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Suburban Dad posted:They're not alone anymore. Just give it a few years for corrosion and gremlins to make themselves at home. Last I checked, very few other cars have a sophisticated current monitoring circuit built into the negative battery cable... That's crazy complicated and unnecessary.
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Nov 30, 2018 07:26
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Re: teenagers and cars I almost feel like I'm one of the last to be really excited about getting my driver's license. Today kids can talk to each other and hang out in virtual spaces and if they need to physically be somewhere Uber or Lyft are just a click away.
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Nov 30, 2018 08:56
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sharkytm posted:Last I checked, very few other cars have a sophisticated current monitoring circuit built into the negative battery cable... That's crazy complicated and unnecessary. My truck has what looks like an amp clamp around the negative battery wire. I guess it monitors amperage draw, but there's no gauge for it.
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Dec 2, 2018 12:57
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sharkytm posted:Last I checked, very few other cars have a sophisticated current monitoring circuit built into the negative battery cable... That's crazy complicated and unnecessary. That's not even the issue, though. That current monitoring circuit changes the output of the alternator to "match" the state of the battery. The battery must be coded to the car, so that the car knows the amp/hour rating and adjusts how it charges the battery over time. So, if you forget to code the battery to the card, you'll have diminished charging meant for an "old" battery and you'll chooch your new battery sooner. And that's not even the issue, though. That current monitoring circuit is tied via a data bus to the alternator for those functions. But, in its infinite wisdom, BMW also put the water pump and the oil level sensor (because the car has no dipstick for the oil, the oil level can only be checked via the screen in the dash) on the same data bus, and funnels all the information through the DME. So troubleshooting that loving mess is an exercise in futility. Now all of this is needlessly complicated, but it makes a good argument for most people to either take the car to the dealer for repair or get a new car upon failure. That works out rather nicely for BMW, right?
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Dec 2, 2018 13:26
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meatpimp posted:Now all of this is needlessly complicated, but it makes a good argument for most people to either take the car to the dealer for repair or get a new car upon failure. That works out rather nicely for BMW, right? In other words, gently caress BMW, Merc, and Audi I will never own one. My Lexus has been an uncomplicated dream so there's no reason whatsoever to go German for a luxury car, the Japanese have perfected it. If I had the BMW/Merc equivalent to our LS it would be a giant unreliable money pit. I get that you like the wagon, but at some point all the research and diagnosing/fixing has to wear on you, especially when you have a family and could be doing more worthwhile things with your time.
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Dec 2, 2018 16:47
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Applebees Appetizer posted:In other words, gently caress BMW, Merc, and Audi I will never own one. My Lexus has been an uncomplicated dream so there's no reason whatsoever to go German for a luxury car, the Japanese have perfected it. If I had the BMW/Merc equivalent to our LS it would be a giant unreliable money pit. But... it's fast.   And honestly, if someone was driving it, they'd never notice most of this stuff. The CEL is on for the thermostat heater inop (another needlessly complicated part that's working the same way as 99.9% of the thermostats in the world, but this one's flagging a superfluous failure). I've seen a "high battery discharge" message on the screen a couple times when I've started it, that's the only indication of any other problem. I'm not working on it, just driving it and, in the immortal words of Hunter S. Thompson -- taking some time to "study its habits." And if I ever get in the weeds with it and need to take a break, the Escalade is ready for duty. And, having just shuttled the family 30 miles back-and-forth to a Christmas tree farm, it's a pleasure to be able to throw everybody in with plenty of space, then just use some ratchet straps to throw a big-rear end tree on the top.
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Dec 2, 2018 18:42
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Applebees Appetizer posted:In other words, gently caress BMW, Merc, and Audi I will never own one. My Lexus has been an uncomplicated dream so there's no reason whatsoever to go German for a luxury car, the Japanese have perfected it. If I had the BMW/Merc equivalent to our LS it would be a giant unreliable money pit. To be fair to the Germans, their cars from the same early 90s time period as your LS are also reliable and easy to work on 
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Dec 2, 2018 20:17
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Grakkus posted:To be fair to the Germans, their cars from the same early 90s time period as your LS are also reliable and easy to work on We have an 03 LS430, there is no BMW or Merc of the same year even sniffing the reliability of it, not even close. And honestly, if it wasn't for the reliability of Lexus we woudn't even own a luxury car. Our next one is going to be a 2013+ GS Hybrid.
