Ask Honest John

Most recently answered technical issues questions
I read with interest your reply to AP on the subject of cambelts. You said that Ford/PSA diesels were "good for 60,000 miles". I have a Berlingo with the 2-litre HDI engine and the handbook says change...
I would like to raise a very serious issue over the safety of coil springs Last week, I was driving home from work at about 4 pm in my 46,000 mile 2004 reg car. I had gone about 1 mile (almost entirely...
My wife has a Ford Focus and the dashboard has just failed - speedo, temp gauge, fuel gauge etc. A local auto electrician has advised that this is a known Ford fault and there was a recall sometime back...
I remember some discussion in your column of the tendency of a certain era of Mercedes to be extremely rust prone. In our extended family we have an 18 year old Volvo 760 estate, a 14 year old Peugeot...
I purchased a demonstrator Mercedes A180CDI auto with 9,500 miles in late June from a main dealer and have put on a further 6,000 miles. The fuel economy has always been disappointing, averaging 41.2mpg,...
I own a 2002, 8,000 mile 3 door Honda Civic 1.4 Vision (bought privately from a "one lady owner). It’s fully serviced, timing belt changed etc., and body in perfect condition). The electric power assistance...
I note that one of your correspondents recently described his/her Honda Jazz as “a heap of unreliable junk”. Can I add my name to the list of dissatisfied owners? My 1.4 Jazz, first registered in May 2005,...
Seeing you refer to the Hyundai i20 returning "more than 50mpg" I wondered if it has the same 1,248cc engine as our recently purchased i10. Our only disappointment with this excellent little car is the...
I own a 2004/54 Audi TT 3.2 litre DSG, now at 40,000 miles. For some weeks I have noticed the water in the header tank is more like light brown soup with a touch of foam for good measure. A local dealer...
I thought you might want to see something from the BMW E92 forum. Quite a large percentage of owners with 19" M sport 225M wheels have suffered from cracks and BMW is denying blame. One poster on the BMW...