Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
We are closing on a Home Equity loan next week. I figured we should get it while the gettin is good. High home value and low interest. When I started the process, the plan was to use the proceeds to buy a shop. If this whole out-of-state thing works, we will instead turn around and build another garage on our property. Was just debating with the wife about where to put it and how large to make it. I figured just put it at the end of the driveway, but she feels that would wind up being too small. I do agree, but the alternative is scary. We have a great deal of space on the other side of the house, but the land is far from flat there and, of course, no driveway currently. So we're talking about a MUCH larger project at that point. But, it would probably be darned nice to have ... oh, I dunno... probably a 35 x 50 building. With three 4-post lifts in the back, we're talking 12 cars with room to spare for tools and workbenches. My plan for the end of the driveway is 30 x 45, which would be tight in the space, but allow for two 4-post lifts, one 2-post lift, space for the Sprinter, and I figure 7 cars, if carefully used.

First is to make sure this whole license thing works, though. So we're talking springtime for construction, most likely.

Too funny you mention this. I just told the wife the other night we need to open a HELOC on the primary. I want to be in a position to buy a second home at the shore to rent if the values drop.

snakeweasel

venture said:

I saw my first Maverick today. It was an orangish/red color.

I went from the left lane to the right lane to a turning lane in one swoop - right in front of me. I almost saw my first Maverick crash.

Remember real Mavericks don't have truck beds.

snakeweasel

jwm40517 said:

I'm embarrassed to admit that I only recently found out that my garage door outside keypad does not require the 4 digit code to lower the door. Just hit the "enter" button. Am I the only person that did not know that. And do they all do that? Have entered the code for years.

As far as I know all garage door keypads do that.

snakeweasel

jmonroe1 said:

@henryn said:

I drove the Pacifica today, just a short trip to the grocery store. The first time I’ve been in it since I aired up the tires, and I noticed the warning symbol on the dash was still on. Taking a closer look, the warning symbol does resemble the low tire pressure, but it has an “A” in the middle of it. I was scratching my head thinking about that one, and the only thing I could think of was “anti-lock brakes”. Which did not make me happy, repairing an anti-lock braking system can get expensive.

When I got back home, I dug out the owner’s manual – when all else fails, RTFM! Seems my warning is for the “Auto Start-Stop System”, something I would never have thought of.

Found a few things online. Number one possibility is battery going out, but mine is only about a year old. Second most likely cause appears to be the IBS (Intelligent Battery Sensor), which is described as

the IBS is that big black plastic thing on the negative battery cable just before the connector. If the IBS is faulty, it will cause ESS errors / warning lights. Only a dealership can diagnose the IBS, with their wiTECH scanner tool.

————————————————-

I’m pretty sure a good black tape job can make the light disappear.

jmonroe

A black magic marker works just as well.

explorerx4

@henryn,
The ! makes me think the system Auto S/S system is disabled.
It could be because you don't drive it much and so it disabled the system to not stress the battery.

stickguy

at some point I need to open a HELOC too. had one on the old house just in case. but was probably going to wait until I paid down the rest of the 1st on this place (money to do that is still sitting in the bank). so no need to get the HELOC until I spend that on the mortgage. We don't have anything planned to do with the line, just better to have one because if you ever actually need it, they probably won't give you one.

henryn

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
The ! makes me think the system Auto S/S system is disabled.
It could be because you don't drive it much and so it disabled the system to not stress the battery.

According to the owner's manual, it is a fault code (or warning). I spent about an hour online, searching, reading, learning. I really don't care about the start-stop, but I expect that I can't get past the yearly state inspection with a warning light up on the dash.

stickguy

A S/S depends on a lot of other systems. I don't really think it is a "thing" that fails, so you want to know what underlying part is the issue (such as the battery).

qbrozen

I was originally looking HELOC, but it wound up not making sense. And it will be way worse if rates skyrocket. TD Bank is giving us 5.09% fixed for 30 years and $99 closing cost. Can't beat that.
That plus our primary is 75% LTV total, FYI, so that has a lot to do with it, I'm sure. But I got quotes from several other banks and CUs and nobody was anywhere close.

explorerx4

@henryn,
Is your Pax still under the original warranty? Maybe the emissions warranty?

henryn

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
Is your Pax still under the original warranty? Maybe the emissions warranty?

