Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

isellhondas

I highly doubt any dealership will check alignment every time a car is in for service UNLESS the customer asks.

In order to check a car's alignment it has to be put on an alignment rack or a machine and be hooked up to a devise that measures the alignment angles. This takes time and usually a shop will only have one or two techs that are trained to do this. Personally I NEVER have my alignment checked but I do take a look at my tires from time to time for uneven wear patterns.

berri

PF - an early Falcon, but couldn't say specific date. I still like that movie. I drove through Bodega Bay last year - very different these days.

isellhondas

berri said:

PF - an early Falcon, but couldn't say specific date. I still like that movie. I drove through Bodega Bay last year - very different these days.

Great rock cod fishing out of Bodega Bay! Ling cod too!

ab348

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

sda

I don't know how accurate it is, the Honda dealer where I have the Accord serviced has some type of laser based tool to check alignment. You drive up to it, and it determines if alignment is needed. They do this for every car that comes thru the shop. I'm sure it is a great income generator! Amazingly my car checks out OK each time, i.e. not needing to be aligned.

jmonroe

nyccarguy said:

jmonroe said:

nyccarguy said:

cdnpinhead said:

jmonroe said:

. . . he replaced it with Home Depot's Ridgid brand. . .

Ridgid (Ridge Tool Co.) has been around a lot longer than Home Depot. Back when I was a machinist ('71-'72) my Ridgid calendar was a bright spot in my day. They've been making tools, particularly for the plumbing industry, since the early 1920s.

I have some bad news for you my friend. This year, RIDGID got rid of the girls on the calendar.

RIDGID makes the best wrenches & pipe cutters. I proudly stock ONLY RIDGID straight wrenches, end wrenches, offset wrenches, pipe cutters, tubing cutters, & die heads.

Do you stock those Ridgid threading machines?

I see that the type I used to use costs almost 9 grand today. Didn't think they would be that expensive but man they are good.

https://www.ohiopowertool.com/p-279-ridgid-1224-threading-machine-12-4-26092.aspx?gclid=CLqOj-jbrNECFUZLDQoddt4Gfg

jmonroe

I don't have that machine in stock. I do have one just like it down in the basement that we use to cut & thread steel pipe up to 2". That looks like better than 10 percent off of list price. Good deal.

I would have thought there would be more of a discount than 10% in the plumbing biz.

The one I used did not have the foot switch as the one shown in the link I posted. We had the one that had a 3 position slide switch for: forward (to the right), reverse (to the left) and off (center). That gizmo I linked has to have a reverse switch and it looks like it is on the far left. Must throw it to select forward or reverse and then step on the foot switch. I don't know why it has to be so cute, we never had a problem with the slide switch.

I now notice that the threader price does not include the cart. The one we used had a cart. The electrical guys used to argue with the plumbers not to put it so close to where they were working but rather in a more central location. One day they caught me wheeling it to the location where me and another guy were doing our electrical work and was TOLD, yeah, they TOLD me to put it back since they were working with 4 inch black pipe.

They used to joke (and sometimes I'm not so sure they were joking) that the threader was a real mans tool and since the electrical guys used aluminum conduit that was a lot lighter than the black pipe and galvanized pipe they used, we could haul our work further to use the threader a lot easier than what they were hauling. No argument there. Lifting a 10 foot stick of 3 or 4 inch black pipe took some work. Whereas, even I could lift by myself (back in the day) a 10 foot stick of 4 inch aluminum conduit.

Oh the good old days.

jmonroe

Mr_Shiftright

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

berri said:

Mike - you had very major surgery. When I had cancer surgery I was told upfront it would be 18 months to 2 years before I'd be back to where I was and that was pretty accurate for me at least. Smart to see your doctor, but also good to understand you are not superman. But forgetting keys in the mailbox once, heck I think I left them in the front door once back in my 40's (maybe it was having teenagers!)

There's one other thing that's been bothering me - I have lost my "need" to buy a new car!  Don't even want to visit new car dealerships any more.  I tell you - that's scary!!! . Wait A minute - I forgot I just bought a new car last month.  That's why I've lost interest in searching for new cars!  Whew - that's a relief - thought I was losing it for a while there!!!

If you buy a new car in the next 6 months I think you will really need to see a doctor..........a psychiatrist doctor

We sell vitamin supplements in this topic for this condition

PF_Flyer

berri said:

PF - an early Falcon, but couldn't say specific date. I still like that movie. I drove through Bodega Bay last year - very different these days.

