Incident in Seattle this morning - self assessment, 2 observations

[gmerkt]

The want almost $800 to replace my TPMS to replace all four.

There is something wrong with that estimate. Are you sure they weren't including the tires??

"the same way we know on all of the other vehicles we own/have owned that didn't have TPMS monitoring."

Yeah, how did we live without this feature?

My 04 Crown Vic, my 06 Merc Grand Marquis, and of course my 72 Ford Ranch Wagon, none have the pressure monitors and I do fine without them.

For a brief period, I had an 09 Crown Vic ex cop car, that had the TPMS monitors, presumably bad since the dash light would never go out. Discount tire quoted me some big bucks to replace them, friction tape was the solution. That car didn't stay around here long, it had cop gears vice highway gears and burned a lot of gas, rode hard, was noisy, I found a greater fool to take it away.

I probably won't be buying anymore vehicles. I'm happy enough with the ones I've got. I drive the oldest cars in my neighborhood, I'm sure I inspire pity when they see me wheel out onto the road. The fact that they cars don't look up-to-date or may lack certain modern features doesn't bug me. About a year ago, I invested in one of those OBD2 electronic scanners, $23 was well spent for that one. It works on the two Panther platform cars and the Hyundai. I've already eliminated two trips to the dealership by using it, one in the Mercury and the other time with the Hyundai.

 

[Flopsweat]

There is something wrong with that estimate. Are you sure they weren't including the tires??


Yeah, how did we live without this feature?

My 04 Crown Vic, my 06 Merc Grand Marquis, and of course my 72 Ford Ranch Wagon, none have the pressure monitors and I do fine without them.

For a brief period, I had an 09 Crown Vic ex cop car, that had the TPMS monitors, presumably bad since the dash light would never go out. Discount tire quoted me some big bucks to replace them, friction tape was the solution. That car didn't stay around here long, it had cop gears vice highway gears and burned a lot of gas, rode hard, was noisy, I found a greater fool to take it away.

I probably won't be buying anymore vehicles. I'm happy enough with the ones I've got. I drive the oldest cars in my neighborhood, I'm sure I inspire pity when they see me wheel out onto the road. The fact that they cars don't look up-to-date or may lack certain modern features doesn't bug me. About a year ago, I invested in one of those OBD2 electronic scanners, $23 was well spent for that one. It works on the two Panther platform cars and the Hyundai. I've already eliminated two trips to the dealership by using it, one in the Mercury and the other time with the Hyundai.

I thought the same thing until some idiot totaled my favorite truck.

 

[Bobbygun]

I thought the same thing until some idiot totaled my favorite truck.

Sorry to hear you wrecked your truck Flop.

 

[Bobbygun]

I invested in one of those OBD2 electronic scanners, $23 was well spent for that one.

Yes. A very good investment.

Had a check engine light on the Forester a few weeks ago. Used the scanner to find out it was the engine knock sensor. $16 at Amazon, wait a couple of days for delivery, ten minutes to take out the old one and put the new one in. Piece of cake. Or, take it to the dealership and prepare to be violated.

 

[Tony617]

There is something wrong with that estimate. Are you sure they weren't including the tires??


Yeah, how did we live without this feature?

My 04 Crown Vic, my 06 Merc Grand Marquis, and of course my 72 Ford Ranch Wagon, none have the pressure monitors and I do fine without them.

For a brief period, I had an 09 Crown Vic ex cop car, that had the TPMS monitors, presumably bad since the dash light would never go out. Discount tire quoted me some big bucks to replace them, friction tape was the solution. That car didn't stay around here long, it had cop gears vice highway gears and burned a lot of gas, rode hard, was noisy, I found a greater fool to take it away.

I probably won't be buying anymore vehicles. I'm happy enough with the ones I've got. I drive the oldest cars in my neighborhood, I'm sure I inspire pity when they see me wheel out onto the road. The fact that they cars don't look up-to-date or may lack certain modern features doesn't bug me. About a year ago, I invested in one of those OBD2 electronic scanners, $23 was well spent for that one. It works on the two Panther platform cars and the Hyundai. I've already eliminated two trips to the dealership by using it, one in the Mercury and the other time with the Hyundai.

I just got 4 new tires a few months ago so no just for pressure sensors only.

 

[Ops]

I stomped on the accelerator, the Subaru responded

ok i call out the lie. have never seen a subaru respond when accelerater is pressed

 

[Tony617]

ok i call out the lie. have never seen a subaru respond when accelerater is pressed

I have naturally aspirated 2.5L 4 cylinder engine in my Impreza and does accelerate. Even faster if you flip to the manual shifter mode. The original 1993 Impreza had a 1.8L and it was very slow to accelerate. My wife had one for years but she got t-boned back in 2006. She bought a new 2006 Impreza hatchback and she still has that car today.

