PSA: Check your car battery before it gets any colder.

[milestogo]

I had a check done on mine - its 5 years old - and the results convinced me to replace it before the temperature drops. There's nothing worse than coming out in the freezing cold only to hear your battery sputter and die.

[WheelWalker]

1. Well, there are a few things worse. But, I hear what you're saying. Good advice.

[NutmegYankee]

2. I just step in on the clutch and pop start the car.

And then get it replaced.

[rickford66]

3. Most people can't drive a stick.

"Hey, what's this extra pedal for ?"

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

4. I only drive a stick.

I hate it when I have to rent a car and all they have are automatics. Really?

I feel very safe from being carjacked.

Oh, and in case it matters, I'm 70 years old. Just bought a new to me car in September, a 2017 Honda Fit. Love it.

[rickford66]

5. I'm 72 and agree completely with you.

Not much chance of theft and great in the snow. Also, I choose what gear to be in, not some Detroit guy. My main drive is a 6 speed stick Outback. My son has a 6 speed 2017 Mustang GT. My 5 speed F150 sits in the drive with a plow on it and our backup is a 5 speed Forester. The only automatic I ever bought was a used RV. I have a 4 speed 65 Mustang in pieces waiting for someone to finish putting it together. Clutch and gas buddy.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

7. One of the things that makes me a bit crazy about people who drive automatics,

is that some 99% of them never put the car in any other gear but Drive. Well, okay, Reverse when they want to back up. But still. In all of the many years I've been a passenger, I have only known one person who drives an automatic who actually downshifts at appropriate times, like when going down a steep hill.

I have so much control over things in a stick. I'm having a bit of an ongoing fight with a friend who is absolutely convinced that when I engage the clutch I no longer have any control over the car. He is a very good driver, and at one point in his life was a taxi driver in San Francisco, and I want to repeat, he's a skilled and good driver. But he is so wrong about the dangers of engaging the clutch that I sometimes want to spit when he starts in on that. I do point out that every time some idiot presses on the gas instead of the brake and drives into a store (has happened several times in the past few years in my city), it's someone driving an automatic. That essentially cannot happen with a standard transmission.

Back when my sons were in high school, I suddenly got a lot of respect from their friends if I drove them somewhere, because invariably they notice I drove a stick.

[rickford66]

8. We had a couple cars plowing into buildings just as you described.

What did your friend mean, you "no longer have any control over the car?" You have complete control. And your brakes last twice as long or more than those others tapping theirs all the time. 70 mph on an interstate and you gotta tap the brakes ????

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

11. I think he thinks that engaging the clutch

is somehow the same as putting the automatic into neutral.

What I like so much about a standard transmission is that you're fully involved in the operation of the car. Here's an example. My older son, when he started to learn to drive, simply could not master all of the complexities involved with everything that goes with driving a stick and also paying attention to the rules of the road, the stop signs, the traffic lights, and so on. He's also slightly autistic (Asperger's) which may have been part of the problem. So I helped him acquire a car with an automatic transmission and he learned to drive. I will say he wasn't a very good driver.

A few months later he came to me and asked if he could try driving my car again. This time, he nailed it. After that, he drove my car as often as I'd let him. A couple of years after that he came to me and asked if I'd help him buy a car with a stick shift. I did. Here's what amazes me: he's a vastly better driver on a manual transmission than he ever was in the automatic. I used to fear driving with him, I worried constantly that he'd get in a terrible accident. A couple of years ago we were in Portland, OR (a truly awful city to drive in, much as I love it otherwise) and I was in awe of how well he did on those windy, narrow roads that abruptly did something weird.

As for brakes, some years ago we made a family trip driving to the top of Pikes Peak in Colorado. On the way down there was a place where signs encouraged people to pull over so the people there could make sure your brakes weren't overheating. We did that, but my husband basically laughed, pointing out that we were driving down in a lower gear, not really using our brake. Unlike someone who didn't realize their car had a gear other than Drive and so were riding the brake the entire way down.

I do understand why many people might prefer an automatic. But I think many of them are making a mistake. One common complaint I'll here is the problem with rolling back on a hill. Well, if you only try that once or twice you will never get the clutch/brake interface figured out. Also, a lot of newer cars, like my 2017 Fit, simply don't roll back.

Also, the clutch. Some thirty or so years ago I recall asking my brother why so few people wanted to drive a standard transmission car. He said, "Oh, Poindexter, you've only driven Volkswagen beetles. You don't understand that most American cars have a very stiff clutch that is a great deal more work than what you're used to." I almost hate to say it, but I'm sure he was right and that's just one more reason why American cars are so bad. I have never owned an American car, and I'm not exactly proud of that, but I sometimes really wonder about why people would buy certain of them.

