My Chevys had DRL's and automatic headlights standard, and have had for some time. I guess a small benefit to automatic headlights, as opposed to turning them on all the time, is hopefully bulb life will be extended, obviously.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I pretty much run mine on both cars all the time, even in town. One headlight got replaced in '05 and two tail lights and one brake light have burned out. The bulbs on the '99 van are cheap and common. Not showing any bulb replacements on the '97 Outback.
@busiris, the auto off functions are nice but there's so much other stuff always on, we're seeing more complaints of new car owners with dead batteries - usually those that don't get driven much or left at an airport parking lot for a week.
@Stever@Edmunds said:
I pretty much run mine on both cars all the time, even in town. One headlight got replaced in '05 and two tail lights and one brake light have burned out. The bulbs on the '99 van are cheap and common. Not showing any bulb replacements on the '97 Outback.
busiris, the auto off functions are nice but there's so much other stuff always on, we're seeing more complaints of new car owners with dead batteries - usually those that don't get driven much or left at an airport parking lot for a week.
Oh, I'm well aware of that. I have a couple of late-model BMW's, and they're notorious for eating batteries when not driven often. I have mine rigged with CTEK battery tender pigtails, and if they're going to be idle for more than a few days I hook them up...
Smart man; now they just need to put a cord on the front grill like a block heater so you can plug your car into a wall socket and keep the battery topped up.
But you know how it is, the cars of the preceding decade always look old fashioned after 10 years, so stylists go to the other extreme---back and forth, back and forth....even when the styling makes no functional sense. You may remember 1970s cars with long hoods, but when you opened them up, there was 2- feet of nothing in front of the engine!
I remember this well and actually, if looking at it from a shadytree mechanic's POV (which my first car, a '65 Ford Mustang made me turn in to!!) I really liked the idea of 2' extra before you get to the engine!
I really liked the idea of 2' extra before you get to the engine!
I kind of liked my 61 Chev with a 283. I could stand next to the engine in the bay. There wasn't a lot of extra junk in there. No beauty covers either.
Over the winter, my wife thought it would be a great idea to buy a heated seat pad that plugged into the 12v acc. She left it on over night in her Taurus 3 nights the first week resulting in a completely dead battery each time. I wonder if some Oem batteries have less capacity. I was surprised how quickly I was able to recharge it. I bet now that its been run completely dead several times, it won't have a long life.
@dieselone said:
She left it on over night in her Taurus 3 nights the first week resulting in a completely dead battery each time. I bet now that its been run completely dead several times, it won't have a long life.
That's the theory. The layer of Pb on the plates reforms as the battery recharges and isn't as well shaped as the original layers. Bought a car which had been on the showroom floor and drained and recharged as people used the power seats and windows. Battery lasted 2.5 years IIRC. I usually get 5 or so.
I'm on six years this month with my Cobalt's original battery which sits out all the time in N.E. OH and I had it tested last winter and was told, "I wouldn't replace this battery". I attribute some of its longevity to the battery being in the trunk instead of under the hood.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
"Meanwhile, the Company has hired attorney Ken Feinberg for advice on how to compensate victims".
The previous post implies that victims won't get paid...the article mentions allowing lawsuits on this recall would open the door to other lawsuits previous dismissed because of the 2009 bankruptcy.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
On the subject of batteries, I once heard that if you have a battery that keeps dying on you, if you let it go completely dead, and then use a trickle charger to bring it back, it can help restore it somewhat.
Dunno if there's any truth to that, or if it's just an old wives' tale. I did try it years ago, with my '67 Catalina, where it would regularly kill the battery trying to start it, but there would be just enough juice to turn on the lights. So I left the lights on until the battery died completely, let it charge back up on the 2 amp setting, and it it seemed to help for awhile, until the battery simply got old.
This was probably back in 1997 I'm guessing. I was pretty broke at the time, and would practically squeeze a nickel til the buffalo pooped. These days though, if a battery started acting up, I'd probably just replace it, rather than risk getting stranded somewhere.
@andre1969 said:
On the subject of batteries, I once heard that if you have a battery that keeps dying on you, if you let it go completely dead, and then use a trickle charger to bring it back, it can help restore it somewhat. Dunno if there's any truth to that, or if it's just an old wives' tale. I did try it years ago, with my '67 Catalina, where it would regularly kill the battery trying to start it, but there would be just enough juice to turn on the lights. So I left the lights on until the battery died completely, let it charge back up on the 2 amp setting, and it it seemed to help for awhile, until the battery simply got old.
