12th Sep 2011, 09:30
Not all cars have a CEL nag programmed in as you assume. In fact most cars don't have the nag feature. So, if your car does not have the mileage/time nag, then your CEL means it is NOT running flawlessly, it is running on the default settings and ignoring sensor input. The default settings are keeping the fuel mixture on the rich side of things. Over the long run, that damages the catalytic converter.
When I have a CEL, I go to a parts store for a free of charge scan and usually find a way to fix the problem. Most of them are vacuum leaks and EGR system clogged.
It is your choice. Your car may be running flawlessly - even with a dead catalytic converter.
12th Sep 2011, 09:56
"As far as you working on your Prius ABS system, that doesn't surprise me at all. Maybe you should buy a better brand of car."
Nope. Sorry, but if you want to buy a better brand of car over Toyota, that simply doesn't exist.
Anyway, I think this is not really a conversation that is going anywhere. I find it interesting that there seems to be an anti-technology debate going on here. If that same attitude were retained, then we would still be driving around in horse and buggies, because at one time, cars like the Model T were high-tech and made out of components people were totally unfamiliar with.
12th Sep 2011, 12:30
Please keep your opinions about Toyota to a relevant Toyota review, that is completely off topic.
That is just your opinion anyways, and no more than that.
I myself would buy many brands before I considered a Toyota.
But then again, just my opinion.
As far as being anti technology, I think it's more about trying to find the best car that works for you.
I admit some of the older cars and trucks were very well built, and some of the newer ones are very cheaply made, but there are always exceptions.
I have both newer and older cars myself, and I must say I prefer the simplicity of working on the older ones.
Not everyone is caught up in the materialistic trend of always buying a new car and selling the old one at a loss; it's a very wasteful thing to do. If it wasn't for my work making me have a late model car, I would probably just drive a beater around to save money, as I don't need to impress anyone or show off with my car.
12th Sep 2011, 14:16
"Maybe you should buy a better brand of car"
These are your words on comment 11:23 that I was referring to, and my reply was my Lincoln is a good car, it's not my fault that whoever edited my comment did it incorrectly.
Anyways, I will put my 96 Town Car up against any Lexus LS 400 as far as reliability and build quality, and you are right, this conversation is not going anywhere, so please stick with defending your Toyota threads, they need your help over there.
12th Sep 2011, 19:39
"Nope. Sorry, but if you want to buy a better brand of car over Toyota, that simply doesn't exist."
Please cite accurate and concise sources for such statements please. The past three reviews of compact cars I have read rated the Toyota Corolla dead last (Ford and Hyundai take tops spots in those tests). The Tundra has had numerous brake and suspension issues. Since 2009, Federal Grand Juries issued three subpoenas against Toyota for very serious negligence in not responding to safety complaints. After over 22 million recalls, a statement such as the one cited hardly makes any sense.
13th Sep 2011, 10:12
The fact that Town Cars are no longer made speaks volumes. There's no comparison to make, because those cars were grossly outdated and outclassed. They quit making them because they were dinosaurs, and the only demographic of people who bought them tended to be older. A Lexus is about 100 light years ahead of any of the last generation of Lincoln products. At one time Lincoln actually made a sexy, cool, beautifully styled car. The '63 Lincoln Continental comes to mind. Now THAT was a sexy car. But a 90's Town car? Nobody is ever going to restore those cars. Perhaps the darkest days of American automotive design.
The styling and lack of modernizing the line is what essentially ruined the Lincoln brand, and frankly the Cadillac, Oldsmobile, and Buick lines as well. It's taken GM years to rejuvenate their upscale marquees, and they've still got a ways to go. I've heard Ford is making plans to make a whole new Lincoln lineup - a lineup that doesn't consist of re-badged Ford Fusions. If that is the case, then good - maybe they'll make something akin to what they used to make. I personally hope so. But in any regards, the Lincolns of the 80's and 90's were barely what I'd call a luxury car. They were bloated boats on wheels with bubbly plastic looking bodies.
13th Sep 2011, 13:46
"Anyways, I will put my 96 Town Car up against any Lexus LS"
That's why you don't see any Lexus LS as a limousine. They can't handle it!
14th Sep 2011, 12:24
No - that's not the reason. The reason they were used as limos - "were" being the operative word, since they don't make these any more - was because various companies that converted Lincolns into limos had been doing so for decades. Thus it would not be cost-effective to start using an entirely different car. Besides - exactly what sort of crazy things does a limo have to do anyway? All they do is cruise around with people to parties and weddings. Not exactly hard work anyway.
Oh - and by the way I have seen Lexus limos, so it's not like they don't exist.
14th Sep 2011, 16:14
Reliability facts are one thing, and a Town Car has a great reputation for that. Styling facts are more of an opinion, which you have stated yours over and over again on this thread alone, that you are not a fan of large domestic luxury liners, and we could all really care less about your opinion. Lexus is not years ahead of a Town Car or Fleetwood; these cars were out way before Lexus was in diapers.
15th Sep 2011, 09:14
Again, off the topic, I stated as far as reliability and build quality as a comparison. Styling is an opinion."Bubbly plastic looking bodies"? Sounds like Lexus styling if you ask me. Also the Town Car outsold the LS 400 for many years; 944,030 units between 1994-2005 is a damn good number.
10th Sep 2011, 19:16
The only "electronic" problems I have with my cars is the "check engine" light, which the manufacturer deliberately programs to come on at certain intervals to generate income for the dealership. I was just reading the scary warning in my owner's manual about the check engine light. To read that hogwash you'd expect that the car would explode into a million pieces 10 minutes after the light comes on. It's a good thing my car can't read. It just passed 100,000 miles without a single repair and running flawlessly. The check engine light has been on since 2007.