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Dec 2, 2018 22:58
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My mistake, thought you had an earlier one! All of my friends with e39s and e46s seem to have good track records in terms of reliability and don't have overcomplicated maintenance, though. I'd say the German stuff only gets nightmarish in the late 00s and onwards. Grakkus fucked around with this message at 13:17 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 07:55
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Slightly related, my dad (not stepdad; I don't talk about my blood-related dad in here often) recently purchased a Camry. A 4 cylinder Camry (loaded, and a hell of a nice car, but still). I had no idea until I visited last week. I asked him why he went with the Camry, when he normally goes with either a sports car or a mid level Acura or Lexus. Turns out stepmom wanted him in something "practical" instead of fun; he really wanted a Lexus IS. His last car was a V6 Accord.. I mentioned the Lexus GS series happens to be RWD with plenty of power, and from the looks, you think it's just a typical luxury car. He looked like I'd just kicked a puppy in front of him. That said, it looks like Lexus dropped the V8 from the GS (after 2012) unless you pony up for the GS F (which increases the base price from 46k to over 80k  ).e: he doesn't ever buy used. he doesn't know which end of a screwdriver is the business end; trust me when I say he has no business owning a car out of factory warranty.
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Dec 3, 2018 08:52
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Lexus really looked at the pre 1992-ish euro cars and built from there as a starting point. Lexus are the outliers, no other company (japan, US or AU domestic) could get into the euros and compete, especially trying to get close to the power and modern euro emissions that the euros did. If you have a lexus then congrats, it's probably the only better car than a euro but the sedans are grandpa looking.* But anyway, lots of engineering down for price or over-complicating things for emissions etc happened after 94 so I wouldn't own a new euro either on my budget. Pre 95 euros are better for reliability, you just have to bring your own turbo and skip all the emissions and stuff (seriously this is the biggest issue all stuff like emission controls to meet euro standards, canbus shortcuts etc). The basis of older ones are solid they just doesn't have enough power or fuel efficiency to be fun like meatpimps is. . But on a pre 94 simpler euro just BYO turbo (the factory seems to have forgot it), pretty much everything else is reliable. I haven't had to even change a lightbulb or ignition coil and it's all 28 years old. *ps The only person I talk to about cars that lives on my block has a lexus - they are cool in their own way and I thought about getting one as I wanted a 4dr that wasn't a domestic. I still want to chat to the barra boys around the corner E: If you remember AA I made a joke about a chat up line for guys with a workshop and lift. They had heaps of aussie ford falcons in the yard and now it seems they are doing something interesting with toyota chasers (maybe barra? maybe they are into 1jz as well?). Fo3 fucked around with this message at 14:29 on Dec 3, 2018 |
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Dec 3, 2018 14:07
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I haven't touched the 2000 Avalon since August. Its battery was deader than poo poo. Put a charger on it for a couple hours and it fired right up, I drove away and it didn't miss a beat. It's an automotive cockroach. The only things that can kill it are the timing belt (which "I'm told" was done 30k miles ago) or a 16 year old driver.  On the BMW front, it's kinda making me sad. It's super quick, and the faster you go, the more it pulls. It really starts to come on about 70 and is pulling like a train at 80. Unfortunately, the driving I do has absolutely no place to explore anything past that, and that is a damned shame. I want to see what that thing's like in triple digits. 
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Dec 24, 2018 17:47
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Update: I was driving the Avalon for a couple days to work, just because the trip is less than 4 miles and I hate to get the BMW out of the garage and shut it off before it's even warmed up... then the BRAKE light came on. In my experience, that's almost always the parking brake. Nope, I've got a massive brake fluid leak somewhere. Pumped the entirety of the reservoir out over 10 miles of driving. At least it's big enough that I'm pretty sure that it's a hose. No biggie, but drat it's cold right now, so that's gonna wait. The BMW vexes me. I took it out for a 40 mile drive today to get it fully lubricated and up to temperature. I've been noticing a ticking at times that sounds like it's in the head, but when I go to explore further, it's gone. Sometimes it happens when cold, other times it doesn't happen until it's warmed up. So I got back from driving today, stopped at the grocery, listened to the motor with it fully warmed up and run-in. Ticking again. drat. I did my shopping and drove home about 15 minutes later. I got the car in the garage and listened to the motor. Absolutely perfect. Just like a loving sewing machine, not a trace of anything amiss. 
