September 2003
Hi folks, I've recently bought a 1998 VW Passat 1.6 and I must say I luv it....but, the alarm goes off after about 1 hour of activating, so I now have to leave the car open, Someone told me that it could be because the climate control was cooling down and different flaps were closing creating a voltage drop so activating the alarm, any comments?, if that were the case, how can the alrm be made less sensitive or does someone have answer to my problem? thx Read more
My main vehicle was totalled in an accident a month ago. A young guy wanted it for the V-8 engine and its hot rod potential as well as other bits. He didn't have all the cash I wanted so I took his 1993 Honda Civic 3 door in p/x. This has (according the odometer) 193,000 km on it, is a gruesome shade of faded black (Growlette calls it The Cockroach), has been keyed on both sides and has that ingrained smell of time beyond measure use of stale air fresheners which liken the ambiance of the cabin to the waiting room of a Beirut cathouse.
However the engine is sound, the tires have about 0.13mm tread on them (that's OK this is the Philippines) and they all match, and most importantly the aircon is strong for our hot and humid climate. It seems to need a pint of coolant every two days and I have no compunction about awarding it a dose of plain old well water for this purpose.
I am beginning to love the thing. I can park it anywhere without having to pay someone to watch it while I'm enjoying the rugby and a few tinnies at the local watering hole. No one with any respect for their self-image is going to nick it. I can do battle with Manila taxis on an equal footing whereas if you are in a nice newish vehicle they'll take it to the limit knowing you'll back down, I can cut up gleaming new bought-on-credit BMW's knowing they won't risk their paint jobs by retaliating. I took it to be serviced and experienced new levels of freedom and personal liberation by telling the mechanic to put in any old oil as long as it was the cheapest, and thus now sleep well instead of obsessing whether it should have been the 0w/40 or the 10w/30.
The brakes are red-hot despite the discs looking like the surface of the moon and the thing gives every impression of going on for ever. Most importantly the horn is very loud and works.
It is a bit sluggish on the uptake (I've been too used to low revving torquey V-8's for too long) but wind it up and it goes like the proverbial off a shovel. There are some interesting clunks and clonks from below but it travels in a straight line unless directed otherwise. It also costs only a few shillings to fill up as opposed to most of the contents of my wallet. The radio is not the original and the Alpine replacement did fall out going over a speed bump and dangle by its wires but then one can't expect everything.
My buyer wants to buy the Honda back when he has the cash. I think I'll tell him no.
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It's one of the great things about cars that, despite all the hype and advertising, the majority of the important benefits of owning a car are the same whether the car is cheap or expensive.
One of my staff was proudly showing me his brand new Astra today. It was identical to his last Astra apart from colour. He had traded it in after 2 years "before it started costing money".
He liked the car so got another one, identical spec, not a single bit different apart from colour.
I just don't understand why anyone would buy the same car again? Also, some people out there still seem to think that the cars will start to cost money after 2 years! And it was probably still in a 3 year warranty!!! Read more
The reason this guy gave for changing a car is odd, but I don't see anything strange about buying the same model again if you like it.
I've never done it myself, but wouldn't criticise anyone who did. If they are happy with that model and need or want to replace it, why not have the same one again? They chose the colour they liked best when they bought the first one so why not stick with it?
I think perhaps I don't understand the question.
I am about to have a custom made s/s exhaust system fitted to my Honda Civic Aerodeck 1.6 VTEC.
I have been quoted £250 for the full system up to the cat which should pay for itself as I keep my cars long term.
It is being done by a tyre and exhaust outfit well known in the North East where I live.
Problem is I had to explain that I was not "boy racer" and did not want a 4inch exhaust sticking out the back and that I wanted it as close as possible to the original. They said they would do this by matching the boxes as best they could to the originals and then they would cut and bend the pipe to match.
Would this have any affect on the performance of the complicated VTEC engine ?
Regards Mal.
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RogerL, thanks for confirming. Excuse me while I go kick my source of information for misleading me.
Sorry if this is a bit sober, but I just wanted to share an experience with you all.
It finally happened. On Wednesday evening, after three and a half years of ploughing 120 miles up and down the M3 most days, I had my "had to happen" incident. I won't call it an accident, for reasons that may become obvious.
As I approached my exit (on a 2 lane stretch, about 100 yards before my slip road), I was driving in the inside lane at about 70. The road had cleared and there wasn't a car for 200 yards in front. Much to my surprise, I saw in my mirror a flash view of a car accelerating and about to hit me, which drove into the back of me at 85/90/100? At the moment of impact he swerved to avoid me, so he hit the rear offside of my bumper at an angle, knocking my car sideways. I had a brief flash of crash barrier in front of me, then I steered into it (see earlier skid pan thread) and fortunately recovered. The skid was violent enough to burst the rear nearside tyre.
