Driving has suddenly turned punishing

[aja8888]

I'm a driving machine at 76 years old. Two big trips in 2019 with me (only) driving. One round trip (DW and I) - Wisconsin - Texas @ 3,300 miles and one round trip (solo) - Texas - Connecticut @ 4,300 miles.

 

[NW-Bound]

Once or twice a year I will drive the round trip from the Bay Area to Phoenix. 11.5 to 12 hours each way with gas stops and bathroom breaks. I find the Lexus RX to be the the most comfortable vehicle for that trip by far. Quieter, softer seats, and better ride. The Honda wins on mileage by far, but a more comfortable trip is worth the extra gas money.

I used to drive a leg of 700-800 miles in my 20s before checking into a motel, but when the speed limit was 55 due to the oil shortage, it took 15 to 16 hours. Can't do that anymore.

 

[NW-Bound]

I'm a driving machine at 76 years old. Two big trips in 2019 with me (only) driving. One round trip (DW and I) - Wisconsin - Texas @ 3,300 miles and one round trip (solo) - Texas - Connecticut @ 4,300 miles.

My two RV treks to Nova Scotia and to Alaska were around 12,000 miles each. However, they were each close to 2 months long.

 

[aja8888]

My two RV treks to Nova Scotia and to Alaska were around 12,000 miles each. However, they were each close to 2 months long.

Long hauls in the RV, for sure. My Wisconsin and CT trips were about 10 days each.

 

[Music Lover]

I used to have a 2007 Subaru Impreza...very loud on the highway. 2800 rpm at 70 mph doesn't help. When it needed new tires I specifically looked for tires that were rated quiet. That made a huge difference. Then I sold the car and got a used 2015 Acura TLX which seems to be about a third the volume on the highway and has a much better ride.

 

[NW-Bound]

When RV'ing, I plan for a day of driving to be around 400 mi max. At a speed of 60-65 mph, and with a long lunch break, that's about all I can muster. My class C with a toad is tiring to drive. On days at a destination when I get to park the motorhome, driving the toad to take excursions is such a joy.

 

[HFWR]

I still road trip, and plan to for the foreseeable future. I can do about ten hours, if necessary, before my back/hips/knees start protesting. Rarely drive at night.

My Prius has plenty of road noise, though tires definitely make a difference, but that’s why we have car sound systems! And a cushier ride might help some with the aches and pains. So might a shorter day...

 

[MRG]

A very long time ago I worked around heavy equipment that made a lot of noise and you had to wear earplugs. Depending on how you put them in you could bypass them and hear everything or seal them up. Of course I was 21 and stupid, didn't want to miss anything so I would bypass the hearing protection. Eventually a smart oldtimer told me to use the plugs one day while I was running a very loud machine. Amazing how much difference sound makes towards exhaustion. You may find a quieter ride makes a big difference.

 

[RetiredAt55.5]

I used to have a 2007 Subaru Impreza...very loud on the highway. 2800 rpm at 70 mph doesn't help.

Miata owners have blissful dreams about their engines revving that low at 70 mph.

 

[GravitySucks]

I used to drive 11 or 12k a year when working. I'm a bit over 20k a year now since retiring. I didn't do a cross country trip this year but have every other year since I retired.
DD1 lives 498 miles away. Me and the dog do this a few times a year in 8 hours each way. 2016 I did a couple of 800 mile days but I don't think I can do that anymore. So I think age may be slowing the driving down a bit. Might be the driver as well as the car.
As for moving up to a luxury ride. How many more cars do you think you'll buy? At my age I guess it could be considered a 2 or 3 time splurge.

 

[harley]

I try to limit driving after 10pm, otherwise everything is the same. I love to drive in general.

I love to drive too, always have. Cruises to undetermined locations was a hobby before marriage, less so now. Although DW likes to explore too.

Once I get down to FL every winter I try to limit my errand driving to after dark, when many of the old folks stop driving. Too many people on the roads down there.