[mchill]

12. By chance are you talking about the two vehicles

That plowed into the Big 5 Sporting Good store in Redding, CA last week?

[rickford66]

26. No. Two in the Binghamton NY area

A convenience store/gas station and a CVS this past couple years. Luckily no one was near where the cars pushed in the walls. It must be pretty common. No way they could happen with a stick.

[PJMcK]

28. I had manual transmissions in several previous cars

No more. Today's automobiles are controlled by computer chips that are programmed to control the car far better than my 60-year-old brain can. Sorry if it makes you crazy but when I use the "sport mode" for manual shifting, it's not as fuel efficient: I've tested it.

Additionally, I've never had a transmission problem with the automatics I've had. Manual transmissions need maintenance and replacement. My auto-mechanic friend told me he makes a good part of his business from repairing manual transmissions; automatics, not so much.

Enjoy yours, Poindexter.

One other point: we went to Ireland last summer and the rental cars are all diesel-powered with manual transmissions. Of course, they drive on the left side of the road. Want to try something fun? Try shifting with your left hand! It takes a bit of practice. At least the pedals are in the same configuration.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

33. For what it's worth, I've never had transmission problems with any of

my cars. And I drove the most recent one for twelve years.

I did have to get a clutch replaced after teaching two teens to drive, and was furious when the mechanic implied it was because I was a woman and didn't really know how to use the clutch. And that's the only time I needed to replace a clutch.

All of the modern cars have wonderful technology. I'm still in awe of the changes since my previous car was made.

I'm under the impression that pretty much all rental cars in Europe are standard transmissions. I bet they hate it when they see Americans, since so many haven't a clue how to drive one. And yes, I drove once, as in for a half hour, in a rental in Ireland. My biggest problem was that it was a van, since it was a family vacation (extended family) and we needed to rent two vans to drive us all around. I have always driven small cars, so it wasn't the shifting or the being on the other side of the road that was a problem, it was the, to me, huge vehicle.

[Bleacher Creature]

6. Same here, until I bought a hybrid.

I haven't found one yet that has manual transmission, but am eager to ditch the automatic!

[rickford66]

9. At least you're charging the batteries when you tap your brakes.

I've never driven one, but I "assume" they have regenerative braking systems. A manual trans could never work with an electric because of the instant torque produced.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. Some years back, about 15 or so years ago,

I'm thinking I test drove a Honda Civic that was a hybrid. I could be wrong about that, but I'm pretty sure that was the case. It was a stick, because I simply won't even consider an automatic, and I can't recall exactly why I rejected it.

A few months ago when I was finally ready and able to replace the 2004 Honda Civic I'd been driving since 2006, I had a lovely discussion with a young friend who sells Nissans in a different part of the country. I did tell him that if he were at a Honda dealership I'd have driven to his state to buy from him. Anyway, I picked his brain about various things which was very useful.

I was also quite pleased that when I went to the local Honda dealership and told the salesman who was waiting outside that I wanted a Fit, I wanted a new one, and I wanted a manual transmission. He gave me the very sad news that there had been a flood at the factory in Mexico, and that's why I hadn't been able to find any new ones on line. I'd been looking. But he did not try to talk me into a different Honda or into an automatic. Two days later this 2017 came off lease and he called me and suggested I test drive it. The main reason I bought it was that I learned in the course of chatting that 2017 was the last year Honda put a CD player in the car, and I absolutely must have a CD player. Aside from keeping music CDs in the car, when I go on long trips I go to the library and check out recorded books to listen to. Yeah, I do own an ipod but I haven't really gotten good at using it, even though I know I should.

Over the years when I have been buying a car, it's been a bit interesting in that a lot of the younger salesmen have never known a woman who could drive a stick. Some of them seem to think I'm weird. The older guys -- meaning the ones my age who are pretty much all retired now -- tend to take it in stride.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

16. My neighbor lady, drives a 2008 honda civic manual transmission,

she drove it six months with a broken motor mount, I bought a motor mount from amazon for forty bucks and replaced in a couple of hours, the dealer wanted five hundred dollars!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. You are a fabulous neighbor!

If you decide to move to Santa Fe let me know.

