On The Road Again

[ctrcbob]

Guess my Genesis does not have enough miles on it (pushing 16k since mid January), so I will be taking another trip, leaving on December 2nd and "should" only be gone from Florida for about two weeks.

I've taken two long trips already with the Genesis this year (and one with the Continental). First was out to Phoenix, then to Roswell, averaging 27.5 mpg. Second was up to Penfield (Rochester) then to Lake George, avg 28.0 mpg.

Going to Roswell and Ruidoso and hope I don't get caught in a snowstorm. Cold out there today with a chance of snow in Roswell, (Ruidoso has snow) but should warm up by the time I get there. Either way, I'm taking my snow brush, just in case.

I "may" get my oil changed while out there, only if it looks like I would pass the 7500 mile limit before I return to Florida, however I really don't want to get it done in Roswell, because Roswell Hyundai is only for sales. Their Service and Parts department are both located at Roswell Toyota and they take the car behind a wall, where I can't see it, which I don't like. I don't trust any service department where I can't see the car.

I will again report what my gas milage is once I get there, and again, when I return.

 

[Galbi]

28mpg on a V8 inside a FULL size LUXURY car is just incredible. Hyundai REALLY did a fantastic job on this innovative engine. $250 million dollar of R&D well spent.

 

[ctrcbob]

OK guys. I am presently in Roswell NM, from Mount Dora FL. Here are various facts.

1. Gas Milage. On Interstate driving, it averaged 28.2 mpg (High 30.1 - Low 25.7)
On two lane roads, (high 29.5 - low 25.4)

2. It is COLD here in Roswell. Temperature when I got up this morning was 11F. The temp may have gotten up into the low 30s, don't know as it still felt cold, and it did not melt much of the SNOW that is on the ground.

3. When I started the car this morning, (temp was 17F at the time), the "lifters" were clacking. After a minute at idle, it started to quiet down. After two or three minutes at idle, it was quiet.

4. OK, I figured that the 5W-30 "Florida" oil I have in it may be too thick, so I went to the local Hyundai Dealer to get the oil changed to 5W-20 or even 0W-20 if I could get it. First off, Roswell Hyundai Service (and Parts) Department is NOT located at the Hyundai Dealer, but at Roswell Toyota. I wonder if Hyundai knows about this, and if they do, why they allow it. They quoted me an oil change price of $37.50 so after I stopped rolling on the floor from laughing, I tried to get them to come down on their price. Told them that my Orlando Hyundai dealers normal price is $29.00 and with a coupon, they charge me $17.95 but they would hear none of it and would not budge from their price.
My owners manual says I can use my 5W-30 down to a much lower temperature than I see here, so (under my breath) I told them to stick their $37.50 price where the sun don't shine. I'll get it changed back in Orlando as I will be under the milage limit once I return in a couple weeks. Meanwhile, it should warm up here in Roswell.

5. Very little snow on the ground, but some streets have ice from the refrozen snow melt. Decided I wanted to see if the traction control works, so I drove on some of the ice, and pushed the gas pedal. Yep, it works, as the ESC lamp came on and car wheel spun, then gripped. Next, I tried the ABS as I've never had abs work for me as I normally drive slower and carefull. Got on the ice, hit the brakes, and yes, the ABS works, felt it in the brake pedal, plus the lamp on the dash came on. I think it was also the ESC lamp, but not sure, as I was paying more attention to the street, than the dash lamp.

Car is dirty, but thankfully, it is only dirt, as they do not use salt on these roads. Going to Ruidoso in a couple days, where they use salt on all the snow, but will be in my buddies Prius, not my Genesis. Once things clear up and warm up here, I'll wash the car.

Enough for now.

 

[ctrcbob]

OK, just returned to warm Florida. Here are a few observations on my trip.

1. Total Round Trip Gas Milage:
On Interstate Highways, Grand Average was 28.8 mpg.
On Two Lane Highways, Grand Average was 27.5 mpg.

