Help with 2002 Toyota RAV4

**imported_memnuts** · 02-26-2004, 04:55 PM

DavidB please save this thread.

When all the single car youngsters, which I was at one time about 25 years ago, that think that driving is a completely unpleasant experience without shifting gears finally get something with real HP and Torque and a suspension to handle all this. They will realize there is a lot more to controlling a vehicle ( high powered) than just playing with gear ratios to compensate that lack of HP and the real "killer" and fun producer - Torque.

Fun for me at this age (50+) is listening to the buzzing and shifting of gears while some pseudo-sports car is trying to catch-up. All the time I am I waving my "free" right hand at them - Bye-Bye.

By the way I own 3 manuals and I love to shift gears once in a blue moon. It reminds me of the old days when I had no choice but to go manual in order to squeeze out every little bit of power my sports cars had ( VW, TR-6, Rx7, 320i, 914-4).

Just for arguement. The fastest cars today around any road course or drag strip are clutchless.

F1

Top Fuel

Pro Sport

Funny Cars

Mercedes McLaren SLR

etc

etc

Drive what you want but do not think because the other guy may decide on something different, he/she is having any less fun.

Stating that a sports car must have a manual is like stating that real sports cars are topless and only have 2 seats. All these idealogies are dated.

**Accumulator** · 02-26-2004, 05:06 PM

Originally posted by l7avis

Did your body get damaged from driving manual?

Nah, other stuff initially did the damage, but driving a stick really aggravated things. I will say that since going all auto my knees and right shoulder haven`t bothered me much at all, and I HAD been at the "problems in daily life" point.

**imported_Terry** · 02-26-2004, 05:07 PM

Depends on my mood......I like my SS (manual) when I`m cruisin around town or going to the beach & I like my SUV (automatic) when I`m traveling distances over 300 miles or doing business. Both have advantages .......I`m lucky to have options.....

**Taxlady** · 02-26-2004, 05:07 PM

Originally posted by JohnnyDaJackal

Manual is getting less and less popular..at least where I live. It seems to "me" that more and more people are opting for the auto w/ sportronic. In the past 2 years, i`ve also seen a lot more cars coming wit the option. Unfortunately, I don`t know how to drive stick. Nobody in the family has stick . All my friend`s cars that are stick are to nice, i`d fell really bad if i broke something. The extent of me driving stick is driving a friend`s stang one nite in a parkin lot. He ran me through it and i did a couple of laps and thats it. I almost had a car(stick) for free the beginning of this year. A good friend of mine was visiting relatives over the holidays, and his uncle said some guy wanted to get rid of an old Audi. The guy was storing it at my friend`s uncle`s house and just wanted to trash it. My friend and I were gonna go half on plates/registration and 6 month insurance. Prob cost a lot but we would learn how to drive stick, and if we broke it we would junk it. Unfortunately his ex threw out the keys and title . That and our folks werent thrilled wit us driving this car kinda killed our dreams. I really like my truck and wouldn`t want in stick. But for my next car I am only concerned about 2 things: stick and good mileage. I think the fact that I can switch gears is so cool and outweights the stop and go traffic. Even if it is because im young, I would still like to own and be able to drive stick for my next car. I just hope for my future car, I am able to maintain my perfect driving record without any stops from the cops. I`m sure manual transmission is so much more tempting to just open it up.

Go to a good driving school for a few lessons on a stick shift. You don`t want to damage the clutch on someone`s car you know. The driving school already expects to have clutch problems form beginners. And they will teach you techniques that your friends know, but don`t know how to teach.

I`m glad I took my driving lessons on a standard. Gave me lots of practice and confidence when I had to stop on a hill, etc.

**Sveta** · 02-26-2004, 05:12 PM

RIGHT ON, Accumulator!

It`s so silly. Lets not stop here. What is a real sports car color? I mean, anything but Arrest- Me Red or English Racing Green or it negates the true sportscar experience....right, Cats and Kittens?

OK. I understand it`s a "Purist" thing, but Accumulator is telling you Whipper Snappers about something else. There`s more to motoring than horsepower and how it gets to the ground.

My "sports car experience" is not negated by having an automatic transmission. My sports car experience is more in tune with the gorgeous, intelligent, witty blonde in the passenger seat next to me. (Also happens to be my wife). My ego does not require I preform "Circus Maximus skills" to fell really good about life.

