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Thread: Car (or bike) Chat!

  1. #3461
    Join Date: Mar 2008

    Location: Galashiels

    Posts: 13,669
    I'm inthescottishmafia.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
    A few things:

    Getting in/out is difficult. There is a supposed Easy Entry mode - but actually for me I think it may be harder than just leaving the seats as they are.

    A few things are very much driving related:

    1. The indicators don't cancel "properly". This is erratic - and I'm fed up with notes on forums suggesting drivers need to change their behaviour, or learn new skills, or tap the indicator stalks gently. The fact is that in my car, and it would appear in others too, doing a turn and indicating can be a total pain trying to get the indicators to cancel. If you ever follow a Tesla and you notice that the indicators are going alternately left and right it's probably because the driver is trying to fix this issue - and just wants to cancel the indicator.

    2. The windscreen wipers - a. in heavy rain they're not fast enough b. auto mode doesn't always work c. using the screen can be used to speed the wipers up, but only really works if there's a co-pilot (passenger) to set the screen - otherwise it's dangerous. I know that windscreen wiper timing can be a bit hit and miss, but most cars do better than this nowadays. Actually having a lever or knob with several positions is better than just one push button at the end of a stalk for manual operation, given that the auto operation doesn't work well enough. I don't think the cars have been user tested in places where there is a lot of rain.

    3. There is no rear screen windscreen wiper. I know this is a "feature" of many cars, but it is actually not helpful.

    Range - my model ought to be able to go a long way, but realistically it can only do 200 mile hops at a time. My own estimation, based on recent journeys, is that it should be able to do 240 miles - just. Admittedly my "tests" are based on journeys over quite severe terrain - with a loaded car (2 passengers + luggage) going over 3 of the highest passes in the UK, and with rain and other issues requiring wipers and heating/AC to be turned on. I think many petrol or diesel cars could do significantly greater distances before any danger of running out of fuel. People who only drive on fairly good roads which are fairly flat should be able to go considerably further.

    By careful planning it is possible to reduce or minimise the range "issues", but that almost certainly does require the use of high speed charging points, which Tesla are gradually deploying (redeploying) round the UK. Many of the other chargers are less good for various reasons, and thus not really helpful for people who want to travel long distances. Many chargers have three (3) cables - typically one AC output (slow - but faster than home charging) and two DC outputs (Chademo and CCS). Usually - in my experience - it is not possible to have two cars charging from the DC source, so if a Leaf driver (Chademo) is occupying a bay, then it's not possible to use the DC CCS cable. The charging times are very significantly different for the different modes, though sometimes one might be happy with a slow charge - for example charging while going to a football match. Typically it is considered bad practice to leave a car in a charging bay if it is not charging (and sometimes there are real financial penalties for doing so), so if you want to go away for longer than (say) an hour, then that can be done by deliberately using the slower charging cables.

    Some Tesla drivers have opted for the base model 3 - but that only has about 2/3 the specified range of the long distance versions - which I would suggest in practice is going to be about 160 miles. That's less of a problem if very fast charging stations are available, but that's not the case in much of the UK.

    4. If fully charged, the regenerative braking doesn't work.This is a feature of all EVs, and it is surprising what a difference this makes. Normally it's not a problem, as most drivers won't charge up to near 100%, but if one is going on a long trip that is exactly what one would do, and it's also quite likely that the car will be more loaded up. Thus for the first 30 or so miles braking will be reduced. Ideally this should be avoided.

    5. Cruise control. This is something I've not fully mastered, but it's associated with a lever which in some other cars might be associated with a right turn indication. Unlike other cruise controls I've used, it seems to remember the max speed , so even in a 20mph zone, inadvertently pressing the lever might cause the car to shoot forward in an attempt to go up to 60 or 70 mph. Most other cruise controls don't work at lower speeds, which would avoid that issue. Allegedly it will work even on motorways and follow other vehicles reducing speed to leave a suitable gap. So far I've not risked testing that. It is supposed to prevent collisions by taking avoiding action, but it's not something I can safely test, and indeed it looks as though in the limit Tesla put the responsibility and liability back on the driver.

    I have also not found the Tesla company to be very helpful - with only really one person who put himself out more than the others. The company seems to think it has cars which are so good that users will put themselves out to get them, rather than offering a comprehensive service deal. Other manufacturers already have a service network which works over most of the UK. I might have to travel nearly 200 miles to get something fixed - though I believe there are mobile units for service.

