• Cyburbia is a friendly big tent, where we share our experiences and thoughts about urban planning practice, the built environment, planning adjacent topics, and anything else that comes to mind. No ads, no spam, and it's free. It's easy to join!

Vehicles / bikes 🏍 Car Talk

Doohickie said:
So my new car didn't come with a CD player. I tried a few things (an actual CD ROM drive from Best Buy which wasn't compatible with whatever OS is in the car, a cheapie personal CD player from Wally World, and finally, a purpose built CD player compatible with my car's OS, which turned out to be plug and play. I put it in the glove box and have a short-ish exposed wire.

View attachment 64873

View attachment 64874
Click to expand...
"Bruh just stream from your phone"

-zoomers

Lol jk. I understand the urge and think the setup is neat, but I personally would have gone for a Cassette player ;)
 
Doohickie said:
So my new car didn't come with a CD player. I tried a few things (an actual CD ROM drive from Best Buy which wasn't compatible with whatever OS is in the car, a cheapie personal CD player from Wally World, and finally, a purpose built CD player compatible with my car's OS, which turned out to be plug and play. I put it in the glove box and have a short-ish exposed wire.

View attachment 64873

View attachment 64874
Click to expand...
Update:

Apparently, despite the directions saying that the CD module can play in any orientation, it doesn't like to be inclined as much as it is the glove box. So I moved it to the floor next to the console/floor hump, just behind the passenger seat. It seems to like that spot better.
 
Doohickie said:
Update:

Apparently, despite the directions saying that the CD module can play in any orientation, it doesn't like to be inclined as much as it is the glove box. So I moved it to the floor next to the console/floor hump, just behind the passenger seat. It seems to like that spot better.
Click to expand...
A Cassette Walkman won't be as temperamental and you should be able to connect it via an AUX cord, I saw an aux port in your earlier pic.
 
The Terminator said:
A Cassette Walkman won't be as temperamental and you should be able to connect it via an AUX cord, I saw an aux port in your earlier pic.
Click to expand...

No, I'm pretty happy with the current setup. I rarely have back seat passengers and it's an easy reach. And even if there was a passenger I don't think it would be that much of a problem. It just sits on the floor.

There are multiple ways to connect this unit. My front USB ports are for power and data, the rears are just power. I tried hooking up the power in the rear and running the signal in through the AUX port. With that set up I hear a lot of noise, similar to the original setup I tried with the cheap portable CD player. Also, when set up that way, there is no way to send commands to the player through the car's sound system (play, pause, skip, etc.) The unit has a remote but hunting around for that would be a PIA. So I went back to using the USB A in the front. Works fine, interfaces with the system nicely, no extraneous noise.

Oh, and I burned all my cassettes decades ago. ;)
 
Doohickie said:
No, I'm pretty happy with the current setup. I rarely have back seat passengers and it's an easy reach. And even if there was a passenger I don't think it would be that much of a problem. It just sits on the floor.

There are multiple ways to connect this unit. My front USB ports are for power and data, the rears are just power. I tried hooking up the power in the rear and running the signal in through the AUX port. With that set up I hear a lot of noise, similar to the original setup I tried with the cheap portable CD player. Also, when set up that way, there is no way to send commands to the player through the car's sound system (play, pause, skip, etc.) The unit has a remote but hunting around for that would be a PIA. So I went back to using the USB A in the front. Works fine, interfaces with the system nicely, no extraneous noise.

Oh, and I burned all my cassettes decades ago. ;)
Click to expand...
You should have saved them for me, darn it!!!

All those Bob Seger and Tragically Hip tapes would sound great in my Buick!
 
Buick, you say? Wayne Newton approves!

1753369341170.png
 
Doohickie said:
I don't understand how people can drive vehicles this big around.
Click to expand...

This.

As I get older, the cars I'd want for a long-term daily driver get smaller and smaller. I've been driving a Jeep Gladiator the past few years and it's at the top end of what I would ever want, size-wise.

Last year, my wife traded in her 12+ year old Traverse and got an Equinox. After driving her car a bit more, I've decided that's about the ideal size for me.

Full-size trucks these days are ridiculously large. A couple weeks ago I went with my dad to help him get some stuff from the farm store. He has two trucks: an older F250 Super Duty and a relatively new 4-door Dodge Ram. His Ram sits up higher and the front end is bigger than the F250 even though it's definitely not "more capable" in terms of power and towing. We took his F250 to the store and were parked next to a new GMC truck that was just enormous.

