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Comments
All cars are like that. It isn't just the Protege.
I'm glad to hear your new radio works good, I hope for the same. The other thing I had them look at was the front drivers door center pilar area was all scratched and chewed up on the top right hand side. They had to adjust the hinge because for some reason they door was not closing properly. I think its been like that since new, but I just happened to notice it.
That is the first and only "waranty" work I've had done.
Dinu
The good part is that at highway speeds the car is MUCH quieter and it revs better - or maybe it's just a mental thing. (No jokes from the Peanut Gallery please!)
The not so great is that it still knocks when cold (:
Dinu
I also had my ECU reprogrammed but I didn't notice anything except that the "death rattle" noise was almost gone when cold. Shortly after I had the ECU done though, I noticed the rotten egg smell from the exhaust more often. When I drove to Chicago, my buddy who was following me said my car smells most of the time, especially up hills. I was going to bring it into the dealer, but there is no check engine light and the gas mileage is normal. Hmmmm?
No exhaust or rotten egg smell with mine.
Now that it's warmer outside, it drives well, even when cold - but it still knocks a bit.
Anyways, happy motoring!
Dinu
Hell, even my 1987 and 1988 Hyundai Excels had little doors in the trunk -- and these even had little doorknobs you turned a quarter-turn and they swung open on HINGES!!! My Saab had 'em, even my '78 Corolla had 'em (well, that's a stretch -- the '78 Corollas only had a trunk floor mat -- the inside of the rear was the stamped metal frame of the car -- no doors, just the bayonnet-flanged bulb sockets and wires staring atcha!
It is, I agree, cheesy to have to disassemble the trunk liner to get at a part that is considered a "wear item." Not much different from, though admittedly a lot easier to deal with, my old Saab's quirk about having to have the ENGINE REMOVED FROM THE CAR to change the water pump. ($150 part, $600 labor.)
Listen up, Mazda.
Meade
My 2000 Jetta had the same issue with the engine removal to get to the water pump. Thank <insert favorite deity here> that it was still under warranty when the water pump went at 8000 miles.
Meade
P.S. I can't help the fact that you haven't chosen your cars wisely!
I replaced both front headlight bulbs with ones that emmit a clearer white light - they're not blue, just white. And they're obviously not HIDs - not on a $24.192 CAD car (to be precise). These new bulbs are much better than the factory ones, yet they don't blind other drivers (like HIDs). I'll check what brand they are and let you all know. They were $20 CAD each.
Dinu
But all these remarks just made me think of something. Why not get a nice pair of snips and cut out a square hole in the liner behind each assembly, and then use a little ingenuity and some Velcro to re-attach the square? You'd never see that there's a cutout yet you'd be able to pop it off at a moment's notice.
A little "user mod" to solve the problem ... I may take a look at how hard that'd be to do when (if?) I ever have to change a rear bulb.
One other thing ... moisture can kill bulbs quickly. I'll offer the first piece of USABLE advice here and recommend that you examine the gasket between the taillight lens and the frame to ensure the assembly is sealed all 'round from moisture entering the inside of the assembly. It's logical to think moisture might be doing this since so much water streams back along the sides of the car when you're driving in the rain ...
Meade
P.S. Are things scary up there in SARS Land? Your town is making big news down here ... they even played a sound bite from your (very angry) Mayor this morning ...
They are also priced about the same as the Dunlop SP 5000's that I had been leaning towards.
Keep up the good work everyone.
As for SARS, it's blown out of proportion - as far as the WHO goes. I haven't been in contact with anyone that works at or visited a hospital and I feel "safe". Mel (the mayor) had every reason to be upset - people live the same lives they lived 1mth ago before all this. Yes we got an email at work about it and yes workers in the health services are freaked out by it, but TO is not a hub of SARS as it seems if you're watching the news. Just my $0.03 CAD - $0.02 US
Dinu
"on the cars you listed, were you able to remove the lamp assembly with a screwdriver from the outside?"
You could remove them with a screwdriver from inside the trunk but IIRC, some of them needed a special non-phillips or standard head screwdriver.
Dinu
You guys must've been imagining things or maybe, since it was a stormy morning, there was something like a wet leaf on the lens itself. I've even had the opportunity to back up toward a nice, reflective tinted window here downtown and have a lookie myself, brake lights and all. All my lights are shining brightly.
Meade
Meade
And to keep this on topic, I am happy to report that after 20.000kms, the AVID Touring tires are still in good condition - it doesn't look like they lost any thread!
Dinu
I wonder how much Mazda charges for the OEM replacements? Heck, I'll do 'em myself -- I've never owned a car that only needed maybe one replacement set of pads in its entire life!
Meade
Don't you mean they haven't lost any TREAD???
Sorry, you just committed Edmunds Town Hall Stupid Similar Word Mistake No. 2 and I had to chastise you for it.
(BTW, Edmunds Town Hall Stupid Similar Word Mistake No. 1 is people saying they have "disc breaks" or "break problems.")
I'll be contacting Costco today to make sure they have a set of four BFG Touring T/A VR4s in 205/55/15. I need to have them installed by next Friday -- and get the car aligned -- so Zoomster (and his driver) feels safe and secure during next weekend's road trip to Pennsylvania!!!
Meade
I can't believe you have 50K+ miles on your original BRAKES. I had to take a BREAK and get my BRAKES done at 30K miles...
Dinu
(1) Costco has superior service, stands behind what they sell, and their prices include everything -- mounting, balancing (lifetime of course), valve stems, joke tire disposal fees, etc.
