October 2003
I did that rare thing yesterday: read the handbook for my Golf VR6. It cautions against filling up beyond the first time the fuel pump nozzle cuts out, because, in warm conditions, there is a risk that the space allowed for expansion will be lost, forcing the fuel to overflow. I can't find similar advice in the MB manual, but presumably it is valid for all cars, in which case we should be careful in trying to get the tank brim full for the calculation of fuel consumption. Any comments? Read more
Still reeling from a visit to a Citroen garage yesterday...
A small (2cm) bit of plastic has fallen out (broken) of the housing for the sun-roof blind in my Picasso. Apparently you can't just order a replacement widget, but you have to order a whole new blind + housing at about £300!
To be fair the dealer was aghast, and if the worst comes to the worst it will be a warranty item, but honestly! He is contacting CUK to try and get round this.
(PS Blind still works OK but rattles when closed with plastic widget missing)
Is it the most expensive plastic widget on a car? Read more
"If this was a non warranty fix the customer would pay £300
As it is a warranty fix, CUK will come up with a 75p widget."
You could potentially test this theory. If it becomes a claim, surreptisiously mark the blind and check it when it comes back
Oooh and let us know !
Anybody got experience of extended warranty claims on used cars?
Briefly - Omega V6 oil cooler failure results in oil slowly being pumped into cooling system - oil consumption not noticeably high. Finally the temperature starts to read high, at which point the header tank is checked and contains milky gunge.
Get the system pressure tested at a Vauxhall franchised dealer - fails test. Car not driven any further.
Garage removes heads and finds that the whole cooling system is clogged with emulsified oil/coolant. Car needs new radiator, heater matrix, head gaskets, oil cooler, etc, etc - the best part of £2,000.
Extended warranty company say they will only accept a claim for the oil cooler, as the rest of the damage was "drive on" and not covered.
Question is, can they invoke the drive on damage clause if the owner had serviced, inspected and operated the car under the manufacturer's recommendations? If there is no way the owner could have known about the leak - what's the point of the mechanical insurance? Read more
"Drive-on damage" - what a favourite excuse that is. I mentioned in another thread about a '92 J Rover 214 which my mother once owned - this blew its head gasket without any warning on the M4, leaving us stranded.
When I say "without any warning", I mean that it went from running fine to immobile in the space of about a mile and a quarter, which is not a long time on a motorway. No warning lights came on, the temperature gauge was only very slightly higher than it should have been, and I pulled onto the hard shoulder as soon as I could.
Warranty company which shall remain nameless decided it was drive-on damage within about 30 seconds of us getting on the phone to them. Complaints about this were shuffled in a slow circle between the company, the SMMT and some ombudsman or other and after six months of this we just gave up in disgust, and forked out the £2,600 cost of the new engine and associated repairs ourselves.
Especially galling as my father had paid extra for us to have this warranty.......
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/3227317.stm
The news report concerns a recall by Nissan of Primera, X-Trail, Almera and Almera Tino models, built since 1998.
I edited this note and substituted a pointer to the BBC article rather than the quoted text. I realise that it wasn\'t quite the BBC report that was quoted, but its the closest I coudl find quickly. Mark. Read more
I seem to remember they had a similar recall of 1.4 and 1.8 engines about two years ago - defective cam sensors I think.
Hi,
I have a 2001 (new shape) Merc C320 Automatic (Tiptronic), fantastic car but with one intermittent problem which Mercedes cannot cure, and does not seem to get logged in the onboard fault recording.
When starting the car and moving from P to D on the gears the car jolts into gear and when driving refuses to move out of 1st. The dash display showing which gear you are in is also blank. The cure is simple, turn the car off ond on again.
There is no pattern to when this occurs (hot or cold day, hot or cold engine etc), has anyone else experienced this or have an idea what it could be?? Read more
Thanks Aprilia. I thought it would be electrical because the old turn it off and on again trick always works.
I will get it checked out, its a shame that my local Mercedes dealer were so hopeless when I got them to look at the car.
Helping a colleague at work here, so no posts about 306 Sedans or V70s for a change!
The gearbox warning light on his 96k miles 2000 model BMW E46 323i has started to occasionally come on. When it comes on, it stays on until the ignition is reset.
