The Automotive Thread

[knight1fox3]

I'm confused.  Does the car need bluetooth capability for this to work or just an auxiliary input connection to the stereo? 

What does this do/how would it work? - "Toyota Highlander came with bluetooth for her phone but the stereo isn’t equipped for it"

My wife has a 2005 Ford that doesn't have any bluetooth but I think it's got an auxiliary input for the stereo.  Would this "protable" device allow her hands free use of her cellphone?

I'm not quite sure on the original comment, but I can answer your last question. The device would be a means for your wife to stream music wirelessly from the phone to the device and ultimately to the stereo. Phone calls get a bit more tricky. Typically stereos that are already equipped with BT (meaning this aux. BT device would not be needed at all), also have a built-in microphone system. So taking a call with this aux. BT device could probably be done, but it would be dependent on where the phone was located in the car as to whether the caller would be able to hear your wife. In addition, this aux. BT device probably registers to the phone as a "media" device vs. that of "hands free calling". So when a call comes in, the phone might need to be set to use the aux. BT device as the primary audio for the phone call. HTH

 

[Road Guy]

so the answer (I didn't read it all the way) is that no your existing car doesn't need any existing Bluetooth capabilities for this gadget to work...

We all use lifeproof cases for our phones which makes the aux cable a PIA for us to use

Supposedly this will also work on an older “boom box” stereo that has an AUX port. I haven’t had one of those in a long time but I wish I hadn’t thrown mine away when I moved to give it a try

 

[jeb6294]

I had one of these in my last truck.  It didn't have BT at all.  Had the built-in mic and would connect to the phone so it was pretty close to being hands free.  Only downside was that it was an FM transmitter so the sound quality might not have been as good as a hard connection.

 

[Supe]

Confirmed Mrs. Supe fried the trans in her old CRV.  Fluid was dark brown and smelled like Kingsford.  Amazed she managed to go almost 150K on a trans that had never been serviced in its entire life (heh).

So, we've test driven a new CRV, and test drove an Outback last night.  Below is a copy/paste of what I sent to my father, who was trying to convince me to buy the Scoobydoo.

Outback Pros:

·         Interior fabrics were nicer than the Honda

·         Room for the dogs

·         Drives more like a car than an SUV, a bit easier to maneuver

·         Roof rack was a nice feature

·         Felt like there was more space for the back seat passengers

·         AWD

·         Rear seats recline

Outback Cons:

·         Brakes were god awful.  I should not be able to put a spongy pedal to the floor on a car with 58 miles on it

·         No power, CVT transmission always seemed to be trying to hunt for the right RPM range

·         Interior plastics felt very cheap

·         MPG slightly lower than the CRV

·         We thought the radio/electronics were less intuitive

·         Some of the features Mrs. Supe wanted (rear USB ports for electronics, etc.) are only available on the higher trim 2018 models

·         No Apple or Android compatibility (just regular Bluetooth)

CRV Pros:

·         General nicer/more luxury oriented fit and finish on interior

·         Electronics seemed more intuitive, comes with Apple and Android compatibility

·         Electronics are what Mrs. Supe wants – front/rear USB ports, etc.

·         Very quiet cabin – little road noise

·         Front passenger space felt bigger

·         Cargo capacity with seats both up and folded down is bigger, more headroom for two dogs

·         Smooth engine/transmission – felt like better acceleration than Subaru, doesn’t hunt for RPM’s as much

·         Overall safety rating tied the Outback, but the lane assist and cruise control of the CRV was lightyears ahead

·         More comfortable of the two cars in terms of ride quality – suspension is much better than previous years (you can do a quick lane change and not feel like its going to topple over), and soaks up the small bumps and rough surfaces much better than the Outback.

CRV Cons:

·         2WD

·         Interior fabric feels very cheap

Ties:

·         Front seats – Subaru is plushier, CRV is firmer.  CRV feels like it puts a slight push on your shoulders, but Subaru feels like it has a strange lumbar arrangement/push on your upper back.  Neither felt great, but I noticed the Subaru irritating me more after 15 minutes of driving.  Mrs. Supe didn’t seem to notice either way.

