New Stuff on Vehicles likes/dislikes

[Lou C]

Tell that to the Owners of the GM 3.6 LTT Engines after DI was introduced. Extended Oil Change Intervals, even as low as 8000 miles resulted in Excessive Chain Wear. Mine were replaced after 8 yrs and 70,000, under Warranty. GM extended the Warranty to 10 yr and well over 100K.

the important thing to remember is that you cannot generalize from one example to all families of engines. DI engines have their own set of issues that were a non-issue with port EFI.
if you really want to do it right, do consistent engine oil analyses, then you will now what's happening inside your engine as far as you can, and decide on what's a good oil change interval. Wear metals rates and also TBN, will tell you if you're changing it often enough.
On the vehicles driven longer distances in our family, we do 6-7,000 miles, and found that oil analyses supported that this was certainly adequate. On the older vehicles not driven much, I like to do a change every 6 months regardless of mileage, that's my '98 Grand Cherokee 4.0 (182,000 miles) and my '07 Grand Cherokee 5.7 (133,000 miles).
The best thing about the analyses is that you will know if a serious problem is developing before it leaves you with a big problem like antifreeze in the oil (the silent engine killer).

 

[Lou C]

Not for the average person. Granted lot of mechanical knowledge on this board, most people can’t DIY on todays cars.

you can still do oil changes, and in most cases, brake pad replacements, and in some, spark plug changes and air filter changes.

 

[cyclops222]

The Honda Factory computer GEEKS are very dangerous !!
As they constantly change the distances my car is from the one in front of me.
"""" LOOK BOSS I updated the safe distances AGAIN !!!!
A call to corporate Honda does nothing. Tried it for a couple of years.

 

[Mc Tool]

The Honda Factory computer GEEKS are very dangerous !!
As they constantly change the distances my car is from the one in front of me.
"""" LOOK BOSS I updated the safe distances AGAIN !!!!
A call to corporate Honda does nothing. Tried it for a couple of years.

No chance they are doing it on purpose just to pi55 you off
but seriously how do they do that ? install updates at service time ? WiFi ? There must be a way you can shut them out .

 

[cyclops222]

Young people drive.
Old farts operate the car. Me

 

[Mc Tool]

Huh , my car has abs , a reversing camera ( that turns with the steering wheel ) hill start assist , stability control ............now there's a trip ruiner , , everytime I start to enjoy the drive this #ucking thing starts beeping which is like a switch to her in passenger seat to start clutching at handles and making unhelpful predictions about the end of the trip . Bastard thing cuts the power without warning , traction control does it too , I reckon thats damn dangerous. And a nuisance when drag racing at the lights ....get 1/2 way across the intersection and it falls on its face

 

[matt167]

My dealer did a warranty job for a collapsed lifter on a 5.3 and replaced exactly 1 lifter and sealed it back up and called it good. I can only imagine their surprise when it came back in a couple weeks later for more failed lifters...

Tech probably not paying attention. Lifters more often than not take out the cam. Damaged cam almost always means new engine. We had one come in last week for a lifter issue and needed a cam. Customer pay. Cost was $1,500 less than a new engine. Customer bought the engine of course

If it really only needed a lifter at time of repair than you can’t get away with lying to get an engine as warranty inspects the core and they will debit the repair.

 

[jimmbo]

Drag Racing at the Lights should be a Felony Charge

 

[airshot]

Years back a friend bought a vehicle with traction control. The dealer made a big deal about it and how well it works on snow and icy conditions especially with older drivers. After a good snow fall he decided to try this out in a large empty parking lot. He got up to around 25-30 mph and threw it into a slide...lights started blinking and the traction control took over, he had no control over steering, no brakes no accelerator, nothing, the car had a mind of its own....and steered him right into the only pole within sight anywhere. Parking area was very large, at least a quarter mile in both directions, pole was in one corner, he was not headed toward the pole but the traction control steered him right into it ! Lucky for him his wife was recording it and they hired an attorney and went after the mfgr. They agreed to fix his vehicle, and disconnected his traction control. First thing I do us turn mine off when I start my car..,.

 

[Pmt133]

Tech probably not paying attention. Lifters more often than not take out the cam. Damaged cam almost always means new engine. We had one come in last week for a lifter issue and needed a cam. Customer pay. Cost was $1,500 less than a new engine. Customer bought the engine of course

If it really only needed a lifter at time of repair than you can’t get away with lying to get an engine as warranty inspects the core and they will debit the repair.

I think what may have saved it was it happened in the driveway and I immediately yelled at mom to kill it. I can confirm no cam replacement either time. I was ready to just go in and do it myself... and delete it... but it was -25f at the time and it was easier to let them deal with it. Again... not my truck or money so I really didn't care but it surprised me.