That's consistent with what I had read about the structure of the Pb material was disrupted by the recharging and the higher rates of charging were mentioned. A slow trickle charger might take several days to do the total recharge, but it doesn't heat the liquid as much causing movement that would disrupt how the Pb atoms are placed onto the surface of the plate.
I've learned the hard way that any time I get a sense that the starter doesn't crank quite at normal speed, I start checking into replacing the battery. That's usually in the summer after the car sits for a few days and just doesn't quite sound like it hits as hard when it engages the starter.
I've worried about the Cobalt with its six-year old battery. But any time I've cranked it the battery seems to provide good power and the car starts almost instantly. That quick start makes it hard to tell if the power in the battery has dropped with age. I've thought about running the blower motor for 5 minutes with the engine off and then starting to listen to the sound. Then letting the engine run to recharge the battery.
Running the blower motor on low for a few minutes to move air in the 93 leSabre with the engine off was when its battery deteriorated and wouldn't crank. Young man at the large nursery we were at jumped it with one of their old pickups and I drove home on the alternator and all the AC and power draws OFF hoping I'd make it home.
When the folks in the discussion after article start talking about cutting the tops off to work on them, I decide they have too much time on their hands for me. I just buy a new one.
I do wonder about the comment about "mud" in the bottom of the battery shorting the plates in the cell. I know there are stores here that rejuvenate batteries by putting a chemical in or doing something like the one guy said about draining the battery sulfuric acid mixture out, rinsing, and then refilling with proper sulfuric acid. I believe they guarantee for two years. After spending $160-180 for my vented side post battery under the rear seat of my leSabre, I can see why folks spend $30 and get a rejuvenated battery which can be replaced within 2 years.
I'll have to get around to changing the battery in my HHR sometime this summer. Bought in the fall of 05' . 8 1/2 years or so and its time before it trys to fail
@ray80 said:
I'll have to get around to changing the battery in my HHR sometime this summer. Bought in the fall of 05' . 8 1/2 years or so and its time before it trys to fail
@imidazol97 said:
GM quality again. You have the record: 8.5 years.
I think the oldest battery in my fleet is about 7 years old...the one in my '76 LeMans. I remember it had to be replaced in June of 2007, the morning I was supposed to drive it up to the GM show in Carlisle, PA. That car always had a weak starter, which I'm sure was hard on batteries. Finally got the starter replaced in late 2012. The mechanic recommended changing the battery, simply because of its age. But, it's been fine since then. As a precaution though, if I ever take one of my old cars on a road trip, I bring a spare battery out of one of the other cars, just to be safe.
I've had cars with automatic headlights for a while now, so I don't know if I prefer them or have gotten used to/depend upon them. My current ride has auto high beams, too. It turns on the highs when the sensor detects no oncoming headlights or tail lights in front. Of course, it also turns off highs when it detects street lights or a bright moon....I give this feature a "C." And, as is the trend, I have LED DRLs. Thank you, Audi.
'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 think batteries are definitely getting better. I've had old cars pretty much all my driving life, and they can be hard on a battery, as they sit around alot, don't always start on the first try, and so on. But I've noticed that it seems I replace batteries less often than I used to.
My '85 Silverado seemed to kill a fairly new battery within about a year. Partly my fault, as I overheated the truck back in October; mechanic fixed it the best he could on the cheap, but it's hard to start now. One cold morning, it finally seemed to do the battery in. But then I took it out, put a trickle charge on it, and then put it in my '79 5th Avenue. Seems to be fine, now, thankfully. I forget how long the previous battery in the Silverado lasted. At least 6-7 years I think.
I'll be curious to see how the batteries in the newer cars hold up. I changed the OEM battery in my old 2000 Intrepid around the 5.5 year mark, and maybe 105,000 miles. It was still acting okay, but I was about to take a trip to Florida, and changed it as a pre-emptive measure. Pain in the butt, too. I swore that the next time it needed a battery, I would pay the mechanic to have it done! But then, that car got totaled around the 10 year mark. Its replacement, a 2000 Park Ave, had a brand-new battery when I bought the car, something the dealer threw in for me. However, it was damaged when a tensioner pulley self-destructed, and a piece of shrapnel ripped into the battery, letting the acid drain out...I'm guessing just one of the cells. I didn't know it right away, as the car held a charge for awhile, and didn't start acting up until about a week or two after the mechanic fixed the tensioners (both of them, just to be safe). So the battery in it now isn't even a year old yet.
