Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

stickguy

the 2002 has airbags and ABS. so, pretty much all you need. and built like a tank still. I am not worried about driving that. Not like a 62 Falcon or some such.

jpp75

stickguy said:

some pictures of the real thing, including the virtual cockpit.

http://imgur.com/a/XF9Fe

What great pics and a gorgeous car, glad he held out and got what he wanted. Congrats to your son @stickguy!

jpp75

stickguy said:

the 2002 has airbags and ABS. so, pretty much all you need. and built like a tank still. I am not worried about driving that. Not like a 62 Falcon or some such.

I drove a 2003 Maxima SE for a couple of years when I lived in Chicago. Great cars for sure.

jpp75

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy - I'm sure the standard HID lights will do the trick. The Q3 uses the 2.0 Turbo 4 that's only rated at 200 hp as opposed to the 2.0L in the A3/GTI/A4/A6 that's rated at 220 hp/256 lb ft of torque.

I really wish @28firefighter & @jpp5862 weren't having such issues with their VWs (even though @sandman_6472, @breld, @Michaell, & @stickguy have no problems to report). I keep seeing 2015+ GTIs around and really like them.

Update on the Touareg. I took it back in yesterday, they called and said they had driven it, pulled a 2017 off the lot drove it and it does the same thing. So this is "driving as designed; no issue" The mechanic rode with me when I went to pick it up and said some interesting things. The vehicle makes the same shudder as the first time he rode it, since filling the transmission fluid (they claimed it was 2 quarts low) didn't fix it they drove it around, confirmed the issue is still there, had the service manager drive it to confirm and then pulled a brand new one off the lot and drove it. Surprise, it does the exact same thing, so nothing to fix here.

First off, that's just ridiculous that a $55k vehicle is designed to have a transmission pull/miss like that. According to the SA it's just such a complex transmission, blah blah blah. He also suggested I try Premium fuel, even though it only calls for regular, more BS in my opinion.

But the most interesting thing the mechanic said during our ride was "Trust me I'd love to put a new transmission in for you, but if VW Corporate tears the old one apart and doesn't claim it defective then we get paid nothing. I've already spent over 2 hours on this one and they'll only pay me for a half hours work." So that tells me the dealership isn't interested in working on this any longer because VW corporate isn't authorizing it.

I asked to drive a new one, but surprise they only had one and it was back being detailed because it got dirty when the mechanic was out driving it to compare to mine.

I'm really frustrated at this point, whether it's just VW stalling (which is my first guess) or truly how these "amazingly complex transmissions which are basically from Audi" drive it's disappointing. And of course they are the only dealer in town, I'm thinking next step is when I'm traveling for work again just drive one in a random city and see if it really drives that way. If so, then I either live with it 2 more years or trade it. If it doesn't I suppose I have to start working with VW corporate on resolution, which doesn't sound fun at all and leads back to the first two options.

Either way I'm sour on VW now. Still love the Touareg but this experience means I will not be buying it at the end of the lease.

stickguy

honestly, I would not be surprised if it really was a case of "they all do that". It seems, in my layman's opinion, that trannys got way too complicated, for little real benefit. Basically car companies got ahead of themselves with not ready for prime time technology.

Ford did the same thing with Sync. Still trying to dig out of that. BMW with their MMI interface (I forget the name for that).

now, auto trannys. Which had basically been perfected, until a mad rush to eke out another .10 MPG. Now you get a # of gears race, DSGs, etc. And seemingly tons of problems. Fiat/Chrysler 9 speed perform like crap. Acura 9 speed on the MDX/TLX gets panned every review. Ford's DSG. Nissan failing CVTs. And I am sure there are others lately.

at this point, a bulletproof slushbox 6 speed does not sound so bad, even if you may lose 1 MPG around town!

nyccarguy

I agree with tyou @stickguy. Nothing at all wrong with a 5 speed or 6 speed Automatic. It is just plain dumb to have 3 or 4 overdrive gears. All for the EPA's test cycle's sake.

It does give auto manufacturers the ability to "play" with the ratios. They give the 1st 4 gears close ratios to give the off the line performance that we Americans crave and then space the ratios of 5-8 further apart to give the perception of great highway fuel economy.

