The Automotive Thread

[MA_PE]

any of you with older vehicles have an issue with the electronic windows taking forever to roll up or down?  It seems all the switches work but you almost need to plan ahead if you want to roll a window down?  I replaced the main drivers switches out a few years ago when it broke, but all of them, even the sunroof just seem like they are in low gear?

It is definitely not uncommon to have the motors wear and get slow with time.  Switches only switch in the 12V to the motors/regulators.  Unfortunately the best solution is to replace the motors.

 

[knight1fox3]

It is definitely not uncommon to have the motors wear and get slow with time.  Switches only switch in the 12V to the motors/regulators.  Unfortunately the best solution is to replace the motors.

x 2. I had to do this on a previous vehicle. Not too bad once the door panel is off.

 

[Road Guy]

Well since one of the door panels has already fallen off maybe one of them would be easy to do

 

[Supe]

Brushes get worn out.  Its usually a few screws behind the plastic and you can fish the whole regulator assembly out the bottom.  I've done probably a dozen of them now.  GM trucks from the late 90s-mid 2000's were notorious.

 

[knight1fox3]

I'm intrigued by this new offering from Ford:  http://fox6now.com/2018/01/14/ford-brings-back-the-ranger/

Will be interesting to see what they price them at.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

I was going to say Rangers are all over the place here. It's amazing how many manufacturers make small trucks outside the US. VW, Mazda, Ford, Holden, and a couple Asian brands I had never heard of before.

The funny thing is that the Ranger and Colorado are the biggest trucks you can buy here.

 

[knight1fox3]

I was going to say Rangers are all over the place here. It's amazing how many manufacturers make small trucks outside the US. VW, Mazda, Ford, Holden, and a couple Asian brands I had never heard of before.
The funny thing is that the Ranger and Colorado are the biggest trucks you can buy here.

Old or the new style Rangers linked above?

Sent from my SM-G925V using Tapatalk

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

The "new" ones.

https://www.ford.co.nz/commercial/ranger/

 

[MetsFan]

Just finished changing out the battery on my G37. It was dead when we got back from the holidays and it's died a couple of times already so I figured it was time. It only took me around 30 minutes as opposed to the bimmer. That car took me 2 hours of trying to get that battery out and the new one in.

 

[Dleg]

OK, automotive mystery here. Who can guess (or who knows) what is going on in this picture. (I know). Clue: this is in Fairbanks, AK and it is -30F today.

 

[Road Guy]

I think car companies test out new vehicles use those type coverings to keep people from seeing them before they roll out to the showroom. I actually saw the new JL Jeep wrapped up in a similar "coat" this past summer before the pics were leaked online.

maybe some new vehicle is being tested in the cold..

(similar thing below

 

[Flyer_PE]

Same guess here.  A buddy of mine used to do some of the testing for Ford.  International Falls (aka Frostbite Falls) in Winter was one he wasn't all that fond of.  He also did some towing tests dragging trailers up and down hills in CO.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

They test a ton of cars like this in CO. Like RG said, they're wrapped up to hide the actual shape from the general public while they're road testing next generation vehicles. Looks like they're doing some extreme cold testing in AK.

Most of the "spy shots" of highly anticipated vehicles start this way. The other thing they will do is a vinyl wrap with odd patterns to hide bodylines (this is a 6th gen Camaro prototype):

 

[Road Guy]

when I first moved here @cement and I were driving around and we saw some type of similar get up but sports cars driving through the mountains, wouldn't be a bad gig..

 

[mudpuppy]

Living near the Motor City we see a lot of these on the highway, sometimes in convoys.  A friend of mine works at the Chrysler proving grounds here, and he frequently goes to Colorado to do high-altitude testing, and Nevada to do high-temperature testing (sometimes both on the same trip.)  I'll have to ask him why he hasn't volunteered for low-temperature testing in Alaska.

 

[Dleg]

Yep that's what it was. One of my staff took the pic, said he could see inside and he's pretty sure it's a Chevy.

 

[kevo_55]

In MN we call those wuss cars. 

It's kinda the same principle if you put a coat on your dog.

....... or do you?

 

[knight1fox3]

Stumbled across these articles over my lunch break today:

Top 10 Most Dependable Automakers: 2018 J.D. Power

Top 10 Least Dependable Automakers: 2018 J.D. Power

 

[Flyer_PE]

^Glad that nothing I own is on the second list.  Of course nothing I own is on the first list either.

 

[Dexman PE PMP]

My two cars fall within #s 5 & 6 on the Most Dependable list.