I noticed that they put a black insulating cover over the battery in my 2012 Ram, so I'm guessing that will help keep it from baking too bad in the engine bay. We'll see, I guess!
@andre1969 said:
I think batteries are definitely getting better.
The cars are getting better too! I remembered reading something about my car varying how it charges the battery...
"The vehicle has Electric Power Management, which estimates the battery's temperature and state of charge. It then adjusts the voltage for best performance and extended life of the battery."
Further down it says...
"...balancing generator's output and the vehicle's electrical needs. It can increase the engine idle speed to generate more power, whenever needed. It can temporarily reduce the power demands of some accessories."
I know it can turn the level of the heated seats down or off to reduce power load. It can also modify the draw from some other things as well apparently.
I could care less about keyless ignition and entry.
I cannot go one night without seeing cars with no headlights on. They might be lazy, but that's affecting other drivers. Obviously, I see that multiples-upon-multiples more than I see people with recalled cars that are out-of-control.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
I think auto headlights are a major safety feature. I think keyless entry is a major convenience feature that I for one really like. I could have used it when I broke my right wrist.
I think keyless entry is one of those things that you don't know what you're missing, until you get used to it. I had it installed on my 2000 Intrepid, after someone tried to break into the car. I had an aftermarket Viper alarm put on, and it came with remote entry/trunk release.
One thing I really liked about that Viper, was that you only had to press "unlock" once and all four doors would unlock. Took me awhile to get used to factory systems where you press it once to unlock the driver's door, and twice to unlock them all.
I could never deal with having to use a key to open door. At minimum a remote fob is required equipment.
And once you get used to the keyless stuff, won't want to go back. No more fishing it out of your pocket. And based on my wife, women are obsessed with keyless go. She will never own another car without it. Her purse also weighs about 10#s and is a disorganized mess. So no wonder.
@andre1969 said:
I think keyless entry is one of those things that you don't know what you're missing, until you get used to it. I had it installed on my 2000 Intrepid, after someone tried to break into the car. I had an aftermarket Viper alarm put on, and it came with remote entry/trunk release.
One thing I really liked about that Viper, was that you only had to press "unlock" once and all four doors would unlock. Took me awhile to get used to factory systems where you press it once to unlock the driver's door, and twice to unlock them all.
Many makes allow that feature to be selected by either owner or dealer programming (driver door or all doors unlocked).
I agree, it's a nice feature to have, like heated seats, nice infotainment system, etc., but there 's a lot on cars today we could live without pretty easily if we had to...
My first car, a 1969 Chevy 4-door Nova had a heater, 2-speed automatic and an AM radio for options. I got along just fine with it performing the primary task of any car, which is to move people/things down the road.
A car equipped like that today wouldn't sell... At any price...
@andre1969 said:
One thing I really liked about that Viper, was that you only had to press "unlock" once and all four doors would unlock. Took me awhile to get used to factory systems where you press it once to unlock the driver's door, and twice to unlock them all.
On some cars the unlocking of driver's door only is a choice that can be set from the DIC (leSabre 2003) as a safety feature. Also the time when the doors lock, out of park or moving slightly, is a choice. And the beep or quiet lights flash for showing car is locked or unlocked.
Also, I find that a forum for my Malibu talks about a body control module you switch in that allows you to put the 4 windows down remotely to cool off the car, and it offers some other variations on the standard settings. It can close all windows remotely, e.g..
By keyless entry I assumed you meant the newer push-button start, where you never have to fumble for a remote or a key. I think it's a great improvement especially considering all the trouble with keys in the ignition that GM is working with. I just figured all cars have at least remotes now to lock and unlock the door. I think every car I've had since 1995 has had that. Regarding opening windows, on the new Accord you can use the remote to roll all the windows down before you get in. Unfortunately some people have done it accidentally if they use the remote to lock the doors instead of the push button on the door handle.