As for the CVT. The jury is still out. I think the CVT in my Legacy is matched well to the car's 2.5L 175 hp 4cyl engine. It hasn't even hiccuped in 42K miles. I have changed the CVT Fluid once already at 30K. As for how long it will last. Your guess is as good as mine.

rayainsw

I took the Charger in for the final ‘free’ [ included with MSRP ]
oil & filter change this past Saturday.
30,356 miles in just less that 2 years - No other issues.
Really pleased with the Charger, overall !
- Ray
No 2017 Charger R/Ts available to drive at my local dealer, yet.
Darn.

qbrozen

stickguy said:

honestly, I would not be surprised if it really was a case of "they all do that". It seems, in my layman's opinion, that trannys got way too complicated, for little real benefit. Basically car companies got ahead of themselves with not ready for prime time technology.

Ford did the same thing with Sync. Still trying to dig out of that. BMW with their MMI interface (I forget the name for that).

now, auto trannys. Which had basically been perfected, until a mad rush to eke out another .10 MPG. Now you get a # of gears race, DSGs, etc. And seemingly tons of problems. Fiat/Chrysler 9 speed perform like crap. Acura 9 speed on the MDX/TLX gets panned every review. Ford's DSG. Nissan failing CVTs. And I am sure there are others lately.
yself.
at this point, a bulletproof slushbox 6 speed does not sound so bad, even if you may lose 1 MPG around town!

Well, the ZF 6-speed that started popping up around '07 was/is a fantastic transmission, IMHO. Firm, very very quick shifts, so not a slushbox, and I never personally experienced any quirks with it. I have heard the same of the ZF 8-speed, although I have never tried it myself. I very much liked the 8-speed Aisin tranny in my V-sport, although I did read some complaints from people who did not like the firm shifts in sport mode (go figure). I also am not a fan of programming from GM that made it upshift itself in manual mode. Both my 135i and Infinitis would bounce off the rev limiter, which I prefer. I despised the 9-speed in the Cherokee loaner we had. I think they could fix it with software, though. We'll see. As for the DSG in my Jetta? Not impressed at all. I think it is a step back from that "old" ZF 6-speed.

henryn

I have to agree with @qbrozen about the Volkswagen DSG transmission. I am not a fan. I rather like this Passat, and I expect I will miss it when it's gone. But I will not miss that transmission.

roadburner

I love the 8 speed ZF found in BMWs as well as the Challenger and Charger. I haven't heard of any reliability issues either.

Michaell

nyccarguy said:

I agree with tyou @stickguy. Nothing at all wrong with a 5 speed or 6 speed Automatic. It is just plain dumb to have 3 or 4 overdrive gears. All for the EPA's test cycle's sake.

It does give auto manufacturers the ability to "play" with the ratios. They give the 1st 4 gears close ratios to give the off the line performance that we Americans crave and then space the ratios of 5-8 further apart to give the perception of great highway fuel economy.

As for the CVT. The jury is still out. I think the CVT in my Legacy is matched well to the car's 2.5L 175 hp 4cyl engine. It hasn't even hiccuped in 42K miles. I have changed the CVT Fluid once already at 30K. As for how long it will last. Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm with you ... I prefer simple over complex. The MINI and the Jetta have 6-speed automatics, while the Subaru has a CVT.

breld

Agree with the above comments.

The 8 speeds in my recent BMWs have been great - 535xi and current 428xi. The best one was in the SQ5, though I believe it may be essentially the same as the BMW one? Maybe a little different tuning, or better matched with that engine?

And I much preferred my 6-speed "traditional" auto in the Passat to the DSG in the JSW.

I find that I like a transmission that performs well without "having to" use a sport mode. In the BMWs and Audis, I've found the normal setting works well most of the time, and I'll use the sport mode in certain circumstances for a little more spirited driving. In some others, it seems you have to use the sport mode to gain responsiveness, but then it can be a bit jerky in the shifts otherwise.

Mr_Shiftright

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

I agree with tyou @stickguy. Nothing at all wrong with a 5 speed or 6 speed Automatic. It is just plain dumb to have 3 or 4 overdrive gears. All for the EPA's test cycle's sake.

It does give auto manufacturers the ability to "play" with the ratios. They give the 1st 4 gears close ratios to give the off the line performance that we Americans crave and then space the ratios of 5-8 further apart to give the perception of great highway fuel economy.

