Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

graphicguy

Exhaust pipes/tips may be numbered. Mentioned earlier that I drove the Accord Hybrid. Impressive car! If that sort of technology keeps up, and electrics continue expanding their foothold, you won't be seeing much in the way of exhaust systems coming out of the back of vehicles.

Mr_Shiftright

Those *look* like real bagels but do they have the hard crust and chewy innards?

ab348

Was talking to an ex-coworker recently and he mentioned that his 2010 Lexus RX450h is becoming a problem. He worries that he will have to replace the battery packs at huge cost (he threw around numbers of $5000 to $8000) and because it is apparently a known issue with these aging hybrids, the resale is far worse than the regular model. He is kicking himself for buying it now.

jmonroe

ab348 said:

Was talking to an ex-coworker recently and he mentioned that his 2010 Lexus RX450h is becoming a problem. He worries that he will have to replace the battery packs at huge cost (he threw around numbers of $5000 to $8000) and because it is apparently a known issue with these aging hybrids, the resale is far worse than the regular model. He is kicking himself for buying it now.

I'm in no way impressed with any of the electrics because of the battery thing you mentioned. Looks like we are still hung up on batteries for the second day now. I guess that's not too bad. I remember when we talked about dishwashers for a week back in SFTSFL days.

Save money on gas then spend the savings on batteries. That doesn't make any sense to me unless you hug trees. Anyway, it's going to be a cold day in Hawaii when I'll see one in my garage.

jmonroe

suydam

driver100 said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:

henryn said:

The 2016 Chrysler Town and Country was an Enterprise rental vehicle in a previous life. Sold to me by a Mazda dealer, who almost certainly bought it at auction. And yes, the negotiated price was "as is", which did not greatly concern me as it is still under the bumper to bumper factory warranty. When I took delivery, after paying and signing all paperwork, then they told me they couldn't find the second key. Somehow I wasn't expecting it to cost me more than $200, but ...

Yes, I remember that from the story of the purchase. I guess the wording led me to believe the dealer had a second key and couldn't find it.

I shortened the story when retelling. Yes, they first told me they couldn't find the second key. Three days later the story changed to they didn't have a second key. No point in trying to do battle when you're not likely to win, so I let it go.

That reminds me when I traded in the 2013 Passat...which was in mint condition, 6k miles, they asked me a few times if we had 2 keys. I kept wondering, who would trade in a car with one key? It doesn't say much for the previous owner if he drives around with only one key.

Before signing to complete the deal I was also asked to hand over....BOTH keys. I guess that dealership has had problems before.

People who lost a key, that's who. We drove our '01 Maxima for 7 years with only one key between us. Of course we sold it privately so the buyer knew there was only one key.

Can't find an exact price to duplicate a 2001 Maxima key, but I am finding $120 to $200. You would drive for 7 years and share one key? Fortunately you didn't lose your one key suydam or it would probably cost you a lot more than $200.

I think it was close to $300 at the time. For the first year we kept thinking we'd find it somewhere -- I mean, you think you'd hear it if you fell out, wouldn't you? -- and then we just kinda got used to it. It's funny. I'm very cheap on some things and don't give a thought to spending $ on things I really want.

suydam

Speaking of new technology I saw a new Bolt today at the dealership. Wow does it look nice. I like the small size and the interior seems comfortable like the Encore. It might be the way to go when we think of replacing the Encore down the line.

abacomike

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

Was talking to an ex-coworker recently and he mentioned that his 2010 Lexus RX450h is becoming a problem. He worries that he will have to replace the battery packs at huge cost (he threw around numbers of $5000 to $8000) and because it is apparently a known issue with these aging hybrids, the resale is far worse than the regular model. He is kicking himself for buying it now.

I'm in no way impressed with any of the electrics because of the battery thing you mentioned. Looks like we are still hung up on batteries for the second day now. I guess that's not too bad. I remember when we talked about dishwashers for a week back in SFTSFL days.

Save money on gas then spend the savings on batteries. That doesn't make any sense to me unless you hug trees. Anyway, it's going to be a cold day in Hawaii when I'll see one in my garage.

jmonroe

You are aware that it snows frequently on the Big Island of Hawaii where there is a 10,000+ foot peak right in the middle of the island - right? So, perhaps you are closer to buying a new electric vehicle that you thought!

abacomike

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another.

Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this?

