Midsize Sedans 2.0

lightfootfl

Re: keys locked in car

Note this situation: I personally had it happen to me. I placed the keys in my jacket pocket, I thought.. actually they fell on the floor. I locked the car with the door lock, and went my way. When I realized what happened, within seconds, as I stood outside the locked car, not finding the keys in my pocket, and not seeing them on the floor or seat.. it was too late. Fortunately for me, my spouse with another vehicle was able to come to my rescue within about 15 minutes, as I went about my business. So it really wasn't a super inconvenience, but involved her (spouse) having to drop what she was doing and come to my rescue with her set of keys. I now try not to lock the car with the door locks, only using the fob. LESSON LEARNED.
Van

gooddeal2

... When I realized what happened, within seconds, as I stood outside the locked car...

That's why you need the Intelligent key like the one in the Altima. You cannot lock the car from outside when the key is still inside the car or trunk.

kdhspyder

The Venza is produced at Georgetown. It took the production space that the Solara had occupied. When they stopped making the Solara they began making the Venza. The Venza replaced the Solara in the Corporate view. The company was able to remove a slow-moving lower-priced lower-margin vehicle and replace it with a hot new higher-priced, higher-margin vehicle. The Venza in its first year outsold the Solara in its last year by 2:1 - at higher prices and higher margins. That's a gain for the corporation.

You're simply wrong about the Corolla Matrix. I've been there since the start. What the website advertises means nothing. It's absolutely marketed as the Corolla Matrix, why do you think that they group the stats together every month? Hellooo???

kdhspyder

Or the SKS system that began with the 2004 Prius and now is used in many if not most upscale vehicles. As you say you can throw the fob inside the vehicle on the floor or back seat, lock the doors and the fob will unlock the doors to let itself out.

lilengineerboy

I was thinking of someone specific when I made that comment--my DW. I love her, but someone who puts the keys (with remote) in her purse, puts the purse on the passenger seat, opens the driver's door, locks the doors, gets out of the car and closes the driver's door... habitually... I just wonder if she could remember five numbers

You can set your own code. Your birthday, your phone number, your social security number, your zipcode, your street address...etc. Its 5 numbers you pick. If that is a big issue, its time to start doing those anti-aging brain teaser puzzles (or too late :P).

jeffyscott

I now try not to lock the car with the door locks, only using the fob.

That is what VW forces you to do. The driver's door does not stay locked, if you just hit the button on it and close it, you have to use the fob.

backy

It's absolutely marketed as the Corolla Matrix, why do you think that they group the stats together every month?

To make the sales numbers of the Corolla sound better than they really are, vs. the likes of the Civic, no doubt. Since the Matrix is really a totally different car than the Corolla, except the basic platform, maybe Honda should start grouping the CR-V (based on the Civic platform) with the Civic for sales numbers. :P They might as well, since it looks like they are going to group the Accord and Crosstour--which again are totally different vehicles except for the basic platform.

backy

In other words, on a Passat you can't lock the doors except with the remote??? Hopefully the battery will never wear out on it!

acdii

I find it interesting that Onstar gets all the crash data fed to it from your car. How fast you were driving, how hard you hit, etc. Seems a bit big brother if you ask me. The fact that Onstar can also disable the car also seems bit much. Imagine if someone hacked their system and decided to shut down all GM cars equipped with Onstar. That would piss off a lot of people! :P I'll stick with Synch thankuverymuch

acdii

On the fords with the keypad, all it takes is getting into the habit of using it, and you will never get locked out. I use it all the time, you can unlock all the door and pop the trunk without having to reach for the keys, if your hands are full, its easy to rest what your carrying against the car and tap in the code. Not as easy as the SKS on a Camry where you just touch the door handle, but still easier than not having it at all.

jeffyscott

Well, you can also stick the key in the hole in the door handle and turn it.

stephen987

CR-V hasn't been based on the Civic platform in about a decade, Backy. Its current relationship to the Civic is about like that of the RAV4 to the Corolla.

backy

The CR-V is built on the Civic platform, which is a big plus for dependability, economy, and reliability.

http://www.cargurus.com/Cars/Overview-d589-Honda-CR-V.html

Vehicles such as the CR-V, Element and Acura CSX are all based on the Civic's platform.

http://www.wheels.ca/article/782689

And there's others with similar info. So lots of folks in the business have the idea that the CR-V is based on the Civic platform. :confuse: :surprise:

The RAV-4 however is a completely different platform than the Corolla, at least since Gen 3.

akirby

Ford won't let you lock the keys in the ignition - if you door is open and you hit the door lock button with the keys in the ignition it immediately unlocks them. Won't help if the keys are lying on the seat or in the floor, though.

And once you use the Ford keypad you don't forget the code.

Another good feature is being able to leave your keys in the car while swimming or doing anything else where you don't want keys in your pocket.

