April 2001
Went to Tesco last night. Got back to the car, used the remote to unlock my 1997 R Mondeo, heard the distinctive unlocking sound from ANOTHER M plate Mondeo three bays along as well as mine! Can't be, I thought. Walked over to it, tried again - yep - my remote consistently unlocked and relocked both cars. Then I realised that if I just unlocked my car and drove off that would unlock his as well - can't even begin to think what happens in insurance claims should his car get stolen in those circumstances. So I drove 200 yards away, parked up, walked back, and relocked his car for him. So, what is going on? Thought the point was that there were gadzillions of ever changing combinations? I hope the poor bloke didn't get back to find his car refusing to open for his own remote! Wonder if the key would have started it... Read more
I have been offered a Lexus LS400 P reg at what appears to be an attractive price. The car , P reg, has done 58,000 miles. What would I need to look out for and what are the week points (if any) of this luxury car? You experience and comments would be appreciated
Roger Streatfield Read more
The Lexus LS400 has just won the JD power survey getting an almost perfect score... Check out this months Top Gear for info on the survey
Kev
P.S i wish i could afford one, if anyone could donate 1........
has anyone experienced problems with loss of drive ( only moves forward and reverse slowly at idle speed only) no loss of oil from box .
it is 1994 V6 cosworth with some electric control on box. Read more
I have a 1995 2.9 12v and had problems with it changing up and down (cycling) at low engine speeds around 2000 rpm. I took it to a specialist in Dartford. He drove it and said it either needed the gearbox oil and filter changed £80 or strip and rebuild £400. I said start with the oil change which he did and he phoned me to say that there was no debris in the oil which was a good sign and we agreed to stop at that. Well that was last August about 8000 miles and no problems since. This may not be your problem but food for thought I hope.
Scenic or Picasso Diesel
I am trying to decide which of these to buy. Have test-driven both but in petrol version only.
The Scenic seemed more solid and better-finished.
The Picasso was roomier in the boot and back seats/legroom. But my children found the rear seats hard and uncomfortable. Has anyone out there haed a Picasso for some time? Do the rear seats soften up with use?
Any other problems with either car? And average mpg to date.
Has anyone bought from Tins on the internet? Experiences? They seem to be offering the best prices at the moment.
Any help greatly appreciated
Mike Curtis Read more
I have sx picasso hdi back seats are individally reclinable and are very comfortable the car is excellent i have no complaints it averages 45-50mpg mostly on short 1 or 2 mile journeys, previous petrol 1.6 hatchbacks struggled to do 28mpg over same. The car is alot wider inside than the scenic we looked at a scenic and it was more money with less equipment and the headlights are excellent also but go for the sx as it is worth the small extra charge.
The saliva was running down my old jumper as I read all the threads under 'old cheap + fast'.
I go back to the last one - the only time you lucky young lads on here will see a Wolseley 6/110 is on 1960s police black and white films. Oh the memories e.g. standing at the lights watching the bonnet rust; feeling the road with the accelerator pedal still attached to a square foot of floor. But what value for money. Why, for donkeys years, have I sat behind the wheel of a boring new(ish) mass produced bean can when I read about the exotic monsters you lads are driving.
There's a Honda Legend in the car lot not a half mile from me M reg. Reminds me of an ad for P&O cruises. Daren't tell my wife. Do you think she'd notice if I bought it and stuck it behind the Megane?
Cheers Grandad Colin Read more
Colin
Crikey - cheer up! We aren't all young lads on here you know, even if we apparently sound like it. I can remember Wolseley 6/110's first time round, (but I was too young to drive then). The secret is to at least sound like a lad, even if you're not.
Why not ditch the Scenic, and get something sporty. Follow my example. People kept saying 'I bet you'll buy an estate car when your daughter's off to university'. Oh no - we bought a BMW Coupe - I'll hire a van for the uni trips!
Cheers
John
Anyone out there had any experience with SEAT Leon 1.8SE & SET? Any comments on reliability, build quality and dealerships? Any bad points come to light so far? Read more
I have just purchased a Seat Ibiza.
The dealer has been great.