It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

andres3

graphicguy said:

Exhaust pipes/tips may be numbered. Mentioned earlier that I drove the Accord Hybrid. Impressive car! If that sort of technology keeps up, and electrics continue expanding their foothold, you won't be seeing much in the way of exhaust systems coming out of the back of vehicles.

Maybe they'll put in fake exhaust tips with lights and speakers for light and sound effects similar to the engine sound tech they are using these days?

explorerx4

Acura's new Buick grille!

stickguy

better than the eagle beak

Michaell

abacomike said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another.

Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this?

It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

I just looked at the forums on my iPhone ... same text size as I've had since the "fix" was made a week or two ago.

abacomike

Michaell said:

abacomike said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another.

Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this?

It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

I just looked at the forums on my iPhone ... same text size as I've had since the "fix" was made a week or two ago.

Before this happened this afternoon, when things were working fine, just the posting side of the page would show up in larger letters. Now, the entire page with advertisements is on the page. Just doesn't fit any more and the print is so small, I can't read it. What can I say?

Thanks for trying to get this corrected. Much appreciated.

thebean

Michaell said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another. Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this? It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

I just looked at the forums on my iPhone ... same text size as I've had since the "fix" was made a week or two ago.

Same here.  I can get the entire post on my iPhone now, whereas I couldn't prior to the fix.

driver100

suydam said:

driver100 said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:

henryn said:

The 2016 Chrysler Town and Country was an Enterprise rental vehicle in a previous life. Sold to me by a Mazda dealer, who almost certainly bought it at auction. And yes, the negotiated price was "as is", which did not greatly concern me as it is still under the bumper to bumper factory warranty. When I took delivery, after paying and signing all paperwork, then they told me they couldn't find the second key. Somehow I wasn't expecting it to cost me more than $200, but ...

Yes, I remember that from the story of the purchase. I guess the wording led me to believe the dealer had a second key and couldn't find it.

I shortened the story when retelling. Yes, they first told me they couldn't find the second key. Three days later the story changed to they didn't have a second key. No point in trying to do battle when you're not likely to win, so I let it go.

That reminds me when I traded in the 2013 Passat...which was in mint condition, 6k miles, they asked me a few times if we had 2 keys. I kept wondering, who would trade in a car with one key? It doesn't say much for the previous owner if he drives around with only one key.

Before signing to complete the deal I was also asked to hand over....BOTH keys. I guess that dealership has had problems before.

People who lost a key, that's who. We drove our '01 Maxima for 7 years with only one key between us. Of course we sold it privately so the buyer knew there was only one key.

Can't find an exact price to duplicate a 2001 Maxima key, but I am finding $120 to $200. You would drive for 7 years and share one key? Fortunately you didn't lose your one key suydam or it would probably cost you a lot more than $200.

I think it was close to $300 at the time. For the first year we kept thinking we'd find it somewhere -- I mean, you think you'd hear it if you fell out, wouldn't you? -- and then we just kinda got used to it. It's funny. I'm very cheap on some things and don't give a thought to spending $ on things I really want.

I know how that can happen. It would be nice if keys had an alarm on them so it goes off if you need to find them. Same with reading glasses.
I do think of one of those things that should be corrected after awhile though, one is you have to get by with one key, two if you lose that key it is going to cost you a lot more, and three, the car isn't as desirable as a trade-in......really false economizing. But, you have to do it and live through it to learn that lesson, or read "Drivers Book on Financial Matters" and "How to Rationalize Any Purchase".

driver100

abacomike said:

jmonroe said:

ab348 said:

Was talking to an ex-coworker recently and he mentioned that his 2010 Lexus RX450h is becoming a problem. He worries that he will have to replace the battery packs at huge cost (he threw around numbers of $5000 to $8000) and because it is apparently a known issue with these aging hybrids, the resale is far worse than the regular model. He is kicking himself for buying it now.

I'm in no way impressed with any of the electrics because of the battery thing you mentioned. Looks like we are still hung up on batteries for the second day now. I guess that's not too bad. I remember when we talked about dishwashers for a week back in SFTSFL days.

Save money on gas then spend the savings on batteries. That doesn't make any sense to me unless you hug trees. Anyway, it's going to be a cold day in Hawaii when I'll see one in my garage.

jmonroe

You are aware that it snows frequently on the Big Island of Hawaii where there is a 10,000+ foot peak right in the middle of the island - right? So, perhaps you are closer to buying a new electric vehicle that you thought!

