replaced the wife ride

jaha2000 · 11-14-2012, 09:45 AM

With the 8 week old, the Saturn Astra 5 door was not doing it anymore. With the kid seat in the back the front see was worthless and i am not exactly a tall dude.
2010 Toyota Venza with 40k on the clock
No packages in 2010 but its what a limited would be now.
Leather, heated seats, Nav, dual zone climate, Sunroofs, all the goodies. v6 and AWD will be nice in the winter for sure...

JCH13 · 11-14-2012, 11:00 AM

Keep an eye on the wheel speed sensors. I've heard they like to routinely die, which disables stability control and ABS. My brother was in a Venza when a wheel speed sensor failed, brakes locked up, and they rear-ended the car in front of them. It was on snow, and the Venza had the stock all-seasons on it.

TSB:

ABS and VSC Warning Light "ON" Due to Open Circuit in Rear Wheel Speed Sensor (T-SB-0031-12)

Some AWD 2009-2011 model year Venza vehicles may exhibit a ABS/VSC warning light “ON” condition with Diagnostic Trouble Code (DTC) C1332 and/or C1333 (right/left rear speed sensor circuit).

Without winter tires it'll still suck in the snow.

jaha2000 · 11-14-2012, 12:45 PM

Got the info that both were replaced already (I knew about the issue)

The tires on there are not the best. I will be looking at replacing them with something a bit better. The issue, the 20's are not the most common size. They are expensive and you dont have a ton of options.

It will be way better than the low slung go kart that the astra was in the winter.

Ferzerp · 11-14-2012, 01:02 PM

Most misleading thread title ever.

JulesMaximus · 11-14-2012, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferzerp

Most misleading thread title ever.

I see you're being your usual helpful self...

JCH13 · 11-14-2012, 01:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaha2000

Got the info that both were replaced already (I knew about the issue)

The tires on there are not the best. I will be looking at replacing them with something a bit better. The issue, the 20's are not the most common size. They are expensive and you dont have a ton of options.

It will be way better than the low slung go kart that the astra was in the winter.

TireRack has a 17in winter setup available for the 2010 V6 Venza. It's about $1k + S/H with brand new tires mounted and balanced on brand new wheels. The $400 set of wheels will pay for itself in two sets of winter tires (or faster) because you'll be able to get 17in tires instead of 20in tires. Cheapest 20in winter tires on TR are $800/set

Edit: will definitely be faster than two sets... you'll save mounting+balancing costs 2x a year.

Zargon · 11-14-2012, 02:58 PM

omg someone else that has/had an astra

I hope we can fit a kid OK in, neither of us are very tall, and I am about to go payment-less, I'd hate to have to pick one up again

Im pretty interested to find out what trim ETC the astra was and what you got for it on trade/sell

jaha2000 · 11-15-2012, 06:19 AM

Astra XR - 5 door
Auto
Sunroof
Had the upgraded radio in it as well. They gave me 10 K for it.

If you plan on rolling two people plus the car seat its awful. I am a short dude (5-8) and with the car seat behind me my knees hit the dash and that was the passenger side. The other issue is that the back doors are tiny on it, making the seat difficult to get in and out.

The Astra is not a bad little ride, its too bad GM never brought over any of the "good" ones that they have on the other side of the pond. It handles great, but has a serious lack in the HP department. 4 people in there and it can hardly get out of its own way getting on the highway as i am sure you know.. The other thing that drove me nuts was me not being able to go into a parts store and get parts for it. you had to order EVERYTHING. Even oil filters. How has yours been for you?

jaha2000 · 11-15-2012, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCH13

TireRack has a 17in winter setup available for the 2010 V6 Venza. It's about $1k + S/H with brand new tires mounted and balanced on brand new wheels. The $400 set of wheels will pay for itself in two sets of winter tires (or faster) because you'll be able to get 17in tires instead of 20in tires. Cheapest 20in winter tires on TR are $800/set

Edit: will definitely be faster than two sets... you'll save mounting+balancing costs 2x a year.