One thing I have even on my manual-trans, no PW, no PDL car, is built-in satellite radio. I won't ever buy a car without factory satellite radio again. The rest of the stuff, meh. I also like OnStar for my wife and daughter--it got my wife out of a very scary situation in NJ near the Holland Tunnel once. Right now on my daughter's Cobalt, OnStar and satellite radio are free for three months--not bad for a used car bought on eBay for $5,501--we are taking advantage of both. My Cobalt doesn't have OnStar and I'm OK with that.
My Dad never had a car with automatic trans, PS, or PB until 1974. But even he drew the line when looking at a new '70 Nova in his favorite light green metallic--when he saw it was a four he walked right away from it. LOL
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
@uplanderguy said:
One thing I have even on my manual-trans, no PW, no PDL car, is built-in satellite radio. I won't ever buy a car without factory satellite radio again. The rest of the stuff, meh. I also like OnStar for my wife and daughter--it got my wife out of a very scary situation in NJ near the Holland Tunnel once.
How much do you pay for the XM/Sirius? I don't know if I want to continue it on my Malibu. Only station I really like is the Bridge, and of course FoxNews and FoxBusiness. Otherwise, I like talk radio.
I have kept OnStar on the Cobalt. It came in handy two summers ago when junior came back from work and locked his keys in the car.
I'm ashamed to say that I don't know. I have a bundle with it on the Malibu and my Cobalt. You can deal with them like a Persian rug dealer. But I want it no matter what. On my daughter's Cobalt, we'll drop it when the free three months is over. But I sure love driving across the PA Turnpike with satellite radio; in the 'old days', things got sorry pretty fast east of Pittsburgh.
'The Bridge', XM32, is my favorite station, because basically it's my college album collection. I also have XM114, Fox News, as one of my pre-selected buttons. BTW, we saw Charles Krauthammer speak in Akron on Monday night and I've never been more impressed with a speaker my entire life. He was witty and warm, which you don't necessarily seen on TV. He said he enjoyed being someplace where he wasn't interrupted by Juan Williams.
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Keyless start is a nice innovation, although it is a potential security issue - it should be expected on any higher line car today. I wouldn't want a premium car without it (Germans still make it optional). I don't know if any new cars sold in the US lack remote locks anymore.
Most of the radio in Seattle is less than amazing too - makes SiriusXM look like a worthy splurge, especially if you negotiate.
@uplanderguy said:
I'm ashamed to say that I don't know. I have a bundle with it on the Malibu and my Cobalt. You can deal with them like a Persian rug dealer.
I'll probably let it drop and see how they come back with a price for XM when they call to try to recruit me again.
I value the OnStar, but really don't know if I need it for the Malibu even at the reduced price they have renewed each year for the Cobalt. Maybe they will offer a bundle for both.
@uplanderguy said:
About fifty posts by one person? I challenge you to present a similar situation to me during the Toyota recalls or Ford/Firestone recall (Edmunds possibly didn't exist then, I know).
If I had a photo by my name of a Honda Odyssey on fire, and my name was 'anythingbuthonda', would you say I was a hater? Just askin'.
As a regular browser of this forum I thought you meant circlew, not anythingbutgm.
Have you counted the number of posts you have defending GM? Seems like they would be about the same.
What people sometimes don't seem to realize, is that I don't troll, but I do respond to things which I believe leave largely-relevant factual areas out. I do not start a post by bad-mouthing a car I don't like (particularly ones I've never so much as sat in, as has been done here). Some of the most error-ridden things have been posted as fact here about GM; to leave them uncorrected is a disservice to any reader who maybe isn't a poster here (as we all know, once something's on 'the net', it's 'fact'..LOL). Opinions are fine...everybody has them of course, but some of the most ridiculous, inflammatory stuff has been posted here....first. To say that it often isn't trolling, isn't being intellectually honest IMHO. Why let wrong "facts", and repeatedly only one side of a story, be the only thing to post?
Could you kindly answer the question in my earlier post that you copied above?
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
@suydam said:
By keyless entry I assumed you meant the newer push-button start, where you never have to fumble for a remote or a key. I think it's a great improvement especially considering all the trouble with keys in the ignition that GM is working with.
Oh, that kind of keyless entry. Never had a car with it, so I don't know what I'm missing, I guess. I think my Mom and stepdad have a car with it...would a 2008 Altima have it? I just remember my Mom carrying on about it, and not liking the idea of it. They bought a Prius about a year or so ago as well, so maybe it was that car?
