heffergm

For starters: 1) Don't tell a dealer "I want the 10k mile service", because in dealer speak, that means "rape me hard for whatever you think you can get away with charging me". Tell them, "I want the oil changed." End of story. If they do anything else without your permission, you're not required to pay them for it by law. 2) The place that quoted you $60 for an oil filter deserves a call to the better business bureau. The filter costs $12 tops. You can get them online from a variety of places, including the parts desk at any dealer, where I can guarantee you they won't cost $60. 3) Please stay away from Jiffy Lube. 4) Did I mention please stay away from Jiffy Lube? 5) I change my own oil. It costs me $60 total, and that includes filter and 7 quarts of synthetic oil. Paying any more than that at a dealer for a non-synthetic oil change is insane. Seven quarts of over the counter dino oil costs about $10, plus $12 for the filter, you're looking at $25 in parts and 30 minutes of time. At the current auto labor rate, that means you really shouldn't be paying more than$75-$100 total (which I still think is a huge ripoff, but if you don't have the time/knowledge/skill/whatever to do it yourself, then what choice do you have).

The interior grab handles are in no way safety devices. Whether or not they come off in the event of an accident should make zero difference in anyone's safety. Whether or not they have their seatbelt on will.

1. Use a little common sense. Don't let your child play with what amounts to the key to the car. Keep it in a pocket or some other safe place, much like you'd do with your keys in car without keyless start. But to answer the question, I highly doubt that a car manufacturer would design a car that would shut itself off while already in motion. The potential for lawsuits in the US would be astronomical. 2. Yes, there are instruction in the owners manual. You just hold the fob up to the start button. It continues to transmit even with a depleted battery.

No offense to Bedard, but no kidding. It truly frightens me how little the average motorist knows about what's going on in and around his vehicle.

Ugh. I drove one today. It's a slushbox alright. Calling it that doesn't have anything to do with how fast it accelerates. It has to do with how it changes gears, most noteably on downshifts. Unfortunately that tranny might be a deal breaker for me. If they had something like VW's DSG setup, or even BMW's SMG, I could probably deal with and even enjoy it. But sticking paddles on a normal auto does not a good transmission make. That being said, like you mentioned, I can see how it adds to the experience for people who drive autos all the time. The ability to hold a gear through the corner is handy, but those downshifts are horrid.

Ok, fair enough. I guess I'd also like to hear some subjective opinions on how "good" it is. Coming from a long list of manual transmissions, I'm a little concerned it's going to be the same kind of garbage slushbox you find in most cars.

I'm in the market for an IS350, but I had some questions about the auto transmission. Basically, I'm trying to figure out how much manual control I'll actual have. Let's assume I've shifted into 'S 6' mode (meaning all the gear are available is my understanding), and I'm cruising at 70mph: 1) if I bury the accelerator into the mat, will the car downshift on its own? 2) if I downshift manually, will the car remain in that gear until I tell it otherwise? What I'm trying to figure out is if, when in 'S' mode, the trans will still do whatever it wants, or if it'll actually listen to what I'm trying to tell it. Thanks for any help, -Grant