Dishwasher recommendations? Black Friday coming up!

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]Your ND Miata still has mechanical steering … there’s a mechanical shaft connected to the steering wheel driving a gear on the rack. The power ASSISTANCE is just electrical, not hydraulic — it’s actually less prone to leaks and easier to “depower” than a hydraulic rack. Even Teslas (techbro mobiles par excellence) have a mechanical connection between the wheel and the steering rack.[/quote]

Correct, poor choice of words on my parts. Although electronic PS has not been problematic on my ND yet, it certainly has been problematic on the BMWs.

[spdrun]

It’s a 2200 lb car. Can you depower the stupid thing and call it a day? Some cars even mount the motor on the column, not in the rack, making it even easier to convert to a manual system (if you have a reasonably normal level of arm strength).

[Coronita]

[quote=spdrun]It’s a 2200 lb car. Can you depower the stupid thing and call it a day? Some cars even mount the motor on the column, not in the rack, making it even easier to convert to a manual system (if you have a reasonably normal level of arm strength).[/quote]

Conversion, yes. depower easily no. People tried disabling, but it was an awful experience going through slaloms..

Flying Miata did conversion to a hydraulic system. But they did that as part of their V8 LS3 conversion. Mazda reprogrammed the steering for some cars starting my year, so I personally like the feel. purists complain about it though. I would prefer if Mazda spent their time fixing the weak gearbox. The Fiat 124 isnt bad. It’s basically Miata with a Fiat engine. And they are pretty cheap new now that Fiat is on the verge of being extinct in the US. You can pick up a new Fiat 124 for around $21k, and there’s now a pretty decent tuning option for them. Untuned, they are kinda sluggish.

[Coronita]

Speaking of expensive tailights. Here’s another example. The Ford F150.

If you bought a truck with the blindspot gimic, and someone smashes your tailights or it gets cracked, be prepared to fork over +$350-$600+
https://www.1aauto.com/2015-17-ford-f150-driver-side-led-tail-light/i/fdltl00025?f=1024396&y=2017&utm_campaign=gb_csv_br&utm_content=LTL&gclid=Cj0KCQiAovfvBRCRARIsADEmbRLcOydEgHeg37GlnWm7UltvzdvmHIytPCXBhu5AECJHQG0no6_HUOwaAlqsEALw_wcB
(List price is $1000 )! That’s just for the LED tailight. You still need to move the blindspot module into the new headlight

If you just bought a no frills truck, that taillight is $42 with an easily replaceable bulb.

https://www.carparts.com/details/Ford/F-150/Replacement/2015-2017/RF73010008.html?TID=gglpla&origin=pla&utm_source=google&utm_medium=pla&utm_campaign=221983653&gclid=Cj0KCQiAovfvBRCRARIsADEmbRJv9nOETf51gWif3RZ9a8xO6ho9_4slMreyh_6Zs—HhQ6Dw5k0X8aAlkiEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

All these overengineered electronic designs in cars are just one more thing driving up long term customer cost of maintenance and ownership.

at least BMW didn’t make servicing the rear brake pads require a BMW scan tool to release the e-brake….yet…

I just wonder how long that e-brake motor will last. Probably not longer than a traditional cable

[svelte]

[quote=flu] If you bought a truck with the blindspot gimic…[/quote]

Might be a gimmick on a single cab with no camper shell. Otherwise there can truly be blind spots on trucks.

A few years ago we bought a car that just happened to have blind spot detection. Once we became used to it, we have insisted it be on every car we have since then. It doesn’t replace looking over the shoulder and mirror usage, but it is one additional check mark that gives us greater peace of mind when changing lanes/turning.

Same with front and rear sensors. At first we were “whatever”, but now that we have them, man do we love them! Just additional data points we can use to determine whether we are positioned correctly. Manufacturers are getting much better at placing the sensors so they are better integrated into the car and don’t look like someone drilled holes into the bumper and slapped in a sensor.

So I guess you can blame my wife and I for all the new electronics in cars. We love them. Our older cars feel like covered wagons when we drive them now.