The movie is still scary after MANY viewings. '61 Ford Falcon Ranchero

Mr_Shiftright

Bodega Bay isn't where most of the famous birdie scenes take place and where the well-known house is. That's in Bodega, which is inland.

imidazol97

graphicguy said:

Anyway, I check the plumbing and electric pretty regularly. This weekend, I found a very small drip coming from a connection that went from copper to PVC. Easy enough to fix. But, I'm also thinking of putting another shut off valve there. That way, in the future, I won't have to turn all the water off when doing such a repair. I can shut off only that area.

Not an expert. Not a plumber (just ask the retired plumber who fixed my repair of the frost proof faucet last year that leaked). LOL

I like shutoffs everywhere they make things easier to isolate. When we bought our modest ranch it had a shutoff for everything and one on hot water heater. Now there's a shut off on every lav and sink. Plumber even put one ahead of the frost proof faucet in the wall between closet and bedroom since that outside faucet seems to freeze easily if hose is left on.

If I could, I'd put shutoffs on the line to the tub and master shower in the two baths where they share service inside an access.

imidazol97

ab348 said:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

I want that too, but my drain is between my cold and hot supplies for the laundry and would require some real plumbing work to go around to get the H & C side-by-side.

My hoses on the washer say to replace in 2015. I turn off the water to washer whenever we leave for more than a daytime trip. Friend came home from school and found her house half covered with water from a burst hose.

Reminds me it's time to buy new hoses--it's after 2015.

jmonroe

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

You won't be sorry when you get one of those.

We have one of those and that is the one Mrs. j likes because she only has to throw one lever and both the hot and cold water is shut off. IMPORTANT: Remember to bleed off the pressure in the hoses like I mentioned a month or two ago so that the filler hoses don't sit with pressure on them all the time especially when the water is shut off because shut off pressure is higher than flowing pressure when the washing machine is running. Doing what we do, bleeding off the pressure after throwing the lever, is why our hoses are as old as the washing machine (over 20 years old).

The lever valve we have is made by Watt. They last a long time but not forever. When we bought the house we have now in '98 it was there when we moved in. About 4 years ago it started to leak at the lever stem. I went to a plumbing supply place and bought another Watt complete unit. Took off the valve assembly and installed it in the original valve body. This replacement should outlast me. I don't know how long you plan to live in your place but I would buy another complete valve assembly unit to have it as a spare for what I did. It will save having to call a plumber to do the same thing or worse yet, solder in a new valve assembly unit. FWIW, the plumbing place I went to did not stock just the valve assembly, they only had the entire assembly and I was very happy about that.

If anyone in here needs a Watt single lever valve body, I have one. New, never used.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

The lever valve we have is made by Watt.

jmonroe

This sounds like it is going to be a whose on first thing!

jmonroe

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

The lever valve we have is made by Watt.

jmonroe

This sounds like it is going to be a whose on first thing!

I should have known. If anyone would get confused...it would be you.

Are you confused about shutting off the water and bleeding the hose pressure? I can believe that one too.

jmonroe

ab348

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

The lever valve we have is made by Watt.

jmonroe

This sounds like it is going to be a whose on first thing!

I should have known. If anyone would get confused...it would be you.

Are you confused about shutting off the water and bleeding the hose pressure? I can believe that one too.

jmonroe

Who?

I don't know...

abacomike

houdini1 said:

abacomike said:

I'm driving home from the dentist the morning and stop off to pick up an Rx.  I put my hand in my pocket and my house and mailbox keys are missing.  I call the dentist since I am sure they slipped out of my shorts pocket and ask them to look for them.  No dice - they can't find them.  I move the driver's seat all the way forward in the car, but no keys underneath.

I call security at my Condo complex and ask them to meet me at my apartment to let me in - explained to them I lost my keys. As I'm walking to the elevator, my downstairs neighbor stops me and hands me my keys.  He said he found them inserted into my mailbox earlier this morning.  Then it dawned on me that I had gotten yesterday's mail before leaving this morning for the dentist.  Thank goodness for my neighbor finding them.

This brings to mind some concerns I have about my body and my mind.  Ever since the surgery and rehab, I have been misplacing things and forgetting things.  I am seeing my doctor next Monday about this and some persistent pain.  I have a feeling that the 6 days after surgery when I was in a coma have had some residual effects on my memory and mental processing.  Whatever is causing these issues and lapses, at least I am alive to talk about it!