·         Both have the rear seat release handles in the cargo area

·         Pricing – About a wash with the 0% financing.  The out the door price on the Honda was slightly slower than the best price off invoice he could get us on the 2017’s.  They were anxious to get rid of them, so it was right around $3K off the Subaru invoice pricing, which was much more off sticker than we could get on the Honda.

·         Resale value – both hold well, the CRV is actually a bit better and is the #10 overall best car for resale.  The other 9 are all full size trucks.

Overall you couldn’t go wrong with either.  Both of us seemed to reach the same conclusion, though – the CRV felt like the better car overall for what we do with it.  If we NEEDED AWD, it would be a no brainer, because the CRV would outprice the Subaru at that point.  At the end of the day, neither of us could find anything wrong with the Honda other than the fact that the interior fabrics felt very cheap. 

 

[leggo PE]

I've gotta take my suby in to get it's passenger air bag replaced in a few weeks.

 

[knight1fox3]

I don't recall ever servicing the transmission on any vehicles I've owned. 

 

[Supe]

Honda wanted 3 yrs/30 mile fluid and filter change.  They're very picky with their friction modifiers apparently, and recommend that if you need to use a "compatible" fluid in a pinch (Dexron III), that you drain and flush as soon as you can to prevent shift issues.  I think what happens eventually is that the screen gets plugged, which starves the pump and the converter begins to eat itself.

 

[wilheldp_PE]

Confirmed Mrs. Supe fried the trans in her old CRV.  Fluid was dark brown and smelled like Kingsford.  Amazed she managed to go almost 150K on a trans that had never been serviced in its entire life (heh).

Don't know if you care, but you neglected to change a real name to a "Mrs. Supe" in the CRV Pros section.

 

[Supe]

Don't know if you care, but you neglected to change a real name to a "Mrs. Supe" in the CRV Pros section.

Thanks!  NBD, but I'll fix it anyways.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

Most automatic trans need some level of regular service, but that typically comes at 60k or 100k intervals. I don't believe I've ever serviced a manual transmission, but I know it can be done.

 

[MA_PE]

I've never done it myself but I've had the fluid/filter changed on automatic trans typically at ~75k.  Nowadays I believe they typically run the fluid through an external filter and reuse it as opposed to drain and refilling.

 

[Supe]

Most automatic trans need some level of regular service, but that typically comes at 60k or 100k intervals. I don't believe I've ever serviced a manual transmission, but I know it can be done.

Not needed with factory break ins.  Otherwise, you can basically do it once after a few thousand miles when all the parts have seated.  Even my racing transmission guy told me to leave it alone after break in, since it's really hard to cook a decent gear oil.

 

[Dleg]

Based on your pros/cons, the CRV sounds like the right choice for you guys. We picked up a  used 2011 Outback last year, but it is the deluxe model and is really nice - leather seats, Harmon Kardon sound system, heated seats (the BEST thing ever), etc etc. I do find the CVT a little strange, but it seems to work well. 

 

[csb]

^ I've got the loaded model as well and the seats are way better than the entry level. It's even got heated rear seats. 

 

[Supe]

^ I've got the loaded model as well and the seats are way better than the entry level. It's even got heated rear seats. 

Strangely enough, I found the base cloth seats in the Outback to feel 10x more comfy than the leather one we drove.  I think the issue is something with the shape of the upper back protruding too much for me, because the problem was identical in the WRX.

 

[Road Guy]

Look if were going to use seat comfort as a way to justify purchasing a F’n Subaru were going to have to close this thread….

 

[Dleg]

Trigger points for RG:

- FTW

- Flat Earth

- Subarus

 

[Road Guy]

you left out:

using gas tax revenue for bike lanes

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

When we were shopping for a new car, the Crosstrek's were near the top of the list. I knew they struggled on the power side of things, but that was more prominent at elevation. At sea-level, they seemed just fine. While we were chatting with the salesman, I asked if we could upgrade to the STi seats since I thought they were more comfortable but the prices were way too high.

 

[Road Guy]