July 2003
boards.fool.co.uk/Message.asp?mid=8015787
No surprise to anyone who follows consumer columns in the press. I got Dollar to honour my H4L voucher in Florida at Easter - but only just!
Good riddance to 'em I say. Another reminder to pay for everything possible on a credit card.
CF. Read more
Having spoken (at length I suppose) about the reliability etc etc of my car (Honda CRV Es auto 1997) and how pleased I\'ve been with it since new - I now get a safety recall letter, and I\'m looking for some helpful comments before I ring up the authorised dealer.
(for information car has always been main dealer serviced until last service and MOT carried out at the beginning of this month, timing belt was changed by dealer at 5 yrs as recommended, and I had a new battery earlier this year. Have also had tyres and wiper blades - that\'s all)
Safety recall says:
\"some vehicles were manufactured with ignition switches that can wear prematurely and this may lead to difficulty starting the car\" (well, I did have some difficulties, which I presumed were battery related, and having changed the battery no longer experience them - sometimes car had stood a while and only done a few miles, now it\'s used more frequently and on longer journeys)
\"in some cases it is possible that the switch might fail and that your engine may stall without warning\"
I\'m obviously going to get it booked in asap, don\'t think my car has any problems, but who knows. Just wanted to ask if there\'s anything I should know before contacting the garage on Monday?
It shouldn\'t cost anything presumably?
Letter also says that \"repair times may vary, particularly if your car has been fitted with an alarm system\"
Any idea how long this work should take? (mine has a combined remote alarm/immobiliser, I think it\'s Thatcham 1, which was fitted by the dealer prior to delivery)
I can\'t imagine they\'d provide a courtesy car for this work, so I\'d like to have an idea of what\'s involved before I call them - I just like to be prepared.
Thanks Read more
Thanks for the info Burnout2, that's what I was looking for.
I didn't have any idea myself.
Have now heard from garage who also confirmed this timing - just about half the time indicated by the help line.
i have a 1996 mondeo laying in pieces at my front door as we speak i cant break the balljoint using a splitter the nut is of the torq bolt but the bolt wont budge help!
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having problem refitting new wishbone.back bolts in ok ,balljoint some distance from hub does not seem to be any give in it Help!!!!!!
Anybody had a problem with New Polo engine mountings?
The ones on my Polo 1.4S seem particularly "floppy", the driver side one makes a clicking noise when the engine is rocked by hand. I think they are allowing the engine to move about too much during normal road use causing a noise which sounds like a rubber ball being shaken about in a plastic drinks bottle! Read more
Hi all, bit of a dual niggle to plead for help with today,
firstly there's been a lot of knocking noises coming from my 306 recently, due to uneven roadsurfaces. It's not affected by engine or road speed, just the road surface quality. From my Haynes manual i think it is probably worn anti-roll bar drop links, but anyone who can confirm this/offer other ideas would help me commit to replacement ones.
secondly, my front left tyre has been dropping to around 20psi for quite a while now. I reinflate to the recommended 33psi every week, but after a few days (at 50miles/day) it's back to 20psi, yet doesn't drop any further. I can only assume that the beading or value is leaking, but don't know a way of telling which. I was informed by a friend of mine that one manufacturer (maybe Honda or Toyota?) is now selling new cars without spare wheels, and instead treating the wheels with tyre sealant. Is this true? And if so what do they treat them with, and can i use it to help my wheel hold pressure?
Thanks in advance for your ideas Read more
If you probably find it is leaking around the bead / rim. If you have alloy wheels this is a common fault. A way of testing is washing up liguid and water put around the rim edge and obviously inflate tyres first to recommended pressure. There is a product which is used in the trade, they break the tyre bead down and squirt between tyre and rim brush around and inflate. This product works well.
Has anybody experienced, hesitant acceleration from stand still on their C3 16v HDi diesel?
I floor the accelerator at roundabouts and junctions and the car flounders about until the turbo decides to cut in then its orft we jolly well go.
This floundering has caused me some embarrasing moments and I'm concerned an incident may arise.
Dealer is looking into it at the moment, but frankly dealers don't seem able to climb the steep learning curve whenever new models come on line. (in my experience)
Idle RPM seems low, around 500rpm on the clock, might this have something to do with it? Oh, just remembered that idle rpm cannot be set independently, its controlled by the ECU!
