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I'll have to learn how to take a photo and have it transported to the site. If it can be done by a computer ludite just give me the steps...please, someone. If not, I will ask our IT expert at work how to do it. The car will probably come in next week....when we are flying down to Florida to get possession of the winter home. I asked him to leave it until we get back...I would rather have an extra week of warranty when we get back, and also won't have to take out a loan from the bank until a week later.
I agree, you have to be more understanding with me. I was trying to make a point (and it was a good one) but I can now see how it could be easily misinterpreted. Not to drag this on, but the fact is, I love your country, almost as much as my own. Canadians have to follow your countries economic and political news, because it affects us directly. I am about as big a supporter of the USA that you will find.
D
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
That is a mighty long list of dislikes for the Journey.
Finally, the tires. What garbage. Dodge in all their infinite wisdom spec'd a tire size for which only one tire exists, a Kumho that is so ineffective in the snow it renders the AWD nearly useless.
I doubt that the Kumho’s could be any worse than the OEM Dunlop all season radials that came on my ’09 Genny. :mad: I know ‘tjc’ will back me up on this.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
The Journey sounds like a car that was just thrown together...to get something into the market in that category. What a disaster. I wondered why there wasn't anything too positive written about it, and why I don't see more on the road. Now, I think I know why.
Hope those improvements on the newer versions help.
Thanks for the insightful review.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Randy
I can state that I was dubious at first, but after adding up what the scheduled maintenance would cost, the up front cost was 1/2 of what I would pay. Mind you, I maintain my vehicles meticuosly and adhere to the maintenace schedule.
This past week, I had to have an oil change and tire rotation. They also changed the wipers as I am entitled to two sets per year so the dealer changes them before winter and then after winter. Oil change, tire rotation, new wipers and this particular dealer washes your vehicle when in for maintenance... my cost upon pick up... $0
It is rather nice to not have to reach for my wallet and get a $50 to $60 invoice every 8000 kms.
Yes, I paid up front, but I am now done with any further payments, it is transferrable and unless I wreck the vehicle, I am ahead of the game.
I know that it may not work for everyone, but if they offer the program, it may be something to consider.
Since my dealer also threw in an extended warranty, I should be set for at least 5 years or so.
Randy
They were the absolute worst I have ever experienced. IMO they were summer only tires that somehow Dunlop had passed as all seasons. I've never seen a tire get such bad reviews on Tire Rack.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
Since my dealer also threw in an extended warranty, I should be set for at least 5 years or so.
My daughter did the same thing when she bought her MINI in April 2010. Only cost to her is gas, tires and insurance for, I think, 6 years. All maintenance is covered.
Unfortunately for her, she shredded a tire a few months back and had to have it towed to the MINI dealer for a replacement, which cost something like $150.
You mentioned a wreck. In the case of a totaled vehicle, do they reimburse you any amount, say a pro-rated sum?
I can't even buy chains for them. The size is so unusual that no chain/cable manufacturer makes a version to fit. Thanks Dodge! :sick:
My Genesis is gone, and I believe J has swapped out his tires on his. The Dunlop SP5000M sport was not only terrible in bad weather most drivers barely got 25K out of them.
My new ride has Michelin Pilots on it. They so far (only 800 miles) seem great on wet and dry pavement. I am curious how they will be in the snow, they are a touch noisy but most Michelins are (great tires otherwise IMO).
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
We were quite suprised at how clean it was when we visited DC a couple of years ago. The T in Boston can be a little grimey.
The only drawback was having to buy the exact ticket you needed. On the T, it's simply one price to enter a station no matter how far you go.
In the case of a wreck, I do not believe that I would receive any reinbursment, but then again, since it was included in the total cost of the vehicle, my insurance company would likely pay for it, or I may be able to transfer the unused portion to another vehicle. I will have to look into this.
I like the program since I usually take my vehicles to the dealer while under warranty. After the warranty period, I usually take it to a friend who makes sure that everything is OK. I could change the oil and fluids, but my days of crawling under a vehicle are long gone.
The dealer really treats us well. They offer a shuttle service, they wash the car, they really try hard to keep the customers happy. In fact, this last service, I mentioned that I thought the chrome wheels were pitting or marking from brake dust. I tried to clean it, but it was very stubborn. While they were rotating the tires, they polished the rims at no charge.