It can't be too bad if you are AWARE of what is going on and that it is not NORMAL for you. Dr. houdini thinks this is just a temporary condition and will go away before long.

Thanks, Doc, just send me your bill!

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

driver100 said:

abacomike said:

berri said:

Mike - you had very major surgery. When I had cancer surgery I was told upfront it would be 18 months to 2 years before I'd be back to where I was and that was pretty accurate for me at least. Smart to see your doctor, but also good to understand you are not superman. But forgetting keys in the mailbox once, heck I think I left them in the front door once back in my 40's (maybe it was having teenagers!)

There's one other thing that's been bothering me - I have lost my "need" to buy a new car!  Don't even want to visit new car dealerships any more.  I tell you - that's scary!!! . Wait A minute - I forgot I just bought a new car last month.  That's why I've lost interest in searching for new cars!  Whew - that's a relief - thought I was losing it for a while there!!!

If you buy a new car in the next 6 months I think you will really need to see a doctor..........a psychiatrist doctor

We sell vitamin supplements in this topic for this condition

Send me a case, Shifty - so long as it is "tax deductible"!

abacomike

Need your opinion, roadburner:

I had to drive down to the dealership where I bought the 740i earlier today - they had ordered a front screen specially made to fit the 7 series BMW inside the front windshield (about $65 - but they didn't charge me - nice!). I live just off the Florida Turnpike which is a delight when trying to get somewhere quickly. I get on the Turnpike and put the 740i into the "ECO PRO" drive setting (supposed to be the most efficient mode of the 4 or 5 options available). The trip is about 30 miles - all Turnpike, I-595 and then I-75. I pull into the dealership and reset the drive selection back into "Comfort Mode". I notice on the bottom of the instrument cluster that my average mpg's were 41.3! That's right - 41.3 miles per gallon! I mention this to the General Manager after greeting him and he said in that drive setting, he also gets over 40 mpg in his 740i when on the road doing 55-70 mph.

That is truly unbelievable, which is why I am asking you (GENIUS) RB - have you also experienced that in the 7 series or even the 5 series?

I put the drive setting back into ECO PRO for the trip home and again - 40.9 mpg's for the 30 mile trip. That is astounding in a 320 horsepower inline 6 turbo in a 4300 lb car. How is this possible, RB?

roadburner

ab348 said:

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

I always shut of the water supply to my washer after a friend lost their finished basement to a failed filler hose while they were away. Insurance paid for it, but I seem to recall it was about $50K and a lot of pain.

When my renovations get underway and the washer gets relocated, I'm thinking of getting the plumber to install one of these things to make it easier to turn the washer water on and off:

That's what we have.

roadburner

abacomike said:

Need your opinion, roadburner:

I had to drive down to the dealership where I bought the 740i earlier today - they had ordered a front screen specially made to fit the 7 series BMW (about $65 - but they didn't charge me - nice!). I live just off the Florida Turnpike which is a delight when trying to get somewhere quickly. I get on the Turnpike and put the 740i into the "ECO PRO" drive setting (supposed to be the most efficient mode of the 4 or 5 options available). The trip is about 30 miles - all Turnpike, I-595 and then I-75. I pull into the dealership and reset the drive selection back into "Comfort Mode". I notice on the bottom of the instrument cluster that my average mpg's were 41.3! That's right - 41.3 miles per gallon! I mention this to the General Manager after greeting him and he said in that drive setting, he also gets over 40 mpg in his 740i when on the road doing 55-70 mph.

That is truly unbelievable, which is why I am asking you (GENIUS) RB - have you also experienced that in the 7 series or even the 5 series?

I put the drive setting back into ECO PRO for the trip home and again - 40.9 mpg's for the 30 mile trip. That is astounding in a 320 horsepower inline 6 turbo in a 4300 lb car. How is this possible, RB?

