Questions from December 2012
You and your readers might be interested in an article about Speed Humps in "Your Witness" by Professor Michael Pope, an expert in the field of bio-mechanics and ergonomics. His conclusion was that the...
Last winter I watched a snow plough come down a road heavily infested with speed tables and speed humps. Consequently the plough had to be raised and the road remain unploughed and dangerous. Another case...
I have just read the letter from TP of Barnstaple who seemed to think you had little experience of driving on snow and ice. I am glad you put him right about that, and the better performance of front-wheel...
I have to buy a new car for work. I currently drive an Audi A3 (I have covered 106,000 miles in the last three and a half years), but suffer back problems and find the car uncomfortable.
I am only getting...
My son is 17 and I've told him that I will get him a car and insure it for a year - but at a budget of £9000 all in. Assuming the insurance is about £4500 - what car would you recommend that has low insurance...
I have a 1979 Saab 99, which has been garaged since new. It is not in working order, but the bodywork and the interior are in excellent condition. It may not be relevant, but it has only 19,000 miles on...
My daughter is thinking of buying a Skoda Octavia 1.8TSI Laurin & Klement Estate, registered March 2011, 8,000 miles advertised at £15,495. What do you think?
I will be replacing my Toyota Aygo soon and I want to buy something that's bigger and has a better specification. Ideally, I want a five door car that’s economical and has rear-wheel drive. It must also...
I received an unexpected text from my Porsche dealer asking if they could buy my 2006 34,800 mile Cayman. I responded and apparently they've had a run on used sales and are in need of stock, with a high...
We have owned an Audi A4 2.0-litre saloon automatic for the past nine years. It has now done 70,000 miles.
We are aged 74 and are thinking about replacing it with a new or low mileage second-hand car....
I watched your great Ford Ranger video, then I went to my Ford dealer for a test drive, and I loved the vehicle, a little noisy but all the same, a great pick up truck.
I was about to put a deposit down...
Here is a salutary tale on winter driving. I recover cars for a Jaguar Land Rover repair contractor and was called to Gaydon to collect a JLR company Range Rover Sport diesel. A new car, it is allocated...
I am at present running a 2009 BMW 120d SE convertible (with which I am very pleased). It is fitted with Continental Premium Contact SSR tyres size 205/55 R16 91V runflats.
What would you recommend replacing...
My daughter has had 120,000 trouble-free miles from a Toyota Corolla Verso purchased in 2003. However, the dash display has failed and at the annual service our local independent garage concluded the radio...
I wanted to write to highlight an excellent local garage in Leeds: Alderson Autos. A while ago I had an accident. When my car was returned to me it appeared to have turbo failure. The local franchised...
My wife went out to her 2007 Fiat Grande Pundo, parked underneath a carport, reversed out and heard a 'ping’. Almost immediatly, the nearside front went down with a broken spring. I've written to FIAT...
I have four Labradors and am looking to buy a four-wheel drive car with a low enough sill to easily lift the dogs in and not to damage joints when they jump out. My old Discovery is too high. Please can...
I wonder if you could give me some advice on people carriers? Our 2005 Galaxy TDI Ghia automatic with 100,000 miles on the clock collided with the central reservation of the M1 and I am bracing myself...
I agree with your encouraging reply about speed humps to MJ of Burton upon Trent. Our locality is full of these wretched objects, with all the usual dangers. However, I am curious to know about another...
I own a 2009 Volkswagen Golf Plus 1.9 TDI Bluemotion and have noticed an unusual noise coming from under the bonnet. After some investigation by my local dealer, I was told that the flywheel and clutch...
Can you tell me how many miles you have to drive to avoid the symptoms of 'short run syndrome’? Talking to many OAP ladies on this subject, they seem to think a short run is only half a mile, whereas I...
In 1998, we purchased a silver Vauxhall Vectra which had a built-in Trafficmaster, which advised of road conditions ahead. This was especially effective on motorways as it stayed in “Automatic Mode” at...
I was driving my Honda Accord when the dashboard lights went out briefly. This occurred again on the same journey only they were off for a little longer. I contacted my local Honda Garage at Stratford...
I currently have a 1995 Mercedes-Benz E320 coupe and a 1989 Mercedes-Benz G Wagon (that runs on LPG and petrol). Both have done over 140,000 miles and I tend to keep cars for a long time. I like both vehicles...