 

[User 1234]

What deterred me was the room behind the back seat. I was thinking it would be difficult to stack four sets of golf clubs, or a buck, or four elk quarters, etc. in there. Honestly though, I was just on the outside looking in. I've never actually driven one.

Definitely true, for carrying those items without folding the rear seats a roof rack or Thule coffin would be necessary.

 

[User 1234]

I was waiting for the Wilderness edition to launch before I seriously considered a Crosstrek as my next personal daily.
Looks good, but still no turbo. And, they don't even offer it in manual!
Nope. Just keep pushing the wife's Ascent for another winter I spose.

Did they stop offering the stick shift? I know they did in the 2022 model year.

 

[gmerkt]

Had a check engine light on the Forester a few weeks ago. Used the scanner to find out it was the engine knock sensor. $16 at Amazon, wait a couple of days for delivery, ten minutes to take out the old one and put the new one in. Piece of cake. Or, take it to the dealership and prepare to be violated.

You take it to the dealer with a big question mark about what's wrong, they might tell you it's a (relatively) cheap sensor, or the intake manifold has a vacuum leak and the top of the engine has to come off. You are at their mercy. I trust the guys at the Hyundai store. My long-time Ford store closed; the next nearest one I don't have as much faith in, I'm afraid.

 

[Certaindeaf]

This is why I just dress like a pimp.

 

[P7M13]

ok i call out the lie. have never seen a subaru respond when accelerater is pressed

You need to adjust your clock to glacial time.

 

[Mikej]

I love this place.

 

[ATCclears]

On the Subaru Crosstrek overall:

• Good value for the price. We were out the door for $37K total including tax, registration, and an extended warranty from Subaru that takes everything to 8 years or 80,000 miles. I agreed to the extended warranty since there are so many electronics in the vehicle.
• It's not my first choice as a vehicle, but it is wifey's car and she likes it.
• We went with the Sport variant of the Crosstrek. The engine is a 2.5L in the Sport variant versus the 2.0L in the base model. It makes a nice difference in performance. We're seeing about 29mpg in combined city/highway driving.
• I like that it has a 16-gallon fuel tank.
• The Crosstrek does VERY well in snow and ice. I was surprisingly impressed with it last Winter.

 

[gmerkt]

I agreed to the extended warranty since there are so many electronics in the vehicle.

I used to think the same thing. As a treat for Mrs. Merkt, decades ago I bought her a new Pfaff sewing machine. It was one of the first models that had electronic controls. At the time, I thought, "Oh boy, here come problems with the electronics." It never happened. That's been my same experience with vehicles. The electronics are the least problematic components. Maybe I've been lucky.

Three family members own Suburus. I don't own one, but most people I know who have or have had one like the product.

With Jay Inslee prices for gasoline these days, this is what I like most about Mrs. Merkt's 2012 Hyundai Elantra:


In contrast, this is what the 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis will do:


Highway mileage in both cases.

 

[Flopsweat]

I used to think the same thing. As a treat for Mrs. Merkt, decades ago I bought her a new Pfaff sewing machine. It was one of the first models that had electronic controls. At the time, I thought, "Oh boy, here come problems with the electronics." It never happened. That's been my same experience with vehicles. The electronics are the least problematic components. Maybe I've been lucky.

Three family members own Suburus. I don't own one, but most people I know who have or have had one like the product.

With Jay Inslee prices for gasoline these days, this is what I like most about Mrs. Merkt's 2012 Hyundai Elantra:
View attachment 1751455

In contrast, this is what the 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis will do:
View attachment 1751453

Highway mileage in both cases.

LOL, my truck gets about 14.

 

[gmerkt]

LOL, my truck gets about 14.

My 1972 Ford Ranch Wagon w/ 351 Cleveland V8 engine, best mileage I ever got was on a trip to SE Idaho with a slight tailwind, and it was 19 mpg. Around town average, about 14-15 mpg. BUT: When the wagon moves, it's usually carrying a payload and working for the fuel it's using. It has a permanent collector vehicle license plate, no annual fee. I don't have a truck; I use the wagon for hauling. And if it won't fit in the wagon, I'll rent a trailer because the wagon and my 2006 Mercury both have hitches.

I've owned a truck or two before. And I know that contemporary trucks are nice rides. They ought to be for what they cost. But I don't want to drive a truck all the time, and I don't want one sitting around waiting to be used, eating up license and insurance money. I don't even want a trailer sitting around; let U-Haul store it for me until I need it. My preference is to drive a sedan.