That sounds unusually high. It may be calculating MPG using imperial gallons, which are equivalent to 1.2 US gallons. Not joking here- does the voice recognition system have a UK accent?

graphicguy

nyccarguy said:

Nothing bad about putting more shut off valves. Is your washing machine & water heater down there? If you do, I highly advise installing one of these:

Thanks, Bradd. Shutoff valve will go in this weekend. Washer/Dryer is on the 2nd floor. So, definitely want some of those. Want some for the water heater, too (in an enclosed space in rec room). Where do I find them?

abacomike

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Need your opinion, roadburner:

I had to drive down to the dealership where I bought the 740i earlier today - they had ordered a front screen specially made to fit the 7 series BMW (about $65 - but they didn't charge me - nice!). I live just off the Florida Turnpike which is a delight when trying to get somewhere quickly. I get on the Turnpike and put the 740i into the "ECO PRO" drive setting (supposed to be the most efficient mode of the 4 or 5 options available). The trip is about 30 miles - all Turnpike, I-595 and then I-75. I pull into the dealership and reset the drive selection back into "Comfort Mode". I notice on the bottom of the instrument cluster that my average mpg's were 41.3! That's right - 41.3 miles per gallon! I mention this to the General Manager after greeting him and he said in that drive setting, he also gets over 40 mpg in his 740i when on the road doing 55-70 mph.

That is truly unbelievable, which is why I am asking you (GENIUS) RB - have you also experienced that in the 7 series or even the 5 series?

I put the drive setting back into ECO PRO for the trip home and again - 40.9 mpg's for the 30 mile trip. That is astounding in a 320 horsepower inline 6 turbo in a 4300 lb car. How is this possible, RB?

That sounds unusually high. It may be calculating MPG using imperial gallons, which are equivalent to 1.2 US gallons. Not joking here- does the voice recognition system have a UK accent?

Yes, it does have a UK accent - but it also has a Russian Accent, French Accent, Swedish Accent and an Italian Accent - depending upon my proximity (per the GPS) to restaurants that serve that kind of food. Haven't heard the Asian Accent yet because I haven't parked near an Asian Style restaurant with the new car. But living here in South Florida, it can't be long, that's for sure!

abacomike

By the way, RB, I called my brother about this high mpg thing (he has a 2016 740i he bought 3 months ago) and he said he gets over 40 mpg in that setting when he goes down to Orlando to visit his SO. It only gets that high mpg when in constant highway driving. As soon as you pull off the highway, the mpg's drop quickly into the 30's. When I'm in Comfort Mode, I average 36.2 mpg highway.

Check it out in one of your 740i's - I think you'll be astonished as I was - and it's a great selling point!

imidazol97

@nycarguy1
Thanks for posting about floodstop. Fairly expensive but can be put in by consumer, for the washer at least.

In case anyone wonders how the valves work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv08o2ELOVU

andres3

sda said:

I get tickled when I read statements such as this from nyccarguy: 'slow poke motor doesn't get the outrageous mileage one would expect from a car with a 9 second 0-60 mph time. '

From my perspective growing up when most cars ran 0-60 in the 12-17 sec range, 9 seconds would have been considered sports car quick! ( Yes, that was the late '70s, early 80's) My '62 Ford Galaxie with a 292 V8 and 3 speed manual would be hard pressed to do 60 in less than 14 sec!

Today's cars are great!

Yes, but things advance. For the same reason no one wants to use a 486 processor in their computer instead of a I-Core 7 or whatever, no one wants to drive behind someone taking 10+ seconds to get up to speed on a freeway on-ramp.

suydam

abacomike said:

By the way, RB, I called my brother about this high mpg thing (he has a 2016 740i he bought 3 months ago) and he said he gets over 40 mpg in that setting when he goes down to Orlando to visit his SO. It only gets that high mpg when in constant highway driving. As soon as you pull off the highway, the mpg's drop quickly into the 30's. When I'm in Comfort Mode, I average 36.2 mpg highway.

Check it out in one of your 740i's - I think you'll be astonished as I was - and it's a great selling point!

According to EPA estimates MPG is listed at 21-29. So they couldn't market it as higher.

abacomike

suydam said:

abacomike said:

By the way, RB, I called my brother about this high mpg thing (he has a 2016 740i he bought 3 months ago) and he said he gets over 40 mpg in that setting when he goes down to Orlando to visit his SO. It only gets that high mpg when in constant highway driving. As soon as you pull off the highway, the mpg's drop quickly into the 30's. When I'm in Comfort Mode, I average 36.2 mpg highway.

Check it out in one of your 740i's - I think you'll be astonished as I was - and it's a great selling point!

According to EPA estimates MPG is listed at 21-29. So they couldn't market it as higher.

