anyone past 50 on here?

[will123]

6 minutes ago, Tja said:

My Chevy Silverado has the auto on/off lights.

I'm thinking in that the GM pickups have had the automatic headlights since 2000. You know the headlights (not the DRLs) have come on when the dash cluster dims annoying in the daytime when you're in a tunnel or underpass and drive out and you cant see the dash 'cluster'.

[daveb]

1 hour ago, ryn2 said:

Long ago I got in the habit of always driving with my headlights on.  Saves me from having to decide (or forget!) when they should be.

I'd forget to turn them off afterwards.  

But I think my current car turns them off after I shut the engine off, maybe after a half a minute or something?

[will123]

26 minutes ago, daveb said:

I'd forget to turn them off afterwards.  

But I think my current car turns them off after I shut the engine off, maybe after a half a minute or something?

My pick up does the same, I guess so you can walk to the front door if you park in a driveway. With mine the duration is adjustable.

[daveb]

1 minute ago, will123 said:

My pick up does the same, I guess so you can walk to the front door if you park in a driveway. With mine the duration is adjustable.

I'm not very good with cars, so maybe mine is adjustable, too. I never thought to check. Mostly I park my car inside my garage, where the garage door light stays on for a little while; usually long enough for my needs. Someone asked me to pop the hood once and I had to search the manual to find out how (I think it was a hidden release under the dashboard). That was a year or more after I had the car.

[ryn2]

50 minutes ago, daveb said:

I'd forget to turn them off afterwards.  

But I think my current car turns them off after I shut the engine off, maybe after a half a minute or something?

Mine chirps if you do this, and eventually turns them off on its own if you don’t heed the chirping.

[ryn2]

21 minutes ago, daveb said:

Someone asked me to pop the hood once and I had to search the manual to find out how (I think it was a hidden release under the dashboard). That was a year or more after I had the car.

Doesn’t the windshield washer solution ultimately need filling?

[will123]

Just now, ryn2 said:

Doesn’t the windshield washer solution ultimately need filling?

LMAO!

[will123]

On 7/22/2019 at 11:15 AM, daveb said:

That's not very fair. Besides, I think you're forgetting about political offices.  

Voters can 'unelect' them. We can't get rid of weather people we don't like  

[daveb]

1 hour ago, ryn2 said:

Doesn’t the windshield washer solution ultimately need filling?

I guess?

[Skycaptain]

This reminds me a former work colleague who owned their car for four years before realising that it had a/c 

[Autumn Sunrise]

I still don't understand the console that operates the radio, CD player, etc - it's as much as I can manage to turn the display off, because it annoys me (but I do use the reversing camera, which is the first display that opens when  I turn the ignition on - very useful for making sure I don't back into the woodpile  And I definitely know how to use the aircon - wouldn't be without it!

[ryn2]

5 hours ago, daveb said:

I guess?

Do you just go without at that point?

[ryn2]

4 hours ago, Skycaptain said:

This reminds me a former work colleague who owned their car for four years before realising that it had a/c 

At my first grown-up job a woman I worked with paid me $50 to teach her how to change a tire.

[Tja]

7 hours ago, ryn2 said:

Doesn’t the windshield washer solution ultimately need filling?

Have had my pickup truck for, almost, 8 years...haven't run out, yet.

[teatree]

13 hours ago, ryn2 said:

Doesn’t the windshield washer solution ultimately need filling?

I (almost) never have to do that, because when I take the car for inspection they always check all the fluid levels for me and fill any that need filling!

[teatree]

6 hours ago, ryn2 said:

At my first grown-up job a woman I worked with paid me $50 to teach her how to change a tire.

And I changed a tire ONCE, back in driver's ed class. (Or maybe just watched??? So long ago I can't remember.) But honestly, trying to get off lug nuts is almost impossible, so that's why I have AAA roadside assistance. Or once two guys who had the necessary tire-removal equipment stopped to help me and my sister.

[Skycaptain]

On our muddy, salty winter roads 5l of screenwash will go in a couple of days. 

[ryn2]

1 hour ago, teatree said:

I (almost) never have to do that, because when I take the car for inspection they always check all the fluid levels for me and fill any that need filling!

You’re lucky!  With all the salt and slop here, from November to late April I have to fill it every few weeks.  Some commutes I have to use it a couple of times a mile.

[ryn2]

1 hour ago, Skycaptain said:

On our muddy, salty winter roads 5l of screenwash will go in a couple of days. 

Yeah, that’s how it is here...  if I drove all the time I would be filling it more than once a week.  Most days I only drive an hour or so.

[daveb]

10 hours ago, Autumn Sunrise said:

And I definitely know how to use the aircon - wouldn't be without it!

Same here (even more so when I lived in southern California!).

 

8 hours ago, ryn2 said:

Do you just go without at that point?

I have yet to need to refill it in my current car. Maybe it hasn't run out or maybe it's been refilled when I have had it in for servicing. In any case, I don't use it much anyway. Don't find I need to.  

 

I've been assembling furniture (IKEA stuff), so I can organize my house better now that I'm settling in here for good.  

[ryn2]

1 hour ago, teatree said:

And I changed a tire ONCE, back in driver's ed class. (Or maybe just watched??? So long ago I can't remember.) But honestly, trying to get off lug nuts is almost impossible, so that's why I have AAA roadside assistance. Or once two guys who had the necessary tire-removal equipment stopped to help me and my sister.

Now that it’s just me again I need to sign up for AAA, but this was back when I was younger, stronger, and had a car with smaller tires (rather than a truck-chassis SUV with big ones I basically can’t lift).

[ryn2]

Speaking of cars, mine decided to blow either the blend door or the little motor that controls it this morning.  Fully open, of course, since it’s summer and 110-120F air is a wonderful addition to any drive.  I can’t get it serviced until a week from today.

 

Ugh.

[daveb]

20 minutes ago, ryn2 said:

blend door

Had to google that.

 

Yeah, AC not working well would be one of my top reasons for getting my car serviced (next to things like the car not running or safety issues).

[ryn2]

Hah, sorry, it’s the little flap in the heating system that determines how much hot air coming off the engine cooling system is routed into the passenger compartment.  It’s controlled by a small motor that is in turn controlled by the heat adjustment on the dashboard/console.

 

The AC unit itself is working fine but can’t compete with a full-on onslaught of hot, hot air.

[Skycaptain]

In Britain refilling the washer bottle is part of a regular vehicle service. At £10 for fluid which costs £1 plus labour its an easy little earner. 

 

However, on a happier note, a new tailgate lock motor from the main dealer just cost me less than a used one from a breakers 

[ryn2]

They usually do it here as part of an oil change but my commute is short so I only need a couple a year.

 

Yay for the reasonably-priced lock fix!

[Tyke]

31 minutes ago, Skycaptain said:

In Britain refilling the washer bottle is part of a regular vehicle service. At £10 for fluid which costs £1 plus labour its an easy little earner. 

which is why I try to fill it before a service and tell them to miss that part out.

[daveb]

Well, I put so few miles on my car servicing it doesn't need to happen very often (less than once a year usually).

[Gentle Giant]

I refill the windshield fluid on both mom’s and my own cars. The garage also does this when we take them in for oil changes.

[Semisweet]

13 hours ago, Autumn Sunrise said:

(but I do use the reversing camera

I find my rear view camera quite useful. But I wish my car also had a front view camera, as I must rely on instinct to figure out where exactly the front edge of my car is (if, for instance, I’m parallel parking in a tight spot). I think my previous cars angled down more in the front so this wasn’t a problem.