OK. Just having some fun and not trying to start a generational war, but I think youth is sometimes wasted on the young. Ok to be young, but do it with some CLASS.

"Hey, Johnny. What are you rebelling against?"

Marlon Brando..."I don`t know...what have ya got?"

**Murph1083** · 02-26-2004, 05:16 PM

i personally think manuals are overrated. especially if you live in the city or an area with lots of lights. Its a pain in the butt to shift up and down, up and down. The only real advantage of a manual to me is if you are racing and even then you can buy parts for your auto to make it shift more like a manual. the engine to me is what matters not the transmission.

**imported_memnuts** · 02-26-2004, 05:22 PM

Originally posted by Murph1083

the engine to me is what matters not the transmission.

Merc-McLaren took that thought and ran with it (SLR) all the way to the BANK.

All Sold out!!!.

**tetz** · 02-26-2004, 05:22 PM

I for one hope the clutch pedal does not go extinct here in the US.

I prefer fully manual trasmission even though it is now archaic,

slower-shifting, and no more economical now than a good manumatic.

I have one of those too in the wife`s car; she`s had five knee surgeries.

An analogy for us older folks...in the mid 1980s car starting coming with

digital dashes. People argued look at fighter jets, look at CART/F1, blah blah blah,

they all have digital. Well, the traditional round dial instruments

won out in popular opinion and automakers kept them or went back to them.

I`m afraid that the clutch pedal does not have the support that dopey old analog round guages did though. Bummer.

Jon

**imported_memnuts** · 02-26-2004, 05:34 PM

Jon, you`re really showing your age.

Those first generation digital gauges were terrible and even worst unreliable (84-85 vettes). This was about the same time as video games were becoming popular ( remember "Space Invades"? PacMan?). If allowed to evolve in a similiar manner as the videos games have done over the last 20 years, digital read out might have become more in vogue. :nixweiss

I really doubt the manuals will completely disappear but may become a rare or special order item like convertibles, which themselves became extinct in the late 70`s and 80`s. :wavey

**Murph1083** · 02-26-2004, 05:42 PM

Originally posted by russellp23

It "torques" me to no end to see a beautiful "sports car", only to look inside and see an automatic tranny. I think it`s a waste of the intended use of the car.

Being that im young im going to have to voice my opinion on this (al you older guys forgive me) What "torques" me is seeing grandpa driving around in a Z06......when the fastest he will go is 30 MPH....i really think there should be an age cut off on buying "nice" cars...... i also get "torqued" when i see chicks driving mens cars.....:angry .......ok i feel better now

**imported_memnuts** · 02-26-2004, 05:52 PM

Murph,

I most admit that even my wife states I drive like an old man now most of the time (98%), but when my old auto-cross genes kick in.........Watch out.

I pick and choose my battles and only bother with equals. Youngsters not only do not, in most cases, possess the goods but worst of all they over-estimate their ability.

I am not going to even touch your statement about woman except to say that man do not have a gene that makes them better drivers or decision makers about what car to buy.

Also wake-up and smell the roses. Most car makers "gear" their advertizing dollars towards woman.

**stangclassic66** · 02-26-2004, 06:05 PM

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

It reminds me of the old days when I had no choice but to go manual in order to squeeze out every little bit of power my sports cars had ( VW, TR-6, Rx7, 320i, 914-4).

Nice reply :up

Just to bring you up to date. Nowadays you can suffer NO loss in HP drivetrain with a properly setup matched auto transmission. Matched stall convertor, rollerized gears, etc. etc.

Erik

**gb387** · 02-26-2004, 06:35 PM

Manual all the way, to bad my new truck didn`t offer a manual

**Nikon** · 02-26-2004, 08:23 PM

I haven`t owned an automatic since my first car and driving the standard has become second nature I don`t even think about it half the time now. It is a royal pain in heavy stop and go trafic when your trying to chill out after a crappy day at work.

I`m currently looking at a new car and I thought I`d want an automatic so I drove a couple (the Acura TL is one) and while fun and powerfull (and I`d be able to drink my coffee more leisurely on the way to work), it seemed that I was always on the brakes. I realized that this is one differnce in driving style in that I have become so accustomed to engine braking in the standard.

I have since then taken the standard version of the Acrua TL on a drive and man oh man that is sooo much more fun.

Now the question is what`s more important having fun some of the time or being able to chill out most of the time (commuting is the majority of my driving).