Looks like you won that bet Mike. I am going to enjoy hearing about JMonroes next car, especially if he buys a
Nissan Leaf:

suydam

driver100 said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:

suydam said:

driver100 said:

henryn said:

ab348 said:

henryn said:

The 2016 Chrysler Town and Country was an Enterprise rental vehicle in a previous life. Sold to me by a Mazda dealer, who almost certainly bought it at auction. And yes, the negotiated price was "as is", which did not greatly concern me as it is still under the bumper to bumper factory warranty. When I took delivery, after paying and signing all paperwork, then they told me they couldn't find the second key. Somehow I wasn't expecting it to cost me more than $200, but ...

Yes, I remember that from the story of the purchase. I guess the wording led me to believe the dealer had a second key and couldn't find it.

I shortened the story when retelling. Yes, they first told me they couldn't find the second key. Three days later the story changed to they didn't have a second key. No point in trying to do battle when you're not likely to win, so I let it go.

That reminds me when I traded in the 2013 Passat...which was in mint condition, 6k miles, they asked me a few times if we had 2 keys. I kept wondering, who would trade in a car with one key? It doesn't say much for the previous owner if he drives around with only one key.

Before signing to complete the deal I was also asked to hand over....BOTH keys. I guess that dealership has had problems before.

People who lost a key, that's who. We drove our '01 Maxima for 7 years with only one key between us. Of course we sold it privately so the buyer knew there was only one key.

Can't find an exact price to duplicate a 2001 Maxima key, but I am finding $120 to $200. You would drive for 7 years and share one key? Fortunately you didn't lose your one key suydam or it would probably cost you a lot more than $200.

I think it was close to $300 at the time. For the first year we kept thinking we'd find it somewhere -- I mean, you think you'd hear it if you fell out, wouldn't you? -- and then we just kinda got used to it. It's funny. I'm very cheap on some things and don't give a thought to spending $ on things I really want.

I know how that can happen. It would be nice if keys had an alarm on them so it goes off if you need to find them. Same with reading glasses.
I do think of one of those things that should be corrected after awhile though, one is you have to get by with one key, two if you lose that key it is going to cost you a lot more, and three, the car isn't as desirable as a trade-in......really false economizing. But, you have to do it and live through it to learn that lesson, or read "Drivers Book on Financial Matters" and "How to Rationalize Any Purchase".

Fortunately the person we sold it to didn't care either. I'm not advocating this as a good thing to do, just explaining how it can happen.

snakeweasel

andres3 said:

If they lose the case, and don't get the fine reduced, then I'll be stressed! On the bright side, I haven't received any new pending citations (knock on wood!).

Well just keep it slow you'll live longer (before responding think about that and what you said that I am responding to).

snakeweasel

My understanding is that the back window can be legally blocked if one has a side mirror on the passenger side of the car. So with dual sport mirrors you can have the back window blocked. Otherwise most trucks would be in violation of the law.

snakeweasel

Come on, I know that everyone of us at one time or another yelled at our car for some reason.

abacomike

snakeweasel said:

Come on, I know that everyone of us at one time or another yelled at our car for some reason.


I drive GERMAN cars - you don't yell at German cars - you offer them a cigarette, a cup of java, some sugar, a bit of cognac and repeat the word "bitta" over and over and over.....!

snakeweasel

Then there are people like me with speech issues where some systems cannot decipher what I am saying a lot of times. You should see the responses I get when using voice commands to some places where the street or town name is foreign (many of my destinations contain French names being that the French were here first). Speaking of which the text to voice feature butchers a lot of those names.

qbrozen

abacomike said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another. Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this? It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

Working fine for me. Sounds like a phone issue. Just for comparison, I am on a 6 Plus running iOS 9.3.2 and using Chrome as my browser.

henryn

There are things that are okay to do on a smartphone, and things that really make sense on a smartphone (waze and google maps come to mind). And then there are things that I just DON'T do on a smartphone. Reading and posting to these forums is one of the latter.

Also falling into the latter category are watching movies. People really watch movies on a smartphone? Seriously?

oldfarmer50

PF_Flyer said:

Good day to exercise the winter driving skills today. Traction control and ABS got a workout on the way to the gym. I even got to get the rear end to start to swap with the front in the grocery store parking lot. Would be a GREAT day to teach someone how to drive

We got an inch of snow today and when I got back from a field trip I had some fun in the empty parking lot with the RWD.

stickguy

the bus or the lincoln? School bus donuts sounds like fun!

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Well....this is disappointing. Acura seems lost......