Due to possible court case, I'll omit the next bit, but the other chap may end up charged with failing to stop.
His explanation? "My brakes failed". I'm 100% certain he hit the accelerator rather than the brake.
Results: £1,600 damage to my car. Recurrence of neck injury I'd suffered for years and just had cleared (three months ago). Recollection of mantra from my bike days, namely "it doesn't matter how good a driver you are, someone else can still hit you"
Lessons:
1. Previously I've doubted HJ on automatic left foot braking, but he has it right, so I'm going to learn left foot braking, or it might be me in the car behind one day.
2. Size does matter. I was in my Omega, he was in a Lexus. Had I been in a small hatchback, I believe I'd have been much worse off.
3. It reinforces my belief in the training I received on the skid pan. I might have recovered anyway, but the recent lesson probably helped me to react.
4. Don't bother following your mother's advice to wear clean underpants in case of accident. If it happens, they won't be clean anyway. The colour of adrenaline is definitely brown.
Most important result: Still alive and kicking.
V Read more
A brief update, for anyone interested:
Car now back in one piece. As the collision was below the bumper line, the car now looks perfect with a new bumper. Unfortunately, when it was returned, a problem with the towbar electrics meant that if I hit the indicators, the fog lights flashed as well (but only if turning right). I popped it back, and the service manager went to have a look. He realised there was a bit of a problem when he opened the passenger door (all electrics off) and the ventilation fans all started. Now sorted; it all stemmed back to a fuse having blown, leading to the usual false trail of symptoms you'd expect in a modern (?) car.
Neck largely in line, though the headaches continue. My physio is also an acupuncture nut, and it's a little weird sitting on the couch with pins in my feet to help my neck. I've had more pins in me than Geri Halliwell, if you know what I mean. I'm definitely improving overall.
No action yet against the other driver, but then Shakespeare did put "The law's delay" in as one of Hamlet's slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, so I shouldn't expect too much too soon.
Thanks for all the kind words on here; it's much appreciated.
V
Apologies if this should be in the Discussion section, as it's not a mechanical issue.
Problem: My father has a 2000/V Accord 1.8 Sport in dark metallic green, 27,000 miles, purchased 5 months (and 9,000 miles) ago from a main dealer as a "Honda Approved" used car.
Very happy with the car but, when washing it last week (it lives outside and is washed weekly), it was found that bird droppings on the bonnet appear to have removed the lacquer (he describes it as now having dull patches where these deposits were washed off).
He's somewhat disappointed that the paintwork doesn't appear to be too resilient to what is a pretty common problem (although he seems to think the colour may be attracting our feathered friends to leave their "autographs"). The car is booked in for its first service next week and is still under it's 12 month standard Honda used warranty, so he will mention it to the dealer - he's not overly bothered with the outcome but will see what they suggest.
Is this an isolated problem, or have other people with metallic Hondas suffered a similar issue? Or non-metallic Hondas, come to that. I know that the answer is probably to wash the car more often, but it's surprising that these deposits were no older than a week and still did so much damage. By comparison, my 16-year old metallic VW Jetta gets washed about once every 3 months and doesn't have any damage to the lacquer! Read more
When I said goodbye to my Audi 100 after ten years of use from new, apart from one pinhole of rust the only blemishes on the paintwork had been caused by bird droppings. Clean them off as soon as you see them.
Have noticed here in the South West that the baseball cap brigade are moving up market. It seems they are no longer interested in Ford/Vauxhall tinware, but are belting around in old Merc 190`s and old E 30 BMW`s.
Is it any wonder that BeeM drivers (and soon Mercs) are getting such a bad reputation ???? Read more
"..another most amusing rantpost. Brightened my afternoon."
Same here. I hope you're saving these, G, so you can publish them at a later date...
Hi,
Can any one help me with a problem I\'ve got with a Renault 19 GTS-X 1.4 ENERGY.
The problem is it will not idle. Other than that it runs great, accelerates normally, it doesn\'t misfire, it\'s not using excessive amounts of fuel or oil, and it starts first time every time. It is a 1390cc (EJ6) engine with a Weber 32 TLDR carb.
I left the car standing for two weeks, while I was on holiday. When I got in the car again it was very low on petrol, although it wasn\'t in the red, I drove about 6 miles to get fuel, it was ok, I then drove a further 50 miles. Within a mile of my destination the car kept stalling.