Any experiences or ideas would be welcome,
TVM
Alf Read more
Why design a car ...? They haven't, probably, but it's much easier to say 'they all do that' than to actually fix the damn thing.
I haven\'t seen recent sales figures for Kia, but can only presume, from the number of Shumas and Sorrentos on the road, that they are very much on the up. H.J. gave the Sorrento a quite favourable report back in February, and just wondered if anybody in the B.R.has got one, and their impressions of this quite stylish vehicle???? Read more
I picked up my new Sorento on July 5th, and apart from a few teething problems (front axle hydraulic leak and faulty electric aerial/stereo/cd changer!) I think it is great. The diesel produces loads of torque low down so that you rarely need to rev over 2,500 rpm to get a gusty performance. The interior finish is streets ahead of the competition and the electric gadgets are plentiful. The commanding view makes driving this very large car easy, even for the girlfriend who normally has trouble parking a mini. The cruise control is very easy to use and is an added bonus for long journeys. The boot space is large and the under-floor trays hold all the cleaning equipment and tools you would ever need without them rattling around. The poor points? Dealer back-up very poor! May just be my particular dealer but the car has been in twice so far and the first time came back filthy dirty on the inside. The car shouldn't have even had to go back a second time if it wasn't to correct work they bodged on the first visit! A sqeaky near side rear seat belt mounting is proving distracting. Other than that, highly reccomended as a family load lugger and long distance cruiser with the inside luxury to match a far more expensive type of car. I've yet to go off-raod seriously but what we have managed to do (fields and diused country roads) the Sorento coped with easily.
After reading a thread on this site about travelling in france and how having an ecosse sticker has paid dividends if stopped by the police,im wondering where to buy one.I hope someone can help as ive had no luck at all.
Thanks. Read more
Oops, clumsy me, whilst attempting to remove the non motoring parts of this thread, I hit the delete key instead of edit. oh well.
I'm not very good at posting links, however in todays Daily Record there is a story about a guy who bought a brand new Lambo Murcielago, even went to Bologna to see it being built. When he arrived there he was taken to the factory in a new A8.
He has since went into his local Audi dealer in Glasgow in his Lambo and traded it in for a brand new A8. Apparently he felt uneasy leaving it parked in the streets of Glasgow. Needless to say, the dealer paid him a balance!
Whilst he was in , someone else came into the dealer and offered money for the Lambo!!
Whats your thoughts on that Sean??? Someone more skilful than me might be able to post a link to the page. Read more
In my opinion, the A8 is a beautifully engineered car, bought only with the head. It is a businessman's car, designed to transport a moneyed senior manager to his destination.
It doesn't present a "flash, look at me", style.
The Lambo definitely does and tends to attract all of the wrong attention.
People comment about never being let out of side streets on Porsches, Ferraris, Lambos. I have yet to hear this from folks with Audis.
The whole point of Dr. Pietch's strategy was niche marketing. Building the same basic platform in sheep or wolf clothing to attract different buyers.
The people who dislike the Lambo tend not to see the same characteristics in the A8.
Hope this helps.
My missus has just come home from work rather worried because a warning light has lit up in her car. She has an 02 reg Nissan Almera 1.5SE. The light is situated at the bottom right corner of the speedo and looks like a circle with an exclamation mark inside. With the handbrake on this light glows bright red normally but usually goes off completely when the handbrake is released...but now it stays on when the handbrake is released, although it shines less brightly with the handbrake released.
Obviously its a brake warning light of some sort, but we've just noticed that the big folder she received when she bought the car does not contain an owners handbook! so we can't identify exactly what this light means. We rang the Nissan dealer, but they just said to bring the car in and leave it with them...not really what we want to do if possible cos she needs the car for work.
I've checked the brake fluid level, and that is at the max mark. So my suspicion is that its a low brake pad lining warning? Can anyone confirm if my suspicions are correct? Also, am I allowed to replace the brake pads myself...or must it be done by the main dealer as the car is still under warranty?
Many thanks
Terry. Read more
Thanks Dave. I'm hoping you're right about the float sticking, cos the missus just rang me and said the light went off for a while, then came back on and is now off again! As the fluid was at the max mark we decided it would be OK for her to use the car at low speeds for today until I've got a chance to poke around with it over the weekend. I'll get the wheels off and check the linings as well. Cheers :o)
Browse
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Used them with no problems in Feb. Not next year though.