My car is officially broken

[ShawnD1]

Big rigs have been available with automatics for a long time. We had them in the military in the early 1990's. 5 speed automatics, actually ten speeds.

That thing must have chugged gas like there's no tomorrow. A typical big truck has 12-18 manual gears.

 

[LTC8K6]

So the reason automatic transmissions require a special after market cooler to prevent them from melting is because the tranny is being attacked by radical islamic anti-transmission terrorists. Got it. There's no way the simplest explanation (excessive heat) is the correct one.

Nope, it's because trans fluid works best within a certain temp range. We don't want it too cool or too hot. If you do something to the trans that would fry it, the cooler won't help much. Modern trannys will just detect the excess heat, and go into a limp mode anyway.

 

[PlasmaBomb]

The 500 pound difference from a corolla to a camry is a weight increase of 18.5%. On top of that, the camry has a 2.4L engine instead of a 1.8L engine which would be a displacement increase of 33%. So after adding 18.5% more weight and increasing the engine size by 33%, it only drops the gas mileage by less than 6%. In the OP, the car is burning 25% more gas, and you're trying to tell me it's caused by added weight? How many tons of weight do you think is in the trunk?

You said almost no difference... 6% != almost no difference, even when comparing apples to pears...

Always carrying 100 lb extra is enough to make a difference...

An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2 percent.
www.fueleconomy.gov

So the reason automatic transmissions require a special after market cooler to prevent them from melting is because the tranny is being attacked by radical islamic anti-transmission terrorists. Got it. There's no way the simplest explanation (excessive heat) is the correct one.

Or... you could go with exdeaths explanation... and use your common sense to realise that when towing the engine will be doing more work in both accelerating the heavier load and maintaining a constant speed.

Nope. I said I drive around in top gear and ATG said that was wrong. If you're not in top gear, which gear do you think the car is in? The gears in a corolla are listed here. Gear 4 is 0.892 while gear 3 is 1.296. If the car is gently cruising at 1800rpm, dropping out of the top gear would change it to 1800 * 1.296 / 0.892 = 2615rpm. Understandably, doing that drops gas mileage by a lot, and this is what ATG is saying should be done.

Did you not get that I don't know what you are talking about? Perhaps I wasn't clear enough... I don't know what you are talking about.

Do you guys always drive around at 2600rpm? My car would drink more gas than an M1 tank if I drove around like that all the time.

Normally I drive round ~3000 rpm, unless I'm trying to save fuel and slow down (constrained by the final ratio...)

 

[LTC8K6]

That thing must have chugged gas like there's no tomorrow. A typical big truck has 12-18 manual gears.

Nope, drove like a dream. Even the big 5 ton utility truck with the big diesel went to an auto tranny many years ago. Has something like 700lb/ft of torque. Weighs a whole bunch. Rated to tow 21K pounds also.

Lovely strong Allison auto trannys.

 

[Malak]

Driving a manual was way simpler. Just put er in a high gear and floor it. If it chugs, the gear is too high. If it jerks, the gear is too low. Simple as pie. Automatics..... complicated as figuring out how not to melt the torque converter D:

How can it be complicated? IT REQUIRES ZERO USER INPUT! If you have trouble using automatics then there is seriously something wrong with the way you drive. It sounds like you don't even understand the concept of manuals....

 

[ShawnD1]

How can it be complicated? IT REQUIRES ZERO USER INPUT! If you have trouble using automatics then there is seriously something wrong with the way you drive. It sounds like you don't even understand the concept of manuals....

I don't know man. That Honda Civic was rock solid and that's how I drove it the whole time. Never had performance issues. Never has gas mileage issues. Never had mechanical problems.

If it turns out this car is majorly fucked, I'll probably trade it into the Subaru dealership and get an Impreza. Hopefully the next owner knows how to drive an automatic and will be happy with their new-ish corolla 🙂

 

[MotF Bane]

I don't know man. That Honda Civic was rock solid and that's how I drove it the whole time. Never had performance issues. Never has gas mileage issues. Never had mechanical problems.

If it turns out this car is majorly fucked, I'll probably trade it into the Subaru dealership and get an Impreza. Hopefully the next owner knows how to drive an automatic and will be happy with their new-ish corolla 🙂

1) Shifter to D
2) Gas pedal, brake pedal
3) ??
4) Profit!

