Help with 2002 Toyota RAV4

[JaCkaL829]

I think the steptronic is a good compromise to the manual or automatic issue. I`m sure steptronic is not nearly not as fun as stick, it still gives drivers something to play around with which isn`t always desired(traffic). My friend takes his bro`s 02 bmw 330ci and even though its auto the steptronic is still cool and has no problem whipping that car around. *I* think another reason why people rather have the automatic then the stick is because a lot of people who are purchasing a new car, rather be driving it and showing it off that night, then learning how to drive it.

[TortoiseAWD]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

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

With the excpetion of SLR, they all have clutches (or clutch packs, in the case of the drag cars), I believe. They may be "automatics" to some extent, but all of them lack a torque converter (again, except the SLR). To call them "clutchless" would be a misnomer. If you mean they lack a clutch pedal, you`d be correct. To compare supercars and purpose built racers to road-going slushboxes is pretty much apples and oranges, though . . .



Give me a computer contolled clutch and paddle shifters, and I`m all for an "automatic". No torque converters in my vehicles, please, as I don`t care for the disconnected feel when the converter isn`t locked up. But, as others have pointed out, to each his own.



Tort

[imported_garyo]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv



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

F1

Not this year. New regulation. No fully automatic gearboxes or launch control.





I am a manual guy. I love them because to me the process of shifting and selecting which is gear is part of the enjoyment I get out of driving. In town driving it is second nature (in fact when I go start the wifes cars most of the time my left foot goes for a clutch which isn`t there) granted I don`t have gridlock for hours on end to suffer through. However, I do understand the desire of many to drive automatics. They are improving all the time. It is unlikely the manual will go away. There still too many purist that enjoy selecting their own gears for just for the fun factor. That said, eventually transmissions like the BMW SMGII or the second generation Ferrari F1 with electronic controlled clutches will filter down in to other sports cars and/or sports sedans replacing the steptronic type torque converter manual/autos then is when you will really see a challenge to the popularity of manuals from the enthusiast. When this happens the a new era of auto/manual will be born.



The truth is that most automatics in the modern sports cars can shift more quickly and at better points in the power and torque curve than your average stick driver. I read a comparison test conducted by Hurley Haywood on two Porsche Twin Turbos (996’s). One with 6spd manual the other a the Porsche auto/manual (not a electronic controlled clutch btw ). He preferred the manual but indicated that the pure automatic was as quick and that in the hands of less experienced driver would probably be much quicker than the 6spd.

[imported_garyo]

Tort



You and I think alike. Give me an electronic controlled clutch and I would be all for manual/autos. No BS marketing torque converter.

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by bet993

Not this year. New regulation. No fully automatic gearboxes or launch control.

True. This was done to bring driver skill back into the equation and possibly enhance competition. Not to enhance the speed or quickness of the vehicles.



Tort,

Try driving an ALL-engined 300+ HP and TQ minimun vehicle. I believe you will feel completely connected. There is a WOW (some call it fear) factor that just can not be denied. Some vehicles just require you have both hands on the wheel. :xyxthumbs

[TortoiseAWD]

So, overcome the shortcomings of the slushbox with monster HP and torque, eh? Thanks, I`ll keep rowing the gears in my piddly li`l 4-banger.



Tort

[imported_garyo]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

True. This was done to bring driver skill back into the equation and possibly enhance competition. Not to enhance the speed or quickness of the vehicles.

I agree. Actually programed down shifts are still allowed but it requires driver input (such as pressing button and/or paddle).



Do you follow F1? If so what are guesses from preseason testing?

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by TortoiseAWD

So, overcome the shortcomings of the slushbox with monster HP and torque, eh? Thanks, I`ll keep rowing the gears in my piddly li`l 4-banger.



Tort

Tort, I understand your passion for shifting. I was a manual-only person for many years. Never owned an auto until I was almost 45 y.o. Then I realized the unnecessary nature of this activity for daily driving pleasure. Maybe the racer in me has died. Maybe the ability to perform juvenial acts on public roads has died. Maybe even my passion for driving has died........NOT



Probably because I have 3 manuals at my disposal that the novelity is no long there. :nixweiss



I can loose traction in 3 gears with my modified electronic controlled "slushbox". I guess there is not as much slush as one might think.



My daily driver is a piddly little 120hp 4 banger with auto. Why, because its not necessary to get to point A from point B shifting gears. I love that little car. Great on gas, comfortable to drive, great outward visiblity and very calming to drive. No wannabe- fast-cars bothering me.

It`s nice to have great choices with todays technology on the full spectrum of transmissions available. and that is what the thread should be all about. IMO

[imported_memnuts]

Originally posted by bet993

I agree. Actually programed down shifts are still allowed but it requires driver input (such as pressing button and/or paddle).



Do you follow F1? If so what are guesses from preseason testing?

I love F1. Have not been following the off-season like I normally do though.

What`s with the new nose of the McLaren?

I hope the tire equation has equalized so that we can see who are the best drivers and engineers.

Should be a great year with BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and I think Toyota will move closer to the top step. I am a little disappointed with Honda, they should be right there but for some reason they have not conquered the V10 format. :nixweiss



Should be an exciting year. :bounce

[imported_Macgirl]

I guess I`m a manual person. My mom has always chosen manuals when buying her autos, (cheaper at the time than autos) until this year, she "retired" and got a Jeep Liberty with auto. Since always having a manual and an auto (dad`s choice) on hand I learned to drive both when I was a beginner and always pretty much drove the manuals. I think once you get used to driving a certain way it is difficult to give that up. I like being in control of how the car behaves, engine braking, downshifting when the occassion arises and such. I almost gave in to the Tiptronic when shopping for my Passat, but I`m so glad that I stuck with the 5 speed manual. I am fortunate enough to be able to be at home now and raise my daughter so being able to avoid rush hour makes owning the manual a lot easier.



