The headlights don't stay on in the garage but newer cars have lots of "computer" stuff that never shuts down. That seems to cause problems for folks like me who may not drive their car for 3 weeks at a time. My older cars don't eat batteries - the last dead Walmart one I replaced lasted 8 years.
Pretty sure the Walmart batteries are all made by Johnson Controls these days.
Just like AutoZone's Duralast ones are, per the web.
Rear window defrosters. And nowadays, they are usually tied into both mirror heaters and now..windshield base heaters too. All resistant current draws altho the rear defroster is the biggie of those three. If you want to know exactly, you could always hook up a current meter on suspect circuits...rear def, headlights, HVAC fan on high. If you have a killer sound system, it too will pull a surprising number of amps, especially if you're crankin' it at the campsite.
Easy way to see what draws power is to turn something on at vehicle idle. If the battery is a bit low at all, it'll tug at the tach rpms a hair....sometimes more..
"The headlights don't stay on in the garage but newer cars have lots of "computer" stuff that never shuts down. That seems to cause problems for folks like me who may not drive their car for 3 weeks at a time. My older cars don't eat batteries - the last dead Walmart one I replaced lasted 8 years. "
And , in cars like modern BMW's, you have to factor in electric water pumps and fuel pumps that energize when a door is opened. Electric power steering gear, heated seats and steering wheels, electronics that stay in "active" mode for 15-20 minutes after the ignition is switched off, etc.
I have CTEK battery tenders on my vehicles that don't get driven every week. My 07 BMW Z4 still has the original OEM battery, but I've probably just jinxed myself by typing that comment.
Simple. No options, battery lasts longer, that's all. More options, less battery life.
The LS was very dependable and mirrored my experience with the first Lincoln LSC I owned. The CD player had to be changed out after only 1 month from purchase, however.
But this one works better. The other one required a login, so I searched and found one that didn't but had the same article.
It does have a hilarious quote after all the junk HyunKia put out for years: "...this year threatened to undermine the South Korean automaker’s reputation for reliability."
Gives me a chuckle that the posters who complain about their 1986 Tahoe, e.g., forgive the past failings of the Hyundai and Kia companies in the more recent past! Gotta' love 'em. Bless their hearts. :grin
Those WSJ stories are a pain unless you google the headline, but I assumed no one ever clicked the links anyway.:)
The Koreans are trying to get their luxury rides on the radar, especially in Asia, and I guess they figure that any recall is a black eye in that effort.
>>>>>>"Hyundai Motor Co.'s president for research and development and two other executives stepped down after a series of quality issues and recalls.">>>>>>>
Too bad we did not have similar behavior from our American car companies' executives over the past 4 decades. Then, on the other hand, probably would not have mattered. The replacements would have been just as bad or worse.
>>>>>>Gives me a chuckle that the posters who complain about their 1986 Tahoe, e.g., forgive the past failings of the Hyundai and Kia companies in the more recent past! Gotta' love 'em. Bless their hearts. >>>>>>
After American car companies started to notice their Japanese competitors were making superior product, it took about three decades for them to almost catch up. In contrast, Korean manufacturers improved their quality and reliability at a much faster rate than did Americans.
Yeah, gives me gut-wrenching hysterics when posters knock the imports when the crap the US manufacturers made were beyond laughable in comparison for years.
Bless their rides!:)
In the immortal words from the next CEO of GM: "No More Crappy Cars!"
No, driving to the auto parts store doesn't charge it up by a long shot. All you get is a "surface charge". And jump starting a totally drained battery can be dangerous.
Batteries that have a lot of reserve capacity along with a high CCA, can take a long time to fully recharge.
Especially in extra cold temps. If temps are near 0º a battery takes a disproportionately longer period of time to accept a charge the colder it gets, and when it is cold enough will not accept a charge. This is one of the reasons some owners use a battery blanket. The warmth not only allows the battery to accept an immediate charge in cold wx, the heat also boosts CCA available to start the car.
There is some irony around these facts though. A battery will accept a charge and have greater CCAs available if it's warm enough, yet being in a cold environment slows a batteries natural state of discharge (which it does the moment it is not being in a charging state, regardless of whether a battery cable with any draw no matter how minute, is attached to it or not) especially noticeable in vehicles that get infrequent use.
But there's further irony too.. batteries used in an environment that is too hot all the time (in tight engine bays in the heat of summer) must have some deliberate design attempts to be protected from that heat or else suffer really premature failure. That is one reasonably good idea that GM (with the Cobalt) and earlier years BMW had when they placed the battery in the trunk. The one primary drawback to that, however, is the requirement for an extra heavy gauge positive (in negative grd vehicles {most if not all nowadays}) cable to run all the way to the front of the car to the starter, in order to preserve high enough cranking amps...especially in the cold, due to the resistance losses because of excessive cable length.