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1304813

Looks kind of hunchbacked.

oldfarmer50

graphicguy said:

Exhaust pipes/tips may be numbered. Mentioned earlier that I drove the Accord Hybrid. Impressive car! If that sort of technology keeps up, and electrics continue expanding their foothold, you won't be seeing much in the way of exhaust systems coming out of the back of vehicles.

I was behind a Tesla model S today. Are those things supose to be fast? This thing took off like it could give my Mustang a run. Maybe you should look into one of those.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

Then there are people like me with speech issues where some systems cannot decipher what I am saying a lot of times. You should see the responses I get when using voice commands to some places where the street or town name is foreign (many of my destinations contain French names being that the French were here first). Speaking of which the text to voice feature butchers a lot of those names.


My area was first owned by the Dutch and before them the native Americans so we have some interesting names for cities and locations. We can always tell when the TV stations import some pretty face from elsewhere by the way they butcher the names.

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

the bus or the lincoln? School bus donuts sounds like fun!

The only time I did a school bus donut was coming down a hill empty in an ice storm. Definitely NOT fun.

abacomike

qbrozen said:

abacomike said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another. Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this? It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

Working fine for me. Sounds like a phone issue. Just for comparison, I am on a 6 Plus running iOS 9.3.2 and using Chrome as my browser.

Actually, I decided to use Chrome on my iPhone and it works perfectly.  It must be Safari that is giving me aggravation.  So I'll just use Chrome.  Thanks for the help everyone. 

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

abacomike said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another.

Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this?

It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

I just looked at the forums on my iPhone ... same text size as I've had since the "fix" was made a week or two ago.

Looks good on my Android, too.

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

I have a complaint for the Moderators to handle - are you listening? I usually use my iPhone to read posts as well as "post" posts. This afternoon, I can no longer read the posts on this site because the print got so small, it is almost microscopic. Every time Vanilla (or whatever the name of the site developer is) tries to enhance one thing or fix one issue, it creates another. Even with "zooming", it is impossible to read the posts - you can't get the entire post onto the screen. So you are constantly moving the screen back and forth. Is there anything you guys can do to help those of us who use phones with this? It sure would be much appreciated. I had to come on to my PC to post it has gotten so bad.

I just looked at the forums on my iPhone ... same text size as I've had since the "fix" was made a week or two ago.

Looks good on my Android, too.

Thanks for feedback.  Something must have happened with Safari on my iPhone 7+.

isellhondas

jmonroe said:

isellhondas said:

sda said:

stickguy said:

my Hondas (Accord and Odyssey) both had lousy OEM batteries that did not last all that long (4 years max, one might have been 3).

one problem is that sometimes it is not a gradual fade out that gets you (so you get warning). Rather, something just lets go internally (I guess a cell failing) and you go from good to dead like flipping a switch. No real way to predict that.

That has been my experience as well. Battery lasted 4 years on the Civic and 3 on the Accord. No warning at all with the Civic. Started up just fine and went to Publix. Came back less than 10 min later and it hardly made a clicking noise when I tried to start it. I hadn't started the Accord for about 3 days and it cranked slowly, started, stalled (a first) and then was completely dead. I had to pry the cover near the shifter off so I could stick a key and manually override the Park lock out to get the car in neutral. I drafted my wife to help push it out of the garage so I could position the Pilot to jump it off. Fun times!

I sold our next door neighbors a new Accord in 1996 and the original battery lasted 13 years! that has GOT to be a record!

My experience is that OEM batteries are better than aftermarket batteries.

My first car, a 1956 Chevy that I got used in 1961, had a 6 volt Delco battery that was literally tortured and was still in the car in 1963 when I sold it.

That is a looooong story. Nobody would read all of that so I'm not going to even try. I get tired of just thinking about what that battery went through.

jmonroe

Ah...not to be nitpicky but Chevy went to a 12 volt system in 1955.

Mr_Shiftright

Oh, let me try Safari on my iPad Mini.........

Looks fine on Safari on that one.

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

Oh, let me try Safari on my iPad Mini......... Looks fine on Safari on that one.

Then it must be my phone.  Maybe I hit the wrong button.  Who knows - at least Chrome works fine, Shifty. 

Mr_Shiftright

Well if it persists, no harm in clicking on the "help" button at the bottom of the page and reporting it.

abacomike

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well if it persists, no harm in clicking on the "help" button at the bottom of the page and reporting it.