We want to replace the family saloon with something a bit more rugged - a go anywhere car suitable for bikes and some rough unmade up roads etc. We are a family of 4 with 2 large dogs. While the Santa...
We are looking to trade in my wifes 05 plate 206 1.1s for a similar size 5 door hatch (or slightly bigger) which has ISOFIX. The car needs to be petrol and return 40+mpg and have a tax band of F or below.
We'd...
What is the function of the engine symbol indicator light in the dash board ?
Is urgent attention required, The engine and car show no visual problems
I have a Nissan Alemra 1996 1.5 auto. It's low on mileage, but quite old now, and I've been driving it since 2007.
It was very good for the first three years, but since last year, during every service,...
My Jaguar XF 3.0 Diesel was written off when stationary at a junction - no blame whatsoever. It was a July 2010 Luxury model owned from new with 54,000 miles, FSH and very high spec. The dealer, Statstone,...
My seven year old, 125k miles BMW 530d suffered water ingress last week. The insurer's garage won't take the engine to bits and have costed £13k for a replacement power unit - so it's a write off.
The...
My new tyres have radial red and yellow stripes 'painted' on the the circumference of the tread and somewhat offset from the centre line of the tyre, what do these mean?
On occasions, the powered tailgate on my Honda Tourer will not stay open. It will motor down, but even if I open it manually, it will still close immediately...
My stepdaughter is buying a Mazda2 from her father who is a corporate manager for Volvo. It's an 08-plate part exchange vehicle. He knew she was looking for one, so has bought it through his company for...
I'd appreciate your advice - I bought a new Mercedes-Benz C220CDI Sport Estate just over a year ago. The 'Intelligent Lighting' has never seemed to be properly aligned, being too high, and from the start...
With my previous car - a 2006 Kia Sorento CRDi XS purchased new, in the absence of advice form the Handbook I ran the engine in over 10k miles following your advice contained within your FAQ section. Thus...
My friend has a Jaguar S-Type (2007) and wants to purchase winter tyres and wheels 245 x 40 x 18. I have a Jaguar XF 2011 which I will sell to him next year which has 245 x 40 x 19 standard tyres.
Will...
Do you know whether the registration '13' will go ahead next March, or will it be avoided? A dealer tells me that they are worried it will deter buyers and they have heard nothing either way.
Do you gave any experience or knowledge of the performance of Cooper Weather Master snow tyres. They are a reasonable price but I cannot find any tests/reviews for them?
My wife has a three-year old Nissan Qashqai. There's lots of internal condensation, and that means having to wait a long time before driving off - whih is a waste of fuel. When starting up, the a/c is...
I assume that the stop-start on a manual car is electronically activated when the vehicle is put into neutral. If that is the case, why can it not be activated when an automatic gearbox is put into neutral...
You recently commented that a Honda Jazz as a better bet than a Citroen C3 Picasso. I was on my way to buying a Jazz when I read that the average age of a Jazz purchaser (let alone driver) is 62. You may...
I have a 2005 Citroen C3 HDI 1.4. The power steering fails intermittently, as do the rev counter and the heater display. Also, the fan stops working and the battery light comes on.
This problem has been...
I have a 2003 Volkswagen Passat 1.9 TDI 130, and the emissions workshop warning keeps coming on. I was told by the garage that the error code reported is for EGR valve. I had cleaned, but this has had...
I now have a Kia Cee'd Ecodynamics 2011 but despite economical driving (e.g. 50-55mph on motorways, smooth braking etc) it's only getting about 49MPG. With all the cold weather we're currently having I...
I have seen advertised in a newspaper, a device you plug into a cars 12v point (ciggy Lighter) when charged you remove the device and if you have a flat battery in future simply re-insert the device into...
I have just bought a Nissan X-Trail Tekna for towing a caravan - the tyre sizes are: 225/55R18 on 18x7J rims, whereas on the Acenta they are 225/60R17. Why is this and what are the advantages and disadvantages?
Also...
I had my ABS modulator replaced 15 months ago - and then my front o/s speed sensor. But then the warning lights came on yet again - both front speed sensors indicated issues this time.
Have now replaced...
I've owned a Skoda Octavia for the last six years (I bought my current car when it was one year old). It now has nearly 80,000 miles on the clock, and as it's a diesel, and given all your warnings about...
I'm about to look at a 2003 Mondeo 3.0 ST220 Manual. It has two previous owners and FSH. Do you have any experience of these cars, and do they have any known problems?
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