Anything related to automobiles

[Stadler]

Yeah, I only have my DD, so any maintenance becomes a "must accomplish immediately" obligation. That really blows. It's gotten so I'd rather just pay to have work done, though there are certainly things I enjoy doing myself. Also, the front of my e46 is dropped enough that I had to build ramps to drive on just to get it high enough that I could get a jack under the jack points. 

And on my car, scraping the crap out of the front air damn.

I used to do the brakes on my e83 no problem.  As much as I want to - it's fun work - I won't touch it.

Why? Brakes are one of the jobs I enjoy.  I actually have heard of some cars that won't unlock the pads without the car being in some variety of service mode. Ostensibly related to electronic e-brakes, but certainly just to make sure that only authorized techs (who pay big bucks for the software) can do any work on the cars.

Well, the electronic e-brakes on the rear CERTAINLY preclude me working on it.  My stepson used to be a tech for the dealer and he (politely, kindly) said, you don't want to get involved in that.  The front ones aren't connected to that system, but I fear that even the sensors are more complicated than the ones on the older X3. That was just a friction sensor; the plastic wears down, the circuit closes and the light goes on.  I don't know that the 2013 is that simple, since it feeds to the xDrive computer.  Maybe I'm wrong, though, I don't know. Certainly, I'm with you; a brake job is a satisfying experience (and if you can do them yourself, it's a money saver; it was $1000 to do front and back brakes on the X3; I could do it all myself - using decent pads and rotors - for about $200 and the ability to tell the wife I saved $800 for the next 35,000 miles).

[El Barto]

Yeah, I didn't think about wheel speed sensors. I'm pretty sure they're in the hubs in my e46, so brakes won't effect them. In newer models they probably went out of their way to integrate them into the hubs, the pads, the rotors, and probably the heated seats just for good measure. Nowadays I think that half of BMW's design team is looking for ways to needlessly complicate things just to monopolize their service.

[MetalJunkie]

Are vehicle inspections thorough enough to tell me if my vehicle will survive a road trip?

Car's not having symptoms or anything, it's just a bit older and I want to be prepared.

[ReaperKK]

What kind of inspection are we talking about and how far?

I think you can do a fairly thorough one yourself, check tires, fluids (get an oil change before you go), make sure no check engine light is on, and if it is swing by autozone and have them pull the code for you if you don't have a reader yourself.

Honestly highway driving is fairly easy on a car, it's city driving that really beats it up. What are you driving MJ?

[MetalJunkie]

‘05 Town and Country

[Chino]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

[Stadler]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

That would have been my first suggestion.  POSSIBLY a stuck caliper, too, though you'd feel that more at lower speeds than higher.

[El Barto]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

That would have been my first suggestion.  POSSIBLY a stuck caliper, too, though you'd feel that more at lower speeds than higher.

Wheel bearings will often times start with the noise before failing to the point of grinding. It could also be that your tires have just worn to a point where they're noisier than they were. That's something you may or may not feel.

First step would be to see if you can isolate which wheel is making the noise. All for bearings don't fail at once. You've probably only got one that's failing.


edit: Stadler's stuck caliper is certainly a possibility, and you'll notice that immediately at the pump. That will usually cost you a mile or two per gallon, at least in my experience.

[El Barto]

Are vehicle inspections thorough enough to tell me if my vehicle will survive a road trip?

Car's not having symptoms or anything, it's just a bit older and I want to be prepared.

Thorough isn't really necessary here. If you've got a decent relationship with a mechanic he'd be happy to shine a light at things and tell you if you're good to go. ReapKK's advice is solid. One change I'd make is that I'd want somebody to look at the suspension/front end stuff and make sure the bushings and joints are in good shape.

[Chino]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

That would have been my first suggestion.  POSSIBLY a stuck caliper, too, though you'd feel that more at lower speeds than higher.

Wheel bearings will often times start with the noise before failing to the point of grinding. It could also be that your tires have just worn to a point where they're noisier than they were. That's something you may or may not feel.

First step would be to see if you can isolate which wheel is making the noise. All for bearings don't fail at once. You've probably only got one that's failing.

I thought it was the tires as my front ones were pretty worn. I got a new set of 4 two weeks ago and it didn't change anything :/

I'd imagine that if one is failing now, that means the other are on the way?

[El Barto]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

That would have been my first suggestion.  POSSIBLY a stuck caliper, too, though you'd feel that more at lower speeds than higher.

Wheel bearings will often times start with the noise before failing to the point of grinding. It could also be that your tires have just worn to a point where they're noisier than they were. That's something you may or may not feel.

First step would be to see if you can isolate which wheel is making the noise. All for bearings don't fail at once. You've probably only got one that's failing.

