Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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The nets are designed to work with the tray AND the track removed from the rear of the vehicle (although I've seen people keep the rear net on with the tray installed). I believe the rear net came standard on all groups and an additional front net (with two "in-between" nets) was available as an option. GM has probably made all the goodies standard now to entice more buyers.
Anyway, the four hooks in the corners of the nets are for the sidewall trim loops. The two at the bottom of the nets are supposed to be attached to the metal retainer "cups" that are bolted to the floorpan. Each net has a label sewn into it describing where it is supposed to go. It can get confusing because the front net won't fit in the rear position properly (or vice-versa), but the nets can go virtually anywhere you want to hook them.
Every car has noise somewhere under some condition. Driving along the road she's completely quiet, but you can get her to talk if you want to.
I've been posting questions off and on for a while now and thanks to everyone whose answered. I'm narrowing my choices down to a few. The Aztek/RDV is among them and I've sat in both but haven't gone for a test drive. Other choices are the Ford Explorer (shying away due to lots of problems) and GMC Envoy (pricing looks high).
I haven't actually been up close to a production 2002 yet, just the prototype, so I don't know how flexible the cladding paint is. I assume it will still chip under the right circumstances (runaway cart propelled by a 20 mph wind?)
As for the XM systems, I would read some reviews on it first. The WSJ HATED it. I guess alot of the XM radios don't have the ability to preset more than a couple of stations so you have to scroll through 100s of them while driving. I'll wait until they work the bugs out of it.
As for the XM, I haven't heard much. If it gets the reception they claim, that's well worth it to me. I love techno and I'm sure you realize that even in the city techno stations don't exist. Supposedly the aztek upgrade will run just like another band on the tuner. I would guess (keep in mind I'm totally blowing it out my you know where right now) that you'd be able to program six channels like you can now. Does that mean you lose FM2? Don't know. Does it get added (ie you have AM, FM1, FM2, and XM)? Don't know that either. And will it read XM on both the faceplate and the HUD? Again, who knows.
I'd actually like to go down and get it installed, but unfortunately I need my model of CD Player and have no idea where to find it. It's not on the face plate and the Owner's manual is one step above worthless. Once I have that I can find out what model reciever will work and then I think I'll buy.
I wrote back to XM and said if they wanted to really pose upgrading as an option to the car buyers of today they had to realize that many new car owners aren't willing to give up their increasingly refined audio sytems for cheaper XM-ready head units. I also said that an FM modulator as the only alternative is equally undesirable since these factory systems come with many convenience features that will be rendered inoperative by the upgrade (such as steering wheel controls and the HUD).
I told them to email me when they've figure out how to give me XM on my existing head-unit that is controllable with my duplicate controls and shows up on my HUD.
Of course if there is that 1/1,000,000 that our radios are indeed Pioneers I've just been wasting my breath.
I've never had the slightest problem with the auto lights. They come on just when I like them to. In daytime fog, they come on fully when I press the foglight button (even if there is lots of light).
I had them check my HVAC system because I noticed a loss of airflow when going from the cool air setting to hot. They said this was normal. Hot is also louder than cold. It's not bad though. I've found that using the Defrost/floor setting will heat up the car very quickly and the front vents or front/floor tend to just trickle out hot air. It still amazes me that I get warm faster when I have no hot air blowing directly on me, but it works. I hit level 5 for about five minutes, leave it on 3 until it gets warm, then set it at 1 with the temp set at the middle to keep it that way.
I also notice some other quirks in my electrical system, but so far nothing major. The LED readout on the CD player needs to warm up before it can change the text quickly. When cold it's slow. Also sometimes I'll be surfing through CDs with my steering wheel controls and while looking at my HUD it will skip a number. I'll have six CDs in for example and when I hit the preset button it will go (CD 1, CD 2, CD 3, CD 4, CD 4, CD 6). CD 5 will read as CD 4 again. Still plays fine and will correct itself after a couple of minutes or if I turn the power off and on again.
