Killing "birds" off topic, automotive

[Owly055]

This is way off topic, but I suspect other members find the little bells and chimes in your vehicles as annoying as I do. I call them "birds".

My 2010 Subaru Outback has it's share of annoying audio stuff, the most irritating being the chime when you don't fasten your seatbelt........ which I rarely use. Please spare me the safety lecture....... I live out in the hills where there is almost no traffic. It's MY choice to make, not one that the government has a right to dictate, end of discussion.

Today I went on a "hunting trip", which was brief and satisfying. It was surprisingly easy. Following the sign, led me to the beast's lair, which was on the back side of the instrument panel. It required prying off the center bezel so I could reach one screw on a small piece that blocked the trim removal around the dash. Two screws up above, released the upper glare shield which popped out very easily. Two more screws removed the fabric piece over the tilt column, and four released the dash itself. One easily removable plug with a simple latch, disconnected it from the harness.

With the panel out, there was a protective cover over the back, with obvious slots over the audio annunciator. A series of latches...... too many.....released this cover. The annunciator was a round black thing about an inch in diameter with a hole in the center. A channel lock was used to break the housing, and inside was a thin stainless diaphragm, and a magnetic ring. With these removed it was silenced forever. While I was at it, I removed the clear cover on the front and painted over two annoying and useless lights with black paint.

Modern vehicles seem to be mounting the annunciator on the dash, which is far easier than in the past when there would typically be a module that performed many functions so it couldn't be unpugged. With those it was necessary to pry the cover off of the module and locate and remove or destroy the annunciator. I recently did the same thing to an '04 Ford pickup...... almost identical, and easier to get to. A pocket knife will generally simply pop off the trim plastic without damaging it quickly and easily. My Chevy pickup comes apart almost the same way.

I don't need a chime to tell me the key is in the ignition, or that the lights are on, or any of the dozens of other things they want to warn you about. I've been driving since the 60's..... We didn't depend on the car to tell us these things. We didn't need anti lock brakes.... we knew how to pump brakes and keep a car under control. We didn't need the car to sense wheel slip and throttle back for us, or apply brakes strategically in corners, or any of dozens of things that they think cars can do better for us than we can do for ourselves.......... and we lived through it just fine. It's called "driving" People today seem to think steering, accelerating, and braking is "driving"..... There is far more to it than that.

H.W.

 

[day_trippr]

Ok, so what kind of reaction are you looking for?

 

[mbobhat]

If you're so against wearing a seatbelt, I'm surprised you have a modern vehicle. I'm pretty sure the airbags work with the seatbelt, like you can get pretty jacked up if the airbag goes off when you aren't wearing one. But yea those things are annoying.

I used to have a dryer that would always do an annoying beep whenever the load was done and I didn't open the door. I hated that dryer with a passion, I used to work nights and that thing would always wake me up. Ended up clipping that beep but was glad when it eventually died for good.

 

[bob1852]

Or save time and effort and just do this...

http://www.subaruoutback.org/forums/#/topics/24232?page=1

 

[mirthfuldragon]

Nevermind. Apologies for the inconvenience.

 

[Ki-ri-n]

I, for one, feel the same as Owly. I hate all of the "extras" (beeps, alarms warnings, and "safety" features added to cars). I like to be able to choose, whether or not "I" want them active or on. And not be forced to re-set them every time you start the car. I turned the seat belt chime off on mine (via software) because it's so annoying (And I do always wear mine-I just hate the reminder, it's like nails on a chalk board!). I prefer to do it all-that's driving. I even HATE cruise control, never used it once!

Now OWLY, if you have an automatic, I've lost all respect

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Now OWLY, if you have an automatic, I've lost all respect

Just this year, I bought my first automatic. Needed a family-friendly vehicle and Ford doesn't offer the Flex in a manual.

Still have the 6-speed manual Jeep though.

Glad to hear at least someone other than me still prefers a vehicle with a proper transmission...

 

[agrazela]

Just bought my wife a 2001 Miata (38k old man orig owner miles, no ABS, 5-speed, baby!) to replace her rear-ended Outback.