The car is fabulous
I have a wierd problem with my 1990 205 GTi heater. The fan doesn't work when you operate the rotary switch. I've checked the fan motor and it runs and the switch circuits appear ok too. The real mystery is that when you unplug the cable connector from the back of the switch, the fan motor starts to run but stops as soon as the connector is plugged back into the switch. I believe there is a rheostat and a relay somewhere in the wiring and perhaps one of these is faulty but my Haynes manual is no help in locating these parts. Can anyone offer advice? I would be most grateful. Bob Read more
Hi Chris, thanks for replying. My switch is fine and I have now found the problem elsewhere as the following tale explains. If you haven't used Autofive for spares you might want to try them. Second hand parts may be cheap but can be poor quality, I know - cracked exhaust manifold and worn wiper motor. Anyway, good luck whatever you're driving. Bob
I have finally resolved the problem with the heater blower on my Peugeot 205 GTi and perhaps someone else will benefit from knowing what happened. The problem was that the fan motor would not run, very inconvenient when the windows steam up. I checked the motor, which is on the right side of the passenger footwell and held in place by three screws. Undo these, detach the cable connector and the motor and fan drop out. You can check the motor by connecting two leads from the battery to the terminals on the connector block on the motor. Get someone else to hold the motor when you do this as it will spin if it works. Take care not to short out the wires. My motor was fine so the problem lay elsewhere but I wasn?t sure what other components were in the circuit or where they were. Eventually I spoke to a guy at Autofive ( 205 GTi parts specialists) If you haven?t heard of them give them a call on 01606 782555 and ask for a price list - much cheaper than Peugeot main dealers and helpful advice too.
He told me about a control unit which was inclined to corrode and stop the fan working. This is located on the bulkhead a few inches from the fan motor, high up in the passenger footwell. Follow the cable from the fan and you will find it. Remove the plug in cable connector, undo two screws and drop the controller out. It consists of a circuit board with a diode mounted on a heat sink. The spring contact looked a bit tarnished so I cleaned it up with sandpaper. Note that under the contact is a small round disk which can be removed if the contact is eased up. Clean this on both sides and the back of the diode. You may need to retension the spring connector when you reassemble to ensure pressure is maintained on the contact.
I refitted the control unit to the car and the fan worked again. (If this doesn?t do the trick a new control unit is about £22). I just wish I had spoken to Autofive a week ago and saved myself days of fruitless labour. At least this repair cost nothing so I have to be grateful for something. If you ever have the same problem I hope my experience gets you to the solution more quickly. Bob
I've just replaced my 91 BMW 320 16 valve manual with a 93 320 24 valve automatic transmission. This is my first automatic and I have immediately noticed both poorer performance at low speeds and overall much higher petrol consumption. Leaving aside the possibility of there being a fault with the new car, I wonder if I'm not driving the automatic correctly? Has anyone any tips to get the best economy/performance combination or can let me know about anywhere I can read up on this? Thanks Read more
Autos have to use more fuel because the energy used to change gear AND engage/disengage cluches comes from the engine rather than the driver. As far as hot spotting the discs at traffic lights, I suppose if you drive at 100 mph between every traffic light it might be the case... I think autos wear out brakes faster simply because there is less enging braking. (There is none in first, unless you select "low" in some cars.) As far as leaving it in D at traffic lights, i don't think it does any more harm than sliding in and out of N. Auto boxes seem to pack up because the 1st gear clutch goes. It it's left in gear, this should save the clutch. It's cheaper to change the fluid once in a while. As far as sneezing goes, what about the other end? Incidentally, now that the police are ticketing people for drinking water at traffic lights etc, is blowing one's nose in a car an offence?
I am about to buy a 7 year old vehicle with 71K on clock. What advice can anyone give to maximise engine life. In particular I am thinking of oil changes, frequency and type and glowplugs. Any advice appreciated. Read more
Andrew - as the two Davids imply, what has already been done to your car is more important than what you will do to it next. If it has had regular oil/filter/coolant/brake fluid/cambelt changes it should look after itself, giving 50 mpg or better. If the history is suspect you may be unlucky. Otherwise you should only suffer from usual wear-&-tear for a 7-year-old car. Good luck.
Can anyone tell me how gas struts work (the things that hold up hatchback doors) ?
I have no problem with the basic idea of a piston in a pressurised gas filled cylinder, but it intrigues me how they are so well sealed. They seem to work for years without loosing pressure, which must be difficult to achieve with the sliding seal. Read more
Alec is right, at least on my car. I've just had a look and it says "Contains high pressure gas. Do not puncture or heat". Maybe they are just good seals.
Browse
Back in 1968 i lent my Beetle to a friend to go and collect someone from the station next morning. I warned him that it always required a push to start first thing, but was OK after that.
I saw him again next morning (lunch time I think) and he said that the car had started first time, but that the key had been ok in the door but sticky in the ignition. I asked him... and he pointed to a different Beetle from the flat window. I never told the owner of the other Beetle.