A great day for driving a Reatta.

[Ronnie]

I drove my Reatta about 220 miles today. the weather was beautiful. I knew I had to do it today because rainy weather is moving in for most of the weekend. We had a great time. We took the scenic route of back roads that pass through a lot of small towns.

 

While driving from red light to red light in one of the small towns I decided to look at my gauges. I noticed that the temp reading was about 210. Not really overheating but was unexpected. I have an aftermarket fan control that should turn the cooling fans on high at 190 and cool the engine back down. That isn't happening for some reason. Maybe the relay I added has gone bad or the temp sensor I added has gone bad. I didn't feel like troubleshooting it after the long drive so I will have to check it out another day.

[Nailhed66]

I’m trying to get over my fear of the Reatta having a sudden unexpected breakdown, so I threw caution to the wind and took it on a trip up to the mountains Wednesday. 3 hours of highway driving followed by 2 hours of steep winding mountain roads and the car performed like a champ. Sitting at idle in an overlook the temp gets up to 208 and the highest it’s gotten sitting in stop and go traffic was 214. I think the factory default setting for high fan is 216 . It seems to  cool back down quickly once moving along again.

Edited September 10, 2022 by Nailhed66

[Ronnie]

That's a beautiful photo. Where was it taken?

 

I'm just now getting my confidence back up after being stranded on the side of the road with a bad crankshaft position sensor for hours. To be fair to the Reatta, me sitting on the side of the road for hours wasn't the Reatta's fault. It was the perfect storm of having it quit  out in the middle of nowhere, combined with it happening almost at dark on a holiday weekend, and no tow trucks nearby that wanted to come pick me up and haul me home. What should have took about an hour turned into 5 or 6 hours. I have just now got to the point of where I don't worry when I drive it. Mine ran like a champ today.

 

 

[Nailhed66]

The photo was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 20 miles north of Brevard, NC.  Ronnie, your issues with the CPS and fuel pump failures posted here have weighed heavily on my mind. This is one of the reasons I chose to go Wednesday/Thursday, just in case a flatbed transport was needed…

[DAVES89]

I don't even know what to say...

 I drive my Reatta (one or another) 300-500 a week most weeks and starting October until Mid December somewhere around 1000 miles a week.

 That's somewhere around 25000-30000 a year every year for 15 years.

These are well designed cars by Buick and with the age and accumulated miles will have parts that fail.

 I have had total failure of a ignition module/coil and fuel pump, water pump, and a temporary failure of a crank sensor leaving me by the side of the road needing a tow.

 Except for the fuel pump I was back on the road the next day.

Edited September 10, 2022 by DAVES89

[Nailhed66]

I think the risk is worth the reward as the Reatta is such a joy to drive. 

[Ronnie]

14 hours ago, Nailhed66 said:

The photo was taken on the Blue Ridge Parkway about 20 miles north of Brevard, NC.

Driving on the Blue Ridge Parkway has been on my bucket list for a long time. Maybe this fall will be when I do it. I've ventured up as far as Hot Springs, Lake Junaluska (absolutely beautiful place), and Bryson City for day trips but never made it all the way to the parkway. When I go to the parkway I'm planning on it being a two or three day trip.

[Nailhed66]

The Blue Ridge Parkway really is a great experience. This is my third trip with the Reatta, driving different sections, from various starting/ending points. As cool as the Cherohala Skyway and Tail of the Dragon are, nothing beats the Parkway. Lake Junaluska and Bryson City are on my future destinations list.

[Ronnie]

If you were coming from Knoxville, where would you start and end end on the Parkway? I know I won't be able to travel it all at once but I do want to see the best section I can in the limited amount of time I will have.

[Nailhed66]

2 hours ago, Ronnie said:

If you were coming from Knoxville, where would you start and end end on the Parkway? I know I won't be able to travel it all at once but I do want to see the best section I can in the limited amount of time I will have.

From Knoxville, I would probably drive through Great Smokey Mountains National Park and start in Cherokee.  Cherokee to Pisgah Forrest takes you up to the highest point of the Parkway. Pisgah Forrest to Blowing Rock takes you through about 20 crazy mountain tunnels and the Linn Cove Viaduct near Blowing Rock is really dramatic. I recommend a stop at the Pisgah Inn which is right on the Parkway. They have  a good restaurant and if you can book a room, the views are spectacular. The recent photo was taken about halfway between Cherokee and Pisgah Inn and there are vistas like that all along the Parkway.

[Ronnie]

That sounds great. I go to Cherokee every now and then. That would be a great place for us to start our adventure on the Parkway. My wife is part Cherokee and she likes to visit the Cherokee Museum there. We also like to go by the Oconaluftee Visitor Center on the way there and see the elk gathered in the fields. Sometimes you can see dozens of them right at the edge of the road. Thanks for all the information. Much appreciated

[Padgett]

From O'town it is three hours to get anywhere including out of Florida.

[Ronnie]

On 9/9/2022 at 6:53 PM, Ronnie said:

I drove my Reatta about 220 miles today. the weather was beautiful. I knew I had to do it today because rainy weather is moving in for most of the weekend. We had a great time. We took the scenic route of back roads that pass through a lot of small towns.

 

While driving from red light to red light in one of the small towns I decided to look at my gauges. I noticed that the temp reading was about 210. Not really overheating but was unexpected. I have an aftermarket fan control that should turn the cooling fans on high at 190 and cool the engine back down. That isn't happening for some reason. Maybe the relay I added has gone bad or the temp sensor I added has gone bad. I didn't feel like troubleshooting it after the long drive so I will have to check it out another day.

The problem with the cooling fan control turned out to be an easy fix. The electric thermostat switch (on right in photo) I added to control the fans had unscrewed slightly so it wasn't making good contact with the engine. With it screwed out, heat from the engine wasn't transferring to the switch. The switch screws into the head of the bolt that holds the thermostat housing down. I probably hadn't screwed it in very tight because it is only a 1/8" diameter screw made of brass and I didn't want to take a chance on breaking it off. The cooling fans are now working as intended again..

 

[Philbo]

No offense but I find this thread kind of amusing. I have driven older cars all my life. The newest car I have owned was a 1998. I drive my reatta almost every day and don't think twice about it. Sure it could have a problem and leave me stranded, but that happens in newer cars too.  I know friends that were stranded for weird electrical or computer gremlins in almost brand new cars. You could always get a flat tire too.  I have been using my Reatta as my daily driver since Oct 2019 and it has left me stranded once, and that was because I let it run out of gas (oops).