CD player was erasing channel presets and also randomly switching back and forth from CD to tuner without my imput. That was due to a messed up install job done by my dealer of purchase (I no longer take it there, Pontiac recommended using a different dealer for service). Those problems don't happen anymore.
All the "quirks" with my tek are either from when I first bought it (I call those character) and persists, or occurred after servicing at the dealer of purchase (which messed more up than they fixed). None of the "quirks" are major and all the problems caused by the previous dealer have been fixed.
On a side not I had to drive my old car the other day. I had to drop off a car and didn't want to leave my tek in the neighborhood I was heading to. My old car is a '94 Ford Aspire (no AC, power windows, power locks, cassette, cd, power steering, you get the idea). It's also loud as almighty. I felt so guilty for ever complaining about a sqeeky chair in my tek after driving that POS again. It's been 7 months since I've been behind the wheel of it and that's just not long enough.
If anyone else has a chance to drive their old car again for comparison, I highly recommend it as a reminder of just how great the Tek is!
What makes you think the chips are related to the antenna? More likely they are due to pebbles kicked up from the road unless there is some compelling reason to think something else caused it.
tidester
Host
SUVs
nextmoon wrote:
"I think you may have the highest mileage on your Aztek in this board. I'm seriously consider buy the 2002 Aztek but I've only had a chance to check out the 2001 in person. One thing I've notice is the plastic panels in the cargo area seem hollow and creaked when I pressed on them. How is your cargo area holding up? Do you hear any noises (rattling, creaking, etc.) carrying all that gear? Appreciate any inputs."
***** no noise at all, unless my metal dolly starts to clank into something. i have noticed that the plastic on the sides of the back area are getting beat up, scratched, etc, due to me hauling my musical gear/skis/snowboards/firewood/etc so often.... and every once in awhile my radio gets louder - and then i realize that some of my gear is pressing the volume control thats in the back!!! whoops! so its my packing ability that is causing this stuff. its been a GREAT car!
this past weekend i got 21 MPG and went from
almost 0 altitude (los angeles) to 9,000
altitude (mammoth lakes, california) and back.
and had temps from about 60 down to 5... brrr... one of the roads i had to be on was a sheet of ice, literally, from the heavy snowpack in the sierra and then some warm and sunny days last week... the AWD was just incredible. as i have posted before, when i owned a 2WD blazer, i had to put cables on the back tires just to get up and down this one street - with the AWD tek, well, even with this sheet of ice (and worse yet, during the day when the tire tracks began to melt a little bit making this street virtually impossible to get up or down) this vehicle is VERY IMPRESSIVE. the cables have stayed in their box!!!! at one point i slid where it is always bad on this road, and i just gave it a little gas, the car straightened out and i was on my way. this would have been impossible in my blazer even with cables.... i just hoot and holler whenever i get up or down that street because it feels so great!
the mileage is just impressing me, since going from sealevel to 9000 ft altitude is basically tough on any vehicle. going up the sherwin grade is the worst, and this car just flies... its strange, has less horsepower than my blazer, but acts the same in getting from 5000 - 7500 ft in less than a few miles (sherwin grade, route 395 for you californians).
i could do commercials for this car and sell a ton, methinks....
re: radio stuff.... i have had to clean the tape player a few times already, but then, i AM an avid books on tape listener since i travel lots of long distances in areas where good radio stations are far and few between. the 10 speaker pioneer system kicks butt! i have had many a snowboarder come over in the parking lot at mammoth and comment on it!!!! (and the car itself!)
cheers! and happy choosing your new vehicle.
by the way, i think you might be able to rent an aztek from a rental car place and drive it for a day or so doing your normal things, and that might make the decision for you, rather than just test driving...
just a thought!
xo
On another note, does anyone else realize how painfully bad the owners manual is. It has to be about the worst one I have ever seen. There is no parts section for one. I would like to replace interior bulbs and not only are the parts not listed, but there is no section on how to remove the covers (though that's easy to figure out). Also there's been talk about aiming the fog lights and headlights. Both of which are not in the manual. I have to say that that manual is just plain bad. Does anyone know where to get some real info on the car?