No, it was at 61k miles when I purchased it last year. And the Auto Start-Stop seems to fall under the powertrain warranty, not the emissions warranty.

tjc78

I believe most S/S systems have a counter and at some # disables it.

ab348

That kind of bizarro engineering must run deep within Bentley’s DNA. Recently Iain Tyrrell over in Merry Olde England had a video about a mid-60s Bentley that found its way to his shop for a variety of needs to be addressed. One of those was the power brakes. But instead of a vacuum servo, this thing uses a mechanical servo, with various rods, linkages and clutches. He was under the car in the video trying to explain how it worked and seemed to realize it wasn’t coming across well and promised a better explanation in a future video. What a nightmare.

oldfarmer50

Sandman6472 said:

The oldest sent us a brand new metal ladder as the older wooden one needed replacement. She had Home Depot deliver it one day and must admit, it was way overdue! Helps when the power does out & we must fiddle with the garage door opener unit on the ceiling. Finding that as I'm getting older, the kids see this & have definitely stepped in to help with the "heavy lifting" so to speak. It's greatly appreciated!!

I find that I also appreciate my kids doing the occasional heavy lifting for me. I admit I could probably manage myself somehow but it makes me feel so good that they are there willing to help.😃

stickguy

I try to save carrying furniture and stuff like that for when my son comes over. My wife is tired of always being on the other end of the heavy stuff!

oldfarmer50

qbrozen said:

We are closing on a Home Equity loan next week. I figured we should get it while the gettin is good. High home value and low interest. When I started the process, the plan was to use the proceeds to buy a shop. If this whole out-of-state thing works, we will instead turn around and build another garage on our property. Was just debating with the wife about where to put it and how large to make it. I figured just put it at the end of the driveway, but she feels that would wind up being too small. I do agree, but the alternative is scary. We have a great deal of space on the other side of the house, but the land is far from flat there and, of course, no driveway currently. So we're talking about a MUCH larger project at that point. But, it would probably be darned nice to have ... oh, I dunno... probably a 35 x 50 building. With three 4-post lifts in the back, we're talking 12 cars with room to spare for tools and workbenches. My plan for the end of the driveway is 30 x 45, which would be tight in the space, but allow for two 4-post lifts, one 2-post lift, space for the Sprinter, and I figure 7 cars, if carefully used.

First is to make sure this whole license thing works, though. So we're talking springtime for construction, most likely.

Farmers have been using uneven land to their advantage for years. Build your garage right into the hill and have an upper ground level entrance into a top level. Instead of hay bales you can store cars.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

explorerx4 said:

@henryn,
The ! makes me think the system Auto S/S system is disabled.
It could be because you don't drive it much and so it disabled the system to not stress the battery.

According to the owner's manual, it is a fault code (or warning). I spent about an hour online, searching, reading, learning. I really don't care about the start-stop, but I expect that I can't get past the yearly state inspection with a warning light up on the dash.

Check your state regulations. A fault code isn’t the same as a CEL light. I have an airbag sensor light on in my cargo van (been on since I bought it) and it passes inspection fine. In NY they only car about emission codes

driver100

stickguy said:

I have heard that some cars (well, a Mercedes at least) has that 2 battery configuration, to handle the load on the auto start feature, without risking taking out the normal battery. Though I think they hide it in a different place and most owners don't even know they have one. but when they die can cause all kinds of problems.