    What do I like? Actually the regenerative braking mode is generally very good, and the car can be driven mostly with only the accelerator pedal. I don't quite know how other drivers behind react, but the brake lights do come on if the accelerator pedal is released slightly. This was something I wasn't sure about until recently. So my concern that maybe other drivers wouldn't know if the car was braking in any way are not founded, but now I wonder if in fact the perception is that the car - if driven "manually" - is nearly always braking.

    Overall there are a mixture of good and bad features about the car. There is a lot that is good, but the indicator and the wiper issues are killer issues for me. There is also a possible problem with the headlight controls. The things that bother me most are the ones which really interfere with my ability to drive safely. The lack of gears is a dream - as it is with most automatic cars - and the way the car accelerates/decelerates so easily is brilliant.
    A comprehensive answer, thanks for that, makes interesting reading. I get the annoyances, there's nothing worse in a new car than features that really bug you.
    “Music has always been a matter of energy to me, a question of fuel. Sentimental people call it inspiration, but what they really mean is fuel. I have always needed fuel. I am a serious consumer. On some nights I still believe that a car with the gas needle on empty can run about fifty more miles if you have the right music very loud on the radio”

    Hunter S Thompson

  2. #3462
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

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    car got picked up by toyota first thig this morning.. good service so far... driveway looks a tad empty from the doorway tho. not sure i like it
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  3. #3463
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Car returned. Serviced etc. Even though the forums on toyota hybrids dating way back are full of complaints re the 12v battery failing, toyota say its all our fault. Not a satisfactory attitude and im pretty sure there is some issue behind it. The tiny battery for one wont be helping. Im thinking there is something coming on occasionally and causing it.
    Anyway i think i will steer clear(nice pun) of toyota next year when its changed. Probably wont be a hybrid either.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  4. #3464
    Join Date: Apr 2012

    Location: N E Kent

    Posts: 51,624
    I'm Geoff.

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    There are usually niggles with new models. I like tried and tested cars that have proved themselves. Mind you, even then you can come unstuck .
    It is impossible for anything digital to sound analogue, because it isn't analogue!

  5. #3465
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    took it a run and averaged 62mpg. not too bad, that was in eco mode and mix of town and main roads. top speed 60mph. shame as its a nice car all round, and getting the hoist moved into another make of car might be time consuming etc... still, we shall see.
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  6. #3466
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    Car returned. Serviced etc. Even though the forums on toyota hybrids dating way back are full of complaints re the 12v battery failing, toyota say its all our fault. Not a satisfactory attitude and im pretty sure there is some issue behind it. The tiny battery for one wont be helping. Im thinking there is something coming on occasionally and causing it.
    Anyway i think i will steer clear(nice pun) of toyota next year when its changed. Probably wont be a hybrid either.
    I'm not sure that I'd be so harsh on Toyota - what would you buy instead? However, if yours is not very old, then it should be in really quite good condition. Mine didn't really start to have really serious problems until it was about 10 years old. Watch out for water getting into the compartment where the auxiliary batteries are stored - that can be a reason why batteries run down. Otherwise just keep driving it, so the main battery charges up, and if it's going to go wrong make sure that's within the 8 year guarantee period.

    Today finally had success with DVLA - so our remaining petrol car is now taxed again. We got a snot letter telling us it needed to be taxed or SORNED (yes - we did know that ....) but because of other factors, plus the coronavirus problems we were unable to do this via the web site, or get a sensible result from a phone call (which simply refers one back to the web site ...with no intelligent communication with a human being ...... Aggggghhhhhh!), we were unable to do so previously. The letter which was also threatening that someone might come and crush the car fortunately also had the code we needed to get it taxed via the web site, as clearly earlier reminder letters never got to us - so I can now take the convertible out - at least to take leaves etc. to the dump.

    Sad that the weather is now getting wet enough that I won't want to spend too much time with the roof down, but at least a result.
    Dave

  7. #3467
    Join Date: Feb 2013

    Location: W Lothian

    Posts: 99,005
    I'm Grant.

    Default

    Car is under 2 yrs and has had 4 batteries
    Regards,
    Grant .... ؠ ......Don't be such a big girl's blouse

    I've said it before and I'll say it again: democracy simply-doesn't-work
    .... ..... ...... ...... ................... ..... ..... ..... ..... .....
    FIIO K7 BT, M11 PLUS, BTR7, KA5 - OPPO BDP-103D - PANASONIC UB450 - PANASONIC 4K ULTRA HD TV - PIXEL 6 - AVANTREE LR BLUETOOTH - 2* X600 SOUNDCORE - HEADPHONES INCLUDE, FIIO, NURAPHONES', FOCAL, OPPO, BOSE, CAMBRIDGE, BOWER & WILKINS, DEVIALET, MARSHALL, SONY, MITCHELL & JOHNSTON - 2*ZBOOK'S- MERCURY BD ROM, ROON, QOBUZ, TIDAL, PLEX, CYBERLINK, JRIVER - MULTI HDD'S -

    Oh my god! There's nothing wrong with the bidet is there?