I've always liked night driving. I've got good night vision, while bright sunlight can be annoying.

As far as noise, I've got a touch of OCD, and squeaks and rattles can drive me nuts. Road noise too, and I agree about looking into quieter tires. It's made a significant difference in the past. And I like the idea of renting cars to test their comfort and driveability. I know I've turned down vehicles before for noise issues.

 

[Gumby]

I love driving, but I can't take very much of it anymore. When I was in my 20s, I once drove solo straight from Chicago to Orlando. Took me over 20 hours IIRC. And I regularly drove from Connecticut to Missouri alone, which took almost as long. But now, I can barely tolerate 3-4 hours at a stretch. It's not the noise (I mostly drive a Subaru Forester now), but the physical discomfort that gets to me.

 

[JoeWras]

My current car is a 2015 Subaru Legacy with just over 120K miles;

We have a 2010 Legacy with 130k. I like the Legacy because it is a sedan, which I find quieter and more stable riding than SUVs of any type. However, the AWD drivetrain in Subbies will induce extra unwanted feedback to the body and driver, and I suspect you are getting some of that.

For now, this is still our long distance driver with no issues. We took it on a 4k loop just recently.

I drive a Subaru Legacy for my work sometimes, and am appalled at the sound of the door when I close it....

Absolutely. It is cheesy. I agree with you.

At 120K miles you may be due for a new set of shocks. That could alleviate the floaty feeling.

Like OP, not sure I want to spend more money, but that's a good point.

 

[freedomatlast]

The first thing the OP should do to address the too soft or floaty ride is to make sure the tires aren't under inflated. Look at the sticker on the drivers side door post for the proper pressure and inflate the tires to the specification. This is worth a try since its free and only takes a few minutes.

 

[Car-Guy]

I've been driving a lot more in retirement and still enjoy it... Sometimes the drive is the best part of the trip... Maybe it's the car? Comfort, power, luxury and gadgets. Also, a good suspension/ride control system is a nice feature on longer trips.

 

[Big_Hitter]

It doesn't seem like wind or air leak noise, more like tires or exhaust. Though, the car passed both state inspection and a dealer check-up in September.

We've only owned one luxury-brand vehicle, a Volvo, but I'm thinking that is the kind of vehicle I might need for a quieter, more comfortable ride.

time to crank up the stones or zep

 

[athena53]

I'm 66 and losing my tolerance for stop-and-start suburban driving. The suburb where I used to live is over-developed, full of chain restaurants and shopping plazas with traffic lights every half-mile and parking lots structured to make exit difficult (a median keeping you from making a left turn, e.g.). I don't go there much anymore.

OTOH, I drive from KC to SC last week to be with family over Christmas. I don't mind highway driving at all, but I stretch it over 2 days and am usually off the road by 5 PM. I hate navigating through snow but since I'm retired I can keep an eye on weather predictions and shift my plans if necessary. At one point I considered doing a longer road trip- maybe to California- but decided that's too many days of getting up and hitting the road even if I stay in some cities for a day or two.

 

[HadEnuff]

Around the time I was 60, DW and I took a road trip from NY State to Florida in her Subaru Outback. I'm not a huge guy, 5-10, 175 lbs. Day One was a 7 hour leg from our place to Staunton VA...I was miserable in the car. Noise, and an uncomfortable seat, and a contorted body position as I drove. The big hump down the middle of the car throws the pedal cluster to the left, so that instead of the accelerator being in line with my right hip, my right foot is forced a few inches to the left. My right hip and knee were killing me that night. I thought I was going to have to turn around in the morning and go back home, as I tossed and turned in bed all night. Eventually the ibuprofen kicked in, and I was able to continue the next day.
But that was the last road trip for me in the Subaru.