I thought it was the tires as my front ones were pretty worn. I got a new set of 4 two weeks ago and it didn't change anything :/

I'd imagine that if one is failing now, that means the other are on the way?

Not necessarily. We're talking about parts that could go 50-150k miles. Ideally you'd replace them as pairs (axle), but that's not entirely necessary. Depending on the car the labor could be huge. In my case I'll do the front ones myself (and it's an exhausting day's work) but I won't go near the rear ones.

[Stadler]

I dropped my car off at the garage this morning. It's making a really annoying hum. It was starting at like 60mph a few weeks ago, and now it's starting at around 25mph. It sounds like a B-29 or something bomber flying in the distance. It seems to be solely dependent on speed. It'll make the exact same noise regardless of which gear I'm in, whether or not on on the throttle, or even if I'm in neutral and coasting. I've had a few people say it's a wheel bearing, but I've had that happen twice in the past and it sounded a lot more like metal on metal in those instances.

That would have been my first suggestion.  POSSIBLY a stuck caliper, too, though you'd feel that more at lower speeds than higher.

Wheel bearings will often times start with the noise before failing to the point of grinding. It could also be that your tires have just worn to a point where they're noisier than they were. That's something you may or may not feel.

First step would be to see if you can isolate which wheel is making the noise. All for bearings don't fail at once. You've probably only got one that's failing.

I thought it was the tires as my front ones were pretty worn. I got a new set of 4 two weeks ago and it didn't change anything :/

I'd imagine that if one is failing now, that means the other are on the way?

Not necessarily. We're talking about parts that could go 50-150k miles. Ideally you'd replace them as pairs (axle), but that's not entirely necessary. Depending on the car the labor could be huge. In my case I'll do the front ones myself (and it's an exhausting day's work) but I won't go near the rear ones.

In my experience, all this is true. 

What are you driving now? 

[Chino]

What am I driving? I have a 2014 Mazda cx-9 with 114K and change miles on it.

Both of my rear bearings were shot. The mechanic could only get one in on the shirt notice, so he replaced the worse one. I'm scheduled to get the second one the Monday after next. It was $358. No great, but not as bad as I was expecting given the price of things lately.

[Stadler]

What am I driving? I have a 2014 Mazda cx-9 with 114K and change miles on it.

Both of my rear bearings were shot. The mechanic could only get one in on the shirt notice, so he replaced the worse one. I'm scheduled to get the second one the Monday after next. It was $358. No great, but not as bad as I was expecting given the price of things lately.

That's where I was going; I asked my step son (the family mechanic) and on that car you don't have to do both unless both need to be done.  That's not a bad price for that work generally (though I didn't ask him about that price and a Mazda specifically).

[El Barto]

Question for the EV people. If I rent a Prius for a week to drive around So-Cal will it be a PITA? In all likelihood I'll put nearly 1k hwy miles on it. Will the mileage be much better than your typical rental cars? Is the gas tank big enough that I won't be stopping more often than a normal car? For the same price I can get a Mustang (the two cheapest cars at this particular Avis), and naturally I'd prefer the Mustang. But given gas prices in So-Cal, that advertised 53/58 looks mighty appealing.

[Nick]

Well, keep in mind your typical Prius isn't an EV, just a hybrid. I believe they still have a PHEV version as well, but even if you never plug it in you can still use it as a normal hybrid. Like any car, it won't get the full 53/58 in real life, but still will do a lot better than a Mustang. Looks like the newer Prius models average out around an 11 gallon tank, so take that times 50 mpg and you're looking at 550 miles a tank, about.

[Chino]

Interesting read on Dodge's approach to the future of muscle.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/business/dodge-electric-muscle-car/index.html

I'm curious to see how this manifests.

[Nick]

Interesting read on Dodge's approach to the future of muscle.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/business/dodge-electric-muscle-car/index.html

I'm curious to see how this manifests.

Having a car that can perform amazingly well while being almost silent is one of the coolest parts of electric cars, and this move by Dodge is absolutely stunningly stupid and 100% what I'd expect from Dodge.

Right up there with Civics that sound like a stock car and rice rockets. Just fucking stupid.

[El Barto]

It actually makes a lot of sense. They're not building EVs for tree huggers. They're building sports cars, and people who own sports cars want engine noise. Years ago BMW actually had to drill a couple of holes in the firewall to pipe that noise in when M drivers complained that they couldn't hear the engine--and truth be told, that's important. Best part of driving my old E30 was hearing the syncros mesh up when you went to shift gears. Sadly, American muscle cars being ridiculously loud is part of their appeal. That's one of the reason I hate them so much.

