August 2002
As a (sensible?) preparation for several long holiday journeys this car was serviced by a small independent garage in the local village that in the past has provided a competent service. The car was collected one evening after closing hours, and consequently no paper work outlining work completed or bill etc was available.
The following day a 250 mile journey (with 2 children) was commenced. The driver, who does not have any mechanical empathy, but is observant, noticed that the handbrake had apparently been adjusted, but otherwise the car drove normally. After approximately 50 miles of cross country driving and (fortunately) in an urban situation at approx 20mph the brake pedal went to the floor, with absolutely no braking effort. She fortunately avoided all traffic and, using handbrake and gears, brought the car to a halt avoiding all stationary objects.
She sought refuge in a car park and waited for the AA to appear. After a delay the brakes appeared to regain a relatively normal feel, but on AA advice the journey was completed on Relay with the car being left at a Vauxhall franchise garage to be investigated the following day.
The garage reported that the only thing they could find wrong was that the handbrake adjustment was incorrect and that the rear self adjusters had been 'overtightened'. The supposition was that the rear brakes had been binding, overheated,and caused fluid to boil. The brake fluid was changed and the car has been ok since.
The questions that arise are
Has any one experience of brake fluid boiling as the result of binding rear brakes?
Is this considered a viable explanation? ( I would have expected such overheating to result in a typical hot grease and pads smell which I believe would have been noted).
At only 4 years old water contamination may be an issue if the fluid has not been changed but is this likely in this situation?
Any other possible explanations?
I have never seen a warning concerning misadjustment of rear brakes resulting in potential catastrophic failure although I I can understand that a vapour lock would disable both braking circuits.
PS The independent garage so far have been less than cooperative. They initially sought to minimise any responsibility on their part and wanted the disabled vehicle returned to them (in failed state!). Totally impracticable. Whether they will pursue payment or not is awaited. Holiday absences make it difficult to deal with the matter in a straight forward way.
pmh (was peter) Read more
I need to remove the Nokia cradle from my car. It is fitted to a bracket that is slotted in top and bottom between the plastic part of the dash and the wooden trin surrounding the air vents. The bracket is firmly in place but with some side-side movement. Possibly it is pushed in on one-way clips.
Does anybody have a clue how the brackets work, and how to get the bracket off without messing up the trim?
Ideas welcome!
Thanks, PB. Read more
The answer was one way plastic clips. After a good look round with a torch, a good twist and tug and it pulled out no problem.
Im importing a BMW 3 Series diesel from Germany soon and will be bring the car back on the Cruxhaven (Hamburg) to Harwich route. The dealer is taking the car by trailer to the dock so I don't need transit plates.
I was going to have him put it on the DFDS ferry and me collect it from Harwich, then drive all the way home to Lancashire on no UK registration plates (perfectly legal I can assure you!) but covered by my insurance policy.
However, DFDS want £230 for a one way service to bring the car back unaccompanied. So I asked them how much for me to travel on a return ticket from Harwich to Cruxhaven, collect the car and return the same day. The price? £169!! WTF!?
Beats me why a one way, unaccompanied trip should cost £60 more and no, insurance isnt included. VAT is included in both prices. When I asked the girl said the return ticket is classed as a mini cruise. Read more
The insurance issue is a real nuisance. Law abiding customers who want to ensure they are properly covered for comprehensive risks are having to take chances with minimum legal cover for the Euro part of their journey due to Euro beaurocracy. I complained to my MP (via the excellent www.faxyourmp.com site) and got the following response:
www.sportimport.co.uk/dtlr.jpg
When there seemed to be no change, I complained again and goa slightly different story:
www.sportimport.co.uk/dtlr2.jpg
Two years ago there was no problem getting cover on the VIN and the excuses about the car not being registered in the UK are bull, the VIN number is a much more secure method of vehicle identification that a pair of plastic plates from Halfords.
Colin
(Sorry for link to my own website, but the images of the letters hosted there for my clients benefit)
Have been thinking about this for a while, when someone rejects their new car beacuse its faulty etc, what then happens to the car? Does the deal fix it up and sell it on as a used car to someone none the wiser anything was ever wrong with it?
Cheers. Read more
I think a website database should be compiled of all the car registrations spotted of ex vehicle manufacturer press department demo vehicles used on motoring programmes and magazines which are bound to have been thrashed to an inch of their lives.
Just who buys the demobbed 'reasonably priced car' in the end? Or is it responsibly scrapped? Discuss ...
i've just found this site and quite interesting it is too.
back to the subject, does no-one use a micro-fibre cloth to clean the screen or indeed all glass surfaces?
there are several types of "weave", i've found the coarser the better but you'll have to experiment. just soak in water, squeeze out the excess and it removes everything (with a tiny bit of elbow grease)- including grease/oily film on the inside. during a long run on a hot night there's nothing better at getting all the flies/midges/moths off.
i always have one in the glove box.
for the washer bottle, i find the holt's screen wash from halfords very effective.
normally speaking, if your wipers are squeaking then it's time to change them since all the graphite has gone from the blades - hence the rubber chatters on the glass. i always use valéo or marechal blades.
ciao Read more
just for information, the micro-fibre cloth is nothing special (at least not in france and i'm sure not in the uk). the micro weave means that the tiny fibres get right into the surface imperfections where the grease is hardest to remove.
in fact i'm sure your wife/girlfriend/whatever has one in the house for cleaning windows anyway. if not, it'll cost as much as a bottle of good glass cleaner but it'll last the life of the car!!
i repeat that the cloth removes even oily film without the need for chemicals of any sort except for h2o (water).
