WillMartin

I actually kinda tried to get a speeding ticket in the van a few weeks ago. It didn't work. No performance awards for TC drivers, no matter what, apparently. So, may as well go slow.

My 2010 doesn't have an oil life sensor, so far as I know. Problem solved. I got 5K between changes and don't worry much. After a year of ownership, it's hard to know if I'm doing it wrong or not. It had 23K on it when I got it. It's got 31K on it now, a year later. I won't manage to double it's mileage in two years at that rate. More like just less than three.

A motorcycle fits in my 2010. Barely. It's plenty tall enough, but the front wheel ends up between the driver and passenger seats in order to get the doors closed. That's a DRZ 400. A big cruiser type bike would not fit at all. Shorter sportbikes fit a little better.

About 22 mpg with the latest tank. So that seems to be about what I can expect out of the TC under my normal usage.

My van has commercial plates, but it's just a car most of the time. It was cheaper to insure than the full sized Chevy van it replaced. Neither has been an issue for insurance with Allstate.

Mine is completely accurate - it is how much fuel goes into the tank and how many miles I went. Calculator? It's my head. OK. Maybe not quite that accurate.

Well, it's official. My 2010 got less than 20 mpg last tank. It was coming. All stop and go, some of it loaded up. It still got more than 19 mpg. I kinda miss the big ol' Chevy's hauling capacity, but since that didn't get used very often, the efficiency is something I appreciate more.

Yeah, I have heard all the free candy jokes. After years of driving vans, I have heard them all. They are off base. My van's sign says free champagne. I go for a different demographic.

So, water injection? I only calculate by mileage and how much fuel I put in. The 2010 doesn't have an onboard calculator. The van will probably get its worst mileage tank this time. It's been a whole lot of lousy traffic and a bit of heavier than usual hauling. The up-side is that it's taking more than a month to get through the tank. I haven't driven much, relative, but what driving I have done has been stop and go and loaded down.

One thing I have noticed about fuel economy is that it drops in the wintertime. There's more ethanol in the fuel during the winter. Ethanol has less energy content. I don't like it. But, politics says I have to use it. Oh, well.

Interesting to hear. I was considering a PMC when I bought my first gen TC. The cargo area was the draw for a PMC. I was concerned about the TC's transmission, but it sounds like the PMC transmission is even weaker. A lousy turn radius would be a problem, too. It sounds like a PMC wears out in a hurry, too.

It's funny about how generic the white ones are. Mine is white, and nobody remembers seeing it, ever. My wife and I occasionally use a Coleman 12 volt refrigerator in mine. There's a 12 volt plug by the back doors, which is convenient and means less wires up by the seats to get tangled up in. Remembering to unplug it is sometimes a challenge.

There are about a zillion TCs over here on the west site of the mountains. I can't answer any of your questions, since mine is a first gen and I have only had it for less than a year. But welcome, and it shouldn't be hard to find a good one.

18 mpg in California traffic doesn't surprise me a bit. Even less wouldn't surprise me. And the 30 mpg I got was with the van empty except for me and my wife (who isn't very big), and going painfully slowly. It's unlikely to happen that way very often. There's a big difference between 60 mph and 75 mph. The rock hard tires are awful in most ways, but seem to roll pretty well. 22 mpg to 24 mpg is more normal. It will get worse than 20 mpg sometime for sure, because Seattle traffic is getting California-like over time.

We talk about it sometimes, but I don't remember if there's an official thread. If there is, sue me. So far, the best mileage I have gotten is exactly 30 mpg. It was a long, slow trip, nearly all on cruise control set at 55 or 65 miles per hour. Worst so far is 20 mpg in a mix of stop and go and stop and more stop. I haven't got it down to 16 or 17 like Fifty150 yet, but it will happen sometime. For comparison purposes mine is a 2010 with cheapo Firestone tires on it for now. Tires and inflation make a difference.

Your piano is powered by Ford?

I can think of at least three white TCs and one blue one that park within a five block radius. One is mine. They are all Gen 1. There are even more that just pass through. There is a school in that radius, and the school district must own 50 of them, both Gen 1 and Gen 2. Some say they belong to the school district on the side, some don't. Maybe the blank ones are private contractors. There's not much way to know. Add the lack of windows for anybody to see what's inside, and it really is a stealth vehicle. Not quite as clever as being a bicycle messenger in San Francisco, but close enough.

My 2010's light comes on and the display says there's 50 miles left. When I put fuel in it at close to zero miles left, it takes about 13 gallons or a little more than that. Considering the fuel economy it gets, that's somewhere from 40 to more than 50 more miles before it runs dry.

I put almost 500 miles on my van yesterday. It got 27+ mpg, and went the speed limit. I suppose it's possible to get a performance award while driving a TC, but it would be more likely in a school zone than on a highway. I don't think I'll be taking it through mountain passes fully loaded and expect to go very fast. It's amazing how completely it disappears. People see it, because it is white. They don't hit it like they hit the dark green Chevy it replaced. But, they just flat don't remember it. I can put it anywhere and nobody notices it.

Great find! They are out there with minimal miles, but they are rare. Your blue one is a whole lot nicer color than my generic white one. It take a while to find one, but when you do, it's worth the wait. When you find one with minimal mileage and in a color like that, it's even better. Congratulations!

That red looks fantastic. But, generic white has occasional advantages. Being able to disappear in plain sight is useful at times. But, given the choice, I would probably go for red like yours.

I saw a Citroen in Seattle yesterday. It was an old DS. It's the first Citroen I have seen in decades! If a Citroen like that one ever gets imported to the US, I would be interested in seeing what it's all about. But, what are the chances?

What year and how long did you disconnect the battery? You have to disconnect the battery for five or ten minutes, I don't remember which. There's another work around if that doesn't solve the problem, but I don't know what it is. The battery disconnect worked the one time I needed to reset things.

I don't know where she's from, but arguing with her might be a bad idea.

The city of Seattle and the Seattle School District both have about a zillion TCs. They are mostly first gen, but I have started seeing second gen TCs in city and school district livery a bit more lately. They seem to like them.