Cars

[Thumper]

Yesterday, I drove the Fiat back to to the shop and picked up the Honda. Drove the Honda home to pick up the truck. Drove the truck back to another shop to pick up the tire, to take back home and remount on the Nissan. I hate cars. I've spent the better part of 2 decades amassing tools and supplies so I could more easily and successfully work on cars. Now I don't want to own one anymore.

[Rommie]

I haven't owned one in like almost ten years!

It's funny, never missed having on in Holland, but in Canada I do a little, mainly on weekends. It's beyond dumb to buy a car you'd only use on weekends though, better to just rent a couple times a year.

[Thumper]

Unfortunately it's almost impossible for us to survive without at least 2. Plus the truck really helps out hauling stuff and moving equipment. And this summer, The Kid will need one to get to work and back and all of the other activities she's got planned. Without several giant lifestyle changes, there's no way around it.

In fact, heading down to the Credit Union in a few to talk about another car lone. Woo hoo!

[SciFiFisher]

Depending on where you live Uber or Lyft can be very helpful. Frankly, I would not be very happy without a car. But, I can relate to the aggravation of keeping them on the road.

[Thumper]

Uber, cabs, and buses just aren't going to work for me. Like I said, it would be several monumental lifestyle changes in order to even consider operating without an automobile.
On the other side of the coin, Mrs. T and I are not having any fun with each other starting the search for her next car. I'm pushing that even though I hate the process because I fear imminent failure of the Nissan. However, I was actually enjoying working on a Honda again when one of the screws that position the rotor on the hub wouldn't budge. After breaking the extractor off then not being about to drill it out or beat it off, I surrendered the hope of replacing the rotors and went back to hating cars and everything about them.

[SciFiFisher]

I had an epiphany a few years ago. The universe loves to laugh at me when it comes to DIY car maintenance. I still do some minor things like change the wiper blades. But, I won't even go near an oil filter. I had one come apart while I was removing it. I literally had to have a mobile mechanic come out and unscrew the last bit that was screwed into the oil filter mount because I didn't have a pair of channel locks big enough to grab the damn thing. And it was the only car we owned at the time. And it was 15 miles to the nearest store that carried a pair of channel locks that big. And Uber wasn't a thang back then.

And don't get me started on the Plymouth Omni-Horizon that required you to unbolt the engine just to change the water pump. The best thing that happened to me with that car was when the engine blew.

[geonuc]

Yesterday, I drove the Fiat back to to the shop and picked up the Honda. Drove the Honda home to pick up the truck. Drove the truck back to another shop to pick up the tire, to take back home and remount on the Nissan. I hate cars. I've spent the better part of 2 decades amassing tools and supplies so I could more easily and successfully work on cars. Now I don't want to own one anymore.

What? Not own a car? Heresy.

[Thumper]

Clearly, I'm having a crisis.

[Thumper]

The Kid is settling into driving the Honda and operating a manual transmission after seemingly hitting every available object possible (no injuries, so just learning experiences). Mrs. T is settling into the RDX. There is alot more to read about this car, there are alot of features we're not taking advantage of. And I haven't had the joy of servicing it yet. The Subaru is humming along and being a good daily driver. The truck has helped me pull a couple trailers, completing chores for the in laws. So currently, the status is steady, or nominal.

[pumpkinpi]

The Kid is settling into driving the Honda and operating a manual transmission after seemingly hitting every available object possible (no injuries, so just learning experiences). Mrs. T is settling into the RDX. There is alot more to read about this car, there are alot of features we're not taking advantage of. And I haven't had the joy of servicing it yet. The Subaru is humming along and being a good daily driver. The truck has helped me pull a couple trailers, completing chores for the in laws. So currently, the status is steady, or nominal.

Read about the car? Why would you do that? Just buy it, get behind the wheel, and drive. When the need for the features pop up, you'll know it. Or you won't. Some times ignorance is just fine.

[Thumper]

The Kid is settling into driving the Honda and operating a manual transmission after seemingly hitting every available object possible (no injuries, so just learning experiences). Mrs. T is settling into the RDX. There is alot more to read about this car, there are alot of features we're not taking advantage of. And I haven't had the joy of servicing it yet. The Subaru is humming along and being a good daily driver. The truck has helped me pull a couple trailers, completing chores for the in laws. So currently, the status is steady, or nominal.