Even that G.D. 3-generations-old base-model Miata has too many "chirps" and "thingies" on it.

EDIT: but it does have seat belts, and those are a good thing.

 

[Owly055]

I, for one, feel the same as Owly. I hate all of the "extras" (beeps, alarms warnings, and "safety" features added to cars). I like to be able to choose, whether or not "I" want them active or on. And not be forced to re-set them every time you start the car. I turned the seat belt chime off on mine (via software) because it's so annoying (And I do always wear mine-I just hate the reminder, it's like nails on a chalk board!). I prefer to do it all-that's driving. I even HATE cruise control, never used it once!

Now OWLY, if you have an automatic, I've lost all respect

I'm devastated!!! It's a CVT..... which is an automatic more or less, and I hate the transmission as I do all automatics.......... Unfortunately I don't always choose cars based on what I want. This was a hail damaged 2010 Outback with a knock in the engine, with 120K (approx), that I bought for $500. I pulled the engine, tore it down, replaced the crankshaft, one rod, all rings and bearings........ at home. I've got about $1500 into the car including new windshield, and various other things I replaced. I can live with the dents. I was in that hail storm..... many of the hail stones where I was were larger than my fist. It broke glass out of 11 vehicles where I was and trashed roofs on every building as we watched from inside a Quonset. My pickup bears the scars also. It too is an automatic.... because that was what was available. I've heavily modified it so I can lock the torque converter clutch at the flip of the switch, and block out automatic downshifts, also disabled the pulse width modulation valve. Pulling heavy trailers with a half ton pickup, and a transmission that has a reputation for being weak (4L60E), I've put over 150,000 on this transmission, and it was far from new when I bought it.
I don't like automatics, and most of my vehicles have been manuals, but I make them work when I have them.

Know anybody else who's overhauled a 2010 2.5 engine at home? Not even the dealers or shops will touch them..... Beyond raping people for head gaskets. In the process I invented an entirely new puller for slide hammering out the wrist pins which were well and truly stuck due to oil glaze when someone overheated the engine at some point.

I'm not a snob about vehicles............

H.W.

 

[Owly055]

I just got back from a trip out to see my mother........... In the process, I disabled the driver side exploding steering wheel. She's under 100 lbs, less than 5' tall, and terrified of the air bag. It would probably kill her if it went off.
The job required a resistor in the wires to simulate the air bag so the lights and bells wouldn't go off. 3.3 ohms worked, but I had to disconnect the battery and short the battery cables together to get it to forget the fact that the air bag had been unhooked. An OBDII tool will not do it.
She of course wears seat belts religiously.......... I only wear them when I feel the need, like coming up Lolo pass yesterday at 5 over on cruise and never slowing down for the corners........It's endless!

H.W.

 

[Homercidal]

I don't see what you guys have against automatics. The vast majority of drivers won't make use of the advantages a manual transmission has over an automatic. In these modern days, an automatic shifts faster, and smoother and gets better mileage than a manual. The only time I'd prefer a manual is for off roading (And then only in certain instances) and for pulling certain loads.

Oh, and of course for road racing, but that's obvious.

 

[Ki-ri-n]

I could care less if it's faster or more fuel efficient. That's not the point. It's about being more "man" AND "machine" then just mostly a machine. Why not just have an autonomous car/bus/whatever drive you around where you're only cargo? NO THANKS, I'd rather be dead!

#SaveTheManuals

 

[Owly055]

I don't see what you guys have against automatics. The vast majority of drivers won't make use of the advantages a manual transmission has over an automatic. In these modern days, an automatic shifts faster, and smoother and gets better mileage than a manual. The only time I'd prefer a manual is for off roading (And then only in certain instances) and for pulling certain loads.

Oh, and of course for road racing, but that's obvious.