2. This car wants thinner oil in the colder climates out west. I presently have 10W-30 (or 5W-30, can't remember) Mobil-1 full synthetic, and I did not change the "Florida" oil before I left. When out in Roswell, with the morning temperatures anywhere between
11F and26F, the engine would "clack" for a minute or so, until the oil warmed up. So much for the Mobil-1 being able to flow at very low temperatures. Next time I go to a cold climate, I will change to either 5W-20 or better yet, 0W-20. BTW, the car did NOT use any oil on the whole trip. Not one drop.

3. Because I had a heavy load in the trunk going to Roswell, (and a lighter load on my return), the car had a much more comfortable ride than when I have an empty trunk.
The ride was actually enjoyable. After all these months, I may be getting used to the "harsh" ride. Went around some curves on the two lane roads pritty fast, and the car stuck to the road like glue.

4. Decided to try the "traction control" (ESC) and the ABS. The streets in Roswell still had snow and ice in spots. I found a safe spot, and hit the gas hard, and the car jerked forward the way it should. Again, I found a safe spot, and hit the brakes hard, and I felt the pulsing of the brake pedal. Yes I saw dash lights come on, but was too busy watching the road and did not notice which lamps came on. At least I know that both things work .

5. One problem though. The following only happens in cold weather, as it happened last spring when I was in Penfield, and now again, when in Roswell.
My driver seat decides to NOT move back to the "easy out" position. In addition, if I tried to move the seat back manually using the switch on the side of the seat, it would not move back. Because this happened to me twice before, in Penfield, I learned NOT to move the seat forward manually, because it may or may not move forward, but then would not move back and I would have to drive from an uncomfortable position. Does not matter if I try to reset the seat using the number 1 button, or manually pushing the seat button back, or shutting ignition off. The seat would only stay in the previous position. Note: The steering wheel, seat tilt, seat hight and seat back would move correctly, only the forward and back would not work. Last spring, the problem corrected itself once after a couple hours, and the next time, the next day. Well in Roswell, it would not correct itself for a week. Interior of car never got hot, as I did not drive it a lot. On the morning I left to return to Florida, after driving about a couple hours, I pulled over for a pit stop, and left the car running with the heater on. A couple miles later, I saw a gas station, so I decided I needed some coffee. Shut the engine off, and the seat went back to the easy out position. Also the manual adjuster works again. WTF? Now I started to add two and two together, and remembering Penfield, I see that it only happens when the controler for the seat is cold. No idea where that controller is located.

Will get together with my favorite Genesis Technician (when I take the car in for an oil/filter change and tire rotation) to see if he can figure out what part is failing in colder weather. This does not mean I won't drive to cold temp areas, but it does mean that when I'm in cold weather areas, I will not let my wife drive, as she sits further forward than me, and I'm afraid that I would not be able to get the seat back to my position.

I'm staying in Florida for the rest of the winter, unless I get called to Penfield for a family emergency. Just can't take the cold like I used to. <grin>

 

[TreeHaus]

Curious... what speed to you drive on the interstate? Octane of gas?

 

[ctrcbob]

Curious... what speed to you drive on the interstate? Octane of gas?

On the Interstates, I keep it around 75.

On the two lane back roads in Florida, (between Ocala and Mount Dora), I just go a safe speed, depending on the traffic, normally between 60 and 65. Two lane road out there on US380 in TX and NM can be done faster as the speed limit is 70, however there are towns with lower speed limits, and stop lights, plus I always stop off at McDonalds in Post TX when going Westbound, and in Brownfield TX when going Eastbound.

As for fuel, I always use 87 octane.

Visited Ruidoso NM (altitude 6900 ft) with my shipmates 2009 Prius, plus we also took a ride up to Clines Corners (exactly that, just a cross road at the corner of I-40 and US-285, altitude 7200 ft) as he wanted to buy some gifts at the Truck Stop up there. His Prius averaged 49 mpg while I was there in both city driving (Roswell and Ruidoso) and highway driving. (I told him I could never own a Prius because I would always be looking at the "Fuel Management" display screen, with all the little arrows showing where the power is coming from and going to, and not be looking at the road.)

Did I mention it was COLD out there?

 

[TreeHaus]

Did I mention it was COLD out there?

The temp is going down to negative numbers tonight here in Illinois. Of course, without the altitude. (Did I mention we got over 12" of snow the other day.)

Driving a Prius & buying gifts at a truck stop? I'm sure there's a joke in there somewhere.