As for the CVT. The jury is still out. I think the CVT in my Legacy is matched well to the car's 2.5L 175 hp 4cyl engine. It hasn't even hiccuped in 42K miles. I have changed the CVT Fluid once already at 30K. As for how long it will last. Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm with you ... I prefer simple over complex. The MINI and the Jetta have 6-speed automatics, while the Subaru has a CVT.

Lucky for you that you didn't buy the earlier Mini CVT--with a failure rate of about 100%.

roadburner

breld said:

Agree with the above comments.

The 8 speeds in my recent BMWs have been great - 535xi and current 428xi. The best one was in the SQ5, though I believe it may be essentially the same as the BMW one? Maybe a little different tuning, or better matched with that engine?

And I much preferred my 6-speed "traditional" auto in the Passat to the DSG in the JSW.

I find that I like a transmission that performs well without "having to" use a sport mode. In the BMWs and Audis, I've found the normal setting works well most of the time, and I'll use the sport mode in certain circumstances for a little more spirited driving. In some others, it seems you have to use the sport mode to gain responsiveness, but then it can be a bit jerky in the shifts otherwise.

I agree; the 8 speed ZF is great in comfort mode, and the sport setting mainly affects the speeds at which upshifts and downshifts occur. On the track in Sport+ the transmission almost always does what I would have done.

Michaell

Mr_Shiftright said:

Michaell said:

nyccarguy said:

I agree with tyou @stickguy. Nothing at all wrong with a 5 speed or 6 speed Automatic. It is just plain dumb to have 3 or 4 overdrive gears. All for the EPA's test cycle's sake.

It does give auto manufacturers the ability to "play" with the ratios. They give the 1st 4 gears close ratios to give the off the line performance that we Americans crave and then space the ratios of 5-8 further apart to give the perception of great highway fuel economy.

As for the CVT. The jury is still out. I think the CVT in my Legacy is matched well to the car's 2.5L 175 hp 4cyl engine. It hasn't even hiccuped in 42K miles. I have changed the CVT Fluid once already at 30K. As for how long it will last. Your guess is as good as mine.

I'm with you ... I prefer simple over complex. The MINI and the Jetta have 6-speed automatics, while the Subaru has a CVT.

Lucky for you that you didn't buy the earlier Mini CVT--with a failure rate of about 100%.

Consistent with the Saturn CVT failure rate.

I've not played with the "Sport" mode in my Jetta all that much. When you don't get over 45-50 MPH, not much sport to be found.

Mr_Shiftright

You can be cruel. Is it just me being a totally un-hip rube or has Benz really pimped out the 550 cabriolet?

sda

nyccarguy said:

I agree with tyou @stickguy. Nothing at all wrong with a 5 speed or 6 speed Automatic. It is just plain dumb to have 3 or 4 overdrive gears. All for the EPA's test cycle's sake.

It does give auto manufacturers the ability to "play" with the ratios. They give the 1st 4 gears close ratios to give the off the line performance that we Americans crave and then space the ratios of 5-8 further apart to give the perception of great highway fuel economy.

As for the CVT. The jury is still out. I think the CVT in my Legacy is matched well to the car's 2.5L 175 hp 4cyl engine. It hasn't even hiccuped in 42K miles. I have changed the CVT Fluid once already at 30K. As for how long it will last. Your guess is as good as mine.

I agree with both of your observations and have found that auto transmissions with more than 5 gears seem too busy shifting all the time finding the right gear to stay in. The several 5 speed autos that I've had in our Hondas seem to work really well, select the right gear at the right time and are responsive to shifting down for quick response when needed. The CVT in my Accord at almost 63k has been trouble free so far and is a good match to the engine. I had the fluid changed at 40k though the manual didn't call for it yet.

sda

jpp5862 said:

nyccarguy said:

@stickguy - I'm sure the standard HID lights will do the trick. The Q3 uses the 2.0 Turbo 4 that's only rated at 200 hp as opposed to the 2.0L in the A3/GTI/A4/A6 that's rated at 220 hp/256 lb ft of torque.

I really wish @28firefighter & @jpp5862 weren't having such issues with their VWs (even though @sandman_6472, @breld, @Michaell, & @stickguy have no problems to report). I keep seeing 2015+ GTIs around and really like them.

