Ask Honest John

Most recently answered maintenance and servicing questions
I bought a ten year old Ford Ranger from a dealer seven months ago, with a three month warranty. The timing belt went last week and the dealer's own mechanic fitted a new one just before we bought it....
I've just discovered that the 2009 Mazda CX-7 I've owned for over 6 years has a timing chain rather than cam belt. It's covered 60,000 miles and I'm now worried that issues with the chain, the VVT or turbo...
In April 2016 I bought a 2014 Vauxhall Zafira Tourer with 9500 miles on it. Now, just 11 months and 6000 miles later, the clutch has burnt out. The car is still under the manufacturer's warranty but the...
My five year old Mercedes-Benz E550 has done 17,000 miles and has had the brake pads replaced and now the rotors. Apparently the reason for the rotor failure was that I drove too little. My wife had a...
I was charged £52.80 for four litres of oil by a Suzuki dealer as part of the first year service of my Vitara. This seems excessive to me, bearing in mind that I can buy the same grade oil for £3 per...
My Renault Scenic is ten years old and has covered 17,000 miles. Five years ago, at 12,000 miles, I had a new cam belt fitted. It's now been another five years, do I need another cam belt? The car has...
My 2005 Ford Mondeo 2.0 TDCi has done 147,000 miles. It had a previous issue where the glow plug light would flash and it would go into limp mode. I read various posts on here and it seemed that the arm...
I've been doing some research on Audi remaps. Is this going to degrade the engine in any way and why do you think superchips are probably the best option?
I had an MoT one month, and about 300 miles, ago. The only advisory was a rubber mounting. I took it to Honda for their spring checkover and the rear brake is down to the metal with a seized caliper which...
The timing belt snapped on my 2004 Renault Trafic, it's only done 56,000 miles. How much might it cost to fix?