[Coronita]

[quote=svelte][quote=flu] If you bought a truck with the blindspot gimic…[/quote]

Might be a gimmick on a single cab with no camper shell. Otherwise there can truly be blind spots on trucks.

A few years ago we bought a car that just happened to have blind spot detection. Once we became used to it, we have insisted it be on every car we have since then. It doesn’t replace looking over the shoulder and mirror usage, but it is one additional check mark that gives us greater peace of mind when changing lanes/turning.

Same with front and rear sensors. At first we were “whatever”, but now that we have them, man do we love them! Just additional data points we can use to determine whether we are positioned correctly. Manufacturers are getting much better at placing the sensors so they are better integrated into the car and don’t look like someone drilled holes into the bumper and slapped in a sensor.

So I guess you can blame my wife and I for all the new electronics in cars. We love them. Our older cars feel like covered wagons when we drive them now.[/quote]

I think a blindspot system and rear camera in general is a good idea on a large vehicle, I just question Ford’s decision to put them in the taillight. it just to me seems to expose those things to easily get damaged. And there probably is a happy medium between wanting luxury and paying for it (now and later) and also wanting a Spartan car geared more for reliability. I don’t think these technology advancements are bad, just they have tradeoffs.

I like the F-150 especially this generations. I’d probably would avoid getting the electronic blindspot sensors, assuming it doesn’t become a mandated requirement for new cars eventually.

[temeculaguy]

The wife’s 2015 Cadillac had the LCD (Cue) go out and it was replaced under warranty in 2017, In 2019, right after the warranty expires the completely replaced unit went out (they didn’t replace the screen, they replaced the $1600 unit). I replaced it in about two hours using an $80 part and $20 in tools from Amazon. Could have taken 5 minutes if it was engineered differently but had to take it out of the dash and remove about 40 screws, had two left over when I was done so hopefully it lasts. Youtube, Amazon and some entrepreneurs are fighting back against planned obsolescence. At least the Caddy is easy to work on.

[Coronita]

I’ve been finding a lot of parts for Volkswagon/Audi on Amazon. These are parts made on China, but the funny thing is often these parts that were designed and made in China are better than OEM!

For instance. This stupid OEM coolant temp sensor flange is made out of plastic and sits behind the engine block,right in front of the firewall. After 100k miles, this stupid critical plastic component starts to crack and eventually leaks or spectacularly fails.

Check out this clever redesign of the OEM plastic part.

All metal, no more cracking. $10 more.

[FlyerInHi]

About cars, why not take Flu’s advice with regard to appliances — buy something cheap, functional, mass produced with parts plentiful and easy to find. A Toyota Corolla or a Hyundai Elantra. I wonder if flu would recommend Chevy.

[bibsoconner]

Myself, I like to hear the end of a story so I thought I’d post what I think is the last chapter in this saga. I file a complaint against Bosch with BBB. If you look them up, you can see many others have done the same and they have a ‘D’ rating! So, without much hope that it would help, I filed a complaint. BBB got back to me to say that Bosch hadn’t bothered to respond and that was all they could do. I resigned myself to writing it off as a loss and went and got a KitchenAid at Costco. I had no interest in taking them to court (although I think I had a strong case).

Out of the blue, Bosch called me, stated that upper management had reviewed the file, and they wanted to give me a new dishwasher! I felt sort of bad returning the KitchenAid to Costco. My wife pointed out that the KitcheAid didn’t wash dishes as well as the Bosch. I replied, “how could you say that? The Bosch didn’t work at all. Oh! you mean when the Bosch was working!”. In any case, KitchenAid is returned, and we have a new Bosch. We shall see if it lasts more than 3 1/2 years. My out of pocket cost is the $155 I paid to have a Bosch representative come out initially and spend 5 minutes to say, “yep, it’s leaking from the tub”. Of course, I’m out a heck of a lot of time.

I guess the moral of the story if there is one is be persistent. Or perhaps it is to use BBB. I’m not sure if that’s what did it or not. They didn’t ask me to amend my complaint so I’m not sure.

[Author]

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