Everybody likes to think that BMW drivers are the most obnoxious, and I can understand why some my feel that way, but to me the title goes to people who drive Challengers and Mustangs and Corvettes and whatnot. Part of the appeal is being as obnoxious and annoying to the general population as it's possible to be. They now beat out Harley people in that regard. Nobody in a BMW will ever wake you up at 0330 with exhaust noise that rattles your windows. And if Ford and Chevy were to quiet there cars people would complain. They have to be the loudest thing on the road or people won't like them. BMW's approach was to make them louder on the insides. Fucking Americans want them louder for everybody else (and probably whisper quiet on the inside).

I kind of like the shifting gears part, that's also a key appeal to driving a sports car. They'll ruin that too, though. At best you'll just get clutchless paddle-shifters. Better than a slushbox, but still not the same. 

[Nick]

It actually makes a lot of sense. They're not building EVs for tree huggers. They're building sports cars, and people who own sports cars want engine noise. Years ago BMW actually had to drill a couple of holes in the firewall to pipe that noise in when M drivers complained that they couldn't hear the engine--and truth be told, that's important. Best part of driving my old E30 was hearing the syncros mesh up when you went to shift gears. Sadly, American muscle cars being ridiculously loud is part of their appeal. That's one of the reason I hate them so much.

Everybody likes to think that BMW drivers are the most obnoxious, and I can understand why some my feel that way, but to me the title goes to people who drive Challengers and Mustangs and Corvettes and whatnot. Part of the appeal is being as obnoxious and annoying to the general population as it's possible to be. They now beat out Harley people in that regard. Nobody in a BMW will ever wake you up at 0330 with exhaust noise that rattles your windows. And if Ford and Chevy were to quiet there cars people would complain. They have to be the loudest thing on the road or people won't like them. BMW's approach was to make them louder on the insides. Fucking Americans want them louder for everybody else (and probably whisper quiet on the inside).

I kind of like the shifting gears part, that's also a key appeal to driving a sports car. They'll ruin that too, though. At best you'll just get clutchless paddle-shifters. Better than a slushbox, but still not the same. 

I'm not saying that Dodge isn't correctly playing into what their consumers want, they certainly are. What I'm saying is their typical consumer is, in this sense, awful and a lot of what is wrong with this world. Might as well offer the cars with a factory option to install a coal roll feature while we're spending money on stupidity that helps no one.

[King Postwhore]

Nick, how much was your Tesla?  Ballpark.

[Nick]

Nick, how much was your Tesla?  Ballpark.

Was curious on a couple of items, so I'll give you exact numbers.

My Model Y long range was 52k and I waited about 2 months for it when I ordered at the end of October, 2020.

By comparison, today you'd get the same car at 66k in 6 months if you're lucky.

Trade in value for my car, according to KBB currently sits at 60k.

[King Postwhore]

Damn. My GMC truck was 40 grand with toys. I did have trade in plus talking down.  I'd have to do homework on electric vs. Gas for 5 years.

[Stadler]

Interesting read on Dodge's approach to the future of muscle.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/business/dodge-electric-muscle-car/index.html

I'm curious to see how this manifests.

Having a car that can perform amazingly well while being almost silent is one of the coolest parts of electric cars, and this move by Dodge is absolutely stunningly stupid and 100% what I'd expect from Dodge.

Right up there with Civics that sound like a stock car and rice rockets. Just fucking stupid.

Closest I've ever come to REALLY being hit by a car was in Philly, and it was exactly that; I was so used to hearing cars on the street, I didn't notice the EV until it was almost too late.  I get the idea of not having a Kiss concert every time your car leaves the driveway, but there's something beautiful about the purr of a well-tuned, high-precision engine.

[Stadler]

Damn. My GMC truck was 40 grand with toys. I did have trade in plus talking down.  I'd have to do homework on electric vs. Gas for 5 years.

My stepson just paid $58k for a two-year old diesel pickup, loaded.  A new one spec'd out to between $80k and $105k.

[Nick]

Interesting read on Dodge's approach to the future of muscle.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/17/business/dodge-electric-muscle-car/index.html

I'm curious to see how this manifests.

Having a car that can perform amazingly well while being almost silent is one of the coolest parts of electric cars, and this move by Dodge is absolutely stunningly stupid and 100% what I'd expect from Dodge.

Right up there with Civics that sound like a stock car and rice rockets. Just fucking stupid.

Closest I've ever come to REALLY being hit by a car was in Philly, and it was exactly that; I was so used to hearing cars on the street, I didn't notice the EV until it was almost too late.  I get the idea of not having a Kiss concert every time your car leaves the driveway, but there's something beautiful about the purr of a well-tuned, high-precision engine.

EVs are now required to emit a noise below a certain speed to help with this situation.

As for the engine noise, I'll say this, they can make whatever sounds make people happy INSIDE the car and I'm fine. If you prefer listening to engine noises instead of music/whatever, then by all means be my guest. It's when there is obnoxious unnecessary noise pollution OUTSIDE the car that I have an issue.