My nextdoor neighbor is a VP at GM and keeps coming home with different full-size trucks and SUVs and they just keep getting bigger and bigger over the past few years. For a few weeks last year he had the new electric Hummer and it was large enough to be classified as "obnoxiously stupid" in my book. One afternoon I took my daughter out to the offroad park our county runs and when we got home I still had the offroad flag on the front of my Jeep and my neighbor was outside and mentioned it. I told him he should take the Hummer EV out there and see how it does. He laughed and made a comment of something to the effect of, "No way. I can barely see where I'm going on a regular street in this thing... no way would I attempt the offroad park!" FWIW, he and his wife drive a Buick Encore and Enclave for their personal cars and it looks like they use the Encore a lot more than the larger Enclave.
 
My car has one that you need to start it, but you can keep driving if you toss the key out or forget it. However, it will NOT start back up at the grocery store without the key and you must have it delivered to you.
 
^One of my work vehicles for my hometown back downstate had the same "proximity start", a '24 Tahoe. One night I decided to test it in a large DPW parking lot, it worked for about 500 feet. My cop buddy with the fob than came to "rescue" me, laughing at me the whole time lol. Our mayor and village manager than came and laughed at me the next day. When working in a suburban muni where everyone had knew me since literally the late-90s, we had more leeway to be silly like that. I would NEVER even dream of getting "creative" in any way whatsoever with the cars at my current City.

My 1996 Buick LeSabre has a GM "Passkey II". Basically a very primitive anti theft device, there's a resistor in the key and another in the ignition lock cylinder. If the resistances of both do not match (idea being any non resistor key is a theft attempt key), the car doesn't start. It is a VERY COMMON problem for these pass key resistors to fail and brick the car. There is a simple solution to this, install a second resistor in the ignition column to "spoof" the resistance of the passkey and thus be able to use any key copy. So far this hasn't been a problem on my '96, but I know how to set up the "spoof" should I ever need to.
 
Kids car got a flat last night. The donut isn't in much better shape, but I got her home. Now I have to go buy a new tire. I hate buying tires.
 
joscoffee said:
My car has one that you need to start it, but you can keep driving if you toss the key out or forget it. However, it will NOT start back up at the grocery store without the key and you must have it delivered to you.
Click to expand...

Interesting.

My plan is to get going and toss the key into the yard and then attempt to drive around the block and back into the driveway. I wonder if I have the auto start/stop on if it will turn itself off at a stop sign and then not start again after that?
 
WSU MUP Student said:
My Jeep has one of those new fangled "proximity keys".

How far do you think I could keep driving if I toss the key out the window? I think I'm going to test that out this evening.
Click to expand...
My Subaru can sense if the key is inside the car or outside the car. If I get out with the key in my pocket while the engine is running it beeps furiously at me, even if the key is within a few inches of the door.

I can do a remote start with the car, but cannot drive it unless the key inside the car and I push the Start button with my foot on the brake. If I try to drive away without doing that I can't shift out of Park. (My wife's 2015 Ford Escape is the same way.)

An interesting and related feature is that I can disable the key fob by holding the lock button and double clicking the unlock button. The LED on the fob blinks several times and it is now "inert" and can't be used in proximity mode to unlock or start the car. The car also has a PIN feature: There is a button near the liftgate release that can be programmed with a PIN code (I've programmed mine). Using these two features, I can disable my fob, leave it in the car, lock the car and it is secure (for instance if I was going swimming and didn't want the key to get wet). Then when I go back to the car, it won't unlock even though the fob is inside, unless I enter the PIN code at the liftgate button.

Pressing any button on the key fob enables it as a proximity fob again.
 
DVD said:
Kids car got a flat last night. The donut isn't in much better shape, but I got her home. Now I have to go buy a new tire. I hate buying tires.
Click to expand...
Took my son's truck in for a rotate and balance as he has my car on his honeymoon. Asked them to check one tire for a slow leak - nail in sidewall so not repairable. Prorated the tire (17,000 miles) and the new cost $101.
 