(2) Larry bought these tires a good -- what Larry -- 15K ago? And they're doing well. By comparison, my same-cost Dunlop SP Sport A2s look like racing slicks after 21,000 miles. I bought the Dunlops from TireRack, had to pay shipping, and then had to pay an installer the usual mounting, balancing, valve stem and joke tire disposal fee (can you pick up on the sarcasm there). And since I did not PURCHASE the tires from the installer I didn't get any of the usual goodies like free lifetime rotation, road hazard insurance, etc.
(3) My Costco sells those BFGs and the whole shebang will cost almost exactly what I paid just for the inferior Dunlops themselves before installation. TireRack doesn't sell Toyo, I can't find the brand in Richmond anymore (bought a set once from Costco back in '94 and loved 'em -- too bad), and the best online price I found was more than $30 per tire higher than the BFGs and then I'd have to pay even more to have them mounted and balanced etc. I have other priorities in life and demands on my bucks right now than buying sporty, high-priced tires!
(4) Time is of the essence. My fault, yes -- but I've got a several-hundred-mile trip to make next weekend, and I don't know what the weather's going to be like. My Dunlop SP Slick A2s are still OK on dry pavement (though loud as hell, wouldja believe it Dale) but absolutely suck petunias in the rain. I don't wanna try unknown interstates in bad weather with 'em. And definitely not DC traffic.
(5) I actually think I will prefer the taller sidewall on these touring tires. At the middle-aged age of 38, where most of my zoomin' is done to and from work or out to shop with the occasional long highway trip thrown in (potentially a couple thousand miles later this summer), comfort is starting to slide into prime importance over like-on-rails cornering ability. Touring tires seem to have a good amount of comfort and much lower noise while retaining a good amount of handling. And these BFGs are still V-rated, meaning they might even handle better than the SP Slicks which are only H-rated yet have been a fine (albeit fast-wearing) match for my driving style.
There, I think that about sums it up. I'm tired.
;-)
Meade
Dinu
Now everyone, since Dale has taken it upon herself to challenge my statement asserting that my bulb is fine (like she'd know up there in Chicago), here's what I just said in response to her claiming I might have had a "loose contact" in my rear light assembly on the way to MAPP III A YEAR AGO, brought HERE where the thread is taking place:
"But I think it's equally if not more mysterious that a 'loose contact' would magically heal itself and stay fine for a year after this so-called outage ... keeping in mind that according to y'all in the chase car, the light was completely out for the entire four hours and hundreds of miles that day ... and now it doesn't even flicker? Sound a little weird to you, O One Who Claims 20/20 Leaf Vision at 200 Yards Yet Who Can't See When Her Windows are Open at a Car Wash?"
Too-shay, Ms. Branch!
Meade
"Why is Dunlop charging so little for such a great tire?"
I think now not only you, but we all know the answer.
An btw, I have @18,000 miles on my BFG...and they have no more and no less grip than when they were new and tread is still more than 3/4 left.
So there.
TCI
326 EAST 6TH STREET
RICHMOND, VA 23224
Colonial Tire
1833 COMMERCE RD.
RICHMOND, VA 23224
Hope you like your BFGs.
Those two places are in areas that are, hmmm, how shall I word this in such a way as to not receive a Pat-O-Gram ... well, let's just say I wouldn't DARE send my wife through that part of town or go for a walk there myself in the middle of the day. I could also say that while I might get new tires there, I probably would have to clean out my glovebox and center console, remove the stereo and floormats, replace the alloys with steel rims and make sure I only have only enough gas in the tank to make it to the nearest gas station when I drop it off.
In fact, my Protege would probably be the only non-'70s Lincoln or Caddy in the shop that day.
Too bad for Toyo. They obviously don't know Richmond either.
Meade
'Nuff said.
Discs vs. drums anyone?
Meade
Meade
I understand you not wanting to spend the extra money. I tend to go overboard sometimes in my search for the perfect tire or whatever it is I am trying to find. I am perhaps too willing to spend an extra 45% to get a 5% improvement. I hope you like your BFGs. I'm sure you will let us know.
while they still retain quite good handling, they do not make a harsh ride over road cracks, not to mention they are extremely quiet when cruising at high speeds.
And did I mention that they are M+S rated?
Worked very well in the snow this winter. Never spun in the snow, even on inclines, unless I just stomped on the pedal like everyday.
It is just the preferences. Certainly the cost did make the final say against the Yokohama Avid V4 which would have costed me ~$200 more.
The BFG V4 were available at BJ's warehouse that is only 3/4 mile from my place.
Hence the ease of installation.
http://www.edmunds.com/new/2003/toyota/corolla/100074066/roadtest- article.html?articleId=96986&editorialpage=page003
If I got a car that rides as smooth as I would like I would fall asleep before I got a city block. Firm suspension and seats help to keep me awake, along with some of the Triad's rough roads. Oldsters are always sleepy. When they were servicing my Pro I didn't hear my name called over the PA, I was asleep in the waiting room.
One year left on warrenty, I'm getting anxious to trade.
Maybe Mazda will use the same suspension on the Mazda3s they used on the 6.
meinrad, thanks for the greeting. No, I am not working these days. Wish things would pick up.
I guess the first thing buyers should ask when looking at a new car is how easy can one change the taillamp bulbs? Glad to hear that dinu01 isn't wearing a surgical mask when he types.
Meadball seems in top form as long as he stays away from the Churchhill area when buying tires. The church on that hill is where Patric Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death, but I will settle for a set of Toyos." LOL!
fowler3
Meade