So far, a very worthwhile investment.
Randy
P.S. Let us all take a moment tomorrow to remember all those who have so galantly and selflessly given of themselves so that we can be free.
Great thought....and I guess we both have Veterans Day/Rememberance Day on the same date, which this year is 11/11/11.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
As for pictures of your new ride, you have posted other pictures here from your trips. Is there something different that you have to do? I wouldn't have a clue. I can't even post a link.
Richard
Richard
I think the 2010 has the 5.4 with a 4 speed auto.
The 2011/2012's have a 6 speed, which is more efficient, in addition to new engines.
Richard
I'm so glad that you mentioned that. My wife and I are treating two of our old friends (Vets) and their wifes to dinner tomorrow evening. They were both in Vietnam---one now in a wheel chair because of it. For his age, his upper body is still as strong as an ox. He drives a Dodge Ram, goes deer hunting, mows his own grass, etc. He's such a gentle soul and so proud to have served his country. He lifts my spirits each time that we visit. To all of you who served our country, thank you for protecting us and preserving our way of life. It is a debt that can never be repaid.
Richard
We were poking in some of the Smithsonian museums today and late in the day in the Air and Space Museum we run into one of Claire's Chinese cousins and her family! Our favorites - right in NJ. No idea they were down here. We'll likely do more of the museum and the monuments with them tomorrow. Cool.
You guys are making me jealous with the Williamsburg talk...
Richard
That is true, and we always have to allow for that when things get heated. Getting along and being aware of other people's differences is a lot more pleasant.
I'll find a way to post some pictures......I hope the car looks as nice as it sounds like it will. That's one problem with ordering as opposed to buying from the lot.
A fellow at tennis said he bought a 2011 Chev Avalanche, but there were only 2 left and he had to order it fast, so he didn't take it on a test drive.
He loves the interior and the smooth ride. But, he hates the whining noise that he hears when it goes from 8 cylinders to 4. He says it is loud and piercing and he hates it. He says he told his wife he was going to trade it in for a 2012.....and he said she told him he better not. He asked the dealer if he could have his old truck (8 years old) back...it's still on the lot. They said no. I said he will probably get used to it. He likes the truck in every other way, but he can't stand the loud whining noise when the engine changes cylinder, and it only gets a fraction more mileage, about 10% because of this feature.
I tried to look up some reviews and it isn't mentioned any where I can find. Weird, but upsetting.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
The car rides so much better than the Genesis, much smoother. It's not super floaty but very comfortable. If GM can continue to build cars like this they will be ok.
Oh, and 303 hp is always nice!
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I have a couple of suggestions.
Put the transmission in 'Drive' instead of 'Overdrive', or search the internet to see if the feature can be disabled by removing a fuse or turned off using a configurable setting.
Dad started collecting antiques in the '40s and '50s- when values were extremely low. He picked up a lot of pieces at estate auctions. The family room, basement, and kitchen are about the only rooms that aren't completely furnished with antiques.
Of our 14 houses, we really put our hearts and souls into that one. It was on Christmas Tour one year. I was so proud of our hard work.
It sounds like a beautiful home, Richard.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
There is another Air and Space museum out by Dulles.
It has some nice stuff like a Space Shuttle, SR71 and Enola Gay.
I have a couple of suggestions.
Put the transmission in 'Drive' instead of 'Overdrive',
I will mention those suggestions to him. I asked him if they could disable it so it was always running on 8 cylinders but he said they wouldn't do that.
Possibly the "Overdrive" might be the problem, I'll tell him to try leaving it in "Drive" if possible. I think you are right though, they should be able to disable the change somehow.
One other fellow listening said he had a Cadillac in the 90s that changed from 8 cylinders to 4 cylinders. The car had so many repair issues the uncle took it to the dealer and said here are the keys, just take the car away, it costs more to fix than it is worth.
Thanks for the suggestions though, I will mention it to him.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Go to photobucket.com. Open a free account there. Upload the picture from your computer or camera when linked to your computer. Copy link address given next to picture after you view it in your photos. Paste into post here on Edmunds. Drag mouse over whole link you just pasted. Click on the IMG button under the posting window. Voile, you're done (mostly).
