament. Apparently my low beams only have the one, also (my '95 doesn't have DRLs, thankfully). So mystery solved. I don't have to go crawling around trying to change the dang bulbs. (Yea, now I can get back to work)
The car magazines test reports showed the Riv quicker through the quarter mile than the autobahn Aurora by less than a second if I remember right.
On the highway passing performance is equal I think, especially if you remember the power button on the Aurora.
The Aurora has a lot more standard toys though, like the trip computer. My Riv was new (went through the factory twice - first one GM kept). The Aurora was a program car.
http://www.vinzdecals.com
Kindaof cool, they let you design and view your custom sticker. Looks like Windshield size is about $18.00.
The dealership gave me a '99 Riv to drive for 2 days while they were working on my aurora. I think, overall, it actually drove better than the aurora. I liked the seating position (2 door and the seat goes much further back) and suspension better. As you probably know, though, it has the 3.8 supercharged v6. Actually has a surprising amount of power – didn’t seem to have quite as much as the aurora - and doesn't require premium, BUT, doesn't have the wonderful V8 roar, either. I also didn't care for the interior nearly as much as the Aurora.
I'll stick w/ what I got.
Henri
Riviera>>>> the V6 supercharged is a ban burner, the one in the Grand Prix GTP goes 0-60 in 6.6, a full sec. faster than the Roara. But its the 'roara for a reason. Dont know if the Riv has the same engine as the GP. My friends parents have a GP and he can smoke the tires, its a quick car.
The engine in the riv is the same engine used in the grand prix gtp, the bonnevile ssei, and I think the regal ls. Would be nice to see the Aurora 4.0 super charged but there is probably not enough room.
BTW is there a lug nut lock on the aurora rims? I have not ever taken the caps off to look. If so I dont think my dealer gave me the unlock socket unless it is in my truck w/ the jack.
I was driving around town yesterday when my low windshield washer fluid warning came on my DIC. It had been on a couple days before so I was accustomed to it and hit the RCL button. Instead of it going back to fuel range (my favorite) it started blink low windshield washer fluid very very fast and after 8-10 times it stopped. Just thought it was pretty strange.
Prom is this weekend and I have to take my girlfriend (she is a senior, I graduated last year). It is on a river boat this year and hope to have great time. If anyone cares I wprolly wont be on after today until Tuesday when I have to start working again. Have a good memorial weekend show off those auroras.
I also had the AC looked at, as it had recently stopped working. It was low on fluid, but had no signs of leaking. The theory is that the fluid is leaking into the accumulator, so that will have to be replaced eventually. A recharge will keep it working for a while.
A couple days ago, my engine overheated. I stopped immediately and found that the water pump had seized. This repair was $600 as it had taken out the tensioner, pully, pump and belt. Let this be a warning to the rest of you: replace the water pump by 150K miles and save $400 or so.
daeven - thanks for the info. Was the seized water pump noticble? anything come on the DIC? Did a low voltage warning come on your DIC from your belt braking?
I'm at work right now, so I can't post the pic. Maybe I'll have time tonight.
Have a good Memorial Day weekend. And remember the Veterans - I take the family to the Santa Monica Military Cemetary here in CA. It's amazing to see the vast number of headstones in this relatively small area.
the water pump is driven by a totally separate belt and tensioner system, located on the driver's side of the engine. it's driven off of the end of the second camshaft.i had mine replaced at 78,000 miles. the cost of the pump was only around 40 bucks. all the other accessories should still operate, since they are driven off the crankshaft by the serpentine belt on the passenger side of the car. speaking of serpentine belts, i am going to be replacing mine this weekend myself.
i hope this helps!
zinc- It was meant to be pronounced tubbed and in bath tub + ed. If only the Aurora was RWD.
Have a good weekend everyone!
Matrix>>>>>> yes there are rear foglights on the 2001 aurora, they are red and on the rear bumper.
1. Carbon metallic pads don't necessarily dust more. I replaced the original GM pads with a set of CMs about a month ago, and can't tell any difference in the quantity of brake dust. Racing pads are almost always carbon based, and usually produce large amounts of dust, but street compounds don't have to.
2. Q45s can be expensive to maintain, but oh what a car. I had a 93 before it was totalled in an accident and my late mother's Aurora replaced it. I like the Aurora, but liked the Q45 better in just about every respect. One big edge the Aurora does have is that the motor is a lot torquier under 3K rams. This isn't meant as a slam on the Aurora since the Q45 cost about 50% more new and should be a better car. Most of the Q45 horror stories are from 90 and 91s. 92s and especially 93s have a lot of the problems fixed. 94+ cars are even more reliable, but that was the year the car was "lexusized" with the chrome front grill and softer suspension components, and lost a lot of it's appeal IMO. If I could find the right 93, there's a good chance I'd buy it and sell the Aurora.
The $3-5K a year estimate of maintenance cost is pretty extreme (although I know the source for that estimate). I had mine for 4 years, had to replace a water pump, and get the AC fixed twice (evaporator and compressor had to be replaced), which was expensive both times. My transmission was still in great shape at 100K miles with regular fluid changes (draining the pan and putting in 3-4 fresh quarts @ $1.50 per quart as opposed to the regular $200+ fluid flushes that go into that estimate). Other than that, I just did routine maintenance (oil changes, hoses, belts etc.) The one big expense that you definitely have with a 90-92 and potentially a 93 is that 2 of the timing chain guides are prone to cracking and have to be replaced, which is an expensive job if it hasn't already been done.