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Jan 25, 2019 21:30
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I know the N52 had a lifter tick that was present if/when not revved high enough and long enough. You really just fix it by holding the rpm at 3k or so for a few minutes. Does the N54 have the same issue?
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Jan 25, 2019 21:43
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Alarbus posted:I know the N52 had a lifter tick that was present if/when not revved high enough and long enough. You really just fix it by holding the rpm at 3k or so for a few minutes. Does the N54 have the same issue? There's conjecture to that effect, that's why I took it out on a longer drive with some sustained high-rpm use. Did it make a difference? Who knows, I just need to keep studying it's habits.
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Jan 26, 2019 17:24
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6" of fresh snow, plus downsized 18" wheels, plus narrower 18" all terrain tires, plus stability control turned off equals one hell of a donut-making Escalade. I've got a newfound love for the truck after that. It is absolutely beastly, both in donut performance and just tearing up the road at speeds well beyond what others are struggling with. Side note: I was doing some wicked spins in a parking lot when a cop rolled up. I quickly resumed my travels in the appropriate aisle and left the area. I was waiting for the lights, but they never came.  Edit: blindjoe -- are you still watching this thread? meatpimp fucked around with this message at 16:33 on Feb 1, 2019 |
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Feb 1, 2019 15:37
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Yep, still here.
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Feb 1, 2019 20:46
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blindjoe posted:Yep, still here. Did I ask you which island your E61 was on? I'm in that area next month and was wondering if you had any pointers.
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Feb 1, 2019 21:12
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meatpimp posted:Did I ask you which island your E61 was on? I'm in that area next month and was wondering if you had any pointers. Its on Big Island, and I am leaving to see it (plus, you know, vacation) tonight. I have done Big Island and Kauai, pm for pointers.
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Feb 1, 2019 21:54
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Here now. Car looks good, but just had its battery replaced as it sat in the garage for 6 months and it had killed its 8 month old battery to zero volts at christmas. Now it leaked all its coolant out on to the garage floor (initial troubleshooting shows lower radiator hose) and it needs a quart of oil (pretty sure it just burns it, so thats not a problem I care about). Will call dealer to see how much it is to get them to change it so I don't have to deal with it on vacation.
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Feb 3, 2019 07:34
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blindjoe posted:Here now. Car looks good, but just had its battery replaced as it sat in the garage for 6 months and it had killed its 8 month old battery to zero volts at christmas. Now it leaked all its coolant out on to the garage floor (initial troubleshooting shows lower radiator hose) and it needs a quart of oil (pretty sure it just burns it, so thats not a problem I care about). Will call dealer to see how much it is to get them to change it so I don't have to deal with it on vacation. THAT is how you know for sure you have an E61. Hope the repairs are quick and easy. PM sent.
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Feb 3, 2019 13:17
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I'm driving the Escalade because the BMW is clean in the garage. I like the Escalade. I'm not super familiar with the truck, but I need to replace a bushing or two somewhere up front... when I hit a bump that sends a somewhat lateral shock through the car, the steering column bangs around like it's the apocalypse. Any ideas? On another front, I've had AI in my blood since before AI existed. I was thinking back to a trip I took almost 25 years ago and thought I'd share, since not a lot of work is happening in this thread right now. Back in the mid-'90s, I was a young man. I had a good job, a Maserati Biturbo, a Jeep Scrambler, an Audi 4000, and a riding mower with hand-painted flames and a power seat from a Chrysler Imperial.  But that wasn't enough. I needed some adventure. So, I bought an '80s Toyota Corolla from a friend at work. My plan was to drive it to California and give it to some random person on the street. That didn't happen, but I did make it to California. That spoiler aside, I needed to make the care more... interesting... than the tan Toyota that it was. Enter: Sawzall, spraypaint and hammer.     Let's see... Sawzalled off the roof, busted the back window out to put in some sweet 8" woofers on the rear deck mounted in hvac piping, plus gave it a bit of a spiffy paint job. Plus, emblazoned it with "This vehicle powered by enriched uranium" and "Experimental" labels. Since it was the '90s and I was a geek along with loving cars, I was wearing an RSA encryption in PERL shirt, because at the time, that algorithm was classified in the same category of weapons of mass destruction. Seriously. Look it up. That comes into play a bit later. The time came and I picked up my travelling buddy and we headed on our way. We planned on making the whole trip non-stop. The first afternoon we went from Ohio, through Indiana and into Illinois. The first gas station we stopped at someone asked about the car and wondered if it was really powered by enriched uranium. I testified that it was. He wanted to see under the hood and I told him it was classified. That seemed to satisfy him. After crossing through Missouri, we got to Kansas. Few states are as universally derided as irrelevant like Kansas is. With good reason. It's just boring. We drove through the night and were welcomed with the sun chasing us out of Kansas at daybreak.  More later.