 

[LTC8K6]

I don't know man. That Honda Civic was rock solid and that's how I drove it the whole time. Never had performance issues. Never has gas mileage issues. Never had mechanical problems.

If it turns out this car is majorly fucked, I'll probably trade it into the Subaru dealership and get an Impreza. Hopefully the next owner knows how to drive an automatic and will be happy with their new-ish corolla 🙂

Subaru's manuals have hill start assist, which will probably have you weeping and gnashing your teeth in short order...

And their autos have manual mode...

 

[KDKPSJ]

Good luck, and I hope we won't see a post like "My POS Impreza is officially broken"

 

[LTC8K6]

Good luck, and I hope we won't see a post like "My POS Impreza is officially broken"

He already posted a link to a crappy Outback transmission...

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/...g-problem.html

Quote:
I have had this problem since day one. My tranny hunts on most inclines when I have the cruise control set and going at 70-75mph. The shift frequency is fast....it would start by shifting down to 4, then back to 5 without delay, then back to 4. On a small hill lasting no more than 30 seconds, my tranny would shift like 15 times.

Hey that sounds like Shawn's car. If I didn't know better, I'd say that all automatics drive like this and burning the ATF as well as the clutches is part of the game.

 

[Meghan54]

I called it. Fleabag2, CONFIRMED.

Actually, given what I've read from both, I think the OP is starting to dwarf fleabag for sheer stupidity.

To the OP....quit trying to outhink the car. You're in a losing battle. The car's obviously got the better brain, why not let it do its thing? You're not doing so well on your own.

Manual transmissions don't get hot......ROFL!!!!

 

[Demo24]

Good luck, and I hope we won't see a post like "My POS Impreza is officially broken"

More like "My Impreza is a POS because I can't floor it in 5th around town and accelerate". They are definitely geared lower and will actually require more user input to drive efficiently.

 

[ShawnD1]

He already posted a link to a crappy Outback transmission...

That's exactly why I won't get the automatic 😉

My friend has the regular 170hp Impreza and it seems pretty ok. It does have that sport shift mode but there's still something to be said about driving the old school way. I've driven the Altima V6 with the selectable automatic and I didn't really like the feel of it. It still has that slushy disconnected feeling of running through a torque converter, and it prevents upshifting unless the engine is spinning fairly quick. Another thing is that it doesn't even try to match rpm when downshifting, so downshifting is jerky. It will also refuse to downshift if the rpm difference is too high. For example, when passing in my Civic I would sometimes drop from 5 to 3 and the rpm would rise from maybe 2500 to about 5000. The Altima refuses to make such changes. My Corolla is like that as well; it won't shift into second if second will spin above 4000rpm. If I'm in third gear at 3000rpm and I want a bit more power, tough shit, putting the lever over to 2 will not change the gear, but it will change gear if the shifter is in drive and I floor it. wtf?

it's just too complicated. There's like some kind of flow chart one needs to look before attempting to shift. Will it shift from 3 to 2 in sport mode? Well it needs to be above this rpm but below that rpm and the gas needs to applied this much and you can't be turning and the seat must be tilted back at least 2 degrees etc etc.

 

[ShawnD1]

To the OP....quit trying to outhink the car. You're in a losing battle. The car's obviously got the better brain, why not let it do its thing?

Did you even read the thread? That's exactly why my Corolla is broken. I kept the car in drive, it didn't know wtf gear it's supposed to be in, so it changes gears nonstop. Now the check engine light is on and it's having trouble engaging second gear.

 

[zerocool84]

This is the same guy that can't drive a FWD or RWD and says anyone that drives those are bound to die in a crash.

 

[ShawnD1]

This is the same guy that can't drive a FWD or RWD and says anyone that drives those are bound to die in a crash.

Take a trip to Alaska or Canada. Your prius will get stuck in 1" of snow and you'll die waiting for someone to come dig you out.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

The selectable automatics don't really replicate the experience of real manual, they aren't meant for down-shifting 2 gears for passing on the highway. If you want to do that you need a real manual.

