Hi Level_7,

Thanks for the quick reply. As I mentioned, the car just had the 72K service which includes most of the items on your list. BTW what is a throtle body?

I haven't had the car checked for cylinder anomalies since there is no tell tale sounds of knocking, slapping (valve), loss of power or excessive exhaust (white or blue).

What would be some of the other associated symptoms with a problemed clutch friction plate (other then higher fuel consumption)?

Since day 1 I always had intermitent problems with either engaging 1st or reversed when the car was parked for a while. The dealership said that was typical for the teg, all I had to do was move the car a little (ie engage 2nd ever so slightly) and then I could access the gear. The other idiosynchrocy of this particular car is also associated with starting. 99% of the time the car starts within 3 or 4 cranks (pretty impressive when it's -30C) but every so often it would need to crank twice as long (regardless of outside temp). Dealership said that it was "the engine trying to figure out where the pistons were before starting". I was amazed that this mechanic was able to say that while keeping a straight face.

This car has been super in every other respect. A real blast to drive.