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Little things that bother me when driving a legacy ("ICE") vehicle

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I have several gripes when I must drive a legacy vehicle (or "OV", oil vehicle), but I'd like to share some of the finer points about ICE that I am happy to do away with as they slowly vanish into the history books.

  • The low-frequency vibration you feel through the steering wheel and brake pedal as you wait at stop lights. What a quaint notion that the internal machinery would keep moving at six hundred revolutions per minute while I wait my turn.

  • That annoying frame shudder as the brakes get a firm grasp and the car finally reaches zero MPH. Rather than just coasting to a complete stop without using the disc brakes, I must apply brake pressure for every stop. Driving sure was silly when ICE was king.

  • Having to look at a "fuel" gauge because it won't be at full every morning like a proper, modern vehicle. I hate fuel refilling anxiety!

  • The "hey police officer, look at me!" roar that the car emits even when accelerating to modest speeds. Did they add all of this noise because of some federal regulation?

  • White smoke behind the rear windshield on cold mornings. Why does the car insist on warming up the outdoors? I'm inside the vehicle and pedestrians should be wearing coats if they're cold! Get your own heaters, you pesky pedestrians.
Got any of your own?
 
  • That smell when 'refueling'.
  • Hoping they remember to put all the nuts back on the skid plate when they change the oil filter.
  • Waiting for the car to 'warm up' and RPMs settle down when starting up on a cold morning.
  • Getting a failed smog check.
  • That 'bucking bronco' feel when accelerating hard as you shift through the gears.
  • Waiting a while for the heater to start producing warm air when first driving.
  • An occasional missed shift into the wrong gear.
  • Being in the wrong gear on a steep hill.
  • Grinding the starter motor when trying to start an already running engine.
  • The squeal of old belts slipping on the alternator, waterpump or power steering pulleys.
  • Stalling.
  • 'Dieseling'.
Need I go on?
 
Cleaning oil leaks on the driveway.
" Is that water from the radiator or is it from the air conditioner"?
" Lets go to the gas station before they close"?
" I forgot where the oil dip stick is"
"Is that rattle coming from my muffler"?
Deciding between premium gas or that special more costly super premium.
I hate it when they run out of unleaded regular gas.
 
  • Extremely noisy when I floor it.
  • Significant lag before acceleration starts.
  • Rough gear shifts (automatic).
  • Shifting gears in traffic (manual).
  • Taking my foot of the gas and no deceleration.
  • Listening to the poor thing lug after being started below -20C.
  • Filling up the gas tank at -20C and strong winds.
  • Inhaling carcinogens while filling the tank.
  • Filling the tank period.
  • Spending 6x as much on fuel.
 
After a week of driving my new roadster, I took the kids out in the Prius.

It felt like driving a boat...

That's funny. I feel the same way and my other car is a Jetta. After only driving my Roadster for a long time, I finally got back into my Jetta (which isn't a large car of course) and it felt like I was driving a Ford Excursion or something. I think it has more to do with he power steering than anything. I've never owned a car without power steering before so once you get used to it, anything else feels strange.