That could have been MrsD100s GLK. The stop/start battery stopped working after 6 years. and 25000 miles. I turn my stop/start OFF as soon as I start the car but she leaves hers on. It cost about $500 for a stupid battery that is more trouble than it is worth. Any gas savings and environmental savings are more than made worse by buying a new battery and getting rid of an old toxic waste one.

driver100

Question for you computer specialist guys.
My HP laptop is probably 6 to 8 years old. I got a message on it that Windows 8.1 won't be supported after Jan 2023. It said you can update to...I think it said Windows 10 or 11 if you follow instructions.
I checked with HP and they said my laptop is too old to work with Windows 10 or 11.
So, do I just keep going until it doesn't work any more?
Do I start looking for a new computer?
Do I hope enough people complain and they change their mind?
Do I need updates?

stickguy

updates are usually recommended for security. and at some point new programs won't work. but if you never change anything will probably work as is for a long time. Largely depends what you do with it.

but that is getting fairly old (though the HP laptop I am typing on right now is not that much newer!) so wouldn't hurt to get a new one. and depending on what you use it for might not even need a full windows machine. a lot of people are perfectly happy with something like a Chromebook.

henryn

driver100 said:

Question for you computer specialist guys.
My HP laptop is probably 6 to 8 years old. I got a message on it that Windows 8.1 won't be supported after Jan 2023. It said you can update to...I think it said Windows 10 or 11 if you follow instructions.
I checked with HP and they said my laptop is too old to work with Windows 10 or 11.
So, do I just keep going until it doesn't work any more?
Do I start looking for a new computer?
Do I hope enough people complain and they change their mind?
Do I need updates?

I have recommended this (or a very similar model) to a couple of my friends, and they have been quite satisfied.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Gateway-14-1-Ultra-Slim-Notebook-FHD-Intel-Core-i5-1135G7-Quad-Core-Iris-Xe-Graphics-512GB-SSD-16GB-RAM-Tuned-THX-Fingerprint-Scanner-1MP-Webcam-HDMI/982087215?irgwc=1&sourceid=imp_zu:2W7weJxyNWuMQCrWxK39dUkDX1p2-uXAo2U0&veh=aff&wmlspartner=imp_10915&clickid=zu:2W7weJxyNWuMQCrWxK39dUkDX1p2-uXAo2U0&sharedid=&affiliates_ad_id=565706&campaign_id=9383

Bear in mind this is very cheaply constructed, and not upgradeable, but it works quite well. And for $279 it's hard to go wrong.

As to your old notebook, if it's running Windows 8.1 the odds are very good that it can successfully run Windows 10. Not 100% in your favor, but better than 90%.

28firefighter

@henryn that is an almost unbelievable deal at $279. 16 gigs of ram and a 512 SSD should keep it feeling zippy for a long time to come.

driver100

Great info guys, much appreciated.

ab348

28firefighter said:

@henryn that is an almost unbelievable deal at $279. 16 gigs of ram and a 512 SSD should keep it feeling zippy for a long time to come.

One of the better features is that it comes with Win 10 and not 11.

stickguy

That is a deal. The 15.6 version is only $299 if you want a bigger screen. I’d get one if I needed it.

sda

I didn't know Gateway still exists. We had a very nice Gateway computer around 2000. It turns out Acer, Inc. acquired Gateway in 2007.

qbrozen

sda said:

I didn't know Gateway still exists. We had a very nice Gateway computer around 2000. It turns out Acer, Inc. acquired Gateway in 2007.

All the ... what do you call em? Google books? oh, chromebooks! ... that they give to the kids at our schools are Gateway. And, damn, they are garbage. Anytime I have to help them with homework, I sign into their accounts on my own computer because theirs are so painfully slow.

stickguy

somewhere around here I still have some rubber squeezable Gateway cows from when we bought a desktop many, many years ago. At the actual gateway store. Long since junked. the PC and the stores.

henryn

qbrozen said:

sda said:

I didn't know Gateway still exists. We had a very nice Gateway computer around 2000. It turns out Acer, Inc. acquired Gateway in 2007.

All the ... what do you call em? Google books? oh, chromebooks! ... that they give to the kids at our schools are Gateway. And, damn, they are garbage. Anytime I have to help them with homework, I sign into their accounts on my own computer because theirs are so painfully slow.

