August 2003
My wife has a 1995 Passat 1.9TD Estate and the central locking is playing up. When the central locking engages it doesn't lock the boot door. This means that it has to be locked manually. The locking works okay, if a bit lazily on the other doors via the key or by pressing down any of the locking buttons. The central locking system can be heard trying to lock/unlock the doors for up to 30 seconds on each activation.
Is there an easy fix for this or is the central locking unit (I think it is under the floor of the boot) on its way out?
Any thoughs appreciated. Read more
Just had a wee peek into another (note I did not say rival)forum run by a popular weekly motoring publication,(no prizes for guessing what it is) after being invited to join in for some "petrol headed banter".
Well, it's just as well I declined the offer because I think I may have ended up talking to myself judging by the number of posts!.
Mal.
P.S. please don't call me a traitor, I promise I will always remain loyal to this site in future :). Read more
1: You go drive into a car park, pick a spot miles away from everyone else, & lo & behold when return to your car, some half-wit has parked right next to you...?
2: Just seen a full frontal pic in last weeks Autocar of the new 5-Series, taken from low down... Reckon Bangle's really lost it this time... Read more
Target Fixation. Your vehicle follows your line of sight. Fundamental in biker training, look where you want to go and your bike will follow, so it can be a positive effect.
www.msgroup.org/TIP069.html
On the matter of fixation, why is everyone so fixated about car parks? Herring bone makes perfect sense, I far prefer those car parks which are laid out that way. Nice also when you get a blank space in front, you can simply move into it, park facing forwards and you're good to go with no hassle when you want to leave. I think a lot of it is UK car parks are so stingy with space, like cynical airlines and their very reducing seat pitch in coach.
Although I've driven cars with power steering (both medium and big size) for a few days at a time, I've never owned one before for longer term driving/ownership.
Now all the cars I'm looking at to buy have power steering (being something I physically need) but every single one I've test driven so far is still heavier than my current car (Corolla E reg), even the M Corolla I tried today. The vehicle body size isn't that much bigger or heavier surely, but if that is the case then surely the PAS would make the car as 'light' as my current one to drive. I certainly don't want to drive a small car again.
Is there a specific reason for the power steering seemingly heavier than a none PAS similar sized older car or is it just a sign of older and possibly knackered PAS?
Also what are the faults to look out for with PAS cars? On this site I read about watching out for black fluid rather than the red it should be, but what other stuff should I watch out for?
Thanks. Read more
Isn't it the Fiat Bravo/Brava that comes with a "girlie" switch
that alters the amount of power assistance?
No its the Punto from 1999 onwards and its called the 'City' switch. Had one on hire a few weeks ago and it does lighten up the steering to Japanese late 80's/early 90's levels.
I used to have an '89 Prelude that you could manoeuvre with one finger. At speed though the assistance reduced so you had plenty of feel. Best of both worlds IMO.
Charles
Can anyone help?
Pug 406 1.8 16v. No spark to injector, tested with pulse light. Could it be the ecu? Read more
It may seem unrelated, but try checking the earths at the rear tail lights.
Has anyone any mental tricks or strategies for keeping the old blood pressure down when faced with the everyday hurly burly on the roads? While there are sensible physical things one can do to be a defensive driver in the face of idiocy (after all the object is to get from A to B intact), I'm interested rather in the everyday mental side of driving and coping strategies. For instance, I read a Bill Bryson book some time ago in which he said he never got annoyed when someone drove along with an erroneous indicator on. Rather he took it as good fortune that here was somebody advertising the fact that they "were not entirely on top of the job in hand".
Similarly, when you know somebody is going to do something stupid, rather than get mad when it happens congratulate yourself on your ability to predict the future. You could try thinking: "Hey! people make mistakes - that's why they put rubbers on the end of pencils." Do you see what I mean?
And why is it when you've left plenty of time to complete a journey you never get held up but when you're in a rush every possible obstruction seems to be deployed against you? Could it be that it's how you view things that's important?
8 ball Read more
>>I find the best cause of action is to raise a hand in an apology.