Got a tire for $110. My wife made me do it because she always goes to Big O Tires and they try to upsell a bunch of crap she didn't ask for. She feels like they wouldn't do the same thing to me being a man and all. I just go to Discount Tire where they take care of me and don't have much to upsell beyond more tires and maybe wiper blades.
 
DVD said:
Got a tire for $110. My wife made me do it because she always goes to Big O Tires and they try to upsell a bunch of crap she didn't ask for. She feels like they wouldn't do the same thing to me being a man and all. I just go to Discount Tire where they take care of me and don't have much to upsell beyond more tires and maybe wiper blades.
Click to expand...

I have never been able to successfully change out wiper blades on any vehicle that I've attempted to do so on. For some reason, I just cannot do it. I gave up trying years ago. Now when one of our vehicles needs new wiper blades I just take it to the dealership.... and trade it in.


I'm kidding about just trading it in, but if I notice one of my wipers is on its last legs, I do let the dealer change it when I go in for an oil change. But thinking back on it, now that I park in a garage my wiper blades last much much longer than when I parked outside everyday all year.

As for trading a car in instead of doing maintenance, that used to always be my dad's modu operandi. He didn't neglect doing maintenance but normally would take our vehicles to a local mechanic. Every once in a while he would go to the dealership "to get an oil change" or to "get new tires" and he would always come home with a new vehicle.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I have never been able to successfully change out wiper blades on any vehicle that I've attempted to do so on. For some reason, I just cannot do it. I gave up trying years ago.
Click to expand...
Most places like Auto Zone will put them on for free. I'm pretty handy but there are times I struggle with that particular task as well. Since I'm already there I'll ask that they install them. I usually hand the guy a 5 and it's appreciated.
 
MD Planner said:
Most places like Auto Zone will put them on for free. I'm pretty handy but there are times I struggle with that particular task as well. Since I'm already there I'll ask that they install them. I usually hand the guy a 5 and it's appreciated.
Click to expand...
And you can rent tools for just a refundable deposit amount. Did that last week for serpentine belt tool. But, the shallow sockets were 13mm, 15mm, 16mm. I needed a 14mm shallow and did not like using a crow foot.
 
I hate changing wiper blades. Is it the push the button to swap or unsnap the hook thing or what kind of evil device did they use to keep the thing on the car this time. Every care seems to have a different method.

The good thing, in soviet Arizona it doesn't rain much, but by the time it does your wiper blades are all dry and useless so you change out the blades only to wait another year for the blades to dry up again.
 
DVD said:
Got a tire for $110. My wife made me do it because she always goes to Big O Tires and they try to upsell a bunch of crap she didn't ask for. She feels like they wouldn't do the same thing to me being a man and all. I just go to Discount Tire where they take care of me and don't have much to upsell beyond more tires and maybe wiper blades.
Click to expand...
I have a buddy in the tire business. Through dealer programs and distributor-specific incentives, they're able to sell tires at “cost” and still turn a profit. This is because they receive special pricing, bonuses, and “back-end money” once certain sales thresholds are met. When you price tires online, you’re only seeing the minimum advertised price that dealers are allowed to display. So calling or visiting shops, in some cases lowers the cost. Some shops buy entire containers of tires directly from manufacturers to offer budget options. You can usually spot these by the unfamiliar brand names. The quality of these tires varies widely. Shops might tell you these tires are made by an associate brand or in the same factory as a major name brand; but what they won’t tell you is that they aren’t held to the same quality standards. For the most part, I stick with major brands with no real brand loyalty. I am going to need tire on my truck within the next 5/6,000 miles. I already have my buddy looking. He came across some like new take offs (less than a 1,000 miles) a week ago but they were the basic all-weather type tread and I'd like to get all-terrian. I could have got them for $25 dollars a piece. Hopefully, I'll get lucky and someone with my size like new all-terrian tires will want to upgrade their wheels.
 
DVD said:
I hate changing wiper blades. Is it the push the button to swap or unsnap the hook thing or what kind of evil device did they use to keep the thing on the car this time. Every care seems to have a different method.

The good thing, in soviet Arizona it doesn't rain much, but by the time it does your wiper blades are all dry and useless so you change out the blades only to wait another year for the blades to dry up again.
Click to expand...
Maybe schedule a mid-June replacement yearly and play the numbers?
1754481832948.png
 
DVD said:
Kids car got a flat last night. The donut isn't in much better shape, but I got her home. Now I have to go buy a new tire. I hate buying tires.
Click to expand...
I just found out yesterday that the shop I use for tires and oil changes was bought out by a local guy who has been buying up all of the non-chain places in the area. I loved the shop because it was a 4 block walk from my house. I've had a few work related issues with the guy who bought it, so I might start using one chains now.