Yes, that's what the vehicle sticker says - 21-29, but I consistently get 36+ in regular drive mode on highways only - not around town. My brother's gets the same. But in ECO PRO, it is amazing. I read more about that setting in the manual - it seems the computer in the car automatically disengages the car from D (drive) to N(neutral) in a coasting mode - whenever it senses it can. It also reducing AC output and other HVAC functions as well as fan speeds for air-cooled and heated seats. So, the setting has a myriad of affects on many things powered by the alternator and the engine.

It would be interesting if RB can get a hold of a 740i to try it out. It is not set for "Imperial", it is set for "US".

houdini1

As RB said, the mpg computer may be set on imperial gallons, or even kilometers.....whatever you do, don't correct it or your mpg will go down !

imidazol97

houdini1 said:

As RB said, the mpg computer may be set on imperial gallons, or even kilometers.....whatever you do, don't correct it or your mpg will go down !

As far as the readout from some of the mileage indicators, people often have suggested they are not as accurate as we would like to think and the mileage needs to be verified by actual fillups.

And remember VW passing the emissions tests US with a little manipulation.

imidazol97

Power windows. Always a hassle. This morning at 7:30 phone rang and son said the Cruze window went down but won't go back up. So I drove the Cruze home from his apartment with the driver window down at 6 degrees F.

Not California. Not Florida! Laughing to myself. Of course the bits of frozen ice on the window caused this BUT why could it have given trouble at 70 deg. F?

isellhondas

Mr_Shiftright said:

Bodega Bay isn't where most of the famous birdie scenes take place and where the well-known house is. That's in Bodega, which is inland.

It's near Peteluma which is so built up now I don't recognize it. Used to be all chicken farms. Don't knw anything about birdie scenes. Quite a few years since I've been there.

jmonroe

abacomike said:

roadburner said:

abacomike said:

Need your opinion, roadburner:

I had to drive down to the dealership where I bought the 740i earlier today - they had ordered a front screen specially made to fit the 7 series BMW (about $65 - but they didn't charge me - nice!). I live just off the Florida Turnpike which is a delight when trying to get somewhere quickly. I get on the Turnpike and put the 740i into the "ECO PRO" drive setting (supposed to be the most efficient mode of the 4 or 5 options available). The trip is about 30 miles - all Turnpike, I-595 and then I-75. I pull into the dealership and reset the drive selection back into "Comfort Mode". I notice on the bottom of the instrument cluster that my average mpg's were 41.3! That's right - 41.3 miles per gallon! I mention this to the General Manager after greeting him and he said in that drive setting, he also gets over 40 mpg in his 740i when on the road doing 55-70 mph.

That is truly unbelievable, which is why I am asking you (GENIUS) RB - have you also experienced that in the 7 series or even the 5 series?

I put the drive setting back into ECO PRO for the trip home and again - 40.9 mpg's for the 30 mile trip. That is astounding in a 320 horsepower inline 6 turbo in a 4300 lb car. How is this possible, RB?

That sounds unusually high. It may be calculating MPG using imperial gallons, which are equivalent to 1.2 US gallons. Not joking here- does the voice recognition system have a UK accent?

Yes, it does have a UK accent - but it also has a Russian Accent, French Accent, Swedish Accent and an Italian Accent - depending upon my proximity (per the GPS) to restaurants that serve that kind of food. Haven't heard the Asian Accent yet because I haven't parked near an Asian Style restaurant with the new car. But living here in South Florida, it can't be long, that's for sure!

With all the deli's down your way, I'm surprised your car doesn't have a Yiddish accent too.

jmonroe

graphicguy

imidazol97 said:

houdini1 said:

As RB said, the mpg computer may be set on imperial gallons, or even kilometers.....whatever you do, don't correct it or your mpg will go down !

As far as the readout from some of the mileage indicators, people often have suggested they are not as accurate as we would like to think and the mileage needs to be verified by actual fillups.

And remember VW passing the emissions tests US with a little manipulation.

One thing I will give Cadillac credit for, their computer MPG calculations are pretty much spot on my manual calculations. They're usually within a tenth or two of the MPG I calculate manually. That's the most accurate of any car I've ever had.

Some manufacturers' MPG calculators are wildly optimistic (and inaccurate).

jmonroe

imidazol97 said:

Power windows. Always a hassle. This morning at 7:30 phone rang and son said the Cruze window went down but won't go back up. So I drove the Cruze home from his apartment with the driver window down at 6 degrees F.