[rickford66]

17. My late wife learned to drive at age 40 .... on our 83 Dodge Colt twin stick shift.

She drove all the vehicles we owned after that. I inherited my Mother's automatic for a very short time and my wife couldn't drive it comfortably. She kept saying she had no control. Lots of people were surprised to see her drive a stick. Her only problem was, she couldn't skip a gear. Say go from 2nd to 4th, without going to 3rd in between. The Dodge Colt was neat. Two sticks. One for 1,2,3,4 & R and a second stick to give you a low and high range for any gear you were in. I loved it. Got about 39 mpg too.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

21. Interesting.

With all due respect to your wife, because what I'm about to say may not at all apply to her, I've observed that there is a window of prime opportunity to learn to drive, which ends around age 25. Yes, many people learn to drive past that age, but it seems to me as though those who learn at an older age are usually not very comfortable driving.

The two sticks thing sounds absolutely fascinating. I bet I'd have loved it. Which reminds me, my very first car was a 59 VW beetle. It didn't have a gas gauge, but it had the spare tank thing. Also, it had a manual choke, which once I figured it out, I just loved, and ever since then have missed it. Even though modern cars really don't need them. But my next car, a 69 VW beetle, might have been better with the manual choke.

[ProudLib72]

22. My truck has three sticks. My old one had four

My transfer case has twin sticks: one for high/low and the other for 2wd/4wd. So you can actually be in 2wd low. The old truck had two transfer cases, which gave it a crawl ratio of 240:1, whereas normal transfer cases only give you 47:1. You could put it in low low, let it idle, and just walk along beside it without worrying about it stalling.

I like sticks a lot!

[rickford66]

27. It's great to have all those choices.

I had a Dodge 4WD and 1st was a granny gear. I had to start in 2nd and hardly ever used 1st. The real nice thing about sticks is they're just nice. Something I've done for many years is to put my cars in neutral and let out the clutch if I'm at a light. Adds years to the throw out bearing. If you ever had a noisy one, it's a good preventative. I'm 72 and see it's harder and harder to find used sticks and almost impossible to buy a new one.

[ProudLib72]

40. I converted my truck from automatic to manual

The first transmission I bought had a bad reverse gear, so I had to get yet another transmission after four months. I did all the work myself, so now I'm pretty good at swapping transmissions in and out.

This is on a 1985 Toyota 4Runner, which is the same transmission that the pickups use. There are still a lot of used but good transmissions floating around out there. In fact, the second one I put in was out of a truck that had been sitting for 15 years abandoned in a field. It only had 115K on it when I bought it.

When I was 16 my dad took me down to the used car lot to look for my potential first car. One of them was a 1955 truck. It had that granny gear first, and I couldn't figure out why the gearing was so low. No one told me that old trucks had a granny first and you should start in 2nd. I didn't end up with that truck, but it was fun test driving it. It had been a true farm truck all its life, and no one had ever attempted to fix up the body. Above 40mph the thing rattled like it was going to fall apart. At 16, I thought that was the coolest thing ever.

[rickford66]

25. My wife came from New Zealand and had no need to drive.

When we married (she was 26) she depended on me. We lived mostly in rural areas so she finally got the nerve to drive. She wasn't an aggressive driver and only drove the areas she knew. If she had to go to some new place, we had a scouting drive so she felt more comfortable. It made our lives easier. After she learned, we became Foster Parents and over the next few years had 10 different children in our care so the driving was a necessity.

My first car was a $15 52 Ford Flathead. To get home from college I had to catch it in gear a few times by myself. I had to push it in neutral and hop in real quick, put it in 2nd and pop the clutch. Got good at it.

Add the manual choke to a stick shift and you have a real theft device.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

34. Thank you for that additional information.

Every so often I'll meet someone who grew up in NYC and never learned to drive, then move to the midwest and need to. They never seem completely comfortable driving, and I have a lot of sympathy for them.

At my age I'm looking down the road to the fact that someday, if I live long enough, I'll need to stop driving. Perhaps I'll relocate to a larger city with better public transportation. Perhaps I'll move into an independent/assisted living place. There should be choices for me.

[yonder]

19. We bought our very first automatic a couple of years ago. A Honda Fit also.

Love the car, the automatic not as much. It works just fine but just isn't as flexible in all situations as a stick. A couple of months ago, I got to drive my brothers older Fit with a stick. Nice.

[ProfessorGAC]

32. Then You'll Like This Vignette

So, i fly from Budapest to Lyon. (Normally i would have taken the train, but i had to leave quite late and wouldn't have gotten to my next business, so i flew.)

I get to the Lyon airport and it's around 10pm, maybe a little later.