Read about the car? Why would you do that? Just buy it, get behind the wheel, and drive. When the need for the features pop up, you'll know it. Or you won't. Some times ignorance is just fine.

Many features are customizable and currently not the most convenient. There is an auto lock/unlock feature that currently does not unlock the rear doors or the hatch when you turn the car off. So I get out, shut the passenger door, go to a back door or the rear hatch and it won't open. I have to go back to the front door, open it, hit the unlock button, then go back. If you're sitting in the back seat and the car parks and then is turned off, you can't get out. You have to hit the manual lock lever before you can get out. I know this is customizable.
The car has a comprehensive mapping/navigation system that we're clearly not fully utilizing. We should be able to input destinations and get visual and audio cues to help us to our destination. There's also a service indicator that I need to figure out how to reset. The car does not need serviced but the dealer did not reset the indicator which is on and flashing sometimes and slightly annoying.
I have to develop my service interval schedule for the vehicle. So I need to read what procedures need to be done at what intervals calculate when the next services need to be performed, and transfer it to the whiteboard in the garage. There are some other things I'm missing that I will stumble onto when I read through the manual.

Alot of good information in those manuals, no matter how poorly written they are.
Heck, I don't even know where the jack is yet, or whether it takes synthetic oil or not.

[Thumper]

I see dead cars on the road every single day, where ignorance stopped being fine.

[pumpkinpi]

It was so easy in the good old days. Nothing automatic, you could change the oil yourselves, you brought it in for servicing when you heard a funny noise, and you drove them for 200,000 miles. You can still make it that far with cars these days, but only with a lot more TLC along the way.

[Thumper]

You can still change the oil yourself. That and brake jobs are still about the easiest thing to do. TLC has always been a good idea if you value something.

[Sigma_Orionis]

Dude, how many cars have you got? 4, 5?

[SciFiFisher]

Heck, I don't even know where the jack is yet, or whether it takes synthetic oil or not.

Almost all cars can take a synthetic blend. The general guidance is if you start using synthetic you stick with it.

[Thumper]

Dude, how many cars have you got? 4, 5?

I actually owned 5 cars up until a month ago. There was an overlap from the time I got Mrs. T a new (used) Acura, and when my buddy was able to sell her old (old) Nissan. So she has the Acura, I have the Outback, and the Kid drive's my sister's old Civic. I also have my GMC for hauling and pulling. It used to be my snowy driver, but my last 2 daily drivers have been AWD and the Outback does wonderful in the snow with AWD and traction control. So 3 daily drivers for 3 daily drivers plus a utility truck.

[Thumper]

Heck, I don't even know where the jack is yet, or whether it takes synthetic oil or not.

Almost all cars can take a synthetic blend. The general guidance is if you start using synthetic you stick with it.

You bet. I want to see what the manual recommends and I might have to check with the Nissan dealership (where we bought the Acura) to see what they put in it. Most motor oils now appear to be at least a synthetic blend. I need to know whether the car requires or is currently using full synthetic. Because I'll continue that trend if that is the case.

[geonuc]

It was so easy in the good old days. Nothing automatic, you could change the oil yourselves, you brought it in for servicing when you heard a funny noise, and you drove them for 200,000 miles. You can still make it that far with cars these days, but only with a lot more TLC along the way.

I'm going to disagree with that last bit. Cars generally last far longer today than in the past and with far less TLC required.

[geonuc]

Thump - I'd like an opinion.

While doing the semi-annual tire swap, my tire guy broke off a wheel stud. He's the one who put it on last fall/winter and I see that he does a good job with tightening and torquing. The nut itself doesn't seem to have been cross-threaded. It looks like it's on the broken off stud piece straight.

I checked the threads on other nuts and some of them (OK, all of them) look a little ragged, and they don't thread onto the stud super snugly. There's a little slop until the nut bottoms out against the wheel. I'm thinking I need new lugnuts. It's a 21 year old SUV that I've owned since new and all the studs and nuts are original. What say you? Is it a thing to replace lugnuts with age? Or do I need new studs and nuts? Or don't worry about it? I could google but I wanted your opinion.