I guess I just think of "push button start" as what you do with a riding lawn mower. Turn the key, set the choke, and push the button and hold it in until it fires up. But, I know it's not like that! I'm sure that once I got a car with it and got used to it, I wouldn't want to go back...
I've driven my friend's '13 Escape with keyless start. I'm still not used to it, although if it were my car I'm sure I would be. But you have to have the keys pretty near you to use the keyless start; what's the point?
2024 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray 2LT; 2019 Chevrolet Equinox LT; 2015 Chevrolet Cruze LS
Comments
My Chevys had DRL's and automatic headlights standard, and have had for some time. I guess a small benefit to automatic headlights, as opposed to turning them on all the time, is hopefully bulb life will be extended, obviously.
I pretty much run mine on both cars all the time, even in town. One headlight got replaced in '05 and two tail lights and one brake light have burned out. The bulbs on the '99 van are cheap and common. Not showing any bulb replacements on the '97 Outback.
@busiris, the auto off functions are nice but there's so much other stuff always on, we're seeing more complaints of new car owners with dead batteries - usually those that don't get driven much or left at an airport parking lot for a week.
Oh, I'm well aware of that. I have a couple of late-model BMW's, and they're notorious for eating batteries when not driven often. I have mine rigged with CTEK battery tender pigtails, and if they're going to be idle for more than a few days I hook them up...
Smart man; now they just need to put a cord on the front grill like a block heater so you can plug your car into a wall socket and keep the battery topped up.
But you know how it is, the cars of the preceding decade always look old fashioned after 10 years, so stylists go to the other extreme---back and forth, back and forth....even when the styling makes no functional sense. You may remember 1970s cars with long hoods, but when you opened them up, there was 2- feet of nothing in front of the engine!
I remember this well and actually, if looking at it from a shadytree mechanic's POV (which my first car, a '65 Ford Mustang made me turn in to!!) I really liked the idea of 2' extra before you get to the engine!
2021 Kia Soul LX 6-speed stick
I really liked the idea of 2' extra before you get to the engine!
I kind of liked my 61 Chev with a 283. I could stand next to the engine in the bay. There wasn't a lot of extra junk in there. No beauty covers either.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I always liked '61 Chevys. I'll take 'em over a '62-3-4.
Over the winter, my wife thought it would be a great idea to buy a heated seat pad that plugged into the 12v acc. She left it on over night in her Taurus 3 nights the first week resulting in a completely dead battery each time. I wonder if some Oem batteries have less capacity. I was surprised how quickly I was able to recharge it. I bet now that its been run completely dead several times, it won't have a long life.
That's the theory. The layer of Pb on the plates reforms as the battery recharges and isn't as well shaped as the original layers. Bought a car which had been on the showroom floor and drained and recharged as people used the power seats and windows. Battery lasted 2.5 years IIRC. I usually get 5 or so.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm on six years this month with my Cobalt's original battery which sits out all the time in N.E. OH and I had it tested last winter and was told, "I wouldn't replace this battery". I attribute some of its longevity to the battery being in the trunk instead of under the hood.
General Motors wants a bankruptcy court to protect it from the growing number of lawsuits stemming from the company's botched ignition switch recall.
http://money.cnn.com/2014/04/15/news/companies/gm-recall-liability/index.html?iid=HP_LN
"Meanwhile, the Company has hired attorney Ken Feinberg for advice on how to compensate victims".
The previous post implies that victims won't get paid...the article mentions allowing lawsuits on this recall would open the door to other lawsuits previous dismissed because of the 2009 bankruptcy.
circlew, you haven't weighed in on the automatic headlight discussion. Do you have an opinion on them?
On the subject of batteries, I once heard that if you have a battery that keeps dying on you, if you let it go completely dead, and then use a trickle charger to bring it back, it can help restore it somewhat.
Dunno if there's any truth to that, or if it's just an old wives' tale. I did try it years ago, with my '67 Catalina, where it would regularly kill the battery trying to start it, but there would be just enough juice to turn on the lights. So I left the lights on until the battery died completely, let it charge back up on the 2 amp setting, and it it seemed to help for awhile, until the battery simply got old.