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Feb 5, 2019 16:19
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meatpimp posted:I'm driving the Escalade because the BMW is clean in the garage. I like the Escalade. I'm not super familiar with the truck, but I need to replace a bushing or two somewhere up front... when I hit a bump that sends a somewhat lateral shock through the car, the steering column bangs around like it's the apocalypse. Any ideas? If the steering system is anything like the '02 Crown Vic I had (ancient body on frame non rack and pinion type) then check any steering shaft linkage you might have. Grab the shaft and wiggle it around (heh) and if you feel anything like loose bearings it needs to be replaced. Had the same problem, over bumps the steering wheel/column wobbled like it was loose. Swapped out the two links and it was smooth as silk after. Applebees Appetizer fucked around with this message at 17:00 on Feb 5, 2019 |
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Feb 5, 2019 16:57
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Applebees Appetizer posted:If the steering system is anything like the '02 Crown Vic I had (ancient body on frame non rack and pinion type) then check any steering shaft linkage you might have. Grab the shaft and wiggle it around (heh) and if you feel anything like loose bearings it needs to be replaced. Had the same problem, over bumps the steering wheel/column wobbled like it was loose. Swapped out the two links and it was smooth as silk after. Yeah, the intermediate steering shaft is a known issue in these, but from what I've read, it causes a knock when turning the wheel... I don't have that, but I do have a bigger "banging" going on. I'd just swap the shaft and bearing out straight away, but this has the stupid electrically adjustable pedals that have all kinds of poo poo in the way of the steering shaft. 
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Feb 5, 2019 19:48
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meatpimp posted:
 
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Feb 5, 2019 20:12
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meatpimp posted:Yeah, the intermediate steering shaft is a known issue in these, but from what I've read, it causes a knock when turning the wheel... I don't have that, but I do have a bigger "banging" going on. When I had my silverado the intermediate steering shaft made a small knocking sound when going over bumps. Replacing it fixed the issue for a few months. It came back and I just learned to live with it. I think there is a mod with a muffler clamp or something that will help it out.
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Feb 6, 2019 00:11
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I swear there was a hazardous materials 5 vote smiley somewhere
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Feb 6, 2019 05:13
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slothrop posted:I swear there was a hazardous materials 5 vote smiley somewhere 
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Feb 6, 2019 05:33
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BMW Update: I have been chasing that loving BSD system for months. In the last update, I mentioned that the oil level monitor came back, but the rest of the BSD system was throwing errors. Well, I tried something and the results were interesting. I had the oil level status, but I had codes for the alternator, water pump, and IBS. As a lark, I unplugged the IBS and drove it for a few weeks. I checked codes today, fully expecting to see the normal list, but I didn't... instead, all I found was the known error for the thermostat heater and IBS missing (which makes sense, since I unplugged it). Could that be it? Could the whole thing just have been a stupid faulty IBS (possible, since it's a serial bus that ties all those components together)? I'll throw some  at it and see what happens.
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Feb 6, 2019 14:59
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All I see when I read that is that your BMW has IBS 
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Feb 6, 2019 16:23
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What a lovely pun. (can't find the smiley emote I want) edit: found it! 
