Like Shingo said, its a biatch to get into 1st sometimes, and even worse in reverse. Fortunately for me, i'm not grinding like he is...yet. Dont kno if you have an auto or a manual, but if u have auto, this is useless info.

I also have lots of rattles that i didnt realize i had until i drove one of my parents' cars (99 4 runner limited and 03 accord lx v6). I know it has a lot to do with my relatively low/stiff suspension, and the 460 watts RMS going to my JL 12w6, as well as the 50x4 watts RMS going thru front and rear speakers.

My A/C does take a while to get cold, but i doubt this is a common problem since my A/C lines and condenser took some damage when i "crashed" last year.