Just went into Safari and cleared all the cookies - works fine now.  Go figure...

driver100

oldfarmer50 said:

graphicguy said:

Well....this is disappointing. Acura seems lost......

http://www.vtec.net/news/news-item?news_item_id=1304813

Looks kind of hunchbacked.

Looks more like the last model Infinity. And everyone has a medallion in the center of the grill these days.

Which reminds me, it is likely VW will have the highest sales of any car company for 2016. Just GM hasn't reported in and it seems they won't beat VW as there large market North American sales are down a bit. Although VW sales are off in some markets like the USA, they are strong in China and other countries.

roadburner

suydam said:

Speaking of new technology I saw a new Bolt today at the dealership. Wow does it look nice. I like the small size and the interior seems comfortable like the Encore. It might be the way to go when we think of replacing the Encore down the line.

It is impressive, but FWD is a deal breaker for me.

abacomike

roadburner said:

Speaking of new technology I saw a new Bolt today at the dealership. Wow does it look nice. I like the small size and the interior seems comfortable like the Encore. It might be the way to go when we think of replacing the Encore down the line.

It is impressive, but FWD is a deal breaker for me.

Ditto!!!  Just don't like the feel of FWD.  

suydam

Funny! That's the only kind of vehicles I consider. I once had a Subaru Forester but that's it.

jmonroe

isellhondas said:

jmonroe said:

isellhondas said:

sda said:

stickguy said:

my Hondas (Accord and Odyssey) both had lousy OEM batteries that did not last all that long (4 years max, one might have been 3).

one problem is that sometimes it is not a gradual fade out that gets you (so you get warning). Rather, something just lets go internally (I guess a cell failing) and you go from good to dead like flipping a switch. No real way to predict that.

That has been my experience as well. Battery lasted 4 years on the Civic and 3 on the Accord. No warning at all with the Civic. Started up just fine and went to Publix. Came back less than 10 min later and it hardly made a clicking noise when I tried to start it. I hadn't started the Accord for about 3 days and it cranked slowly, started, stalled (a first) and then was completely dead. I had to pry the cover near the shifter off so I could stick a key and manually override the Park lock out to get the car in neutral. I drafted my wife to help push it out of the garage so I could position the Pilot to jump it off. Fun times!

I sold our next door neighbors a new Accord in 1996 and the original battery lasted 13 years! that has GOT to be a record!

My experience is that OEM batteries are better than aftermarket batteries.

My first car, a 1956 Chevy that I got used in 1961, had a 6 volt Delco battery that was literally tortured and was still in the car in 1963 when I sold it.

That is a looooong story. Nobody would read all of that so I'm not going to even try. I get tired of just thinking about what that battery went through.

jmonroe

Ah...not to be nitpicky but Chevy went to a 12 volt system in 1955.

Yes, you are correct. I was going to correct it but let it go since it was past the EDIT period and I didn't want to repost the correction. What I do remember for sure is that my '56 Chevy had a generator not an alternator. I'm not sure when GM made that change but I think my '62 Chevy that replaced the '56 had an alternator but since I never had to do any charging system work on the '62, I'm not positive about that.

jmonroe

driver100

jmonroe said:

isellhondas said:

jmonroe said:

isellhondas said:

sda said:

stickguy said:

my Hondas (Accord and Odyssey) both had lousy OEM batteries that did not last all that long (4 years max, one might have been 3).

one problem is that sometimes it is not a gradual fade out that gets you (so you get warning). Rather, something just lets go internally (I guess a cell failing) and you go from good to dead like flipping a switch. No real way to predict that.

That has been my experience as well. Battery lasted 4 years on the Civic and 3 on the Accord. No warning at all with the Civic. Started up just fine and went to Publix. Came back less than 10 min later and it hardly made a clicking noise when I tried to start it. I hadn't started the Accord for about 3 days and it cranked slowly, started, stalled (a first) and then was completely dead. I had to pry the cover near the shifter off so I could stick a key and manually override the Park lock out to get the car in neutral. I drafted my wife to help push it out of the garage so I could position the Pilot to jump it off. Fun times!

I sold our next door neighbors a new Accord in 1996 and the original battery lasted 13 years! that has GOT to be a record!

My experience is that OEM batteries are better than aftermarket batteries.

My first car, a 1956 Chevy that I got used in 1961, had a 6 volt Delco battery that was literally tortured and was still in the car in 1963 when I sold it.