My grandfather started a tire shop in 1944 with his brothers. After about 10 years he left the business to do his own thing. The business was passed down to the next generation and now they have regional chain around Nashville. Don't know if I'd love the work, but my cousins are definitely doing well.
 
bureaucrat#3 said:
The business was passed down to the next generation and now they have regional chain around Nashville. Don't know if I'd love the work, but my cousins are definitely doing well.
Click to expand...
One of the wealthiest families in my hometown ran a broad service tire replacement/repair shop that started in the 1920s. Still going strong in its 3rd generation.
 
bureaucrat#3 said:
My grandfather started a tire shop in 1944 with his brothers. After about 10 years he left the business to do his own thing. The business was passed down to the next generation and now they have regional chain around Nashville. Don't know if I'd love the work, but my cousins are definitely doing well.
Click to expand...
If you said regional chain around Western New York, I'd ask if they were hiring part time, I need a side-hustle.

Id especially love the work if the place stocked imitation whitewall old style bias ply & 13"-14" rim size tires. That would mean niche collectors with Detroit Iron and Japanese Fire would be coming in for tires ;)
 
WSU MUP Student said:
My Jeep has one of those new fangled "proximity keys".

How far do you think I could keep driving if I toss the key out the window? I think I'm going to test that out this evening.
Click to expand...

So yesterday evening I put on my lab coat and got to work on my science experiment.

Once the Jeep was started, I set the keys on a little table next to the garage and got back into the Jeep. It beeped a couple of times but let me put it into drive without any problems. I pulled out of the driveway drove a few bocks around the neighborhood, came to a complete stop long enough to utilize the automatic start/stop and it kept going without any issues. Instead of coming straight back home, I got a bit more brave and drove down a dirt road out the back way from our 'hood and onto an arterial road to a stoplight, and back around on another arterial road back into our 'hood (two more stoplights) and then back to my driveway (one more stop sign). I ended up driving about 3.5 miles without the key in the Jeep and there were no issues (it didn't keep beeping, there were no warning lights or notifications).

I'm pretty sure I could just drive without the key until I turned the Jeep off. This weekend we're headed up to the beach house and we are planning to take two vehicles because I need to come home on Sunday afternoon but everybody else is staying through Monday. We'll probably leave the house at just about the same time so I'm tempted to get on the road a few minutes before my wife but leave the key to my Jeep in her car and seeing if I can drive all 70 miles there without the key. I figure if I breakdown on the side of the road, she'll pass me along the way with my key...
 
WSU MUP Student said:
So yesterday evening I put on my lab coat and got to work on my science experiment.

Once the Jeep was started, I set the keys on a little table next to the garage and got back into the Jeep. It beeped a couple of times but let me put it into drive without any problems. I pulled out of the driveway drove a few bocks around the neighborhood, came to a complete stop long enough to utilize the automatic start/stop and it kept going without any issues. Instead of coming straight back home, I got a bit more brave and drove down a dirt road out the back way from our 'hood and onto an arterial road to a stoplight, and back around on another arterial road back into our 'hood (two more stoplights) and then back to my driveway (one more stop sign). I ended up driving about 3.5 miles without the key in the Jeep and there were no issues (it didn't keep beeping, there were no warning lights or notifications).

I'm pretty sure I could just drive without the key until I turned the Jeep off. This weekend we're headed up to the beach house and we are planning to take two vehicles because I need to come home on Sunday afternoon but everybody else is staying through Monday. We'll probably leave the house at just about the same time so I'm tempted to get on the road a few minutes before my wife but leave the key to my Jeep in her car and seeing if I can drive all 70 miles there without the key. I figure if I breakdown on the side of the road, she'll pass me along the way with my key...
Click to expand...
Make It So Star Trek GIF
 
WSU MUP Student said:
So yesterday evening I put on my lab coat and got to work on my science experiment.