Other factors that bother me on road trips, particularly down the Eastern Seaboard, are traffic in general, especially around either the Washington DC/Beltway complex, or alternately, Charlotte, NC. I take the Charlotte route now,but from Carlisle PA until you get out of the mountains, the truck traffic is horrendous. It seems as if at least 50% of the traffic is big rigs, and one rig will pass another going all of 1/2 mph faster than the rig being passed. I've clocked the pass as taking as long as 9 miles, and by then there is a long line of angry, impatient drivers stacked up like a NASCAR cluster waiting for the green flag.

I have a more comfortable car now, a Highlander, but I still try to limit my day's driving to no more than 7 or 8 hours, with a stop every hour to 90 minutes.

I just flew from Orlando to Denver. 4 hours flight time, plus 30 to 40 minutes taxiing or waiting line, so close to 4 1/2 to 5 hours crammed in a Frontier seat. Also no fun for me.
I have grown to hate traveling in general.

 

[mountainsoft]

Has anyone else had a sudden change in attitude towards driving at retirement?

I'm still a few years from retiring, but don't enjoy driving as much as I used to. Around town or out on the highway driving has nearly become a war zone. People follow too close, drive too fast, change lanes too soon, are angry about everything, and always in a rush. Green light means floor it, red light means run it or don't touch the brakes till the very last minute. If you're not exceeding the speed limit, people act like you're going too slow. Horn honking, lights flashing, finger flipping, yelling, and more. Vehicles are bigger and I swear the bigger the rig the crazier they drive. So many people treat their vehicles like weapons. Not to mention all the people who are distracted on their phone instead of driving. I'm constantly on defense trying to avoid the reckless driving from others. It just takes the fun out of driving.

As long as I'm on a back road with little traffic where I can take my time and enjoy the sights I still enjoy it. I do try to limit road trips to 5-6 hours per day, and I prefer not to drive at night if I can avoid it. I used to drive 500 miles a day back when I was working for the man, but since I've been self employed I only drive 2K to 5K per year.

Both road noise and ride quality (too soft/floaty) were issues, and I ended up limiting my speed to about 70 mph. The only vehicles I passed were box trucks and boat trailers.
My current car is a 2015 Subaru Legacy with just over 120K miles; the tires have about 40K, and look like they could go another 20-25K.

As others have mentioned, it may just be your tires. I replaced all the struts, shocks, ball joints, and suspension bushings in my 2000 Jetta and it still wanders. Tie rods and steering rack are good. I'm pretty sure it's the Cooper CS3 tires as my wife has a 2004 Jetta with Michelin's and hers drives fine.

Still, suspension parts are just maintenance items, and it's probably time to replace them if you haven't done it in a while. As long as you still enjoy the car, I'm a big believer in repairing over replacing.

That said, some problems are a mystery. My Jetta has a bad droning noise inside the cabin when the engine is around 3800 RPM. This occurs around 75mph when I'm out on the highway, so I tend to stay under 75 to avoid the droning noise. I've replaced all the engine mounts but no change. I'm suspecting a partially clogged exhaust, since my catalytic converter was empty when I replaced it. But I don't have any noises or other problems at lower or higher engine speeds. It's annoying but I've learned to avoid that narrow RPM range so I haven't been motivated to pursue it further.

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

As others have mentioned, it may just be your tires. I replaced all the struts, shocks, ball joints, and suspension bushings in my 2000 Jetta and it still wanders. Tie rods and steering rack are good. I'm pretty sure it's the Cooper CS3 tires as my wife has a 2004 Jetta with Michelin's and hers drives fine.

Still, suspension parts are just maintenance items, and it's probably time to replace them if you haven't done it in a while. As long as you still enjoy the car, I'm a big believer in repairing over replacing.