Update on the Touareg. I took it back in yesterday, they called and said they had driven it, pulled a 2017 off the lot drove it and it does the same thing. So this is "driving as designed; no issue" The mechanic rode with me when I went to pick it up and said some interesting things. The vehicle makes the same shudder as the first time he rode it, since filling the transmission fluid (they claimed it was 2 quarts low) didn't fix it they drove it around, confirmed the issue is still there, had the service manager drive it to confirm and then pulled a brand new one off the lot and drove it. Surprise, it does the exact same thing, so nothing to fix here.

First off, that's just ridiculous that a $55k vehicle is designed to have a transmission pull/miss like that. According to the SA it's just such a complex transmission, blah blah blah. He also suggested I try Premium fuel, even though it only calls for regular, more BS in my opinion.

But the most interesting thing the mechanic said during our ride was "Trust me I'd love to put a new transmission in for you, but if VW Corporate tears the old one apart and doesn't claim it defective then we get paid nothing. I've already spent over 2 hours on this one and they'll only pay me for a half hours work." So that tells me the dealership isn't interested in working on this any longer because VW corporate isn't authorizing it.

I asked to drive a new one, but surprise they only had one and it was back being detailed because it got dirty when the mechanic was out driving it to compare to mine.

I'm really frustrated at this point, whether it's just VW stalling (which is my first guess) or truly how these "amazingly complex transmissions which are basically from Audi" drive it's disappointing. And of course they are the only dealer in town, I'm thinking next step is when I'm traveling for work again just drive one in a random city and see if it really drives that way. If so, then I either live with it 2 more years or trade it. If it doesn't I suppose I have to start working with VW corporate on resolution, which doesn't sound fun at all and leads back to the first two options.

Either way I'm sour on VW now. Still love the Touareg but this experience means I will not be buying it at the end of the lease.

Has your VW always shifted that way or did it start acting up as the miles went on? It is hard to believe it is designed to perform that way.

ab348

Mr_Shiftright said:

You can be cruel. Is it just me being a totally un-hip rube or has Benz really pimped out the 550 cabriolet?

Gotta have that look for tooling around the French Riviera and the Principality of Monaco...

ab348

breld said:

I find that I like a transmission that performs well without "having to" use a sport mode. In the BMWs and Audis, I've found the normal setting works well most of the time, and I'll use the sport mode in certain circumstances for a little more spirited driving. In some others, it seems you have to use the sport mode to gain responsiveness, but then it can be a bit jerky in the shifts otherwise.

The 6-speed Hydra-Matic in the ATS is a sweet transmission. They upgraded to an 8-speed THM box a year or so ago and I have not driven that but I also have heard no complaints.

It is quite different from the 6-speed Aisin automatic I had in the 2011 Regal Turbo. That transmission annoyed me to no end. It always wanted to be in the next higher gear and if you were braking for, say, a red-light intersection and the light turned green just before you got there, you had a box full of neutrals for a couple of seconds when you tried to accelerate.

qbrozen

I found the 8-speed (GM unit) in the ATS loaner I had to be far below the refinement and response of the 8-speed Aisin unit in the V-sport. Might not be a bad transmission by itself, I'm not sure, but if you have the chance to compare the 2, it is noticeable.

houdini1

jpp5862 said:

stickguy said:

some pictures of the real thing, including the virtual cockpit.

http://imgur.com/a/XF9Fe

What great pics and a gorgeous car, glad he held out and got what he wanted. Congrats to your son @stickguy!

I really like that interior color. Some that I have seen are a little too intense for my taste, but your son's looks great.

xwesx

houdini1 said:

jpp5862 said:

stickguy said:

some pictures of the real thing, including the virtual cockpit.

http://imgur.com/a/XF9Fe

What great pics and a gorgeous car, glad he held out and got what he wanted. Congrats to your son @stickguy!

I really like that interior color. Some that I have seen are a little too intense for my taste, but your son's looks great.

Yeah, it is really a great color combo. That "instrument cluster" is a bit insane for my tastes, but I'm sure it is very practical for the "plugged in" crowd!

Mr_Shiftright

Interesting Article on How GM could capitalize on VW's exit of the diesel market:

Why GM Should Make Their Diesels Handle Like VW.

xwesx

Mr_Shiftright said:

Interesting Article on How GM could capitalize on VW's exit of the diesel market:

Why GM Should Make Their Diesels Handle Like VW.