Thats the plan for sure. Looking at getting the Yokohama AVID ENVigor for the 20's when i goto replace.

Yeah i was playing with the winter packages, looks like you can get the wheels and tires for 1k, but then need to add 250 bucks for the TPMS sensors as well, or just deal with the light on the dash in the winter.

If the weather is really bad outside and she needs to get somewhere, she can always just take my FJ cruiser.

Doppel · 11-15-2012, 06:31 AM

Venza is a great looking vehicle.

Zargon · 11-15-2012, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaha2000

Astra XR - 5 door
Auto
Sunroof
Had the upgraded radio in it as well. They gave me 10 K for it.

If you plan on rolling two people plus the car seat its awful. I am a short dude (5-8) and with the car seat behind me my knees hit the dash and that was the passenger side. The other issue is that the back doors are tiny on it, making the seat difficult to get in and out.

The Astra is not a bad little ride, its too bad GM never brought over any of the "good" ones that they have on the other side of the pond. It handles great, but has a serious lack in the HP department. 4 people in there and it can hardly get out of its own way getting on the highway as i am sure you know.. The other thing that drove me nuts was me not being able to go into a parts store and get parts for it. you had to order EVERYTHING. Even oil filters. How has yours been for you?

it blew out a few timing chain tensioners.

it was their own fault. service manager argued with m eon oil change interval and insisted on me following the computer. it was having me go 6k+ per oil change

now that I moved down to 4K I havnet lost one yet

yeah power sucks. its a sapphire metallic(dark dark blue, essentially black) XR with sunroof. the 170HP turbodiesel motor from the UK would have been nice, more HP, more TQ, better MPG

you can get oil filters at advanced now because the cuise uses the same one on one of its engines, but I still hit the dealer since its the same price and its 'proof' im changing the oil

what kinda miles did you have on it? mine is around 55K

nerp · 11-15-2012, 10:50 AM

There is an Astra locally and I see it filling up sometimes and it's not a bad-looking car. Looks like a perfectly capable commuter.

There is something about the Venza that I like. It's weird, it doesn't look like a SUV or Crossover so much. It kind of looks like just a huge car.

Zargon · 11-15-2012, 11:53 AM

dont get me wrong, besdies the lack of power, I actually like it. I really like how it looks and the sunroof is freakin sweet

its sleek, it beats its EPA #'s, I see 32ish hwy all the time, and my wifes mixed communitng nets around 27mpg in the summer.....a little less in winter

but if a kiddo in the back is a major hassle, then it has to go

jaha2000 · 11-15-2012, 03:05 PM

Mine was right around the same kinda miles..
My advice.
Goto the baby store and tell them you want to try out some car seats in your vehicle. You will quickly find the issue with the Astra.
Yeah not a bad looking car, decent on gas (again they had better options over the pond. 6 speed auto??) and handles decent. Its just small and by the time you put a car seat and a stroller in it, its over, there is no room for mom and dads stuff.

Whats crazy, the sunroof in the Venza is even bigger

Howard · 11-15-2012, 06:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doppel

Venza is a great looking vehicle.

I disagree. Tries so hard to not look like a minivan, but it still does anyway.

twinrider1 · 11-15-2012, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ferzerp

Most misleading thread title ever.

lol, OP should sell it to Alkymyst.

JCH13 · 11-16-2012, 07:21 AM

I saw the latest Venza advert bragging about AWD... face-palmed so hard I broke my nose.

Zargon · 11-19-2012, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaha2000

Mine was right around the same kinda miles..
My advice.
Goto the baby store and tell them you want to try out some car seats in your vehicle. You will quickly find the issue with the Astra.
Yeah not a bad looking car, decent on gas (again they had better options over the pond. 6 speed auto??) and handles decent. Its just small and by the time you put a car seat and a stroller in it, its over, there is no room for mom and dads stuff.

Whats crazy, the sunroof in the Venza is even bigger

which car seat do you have?