I appreciate the luxury of an auto transmission but at the same time I just prefer the control of the manual. It isn`t a performance aspect for me just a feeling. Kind of hard to describe but I hope you see the point. I`m sure that when I reach 50+ years old, I`ll want LUXURY. Afterall we should treat our body and soul to comfort by then!

[F1Crazy]

Originally posted by blkZ28Conv

I love F1. Have not been following the off-season like I normally do though.

What`s with the new nose of the McLaren?

I hope the tire equation has equalized so that we can see who are the best drivers and engineers.

Should be a great year with BMW, Mercedes, Renault, Ferrari and I think Toyota will move closer to the top step. I am a little disappointed with Honda, they should be right there but for some reason they have not conquered the V10 format. :nixweiss



Should be an exciting year. :bounce

Another F1 fan! :wavey



The new nose is on Williams FW26, McLaren MP4-19 sports a traditional nose. McLaren didn`t look that impressive in testing, the car wasn`t reliable and engine lacked power. I think moving the engine department to Stuttgart isn`t the best move, M-B should leave it to Ilmor, BMW on the other hand still has the most powerful engine, even with new regulations.



The best teams in testing were Williams, Renault and Ferrari but BAR looked very impressive, they made a huge step forward.



Ferrari didn`t test with other teams till this week when Schumi slashed a lap record at Imola. It looked like Bridgestone was losing to Michelin in tire war but the tires certainly work for Ferrari and they are still the team to beat.



As far as automatic gearboxes in F1, well, the only similarity to automatics as we know them was in that they allowed for shifting without driver input. I know that many drivers still opted to downshift manually. These boxes didn`t have torque converters and still had regular clutches that were used all the time to get the car moving, although actuation was by hand lever behind the steering wheel. Launch control was used only at the start of the GP. The shift was initiated either by the driver or the computer and performed by hydraulic and electric systems.



The change to the manual shifting won`t have any effect on racing, it`s not like they will be missing shifts. The true change will be at the starts where drivers will have to feed the clutch manually to launch the car and this will be interesting. With the size of the flywheels and clutches in F1 it is very tricky to quickly launch the car and we`ll see some drivers making big moves at the start.

[imported_garyo]

I agree the change to manual will not effect the racing that much, especially with the allowance of auto downshifting. If they did not allow autodown shifting then I think it would have more of an impact. I remember races prior to the automatic where people would miss shifts which can lose them a few seconds which can change the out come of the race (depending on when it happens).



I also don’t think the change to no launch control will have that big of an impact. Since traction control is still allowed the driver just has to get the car moving and the traction control will regulate the wheel spin to some degree. We are back to the burying the engine on redline at the start to make sure they don’t stall the cars, which results in an awesome sound. The biggest loser with no launch control is Renault, which most in F1 acknowledged as basically having a far superior system than anyone else.



BAR was impressive in preseason however the reliability of the Honda engine remains to be seen. I can’t figure out McLaren. The look quick occasionally but then very slow and very unreliable at other times. I get the feeling they are sandbagging. I can’t imagine Ron allowing Kimi just to bash the car so outright in public with regard to no power and no reliability unless they are not as bad as they look. Usually he talks of the “package� not working as optimal as their competitors (I love “Ron speak�).



Williams looks strong but it remains to be see if they can keep it together mentally for the whole season. With JPM leaving you have to think by the end develop will end on his part. Ralf had the mental melt down this past week and is now back pedaling. It just doesn’t seem like they will keep it together. The worst thing for them would be for RS and JPM to both be very competitive. Ideally for Williams RS will have an advantage over JPM so the team can put all the efforts behind RS. If not things may get interesting because you know Sir Frank wants to win a championship no matter what.



Ferrari are being their traditional secretive selves. The car looks very quick but reliability is really unproven. They got a late start in the public eye and the weather has not cooperated here of late. I still haven’t read whether they have announced whether they have done are race simulation with F2004. To further question…Sauber, in the Ferrari clone utilizing the current Ferrari engine and gear box have had some reliability problems (although it is unclear whether they are engine and/or gear box related). On the positive side the F2004 is supose to be much easier to set up correctly than the F2003 and not so twitchy in the handling department.



Renault looks strong and should compete but I have think the radical change in engine design from last year (even the it is more traditional than last years wide angle V) may result in some reliability problems. Additionally the lost of some of their key personal (Aero and engine) is going to hurt with development of the car over the course of the year.



I am sure reliability will pay a big role in the beginning of the season with the one engine rule. The tire war is impossible to gauge. I read the Bridgestone admits they were very conservative last year because of how superior the Ferrari/Bridgestone package was in 2002 and that they underestimated Michelin’s performance increase. They claim they have been very aggressive with their compounds this year. I think it also helps them that they are basically designing for one team. With the Sauber being a clone of the F2003-GA this is obviously going to help out in tire testing. The season looks very exciting right now and it would not surprise me to see 3-4 teams having a legitimate shot. I still give the nod to Ferrari. The Michael factor is still there and the car looks like a better evolution and easier to set up than last year’s car.

[imported_memnuts]

Thanks Brian and F1,

I feel like I am caught up now with all of the F1 scene I neglected all winter.

[staro0989]

My cousin has a 2002 Toyota RAV4 with about 64000 miles and she is having some problems. Her car would not move out of Park, the gauge cluster is not working, no a/c, no turn signals, no brake lights, only 1 headlight works, windows won`t wind down, but the car starts. Anyone have any idea what it may be?

[Harleyguy]

Start checking the fuses in the car and also check near the battery if there is any fuseable links.Use a test light to check them