I have a 2012 V level 5, it has 28.5k and recently I feel the ride quality has become very harsh. You tend to feel every bump, jarring potholes. I just upgraded my truck and my wife things it me because the truck suspension is so soft and just makes the prius fell harsh. Going to take it in for its 30k service in a couple of weeks but is there anything/anywhere I should check in the meantime.
View 10 RepliesLooking to upgrade my struts to a stiffer ride, without lowering it. I've heard that coilovers aren't that great as far as ride quality....
View 5 RepliesWe own not 1, but 2 2007 Passats. My wife's is a 2.0, mine is the 3.6. Both were purchased at the same time (4/07). Both have about 6000 miles on them. And both are going in for their first service at the end of this week.
I feel like what I'm experiencing with ride quality having deteriorated since the cars were new is happening in both cars. I don't know... maybe it's my imagination... but I don't think so.
I remember when the cars were new thinking that the ride was pretty sweet - very smooth, not jarring even over fairly rough road surfaces. I had just come out of an '05 Touareg V8 that I turned in early for the Passat (sold the boat; didn't need a tow vehicle any more and wanted better mileage - but loved the Touareg). Anyway I never really felt like the Touareg's ride degraded that much over the 30,000 miles I drove it.
But the way these Passats are riding right now is bothering me. My wife's car (the 2.0) is a bit worse than mine, I think. But I feel pretty sure what I'm talking about has happened (or worse yet, is perhaps still happening?) to both cars.
I'm in the market for a Prius and I read on carcomplaints that the 2010 model has excessive oil consumption issues. When I searched for more info about this issue, it seems that it occurs in the other model years as well. I'm wondering if I should avoid the 2010 model when looking for a used Prius, or if the trend on carcomplaints is incorrect and this issue is no worse on this model year than others. Did Toyota switch to a different piston ring in this year or are they all the same in the gen 3s?
View 19 RepliesI've had my MK6 GTI for about 4 months now, and this is my first car with a satellite radio (RCD-510). I honestly don't know much about sat radios, or what to expect from them. I have the Dynaudio package. I run my head-unit with all the sliders in the middle right now.
I am not impressed with the sound quality of Sirius (or Ipod MEDIA-IN for that matter), to me Sirius sounds like low quality mp3 stream, less than say 128kbps. It sounds "muddy" and unclear, highs don't have definition and lack dynamic range. There is even some static between let's say hi-hat strikes or other crisp notes. Normal FM radio sounds better, and CD or good mp3 files on SD card even better. Sirius sounds so bad that it is practically worthless to me, comparable to AM reception.
Is there any way to improve the sound quality of Siri's voice that is handled via the Mobile Assistant? I have a Lexus 300h with the Mark Levinson system and the voice is ok but could be better.
View 3 RepliesAre there any significant differences between a 2004 and 2005 in build or quality that would/should one to chose the 2005 model? (the 2004 I am looking at is a very low mileage car that has all the options I would otherwise want)..
View 6 RepliesMy 2010 fusion radio sound quality isn't as good as when car was new. Also seems to vary on certain days. Has any one had problems with their Sony factory system & what was the fix?
View 1 RepliesI have just started having an issue with my rear view camera. It has started to not come on until about 10 seconds after I have placed the car in reverse and once it does turn on, the video quality is bad. I know there are issues with the RNS510 and warm up time, but I am not using the RNS510. Here is what I have:
OEM RVC on trunk handle
Wire harness from Bold Sport
RNS315
I installed it myself many months ago and checked the wiring and all seems fine. However, I did notice that if I unplug the 4 pin harness near the camera (video feed, not the ground, power and reverse trigger) and then plug it back in, the camera then works instantly when I put the car in reverse and the video image quality returns. However, then it only works for about 3 or 4 times (individual times when I put the vehicle in reverse) and then I am back to a 10 second wait and bad video quality.
It says "reductant quality performance". I was reduced to idle the other day at the boat launch, with my boat. Called roadside assistance to come get the truck. They said they weren't liable for my boat, had to call a friend to come get it. Bring the truck to the dealer and he blames it on the DEF I bought, non motorcraft. I purchased ford DEF, siphoned the old stuff out and refilled with the ford DEF. Went out of town on a fishing trip and got the CEL again.
View 14 RepliesMy 2005 Prius is riding a little rough in the front. It seems like it might be the drivers side front wheel. I can hear the revolutions of the tire/wheel and I get a slight feeling of those revolutions from the drivers seat. I was thinking warped rotor but I'm no mechanic.
View 1 RepliesHad my first hiccup, and it's little disconcerting. Usually about every two weeks I take my car through a car wash and I have to put the car in N-no big deal, no messages.
This go-around as I was nearing the end of the wash, the Master Warning and the traction battery lights gets thrown, with the message on the display saying I should put the car in Park. Well, naturally you can't do that inside this car wash, so I waited until after I exited and checked the charge display: one purple bar.
So I hit the freeway and within 5 minutes I go all the way up to all Green. So I go from one bar to almost 8 bars in under 5 minutes? I find this rather odd that all of a sudden I get this behavior.
Here's my question: when this happens, does the car store a DTC code?
I love my 2011 Prius. It's relatively quiet in low speed drive and can't beat those MPGs. One thing that does bother me though is how bumpy the car rides. It is somewhat tolerable in the summer and fall, but as soon as I start driving on winter roads I feel like I'm riding on a tin can, feeling every single road bumps. Does the car usually feel the same for others or I need to change someone on my car. I still have the factory Assurance tires (36K miles). Are those the problem or should I get the struts checked (even though I'm pretty sure they're fine)?