Great article! Hopefully, they (GM) listen!

jpp75

sda said:

Has your VW always shifted that way or did it start acting up as the miles went on? It is hard to believe it is designed to perform that way.

I didn't notice it until around 5,000 miles or so.

But as I thought about it this morning, I think what @stickguy and others have mentioned has some merit. The best way I've ever been able to describe this "shudder" is it feels like you are driving a manual, slow down and don't downshift so when you accelerate the engine bogs down. Now that's not really the case as it's around 2k rpms, but given the new programming for that extra 0.10 MPG I could see that being part of it. I've tried driving it in S (Sport) and that actually does seem to help, so maybe I'll just drive it in S for the remaining 24 months.

28firefighter

jpp5862 said:

sda said:

Has your VW always shifted that way or did it start acting up as the miles went on? It is hard to believe it is designed to perform that way.

I didn't notice it until around 5,000 miles or so.

But as I thought about it this morning, I think what @stickguy and others have mentioned has some merit. The best way I've ever been able to describe this "shudder" is it feels like you are driving a manual, slow down and don't downshift so when you accelerate the engine bogs down. Now that's not really the case as it's around 2k rpms, but given the new programming for that extra 0.10 MPG I could see that being part of it. I've tried driving it in S (Sport) and that actually does seem to help, so maybe I'll just drive it in S for the remaining 24 months.

FWIW, my GTI does this with the DSG. I've found the best way to work around this "shudder" is to give it more throttle than I think it needs, and it generally will downshift pretty seamlessly. I hate having to outsmart the DSG, but otherwise I really like it - especially right off the line.

graphicguy

rayainsw said:

I took the Charger in for the final ‘free’ [ included with MSRP ]
oil & filter change this past Saturday.
30,356 miles in just less that 2 years - No other issues.
Really pleased with the Charger, overall !
- Ray
No 2017 Charger R/Ts available to drive at my local dealer, yet.
Darn.

Ray...one of AMAZON's "Grand Tour" episodes (one before last?) had a Challenger Hell Cat up against an Aston Martin and a Rolls Coupe. The Challenger did quite well, and for a lot less money.

I think that should be your next ride.

graphicguy

Mr_Shiftright said:

You can be cruel. Is it just me being a totally un-hip rube or has Benz really pimped out the 550 cabriolet?

That's a rhetorical question, right?

GM 8-speed is a little high strung in SPORT mode. It settles down a bit in "TOURING" (but where's the fun in that?).

I think I've become used to it and it tends to hold gears. Maybe that's because it's a "learning" trans and I tend to keep the revs up, and the turbo on the boil.

stickguy

All this talk, making me lean toward the stick shift next time even more!

stickguy

RDX brake update. Took it to our new local mavis (great store, so much better than NTB or Mr. tire). Free inspection, including testing sensor. Pulled all the wheels. Said everything looks good, front pads more than 50%. Only issue is fluid just above min. After some discussion, the boss said OK to top it up. Even did it on the house, which was nice.

Of course, they did check tires since I asked, and said just above the tellow range (I think that starts at 5/32). So got a little pitch about they will be susceptible to hydroplaning soon, and winter is here. I will hold over but had a nice chat with the front counter guy about options. Looks like after more research, if I do swap them out, will go with Pirelli scorpion verde plus tires. Tested out real well. And look nicer than the cooper CS 5 ultra touring. But, I will wait on that, at least until we start driving it more. Definitely before next winter.

fintail

Definitely aimed at a demographic. That would a special order interior, you won't find one like that on the lot. S cabrio is a pretty posh thing too, those cars compete with Bentley in a cut price way.

There's a white on white BMW 6er Gran Coupe in my area

Mr_Shiftright said:

You can be cruel. Is it just me being a totally un-hip rube or has Benz really pimped out the 550 cabriolet?

jpp75

28firefighter said:

FWIW, my GTI does this with the DSG. I've found the best way to work around this "shudder" is to give it more throttle than I think it needs, and it generally will downshift pretty seamlessly. I hate having to outsmart the DSG, but otherwise I really like it - especially right off the line.

I'll also try that, maybe this really is how it SHOULD drive.