That is a looooong story. Nobody would read all of that so I'm not going to even try. I get tired of just thinking about what that battery went through.

jmonroe

Ah...not to be nitpicky but Chevy went to a 12 volt system in 1955.

Yes, you are correct. I was going to correct it but let it go since it was past the EDIT period and I didn't want to repost the correction. What I do remember for sure is that my '56 Chevy had a generator not an alternator. I'm not sure when GM made that change but I think my '62 Chevy that replaced the '56 had an alternator but since I never had to do any charging system work on the '62, I'm not positive about that.

jmonroe

It seems Chev started using alternators on the 62 models:

ALTERNATORS ON CHEVS))

(notice the brevity, the simplicity of the post, the getting to the point!)

imidazol97

driver100 said:

Ah...not to be nitpicky but Chevy went to a 12 volt system in 1955.
It seems Chev started using alternators on the 62 models:
\(notice the brevity, the simplicity of the post, the getting to the point!)

It seems Chev started using alternators on the 62 models
Chev started using alternators on the 62's.

(Shorter still. Seven words.)
That freshman English prof was a fan of taking the half of a compound sentence
and replacing it with a prepositional phrase with proper choice of words.

tjc78

abacomike said:

Mr_Shiftright said:

Well if it persists, no harm in clicking on the "help" button at the bottom of the page and reporting it.

Just went into Safari and cleared all the cookies - works fine now.  Go figure...

What happened (most likely) is that you inadvertently clicked on "Request Desktop Site" which would certainly make everything much smaller.

At least it is fixed!

driver100

imidazol97 said:

driver100 said:

Ah...not to be nitpicky but Chevy went to a 12 volt system in 1955.
It seems Chev started using alternators on the 62 models:
\(notice the brevity, the simplicity of the post, the getting to the point!)

It seems Chev started using alternators on the 62 models
Chev started using alternators on the 62's.

(Shorter still. Seven words.)
That freshman English prof was a fan of taking the half of a compound sentence
and replacing it with a prepositional phrase with proper choice of words.

Small point, but since I had to rely on people's memory I didn't want to make a difinitive statement, therefore I said "it seems".
I used the word "models" just to clarify 62's, just in case someone didn't know what 62 meant.

But, I agree, in a perfect world I prefer the shorter version.....the shorter the better - sometimes!

ab348

driver100 said:

Which reminds me, it is likely VW will have the highest sales of any car company for 2016. Just GM hasn't reported in and it seems they won't beat VW as there large market North American sales are down a bit. Although VW sales are off in some markets like the USA, they are strong in China and other countries.

Around here, GM's mid-size and large cars are nailed to the showroom floor. I have yet to see the new model Lacrosse on the road here and even though the new Impala has been out for a few years they remain a rare sight. A few new Malibus are around but not many, and yesterday I saw a newish Regal (the refreshed model) for the first time in 3 years. Even though I'm a GM fan I concede that the money they ask (pre-incentives) for the equipment level they provide often seems noncompetitive, especially with the Korean makes.

I love my ATS but I will need to make a decision in a few months when the lease ends.

houdini1

suydam said:

Funny! That's the only kind of vehicles I consider. I once had a Subaru Forester but that's it.

Both our vehicles are all wheel drive, but I have owned a few front wheel drive cars that seemed fine to me. For me, fwd is better in snow than straight rwd, and fwd seems to do better than rwd in severe crosswinds at speed. Of course, my "spirited driving" days are behind me. Mostly.

sda

ab348 said:

driver100 said:

Which reminds me, it is likely VW will have the highest sales of any car company for 2016. Just GM hasn't reported in and it seems they won't beat VW as there large market North American sales are down a bit. Although VW sales are off in some markets like the USA, they are strong in China and other countries.

Around here, GM's mid-size and large cars are nailed to the showroom floor. I have yet to see the new model Lacrosse on the road here and even though the new Impala has been out for a few years they remain a rare sight. A few new Malibus are around but not many, and yesterday I saw a newish Regal (the refreshed model) for the first time in 3 years. Even though I'm a GM fan I concede that the money they ask (pre-incentives) for the equipment level they provide often seems noncompetitive, especially with the Korean makes.

I love my ATS but I will need to make a decision in a few months when the lease ends.

Even though I'm a GM fan I concede that the money they ask (pre-incentives) for the equipment level they provide often seems noncompetitive

Well said. I believe the perceived high sticker price on GM cars discourages potential buyers and they look to other makes. GM has some really nice cars, it is a shame they are priced as they are.