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Another idea is that the feature may be controlled from within a configurable area of the computer. It may be able to be turned off by a knowledgeable technician and the Tech II computer GM uses to go into the computer and read and reset all kinds of things. Other companies also have computer equivalents that can set the configurations. Again that might invalidate any warranty on the engine.
Another possibility is to check for the companies that provide "performance" computer chips or computers to put in place of the current computer. The replacement might be programmable to just give good mileage instead of more power but without the cylinder reduction. The market ads I usually saw for those replacements were oriented toward trucks where people wanted more power.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Our shop replaced em with Hankooks and the car drives much better than a stock Genesis.
OK, you win the Dunlops on my ’09 Genny weren’t that bad. They were just bad for snow traction and even worse for tread wear but they didn’t fall apart. Mine were gone by 18K miles IIRC, and almost all of those miles were on the PA Turnpike and interstate driving the summer of ’09 when I drove to Myrtle Beach. Although my Genny has a V8 I don’t drive it hard at all, honest.
You weren’t in here when I told about what happened when I showed Son #1 how bad the tread wear was in the summer of ’10. He had been after me for a while to let him take the Genny to the track but I kept refusing the offer. He said, “that’s what you can expect from performance tires. Since they’re just about shot, why don’t you let me take it to the track and I’ll finish them off for ya”.
I can't even buy chains for them.
You bring back memories of when I was a kid in the 50s before there were such things as snow tires. Every September my Dad would go into the basement take out his chains (must have had 3 or 4 sets and we only had one car back then) and he went about repairing them by replacing the broken or about to break cross links. Since this job was relatively easy to do with the 3 foot long tool that could open up the end of the link to get the old ones off and also crimp the new ones shut, he did this for our relatives too. He would then put them in a burlap bag and throw it in the trunk. At the end of the winter he would put them in the basement (then the garage when we moved) and the cycle would start again.
I remember one time hunting for something in my parent’s garage with my young sons. When they came upon the bag of chains. One of them (probably car geek Son #1 but I’m not positive about that now) wanted to know what they were. When I told them and showed them the tool they thought that was “cool” and wanted me to show them how to fix them and then show them how they went on a car. :sick:
There are some things that I don’t miss about the old days and that’s pretty much near the top of my list.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Is that a culture thing? Do Canadian men really let their wives tell them what to do? :surprise:
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Let me tell you why, at least it made sense to me.
When I was in the Navy, after I finished 6 months of Navy school, I was stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Test Center (’61 thru July ’63) that is about 60/65 miles south of DC. One time before I got my first car (’56 Chevy, in around August of ’61) I was hitching a ride home to the Burgh one week. A native DC guy picked me up and when I commented about the drivers he said, “I’m used to it but it did take a while. You see, since this is the nation’s capital we have people from every state here ALL the time. Even a lot of foreigners here too, ALL the time. They each bring their own driving rules”. Like I said, it made sense to me.
I’d also like to thank the REAL veterans not just guys like me who were fortunate enough to serve during peaceful times. I like my keyboard just the way it is .in English.
Thanks a LOT guys and gals.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
The funny part is they are darn expensive too. I had to replace one due to a nail too close to the sidewall and it was almost $250 after mounting and balancing. I had to wait a few days to get it too (special order).
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Agreed. My son gave the invocation at his school's annual Veterans Day ceremony. It was a moving and inspiring service.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I googled "2011 Avalanche engine problem 8 cylinder 4" and I got this problem on a GM truck site.
I am experiencing a pretty bad vibration in my 2011 Avalanche LTZ 4x4 when my AFM puts my truck into 4 cylinder mode. It's noticeable at most speeds but I would say more noticeable at low speeds when trying to maintain that constant speed. It really vibrates the truck badly. I can feel it in the gas pedal and seat mainly but it is noticeable in other areas as well. The truck drives great with non issues when in V8 mode.
The dealer was going to look at his truck and he reported they don't feel the vibrations. Many posters on the site said they don't notice any noise or vibration but some said they did. All I know is it is a problem I sure wouldn't want to have.