There are 3 young women behind the Eurocar desk and i show up with my reservation number. They ask for passport and i hand it to them. One of them says "Oh no. Sir, we don't have any cars with automatic transmissions at this airport!" She was really, really concerned.

I told her that many americans can drive stick, we just mostly choose not to. Just thought it was funny that she automatically presumed we had a big issue because i had a blue passport!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

35. I am not surprised.

Most people I know either have never driven a stick or haven't driven one in so long they've completely forgotten how. I wouldn't be surprised if they've learned that if they rent one to an American most of the time it comes back damaged.

[ProfessorGAC]

36. Good Point

I drove the band truck, so even though i haven't had a stick since the early 80's (right when i bought my first ragtop, used), i drove the 19k+ pound band truck until around 2008, maybe 2009, i forget which.

The first time i had a stick in England was different though, having to shift with the other hand. Wasn't that hard, just took a little focus for a few shifts.

[Stellar]

10. Too late, been there done that.

I wind up spending an extra $100.00 on a new battery after my car wouldn't start twice in a week. That was last month. I was glad that I had purchased one of those mini jump- start battery chargers, it worked like a charm.

[rickford66]

18. I like the one you plug into your cigarette lighter.

[yortsed snacilbuper]

14. This is what I learned to drive in, that's the starter next to the gas pedal?

[Delarage]

15. Just did yesterday!

My battery isn't that old, but I had noticed a build up of corrosion on the terminals, so I figured I'd better get on it. I used a can of Coke and a battery cleaner tool, then rinsed it all off, dried it, and put some battery-protecting grease stuff from Autozone on the terminals and over all the connections once I reconnected it. Should be good to go!

Had to reset the clock, though

[ProudLib72]

23. It's a good idea to check the alternator, too

A voltmeter should read around 12.5 volts without the engine running and over 14 volts with it running. I've been stuck by the side of the road with a dead battery when the fuse to my charging system blew. Not fun!

[democrank]

24. I dearly want a stick shift again

along with a vehicle that has no bells and whistles....roll-down windows, no voice telling me my door is ajar. I also like rotary phones. I’m 73. That might explain things.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

37. See if you can find a Honda Civic DX.

It was a completely base level model, roll down windows and all. Not sure when they stopped making them.

And my 2017 Fit doesn't talk to me. I did get the salesman to reprogram the system so it wouldn't automatically lock my doors. That is one thing I truly despise in a car. Excuse me, but I can decide if I need to lock my doors or not.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

29. Waste of money... just buy a CTEK MUS 4.3 battery charger/reconditioner/tender... $50 on Amazon.

I've had my battery 8 years in cold climate... no sign of goin bad. The CTEK is amazing... sold with lots of high end cars... batteries are SUPER expensive these days... will save you a ton of money!!

[mahatmakanejeeves]

30. Been there; done that.

Mine is 5 years and 11 months old. It's probably a six-year battery. Saturday morning, it was not in a good mood.

ETA: darn it, I just saw post #10, with just that title.

[MineralMan]

31. When we bought our brand-new KIA Soul back in 2013, I checked

the difference in price between the 6-speed manual transmission and an automatic in the Base trim model. $600 more for the automatic. I asked my wife what she thought about that. She said that she learned to drive on a stick shift Volkswagen and reminded me that we had had two other cars with a manual. Buy the stick shift, she said. So i did, and we saved the $600.

We're going to be replacing that car this spring. Well, actually we're going to buy a new Soul and keep the old one as a beater. It only has 36K miles on it, so it ought to be good for several more years.

This time, though, we're buying the automatic transmission. Two reasons. First, there's no cruise control on the manual transmission models. That's because the standard transmission has two overdrive gears (5th and 6th). In freeway driving, if you want to accelerate to pass, dropping down to 4th gear works much better. Cruise control can't shift gears on a standard transmission. It's not a big deal, but is annoying, sometimes. Also, we drive mostly in the city, so there's lots of shifting. Again, not a big deal, but slightly annoying at times.

KIA's 6-speed automatic transmission works very well. I drove one as a rental car on my last trip to California. It's precise, doesn't hunt between gears on the freeway, and has a way to quickly shift down one speed from the current gear by pulling the shift lever to the left. You can also shift up a gear, if you choose.

So, we're going to opt for the auto transmission on the next one. Moving back and forth between the cars won't be a problem, since we're both used to driving with both transmission types. It's a toss-up for me.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

38. Kia doesn't put cruise control on its manual transmission Souls?

That's dumb.