View 8 RepliesI like most everything about my new v five, except the low profile tires. The ride is noisy and rough, especially compared with the Camry LE we traded and the Tacoma, of course, which we still drive.
View 19 RepliesMy 2015 prius series 5 ride is really harsh when gong over bumps! 17 OEM wheels w Toyo tires set at 33 frt/32 rear, Trd springs frt/rear, trd rear sway Cusco frt sway bar, front power brace and center brace! Should go back to stock springs? Or invest in set of soft coil overs ? I like the lowered look too!
View 4 RepliesThe car was purchased used with 18" wheels already on. After driving for about 6 months, I started noticing the road noise getting very loud. I took the car to a tire shop and they told me that there was some uneven cupping in the middle of the wheels, which is usually caused by worn out shocks making the wheel bounce up and down.
I replaced all 4 shocks, then replaced all 4 tires. Now its much more smooth than before, and is very silent on nicely paved roads. however, I notice when there's roads which any imperfections (like fixed streets with tar.. or uneven pavements, or when your tire hits the freeway markers to keep you in the lane) its heard very loud from inside the car and creates an almost *thud* sound when it does.
I assumed that the problem was that the car had 18" wheels. So recently I swapped the wheels out with stock 15" from Toyota, but somehow the road noise is still very apparent. I sat in a friend's Prius, same year, and I could tell that it was handling the uneven pavements much softer.
What could be the problem now? Is there anything else that needs to be replaced?
In our recent -20 F cold spell in Chicago, I noticed the ride got very stiff, have others experienced this in very cold weather? My theory is that the oil in the shocks or dampers become extra viscous at these temps and the cold shocks causes the ride to becomes like that of a Honda Civic with a dropped suspension. (It's so amusing to watch those Civic "low riders" going over railroad crossings, but it's all image right????)
Anyway I would think the colder temps would lower the air pressure in the tires, softening the tires a bit, but perhaps the rubber hardens counteracting that benefit. I have Michelin Primacy BTW. Since temps went back up above about +10 F ride seem to be OK again.
My Jeep Commander 2006 (a problem vehicle until i had it repaired/much replaced by non-dealer service center, i.e., i know that these are 'finicky' cars on their best days), the engine light comes on steadily/not flashing indicating poor quality fuel. It did this 60mi after this last fill up at the gas station, and it did so after 60mi following the previous fill up. The engine light then goes off -as Jeep told me it would - after driving it about 60-70miles. this happened a couple of times last summer as well. I've tried going to different gas stations in the area thinking different stations would have different fuel suppliers, but what i noticed is that BP and Sunoco for example are getting delivery from same truck. ?: how can i determine quality of gas before I put it into tank? I always put in premium but it doesn't matter what the label says if the quality isn't any good.
View 7 RepliesWe had a 2005 prius and LOVED it. But, we decided to move on and get a new one. 2011 Prius Three
How different could it be? I hate the new one. It is extremely uncomfortable for me in the passenger seat. Less so in the driver's seat, which is height adjustable, but still a problem for me due to physical issues.
EVERY bump and wrinkle in the road reverberates through the car - and through me.
The people at our dealership say there's nothing that can be done. Is this true?
2 nights ago I was driving around the neighborhood. I was coming down a small hill to a stop sign where I could only make a right or a left. I proceeded to turn right and a dog ran in front of the car. I swerved to the left, managing to not hit the dog but run flat into the sidewalk. In the moment it felt like my bumper had just scraped the edge and it sounded like I had just scatched the bottom of the bumper. I proceeded down the street for about 2-3 minutes before my car started slowing down. The engine was still on but when I pushed down on the pedal to accelerate the engine just revved.
When I looked down to see if maybe I had knocked the car into neutral, I couldn't move the shifter and it appeared to be stuck in reverse? When I tried pulling my car to the side of the road I found that now my steering wheel was also locked up and could barely tug it enough to get it moved over. Finally, I made it to the side of the road and now my brakes were locked as well. I managed to stop it with the e-brake but still the shifter wouldn't budge to put it in park. I turned the car off to avoid damaging the engine. I didn't address this problem immediately so I came back the following day to check it out, and couldn't get the car to turn over. I had power, the battery was fine, the engine wouldn't even make a noise like it was trying.
Eventually I looked underneath the car and saw the oil leaking from what I believe is the oil pan? This is my first car and know absolutely nothing about how an engine works. Could this be a computer response so that the engine doesn't seize? Again, the brakes, the gear shifter,and the steering wheel are all locked and won't budge. I used the emergency release lever to realease the gear shifter and was able to pull it into neutral and start the engine but I had to hold the shifter firmly the whole time and if I let go it would pop back into reverse(but it still rolls forward like it's in neutral?). Is this something a warranty or insurance would cover? Hopefully this is just the oil pan because I do not have a fraction of the money to get my transmission or engine entirely replaced.. It's a 2013 VW Jetta 2.5SE with 45k miles on it.
I have an 08 Camry v6 with 33K. Over the past 3-4 months I've noticed the wheel shaking at all speeds but got worse around 65-70mph. Went to the dealer a few weeks back and he put 2 new Michelin on the front, balanced all wheels and gave me a 4 whel alignment. The shaking at lower speeds is still there but not as bad, but around 60-70 MPH the wheels is all over the place in terms of shaking and controlling lanes. What it could be....
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