Once the Jeep was started, I set the keys on a little table next to the garage and got back into the Jeep. It beeped a couple of times but let me put it into drive without any problems. I pulled out of the driveway drove a few bocks around the neighborhood, came to a complete stop long enough to utilize the automatic start/stop and it kept going without any issues. Instead of coming straight back home, I got a bit more brave and drove down a dirt road out the back way from our 'hood and onto an arterial road to a stoplight, and back around on another arterial road back into our 'hood (two more stoplights) and then back to my driveway (one more stop sign). I ended up driving about 3.5 miles without the key in the Jeep and there were no issues (it didn't keep beeping, there were no warning lights or notifications).

I'm pretty sure I could just drive without the key until I turned the Jeep off. This weekend we're headed up to the beach house and we are planning to take two vehicles because I need to come home on Sunday afternoon but everybody else is staying through Monday. We'll probably leave the house at just about the same time so I'm tempted to get on the road a few minutes before my wife but leave the key to my Jeep in her car and seeing if I can drive all 70 miles there without the key. I figure if I breakdown on the side of the road, she'll pass me along the way with my key...
Click to expand...
Based

As much as I am the "new cars suck, get a 199X XJ Cherokee guy", this sounds fun.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I pulled the trigger a few weeks ago on a new Jeep Gladiator. Loving it so far, and given my other convertible, I'm getting a lot of jokes from friends about how I "really hate roofs on cars"

View attachment 65047
Click to expand...

I love it!

When I bought my Gladiator in '22 it was the height of the COVID supply chain chip shortage and basically the only colors I could get were black or white. I really wanted one of the more "interesting" colors like a gunmetal blue (which was what I had on the Wrangler I traded in towards my Gladiator), orange, olive drab, tan, etc. But I ended up with white, which I've grown to really like but every time I see one of the more interesting colors I do get a bit jealous.

I don't think that metallic green that you have was an option back in 2022, but if it was, I would have definitely considered it. Very good looking Jeep!
 
WSU MUP Student said:
I love it!

When I bought my Gladiator in '22 it was the height of the COVID supply chain chip shortage and basically the only colors I could get were black or white. I really wanted one of the more "interesting" colors like a gunmetal blue (which was what I had on the Wrangler I traded in towards my Gladiator), orange, olive drab, tan, etc. But I ended up with white, which I've grown to really like but every time I see one of the more interesting colors I do get a bit jealous.

I don't think that metallic green that you have was an option back in 2022, but if it was, I would have definitely considered it. Very good looking Jeep!
Click to expand...
I went back and forth on color--I wanted bold for sure, and was vacillating between red and green. Ultimately went with green as the "you don't really see that on the road." My daughter has named it Shrek (get outta my swamp!). One of my big things was no spray-in bedliner. I've found those attract dirt and are hard to clean out. I did a removable impact mat instead. My weekend project is installing a redarc brake controller for the camper, and maybe resetting my weight distribution hitch for the Jeep to get ready for some fall camping.

I've always been in the world of racing cars versus offroading. This won't be a pavement queen--I'm trying to connect with some groups locally to learn basics of offroading. I'm not interested in rock-crawling or anything like that, but I am interested in trails.
 
Suburb Repairman said:
I pulled the trigger a few weeks ago on a new Jeep Gladiator. Loving it so far, and given my other convertible, I'm getting a lot of jokes from friends about how I "really hate roofs on cars"

View attachment 65047
Click to expand...
Nice looking truck! Way back in the day, my brother handed down a VW Rabbit hatchback to my dad that was "safety green", a little whiter/lighter green than your Jeep. I was away at college, but next time I saw that car dad had painted it an institutional brown matte color (using brushes and a roller, btw). Apparently, he was not going to be seen driving a bright green foreign car, lol. (The effect of the safety green showing through after scratches and dings was ... unpleasant.
 
I remember in the 70's they used to market a car called the VW Thing. Supposed to be a sort of funky 'fun' car. The sort you'd drive with the top down to the beach. You know, these:
1754501126675.png


I recall some high school boys the block over had one. They painted it gray camouflage and put a Maltese cross on the doors so it openly displayed the vehicles' origins and production history. Looked similar to this:
1754501344849.png
 
Maister said:
I remember in the 70's they used to market a car called the VW Thing. Supposed to be a sort of funky 'fun' car. The sort you'd drive with the top down to the beach. You know, these:
View attachment 65048

I recall some high school boys the block over had one. They painted it gray camouflage and put a Maltese cross on the doors so it openly displayed the vehicles' origins and production history. Looked similar to this:
View attachment 65049
Click to expand...
I remember trying to buy a VW Thing to restore, and my wife leaving up a website titled "how to file for divorce yourself" when I had gotten up and left the car website up.
 
