I bought a 320dSe(150 b.h.p.) earlier this year on the premise that the fuel consumption would be approx 50 m.p.g. To date I have done 6k miles & it is only averaging 39 m.p.g. I was wondering if this will improve (say after 20k miles) and if any backroomers with this model could pass on their fuel consumption figures?? Read more

Hi all

I went out and tried to start up my Mondeo today (97MY Verona)
and as I turned the key there was a loud bang and a plume of smoke emitted from the front left of the bonnet (where the battery is).
I had a look and the battery had literally exploded chucking/dripping acid around the inside of the engine bay - the securing bracket held what was left of the case in situ.
I called the RAC and 40 mins later they were out , and replaced the battery for me...he also flushed out where the battery had been with water.
RAC man said that he's seen this in about 1 in 300 cars and its usually the lead plates connecting and igniting the gas that causes it - any one else had experience of this?
As far as I can tell the old battery was the original one that came with the car when new.
I've had it two years now and todays "incident" is the only blot on an otherwise pretty clean copybook :0)
I had to adjust the pacemaker I can tell you!!!

Thanks Read more

I have a Leon TDi SE, the 110 bhp version. Most of the time I'm so pleased with this car that I feel like that driver sketch Saab are using for their new ad campaign. Recently, a glitch has turned up which has marred the driving experience somewhat. Under heavy-ish acceleration, say flooring it above 2200 revs, the engine sometimes starts to hiccup. If I keep the foot to the floor, the effect becomes even more pronounced, the engine kangaroos and the traction control warning light comes on and stays on until the engine is switched off. On restarting, the warning light does not reappear.

This happened earlier this year, shortly before the first service - the dealer ran a diagnostic check at the time and found no fault. However, he did say that this type of fault has come up before, and there was even a recall on some Leons to remedy the fault - however, my VIN is not one of the batch that were recalled. The fault apparently relates to the ABS system, which is connected to the traction control system.

After the service (around May) the problem seemed to have disappeared, but in the last few weeks it has returned. Loss of overall power and reduced fuel consumption (down from an excellent 58+ mpg to an average 53 mpg on the display) have also been noticeable. This time, when it first happened, I kept the engine running and took the car to the dealer again straight away, so he could see the traction control warning light and run the diagnostic check while it was still illuminated. The computer recorded an unspecified fault at first - then after switching the engine off and on again, it found no fault and found no memory of a fault, which he said it should have. We had to leave it for a few days while he got in touch with Seat UK about it - they came back to say that a new piece of diagnostic equipment is now available which should deal with this. In fact, at the time, his technician was already booked onto the training course for using this computer and by now has finished it.

Once the technician returns from his holidays tomorrow, my car will be booked in - at the moment the plan is to replace the ABS control unit to see if that solves the problem - if it doesn't, the whole engine management system may be replaced. Fortunately, this is all under warranty! I'll let you know of any developments and try to get more specific information on the root cause of the fault - it may be worth including in the Car-by-Car breakdown. If anyone else has come across this in a Leon or other VAG TDi (especially the 110 bhp version), I'd like to hear what happened in other instances. Read more

I was out with friends for a drink Friday and the driver has just had a Pioneer Sat Nav unit fitted to his car. Very nice piece of kit it was too.

He'd decided to take us out in the wilds of Lancashire and had entered the postcodes for a few pubs where we could have a drink (the driver never drinks alcohol!). The Sat Nav told him in advance when a junction was coming up and which exit to take then reminded him within a few metres to turn left or right etc.

We arrived safely at each hostelry and had none of the usual 'are we going the right way' type comments. I was impressed how efficient the kit was, the clarity of instructions and no nonesense operation (tell where you want to go before setting off and it'll tell you how to get back on track if you do make a wrong turn.)

But, at £2500 (yes!!) I wondered if it was that necessary? It is fine if you are going somewhere you haven't been before or don't go to regularly but for regular runs, I'd question its usefulness, especially at the price.

One down side I did notice was the fitting which was done professionally, was that when the screen deployed, it appeared to cover the heater controls such that you couldn't get at them! Read more

From what HJ's news report says, people are spending crazy money on X5's. Not the type of car I like myself but it looks like people really don't care if the car is imported or not so long as it has the toys (and from Holland, you generally get more toys as standard than youdo in the UK!).

There must be some desparate people out there wanting to be seen in the mafia mobile considering some are prepared to pay well over UK price for an import too. Read more