Low end chromebooks use the Intel Celeron processor, which, as you noted, is garbage. This notebook has a much better CPU, and much more memory. Performance is decent. Longevity is questionable, as it is made to a very cheap price point, cutting corners everywhere. But when new, they work quite well, I have performed initial setup on 2 of these, doing a clean install of the OS, Office, other software, and moving data from the user's old computer. I was impressed by the performance, and the full HD display, especially at this price point.

qbrozen

@henryn said:
Low end chromebooks use the Intel Celeron processor, which, as you noted, is garbage. This notebook has a much better CPU, and much more memory. Performance is decent. Longevity is questionable, as it is made to a very cheap price point, cutting corners everywhere. But when new, they work quite well, I have performed initial setup on 2 of these, doing a clean install of the OS, Office, other software, and moving data from the user's old computer. I was impressed by the performance, and the full HD display, especially at this price point.

Oh, I know. I didn’t mean to imply what the school gives out can be compared in any way to a real laptop. Lol.

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Question for you computer specialist guys.
My HP laptop is probably 6 to 8 years old. I got a message on it that Windows 8.1 won't be supported after Jan 2023. It said you can update to...I think it said Windows 10 or 11 if you follow instructions.
I checked with HP and they said my laptop is too old to work with Windows 10 or 11.
So, do I just keep going until it doesn't work any more?
Do I start looking for a new computer?
Do I hope enough people complain and they change their mind?
Do I need updates?

Two of my HP Laptops are from 2012.
Pavilion g7-1260us
Envy DV-6

Two of my HP laptops were Win 8 when new. One may have been Win 7?
I just looked up on the tools and found the bios in one is from 2012. So the 2 of the laptops
are that old.

Neither laptop had trouble updating with Win10. They've operated fast than with
8.0 and the updating is almost transparent.

I'd suggest keeping the laptop because it probably has a CD DVD reader that you may use while
theHw you like that.

I upgraded mine by replacing and adding memory cards to get maximum memory
in dual channel mode. I have 3 laptops and migrated parts to optimize my business
laptop. More memory means less use of temp memory writing to and from the hard drive.

I replaced mechanical hard drives with SSD drives on 2 of the laptops. Much quicker on startup
and noticeable speed increase in some operations. But not much in normal folk's operations.

henryn

Adding memory and swapping to an SSD drive are two very worthwhile upgrades.

It is much easier to upgrade the memory and hard drive on older notebooks. Newer ones are a real pain to gain access to the components. Some, like the Gateway I talked about up above, the memory is surface mounted and can not be replace or upgraded. Fortunately, it comes with 16 gigs so you will likely never need to upgrade the memory, and it is already using an SSD drive.

If you have to pay someone to upgrade your old computer, you're probably better off just buying a new one. If you can do the work yourself, then more power to you.

henryn

Continuing the “auto start-stop warning” story on my 2019 Chrysler Pacifica.

This morning I cruise over to the Interstate Batteries store, which is only about 1.5 miles from my house. They are very short handed, myself and 2 others had to hang around for about 10 minutes before anyone came to the front desk to help us. They are not doing installs, but they do have both batteries I need, and the manager kindly agrees to load test both of my batteries.

Surprisingly, both batteries pass the load test, which leaves me scratching my head. Back to the house, dig out my OBD2 Bluetooth connector doohickey, and read the codes.

P00FD – Battery B State of Charge Performance. In other words, the aux battery is bad.

Back online, search for any and all information about a “P00FD” code. Found a thread over on a Jeep forum where someone is talking about testing the batteries and explains that you have to completely disconnect one of the batteries in order to test the other one. Which gives me one of those “duh” moments, because of course we didn’t do that before load testing at the Interstate store.

As I was going to have to do the install myself, I spent some time shopping online. O’Reily Auto Parts has the AUX14 battery, in stock, $17 less than Interstate. And Walmart has the main battery for about $70 less. It took longer to run around and pick up the batteries than it did to install them, but they are now in place and the warning light is off and hopefully will stay off.

