January 2003
7am Saturday 4 Jan 03:
-1deg C, falling snow.
Are you homesick yet, Mark? :-) Read more
Having just become a dad for the second time yesterday evening,(the two seat roadster gets further away), I would like to disable the passenger airbag on my wifes 1999 1,25 zetec fiesta. Is this a matter of taking out a fuse or is it something a dealer has to do. Advice appreciated (other than don't have kids.)
MLC Read more
Actually, we had a 3dr Metro (co car) when our first was born. When I left Rover and we had to buy private, we got a 5dr Metro. Funnily enough it was easier to get the seat into the rear of the 3dr than it was the 5dr thanks to the larger doors on the 3dr. This might not be true of the Fiesta as it's a larger car. Hope you get on OK.
Please settle an argument! A guy in a pub says that his company insist he only uses replacement headlamp bulbs bought from a main dealer (for the make of car) because the lamps are of a different quality than can be obtained elsewhere. Also, they come with a fitting template! Comments please.
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Try checking out the product test section of the Autoexpress web site, within that section you'll find a test of H4 and H7 lamps. The details of exactly how the lamps are tested are given along with the results. I was surprised to find how some branded lamps don't meet the regs. despite carrying the E mark. Taking the advice of the reviews I bought a set of Philips VisionPlus lamps, these seem OK. A point to consider is that if you install a lamp that meets the spec whereas the last set didn't and you've had your car MOT'd and the headlights were adjusted then the new lamps may mean you need your headlights adjusting.
Steve.
Reading the backroom it would appear to me the reliability of different marques is shifting right across the price spectrum. Now I know we get real individual horror stories appearing in the backroom, but I thought it would be nice to collect details of all faults (however minor, but required fixing) in one place.
I propose a survey of new cars up to 3 years old on a rolling basis. Please for the usual reasons no dealer names or emotive rants. I propose the following format:
Make/Model/Date Of Purchase:
Private or Company Car?:
Age and Mileage when fault occurred:
Brief description of fault:
Fixed first time by dealer? Yes/No:
If not fixed first time how many dealer visits required:
Were you satisfied with the attitude of the dealer?: Read more
We're not sposed to be naming dealers for legal reasons, Blue Oval ;-)
Anyway slightly over 3 years old, but:
Renault Laguna 1.6 Alize Sep 1999 now on 25k miles
Private
Faults: Not firing on one cylinder. All four ignition coils replaced as part of known Renault problem - 95% goodwill (not really sure why not 100% but trivial cost).
Rear coil spring failed at 24k - Renault 100% goodwill after complaint to Renault Customer Services.
Front pads and discs replaced at 24k - no goodwill on that one.
ABS Sensor Wire to front brake system chafed mysteriously leading to ABS failure warning lights 10 days after the 24k service and above repair - dealer disclaimed all responsibility and didn't give a toss.
Dealer service - original dealer (small, local) really good, knew what they were doing, claimed goodwill as necessary. Lost their franchise. Replacement dealer (Renault owned, further away) awful - didn't give a toss, didn't claim goodwill. Left it to me to complain to Renault myself.
I was just reading HJ's auction report and I was really surprised at how cheap the Neon was.
My Aunt is looking at going to auction to buy her first proper car and has a similar budget. I'm very impressed with the spec of the car and it's age for so little money. But I don't know anything about Chryslers, what problems could be expected from buying a 100K mile Neon? Are they any good in the quality and reliabilty stakes?
Any thoughts or advice on the Neon would be appreciated...
Blue Read more
Thanks for that, I thought it would be asking too much to hear from an actual owner, but that's taught me to have more faith! :)
No specific questions really, it's just one of a variety of options, but we'd never considered it before I saw HJ's report.
You're not the first person to say that fuel economy wasn't great though. But then the car does have American roots. :)
Blue
i have 2 keys for my ford mondeo none of which are programmed so i need to buy a red master key from ford however i don`t want to pay over £50 for them to programme it. is there anywhere alse i can get it programmed cheaper? Read more
Sounds like you've re-coded the key to work the central locking but haven't coded the new key to the immobiliser. They are 2 entirely different systems as far as I recall. Procedure for coding the immobiliser was in the handbook when I had a Mondeo - you use the red key to program other keys.
