January 2004
Could someone give me a couple of pointers please.
Car in question R reg Honda CRV auto. Milleage just under 45,000.
Terrain covered - main roads, but also two daily 11 mile round trips in narrow, hilly and winding lanes - often involving pulling on to the grass verges and braking in the face of oncoming traffic around blind bends (not travelling fast obviously)
I've noticed an occasional knock on the nearside front coming from underneath - a sort of cross between a knock and a rattle. Doesn't last long and is intermittent. Naturally never happens when anyone else is in the car except me and my daughter.
Could this be a problem with a shock absorber?
Secondly, just lately have noticed an unsettling shuddering on occasion when braking harder than I normally need to in ordinary driving on main roads.
At first I thought it was abs kicking in? but I need to get it checked out, as it feels a bit alarming when it happens.
As you can tell, I'm not very technical, so... do those explanations make any sense?
Any helpful comments would be appreciated before I go to the garage on Thursday morning.
Thankyou.
(PS I promise I'm not an erratic kind of driver, and the car is regularly serviced and maintained at a local garage as I've given up on the main dealer a couple of years ago. Tyres are also new at rear and newish at front.)
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I've just become the proud owner of a Saab turbodiesel, having found that the 9-3 cabrio just wasn't suitable for my business needs. While I'm dead chuffed with it so far, I can't quite get my head around the 18k service interval. Should I at least change the oil at about £10k or earlier, and, if so, should I be using synthetic or "regular" oils? Anything else to watch out for?
Many thanks for any hints.
Cheers
Big Mack
aka EwanM54
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If you don't fine a very specific procedure mentioned in the book or given to you as an A4 sheet by the dealer, please e mail me. I don't want to take up HJs bandwidth with the details!
When I refuel my petrol car unscrewing the petrol cap releases a loud 'suction hissing'. Is this ok and why is it happening? Read more
I'd agree with the "hissing is normal" brigade. It must be something to do with pressurised fuel systems, but every modern car I've driven over the past 3-4 years has done this, and they weren't all knackered!
My wife is selling her Freelander as her 120 mile round trips are too expensive and noisy in it. One option is to buy a Saab at auction ( the make and source of our other car).
The other option is to buy a smaller\more economical car that still has a degree of comfort approaching the Saab, thus saving on insurance and petrol but not losing out too much on comfort. Any suggestions? ( Reliability an important factor too) Thanks in advance. Read more
A mate at work, who normally uses an old LandRover Defender for commuting work(!) has just bought a new Hyundai Getz. Why?
5 year warranty and 3 year free servicing. He took it for a good test drive and couldn't find fault. All for less than £7K.
Does anyone know how to test the blender motors when they are removed from the vehicle. I have taken mine out and dangled them from the dash. When I adjust the airflow direction one moves (Distribution Motor) if I adjust the temperature for either footwell none move?
Answers please.
I have checked the 10K Potentiometer on all back to the plug all Ok from 0 to 10K (11.1K !) Read more
Maybe the HeVac unit needs replacement. Try posting on www.LRO.com
Hi
We're about to get a first car (1.0 Corsa 98S) for my 17 year old stepson who hasn't passed his test yet, and are checking out the insurance options.
At the moment the best bet seems to be for my wife, who currently doesn't have a policy/NCD in her own name, to buy/register it and insure herself with son as named driver- this comes to about £1k. Of the companies I've tried, surprisingly Direct Line have come out cheapest so far.
Stepson doesn't get the chance to build up an NCD, but then there's probably a not insignificant chance that he would be making a claim in his first year anyway.
For stepson to just insure himself (as owner) would be approx £1.3k.
Any other suggestions would be welcome.
Cheers
John
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Yes that is correct. This is how I taught my daugther to drive. I do not know about leeds but a few phone call to some garage chains should find one. I am not talking about Hetx and Avis here but garages that hire cards, Arnold Clark up does and one of the main Vauxall and Ford garages does. Good Luck Peter
Hoping someone can shed some light on my snag
My Pug 406 started losing power on hills a few days ago and the accelaration on the flat was also a bit slow. I have also noticed an increase in black smoke over the last couple of days.
THis came to a head yester day when an alarming knocking sound was heard as the tacho went passed 2,500 revs ( about when the turbo normally kicks in)
running normally the engine sounds okay its only when the revs go above 2,500.
Am I right to suspect the turbo and if so can someone give me a ballpark figure on how much this is likely to set me back?
Appreciate any help or ideas
Pete Read more
Hi Pete,
Before you go tto any expense, first check the intercooler pipe for a split. The pipe runs down the front centre of the engine and curves off to the right (as you look at it). I had identical symptoms with mine a month or two ago and it turned out this pipe was split. The car would tick over without problems but the minute you put your foot down whilst driving it would struggle and lose power. I seem to remember the pipe was about £35 ish, but its worth checking out. If its split it will cause an imbalance to the air entering the engine.
Hope this helps...
--
These are the views of Robin the Technician with 35 years in the trade. I fix, therefore I am...
Citroen ZX TD estate, 1995. The rear fog lamps aren't working (well, one does sometimes if you kick it!) and I can't see how to get at them. The Haynes manual and owners manual don't help. The lamps are buried in the plastic bumper. Help!
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Sometimes when it looks like there is no rear access to a fitting like this, then the answer may well be that it pulls out forwards - is there any signs of screw heads (sorry if thats too obnvious) or clips that may be released to pull it out?
Incidentally, hows the car doing? Sometimes I still wish I had never given my ZX Estate up!
Hello all
I'm new here, so please be gentle with me!
I need to make a long journey of about 250 miles very soon (ie tomorrow) but have noticed a droning sound from the rear of my car. It's definitely the wheel bearing as the wheel is noisy when the car is jacked up and the wheel turned.
I haven't got time to get the bearing changed before I go, so would it be safe to do make this journey? What are the consequences of a wheel bearing failing?
Many thanks for your help.
D Read more
I drove about 3000 miles with a whining wheel bearing last year - very slowly got louder and louder until I got fed up!
Can anybody give me advice on what is the best used car that be purchased for less than £750.
The only requirement being that its reliable and has decent running costs and cheap to insure.
I was thinking of a N plate Escort, any recommendations?
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It doesn't matter at all, as long as it is shut when it happens!
Agree with the sentiment that Cavaliers offer good value for money - my issue with a 2.0 16v version is that it is quite expensive to insure, which may be a drawback for Indy.
My advice would be to purchase a car with some known history - at £750 there is always a chance of problems. If you know who owned it previously, and how it was treated / serviced, that is worth far more than looking for a specific car type...
Jono
Browse
It'll be a worn anti roll bar link - I changed one on a '97 CRV a few months back for the exact same symptom.
Hope this helps.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....