Not California. Not Florida! Laughing to myself. Of course the bits of frozen ice on the window caused this BUT why could it have given trouble at 70 deg. F?

For the same reason windshield wipers don't fail when the sun is shinning.

jmonroe

jmonroe

imidazol97 said:

@nycarguy1
Thanks for posting about floodstop. Fairly expensive but can be put in by consumer, for the washer at least.

In case anyone wonders how the valves work.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sv08o2ELOVU

Thanks, @imidazol97.

Very informative link.

jmonroe

cdnpinhead

graphicguy said:

Some manufacturers' MPG calculators are wildly optimistic (and inaccurate).

This is most certainly true. My TSX, which I've had for going on nine years now, routinely displays a value about 6% better than reality. This in a vehicle that shows speed and odometer readings within 0.1% of what my GPS tells me. I know they could do a lot better, but the marketing people appear to be in charge. I don't expect every fillup to be bang-on, but I do expect the number that show lower than what the display said to balance off against an approximately equal number of fillups that go the other way.

Never gonna happen, at least with this vehicle. Be interesting to see how Subaru approaches this.

driver100

ab348 said:

jmonroe said:

driver100 said:

jmonroe said:

The lever valve we have is made by Watt.

jmonroe

This sounds like it is going to be a whose on first thing!

I should have known. If anyone would get confused...it would be you.

Are you confused about shutting off the water and bleeding the hose pressure? I can believe that one too.

jmonroe

Who?

I don't know...

Watt!

Who?

No Watt!

driver100

abacomike said:

By the way, RB, I called my brother about this high mpg thing (he has a 2016 740i he bought 3 months ago) and he said he gets over 40 mpg in that setting

On the one setting in our MB's, you can see the amount of gas being used at any one time. If cruising on the highway at a steady 60 to 70 mph the digital readout can show I am getting 40 to 50 mpg. If I slow down and am coasting it could go higher, but if I slow down and build up speed again it can go down to 12 mpg or so. I would agree there are probably new enhancements that cut the use of gas when coasting, but, mpg is an average number....what I would think you are seeing is an optimum number.

explorerx4

My Fusion is the least powerful vehicle I've owned in many years. It has a 1.5 liter turbo and the Fusion is kind of a heavy car.
It does everything well including not feeling underpowered, so I really don't have an excuse the ask about the Fusion Sport that I saw when I bought my car about 3 months ago.
It has 'Special Order' printed on the sticker which was why I didn't ask about it at the time, but it is still there.

suydam

imidazol97 said:

Power windows. Always a hassle. This morning at 7:30 phone rang and son said the Cruze window went down but won't go back up. So I drove the Cruze home from his apartment with the driver window down at 6 degrees F.

Not California. Not Florida! Laughing to myself. Of course the bits of frozen ice on the window caused this BUT why could it have given trouble at 70 deg. F?

Making me glad I'm in SoCal. now!

ab348

suydam said:

Making me glad I'm in SoCal. now!

I read this morning that up in the mountains of NorCal this weekend they are expecting a storm that could dump as much as 12 FEET of snow. Blaming it on the "atmospheric river" or some such foolish term.

suydam

More like a pipeline bringing one storm after another. Boy do we need it too.

andres3

I wonder if the Cruze's window category will get a black dot in CR now. Oh wait, they don't do those anymore. Now the category to avoid in CR is a score of 1 to 20 out of 100.

I think the Cruze did very well in the last yearly ratings. GTI got a 20.

Chrysler performed miserably; makes the GTI's score look relatively high.

oldfarmer50

sda said:

I get tickled when I read statements such as this from nyccarguy: 'slow poke motor doesn't get the outrageous mileage one would expect from a car with a 9 second 0-60 mph time. '

From my perspective growing up when most cars ran 0-60 in the 12-17 sec range, 9 seconds would have been considered sports car quick! ( Yes, that was the late '70s, early 80's) My '62 Ford Galaxie with a 292 V8 and 3 speed manual would be hard pressed to do 60 in less than 14 sec!

Today's cars are great!

My Lincoln is listed at a 7.5 sec 0-60 and I consider it pretty fast.

stickguy

I get stuck behind people on on ramps all the time that don't break 10 secs 0-60. Heck, might not break 15.

