Recent content by Gumpus

In my case I realized that for the same cost as upgrading to a 6th Gen I could just buy a second vehicle and keep my 5th Gen. I love my new Civic Hybrid (which drives better than any 4R) and I was sure I'd regret selling the 5th Gen since I expect it to remain trouble free and there is nothing...

I recently bought a Civic Hybrid and it also uses a fairly small battery (1.1kW/hr vs 1.87 on 4R) and even though I haven't owned it long we went from warm weather to snowstorms in November and I noticed a pretty dramatic difference in how often the engine starts.

Well you've got a 1.87 kW/hrs battery so at best it can put out 1870 watts for an hour, so if you're greedy and use a 1500W space heater you're gonna hear the engine but I think you'll do very well with an electric blanket.

You're making stuff up and you know it.

I admire your honesty.

Yes, agree with this. Your dealer has already acknowledged that it's an issue so demonstrate again and expect them to fix it. It's often a matter of part(s) moving and touching so can often be fixed by putting something like felt tape between the offending parts but given that it's a...

As far as reliability the unibody Toyota hybrids are superb and even the original first year Prius typically went well over 200,000 miles. My boss had one and it was less than $3k to get a new (or maybe it was reconditioned battery). The engines can run Atkinson cycle and never lug...the...

Go to the forums for vehicles that use the engine (4Runner. Tacoma, Highlander, Lexus) and see if you can find anything to worry about. There are hundreds of thousands on the road and they've been out for 2-3 years. My guess is that you won't find any common problems.

I'll just comment that the 5th Gen also gets plenty of complaints around ride quality and at least one source (Edmunds or Consumer Reports) gives it a very low rating. It sounds like the ride quality concerns are different (5th Gen is harsh front and rear but does "round off" the initial impact...

This comes up on every vehicle forum. I always run the factory recommended weight because that's what the manufacturer uses to prove out the design (durability testing). The parts that rely on hydrodynamic lubrication like your main bearings don't give a **** about the weight since the...

That makes sense and makes me smile since my almost-every-day offroad destination is my neighbor's farm 1/4 mile away, so I never get over 15 mph and then it melts in the garage...proving once again that you really don't have to clean a silver 4Runner ever. I have an obligation to create walking...

Yep, it's quite a rush to drive through deep virgin snow. My 5th Gen can handle about 16" of fresh snow max as long as it's not wet snow. The front end lifts and it feels like a boat...but you lose steering so you need to get the speed (maybe 15 mph) just right and stopping might not always be...

To replace 100000 engines and protect customers against a POTENTIAL quality issue probably cost Toyota well over $1 billion (100000 engines at $10k each) based on what engine replacements cost at the OEM I worked for. That should give you a warm feeling. Toyota is the teacher for process...

Whatever you do, it You are still wrong. You're either confused or in denial.

Yes the 2 fuels have equal energy content. But if an engine is tuned for the higher octane fuel it will absolutely produce more power...because the engine can advance spark timing further, resulting in higher combustion pressures. In the case of engines tuned for 87 it depends on the details of...