Sandman6472

Find a bit of "shudder" in my 1.8t Golf. Usually keep the tranny in "D", but will try "S" and report back. Hit 25K today and stopped by my tire/mechanic to see about replacements as it was a bit squirrely in the rain Saturday. Said I have a few thousand miles to go and just take it easy. Having a rotation/4 wheel alignment next Wednesday so we'll talk again about what I'm gonna end up with.
Besides that,no news with either the Golf or A3...the miles keep ticking away. She's pleased, I'm pleased, both happy campers with our choices of just two years ago.

The Sandman

tifighter

Well, one month and nearly $10k later, the Soul EV is back on the road. I have to say, the initial impression is good. Paint and bodywork look good, doors do not creak, everything looks well aligned, etc. Panel gaps match the rest of the car. They had to replace the rear suspension, so I need to get some more miles on it and listen carefully, but nothing was immediately noticeable. Seems to drive straight. Looks like one of the most expensive parts, of all things, was the rear interior door trim. Apparently the EV has a unique trim that has to be special ordered.

Anyway, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

28firefighter

tifighter said:

Well, one month and nearly $10k later, the Soul EV is back on the road. I have to say, the initial impression is good. Paint and bodywork look good, doors do not creak, everything looks well aligned, etc. Panel gaps match the rest of the car. They had to replace the rear suspension, so I need to get some more miles on it and listen carefully, but nothing was immediately noticeable. Seems to drive straight. Looks like one of the most expensive parts, of all things, was the rear interior door trim. Apparently the EV has a unique trim that has to be special ordered.

Anyway, I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high yet, but I'm cautiously optimistic.

Out of curiosity, what body shop did you use? CarStar Ballard took care of my wife's Escape after she nicked the neighbors house, but I was not especially impressed with their work.

andres3

stickguy said:

honestly, I would not be surprised if it really was a case of "they all do that". It seems, in my layman's opinion, that trannys got way too complicated, for little real benefit. Basically car companies got ahead of themselves with not ready for prime time technology.

Ford did the same thing with Sync. Still trying to dig out of that. BMW with their MMI interface (I forget the name for that).

now, auto trannys. Which had basically been perfected, until a mad rush to eke out another .10 MPG. Now you get a # of gears race, DSGs, etc. And seemingly tons of problems. Fiat/Chrysler 9 speed perform like crap. Acura 9 speed on the MDX/TLX gets panned every review. Ford's DSG. Nissan failing CVTs. And I am sure there are others lately.

at this point, a bulletproof slushbox 6 speed does not sound so bad, even if you may lose 1 MPG around town!

I don't know about bulletproof slushboxes. Never heard of such a thing. My 3-speed auto in the Dodge had a 60,000 mile lifespan. I'm critical of that as you all know. The 5-speed auto in the Honda lasted about 42,000 miles before cratering.

Meanwhile, the DSG in the '06 A3 (106,000 miles), the DSG in the S4 (48,000 miles), and the TTS (11,000) miles have all been flawless. Oh, lets add the Mexican GSW TDI DSG at 18,000 miles too. From my personal experience, DSG or nothing.

qbrozen

Well, nothing is bulletproof, but certainly the old GM TH350/TH400/700r4 transmissions were pretty darned sturdy. The one in my dad's '87 K5 Blazer lasted through 2 engines. I believe he did have to replace the transfer case once, though.

andres3

well, if were going to talk about bulletproof cars (rather than parts or transmissions) I nominate the '82 Accord 5-speed manual sedan, the mid-nineties Camry 4-cylinder, and also the 4 Runner from the same time period or early 90's. I believe the Camry needed new motor mounts and some seals/gaskets at about 100,000 miles and then was fine for a long time thereafter.

stever

I've had various engine problems over the years, but never a transmission failure. I don't even remember ever having to replace a clutch.

The one time I thought the transmission was gone, it turned out that the compression was so bad there wasn't enough vacuum being generated to shift the transmission higher than second gear.

xwesx

andres3 said:

Meanwhile, the DSG in the '06 A3 (106,000 miles), the DSG in the S4 (48,000 miles), and the TTS (11,000) miles have all been flawless. Oh, lets add the Mexican GSW TDI DSG at 18,000 miles too. From my personal experience, DSG or nothing.