Could be your set of batteries in the golf cart are a bit old, cuz usually a lead acid battery is quite forgiving at accepting and putting out good usable juice even below 20º - I can't remember what the number is offhand when its ability really starts to dive. I think ability to take a charge starts to have more demanding caveats somewhere lower than 10 (I said 0 to be safe) and certainly once it's 0 out, there is a noticeable lack of CCA compared to just 20 degrees warmer. Like I say, the scale really starts to dive under 0. I forget what temp a fully charged (new) battery will freeze at. If I were to guess I'm thinking it's starting to get pretty stiff around -40. Another guess, cuz can't remember the numbers (and they do vary a bit with battery spec and design) so don't hold me to this..but just to give a bit of an idea..if a battery gives out full CCA at...say..70º, it's somewhere around only 18 to 20% at -30 or so.
"Could be your set of batteries in the golf cart are a bit old, cuz usually a lead acid battery is quite forgiving at accepting and putting out good usable juice even below 20º"
Yeah, they're 7 years old and are definitely nearing the end of their life. Putting off the $600 replacement cost as long as possible;)
"$600? Had no idea it'd be so much to replace batteries on a golf cart. That's ~40% of the replacement cost for a non-OEM Gen-2 Prius battery pack. "
Golf carts are expensive. Trojan 12v batteries for an electric golf cart are roughly $150 a piece and my cart takes 4 of them. That's probably why many golf courses simply lease the carts and get new ones every 2-4 years before having to spend money on new batteries.
The battery won't have reserve is what I meant, unless you take the car on a fairly long trip so the alternator can fully replenish it. But if you have a very dead battery, jump start it, and then drive a few miles, that's not enough--and so first time there is real demand (cold weather, frequent starts), it's going to go dead again.
Like most things in life, it's not all black and white, but infinite shades of grey.
In Uplanderguy's case in point, there are lots of variables, including the age and physical condition of the battery, how long the drive to the parts store takes, the outside ambient temperature, the condition of his car's electrical charging system being only a few of them.
Uplanderguy may have enough of those factors working in his favor to prevent him from experiencing a dead battery situation, but that's quite different from having a battery prepared for an accurate "load test", which should always be done on a fully charged battery (preferably a battery that has been on a low charging amperage battery charger/tender over a period of several hours).
Generally speaking, a car battery charges best when being charged slowly.
slow charging also extends the life of the battery. Trying to charge up completely dead batteries with the car's alternator can put a strain on the alternator, too--if it's actually slowing down the car engine slightly with such a load, you can imagine how hard it's working.
"At the heart of VW's global aspirations is a strategy to expand modular production to boost the proportion of parts that can be shared among models and brands, allowing the company to build cars more rapidly and at lower cost.
Analysts have said the strategy isn't without risk and could expose VW to the threat of massive recalls if a single part, used in millions of cars, fails."
I would say that is a risk all manufacturers face in making new autos today. Cars have 1000's of parts, some simple and some highly complex. All it takes is a single failing/questionable part to generate a massive recall nowadays.
IMO, I see the basis of current and future recalls being much different than those issued in the 1970-80 time period. If nothing else, our highly litigious society has created new demands in product reliability and safety that haven't always been there...
My wife's '07 A4 2.0T has 69,000 miles, but we've never done the induction/fuel injector cleaning. It's never been recommended by the dealer, although after the 55,000 mile service we've taken it to an independent for routine scheduled service (at 65,000).
Does Audi recommend or require periodic induction/fuel injection cleaning, or did you do it as preventive maintenance?
Also, if I may ask, assuming you changed your timing belt, at what mileage did you do it? I've seen different mileage intervals for timing belt replacement, as high as 110,000 miles.
Sorry for my late reply to your post, but I was travelling outside the country.
ON THE OTHER HAND, a reliability survey is only as good as the survey itself purports to be.
Well, the way CR ranks their cars, even if you buy a car they rate "much worse than average", chances are still in your favor that you'll get a fairly reliable car.
Cars in general have gotten reliable enough that there's really not much difference these days between a car that's "much better than average" and one that's simply "average". And, IIRC, Consumer Reports even brought in a new rating called "fair", which is what they used to call "worse than average".
I haven't really looked at a CR issue since around 2003 or so. But even back then, I remember their reliability ratings for individual components went something like:
Much better than average: 14%.
I wouldn't be surprised if those gaps are even tighter today. Especially since they went and changed that one rating to "fair".
And, the overall rating they would give the car was not an average of those component ratings, but rather how that car stacked up to other cars. So, a car could get a poor overall rating, but still be a good car. It's just that most of the other cars were simply better.
I remember one year, Consumer Reports rated the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis pretty low overall, but actually explained their reasoning. They said it actually did score well overall, being a reliable, durable car. But it got rated low, simply because most other cars did so much better. It's like when your kid gets a 95% on a test, but everybody else got 96-100%. Your kid was the worst of the bunch, but he/she still did pretty well.