BMW diagnostic computer reads an error code for 'Anti Spin Control', but nothing about the gearbox.
Before he starts handing over ££££££s, does this model have any known gearbox or electrical gremlins please, that could be causing his problem?
Many thanks Read more
I did read an amusing care of where a dealer spent about £5000 trying to extinguish the ASR light on a MB E-class. Eventually someone spotted that one of the rear tyres was a different profile to the other!
I have VW Golf Mk2 1.3.
The alternator pulley is connected to the crankshaft sprocket by four hex bolts. After replacing the timing belt, i.e. removing the pulley I now have 2 threads that are weak. When the bolts are inserted they hold little torque.
If I used lock nut adhesive on the threads and washers will this hold the bolts in place with a resonable torque?
What is the best lock nut adhesive for this? Will I be able to undo the bolts again if required in the future?
Read more
Andrew,
The first thing to mention is that the threadlocking compounds commonly called Loctite are not 'adhesives'. Loctite doesn't penetrate or bond with the surface of the components, it works by filling the gaps and then hardening to give a mechanical lock.
Threadlocking compound has strength only in compression so putting it on the washers will do no good at all. These compounds can help secure components with worn threads but I would hesitate relying on this with a vital assembly like an alternator drive unless I was confident that the bolts, not the Loctite, are doing the holding. Loctite threadlocking compound is a plastic and is intended only to prevent loosening by vibration.
If you *do* go ahead, using Loctite Nutlock or Studlock would allow the bolts to be removed with normal hand tools in the future. I wouldn't rely on Screwlock as this would very likely be too weak to do much good at all in your situation. Various stronger Loctite's are available (numbered in the 6-- range unless they've changed in recent years) but these aren't really for threads because (a) they don't have such a good gapfill and (b) for removal they would require heating to about 200C, 300C for the strongest, in order to soften enough for component removal.
recently bought a 2 1/2 year old micra with 13500 miles on the clock which appear genuine. The car has been laid up a lot since new and I bought as a repo. The timing chain rattled a lot on start up and was fixed under warranty by the local nissan dealer, tho' there is no service history as the original dealer it was bought from ceased trading. Since they have carried out the mod. the timing chain still rattles a little (but a lot less) just on cold start. Should I be worried, is there anything I can do?
Read more
Some Nissan engines do rattle a bit on start-up as the tensioner fills with oil and takes up the slack. Obvioulsy, without hearing it there is no way I can tell how bad it is, but if its had a new chain then I wouldn't worry. Make sure you are using the recommended oil (probably a 5W-30 or 5W-40 SL-spec. and a genuine Nissan filter).
A friend is selling 2 campers vans.
He's had an e-mail from a guy in Europe who says he'll buy one even though he's only seen 2 photos.Can't remember the details but it's something like, he'll use someone in the UK to do the deal with a foreign cheque.
My mate is suspicious at the speed with which this guy is offering the full asking price -especially as he hasn't seen it.
I warned my friend that there is some scam involving foreign cheques appearing to clear - but then the money not actually being there. Have I remembered correctly?
Cheers Read more
It is a SCAM of note!
Next step, he'll send a cheque for the full amount PLUS 500 quid for 'shipping'. He'll then ask your mate to send the 500 quid to his 'shipping agent', who'll arrange collection. Agent never pitches, your mate ends up 500 quid down the toilet.
See also:
www.geocities.com/harryblumpkin/amanda.html
Very keen on Toyota Corolla diesel 116psi T3. List price is £13900, broker price from ukcarbroker,and drive the deal £11840! can I realistically expect the dealer to match this or should I go for the broker? Anyone any advice/positive experience of these firms? thanks for any comments Read more
I recently bought a Renault Scenic Fidji dci - the last of the old model from Nationwide Car Contracts. It was a UK car and brand new, not pre-reg. I saved £2950 off the list price and over £900 cheaper than my local dealer. The car was delivered to my door on a transporter and then the full amount was paid after I was happy with the car. I didn't even need to pay a deposit.
It was a very pleasurable buying experience and I will certainly use a broker again. I recommend anyone who is thinking about a new Renault or Peugeot to try NCC.
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My old Golf MK2 used to do a similar thing - if you had the angle of the nozzle slightly out, or pumped the fuel in a little too fast it'd just click off regardless of the actual fuel level in the tank.