I didn’t have to replace the main battery, but as this was the factory original and coming up on 4 years old, I figured I might as well while I was in there.

imidazol97

Saw a cute license plate. "RN MY PL8"

Of course it was on a fairly nice Jeep with 5 lights mounted on
the front of the roof. White. Large wheels.

What is it about Jeeps that the owners sometimes, sometimes, have headlights
that could be used by police search and rescue teams scanning the countryside
for lost persons.

A few have them aimed upward directly into the eyes of the oncoming vehicles.
Aren't there any state laws on headlamp brightness anymore?

But it's neat the way some of the Jeep owners have modified, personalized, their
jeeps. I was behind one a few months back with twinkle lights on the face of the
high-mounted spare tire. They were various colors and twinkled in a rythmic way.
Interesting to watch while waiting for the stoplight to change.

Michaell

Speaking of Jeeps and vanity plates, I saw a first generation Cherokee with the plate:

EXJAY

(if you know Jeeps, you'll get the reference)

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Question for you computer specialist guys.
My HP laptop is probably 6 to 8 years old. I got a message on it that Windows 8.1 won't be supported after Jan 2023. It said you can update to...I think it said Windows 10 or 11 if you follow instructions.
I checked with HP and they said my laptop is too old to work with Windows 10 or 11.
So, do I just keep going until it doesn't work any more?
Do I start looking for a new computer?
Do I hope enough people complain and they change their mind?
Do I need updates?

Two of my HP Laptops are from 2012.
Pavilion g7-1260us
Envy DV-6

Two of my HP laptops were Win 8 when new. One may have been Win 7?
I just looked up on the tools and found the bios in one is from 2012. So the 2 of the laptops
are that old.

Neither laptop had trouble updating with Win10. They've operated fast than with
8.0 and the updating is almost transparent.

I'd suggest keeping the laptop because it probably has a CD DVD reader that you may use while
theHw you like that.

I upgraded mine by replacing and adding memory cards to get maximum memory
in dual channel mode. I have 3 laptops and migrated parts to optimize my business
laptop. More memory means less use of temp memory writing to and from the hard drive.

I replaced mechanical hard drives with SSD drives on 2 of the laptops. Much quicker on startup
and noticeable speed increase in some operations. But not much in normal folk's operations.

Mine is only used in Florida for 5 months, and it is used basically for emails, and posting for my fans at Cars and Conversations. Sometimes I buy something on Amazon or Tennis Express. It doesn't have much memory and isn't very fast but I can live with it. I may try to load Windows 10, or I might hope it lasts until we return in April.
Thanks for the info

stickguy

if that is all you do with it, not really much reason to fight with it. I recall that if your machine was saying No, you could still get an upgrade done but it took a lot of messing around to do it. Might not be in your wheelhouse.

just spend the $279 and get a brand spanking new one, which will be much nicer, and invest your saved time in playing pickleball.

roadburner

So I’m in the middle of a hearing where I'm wanting to revoke a guy’s probation. Against his attorney’s advice the guy wanted to testify. When it was my turn to cross examine him I asked him just one question:
“So you are telling the court that aside from failing two drug tests, picking up a new felony arrest, and not reporting to your probation officer, you have done exceptionally well on probation?”
His reply? “Yes!”

oldfarmer50

roadburner said:

So I’m in the middle of a hearing where I'm wanting to revoke a guy’s probation. Against his attorney’s advice the guy wanted to testify. When it was my turn to cross examine him I asked him just one question:
“So you are telling the court that aside from failing two drug tests, picking up a new felony arrest, and not reporting to your probation officer, you have done exceptionally well on probation?”
His reply? “Yes!”

I’m surprised he didn’t answer: “Hey, it wasn’t my fault, I was drunk at the time”.

qbrozen

Wow! What a game last night. Go Phils! Once again, beating all expectations. I especially love the justice of the batter who leaned into a pitch getting the last out.

tjc78

@qbrozen said:
Wow! What a game last night. Go Phils! Once again, beating all expectations. I especially love the justice of the batter who leaned into a pitch getting the last out.