Guess the question is the subject here. We ourchased the E300td from a Mercedes Benz dealership just under a year ago reciently we have noticed the from wheel arches pannels are beginning to pitt and the paint comes off easily. After taking hte car to a Mercedes Benz bodywork shop they told us that the car indeed had the problem that we hasd told him but it is highly unlikely that Mercedes Benz would be willing to pay for the problem to be fixed even though the car has a full 30 years paint warently and has a three years dealer warently and that we should pay for it ourselves as what should we expect froma 2nd hand car (a £20k car isn't what most people think of as cheap and u should put up with it) and that brand new cars had the same problem and Mercedes Benz had not paid up for those cars to be fixed either. Any help on what we should do? We are writing a letter to mercedes now but don't know what to do, I imagined mercedes 30 years bodywork guarentee would cover it. Many thanks
Ps the car is amazing in all other respects and I would not what to derate the car in any way as it is amazing. Read more
Edd there are various ways you could approach this. First of all you need a technical report about the problem and also how much it will cost to fix. See if one of the independent bodyshops in your area will do report for you for a fee. In this instance I think "What Car?" magazine's readers' problem page may be able to help you. It sounds like the kind of problem they like to get their teeth into. You will need the technical report and the rejection letter from Mercedes before you approach them. Good luck!
Can anybody recommend a decent wax upholstery polish for black leather? - I have been using Auto-Glym leather care wax, and am not impressed as it leaves a dull grey finish instead of highlighting the black.
Any suggestions would be appreciated Read more
I picked up some stuff at an exhibition early this year called Urad. It's terrific - self-shining and feeds the leather too. Needs to be applied VERY sparingly.
I've used it to good effect on leather car seats, shoes and upholstery. Originates in Italy I think, and they do know about leather there!
Anyway, have a look at
www.urad.org for details. UK contact seems to be in Bury St Edmunds.
Terry
This problem is intermittent and has been going on for about a month.
The alternator and battery both checked out fine on a test stand at the shop so I'm confused.
While idling, the battery voltage is 12V but drops to 10V after some time or right after stop and go driving.
At 2500 RPM the terminals read about 13.5V
The tachometer jumps around a lot while driving. Sometimes when I hit the brakes, the radio goes off, but not always.
Anyone have a diagnosis?
Read more
Poor quality earthing, probably with a loose connection, and resultant high contact resistance, given your description. of movement being involved.
Could also be a dry joint on a circuit board.
This was the cause of a similar problem I once had with a previous car. After a lot of time tracking it down, I found that the circult board with the voltage regulator was flexing with vibration and bodyshell movement just enough to make and break a solder joint on it. Heating the joint with a soldering iron to make it flow and re-set solved the problem.
/Steve
Anyone see/hear this article on the news this lunchtime? I just caught the end of it. Looked like problems with brake hubs shearing. Trouble is I couldn't make out whether it was just Cherokees or Grand Cherokees as well.
Either way I'd better book my next service early if the garage is going to be busy with recall work!
Terry Read more
Hi Terry, it affects cherokees from 1990 through to 1999 but not Grand Cherokees. Jeep dealers know about it and will carry out the work (approx 1 hour). Apparently in the States there have been a few occurrences of the front brake discs seperating from the hub. New discs and presumably pads need fitting. All affected Cherokee owners will be contacted by post using the DVLA records so do what I have done and get booked in before the rush!
Regards
Nick
I've just been browsing through the back room archives and decided to bring this topic back up as I'm sure someone can help me. Although I am very impressed at how smooth and quiet my Vauxhall Omega is, I've noticed that there appears to be a considerable amount of tyre generated noise. This is obviously more noticeable on certian surfaces, and manifests itself as a rumbling "boxy" sound. My car currently has a pair of Pirelli P6000's on the rear and a dunlop and michelin as the front tyres (came with the car). I've also noticed a slight small bulge in the side wall (outside) of the rear tyres. Does anyone have any ideas on this, and should I replace the tyres? If so what are the recommendations for the lowest noise, they are 195/60/15's as far as I remember. I seem to have read that the p6000's are generally very quiet.
Regards
Simon Read more
Also - Michelin XH1 are not directional, just assymetrical. They have to be fitted correctly to the rim but can be used on either side of the car.
Browse
Update. (And thanks for all earlier contributions).
After a sucessful holiday and about 3000 uneventful miles, the owner of the independent garage has now changed his tune.
He was personally responsible for doing the work on the handbrake and has indicated that he will waive the bill for the service and make a contribution to expenses incurred following the brake failure including the investigation etc by a Vauxhall Franchise. Cheque awaited.
Methinks he has done some homework and has probably been setting up all Astra handbrakes incorrectly in the past!
At least he gets 100% marks for doing the morally correct thing, even if falls short of admission of liability. It would have been nice to know if the brake fluid had been contaminated, but the car has now gone to trade in, partly as loss of of trust and we will never know if the water drain mod had been done.
pmh (was peter)