Dan
25 to 50 chips in 3k does sound excessive. Even if the embedded antenna affected the susceptibility of the windshield to chipping, I'd expect that to happen only near the wires.
Is the chipping occuring mostly near the antenna? Does anyone else have experience with this?
tidester
Host
SUVs
Oh well, the search continues.
Concerning the windshield. I had mine replaced after a huge rock (a bit smaller than a golf ball) fell off the top of a semi and put a crack in my window. It was pretty small, but splintered. I have a new OEM windshield and have had it for about 7k miles. No problems. It's taken a lot of rock hits during commutes, but has no chips on it.
Just for the record, I went to the local lemon lot looking at the S-15 Crew Cab pickup, with no intention of considering that ugly Aztek thing. The salesman got me past the exterior and I discovered that I liked the Aztek a whole lot more than the truck. After a drive, i was hooked. As I see it, I'll get more room, a decent roof rack, more power, better mileage, and twice the towing capacity. What's not to like?
The deflector itself attaches to the TOP of the hood and will NOT protect the front lip of it! It helps me, however, to see the front end of the vehicle, which makes parking a little easier. It also breaks the big snout of the vehicle up a little and makes it looking less plump from the front.
Another experience to report about is buying the winter wheel package from The Tire Rack. They say in their advertising that they have a 15" wheel for the Tek. I ordered the package over the phone and after getting it I found out that the 15" will not fit over the front disk brake calipers. Working with Tire Rack to solve this problem, they found that newer AWD versions received larger calipers later in 2001 and they require 16" wheels. The problem is that there are no 16" aftermarket steel wheels available for that fit the vehicle. The identified a rather low cost alloy wheel ($87),which I decided to go with.
I will post an update once I received the set.
By the way, the 17" 235 Eagles that are on the vehicle, are not very good in the slushy snow cover that we have at the momentin NW Wisconsin. Driving resembles a sliping and sliding experience.
It's the Goodyear Eagle LS tires you have on your Tek'. You just mentioned that they aren't that good in the snow and slush. You mean that's all the bad that you've noticed about them?!
Case in point, come over to the 300M board once in a while and find out what their true reputation is! They're one of the noisiest tires you can buy, quite often suffer from defects, don't handle that well, and have vibration problems. 300M's come with the 225/55/17 size and almost everyone of us who still has them, has had problems of some sort or at least complaints. This has also been the case with several Old's Intrigue owners which use the "crapyears" as we call them, in 16" size. These are not particularly good tires for any car.
Why am I telling you this? Partly just for the heck of it and partly just to let you know. I'm not saying you'll have problems, just be aware if you do!
Oh, as for the Aztek, I do often remark on the styling in a less than friendly way but actually really like the vehicle. It's nice that it's so different and then that it drives so nice and is apparently built so well, along with it's cousin the Rendezvous. All of you guys here have a really nice vehicle.
18" wheels like the concept
Liftgate with a LIGHT liftglass (like a Vibe back end) - so looong items can be loaded in and driven about without tying things up on the roof. The tailgate is no good.
Fold flat passenger seat
Slightly lower overall height (less minivanny)
Seems like these could possibly happen. Will '03 models be out in the summer? I read somewhere that Lutz gave the design team 8 months to do the reskin. Anyone who has their ear, please get them to do this up right!
Dan
I've thought about putting on 17" rims with the 235 width. I don't think I'd go 18" for the simple fact that you'd really be sacrificing ride quality. I don't do heavy offroading in my tek, but I do take it on to some rough trails on occasion. Some are bad enough that the car really bounces, I'm afraid 18" wheels might dent with the thin sidewall.