The following may be what you need (taken from
www.advanced-diagnostics.co.uk/ford.pdf ):
KEY PROGRAMMING - UP TO 98 ¼ MY
NOTE : Clear ALL Fault codes before programming.
A new master key can only be programmed using the FDS2000 or the AD100 systems.
Further slaves can be added without any specialist equipment as follows :-
1. Insert master key, and turn to Position 2. PATS LED should illuminate.
2. Turn ignition from Position 2 to Position 0, and remover key. PATS LED will illuminate
for 2 seconds. PATS system is now in programming mode for 10 seconds.
3. Insert the new slave key, and turn from Position 0 to Position 2. PATS LED will flash
once if successful.
4. Repeat for all new slave keys.
Two new little bits of law (well actually the same law Police Reform Act 2002).
1. Police Officer no longer needs to be in uniform or to find the Offender committing the offence for him/her to arrest for an offence of Driving Whilst Disqualified.
2. Police can now confiscate vehicles that the driver causes annoyance, alarm or distress to others. Owner can reclaim it for a fixed fee (I think in the region of £100) and the Police can charge £15.00 a day for storage. Read more
Excellent idea. Far more approachable than when in cars. Don't live
too far from the police horse stables either, and gives real
sense of security to see them pass by the house each
day.
Sadly, here in Essex the police have disbanded the motorcycle section and the mounted section, I believe that the diving section has either been disbanded or is about to be. There are also mutterings that the Marine section is also under threat, in a county with the longest coastline in the country!
IMHO these were worthwhile sections just for their PR value alone as we very rarely see a police officer on the beat outside of the town centres. A PC in a car appears unapproachable even if he/she isn't, therefore the police seem to be insular, just one of the contributary factors to our problems today.
Cockle
I have recently purchased an October '98 Peugeot LXTD diesel estate fitted with a cat. Having previously owned a 405 Turbo diesel estate I am very disappointed at the lack of power in the 406. It seems to have no more power than the Citroen 1.9BX diesel (non turbo)that I once owned.
I am wondering if either the turbo is not working (I have not yet felt or heard it come into operation), or whether there might be a problem with the cat.
I would be interested if anyone else can throw any light on this, or is this what I should expect from the 406? Read more
This sounds just like how I felt when I swopped my 95M 306 XRDT for a 97P version. Even after several doses of injector cleaner and long trips, it was never as good. The obvious difference was the cat and its associated ECU. Peugeot eventually cured the problem with the HDi engine.
The external air temperature reading on the in-car LED display has become very erratic giving temperatures up to 20 degress higher than the actual outside temperature. Does anyone know where the sender is located so that I can check it ?
Additionally, the left-handside backlight illumination of the Climate Control LED display panel has gone very dull. Is this just a case of replacing a bulb or is the display faulty ?
Any help or comments would be much appreciated.
Mark
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Hi,
I have a 406 GLX (97 model), but the outside temp reads in F. Does anyone know how to change this to C ? Dealers have never been able to give me an answer.
Climate control reads tempertures as C!
Hi All, I have been offered a Dutton Phaeton kit car for free if I can arrange it's pick up. Is it worth the hassle?
The car is an unfinished project with many good parts, but the owner has been forced to part with it.
I have not built a kit car before but I am confident with a spanner and scared of a little hard work, but not sure if it is worth the effort.
Has anyone had experience of such a thing?
Are many hours required to build one (I would guess 300).
What obstcales will I face?
Cheers
Steve'o'
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Hi Adam, most of my knowledge has been accquired from the www.duttonownersclub.co.uk websit. They have a forum which I found very useful - they really know their stuff!
My car is now almost complete, I am looking to swap it for a Go Kart (mad I know).
Enjoy!
Stephen
Browse
Just can't imagine why you don't want to rush back here, Mark!
HF