This was probably back in 1997 I'm guessing. I was pretty broke at the time, and would practically squeeze a nickel til the buffalo pooped. These days though, if a battery started acting up, I'd probably just replace it, rather than risk getting stranded somewhere.
That's consistent with what I had read about the structure of the Pb material was disrupted by the recharging and the higher rates of charging were mentioned. A slow trickle charger might take several days to do the total recharge, but it doesn't heat the liquid as much causing movement that would disrupt how the Pb atoms are placed onto the surface of the plate.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Some trickle charges have a "recover" (desulfate?) function, but I don't know if they really do any good.
I've learned the hard way that any time I get a sense that the starter doesn't crank quite at normal speed, I start checking into replacing the battery. That's usually in the summer after the car sits for a few days and just doesn't quite sound like it hits as hard when it engages the starter.
I've worried about the Cobalt with its six-year old battery. But any time I've cranked it the battery seems to provide good power and the car starts almost instantly. That quick start makes it hard to tell if the power in the battery has dropped with age. I've thought about running the blower motor for 5 minutes with the engine off and then starting to listen to the sound. Then letting the engine run to recharge the battery.
Running the blower motor on low for a few minutes to move air in the 93 leSabre with the engine off was when its battery deteriorated and wouldn't crank. Young man at the large nursery we were at jumped it with one of their old pickups and I drove home on the alternator and all the AC and power draws OFF hoping I'd make it home.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I just read a couple of articles about sulfation involving a contaminating form of deposit on the plates disrupting the cell.
http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/sulfation_and_how_to_prevent_it
When the folks in the discussion after article start talking about cutting the tops off to work on them, I decide they have too much time on their hands for me. I just buy a new one.
I do wonder about the comment about "mud" in the bottom of the battery shorting the plates in the cell. I know there are stores here that rejuvenate batteries by putting a chemical in or doing something like the one guy said about draining the battery sulfuric acid mixture out, rinsing, and then refilling with proper sulfuric acid. I believe they guarantee for two years. After spending $160-180 for my vented side post battery under the rear seat of my leSabre, I can see why folks spend $30 and get a rejuvenated battery which can be replaced within 2 years.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'll have to get around to changing the battery in my HHR sometime this summer. Bought in the fall of 05' . 8 1/2 years or so and its time before it trys to fail
GM quality again. You have the record: 8.5 years.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Didn't AC/Delco sell their battery division to Johnson Controls back in '04 or so?
I think the oldest battery in my fleet is about 7 years old...the one in my '76 LeMans. I remember it had to be replaced in June of 2007, the morning I was supposed to drive it up to the GM show in Carlisle, PA. That car always had a weak starter, which I'm sure was hard on batteries. Finally got the starter replaced in late 2012. The mechanic recommended changing the battery, simply because of its age. But, it's been fine since then. As a precaution though, if I ever take one of my old cars on a road trip, I bring a spare battery out of one of the other cars, just to be safe.
'04 Pontiac Vibe. Over 8 years. Remarkable. Maybe modern batteries are getting better?
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Knock on wood, the battery in my fintail is 7 years old - and that car only has a generator. Of course, it is a large battery.
Seemed like three years was sort-of the standard when I was a teen or so. I think batteries are getting better.
I've had cars with automatic headlights for a while now, so I don't know if I prefer them or have gotten used to/depend upon them. My current ride has auto high beams, too. It turns on the highs when the sensor detects no oncoming headlights or tail lights in front. Of course, it also turns off highs when it detects street lights or a bright moon....I give this feature a "C." And, as is the trend, I have LED DRLs. Thank you, Audi.
'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 think batteries are definitely getting better. I've had old cars pretty much all my driving life, and they can be hard on a battery, as they sit around alot, don't always start on the first try, and so on. But I've noticed that it seems I replace batteries less often than I used to.
My '85 Silverado seemed to kill a fairly new battery within about a year. Partly my fault, as I overheated the truck back in October; mechanic fixed it the best he could on the cheap, but it's hard to start now. One cold morning, it finally seemed to do the battery in. But then I took it out, put a trickle charge on it, and then put it in my '79 5th Avenue. Seems to be fine, now, thankfully. I forget how long the previous battery in the Silverado lasted. At least 6-7 years I think.