3. The term MILF comes from the movie "American Pie." Your local friends did not invent the term. :-) BTW, life does not end at 25 either.
Back to Auroras, has anybody had a problem with the rear defogger not coming on? The light doesn't come on when the switch is pushed. None of the fuses I've found (there appear to be several?) are blown. Also, has anybody used an OBDII scanner on one? If so, what kind did you use, and how much was it? Thanks.
Everybody, Everbody...
Haven't had a problem with mine-You might want to check for firm connections between the rear defogger relays (located under rear seat--LH side) and the rear defogger. Also for open
defogger grid lines. Should have 2 relays--upper and lower zone.
ewt - Welcome. Plan on doing any mods to your Aurora?
I had a great prom and weekend, drank a lot of St. Ides and had a lot of fun. Sunday sucked because it rained all day though. Everyone thought I rented an Aurora for prom!
Had a rather cool Memorial Day here in L.A., but that made it easier to clean up the car. I get a lot of brake dust on mine and have to use a spray-on wheel cleaner/conditioner. Looks nice.
They put on a beige ragtop, chrome over the wheel wells and... oh, it's killing me... an eagle hood ornament so big it looked like it was going to carry the car away. Even the 8 year old kids in the back of my Intrigue thought it was hideous! I think it even had a red pinstripe. I may be wrong on that. But you know that the mind plays tricks on you after traumatic experiences.
I think I'm going into shock...
I got my car up to 107mph last night. I was shooting for the engine cut off just to make sure that it does in fact govern to 111. I wasn't on a very good stretch of land so I decided it wasn't worth it and shut her down. After that I notcied my car was running noticbly good.
Have you guys seen the previews for "The Fast and the Furious"? It looks sweet. A movie all about street racing. Also Grand Turismo 3 is coming out in the not so distant future. Actually I think the release date is the same for both movie/game. It's a video game for the PS2. There goal is to have virtually any car someone would want to drive availble for the game once the internet hook ups are ready. The base game will have 150 cars. Some in here prolly own a car thats in the game. You guys talk about owning the Q45, a car I only dream of. BTW have you seen the new Q45? Lots of hp and video camera by the liscence plate w/ the display in the dash. Looks like is might suffer from design overkill but you can never have enough gadgets.
>how does your interior and paint look after 186000 miles?
The paint and interior on my 186K Aurora still look very good. The carpet is starting to show it's age, but I think the leather seats still look great. I keep thinking about getting the paint buffed, but then after I wash and wax it, I can't believe how good it still looks.
Someone wrote:
>daeven - thanks for the info. Was the seized >water pump noticble? anything come on the DIC? >Did a low voltage warning come on your DIC from >your belt braking?
Actually the belt did not break, and it had been replaced less than 12 months ago (plus, as has been mentioned, it's not the serpentine belt). I did get a message on the DIC regarding overheating; it said "shutting off AC." Before I could even get out of the left-turn lane, the DIC was warning "shut off engine now," and the temp gauge was topped. The pump had completely seized and was pretty mangled, but there was no big noise. Up to this point, I had not lost any coolant, but I think I have noticed recently that it was running just a bit hot (10 deg, maybe). It also may have been making some additional engine noise recently, but I perhaps ignored that.
And a final IMPORTANT note: Don't go around thinking your Aurora can survive "for 50 miles without coolant." It can't. Nowhere on any of the Aurora documentation does it say the engine system is a Northstar. It is *based* on the Northstar. I asked my mechanic about it and he said this is one feature from the Northstar that was not implemented on the Aurora. He may be wrong, but my experience tells me he is right. Someone please correct me if you have documentation that tells otherwise. Maybe it was implemented later than 1995.
I am Back!!! Sorry to have been gone for so long but circumstances beyond my control kept me off of the computer...
Well the saga continues...
Never be in the same lane with some one who accidentally drops an entire bag of concrete off the back of a pickup... 'specially in a black Aurora... I never knew there were so many air leaks in the Classic... I wasn't even running that close behind him either... In every nook and cranny you could possibly think of there was concrete dust... I had just shined the tires too... They were real attractive after that, and you guessed right, no more shine... Had to take my baby through that foul evil contraption commonly known as a car wash... That got all of it except the dust in the door frames (had to do that by hand)... And the dust in the trunk... Dust under the hood... Dust behind the front license plate... Dust in the wheel wells... You get the idea... Just in case you are wondering, a full bag of concrete make a nice little explosion when it hits asphalt at 65 mph... Oh yeah almost forgot, air cleaner was toast...
This Has Been Another Chapter In The Continuing Saga Of Mordecai And His Aurora...
Mordecai
mordecai- sorry to hear about your bad luck. I would be pretty upset if that happend to my baby. Did the driver stop?
I got some prom pictures back, someone managerd to take a couple of me and my girlfriend getting into my car. I'll post them tomorrow.
Anyone in the forum from around Michigan? Im gonna start making business cards with this website on them. Then I'll start leaving them on windshields.
(Huzpuh <-- Remember, I grew up in New York City.)
I guess it depends on your car's history for having problems. In order words did you get one of the cars that was built on a Monday?
Very disturbing
Ken
Thanks,
L8_Apex
Host
Sedans Message Board
The vynil hook up guy took my pic of an aurora symbol in tonight to get made in vynl for my black window. I'll let everyone know how it turns out and I'll try and get some pics.
In the short time I talked to Erthamon on here he seemed like a nice guy and was a large contributer to the posts. I get kind of a creepy chill knowing that someone is reading my every post, like Im being watched. Very disturbing.