Beverly Cleavage fucked around with this message at 16:52 on Feb 6, 2019 |
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Feb 6, 2019 16:49
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Applebees Appetizer posted:All I see when I read that is that your BMW has IBS And it's more irritating than IBS. Intelligent Battery Sensor is one of the stupid over-engineered, over-thought-out pieces of garbage in the car. It is supposed to monitor the charge that goes into the battery and changes the output of the alternator accordingly, supposedly to increase battery life. This means that you have to recode the car when you replace the battery, or the charging "adjustments" it made for the old battery would continue for the new one, possibly overcharging the new battery. In reality, it's a gently caress that screws up your charging system and randomly throws codes about "too much current draw" when the car is off. In other words,
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Feb 6, 2019 17:07
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Lol sounds like a giant PITA is there any way to get rid of it? Like a reverse retrofit?
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Feb 6, 2019 18:04
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Applebees Appetizer posted:Lol sounds like a giant PITA is there any way to get rid of it? Like a reverse retrofit? I could just leave it unplugged, it doesn't do any harm other than :gasp: not monitoring the battery (and leaving the alternator to standard regulation).
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Feb 6, 2019 18:09
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meatpimp posted:More later. When is later is now later I need it to be later
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Feb 6, 2019 18:44
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Adiabatic posted:When is later is now later I need it to be later  not empty quoting.
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Feb 6, 2019 20:02
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Then we got to Colorado. It was so much better than Kansas, it had mountains.  We took a drive through Denver and stopped for some food. Natalie Merchant and/or 10,000 Maniacs were warming up for a convert that night, so we listened for a bit.  And we were headed South. I wanted to go up Pike's Peak. I didn't know how cool it was going to be. Keep in mind, this is pre-pavement of Pike's Peak. We were driving a beat to hell old Corolla and poo poo was sketchy.  I stopped to climb up a bit and get a view down, but the resolution sucks. The car is there, but it's only a couple pixels.  It was July, so it was warmer. As we were going up, there were a lot of cars that were overheating due to the altitude and heat combo. But our shitbox kept right on chugging up the mountain, until...  It was, and still is, the most beautiful place I've ever been. There were thunderstorms off to on side and bright sun everywhere else, we were watching from sky-level. It was incredible. It was also July, but there was still some snow at the top of the mountain, so here's a snowball hitting the side of the car:  And glamour shots:   And then it was time to go back down.  We were trucking into New Mexico from there, but we still hadn't stopped to rest yet. We pushed and traded driving a couple times, but it got to the point that we were both wiped out, so we stopped at a rest area to sleep for a bit. My friend was convinced we were going to get murdered by the people in the murdervan next to us, so he wrote their license plate number on a note that said "if we get killed, these people did it" and put the note in the glove box. The next morning we were both pretty bleary and the pic from that morning reflected how we felt.  Now no pictures for the next event, but remember I was wearing a shirt with the RSA encryption algorythm? And that it was classified as a munition at that time? And the ITAR rules that classified it were in great big letters on the back of the shirt that said "This shirt is a munition" ? Well, remember that we also were driving in a car with a radiation symbol on the side? Well guess which pair of idiots got lost and ended up on the entrance road to a military installation. Yup. Panic ensued and we, as quietly as possible, turned around and got the gently caress out of there. I can only imagine what would have happened, even in those pre-9/11 days. Later on that day, we got to the Grand Canyon.  It was kinda interesting, but it paled in comparison to Pike's Peak, which was very fresh in our memory, so we didn't hang there for very long. Then we continued on. In the last episode, we'll get to California and I may or may not have been involved in someone's death. meatpimp fucked around with this message at 21:02 on Feb 6, 2019 |
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Feb 6, 2019 20:59
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meatpimp posted:Then we continued on. In the last episode, we'll get to California and I may or may not have been involved in someone's death. Don't be humble.
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Feb 8, 2019 06:08
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meatpimp posted:Could that be it? Could the whole thing just have been a stupid faulty IBS (possible, since it's a serial bus that ties all those components together)? I'll throw some No. That is not it. This loving car. Replaced the IBS with a used one. Plugged in and drove for a day. Got the exact same spread of errors that I had with the other one. Back to ground zero. This is the most ridiculous electrical system I've ever encountered. 5 devices on a shared bus such that if one fails, it takes the others out, but there's no reliable way to troubleshoot other than throwing parts at it. At this point, it could be the alternator control or the water pump. I'll probably do the alternator first.
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Feb 10, 2019 18:40
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meatpimp posted:No. That is not it. This loving car. When I get poo poo like this it's always been a dodgy ground somewhere.
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Feb 10, 2019 19:00
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