I'll be curious to see how the batteries in the newer cars hold up. I changed the OEM battery in my old 2000 Intrepid around the 5.5 year mark, and maybe 105,000 miles. It was still acting okay, but I was about to take a trip to Florida, and changed it as a pre-emptive measure. Pain in the butt, too. I swore that the next time it needed a battery, I would pay the mechanic to have it done! But then, that car got totaled around the 10 year mark. Its replacement, a 2000 Park Ave, had a brand-new battery when I bought the car, something the dealer threw in for me. However, it was damaged when a tensioner pulley self-destructed, and a piece of shrapnel ripped into the battery, letting the acid drain out...I'm guessing just one of the cells. I didn't know it right away, as the car held a charge for awhile, and didn't start acting up until about a week or two after the mechanic fixed the tensioners (both of them, just to be safe). So the battery in it now isn't even a year old yet.
I noticed that they put a black insulating cover over the battery in my 2012 Ram, so I'm guessing that will help keep it from baking too bad in the engine bay. We'll see, I guess!
The cars are getting better too! I remembered reading something about my car varying how it charges the battery...
"The vehicle has Electric Power Management, which estimates the battery's temperature and state of charge. It then adjusts the voltage for best performance and extended life of the battery."
"...balancing generator's output and the vehicle's electrical needs. It can increase the engine idle speed to generate more power, whenever needed. It can temporarily reduce the power demands of some accessories."
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Ford is preparing to modify its infotainment systems...
http://usat.ly/1kv2scr
Chevy wishes Mustang happy 50th:
http://www.autoblog.com/2014/04/15/camaro-wishes-mustang-happy-50th-birthday/?a_dgi=aolshare_facebook
That's nice. Ford took apart a Mustang and reassembled it to celebrate.
On the observation deck of the Empire State Building.
I think auto headlights are 90% convenience and 10% safety for the extreme lazy or unaware drivers.
What does everyone think about key-less ignition and entry?
I could care less about keyless ignition and entry.
I cannot go one night without seeing cars with no headlights on. They might be lazy, but that's affecting other drivers. Obviously, I see that multiples-upon-multiples more than I see people with recalled cars that are out-of-control.
I think auto headlights are a major safety feature. I think keyless entry is a major convenience feature that I for one really like. I could have used it when I broke my right wrist.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
Ouch! (Snowboarding?)
People driving around without their lights on really are a menace on the road.
I think keyless entry is one of those things that you don't know what you're missing, until you get used to it. I had it installed on my 2000 Intrepid, after someone tried to break into the car. I had an aftermarket Viper alarm put on, and it came with remote entry/trunk release.
One thing I really liked about that Viper, was that you only had to press "unlock" once and all four doors would unlock. Took me awhile to get used to factory systems where you press it once to unlock the driver's door, and twice to unlock them all.
I could never deal with having to use a key to open door. At minimum a remote fob is required equipment.
And once you get used to the keyless stuff, won't want to go back. No more fishing it out of your pocket. And based on my wife, women are obsessed with keyless go. She will never own another car without it. Her purse also weighs about 10#s and is a disorganized mess. So no wonder.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Many makes allow that feature to be selected by either owner or dealer programming (driver door or all doors unlocked).
I agree, it's a nice feature to have, like heated seats, nice infotainment system, etc., but there 's a lot on cars today we could live without pretty easily if we had to...
My first car, a 1969 Chevy 4-door Nova had a heater, 2-speed automatic and an AM radio for options. I got along just fine with it performing the primary task of any car, which is to move people/things down the road.
A car equipped like that today wouldn't sell... At any price...
And think busiris, there were people who were happy with their '69 Novas that had three-speed manual and even no radio! LOL
For a work car, I like basic. There are fewer and fewer cars like that out there anymore.
On some cars the unlocking of driver's door only is a choice that can be set from the DIC (leSabre 2003) as a safety feature. Also the time when the doors lock, out of park or moving slightly, is a choice. And the beep or quiet lights flash for showing car is locked or unlocked.
Also, I find that a forum for my Malibu talks about a body control module you switch in that allows you to put the 4 windows down remotely to cool off the car, and it offers some other variations on the standard settings. It can close all windows remotely, e.g..
http://www.aliexpress.com/snapshot/6046456488.html
$14
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
By keyless entry I assumed you meant the newer push-button start, where you never have to fumble for a remote or a key. I think it's a great improvement especially considering all the trouble with keys in the ignition that GM is working with. I just figured all cars have at least remotes now to lock and unlock the door. I think every car I've had since 1995 has had that. Regarding opening windows, on the new Accord you can use the remote to roll all the windows down before you get in. Unfortunately some people have done it accidentally if they use the remote to lock the doors instead of the push button on the door handle.