Automatics do NOT get better mileage than standards, provided the driver shifts reasonably well. The hydraulic pump needed to shift the automatic, and the fact that nearly all modern automatics use the torque converter as if it were a gear between actual gears creating the illusion of having more gears, pretty well kills efficiency. It would take a really lackadaisical driver to get worse mileage with a standard. Of course the majority of people on the road are not what I would call "drivers". They know how to use the throttle and brakes, and shift, but that is a very small part of "driving". "Driving" involves constant and total situational awareness, and anticipation of what is going to happen around you at all times. The simple fact of tailgating which is nearly universal in some areas disqualifies a person from being anything I consider a "driver". It's foolish. and dangerous both to the person behind the wheel, and others around him or her. The behavior of accelerating and racing to the next stoplight, braking to wait, and repeating, that one sees in the city is NOT the way a real "driver" drives a vehicle. A true driver is never surprised, or caught without options. I witnessed an accident nearby the other day in which the "drivers" of three vehicles were not really "driving", all set off by a trucker who was NOT driving, but rather tailgating a small car on an icy highway with obvious intention of passing, a criminally reckless act with powder snow that was whipping up behind his truck. He was not involved in the wreck, nor was the small car that pulled off into deep snow to avoid being passed and blinded. A pickup slowed and turned off to give assistance.... a left turn at a very obvious intersection....... he may or may not have signaled, but that's irrelevant, as another pickup behind him tried to pass him as he made his left turn......... An illegal stupid and dangerous pass. The first "driver" (making the turn) was not apparently aware that he was being overtaken, and didn't anticipate the stupidity of the fellow behind him, which was obvious to me as a spectator nearby. Of the 4 people involved, the truck of course got off scot-free and was long gone, and the driver in the small car was paying attention and took one of two options he had.... the other being to simply block the truck from passing on that narrow icy highway, and he got out with a few minutes of shoveling.
This is typical of what one sees all the time on the highways.......

H.W.

 

[Homercidal]

I understand that historically manuals always got better mileage than automatics, but recent testing has proven that SOME automatics deliver better economy than the manual offered in the same car. Of course the driver can affect this greatly, but this is the case between ANY car. I'd have to assume the EPA tests were performed with equivalent shift RPMs under laboratory conditions. There are plenty of cars out there that offer manuals that don't deliver as good mileage as their automatic counterparts. All it takes is a little investigating into the options available in cars today.

Manual transmissions can also impede a driver's abilities if they are not educated and practiced in using them under adverse conditions. TBH, there are a LOT of people out there uneducated and unpracticed at driving under adverse conditions.

And I wholeheartedly agree about tailgating. It's SOP for many drivers, and is a dangerous habit to get into. Fits right in there with not watching far enough ahead, not slowing down for visibility, passing on the shoulder, etc. But that's a separate issue. you can learn to be a better driving whatever machine you are piloting. Having to manually shift gears doesn't prevent you from doing any of those other things. Does having to manually operate your window wipers make you a better driver? Of course not.

Teaching my daughter to drive was a constant reminder of checking twice, look left before pulling out, leave more room, signal on sooner, watch behind you and out in front of you, slow down MORE for wet or snowy weather.

And of course I'm looking forward to the opportunity to teach her basic counter steer and proper donut etiquette when the snow hits. We missed "Parking Lot Training" last year.

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, it's not uncommon for automatics to use different differential gear ratios (taller, typically) vs manuals, which can make mileage comparisons even more difficult...

Cheers!

 

[Brewenstein]

And I wholeheartedly agree about tailgating. It's SOP for many drivers, and is a dangerous habit to get into. Fits right in there with not watching far enough ahead, not slowing down for visibility, passing on the shoulder, etc.

I live in the suburbs of Chicago and am on the highways a lot. At rush hours, traffic is so slow that everyone is basically tailgating, but that isn't a hazard when you are creeping along. However, early mornings, weekends, etc. is when it gets crazy. It's like the autobahn - complete disregard for speed limits. It in routine for me to driving into Chicago at 5:00 AM doing 70 and be passed up on either side of me. Sometimes by police cars .