Maister said:
I remember in the 70's they used to market a car called the VW Thing. Supposed to be a sort of funky 'fun' car. The sort you'd drive with the top down to the beach. You know, these:
View attachment 65048

I recall some high school boys the block over had one. They painted it gray camouflage and put a Maltese cross on the doors so it openly displayed the vehicles' origins and production history. Looked similar to this:
View attachment 65049
Click to expand...
I have wanted a VW Thing FOREVER.
 
WSU MUP Student said:
So yesterday evening I put on my lab coat and got to work on my science experiment.

Once the Jeep was started, I set the keys on a little table next to the garage and got back into the Jeep. It beeped a couple of times but let me put it into drive without any problems. I pulled out of the driveway drove a few bocks around the neighborhood, came to a complete stop long enough to utilize the automatic start/stop and it kept going without any issues. Instead of coming straight back home, I got a bit more brave and drove down a dirt road out the back way from our 'hood and onto an arterial road to a stoplight, and back around on another arterial road back into our 'hood (two more stoplights) and then back to my driveway (one more stop sign). I ended up driving about 3.5 miles without the key in the Jeep and there were no issues (it didn't keep beeping, there were no warning lights or notifications).

I'm pretty sure I could just drive without the key until I turned the Jeep off. This weekend we're headed up to the beach house and we are planning to take two vehicles because I need to come home on Sunday afternoon but everybody else is staying through Monday. We'll probably leave the house at just about the same time so I'm tempted to get on the road a few minutes before my wife but leave the key to my Jeep in her car and seeing if I can drive all 70 miles there without the key. I figure if I breakdown on the side of the road, she'll pass me along the way with my key...
Click to expand...
In 2015 or so, I had a Nissan with push button start. Well, one morning after parking, I forgot to turn the car off and went to my office. Three hours later, a coworker came to me and said that my car was running. Yes, yes it was.
 
Found our next minivan at a nearby used dealer.

It’s a 89/90 Dodge Caravan SE that appears to have about 107000 miles on it.

I’m actually quite curious about its price. You don’t see these in this condition anymore especially in the Great Lakes region. @The Terminator

IMG_1464.jpeg
 
Last edited:
DVD said:
Kids car battery made it 13 months. Love the summer heat around here.
Click to expand...
I bought one for my daughter's car about a month ago. It replaced a 5 year old battery and it wasn't dead but it was weak. I was getting her car ready for her to take to college. I would like to replace her windshield wipers & restore the headlight lenses before she leaves.
 
DVD said:
Kids car battery made it 13 months. Love the summer heat around here.
Click to expand...

The battery in my wife's 2015 Escape was acting weak. Took it to Autozone near our house (which is also the regional warehouse) and they said yep, battery is dying but nope, we don't have one. But all of the surrounding Autozones do. So I go to the next nearest Autozone and they have about 14 people waiting. Hard pass.

I went to O'Reilly and they had a battery. I asked if they had free installation and they said yes. The older guy asked if the younger guy wanted to do it and he said yes. It took him AND me AND a YouTube video over an hour to change the battery out. Ford service manual apparently says remove the air box, but then then it's still hard to access. It sits up against the firewall with a cowl panel over the top. The YouTube video recommended removing the cowl which involves taking the windshield wiper arms off . We went for it. It wasn't all that bad, but we ended up taking off and re-installing the wiper arms four times before they were straight (pro tip: Turn the car on and allow the spindles to return to rest position, as you probably moved them taking the arms off... then line up the arms, tighten a bit, and try one more time before putting the rest of the stuff on the car).

I remembered last time the battery died in my wife's car, O'Reilly said they couldn't replace it because it was too involved. That checks out. I ended up going to the local mechanic last time. He put in a 36 month warranty MotorCraft brand. This weekend it was.... 37 months old.

After we were done I ran down to the local pizza joint and bought them a pizza. Considering the effort he put in, I felt it was the least I could do.
 