'24 Chevy Blazer EV 2LT
One thing I have even on my manual-trans, no PW, no PDL car, is built-in satellite radio. I won't ever buy a car without factory satellite radio again. The rest of the stuff, meh. I also like OnStar for my wife and daughter--it got my wife out of a very scary situation in NJ near the Holland Tunnel once. Right now on my daughter's Cobalt, OnStar and satellite radio are free for three months--not bad for a used car bought on eBay for $5,501--we are taking advantage of both. My Cobalt doesn't have OnStar and I'm OK with that.
My Dad never had a car with automatic trans, PS, or PB until 1974. But even he drew the line when looking at a new '70 Nova in his favorite light green metallic--when he saw it was a four he walked right away from it. LOL
How much do you pay for the XM/Sirius? I don't know if I want to continue it on my Malibu. Only station I really like is the Bridge, and of course FoxNews and FoxBusiness. Otherwise, I like talk radio.
I have kept OnStar on the Cobalt. It came in handy two summers ago when junior came back from work and locked his keys in the car.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
I'm ashamed to say that I don't know. I have a bundle with it on the Malibu and my Cobalt. You can deal with them like a Persian rug dealer. But I want it no matter what. On my daughter's Cobalt, we'll drop it when the free three months is over.
But I sure love driving across the PA Turnpike with satellite radio; in the 'old days', things got sorry pretty fast east of Pittsburgh.
'The Bridge', XM32, is my favorite station, because basically it's my college album collection. I also have XM114, Fox News, as one of my pre-selected buttons. BTW, we saw Charles Krauthammer speak in Akron on Monday night and I've never been more impressed with a speaker my entire life. He was witty and warm, which you don't necessarily seen on TV. He said he enjoyed being someplace where he wasn't interrupted by Juan Williams.
Keyless start is a nice innovation, although it is a potential security issue - it should be expected on any higher line car today. I wouldn't want a premium car without it (Germans still make it optional). I don't know if any new cars sold in the US lack remote locks anymore.
Most of the radio in Seattle is less than amazing too - makes SiriusXM look like a worthy splurge, especially if you negotiate.
I'll probably let it drop and see how they come back with a price for XM when they call to try to recruit me again.
I value the OnStar, but really don't know if I need it for the Malibu even at the reduced price they have renewed each year for the Cobalt. Maybe they will offer a bundle for both.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
As a regular browser of this forum I thought you meant circlew, not anythingbutgm.
Have you counted the number of posts you have defending GM? Seems like they would be about the same.
Positive=bad
Negative=good?
What people sometimes don't seem to realize, is that I don't troll, but I do respond to things which I believe leave largely-relevant factual areas out. I do not start a post by bad-mouthing a car I don't like (particularly ones I've never so much as sat in, as has been done here). Some of the most error-ridden things have been posted as fact here about GM; to leave them uncorrected is a disservice to any reader who maybe isn't a poster here (as we all know, once something's on 'the net', it's 'fact'..LOL). Opinions are fine...everybody has them of course, but some of the most ridiculous, inflammatory stuff has been posted here....first. To say that it often isn't trolling, isn't being intellectually honest IMHO. Why let wrong "facts", and repeatedly only one side of a story, be the only thing to post?
Could you kindly answer the question in my earlier post that you copied above?
Oh, that kind of keyless entry. Never had a car with it, so I don't know what I'm missing, I guess. I think my Mom and stepdad have a car with it...would a 2008 Altima have it? I just remember my Mom carrying on about it, and not liking the idea of it. They bought a Prius about a year or so ago as well, so maybe it was that car?
I guess I just think of "push button start" as what you do with a riding lawn mower. Turn the key, set the choke, and push the button and hold it in until it fires up. But, I know it's not like that! I'm sure that once I got a car with it and got used to it, I wouldn't want to go back...
I've driven my friend's '13 Escape with keyless start. I'm still not used to it, although if it were my car I'm sure I would be. But you have to have the keys pretty near you to use the keyless start; what's the point?