 

[Mc Tool]

Years back a friend bought a vehicle with traction control. The dealer made a big deal about it and how well it works on snow and icy conditions especially with older drivers. After a good snow fall he decided to try this out in a large empty parking lot. He got up to around 25-30 mph and threw it into a slide...lights started blinking and the traction control took over, he had no control over steering, no brakes no accelerator, nothing, the car had a mind of its own....and steered him right into the only pole within sight anywhere. Parking area was very large, at least a quarter mile in both directions, pole was in one corner, he was not headed toward the pole but the traction control steered him right into it ! Lucky for him his wife was recording it and they hired an attorney and went after the mfgr. They agreed to fix his vehicle, and disconnected his traction control. First thing I do us turn mine off when I start my car..,.

25-30mph .....hes lucky, mine on wet grass as soon as it slips a wheel ( which it does with 300 hp fwd ) the traction control kicks in , kills the power untill wheel stops and the cycle repeats untill your mates stop laughing long enough to push me off my front lawn .

 

[Mc Tool]

Drag Racing at the Lights should be a Felony Charge

Should be a national sport and anyhow its not racing if you dont break the speed limit.
Aye jimmbo , why do you think they have more than one lane at the lights .....nah ,I hear you

 

[redneck joe]

Huh , my car has abs , a reversing camera ( that turns with the steering wheel ) hill start assist , stability control ............now there's a trip ruiner , , everytime I start to enjoy the drive this #ucking thing starts beeping which is like a switch to her in passenger seat to start clutching at handles and making unhelpful predictions about the end of the trip . Bastard thing cuts the power without warning , traction control does it too , I reckon thats damn dangerous. And a nuisance when drag racing at the lights ....get 1/2 way across the intersection and it falls on its face

Yeah i have that hill thing which is nice I guess, especially when I'm teaching a young youngun.

 

[Mc Tool]

Yeah i have that hill thing which is nice I guess, especially when I'm teaching a young youngun.

There is a BF hill in Dunedin Stuart st steep as hell and there is a set of traffic lights half way up , Hill assist was nirvana after hill starting a Ford Capri and a ducati with a talllllll 1st gear and a clutch like a trigger . I used to pray those bloody lights would stay green as I zoomed up the hill.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Adding Traction Control, Power limiting and Yaw control to things that I don't like

 

[tpenfield]

Late to the party, but I did bring a 30-pack . . .

Likes:
Adaptive Cruise Control
Lane Keeping Function
One touch window/moon roof opening
Apple Car Play
Keyless Entry
Pre-programmed seat/mirror positioning
Blind-spot indicator
Back-up camera
Fuel Economy Indicators
360˚ Camera

Dislikes:
Maintenance & Repair 'friendliness' in general.
GPS with with disclaimer messages
Run-flat Tires (hard as rocks)
Probably a few other things

 

[tphoyt]

Should be a national sport and anyhow its not racing if you dont break the speed limit.
Aye jimmbo , why do you think they have more than one lane at the lights .....nah ,I hear you

I got several tickets as a teen for rippin it off the red light. They were labeled improper start. I decide I couldn’t afford to do that any more.
We also had a local section of road that was built and never used that became a drag strip. The cops didn’t bother us for years until it got to be to popular. Had some great times out there but also met some really poor sports. Some people really go nuts when they lose a race. It was all in good fun for me and I would just race the guys I knew were not big aholes and that would often set them as well. What ever.

 

[Scott Danforth]

@tpenfield you forgot to include BMW electronics.....

 

[Bob_VT]

@tpenfield you forgot to include BMW electronics.....

@tpenfield - Headlight replacement............

 

[jlh3rd]

well, I grew up operating and handling my cars, as someone stated also. I had/have to pay attention, I want that.
I understand how new technology can lull me into a sense of false security and is awe inspiring to most. I got it. It's the "cell phone" phenomenon, right? People can't walk, drive, ride a bike, push a baby stroller(in the street no less), grocery shop, work out in a gym, watch a movie without their face buried in their cell phones. They could care less what's happening around them. That's why driverless cars are on the way. So instead of listing pros/cons, lets just say I want manual control. All the extras, more stuff to go bad.
Cruise control and intermittent wipers, ok.
I still do all my own diagnosing and work. But because of all the dodads, I now use/need a bi-directional scanner. But all my scanning capability may be ending down the road as I've just learned that car manufacturers are heading to a lockout situation that requires purchasing a subscription for ECM access. They don't want us messing with their cars.
This being said. I have to live in this world, so:
A new toyota corrolla cross is on the way. Mainly because a navy son and family have returned from a 3 year Japan stint and he wanted a used toyota hybrid. So my 2013 camry hybrid with 153,000+ miles ( and absolutely never any problem) is being sold to him.
This new cross, supposedly has an automatic E. parking brake...christ 🫤. It is the base model, FWD (no awd for me), no turbo(good).

oh, yeah, I do look at properly restored decades old equivalent vehicles. But have you seen THOSE prices !