Was just coming here to post this! Mom watched the kids and we went to a bar near the shore house to watch it. Tons of energy in there

driver100

stickguy said:

if that is all you do with it, not really much reason to fight with it. I recall that if your machine was saying No, you could still get an upgrade done but it took a lot of messing around to do it. Might not be in your wheelhouse.

just spend the $279 and get a brand spanking new one, which will be much nicer, and invest your saved time in playing pickleball.

Great common sense suggestion. My only questions are these:
* every printer, computer, we have owned is an HP........if I get a Gateway will it work flawlessly with all of our printers, in both homes?

* Also, since I don't need that much power or memory etc, maybe I can get an HP laptop for a bit more, although it won't have the same power, it will be sufficient for my basic needs?

*If something simple goes wrong with a new laptop, wouldn't it be easier to find a cure on Youtube for an HP than a Gateway? Once I had the black screen of death on the laptop. I used the desktop to find the cure, and by pressing a few keys my laptop came back on again......it seems to me some repairs are specific to a particular make, and HPs are more popular.

*I am thinking I would prefer to try and get by with this laptop while I am in Florida, and get a new laptop when I return, because I can get it set up if I need help with my trusted IT guy who is here, and not in Florida. Or, if the deals are better in Florida buy one and bring them both back. (I don't know how to transfer all of my documents, pictures and stuff from one computer to the other for example).

kyfdx

@driver100 The brand makes absolutely no difference

kyfdx

qbrozen said:

Wow! What a game last night. Go Phils! Once again, beating all expectations. I especially love the justice of the batter who leaned into a pitch getting the last out.

They never make that call. Pretty gutsy of the ump to do it in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs.

oldfarmer50

Is it possible to be both an aggressive driver and a clueless driver at the same time?

This morning I’m driving around in the fog doing the speed limit but being careful. As I go down the double ramp to the highway a Range Rover flies by and then drifts into my lane. I step on the gas to get away from him and he takes it as a race challenge. I finally backed off at 90 and let him be crazy on his own.

A few miles later I’m in the right lane and an Acura comes up right on my bumper but won’t pass. Later he tried to pass me on the right as his lane ended causing him to do a near PIT maneuver on me as he slammed on the brakes and swerved in behind me. Thankfully, I exited, leaving him to ride someone else’s bumper.

I did mention that this was in heavy fog, right? Do people leave their brains at home these days?

cdnpinhead

imidazol97 said:

I replaced mechanical hard drives with SSD drives on 2 of the laptops. Much quicker on startup and noticeable speed increase in some operations. But not much in normal folk's operations.

For my money, the main advantage of SSD is the elimination of the mechanical hard drive with its tendency to break down. I've only had two laptop crashes of consequence in over 25 years of laptop use (HP, IBM, Dell, etc.) and they were both hard drives grinding (literally) to a halt.

tjc78

@kyfdx said:
They never make that call. Pretty gutsy of the ump to do it in the bottom of the 9th, with 2 outs.

It was really obvious he leaned into. Almost a call that had to made.

jmonroe1

@roadburner said:
So I’m in the middle of a hearing where I'm wanting to revoke a guy’s probation. Against his attorney’s advice the guy wanted to testify. When it was my turn to cross examine him I asked him just one question:
“So you are telling the court that aside from failing two drug tests, picking up a new felony arrest, and not reporting to your probation officer, you have done exceptionally well on probation?”
His reply? “Yes!”

————————————————-
Along the way I’m sure lying has gotten this guy in trouble too.

jmonroe

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

Is it possible to be both an aggressive driver and a clueless driver at the same time?


I did mention that this was in heavy fog, right? Do people leave their brains at home these days?

Oldfarmer....it sounds like my 20 minute drive to and from tennis in Florida, I have about 3 close calls on that trip. At home I travel the same distance and have about 3 close calls a month.

And, another thing, in Florida you see some cars but mostly trucks that shouldn't be on the road. They are in such rough shape that I really wonder if the brakes would work.

driver100

kyfdx said:

@driver100 The brand makes absolutely no difference

Very good to know. I actually learned something important today!
Now what do I do for the next 11 hours?