The high maintenance is required to make it reliable, is the fairest statement I can make about it.
It has never broken down but it came equipped with numerous factory defects that need correcting.
It's the old story--I'm sure there are plenty of old MINIS running around with many of these defects either not addressed or ignored. The cars will still run even with deformed shock towers or worn out control arm bushings. But if you continue to ignore that little leak from the defective thermostat housings, or you don't replace the dinky plastic shield protecting the cooling fan motor, well you'll fry the engine.
Me? I live with some of the defects. The howl from the dual-mass flywheel is annoying when the car is cold, but after 15 minutes it goes away, and really, no screeching noise is worth $2,600 to get rid of.
I don't think the CR "filter" is fine enough to really sort out issues like this on most cars--the thermostat is lumped under "cooling system" and the screechy noise under "Transmission".
So sometimes CR gives cars a black mark for relatively easily-remedied problems or for problems that don't have to be remedied.
So, ignore CR full red and black circles. If a brand and model have a history of numerous full black circles and a competing brand has a history of numerous full red circles, go ahead and buy the brand/model with all the full black circles.
Comments
Pretty sure the Walmart batteries are all made by Johnson Controls these days.
Just like AutoZone's Duralast ones are, per the web.
Easy way to see what draws power is to turn something on at vehicle idle. If the battery is a bit low at all, it'll tug at the tach rpms a hair....sometimes more..
And , in cars like modern BMW's, you have to factor in electric water pumps and fuel pumps that energize when a door is opened. Electric power steering gear, heated seats and steering wheels, electronics that stay in "active" mode for 15-20 minutes after the ignition is switched off, etc.
I have CTEK battery tenders on my vehicles that don't get driven every week. My 07 BMW Z4 still has the original OEM battery, but I've probably just jinxed myself by typing that comment.
The LS was very dependable and mirrored my experience with the first Lincoln LSC I owned. The CD player had to be changed out after only 1 month from purchase, however.
Now, I can't believe the reliability from the 3 vehicles I currently own. Not used to that!
I used to see Lincoln LSC's around here looking like lowriders. I guess the airbag suspensions didn't hold up over a long time.
Hyundai R&D Chief Steps Down (WSJ)
Per AutoBlog, they resigned to "take responsibility for a series of quality issues". (link)
If car execs start resigning in mass over recalls, there's going to be long lines at the unemployment office....
http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20131112/AUTO0104/311120045/1148/AUTO01/Hyund- - ai-s-chief-technology-officer-quits-over-quality-issues
But this one works better. The other one required a login, so I searched and found one that didn't but had the same article.
It does have a hilarious quote after all the junk HyunKia put out for years:
"...this year threatened to undermine the South Korean automaker’s reputation for reliability."
Gives me a chuckle that the posters who complain about their 1986 Tahoe, e.g., forgive the past failings of the Hyundai and Kia companies in the more recent past! Gotta' love 'em. Bless their hearts. :grin
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The Koreans are trying to get their luxury rides on the radar, especially in Asia, and I guess they figure that any recall is a black eye in that effort.
Too bad we did not have similar behavior from our American car companies' executives over the past 4 decades. Then, on the other hand, probably would not have mattered. The replacements would have been just as bad or worse.
After American car companies started to notice their Japanese competitors were making superior product, it took about three decades for them to almost catch up. In contrast, Korean manufacturers improved their quality and reliability at a much faster rate than did Americans.
Bless their rides!:)
In the immortal words from the next CEO of GM: "No More Crappy Cars!"
Finally!
Jump starting any battery can be dangerous. With a totally drained battery, it just takes a little more time.
In other words, "Road to Redemption" 3.0?
True but that doesn't mean they can't be jumped and recharged.
Especially in extra cold temps. If temps are near 0º a battery takes a disproportionately longer period of time to accept a charge the colder it gets, and when it is cold enough will not accept a charge. This is one of the reasons some owners use a battery blanket. The warmth not only allows the battery to accept an immediate charge in cold wx, the heat also boosts CCA available to start the car.
There is some irony around these facts though. A battery will accept a charge and have greater CCAs available if it's warm enough, yet being in a cold environment slows a batteries natural state of discharge (which it does the moment it is not being in a charging state, regardless of whether a battery cable with any draw no matter how minute, is attached to it or not) especially noticeable in vehicles that get infrequent use.
But there's further irony too.. batteries used in an environment that is too hot all the time (in tight engine bays in the heat of summer) must have some deliberate design attempts to be protected from that heat or else suffer really premature failure. That is one reasonably good idea that GM (with the Cobalt) and earlier years BMW had when they placed the battery in the trunk. The one primary drawback to that, however, is the requirement for an extra heavy gauge positive (in negative grd vehicles {most if not all nowadays}) cable to run all the way to the front of the car to the starter, in order to preserve high enough cranking amps...especially in the cold, due to the resistance losses because of excessive cable length.
