u/Moodleboy

Just wondering what is the general consensus regarding the need to change the following fluids for a 2015 XT (turbo) with a touch over 100,000 miles:

• differential fluids
• automatic transmission (cvt) fluid
• brake fluid

Curious to know if the above should be done.

Car is otherwise very well maintained. Oil/oil filter/air filter done every 3000 miles/6 months, serpentine belt/tensioners/pullies at 65k, spark plugs at 65k as well.

Anything else I should do or should have done?

Hi, I would like to start a small indoor garden for a few herb that I use throughout the year like parsley, cilantro, rosemary, tarragon, and maybe one or two others.

Would a small hydroponic setup work for this? I want to keep it as simple as possible. If so, any recommendations? There are a bunch on Amazon but I don't know what makes one better than the other. Thanks in advance!

Original owner 2012 G37S 6mt sedan w/65k miles. Mostly garage kept when home, parked outside for work, driven spirited but never tracked. No mechanical issued whatsoever besides a failed alternator 8 years ago.

Typical failure for the GG seems to be in the 100k-150k range. Given the car's age (~14 years) should I be concerned about and be proactive or can I wait some more before replacing it?

All of us are facing problems due to aging that we expected (pains, stiffness, reading glasses) but every now and then we get hit with one that we had no idea was coming.

This is a warning to the male portion of our cohort and is a bit nasty, so that's your trigger warning. Continue reading at your own risk.

So the other day, I sit on the bowl to do my business. All of a sudden, ** BAM ** I feel a cold shock run through my body.

Yes. They now droop far enough to wade in the bowl.

I have to find a raised seat or something. Maybe a toilet bowl water heater.

Uggggh...

...hearing Fascination Street blasting from your car's stereo as your 19 year old child pulls in from running an errand.

I hate to pat myself on the back, but I think I raised my kids alright.

2021 Subaru Impreza Sportwagon 5 speed manual with ~45000 miles.

As the title says, I just started getting some hesitation when the rpms start hitting mid 2000s. I can feel the power just drop out. Over 3000, it seems to kick back in, but when it drops it is very noticeable. Any ideas? Also, not sure, but I think I hear a faint knock in the engine that I don't think was there before. Not totally sure because the engine is pretty loud to begin with. Last oil change was in May and I only put about 2000 miles since then.

I parked today on a modest incline (maybe 10-15 degrees). I pulled up the e-brake, pretty far I thought, and the car started to roll. I pulled it up higher than I ever did before and it didn't roll, but I kept in in gear to be safe. This happen to anyone else? Is this an easy fix or am I going to the mechanic?

I live in the USA but I spend a month every summer in Italy. Yes, it's wonderful.

But this post isn't about how beautiful Italy is or how scrumptious the food is. It's a comparison of drivers, as seen by me, and only me. So granted, this is very anecdotal, but after having driven in Italy for nearly 2 decades every summer, I think my generalizations are pretty accurate.

So first off, let get this out of the way: Italian drivers are lunatics. Stop signs? Mere suggestions. Blinkers? More elusive than Sasquatch. Parking? Wherever you happen to be, including the middle of the street. Car passing another car on a single lane road not passing fast enough? Pass them both - at the same time! I shit you not when I tell you how many times I've seen a car pass another car as it was passing a car on a two-lane, single lane each way, road. Do you know what it is like to see three cars, side by side, coming at you, taking up the entire roadway?

We sat outside a pizzeria outside of Napoli on the corner of a two way intersection. The entire time we were mesmerized by the way every car, scooter, and 18-wheeler progressed through this intersection, seemingly in the fourth dimension, as they appeared to get so close to other vehicles that I swore at certain points they drove through each other while never touching each other.

Leaving our little town always required an additional 5-10 minutes budgeted since you have to wait for all the cars in front of you to talk to their paisans sitting at the bar (we would stop as well - it would be insulting to just drive through and keep the only artery in and out of the town clear).

And do you know how it feels to have a Mercedes E-Class pass you on the Autostrada at 200 km/h? You have to grip your steering wheel for fear of your car getting blown off the side of a cliff.

And despite all of this (or maybe because of all of this) I still prefer driving in Italy over the USA by leaps and bounds.

Why? Because of a simple, three letter word:

EGO

Unlike drivers in the USA, drivers in Italy do not drive with an ego. Someone in a rush? Let them pass. That's it. Someone tailgating you so close you can see their lunch stuck between their teeth? Move over, let them go. Someone flashes their brights you? You're going too slow, and you move.

I did not experience a single left lane camper. Not a single brake check. No middle fingers (or the Italian equivalent). And I drove a LOT. From Calabria to Naples to Campagna to Puglia. I even drove from Torino to Aosta and no where did I experience the self-entitlement of American drivers.

I was back one day, driving in Long Island, on my way to a wake. I was on a two way in each direction street, with a center turning lane. I was in the right lane. I had to make a left into the funeral home which was about 1000-1500 feet away. Lifted truck in left lane was a good two to three car lengths behind me. I put my left blinker on and started to merge. And do you know what big-truck-little-peepee did? He sped up to try to stop me from merging. I merged anyway since I was already halfway in the lane. He then tried to intimidate me by getting right up against my bumper (mind you, we were in pretty thick traffic, so it wasn't like I was slowing him down). I merged into the center turning lane and mister-no-dick slows down and rolls down his window next to me and says something. I didn't understand what he was saying because (a) I didn't open my window and (b) I don't speak asshole.

Ego. It's all about ego. So many of us Americans define ourselves by who we are in front of. It makes no sense to me.

Despite the lunacy of Italian drivers, I felt 100 times safer driving over there.

Oh, and they all drive manuals. Not like the woossies over here 🤪.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this!

I own two homes. 15 years ago I had a professional install a central A/C system (for upstairs bedrooms) and mini-splits (for downstairs and basement areas - no place to run ducts). Within 4 years (just after warranty expired) the mini-splits failed. I installed myself a DIY kit 5 years ago, and now it failed as well (again, just after the warranty). In my second home, I had a professional install mini splits about 10 years ago and now they are starting to fail.

This whole time, my central A/C unit has been operating perfectly with minimal maintenance.

Is this just me? Has anyone else experienced this? Why can't I get a mini-split system to just work?

BTW, by "failed" I mean the systems leak refrigerant but not at the connections (tested with high pressure gas).

EDIT: A lot of people are asking what type of systems I used and are trying to diagnose the issue. That is not the point of this post. I was just curious if my anecdotal observation matched what others have seen. So far it looks like half of the respondents have the same experience I had, while the others either found mini-splits equally or more reliable.

We will be traveling for a few days by car to and we plan to stay in Matera and Martina Franca. We will visit (by car) Ostuni, Cisternino, and Alberobello, but when we visit Lecce, we were planning on leaving the car at the Fasano train station and taking the train to/from Lecce.

We have a car (a pretty beat up Alfa Romeo 159) that we were going to take, but the "check engine" light came on so I thought I would rent a minivan so that we could leave my car at the mechanic and have a bit more space while on the road.

As I was looking into possibilities, I noticed that every rental agency had full coverage *except* when traveling to Basilicata and Puglia, in which case the renter of the car would be subject to a deductible, up to 30%.

Is theft rampant in these areas? I am now just thinking of taking my beat up 18 year old alfa since really, who would steal it?

Anyone have any thoughts on this? Will my own car be a target? Will it be safe at the Fasano train station or in parking lots in Matera and Martina Franca? I have no idea what to do.

According to Trump, "vandals had “poured corrosive and destructive chemicals into the Pool.”"

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What kind of chemicals and how much would be needed to actually cause the kind of damage being reported?