Fine as long as they don't mistake the apologetic raised hand for another sort of raised hand signal ;)
I have a 2002 Mondeo Estate that i wish to take abroad. Does anyone know the procedure other than referring to a Ford dealer to change the headlights over for continental use?
Regards
BikeBoy
Read more
>have to confess that I was somewhat taken aback by the area of headlamp they were suggesting to black out
Yes I blacked out my neighbours mondeo. Its a strip from the middle of the light UP to the top. Most wierd
Hi
Need a new car, first time buyer. Don't want a second hand banger, etc.
The Toyota Yaris looks the best buy for me. A broker site has various models for sale.
Which one is best T2 1.0 to T3 1.3 ? or the diesel.
The 1.0 T2 seems a bargain at £6500 + free insurance?? (Saving around £500 premium)
Is it better to spend £6500 on the T2 than £7500 on the T3 1.3. All three doors versions BTW?
Anyone have a Yaris and care to comment on whether they are a good first car and suitable for a tall drivers, 6ft +.
Which model should I choose.
I am expecting the Yaris to be cheap to run, free and then low insurance, good mpg, reliable and hold on to a lot of it's value. I would rather have a good car that loses a few grand in three years than buy a banger that loses all it's value and costs £100's to repair and insure etc.
Cheers. Read more
Lets try and keep the responses something like sensible and differentiate between the Backroom and a Chatroom, at least to some degree.
It was, after all, a sensible question.
Picking up on a strand from the skidpan thread, I thought it would be interesting to hear people's experiences/recommendations of track days and driving experiences, which can be a valuable way of both learning about your abilities and how best to apply them (never mind the opportunity to let off a bit of steam far from the madding crowd).
I had a track day at Mallory Park a few years back which was great fund in saloons and a swift lesson in why-most-of-us-aren't-Michael Schumacher in Formula Fords. More recently I've had even more fun down at Prodrive's proving ground and tech centre finding out what an Impreza can really do (and why I'll never find the limit of it!).
But the most useful experience was courtesy of some contacts with the police, who took me on a watered-down road course (including pursuit) and gave me sometime in an old Scorpio on a skidpan. That taught me just how far I'd got to go in being a good road driver. The instructor's progress at speed was phenomenal and totally safe. Read more
Track days are fantastic. Most recent for me was at Jonathan Palmer's Bedford Autodrome. (Advertised in Autocar). Brilliant track with excellent tarmac surface, good variety of bends with plenty of run-off. You get 3 hours and it rained heavily half an hour before the end which was an interesting challenge.
Previously done the Porsche Experience, old concrete, wet and greasy, 911 was a challenge even in a straight line and I spun the Exige. The Lotus day at Hethel was great, lots of tuition and exercises building up to laps on the full circuit, spun there too! And worth remembering this is a test track Senna drove on.
Test days at Millbrook are worthwhile. Don't be tempted to drive too many cars. Concentrate on the interesting ones and pinch extra laps if you can. I liked the X-Type 3.0 Sport.
Go and enjoy.
Douglas
I recently had new rear brake pads on my clk230 and from the start they have made a noise on braking. I have now travelled about 800 miles and the brakes still make a loud squeak, I was told by the MB garage that I should allow 1000 miles for them to bed in and then was told that I was using the brakes too gently! This is a new one on me, but I was told that I should hard brake as this will clear the shine off the discs and stop the noise. Well I have tried this and it has not made any difference at all.
I look forward to taking the car back to MB and let them sort it out at their expense but are they correct??
Thanks.
Steve Read more
They are correct to an extent...rear brakes of todays cars don't do much whilst unladen so bedding in can take some time. Heavy applications of the brake can often help here, so they are not wrong in offering that advice.
To the point, they shouldn't squeal after 800 miles IMO.
Return to workshop!
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Pipes run from pump in boot to the various locks, so I'd guess the first place to look would be behind the tailgate trim, as that is the lock that isn't working at all. Where the lines split from the pump to the individual locks I'm afraid I don't know - my friendly VAG dealer sorted it after I'd let it degenerate... Check for disconnected or loose connections, chafed pipes, etc...