    “Nothing discloses real character like the use of power. It is easy for the weak to be gentle. Most people can bear adversity. But if you wish to know what a man really is, give him power. This is the supreme test. It is the glory of Lincoln that, having almost absolute power, he never abused it, except on the side of mercy".

    “You see these dictators on their pedestals, surrounded by the bayonets of their soldiers and the truncheons of their police ... yet in their hearts there is unspoken fear. They are afraid of words and thoughts: words spoken abroad, thoughts stirring at home -- all the more powerful because forbidden -- terrify them. A little mouse of thought appears in the room, and even the mightiest potentates are thrown into panic.”

    "You don't have free will. You have the appearance of free will.”

    “There's a war out there, old friend. A world war. And it's not about who's got the most bullets. It's about who controls the information. What we see and hear, how we work, what we think... it's all about the information!”


    ***SMILE, BE HAPPY***

  8. #3468
    Join Date: Jan 2009

    Location: Essex

    Posts: 31,853
    I'm openingabottleofwine.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dave2010 View Post
    I'm not sure that I'd be so harsh on Toyota - what would you buy instead? However, if yours is not very old, then it should be in really quite good condition. Mine didn't really start to have really serious problems until it was about 10 years old. Watch out for water getting into the compartment where the auxiliary batteries are stored - that can be a reason why batteries run down. Otherwise just keep driving it, so the main battery charges up, and if it's going to go wrong make sure that's within the 8 year guarantee period.

    Today finally had success with DVLA - so our remaining petrol car is now taxed again. We got a snot letter telling us it needed to be taxed or SORNED (yes - we did know that ....) but because of other factors, plus the coronavirus problems we were unable to do this via the web site, or get a sensible result from a phone call (which simply refers one back to the web site ...with no intelligent communication with a human being ...... Aggggghhhhhh!), we were unable to do so previously. The letter which was also threatening that someone might come and crush the car fortunately also had the code we needed to get it taxed via the web site, as clearly earlier reminder letters never got to us - so I can now take the convertible out - at least to take leaves etc. to the dump.

    Sad that the weather is now getting wet enough that I won't want to spend too much time with the roof down, but at least a result.
    I tried to get my car taxed on-line. The DVLA site is hopeless: it kept asking for a ten digit number, when the only number I had on the V5C stub was an 11 digit number. Gave up and went to the post office.

    They said that the DVLA site was unreliable, took the stub and scanned in the bar-code which revealed all the salient information for them to expedite matters in a matter of minutes!

    I'm still waiting for the DVLA to supply me with an updated V5.
    Barry

  9. #3469
    Join Date: Jun 2014

    Location: Chorley Lancs

    Posts: 14,592
    I'm Steve.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    Car is under 2 yrs and has had 4 batteries
    If you do decide to avoid hybrids. Mazda have a good reputation for reliability. CX3 or CX5 might be a good fit
    I just dropped in, to see what condition my condition was in

    T/T: Inspire Monarch, X200 tonearm, Ortofon Quintet Blue. Phono: Project Tube Box CD: Marantz CD6006 (UK Edition); Amp: Musical Fidelity A5 Integrated.
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  10. #3470
    Join Date: Feb 2010

    Location: Moved to frozen north, beyond Inverness

    Posts: 2,602
    I'm Dave.

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by struth View Post
    Car is under 2 yrs and has had 4 batteries
    You mean the auxiliary and/or security batteries. Those should last a few years, but maybe the car doesn't get driven enough. It's the main hybrid batteries you really need to worry about/take care of. Unfortunately I'm not sure that it's wise to try trickle charging a car like that - certainly not if the car is working reasonably well otherwise. That's definitely one area where I'd be cautious, though for a regular petrol or diesel car which isn't being driven too much I'd say that trickle charging the batteries would be a good thing. Maybe ask Toyota if it's OK to trickle charge the batteries, though I'm not sure whether you'd get a good or helpful answer.

    Swapping batteries in and out to charge them is also rather hard, and not recommended by me, and probably not by Toyota either.
    How many miles are you doing each year, and how hard do you drive the car? I reckoned when my Toyota was working well, it was actually best to drive it quite hard.
    Dave

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