 

[evident]

i must be missing the backstory here... aside from him not towing a uhaul with his corolla, how did the OP claim to drive his car? would he keep it in L or 2 till redline or something then move it up to D?

on the bright side, if you didnt abuse your vehicle you can get it serviced under warranty i guess

 

[Demo24]

i must be missing the backstory here... aside from him not towing a uhaul with his corolla, how did the OP claim to drive his car? would he keep it in L or 2 till redline or something then move it up to D?

on the bright side, if you didnt abuse your vehicle you can get it serviced under warranty i guess

A)claims to drive it normally, but it shifts constantly
b)can't accelerate up hills, at least not enough to pass anything
c)downshifts so hard drinks are spilled
d)wants to lock it in top gear, all the time
e)locks manuals in top gear, floors it..everywhere
f)has a couple hundred pounds in the rear
g)often drives with 4-5 people in it + 200lbs of stuff in the trunk, wonders why it won't accelerate :hmm:


I'm probably missing some things, but yeah that's the gist of it right now.

 

[evident]

A)claims to drive it normally, but it shifts constantly
b)can't accelerate up hills, at least not enough to pass anything
c)downshifts so hard drinks are spilled
d)wants to lock it in top gear, all the time
e)locks manuals in top gear, floors it..everywhere
f)has a couple hundred pounds in the rear
g)often drives with 4-5 people in it + 200lbs of stuff in the trunk, wonders why it won't accelerate :hmm:


I'm probably missing some things, but yeah that's the gist of it right now.

is he driving an AT or MT?

if the AT is downshifting on itself so hard that drinks are spilled then it seems like a faulty transmission on that vehicle. with a problem that blaring every car review would it on that alone.

Anywho, i just think the OP just needs something to bitch about.

most AT's are just fine on modern vehicles, at least on all the cars i've driven.

 

[Demo24]

is he driving an AT or MT?

if the AT is downshifting on itself so hard that drinks are spilled then it seems like a faulty transmission on that vehicle. with a problem that blaring every car review would it on that alone.

Anywho, i just think the OP just needs something to bitch about.

most AT's are just fine on modern vehicles, at least on all the cars i've driven.

AT in this vehicle, which he makes known in most threads that his manual civic he owned before was 'perfect' but automatics = worst thing on earth, especially if it has fewer than 5 gears.

 

[ShawnD1]

AT in this vehicle, which he makes known in most threads that his manual civic he owned before was 'perfect' but automatics = worst thing on earth, especially if it has fewer than 5 gears.

True that it's a slow work day, but none of the stuff I post is made up. I really do own a crayola, I did own a civic, the civic was a fine car but it was t-boned, corolla is a fine car too but it's broken right now. Apparently I was loading the vehicle past GVWR this whole time because I regularly ride around with 4 or 5 people in the car, but GVWR only allows for 1000lbs of people+goods. Much of the driving in my city is up hills (cities centered around rivers are usually hilly), so the constant gear hunting + overloading is doing a number on the transmission. Solution is to either buy a better vehicle or stop bathing in hopes that fewer people are willing to ride in my car. I keep comparing it to the Civic because the two cars are often directly compared and because I treated that car even more harsh than I treat this one but it still worked 100% until it was written off in an accident.

One thing I was going to post earlier was how google searching for a car and "transmission failure" usually relates to automatics. For the Corolla, there seems to be a major problem with their manual transmissions failing as well. Toyota quality indeed.

 

[kornphlake]

hmm, I'm driving up this big hill and my car is slowing down, I'll press the gas pedal harder to maintain my speed. Oh shoot, my autotragic crayola (not my words) downshifted, I better let off the gas so the engine doesn't race, I know enough to keep the engine below 3000 rpm unless I'm getting on the freeway. Dang now it's upshifted and I'm slowing down again, better press the gas pedal a little to speed up. Aw crap, now it's downshifting again...

If only Toyota knew how to make a decent transmission.

 

[ShawnD1]

It does the gear dance even when cruise control is on.

What's funny is when taking on big hills on the highway. You can't set the cruise control if the gear selector is in "2" but the cruise control will gladly drop down to gear 2 and run at 6000rpm for a minute straight when the car is in "drive"

 

[kornphlake]

That's how automatic transmissions work, the cruise control won't make it behave any differently. It sounds like you've tried to get your car to do things any reasonable person wouldn't even attempt, you broke it, you fix it.