Weatherman 459 Report post Posted January 11 Time to talk cars again. As a reminder, my current car quiver 2019 Volvo XC40, 3k miles - wife's daily driver 2016 Chevy Silverado, 58k miles - ski vehicle, plus general lugging things around 2011 Hyundai Santa Fe, 143k miles - my commuter car The Santa Fe has been giving me grief over the last few months. Mechanically it's been very reliable, but now electrical gremlins have shown up. A couple months ago we replaced the alternator after it died. Immediately after replacement the traction control light sporadically turned out. Then the new alternator died. Fortunately the part was warrantied, but I still paid labor again ($150). I took the car back to have the tractional control light, and a code came up about the 4WD ECU. My mechanic sent me to the dealer to learn more. Mechanically the drive line and 4WD system are in great shape. But the current thought is that when the alternator died, it fried the 4WD ECU module. So do I repair the Santa Fe or not? I know it also needs a new AC compressor in the spring. So far I haven't put much money in it at all. Before this latest set of problems over the life of the car there was an oil sending switch replacement, new front strut assemblies, a belt / tensioner, brakes, and tires. Other than the cheap oil sending switch, the rest is typical wear and tear. The 4WD and AC systems combined could be a big bill, and one that I hesitate to touch. Options in my mind... 1) Fix the car. Guessing $2,500. The 4WD part alone will be over $600 from the dealer. Probably another $400 for AC parts from RockAuto. Plus labor. 2) Sell the car as-is to a dealer. Use the truck as my daily driver 3) Trade-in the car. Buy a penalty box daily driver. Not sure if I'd get something used, or a new compact car. There are several new models that can be had for $15k. Discuss! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MEtoVTskier 13 Report post Posted January 12 Well, with 143k on it, it must not book very high in value, so I'd bet the dealers aren't gonna give you much for it. Even if you dump $2500 into it (which seems a touch high for those parts, but who knows) How many payments would it take on a new car to equal that? This is assuming that if you fix everything, it serves you fine for another 50-60k before you work on it again other than minor wear and tear stuff again. Or would you rather be stuck with a car payment for another 4-6 years? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flying Yeti 123 Report post Posted Monday at 04:13 PM Put it into the Santa Fe (especially since everything else is in good shape and you won't get it in trade). Even if it is 2k, its better than a new car payment and increase insurance, etc. Random - Did they actual diagnose the 4WD ECU as toasted? I've seen many a gremlin arise from a battery starting to go bad. Since you just had the alternator done, just double check the battery is good. Even if it is newer the bad alternator could have crushed the battery (if you've really run the battery low a new alternator won't get it back up to where it should be) and its not supplying adequate power. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted Monday at 04:21 PM 5 minutes ago, Flying Yeti said: Put it into the Santa Fe (especially since everything else is in good shape and you won't get it in trade). Even if it is 2k, its better than a new car payment and increase insurance, etc. Random - Did they actual diagnose the 4WD ECU as toasted? I've seen many a gremlin arise from a battery starting to go bad. Since you just had the alternator done, just double check the battery is good. Even if it is newer the bad alternator could have crushed the battery (if you've really run the battery low a new alternator won't get it back up to where it should be) and its not supplying adequate power. I'm leaning in that direction. They said that they were confident it was just a software problem, but if the problem persisted it would require a new 4WD ECU. Well the software update fixed nothing. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xwhaler 152 Report post Posted Monday at 04:25 PM Yeti may be on to something on the battery idea. My Tundra was running really rough this Fall sporadically..it would drive fine and then all of a sudden had trouble shifting, the dash lights all lit up, 4x4 started flashing, 4 low flashing despite me being in 2wd. I un hooked both battery cables, & cleaned the terminals. They were pretty gunked up with corrosion and haven't had an issue since. The problem immediately went away once the computer "re-learned" what it was like to have a strong connection. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted Monday at 06:09 PM 1 hour ago, xwhaler said: Yeti may be on to something on the battery idea. My Tundra was running really rough this Fall sporadically..it would drive fine and then all of a sudden had trouble shifting, the dash lights all lit up, 4x4 started flashing, 4 low flashing despite me being in 2wd. I un hooked both battery cables, & cleaned the terminals. They were pretty gunked up with corrosion and haven't had an issue since. The problem immediately went away once the computer "re-learned" what it was like to have a strong connection. Took the car in for battery and alternator testing. Both were fine. Sad. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xwhaler 152 Report post Posted Monday at 06:11 PM Just now, Weatherman said: Took the car in for battery and alternator testing. Both were fine. Sad. Not testing....removing the connection to reset the computer. The battery on my truck was perfectly fine...it was just all scrambled and throwing all these false codes. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Flying Yeti 123 Report post Posted Monday at 06:35 PM (edited) 24 minutes ago, xwhaler said: Not testing....removing the connection to reset the computer. The battery on my truck was perfectly fine...it was just all scrambled and throwing all these false codes. This is always worth a shot too. Especially just before inspections when you've had a CEL and it takes a while for it to notice the o2 sensor lol Edited Monday at 06:36 PM by Flying Yeti Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benski 33 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:05 PM I have a Crosstrek with p225/60r17 all weather tires on them, and found some 205/50r17 snow tires wasting away in a garage. A tire shop told me I could switch them but I assume the snow tires are narrower. I assume bigger tires are better in the snow, so is switching them a good idea? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cannonballer 425 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:08 PM 1 minute ago, Benski said: I have a Crosstrek with p225/60r17 all weather tires on them, and found some 205/50r17 snow tires wasting away in a garage. A tire shop told me I could switch them but I assume the snow tires are narrower. I assume bigger tires are better in the snow, so is switching them a good idea? Narrower tires are better in snow and ice. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benski 33 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:14 PM 5 minutes ago, Cannonballer said: Narrower tires are better in snow and ice. So what is wide good for? All other surfaces? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:15 PM Just now, Benski said: So what is wide good for? All other surfaces? Dry grip. Cornering and such. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benski 33 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:21 PM Just now, Weatherman said: Dry grip. Cornering and such. So good idea I assume? My non-ski and bike related driving is very limited, about 10 minuets a week. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:22 PM Just now, Benski said: So good idea I assume? My non-ski and bike related driving is very limited, about 10 minuets a week. Any snow tire is a good idea over an all-season. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
xwhaler 152 Report post Posted yesterday at 08:27 PM 4 minutes ago, Weatherman said: Any snow tire is a good idea over an all-season. absolute no brainer Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Benski 33 Report post Posted yesterday at 09:08 PM The tire shop is warning me the tires will throw off the speedometer, eyesight and all wheel drive. Still a good idea? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted yesterday at 09:09 PM Just now, Benski said: The tire shop is warning me the tires will throw off the speedometer, eyesight and all wheel drive. Still a good idea? No. But new snow tires are. You need to use tires with the same outer radius. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
frapcap 25 Report post Posted 7 hours ago 16 hours ago, Benski said: The tire shop is warning me the tires will throw off the speedometer, eyesight and all wheel drive. Still a good idea? It'll be fine. I had WRX wheels/tires on my impreza. They were wider and slightly taller. Threw off the speedo by ~4-5 mph. Whatever. Also agree with the above- snow tires are better than not snow tires. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MassNerd 30 Report post Posted 6 hours ago Use a GPS or Nav app on your phone to find out how off your speedo is with the new tires and just remember to factor that in. Not a big deal IMO. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Weatherman 459 Report post Posted 5 hours ago 4 minutes ago, xwhaler said: Here it comes! @xwhaler loves the rubber. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Puck it 189 Report post Posted 5 hours ago Those are not a good idea. Way to much difference in diameter. Those are a -4 or more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