A lot of modern pickup trucks have kind of turned into part sedan, part truck. That sits high off the ground. And the beds on the backs of many don't really hold all that much. When my mother died in 2017, I contemplated buying another truck for the purpose of hauling some of her stuff home. I went to the friendly Ford store only to find out they didn't sell new single cab pickups anymore. Oh, they were still made, for fleet sales; for utility companies and the like, but they didn't have any on the lot for sale.

Years ago, I used to fancy Lincoln Continentals. I had several from the early 1960's. My favorite year was 1961. Those had a 430 cubic in. V8 engine, got around 10-12 mpg. Wonderful, stylish, sturdy cars but real gas hogs.

 

[nammac]

We're squeezing 28+ mpg out of the wife's '23 Highlander on the highway. That's the 2.5 liter 4 cylinder turbo. So that's really decent mileage considering the size of the vehicle. Looks like upper teens, low 20's around town.

That's better than our '17 V6 Arcadia, that's about 18 around town, and the built in fuel mileage calculator says it's achieved up to 37 mpg over the last 50 miles (the interval it's calculating for). I do question that 37 mpg, seems ridiculously high. Shows average as 18 and best as 37…. That's just a crazy range.

Either are better than our former '06 Terezza, that was about 14-15 around town and maybe 23-24 on the highway if I kept it below 80…

 

[nammac]

I used to think the same thing. As a treat for Mrs. Merkt, decades ago I bought her a new Pfaff sewing machine. It was one of the first models that had electronic controls. At the time, I thought, "Oh boy, here come problems with the electronics." It never happened. That's been my same experience with vehicles. The electronics are the least problematic components. Maybe I've been lucky.

Three family members own Suburus. I don't own one, but most people I know who have or have had one like the product.

With Jay Inslee prices for gasoline these days, this is what I like most about Mrs. Merkt's 2012 Hyundai Elantra:
View attachment 1751455

In contrast, this is what the 2006 Mercury Grand Marquis will do:
View attachment 1751453

Highway mileage in both cases.

That's great mileage on the Grand Marquis. I recall a 1974 Ford Galaxie 500 I has with a 351 Windsor ithat would do 24 mpg on the highway, all day, everyday. That car ran like a clock. Dead silent inside. Great car, first one I bough myself, still miss it sometimes.

 

[Jcon268]

I was taking my wife to a medical appointment in Seattle early this morning. It was not quite daylight. I was driving her newer Subaru and had my pistol in the back seat in a backpack.

I came around a corner (South Lake Union area, not generally a bad area) and a woman stepped out from the far side of a bus shelter into the lane and put her hand out for me to stop. I immediately stopped, honked the horn, and put my hands up in a WTF signal to the woman. The woman was 10' from the front of the Subaru and standing in the road.

She threw something large toward the Subaru. My mind went into defend mode. I watched it hit the windshield and realized it was a plastic bottle full of liquid. The woman seemed to be awaiting my reaction and was reaching behind her waist.

I knew the doors were auto locked on the Subaru. I had a 'you frigging moron' moment with myself as I realized my pistol was behind me and not within my reach. Mistake 1.

I stepped on the gas of the Subaru with the intent to lurch forward and let her know I wasn't screwing around. Nothing happened. I tried again. Nothing happened. I then realized the obstacle-detection features of the Subaru were aware of a person in the road and the Subaru was overriding my input to accelerator pedal. I didn't know how to disable the features. Mistake 2.

I yelled at her while still in the car and pointed at her. I looked around wondering if she had accomplices but didn't see anyone (it was dark though, bushes by the bus shelter).

The woman stepped back behind the bus shelter, I stomped on the accelerator, the Subaru responded, and I got us out of there.

I've replayed the situation many times in my mind today. She may have been nothing more than homeless with mental-health challenges, but it could have gone worse. I thought I would share.

My personal takeaways:

• Things happen VERY fast. Be ready.
• I must be disciplined about keeping my firearm within reach and at the ready.
• Know the vehicle I am driving. Specifically, know how to disable newer obstacle-detection features.

I hope this helps improve awareness and readiness for anyone reading.

Mind you these are the people our overlords want us to assimilate into society. The experience you just had is one that many people have almost daily in or around Portland or Seattle but we're I guess just supposed to put those encounters behind us? Somehow we're the dangerous ones because we decided to arm ourselves appropriately. Yet we're the predictable ones living precitable lives. The people jumping out in front of cars in the dark hours of twilight are the ones you never know what their motivation is or how far they'd go regardless of what their weapon of choice is. We used to have mental wards for people like this. The streets have become the courtyard of the asylum.