Teaching a kid to drive?

I used sit on my dads lap while he worked the pedals I have no idea how old I could correct a power slide way before puberty.

I promised my younger son  that if he made an unassisted triple play in little league, I’d let him drive my truck in an empty parking lot. It’s been about 5 years since I first offered so I guess he was about 6 originally.

Harvey wrote

You take money from your kids?

You bet - and I take their Halloween candy too.

I started mine young with power wheels, then on to dirt bikes, quads, and lawn tractors. Learned to back up a trailer on the lawn tractor.

I wasn’t big enough to throw hay bales so I drove the truck. 3 on the tree at 10 or 11. My wife was much better at teaching our kids

I drove while sitting on my dad's lap as well. From there graduated to driving a 8N tractor at work. After that I plowed our driveway with a old Willy's Jeep. Not sure of my exact age but it was way before I was legal.

I let my younger daughter drive through a empty office park at 14..

I taught my daughters to drive on a stick and taught my wife when we got married to drive a stick (could have been an early divorce).

I took them to a big parking lot, let the ride the bucking bull while I explained the dynamics. Then I got out of the car - popped a beer and let them go round and round until they got it. Then I took them to a few small hills. You have to grit your teeth - it takes time to get the “feel”. When my daughter sent her daughter to me to teach her to drive a stick, I did it on a car with 160k - I had to buy a new clutch but her parents didn’t have the patience or a beater.

My mother taught me how to drive a stick after I had my Learner's Permit from Driver's Ed . . . back in the 1970s.  My father wouldn't buy an automatic back then.  I'd asked the teacher at some point why all the cars were automatics.  He laughed.  Was a football coach who'd been teaching driving for long enough to know the reason.  There was a girl who burned out three clutches while getting in her driving practice hours.  After that, only automatics for students.

I taught my nephew how to drive a stick in our old pickup at the local high school parking lot.  He was visiting for a few days during the summer, perhaps a year after getting his license.  The incentive was that he wanted to drive his uncle's Porsche, which is a stick.

I drove a stick all my life until I got my third CRV, which wasn't offered with a standard option.  As luck would have it, just a few days after I got the car I had a season ending injury at Gore. I would have been totally screwed with a stick, not sure how I could have gotten home.

Most of my miles are highway and back in the day sticks got better mileage. That's apparently no longer true.  The new CVT trans (with 1.5 liter turbo) in my fourth CRV is delivery insane mileage over 31 mpg lifetime. I'm used to it, I like it, and of course it makes those Sunday night traffic jams much easier to handle.

I won’t buy a turbo. My experience with the two I have had is they just present failures and more maintenance costs

I never thought I would either. If you want a Crv you almost have to though. Only the base model comes without and the mpg is a lot lower.

I don't think I use it much but you can't really tell without a boost gauge.  Car doesn't even have any badging that says turbo.

Time will tell.

Yea - I have been car shopping and so many have Turbos. The last turbo I had was a 1990, the engine & turbo shit the bed after 10 years and 110k. I had an early Turbo in the 80s - the turbo failed early and I got rid of it. Maybe they are a lot better now.

I was thinking (hoping) that maybe Honda had it dialed in. The motors have been excellent on all the Honda's I've owned.

The only issue I've seen with this car is the touch screen.  It's a bit weird at times.

With regular coolant and oil changes I think you'll find turbo motors will last as good as a naturally aspirated motors.

I thought PeeTex was saying the turbo itself, not the motor, was unreliable.

I've been going for regular oil changes but I have no idea about coolant. Are you talking about the radiator or does the turbo have it's own coolant?

They're one in the same, as in the turbo is part of that motor. They key is to keep it cool. Regular oil changes and coolant changes (whatever intervals the owners manual calls for) is what will keep it cool. Making sure the oil level is where it should be is also important. Other than that drive it like you stole it.

campgottagopee wrote

Other than that drive it like you stole it.

hahaha. I do occasionally press on it.

I was trying to figure out in the online manual how often to change the coolant, it only says "check level" every 15000.

If the temp gauge is reading normal am I probably ok?

The next problem is that I’m gonna need a third car now. My original idea was a compact regular cab pickup as a way to sort of keep him out of trouble

Coolant flush is part of  a major service say at 60K, same as tranny service. It's preventive maintenance like that that makes all the difference in the longevity of a car/truck. Some think the dealer is trying to "screw" them with such services, that's just not the case. If you're only keeping a car for a few years that's one thing, but if your looking to drive the wheels off'n it that's a different animal.