targettuning

We rented a 2010 Fusion SE, 4 cylinder, 6 speed automatic for an extended period from before Christmas-thru-NewYears into the following week. We drove it both on the Pa turnpike and for rural driving (secondary roads including Rt 30 over the western Pa mountains) through a snow storm, ice storm, and dry roads. My overall opinion is that it is a very good car and a huge improvement over earlier versions, which I have also rented. The main thing I noticed, or the first thing anyhow, is the quieting down of the newest generation 4 cyl. engine under acceleration. The previous generation moaned, howled, and otherwise made terrible induction noise under acceleration whereas while not silent this car is at least acceptable in that respect. Also, this engine idles quietly and smoothly similar to (and I think quieter & smoother ) our 2006 Honda Civic. I also liked the solid feel of the body structure, good build quality, sharp handling (for a mainstream family sedan) supple and reasonably quiet ride, good acceleration while merging into fast flowing traffic and passing at highway speeds, the transmission operated seamlessly and never called attention to itself by any abrupt downshifts or jerky actions. Fuel economy, as displayed on the onboard fuel readout, exceeded EPA highway ratings. I got about 32.5 mpg on the turnpike @ 75 mph , with 4 passengers and our luggage in approx. 22 degree weather. All in all it was a competent sedan with few dislikes on my part. Dislikes? well the heater control seemed sensitive in the respect it went from lukewarm to HOT via 1 or 2 clicks on the heat control dial with seemingly nothing in between so we went from turning it up..getting too hot, then turning it down and getting chilly. Lowbeam headlamps seemed a bit weak in the respect I am in constant "deer alert" on rural Pa roads,especially with a rental, and like ALL the light I can get on both high and low beams. High beams were good though. Yes, it had "fog" lights which added some additional light output but limited to only 30 or so feet in front of the car with a sharp cut-off. Otherwise, if optioned slightly differently this car would be on my "short list" for a mid-sized sedan. Needless to say I was impressed.

akirby

For some reason Ford aims the headlights too low at the factory. I had the same issue on my 06 Fusion and 08 Edge. Raising the headlights 3 or 4 turns dramatically improved the lighting.

acdii

Sideline, Same akirby as on Fusion sight?

Mainline, I did my Sports first oil change and was really impressed with what is under the car. The subframe completely surrounds the engine with 2" square tubing, the panels under the engine are not just a piece of plastic, but are lined with a sound deadening heat shield, with a cover with 3 bolts to access the oil filter so you can do a clean filter change. The subframe gives it a nice solid foundation for mounting the engine and trans, and along with the covers I can see why its so smooth and quiet. This whole setup is light years ahead of previous gens of cars and is better than the Camry in material quality and design. The Hybrid had cheap plastic panels underneath that caught oil when you changed out the filter, and the drain plug was in a steel pan, easy to strip out, the Sport 3.6 oil pan is aluminum with a rubber gasketed drain plug. (they sure can cram a lot of crap under the hood though)

baggs32

And once you use the Ford keypad you don't forget the code.

You also get a plastic credit card shaped "cheat sheet" that shows the 5-digit code from the factory as well as a bar code (don't know what that's for exactly) and instructions on how to use the code. The easiest thing to do, for me anyway, is to change the code to something I will remember. I do this for both of our Ford vehicles and that way my wife and I can access either one with the same code. There's a simple way to revert back to the permanent factory code in the manual too.

Sure beats having to pay the mfr a monthly fee for something that happens very infrequently.

akirby

Yep, same one.

jimbres

Another good feature is being able to leave your keys in the car while swimming or doing anything else where you don't want keys in your pocket.

I used to have an early 90s Taurus that served as my railroad station car, & I loved this feature. Arriving at the station in the morning, I'd shut off the car & drop the keys into the center console storage bin, where they'd be out of sight. Then I'd use the key pad to lock the doors. No worries about getting off the train that night, only to realize that I had left the keys in my office.

Also, if my wife came home from the city on an earlier train, she could take the car.

Great feature. Would love to see more manufacturers offer it.

acdii

Ford offers an aftermarket version of the keypad that sticks on the door and works like the key fob, great for those cars that have the door locks but no keypad.

What would have made the Fusion even better is if they had embedded the keypad in the pillar like they did on the Taurus.

baggs32

What would have made the Fusion even better is if they had embedded the keypad in the pillar like they did on the Taurus.

I have that on my Flex and be careful what you wish for. The older version with the rubber buttons is much easier to use. The new embedded version is a little harder to get used to and I'm finding that your touch has to be a lot more precise to make it work. I could enter the code on the old rubber version with my eyes closed but you definitely have to take your time and be looking at the embedded version at all times.

You also have to touch it to activate it and then enter the code which is an extra step. Cool to look at, but harder to use IMO.

I've seen where Mustang owners have hidden the aftermarket version behind the gas fill door or under their spoiler so it didn't clutter the door. Pretty good ideas!

m6user

What happens if the battery is dead when getting back to the train station? I guess you can keep some kind of entry key in your wallet or something or would a valet type key work. I've always worried that you could really be stuck somewhere and not being able to open the car to get a battery jump or a new battery since you have to usually get into the car to open the hood. Just wondering?

m6user

Been seeing some commercials for the new Accord Crosstour and I must say that it is nearly as ugly in a commercial as the pictures I've seen. Honda really needs help in the design department.

berri

Crosstour, Accord, Pilot...Honda is lucky it has a very loyal owner base.

colloquor

I would concur, but beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. As an example, to some the Element is beautiful. It depends if you believe auto design should be either: form follows function, or function follows form. The Element is an prime example of form following function, and thus, many owner's love it for what it is.

akirby

If you leave the headlamps on or an interior light on they get turned off automatically after 10 or 20 minutes (Battery Saver feature). It would be very difficult to kill the battery such that the keypad didn't work. Possible but not likely.

m6user

Good point. A very functional vehicle can skip the looks department to a large degree. But from what I've read "most" think this Crosstour is ugly and I'm really wondering just how functional it is.

m6user

You're right but I was thinking about a battery going bad....bad. I've had a couple of those(one was only 6 months old, the other I should have replaced before it happened ) and I was far from home both times. But it is so infrequent that's it's probably not worrying about. GM used provide a plastic key embedded in a credit that you could carry easily for such situations but I think that's a thing of the past. I thought it was a good idea and I actually used it a couple of time that the keys were locked in the vehicle.

berri

Crosstour is ugly and I'm really wondering just how functional it is.

I took a look at it the other day and it doesn't seem very functional. It appeared to have less room behind the wheel than the Accord sedan (both leg and head room) and the back area seemed rather small and further compromised by the sloping roofline. Plus it seems like they want another 2 grand for it over the sedan.