Of course, the cars can do well better. Just the drivers can't, or won't.

imidazol97

The drive home at 8 deg F (up from 6 deg F) was about 20 miles. Light refreezing on the roads. Lots of cars off. People never learn that curves on interstate level highways and especially curves on bridges make the rear wheels go "zoom." One way back one guy corkscrewed into the concrete retaining wall on the right of a strong double lane curve and bounced across 4 lanes to his the retaining wall on the left side. It was hard on the Chevy's body. Another turned over after a curve on overpass and entrance ramp.

@abacomike
I had a memory lapse today so you're not alone--it's just my age. I just realized hours later that I could have turned on the heated seat in the Cruze besides having the heater on high. I forget about the heated seats unless my wife is with me. She always turns hers on for her lower back problems.

tjc78

graphicguy said:

imidazol97 said:

houdini1 said:

As RB said, the mpg computer may be set on imperial gallons, or even kilometers.....whatever you do, don't correct it or your mpg will go down !

As far as the readout from some of the mileage indicators, people often have suggested they are not as accurate as we would like to think and the mileage needs to be verified by actual fillups.

And remember VW passing the emissions tests US with a little manipulation.

One thing I will give Cadillac credit for, their computer MPG calculations are pretty much spot on my manual calculations. They're usually within a tenth or two of the MPG I calculate manually. That's the most accurate of any car I've ever had.

Some manufacturers' MPG calculators are wildly optimistic (and inaccurate).

Must run in the GM family. My Enclave is also spot on to my calculations as well. The new Elantra is about 1.5 MPG optimistic from my numbers.

jmonroe

imidazol97 said:

The drive home at 8 deg F (up from 6 deg F) was about 20 miles. Light refreezing on the roads. Lots of cars off. People never learn that curves on interstate level highways and especially curves on bridges make the rear wheels go "zoom." One way back one guy corkscrewed into the concrete retaining wall on the right of a strong double lane curve and bounced across 4 lanes to his the retaining wall on the left side. It was hard on the Chevy's body. Another turned over after a curve on overpass and entrance ramp.

@abacomike
I had a memory lapse today so you're not alone--it's just my age. I just realized hours later that I could have turned on the heated seat in the Cruze besides having the heater on high. I forget about the heated seats unless my wife is with me. She always turns hers on for her lower back problems.

Maybe you had another memory lapse. You knew you were going to get a car whose window was stuck in the down position so why didn't you take some Saran wrap even duct tape. OK, maybe not duct tape but what about a roll of clear package sealing tape

I admit to the same lapse as you as far as the heated seats. When Mrs. j turns on her bun warmer she always asks if I want her to turn mine on too. I've had cooling seats in both my '09 and '15 Genny and I almost never remember to turn that on.

jmonroe

imidazol97

jmonroe said:

Maybe you had another memory lapse. You knew you were going to get a car whose window was stuck in the down position so why didn't you take some Saran wrap even duct tape. OK, maybe not duct tape but what about a roll of clear package sealing tape

And you're right. But my panicked 25-year old had put the window down for security and then couldn't get it up. He had a class at 8 am. (Working on a masters degree free.) So he goes back to apartment, calls, and hopes to get to class after I rushed over with the Cobalt. I left in a hurry.

He realizes now when the window mechanism was noisy when there was frost on window other days, he should have said something and we could have switched cars and taken it into dealer at our convenience. The window failed since summer when it was okay. It wasn't just today's ice because he had scraped the drops of frozen moisture off when he did the windows before leaving home. I think the cables were failing slowly on earlier days with the hard pulls to move window when there was frost on it. This is the first window failure on a GM car for me.

I said something to the effect of welcome to car ownership now that the car is in his name...it does have an extended warranty to 90K miles.

sda

imidazol97 said:

jmonroe said:

Maybe you had another memory lapse. You knew you were going to get a car whose window was stuck in the down position so why didn't you take some Saran wrap even duct tape. OK, maybe not duct tape but what about a roll of clear package sealing tape

And you're right. But my panicked 25-year old had put the window down for security and then couldn't get it up. He had a class at 8 am. So he goes back to apartment, calls, and hopes to get to class after I rushed over with the Cobalt. I left in a hurry.

He realizes now when the window mechanism was noisy when there was frost on window other days, he should have said something and we could have switched cars and taken it into dealer at our convenience. The window failed since summer when it was okay. It wasn't just today's ice because he had scraped the drops of frozen moisture off when he did the windows before leaving home. I think the cables were failing slowly on days with the hard pulls to move window. This is the first window failure on a GM car for me.

Is it still under warranty?