When we are traveling somewhere, my wife is constantly on me about following too close. However, sometimes holding what would normally be considered a safe distance is actually hazardous in my opinion and I tell her this: If I back off a little, some A-hole will use that space to cut me off and possibly cause an accident. I am constantly looking in my mirrors and do my best to make sure that I have space around me if I have to pull an evasive maneuver. I usually ride in the left lane so that I only have to worry about traffic coming at me from one side, and make sure that I keep up with the traffic flow in that lane.

However, on the occasions when I make it out into the country, or when traffic is light, I will maintain safer distances and speeds. It's just nuts here (and probably in any metro area). Can't wait to retire someday and be able to drive on off-traffic hours.

 

[TheDudeLebowski]

I haven't done a comparison in a long time but aren't standards lighter than automatics too? I feel more connected with a standard. I get rental or borrow another persons car and I feel like I'm going to fall asleep if I'm on a long trip and they've tricked out on all the comfort options.

 

[Homercidal]

I live in the suburbs of Chicago and am on the highways a lot. At rush hours, traffic is so slow that everyone is basically tailgating, but that isn't a hazard when you are creeping along. However, early mornings, weekends, etc. is when it gets crazy. It's like the autobahn - complete disregard for speed limits. It in routine for me to driving into Chicago at 5:00 AM doing 70 and be passed up on either side of me. Sometimes by police cars .

When we are traveling somewhere, my wife is constantly on me about following too close. However, sometimes holding what would normally be considered a safe distance is actually hazardous in my opinion and I tell her this: If I back off a little, some A-hole will use that space to cut me off and possibly cause an accident. I am constantly looking in my mirrors and do my best to make sure that I have space around me if I have to pull an evasive maneuver. I usually ride in the left lane so that I only have to worry about traffic coming at me from one side, and make sure that I keep up with the traffic flow in that lane.

However, on the occasions when I make it out into the country, or when traffic is light, I will maintain safer distances and speeds. It's just nuts here (and probably in any metro area). Can't wait to retire someday and be able to drive on off-traffic hours.

I concur. When the roads are very packed and busy, you have to do what you can. I still tend to leave a bit of space, but I'm usually closer than I am comfortable with when on busy city highways. I was not happy driving around DC while pulling a '67 Cougar behind my FIL's truck on a trailer. Nobody was polite enough to let me move over even after having my signal on for a good distance. Finally had to just start edging over carefully. I'm always trying to be aware of someone signalling to move over. A lot of people don't bother trying to let others know what they want until the last second when it's too late to do anything but jump lanes like an idiot.

I haven't done a comparison in a long time but aren't standards lighter than automatics too? I feel more connected with a standard. I get rental or borrow another persons car and I feel like I'm going to fall asleep if I'm on a long trip and they've tricked out on all the comfort options.

Generally Manuals are lighter, and I agree about feeling the car a bit more. It's just not worth it for me for general driving. But it is one reason I'd only want a stick in a performance car. Nothing worse than sliding behind the wheel of a fancy sports car and then not having a stick shift in your hand. I often drive with my hand on the floor shifter of the cars we own and pretend to shift it like a manual. If you work the gas just right you can almost believe you're driving something exciting!

This thread reminds me that I printed the instructions to turn off the automatic door locks on my wife's car. I should probably leave it alone, but it's annoying to have to manually hit the button when you are picking up someone and they try to get in. I'm assuming locking the doors is a safety feature, but I'm not sure. Makes sense to prevent the doors from opening in the case of a rollover.

 

[passedpawn]

I turned off the chime that you hear outside the car when you lock/unlock the doors with the remote. The headlamps blink, that's enough for me. Otherwise, I don't think my car makes noises at all. Maybe I don't notice them.

I had to drive a stick in San Francisco and that sucked. If it was a small car, that would have been manageable, but it was an old SUV. Argh. I drove 2 1/2 ton trucks in the military that were stick. Massive throw on that floor shifter - throw your shoulder out shifting from 1st to second 5T trucks that replaced the 2.5T came with automatic tranny. Same with most other vehicles in the military now, even the tractor trailer and other large equipment haulers like the awesome LVS Dragon Wagon (which I drove a lot).