Taking responsibility - how quaint. Too bad the US CEOs don't tend to do that.
That's definitely true, but it will definitely take more than 30 minutes of the engine running to fully recharge it.
I've noticed that with my 48v golf cart. It takes a lot longer to charge when it's below 30 degrees outside and the charge doesn't last as long.
Heat definitely kills batteries, basically every battery I've had fail, has done so in the middle of summer.
I have the '11 Optima SX.:)
Yeah, they're 7 years old and are definitely nearing the end of their life. Putting off the $600 replacement cost as long as possible;)
Too bad battery tech has never had a price/materials breakthrough like other tech.
Golf carts are expensive. Trojan 12v batteries for an electric golf cart are roughly $150 a piece and my cart takes 4 of them. That's probably why many golf courses simply lease the carts and get new ones every 2-4 years before having to spend money on new batteries.
In Uplanderguy's case in point, there are lots of variables, including the age and physical condition of the battery, how long the drive to the parts store takes, the outside ambient temperature, the condition of his car's electrical charging system being only a few of them.
Uplanderguy may have enough of those factors working in his favor to prevent him from experiencing a dead battery situation, but that's quite different from having a battery prepared for an accurate "load test", which should always be done on a fully charged battery (preferably a battery that has been on a low charging amperage battery charger/tender over a period of several hours).
Generally speaking, a car battery charges best when being charged slowly.
VW hit by 2.6 million vehicle recall focused on China (Reuters)
"At the heart of VW's global aspirations is a strategy to expand modular production to boost the proportion of parts that can be shared among models and brands, allowing the company to build cars more rapidly and at lower cost.
Analysts have said the strategy isn't without risk and could expose VW to the threat of massive recalls if a single part, used in millions of cars, fails."
I would say that is a risk all manufacturers face in making new autos today. Cars have 1000's of parts, some simple and some highly complex. All it takes is a single failing/questionable part to generate a massive recall nowadays.
IMO, I see the basis of current and future recalls being much different than those issued in the 1970-80 time period. If nothing else, our highly litigious society has created new demands in product reliability and safety that haven't always been there...
Does Audi recommend or require periodic induction/fuel injection cleaning, or did you do it as preventive maintenance?
Also, if I may ask, assuming you changed your timing belt, at what mileage did you do it? I've seen different mileage intervals for timing belt replacement, as high as 110,000 miles.
Sorry for my late reply to your post, but I was travelling outside the country.
1. CR says 2003 Mini Coopers are awful
2.Shiftright's 2003 Mini Cooper has been reliable
3. Therefore, CR's conclusion is wrong
Or is it............
Shiftright was lucky?
ON THE OTHER HAND, a reliability survey is only as good as the survey itself purports to be.
Well, the way CR ranks their cars, even if you buy a car they rate "much worse than average", chances are still in your favor that you'll get a fairly reliable car.
Cars in general have gotten reliable enough that there's really not much difference these days between a car that's "much better than average" and one that's simply "average". And, IIRC, Consumer Reports even brought in a new rating called "fair", which is what they used to call "worse than average".
For instance, 100 is the "average" IQ (that's kind of frightening):)
Much better than average: 14%.
I wouldn't be surprised if those gaps are even tighter today. Especially since they went and changed that one rating to "fair".
And, the overall rating they would give the car was not an average of those component ratings, but rather how that car stacked up to other cars. So, a car could get a poor overall rating, but still be a good car. It's just that most of the other cars were simply better.
I remember one year, Consumer Reports rated the Crown Vic/Grand Marquis pretty low overall, but actually explained their reasoning. They said it actually did score well overall, being a reliable, durable car. But it got rated low, simply because most other cars did so much better. It's like when your kid gets a 95% on a test, but everybody else got 96-100%. Your kid was the worst of the bunch, but he/she still did pretty well.
It has never broken down but it came equipped with numerous factory defects that need correcting.
It's the old story--I'm sure there are plenty of old MINIS running around with many of these defects either not addressed or ignored. The cars will still run even with deformed shock towers or worn out control arm bushings. But if you continue to ignore that little leak from the defective thermostat housings, or you don't replace the dinky plastic shield protecting the cooling fan motor, well you'll fry the engine.
Me? I live with some of the defects. The howl from the dual-mass flywheel is annoying when the car is cold, but after 15 minutes it goes away, and really, no screeching noise is worth $2,600 to get rid of.
I don't think the CR "filter" is fine enough to really sort out issues like this on most cars--the thermostat is lumped under "cooling system" and the screechy noise under "Transmission".
So sometimes CR gives cars a black mark for relatively easily-remedied problems or for problems that don't have to be remedied.