GM forum site;
GM Trucks
I read through the 3 pages of posts and the original writer didn't report back on a final solution. The dealer and GM pretty much said it was normal. Many others reported the same problem...noise and vibration and GM won't do anything. Sounds like the good old GM to me. Here is the most telling post near the end:
GM Headquarters called back. Now they are saying "GM is aware of the customer concerns with the vibration and that it is "unfortunately" normal operation" They also said that they are working on find a solution to make the vibration NOT NORMAL OPERATION. I told GM this.....My 2010 Avalanche with same powertrain had no issues at all. I told them that I love the truck but am unhappy at their software and computer programming. All I want is for GM to let me turn off the AFM with no warranty void in which case I want in writing. If they agree and it fixes the issue ( I know it will) then I will leave them alone and keep truck. Otherwise, I will get my cousin who is a federal litigation attorney to represent me free of charge and go for buyback. If they do not answer to this then it is to the media. They are thinking about my request at this time and will get back with me tomorrow or friday. I know that turning the AFM off will not hurt anything. I mean the truck is designed to run on either 4 cylinders or 8 cylinders so why would all 8 cylinders running all the time hurt anything?
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Thanks imid....I knew you would come through. I will give it a good try once I actually get the car.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
My friend kept complaining and fighting and arguing with the dealer & GM.
The culprit was a faulty torque converter. They found this by hooking up a computer to the obd while he was driving. They shut the torque converter off & BINGO - that was the problem. GM replaced his Torque Converter & gave him 2 years of maintenance for his troubles.
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Things have certainly changed. Back in the '50's, you could drive right up to the monuments and the White House and park your car on the street. Try that today and you'll be thrown in prison as a terrorist. As for Williamsburg, it is a trip to heaven any day of the year, especially during the Christmas season.
Enjoy your trip.
Richard
Richard
Richard
That seems high. Did you have it replaced at your Hyundai dealer? Tire Rack shows the Dunlop 17 inch at $133 and the 18 inch (upgrade pkg.) at $177 today, without shipping.
I replaced mine in the summer of ’10 with Bridgestone Turanza Serenity. I don’t remember what I paid at the Firestone store ($229 each today at Tire Rack) but it was enough to give me palpitations. I seem to remember that the bill was well north of $1100. To be fair, the price I paid included tax, lifetime balancing and lifetime alignment but you get the idea.
Before I bought I compared the Tire Rack price with the Firestone store and by the time I would have paid for shipping I don’t think I would have saved more than $20 total for the tires alone. Then when you go to one of their recommended installers the mounting and balancing is more than when you go to the store directly for the tires. So, the little bit of savings going to Tire Rack is eaten up quickly just by the mounting/balancing. On top of that I wanted to go to one store for everything. I didn’t like the idea of any finger pointing if I had a problem such as mounting/balancing/alignment etc.
I just don’t get all the hula-baloo with the Tire Rack thingy.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
Richard
Good grief---that's at least $300 per tire. For that price, I would want free gas, free oil changes, and free car washes for at least a year. :P
Richard
Thank you. I always feel good when I can help someone work through a problem situation.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
On the GM Truck forum site some posters suggested it could be a faulty torque converter too. Seems strange to have this problem on so many new vehicles. Some wanted the guy to take out fuses and others to shift manually to keep it in a lower gear so it wouldn't convert to 4 cylinders.
Glad your friends problem was solved by a change to the Torque converter. I'll mention that to this fellow, but it sounds to me like GM isn't being too helpful in this matter. You would think they would be trying to hold onto every customer they can these days.....though I guess if they are making a profit they might not feel they have to worry too much any more.
D.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2001 Prelude Type SH, 2022 Highlander XLE AWD, 2025 Camry SE AWD
Well, you know what they say ”people in Hell want ice water but they ain’t gonna get it”.
Let’s just say I’m not greedy. I’m willing to settle for good mileage. So far the Bridgestone’s look like they will be way better than the Dunlop’s.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis V8 with Ultimate Package and '18 Legacy Limited 6 cyl
I just checked and yes they have come down in price a bit. IIRC the tire itself was 195 or so and then add in the balancing etc. I don't remember the exact bill, but I know w/ tax and everything it was darn near 250. This was at NTB as they were the only ones in my area that could even order the tire.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic
I will NYC, and those trucks are a lot of money. I have a feeling he will have to do a lot of squaking though to actually get them to do something about it. I'll let you know what happens.
Poor guy though, he really would like his 8 year old truck back again. Can you imagine getting a lot of vibration and a whining sound that actually hurts your years when the engine speed levels off. And, you know, it's like a tap dripping....you just start waiting for it to happen each time.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250