Oh, come on, andres! We all know how you baby your cars; you really expect your empirical evidence to count for much? Not likely, grandma!

imidazol97

andres3 said:

... the mid-nineties Camry 4-cylinder, and also the 4 Runner from the same time period or early 90's. I believe the Camry needed new motor mounts and some seals/gaskets at about 100,000 miles and then was fine for a long time thereafter.

Whoa. Aren't those 4-cyl Camrys the ones that tended to have thermostats go bad and overheat as well as damage to the radiators? Maybe corrosion? I know my shadetree neighbor worked on several of those around the 100 K mark.

stickguy

oh, something else I discovered at Mavis. They have a free air machine outside for public use. it is even all fancy pants digital. You set the pressure you want, and it dings when it is done (at least looked that way from watching someone use it). Much nicer than a hose laying in the gravel where you have no clue what pressure is in the tire.

I will still adjust the tires in my garage with my little wall plug pump, but nice to know someone still offers the service.

corvette

imidazol97 said:

andres3 said:

... the mid-nineties Camry 4-cylinder, and also the 4 Runner from the same time period or early 90's. I believe the Camry needed new motor mounts and some seals/gaskets at about 100,000 miles and then was fine for a long time thereafter.

Whoa. Aren't those 4-cyl Camrys the ones that tended to have thermostats go bad and overheat as well as damage to the radiators? Maybe corrosion? I know my shadetree neighbor worked on several of those around the 100 K mark.

Not sure about that, but legend has it the early to mid '90s Camrys were supposedly built with Lexus-quality components. I do see a lot of them driving around with broken exterior door handles.

cdnpinhead

stickguy said:

All this talk, making me lean toward the stick shift next time even more!

Amen, brother. These kinds of discussions have been going on since I joined Edmunds in 1999. A dirt simple manual transmission is nearly always the answer if what you want is for the thing to work for several hundred thousand miles. You can shift when you want how you want, skipping gears and/or leaving it in neutral if you want.

Plus which, it appears that when these alphabet soup transmissions take a (well, let's say dump), they cost many thousands of dollars to replace. No one besides the factory can fix them, and maybe they can't either. Compare that to a clutch job.

suydam

I've replaced more clutches than transmissions.

ab348

imidazol97 said:

Whoa. Aren't those 4-cyl Camrys the ones that tended to have thermostats go bad and overheat as well as damage to the radiators? Maybe corrosion? I know my shadetree neighbor worked on several of those around the 100 K mark.

Which ones were the sludgemobiles?

fintail

Weren't those some later V6s? Or maybe early 00s era cars? I think the older Lexus IS250 has that rep too.

I think the 92-96 Camry was the one with the over-engineered rep. Of course, they still need to be maintained, but I have seen many over 250K miles. Same for that era of Accord - but one needs to do oil changes and timing belts by the book, or risk a lot.

ab348 said:

Which ones were the sludgemobiles?

xwesx

fintail said:

Weren't those some later V6s? Or maybe early 00s era cars? I think the older Lexus IS250 has that rep too.

I think the 92-96 Camry was the one with the over-engineered rep. Of course, they still need to be maintained, but I have seen many over 250K miles. Same for that era of Accord - but one needs to do oil changes and timing belts by the book, or risk a lot.

ab348 said:

Which ones were the sludgemobiles?

Yeah, the turn-of-the-century V6. The original Sienna vans had a terrible reputation for sludging, which was due to hot spots in the heads, IIRC.

We had a 1992 Camry LE, and that car was over 250,000 when my brother sold it. He received it from our father in around 2002, if memory serves, and it had over 200,000 at that point. I think it was a little north of 220,000 when the transmission went, but we are all pretty confident that it was his wife's driving habits that caused that to happen more than any failure on the part of the engineering!

nyccarguy

cdnpinhead said:

stickguy said:

All this talk, making me lean toward the stick shift next time even more!

Amen, brother. These kinds of discussions have been going on since I joined Edmunds in 1999. A dirt simple manual transmission is nearly always the answer if what you want is for the thing to work for several hundred thousand miles. You can shift when you want how you want, skipping gears and/or leaving it in neutral if you want.

Plus which, it appears that when these alphabet soup transmissions take a (well, let's say dump), they cost many thousands of dollars to replace. No one besides the factory can fix them, and maybe they can't either. Compare that to a clutch job.

Except my beloved Prelude. Replacing the clutch at 54,000 miles cost me close to $2,500.