The Crossfire had its first run of the year last weekend in anticipation of todays eTest. We drove up to Beaverton along the shores of Lake Simcoe, stopping for a pub lunch and returning home later in the day. Maybe a total of 2hrs of driving and never exceeding 90/100km/hr. In fact it never made it into 6th gear that day. Today the local Chrysler dealership plugged in their OBD Reader and told me the car wasn't ready, asking if I let the battery go dead while in winter storage. I didn't. Battery maintainer was connected all winter. The kid suggested I drive it a bit more and come back. We agreed I would return in about an hour after another spin on the highways. Leaving Keswick, I travelled down Hwy #404 south, lost my mind at one point and had it up to 160km. Got off at Hwy #407, did a loop and returned back to the testing facility after a total of 50min driving. The kid came out with his OBD reader and said yep, we are good to go. Passed the test but had to pay for what was technically, two tests! First one was $30, second $12. Add taxes and the bill came to $51. Drove down the road and purchased plate renewals for the year. Crossfire is now certified, licensed and insured for another season of drives.....Yooo Hooo!!

 

I love it when a plan comes together...!

 

Strange about needing to be reset, isn't it. Anyway, you're good to go!

 

I have a temporary tag on my car because my OBD2 scanner says I would not pass the test, an orange light is lit up. I have to do the 410/Dixie Road loop to get it to reset like my f'ing 300 did.

That f'ing 300 cost me $1,100 to get fixed this week because the camber strut collapsed and I ruined a drive shaft driving it home, those CV joints aren't meant to drive the wheel at those angles and there were other suspension problems as well.
That car is a real POS. The rubber bushing come loose in one strut because salt and $hit got between the rubber and the aluminum strut. Last Chrysler for me, last North American car. I was thinking about a GM but their safety problems and the way they ignored 13 deaths has fixed my opinion of them.
Still no Japanese car for me, I have not forgotten. So Korean is my next choice, unless I can get a cheap quality Merc.

 

Quote:

Last Chrysler for me, last North American car.

Buy a Volvo....

 

Volvo are for old geezers or people who act like old geezers.


Hmm, second thoughts maybe I should.

 

Nothing better than a brisk ride in a supple Volvo.....

 

Next week for me. Picking up new rcm board from MB in Syracuse on saturday.

 

Did the 410/Dixie loop and the scanner says it is good to go, so of to the e Test tomorrow and then the sticker. What a pain this can be, just because the battery was disconnected.

 

That f'ing 300 cost me $1,100 to get fixed this week because the camber strut collapsed and I ruined a drive shaft driving it home, those CV joints aren't meant to drive the wheel at those angles and there were other suspension problems as well.
That car is a real POS. The rubber bushing come loose in one strut because salt and $hit got between the rubber and the aluminum strut. Last Chrysler for me, last North American car. I was thinking about a GM but their safety problems and the way they ignored 13 deaths has fixed my opinion of them.
Still no Japanese car for me, I have not forgotten. So Korean is my next choice, unless I can get a cheap quality Merc.[/QUOTE]

I thought the Chrysler 300, Charger, and Challenger's chassis "Were" Mercedes design.
Dave were you aware the camber strut collapsed, and you still continued to drive the car?
I don't understand not buying a Japanese car, but you're OK with German car? Weren't you born in England?

 

Moved to different county, no emission test required , state inspection 14.00

Also in Texas if u car is 25 years old you can register as a antique, no state inspection . 5 year registration 50.00

 

I thought the Chrysler 300, Charger, and Challenger's chassis "Were" Mercedes design.
Dave were you aware the camber strut collapsed, and you still continued to drive the car?
I don't understand not buying a Japanese car, but you're OK with German car? Weren't you born in England?[/QUOTE]
They may have designed them, but they were made cheap and nasty.

I drove it home, at 11pm I was not about to call for a tow truck for the 300. The Crossfire would have come home in style on a flat bed.

The Germans paid dearly for the war and still pay, the Japanese still honor war criminals.There's more but a long tale.

 

Dave I have two Hyundai's a gencoupe and a veracruze. Zero problems. Also have a Yaris with 340,000 km on it and of course my xf.

 

Quote:

Did the 410/Dixie loop and the scanner says it is good to go, so of to the e Test tomorrow and then the sticker. What a pain this can be, just because the battery was disconnected.

Hey Dave...just curious...how did the eTest go?.....

 

No problem, sailed through.
I had heard about but never seen what they do, as well as hooking up to the car port they took pictures of the license plate and the door jamb sticker or stickers in my case because of the RIV sticker.
I wonder if it would ring any alarm bells at the Ministry if the RIV sticker was not there as it should be.

 

LOL my dad is going thru the same with his charger RT right now, the sounds from the front suspension.. LOL I cant even begin to explain. We have replaced both sides lower control arms 4 times on the car, each being a new rev from Chrysler, and they last probably about 35,000km before they start knocking again and the rubber damper starts to delaminate itself from the arm, thing sounds like every bushing has a 1/2" of slop!. We have replaced both brake calipers once, and the slider pins 3 times with new rubber seals. It just doesn't last!. The interior has more rattles then a nursery...Then the ABS pump decided to crap itself before the winter, which then totally removes any sort of traction control. hes not impressed with that car at all. 200,000km and the car has more rust and problems then my 25yr old w126 s-class that has 2x the mileage. My old barge is going to turn 400,000km in the next month knock on wood
It was expected though, Chrysler took parts off of the "evil" era of MB's those 2000 era cars were terrible, MB went from the top of the quality list in the 90's to the bottom when all that management shuffling and cost cutting was going on during those years. Only lately have they started to creep up back to their pedestal. Its sad to see.


With that said, we were lucky with our Crossfires, we got a slightly tested and true design which has a few years of "pre testing" under its belt with the slk before we inherited it, got a good engine, decent transmission with a few quirks. And it was just a plain ol good design, which is lucky now a days after seeing how OEMs design their stuff when it comes across my desk. GM's designs haven't been too bad lately they seem to be doin ok (I only see their truck components), Honda has been doin alright, Ford no problems from my end, Chrysler (so so, they always wait till the last second, then its rush rush rush, they seem pretty easy going though for quality issues), Toyota.. LOL they are a JOKE!! any suggestions you make to the design as a tier 1 supplier, they shoot down no matter what; even though it will save them money and produce a better product right away. Man... the stories I could tell about what goes on behind the scenes with Toyota. I think it has to do with this Japanese business superiority thing that Japanese companies have. Doesn't surprise me, see how many recalls they had this past year. I think every car model they made got some type of a recall if im not mistaken. They instantly shot me over a 6000$ upgrade we wanted to do to our assembly line to help improve their part quality with all the labeling changes they were making, we spent over 10hrs in meeting with them (4 employees at my end) (13 at their end), which if you added up the cost to just Toyota for all employee wages and time spent, it would of been 4 folds 6000$.. That was the day I realised how backwards they are. Then there was some language from their end when they thought they had the phone muted.. I cant make this up!! I never knew things this bad happened behind the scenes of the general public.. But good news! Toyota red tag days is on now!!!


Sorry if there's any Toyota owners on here, but I don't get to share this crazy stuff with anyone, none of my friends are car guys, and couldn't care less what goes on in the automotive sector.

 

Brakes? Don't get me started on brakes, they rust up, bind constantly then wear unevenly, they are a persistent worry.