[El Barto]

Mercedes Puts Faster Acceleration Behind A Subscription Paywall

According to Mercedes, the yearly fee increases the maximum horsepower and torque of the car, while also increasing overall performance. Acceleration from 0-60 mph is said to improve by 0.8-1.0 seconds and the overall characteristics of the electric motors are supposed to change as well. The extra performance is unlocked by selecting the Dynamic drive mode.

That's nice of them. You buy a car and if you want it to perform the way it was built to you pay an extra $100/mo. What's interesting to me is that this probably isn't about the revenue they get from the subscriptions, but rather the revenue they'll make by being the only legally available service option. Using a third party shop, if they're capable of working on them, will likely violate your warranty, and if you tamper with their code you're committing a criminal act.

Fuck yeah, capitalism!

[Lonk]

310+ MPH on a 2006 Ford GT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYz-6fnLm9U

[Lonk]

.

[ReaperKK]

Yesterday I stopped by a Lucid dealer in Boston. We don't have one in Charlotte and I've only ever seen one Lucid in person. What a car. I really wish we had a dealer because I would've leased one instead of the Lexus I just got. It was well designed, comfortable, and felt like a premium vehicle (it should feel that way with it's price tag). I would love to get one as a daily.

[Chino]

310+ MPH on a 2006 Ford GT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYz-6fnLm9U

Wild.   

How's downshifting in that thing work? It looks like the driver upshifted all the way, but left it in the final gear before throwing the chute. Does the car come to stop while still in the tallest gear?

[El Barto]

310+ MPH on a 2006 Ford GT 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYz-6fnLm9U

Wild.   

How's downshifting in that thing work? It looks like the driver upshifted all the way, but left it in the final gear before throwing the shoot. Does the car come to stop while still in the tallest gear?

Pretty sure he dropped the clutch once he hit his top speed and popped the chute. You can see the RPMs drop off at that point, and I didn't see him shift to neutral. 

[faizoff]

I haven't been in the market for buying a new car since forever. Last car I bought was a used Camry 2003 for $5000 back in 2010 I think it was. Was driving a 1999 Camry before that. I'm not really a car person and don't keep up at all with what's going on in the car world. I only hear and read small things here and there.

I've done rentals which sorta lets me know what newer cars can do and some of the features modern cars have. I havent rented in about 3 years and even then were mostly basic minivans or SUVs. I gather this isn't a shock to most but I was really astounded by the technology and features that come in a car nowadays. I've been car shopping for about 10 days and finally settled on a Subaru Outback Premium 2024. I get that big screens are the in thing, I'm just very surprised how well integrated with your phone it is. Pairing my phone was super quick and Android Auto translates quite well for the driving experience.

I'm equally impressed by the Adaptive cruise control feature in this car and from what I have read seems to be becoming more and more standard in base models. Lane departure systems and the driving assists in this car is a lot more useful than I thought it would be. In my head it was all gimmicky but I'm just so surprised how helpful it actually is. The fact that I barely need to use my brake and gas pedal with the adaptive cruise control just blows my mind.

Being able to remotely start my car, lock or unlock the doors, or find out exact location through an app is truly something I didn't think would happen so fast. It all feels so refined too.


Welcome to the 21st century old man.

[T-ski]

Took a little road trip with the wife in our 2017 Tucson, got to our destination town and things got weird. As we got off the highway the oil light started flickering then when we hit a red light the car died. Put it in park and it restarted but this scenario played out every time we hit a light or stop sign. Plus the engine sounded “off”.

With it being a Saturday afternoon our options were limited to find a service place so we ended up at a quick lube place just to check things over. Oil levels were fine, battery was fine. Car indicated it was due for an oil change in 28 days so we went ahead and did one. They saw no leaks or any signs of anything unusual.

After they serviced us we went on our way and everything seems normal. Drove it the 45 miles back home with no issues.

Any thoughts as to what may have happened?

[El Barto]

Took a little road trip with the wife in our 2017 Tucson, got to our destination town and things got weird. As we got off the highway the oil light started flickering then when we hit a red light the car died. Put it in park and it restarted but this scenario played out every time we hit a light or stop sign. Plus the engine sounded “off”.

With it being a Saturday afternoon our options were limited to find a service place so we ended up at a quick lube place just to check things over. Oil levels were fine, battery was fine. Car indicated it was due for an oil change in 28 days so we went ahead and did one. They saw no leaks or any signs of anything unusual.

After they serviced us we went on our way and everything seems normal. Drove it the 45 miles back home with no issues.

Any thoughts as to what may have happened?

Blocked filter? Bad oil pump? Blocked cooler or the pipes that go to it?

If the oil pressure is low the valves probably won't operate like they're supposed to, hence seeming "off."