Also, I'm pretty sure about this but since the vehicle has six studs, I don't really need to worry about running with one broken off. I can have it replaced next time I take it in for mechanical work, if then. This vehicle is slated to be replaced as soon as we figure out our RV trailer situation, which might not be this year.

[Thumper]

My opinion: I'f you're not keeping the car more than a year, I would not replace all of the nuts or studs. I would consider replacing the broken stud as soon as convenient. But I agree with you that with 6 studs per wheel, you wouldn't need to replace it right away. Especially if you shied away from very aggressive, high performance driving.

Lugs do stretch over time. And it is possible that they have been overtorqued in the past which accelerates the stretching and deforming. You can buy and replace a stud yourself. Depending on the design, often you can snake it out and into the back of the hub without much disassembly.

[geonuc]

I was thinking studs were pressed in while hot. No?

As for high performance driving, lol. I love the Pathfinder; it's taken us places we'd never have been able to access by hiking. But it ain't no sports car. In fact, one of the two reasons we plan on replacing it, despite the vehicle being in great shape, is the engine is a bit under-powered for towing. It struggles to get over the Rockies when fully loaded, for example. And it wallows around corners like, well, an SUV.

[Thumper]

I've replaced studs on cars and golf carts at garage temperature. They might be a little easier to get in if you heat the hub up as it will make the hole bigger. I just read a tip that you can put the new replacement stud in the freezer before assembly to shrink it and aid the process. I think you can drive on it for a while and wait until you have it in for service. You can have the mechanic do it. If you have a couple of tools, you could do it yourself for less. If you drive on it for a while, just make sure the other lugs are properly tightened.

[geonuc]

I happened to be at the auto parts store today to get new wipers so I picked up a new stud and lugnut, thinking I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, I no longer have jackstands for my cars after living in Atlanta without a garage and with a great nearby mechanic. So after I jacked up the Pathfinder and removed the wheel, the brake drum didn't want to come off easily and I hesitated to do much to encourage it with only the one hydraulic jack under the car, and that one sitting on top of a 4x4 wood scrap. So I gave up. I'll let a mechanic do it when I need new brakes.

Speaking of wipers, those things are getting expensive! Almost $50 for a pair. Granted, they are top of the line wipers, but still. Also, I continue to be annoyed at the demise of replacement blade inserts. Throwing away the entire wiper assemble seems wrong.

[Thumper]

I happened to be at the auto parts store today to get new wipers so I picked up a new stud and lugnut, thinking I'd give it a shot. Unfortunately, I no longer have jackstands for my cars after living in Atlanta without a garage and with a great nearby mechanic. So after I jacked up the Pathfinder and removed the wheel, the brake drum didn't want to come off easily and I hesitated to do much to encourage it with only the one hydraulic jack under the car, and that one sitting on top of a 4x4 wood scrap. So I gave up. I'll let a mechanic do it when I need new brakes.

Speaking of wipers, those things are getting expensive! Almost $50 for a pair. Granted, they are top of the line wipers, but still. Also, I continue to be annoyed at the demise of replacement blade inserts. Throwing away the entire wiper assemble seems wrong.

I agree that it seems wasteful to throw away the entire wiper arm every time you need a new blade. A NAPA guy explained it to me that you need the new arm because the old one wears out and part of your wiper problem is the worn arm doesn't keep the blade flat and hard against the windshield. I'm not buying it. (Well actually I do have to buy new arms, I just think it's a crock.)
Another expensive item is replacement headlight bulbs. I burned out a bulb in the Outback, so I bought a pair: $55 bucks, that's just the bulbs. I had to replace the entire headlight assembly in the GMC recently. Something like $30 bucks for the lens assembly, frame mount, adjusters and 2 included bulbs. What gives?

Probably prudent that you didn't mess with the wheel assembly without proper jack stands. Waiting for a brake job is probably fine. Maybe you'll make friends with a neighbor back yard mechanic with a nice garage shop and a killer tool set!