The last time I didn't have cruise control was my last VW beetle. A 1968 model, as I recall. And all I've ever bought have been standard transmissions. I can't imagine why the car would be seeking gears while in cruise control. They simply maintain whatever speed you've set. So whether in a standard or an automatic, no shifting should be involved.

I know people really love Kias, but that would have pushed me directly away from one. I go on a fair number of long driving trips evey year and make good use of the cruise control.

If I'm on an interstate and want to pass, I have not needed to downshift in any of my cars to accelerate, unless I'd for some reason already slowed down enough to require that. Sounds like your Kia is underpowered.

[MineralMan]

39. No, they don't.

However, it's there. If you buy a steering wheel from a junkyard for any of the automatic transmission models and install it, the cruise control works fine on the standard transmission models.

However, because of their two overdrive gears on the standard transmission, it's less than useful, since sixth gear pretty much doesn't accelerate well at freeway speeds. Fifth gear isn't much better, so the cruise control would have a tough time accurately maintaining speed in hilly country. With the manual, you end up downshifting as needed.

So, it's not available with the manual transmission, which is only available on Base trim models with the 1.6L engine. It's a driveability isssue. It was a good decision on KIA's part, actually, because it wouldn't work well.

The Kia's not underpowered, actually. But it uses those overdrive gears to improve fuel economy at freeway speeds. Interestingly enough, the car's top speed of 113 MPH is only possible in the 1:1 fourth gear.

The same is true with the 6-speed standard-equipment automatic transmission. But, the cruise control and transmission shift down when needed without any driver input.

Power-wise, though, the 1.6L engine lets me hit freeway speed at half throttle from any freeway onramp, including uphill ones, so its performance is quite adequate. When entering a freeway, I normally use only the first three gears, with third gear hitting up to 70 mph at about 5000 RPM (6750 RPM redline), and then I shift to 6th gear after merging, skipping 4th and 5th. Driving the car aggressively with a 6-speed manual transmission requires some attention from the driver. It's up to the driver to select the proper gear ratio for the conditions. I like that, frankly, but my wife wants the automatic next time.

I'll probably be the primary driver on the older car, since I sort of enjoy driving a 6-speed manual.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

41. I'm a bit gobsmacked.

Honda has no trouble putting the cruise control on its manual transmissions, and accelerating at highway speeds has never been a problem for me. Even in the top gear, which was 5th for my Civic, 6th for my Fit. And I've never known it to have a problem on hills, although the hills I'm driving on may well be different from the ones you're driving on.

It's clear you know a great deal more about car mechanics and engines than I do, so if you say the Soul isn't underpowered, I accept that. But if you have to downshift to accelerate at highway speeds, how is that not underpowered? Especially since I don't experience that need in a different, similar size vehicle?

Have no idea what my top speed is, since I don't get an opportunity to drive however fast that is. I did catch myself going above 90 not too long ago. Oops.

[MineralMan]

42. The Soul will accelerate in 5th and 6th gear, but not

as well as in 4th gear. In the automatic transmission models, shifting down when necessary or for better acceleration is automatic when cruise control is active. The car's computer calculates the ideal transmission gear to match demand, speed, throttle position, etc. My brain serves that function without cruise control. I prefer not to floor the gas pedal in an overdrive gear when I need to accelerate or compensate for a steep hill, so I shift to a lower gear to operate the engine closer to its most efficient or powerful RPMs. Cars with automatic transmissions shift gears as needed. Manual transmissions require the driver to handle that.

KIA could, certainly, have made cruise control available on that model with the standard transmission. The company, no doubt, considered the pros and cons and decided against it. I don't care, personally, about cruise control, and my wife doesn't like using it, so it hasn't been an issue. Given the car's characteristics, I wouldn't use it in most situations, anyhow.

The car is what it is. We have been remarkably happy with it, and will buy another one for sure. I'm not even going to look at other brands or models. It's an ideal car for our needs. The new one, a 2018 or perhaps a 2019 model, will have cruise control, but the same 1.6L engine, which I prefer because it used a timing chain rather than a belt, and will not need a replacement. It will also have a rear camera that will display on the touch screen panel when in reverse. I'll greatly appreciate that feature.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

43. Ah, yes, that rear camera. I love it.

I also have a camera on the passenger side window. The default setting is that it turns on and displays on the touch screen panel when you'd put the turn signal to turn right. I found that a bit annoying and unnecessary, so I was able to change the setting so that when I press the button at the end of the turn signal lever, it turns on. Really nice.