Doohickie said:
The battery in my wife's 2015 Escape was acting weak. Took it to Autozone near our house (which is also the regional warehouse) and they said yep, battery is dying but nope, we don't have one. But all of the surrounding Autozones do. So I go to the next nearest Autozone and they have about 14 people waiting. Hard pass.

I went to O'Reilly and they had a battery. I asked if they had free installation and they said yes. The older guy asked if the younger guy wanted to do it and he said yes. It took him AND me AND a YouTube video over an hour to change the battery out. Ford service manual apparently says remove the air box, but then then it's still hard to access. It sits up against the firewall with a cowl panel over the top. The YouTube video recommended removing the cowl which involves taking the windshield wiper arms off . We went for it. It wasn't all that bad, but we ended up taking off and re-installing the wiper arms four times before they were straight (pro tip: Turn the car on and allow the spindles to return to rest position, as you probably moved them taking the arms off... then line up the arms, tighten a bit, and try one more time before putting the rest of the stuff on the car).

I remembered last time the battery died in my wife's car, O'Reilly said they couldn't replace it because it was too involved. That checks out. I ended up going to the local mechanic last time. He put in a 36 month warranty MotorCraft brand. This weekend it was.... 37 months old.

After we were done I ran down to the local pizza joint and bought them a pizza. Considering the effort he put in, I felt it was the least I could do.
Click to expand...
My Camry is still running a battery from 2021 that CAA installed when I still lived in Montreal. I test it every few months with my multimeter, it consistently holds 12 volts still, and has outlasted the car's original alternator. If it aint broke....also have a Battery spot in Buffalo that will have what I need if I start to begin to see warning signs. My FM transmitter backdoors as a voltameter and will tell me if the car ever drops bellow 12v while running. Only time it happened, was when the original 1998 denso alternator was giving out.

Thanks to 1990s Japanese engineering, changing my battery is a matter of removing the terminals and a simple top mounted tie down bracket, all with a 13mm. I can also change the vehicle's oil without needing to put it in the air. 1997-01 Camry's are also equipped with a solid steel crossmember up front that protects the engine block, gearbox and most of the front suspension. So when I tried to jump a curb to get out of a stuck drive-thru line, I heard the member scratch the curb and that was my sign to reverse back into the lane and not be a bozo. Car was fine.
 
Truck battery will not charge. The summer's heat took it out.

Tried to start it with a 'shock box' but had to jump it with the car. Ran it for an hour, shut it off & it would start. Guess I'll be jumping it off again & replacing the battery @ AutoZone.
 
The battery talk reminds me that I had to replace mine back in early 2024 after having it parked outside during a stretch of windy days with temps well below 0 ºF. Thankfully, the process in my Jeep was relatively straightforward, as it has been in every Jeep I've owned. I think the entire process probably took me about 15 minutes with the most time consuming portion being looking for my 10mm socket to loosen the battery cables.
 
Doohickie said:
The battery in my wife's 2015 Escape was acting weak. Took it to Autozone near our house (which is also the regional warehouse) and they said yep, battery is dying but nope, we don't have one. But all of the surrounding Autozones do. So I go to the next nearest Autozone and they have about 14 people waiting. Hard pass.

I went to O'Reilly and they had a battery. I asked if they had free installation and they said yes. The older guy asked if the younger guy wanted to do it and he said yes. It took him AND me AND a YouTube video over an hour to change the battery out. Ford service manual apparently says remove the air box, but then then it's still hard to access. It sits up against the firewall with a cowl panel over the top. The YouTube video recommended removing the cowl which involves taking the windshield wiper arms off . We went for it. It wasn't all that bad, but we ended up taking off and re-installing the wiper arms four times before they were straight (pro tip: Turn the car on and allow the spindles to return to rest position, as you probably moved them taking the arms off... then line up the arms, tighten a bit, and try one more time before putting the rest of the stuff on the car).

I remembered last time the battery died in my wife's car, O'Reilly said they couldn't replace it because it was too involved. That checks out. I ended up going to the local mechanic last time. He put in a 36 month warranty MotorCraft brand. This weekend it was.... 37 months old.

After we were done I ran down to the local pizza joint and bought them a pizza. Considering the effort he put in, I felt it was the least I could do.
Click to expand...
This is just one of those WTF momments. Do car engineers not realize you need to change that part on a regular basis? or do they know that it forces people to pay a dealship to do the work? Either way WTF.
 
Back
Top