The situation 3 weeks later is this, lets say I\'m on the motor way doing 70 mph, if I dip the clutch the engine dies, (the rev counter drops like a stone), rengage the clutch and were up and running straight away. Normal commuting requires braking and very precise throttle control with the same foot, at the same time.
First off I tried blowing air through all the jets in the carb, no effect. Second attempt was fitting a new in line fuel filter, no effect, (there was no dirt visible in the old filter). I\'m now at a loss as to what to try next! I noticed today that there is a plastic box on the cardb body where the choke pull- off vacuum hose exits to. The \"Haynes\" doesn\'t identify this component, what is it?
Any suggestions would be much appreciated.
Cheers
Minniman
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Have you checked for inlet manifold leaks and /or breather leaks? Used to have a 19 with this engine - good motor.
Graeme
Reading today's HJ car column in the Telegraph, a reader is enquiring about bringing in a car from Europe. HJ states that 'Europe has suffered huge price inflation since the imposition of the Euro'.
Now I know that the GBP has dropped in value since the spring, making Euro imports more expensive. But have the European car prices (in Euro's) actually risen much? I'm over in Europe lot, but I don't really look at new car prices. I've not noticed other goods rising in price by much (although restaurant meals seem to have gone up a bit).
Any car importers (or 'would be' importers) care to comment? Read more
The same two bottles of Coke would probably cost you a tenner in Alton Towers, comparing like for like...
How about the San Miguel Index for price comparisons - a bit like the McDonalds Index but for a much "better" product?
For example: 1 litre bottle of San Miguel, purchased from a large supermarket in Spain costs 0.95 Euros, or about 65p. The same litre bottle in the UK costs £1.85 or 2.85 Euros.
To keep the motoring theme:
1 week's car hire in Majorca, inclusive of £0 excess insurance and unlimited mileage, for a brand new five door Renault Clio dCi with aircon, cost me £90 this year, from an airport-based hire company....Try getting one for THAT price in the UK!!!!
Hello all, I was wondering if anyone could shine some light on my problem.
The car is a Fiat Stilo, 1.6 16v petrol, only 2 months old. The car will run perfect from cold, but started from hot, sometimes (but not always) the exhaust has quite a 'boomy' tone under acceleration, and sometimes from low revs gives off a deep rasping flatulent sound. The boominess sounds embarrassingly like one of those boy-racer exhausts, and it is sometimes loud enough for people in the street to look as I go past. When it is like this, the trip computer doesn't appear to tell me that my fuel economy is down, but the performance is markedly worse - it feels sluggish under acceleration, doesn't like being revved, and is quite hard work to drive. However, once I reach my desired speed and stop accelerating, the boom is -almost- gone, but the ride feels ever so slightly rough, not like when the car is working properly, where it rolls effortlessly along the road, with a very quiet engine tone and exhaust! Even if it is booming, when the car is at rest, the idle is rock solid, and the engine is very quiet. Only under accelation do the problems appear.
I've had the car into both local Fiat garages, and both say they cannot find a problem. One garage said they connected it up to their computer and gave it a good look over before taking it for a spin, and they said it was fine. Indeed, after I got it back it ran perfectly in all conditions for about a week until the problem returned. Maybe they reset the computer back to its defaults, which have changed again, I don't know.
The major headache I have is how can I get it fixed when the car hasn't recorded any faults, and by my bad luck, it decides to behave when they have it? They said I might have to run it for longer until it records a problem, but what if it is never bad enough to be out of spec?
Anyway, could any experts give me an insight into what can physically cause this booming etc. and if there are any techniques I can do (without voiding my warranty!) to narrow the fault down?
Thank you.
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Jas,
I told you someone would come along with a good suggestion, and Graeme has done just that. Having thought about what he said, I agree with you both that the exhaust system could be the source of the problems.
You said that "only under acceleration do the problems appear". This does sound a bit like a joint or crack opening up as the engine 'twists' under load, as might happen with a fractured flexible exhaust coupling.
Perhaps it doesn't happen with a cold engine because you do not accelerate hard until the engine has warmed, or the engine isn't producing full power anyway as it is still cold. Or, as Graeme said, it doesn't happen until the exhaust system heats up (there's quite a lot of thermal expansion in an exhaust system).
Best wishes for a fast cure, and thanks for entertaining us with your superb description of the exhaust flatulations!
Two guys that work for me from time to time both have Passats. (1999 models I think, not entirely sure). Anyway, one had a load of trouble with the alarm and related problems with central locking. It was all eventually fixed under warranty.