I know I'm the only one hear talking about XM, but I'm still keeping you guys informed. I got a letter from Delco (maker of our CD players) that included a wiring diagram for the Tek's radio. The radio has a few extra pin holes labeled as AUX (though I have no idea what a few pin holes would do). There are two pin style wiring connections, one containing the extra two labeled AUX, and that's it. It would appear it is not expandable at all. Too bad.
There's still hope I think. I'm waiting on Pontiac to write me back and tell me how XM will be installed on the 2002 Azteks. I'm hoping it will simply be a new radio. If so it may become an expensive upgrade for the 2001 people, but at least possible.
Here's a question for anyone out there that owns a SUV or truck made for heavy duty offroading (such as a jeep). When you take your car offroad and really just beat it on a rough trail, like when you bounce it or get it twisting, does it ever creek? I was taking a back road that had pot holes 6' deep and further. There were also ruts, bumps, and you name it. I wasn't going fast, but after falling in one hole and popping out of it into another the Tek was really bouncing front and back and left and right. Since it's not really made for this I was really impressed with how it did. It didn't ground out (thank goodness), and I only heard a creek or two from the twising. Is it normal for a car to creek, snap, or make any noise when twisting the body that hard? I mean normal for heavy duty offroad vehicles. Just curious if my Tek was shining, or telling me to get it back on the road.
Thanx.
Guess I'm just a night owl, it's 2am here.
Noises? Yes, it makes lots of noises.
I think you should really rethink off roading in your Aztek. If you get stuck and need to strap up to the front where is your tow point? Once in awhile I get my Samurai stuck and use a HiLift jack to raise it out. I have 4 inch square tube bumpers to put the jack under. This can't be done on the Tek (or numerous other "serious" offroad SUV.) The gound clearance isn't enough for running in ruts.
The easy solution is to get a Samurai or Jeep CJ/Wrangler.
Dan
I have a rattle in my driver's side back door that I am going to have them look at. I have narrowed it down to the inside door handle area, but cannot get rid of it without taking off the panel. That is what the warranty is for. I do hate to take it into the dealer, while it was in for the Tek v. Dog aftermath my Oakley sunglasses came up missing. I know that I should have brought them with me, but I get tired of unloading the car every time it is in the shop.
Squiredogs - A smaller Aztek with fold flat rear seats and a light lift gate window is a Vibe. The only way to make fold flat seats would be to raise the floor up to seat level, like the Montana rear row.
Noastar - Since XM radio would have more info on what it would take to upgrade any new car. Is there a XM topic in the Edmunds aftermarket board?
Hey maybe you can trade in that 300M, that rebate is looking good!
I don't take the Tek out in the mountains or anything. I'm slowly learning it's capabilities. When we go shoot we travel on a pretty harsh dirt trail. That's about the worst place I take it. You can tavel the trail in a car if you needed to and drove very carefully. I'm a little less careful with the Tek since it handles that trail very well. I don't go up muddy hills, over boulders, or through rivers though. Thanks for the careful advice. I always check to see if my ground clearance is enough since a ground out would be bad.
mattchalmers,
If you notice behind the door handles there's a small hole that goes inside the door panel. Once you get the rattle fixed you might want to stuff it up. A kid in the back seat could drop something in there that can rattle. As for stuff missing at the dealer? Maybe I'm gullable and my dealership is just really nice, but I don't take anything out. I leave at least $1k worth of CDs in the car, a cell phone, my electric razor, a couple hundred worth of books, my sunglasses, etc. I've never had anything missing before. I do check and arrange things so I won't miss anything though.
Montanafan,
Duh! Thanks. I really hadn't thought to check another board for that. I still think it's gonna come down to Pontiac telling me how it will be installed in the 2002s though. Even then I don't know if it will be compatible with the 2001s Steering wheel controls, rear controls, or HUD.