That said, some problems are a mystery. My Jetta has a bad droning noise inside the cabin when the engine is around 3800 RPM. This occurs around 75mph when I'm out on the highway, so I tend to stay under 75 to avoid the droning noise. I've replaced all the engine mounts but no change. I'm suspecting a partially clogged exhaust, since my catalytic converter was empty when I replaced it. But I don't have any noises or other problems at lower or higher engine speeds. It's annoying but I've learned to avoid that narrow RPM range so I haven't been motivated to pursue it further.

In 2000 I bought a 1982 Mercedes 300CD for commuting into town. I liked the car, but it tended to wander. New front sway bar bushings cured it. If you've already replaced the sway bar bushings, firmer polyethylene or delrin bushings are available from tuners. That said, bad tires can certainly do funny things to a car's handling.

As for the exhaust, a decent shop should be able to detect a blocked exhaust with a back-pressure gauge. That would probably reduce performance and possibly fuel economy as well, so it's worth checking out.

 

[Chuckanut]

I have a more comfortable car now, a Highlander, but I still try to limit my day's driving to no more than 7 or 8 hours, with a stop every hour to 90 minutes.

On long road trips where the goal is to get from here to there with no stops along the way for sightseeing, visiting, etc., I generally will drive for two hours, stop at some fast food joint where I get out of the car, stretch, walk around a bit and use the facilities. Then I get a cup of senior coffee, and one thing to eat that has a descent amount of protein in it and little if any sugar. That all takes about 20 minutes. I find that doing this I can drive a good 10 hours a day without getting seriously fatigued.

What also helps is having a good supply of audio books for entertainment. I have been known to go well over my 2 hour limit if the story line is good. Sometimes I zip past the turnoff. That's not so good. But, overall, audio books make driving long distances much more tolerable for me. YMMV.

 

[W2R]

Has anyone else had a sudden change in attitude towards driving at retirement?

Well, we used to go on road trips for fun before we retired, frequently, and we don't do that now. I think that for us, part of the motivation for road trips was putting a lot of distance between us and work. Since we no longer work, we don't get the thrill from doing that any more.

This year we have discovered that we absolutely love parking at the boat launch (about a mile from home) and watching the seagulls and other birds on the shores of Lake Ponchartrain for an hour or two every day after lunch. This is so much more fun for us than driving around aimlessly on pleasure drives in the neighborhood like we used to do earlier in retirement. Conserves gas too.

Seems to us like the other drivers are getting so much worse than they used to be, and that makes driving less fun. Apparently Driver's Ed has become more lax in the past half century or so. Or maybe we are turning into sour old people who think younger people should learn to behave better ("Get off my lawn!").

 

[JoeWras]

Seems to us like the other drivers are getting so much worse than they used to be, too! Apparently Driver's Ed has become more lax in the past half century or so. Or maybe we are turning into sour old people who think younger people should learn to behave better ("Get off my lawn!").

I think driver's ed is OK.

It is the phone in the lap, or hand, or up to the head causing a lot of the behavior.

 

[T-Minus]

I love road trips. DW and I switch driving roles every 3-ish hours to keep things interesting. Passenger gets to select the entertainment (a huge backlog of podcasts in my case), but has the responsibility of hydration supply and trash removal. Driver has the option of stopping at various points of interest, or just driving straight through. One of our phones has the Verizon Above Unlimited plans, so we can tether other devices to it (i.e. iPad, laptop, etc.) while traveling. Our car has an automatic cruise control function that will slow down if traffic gets in the way, so that is nice on the road. Now that I’m retired and have plenty of time, driving is so much better than dealing with flying busses (i.e. air travel) - and their related hassles. When selecting vehicles, we specifically paid attention to potential road trip comfort (noise, seating position, etc.) - and this has really paid off for us.

 

[Teacher Terry]

The most comfortable car I ever owned was a Volvo even when it got old. It cost a fortune to fix so would never get another one. We take our Honda Accord on long trips and it’s very comfortable. A year ago we took a month 4K trip visiting all our friends and family. I have never liked to drive. On big trips I drive 2 hours to break it up for my husband.