February 2004
Got an e39 525i SE auto and the obc says I'm getting about 16-17mpg around town (car idles about 700-800rpm steadily and my own calculations mirror the obc reading). BMW reckon I should be getting about 25mpg. Basically, zero load, careful driving but the economy doesn't improve. The car was serviced by BMW 2k miles ago for what it's worth. What I haven't done is to take it for a motorway run.
I've read posts here and there and I gather that I should be looking at about 20mpg, if not a tad better, and wondered if the mpg I'm getting is normal/acceptable or whether there may be an issue somewhere.
Any advice is appreciated. Thx.
S. Read more
have a '98 1.25 fiesta which continually has a puddle of water on the passenger floor after continuous heavy rain - can't find where its getting in. Though it might be the seal on the heater box but doesn't seem to be. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
s Read more
N.Carr has not logged in since that post so unlikely to be reading the forum - but you never know...
I have got a 99 Ford Ka with a leaky power steering rack and I am aware that there are some PAS fluid additives available which are supposed to seal leaks in the system. Does anybody have experience of using such a product?
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Good on you - done this way it should give no problems whatsoever in the future.
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groups.msn.com/honestjohn - Pictures say a thousand words.....
I am selling my 1994 5-door Suzuki Vitara 1.6 16v. A friend is interested provided it will tow her Lunar Clubman 4 berth caravan. I have tried to look up the info on the 'net but it is a bit confusing especially when terms such as 'MIRO' and MTPLM' get bandied about. Could someone just tell me whether or not it will tow it? I have tried using the formulae but came out with a max towing weight of 1.5 bags of sugar.....D'oh!!!
Andrew
Simplicate and add lightness!! Read more
A useful site for this type of info is
www.clicreports.co.uk/
though it tends to concentrate on latest models.
A cursory glance would suggest that a Grand Vitara has a kerbweight of between 1200 and 1300kg and the van an MTPLM of between 1000 and 1250kg, meaning that the Vitara should pull it and van should not exceed 100%, and could well be within the 85% "rule" - unless you are "unlucky" with the combination.
My 1987 Golf GTi 8 valve has developed a fault whereby the car can be fine for weeks then all of a sudden I get into it and the battery is so flat the clock has lost its time and none of the dashboard/ignition lights come on with the key set to ignition on. A jump start and again the car can be fine for days or weeks then the same problem again. This morning the car was fine on the 25 mile trip to work and I parked up at 9am, then at midday flat as a pancake. Jump starting and all is well.
The battery is new and when the problem occurs by the time the car is jump started the problem has gone such that an ammeter in series with the battery when switched off reveals no significant current drain. The interior lights are all switched off so I am stumped with this intermittent fault...
Any ideas please? Are there any common problems with Golf Mk2's that can cause this??
Thanks
P.S. What is the X-relay on the Haynes manual circuit diagram? Read more
No, because you'd lose your radio presets. Better to call the AA than lose those!
anyone who has driven one ever found the gearbox a bit 'clunky'
mine has been for a while and im wondering if just to get the box oil changed or if this is a worse problem, or if its even just the characteristic of the car Read more
The essential thing to watch for is the "W" after the lower viscosity value. Cheap oil might be described as 75/80 or 75/90 but would be unsuitable and too thick, especially at the moment. The "W" refers to the low temperature viscosity measuring point (-18 deg. I think). Whether the upper limit is 80 or 90 is probably immaterial - my 106 with the same gearbox is presently filled with Duckhams semi-synth to GL-5 75W/90 and works smoothly, even first thing. I have found some cheap gear oils to be very poor in terms of their low temperature performance.
What sort did you put in?
659.
I found a neat feature on my megane today that I never knew existed, and having looked through the renault books that came with it, they have kept it well hidden!
If the car is in motion and you put the constant wipers on (not intermittent) then they will come on and stay on.
If you then stop the car (i.e. at traffic lights or whatever) then the wipers stop and go into intermittent mode! (so they ar enot always wiping dry glass)
As soon as you set off again, the wipers resume normal speed operation!
However, if the car is stationery and you switch the wipers on, this feature does not activate. You must be moving first.
This is something you hear of on high end new cars, not on a 1996 N-reg Megane!! Read more
I found a neat feature on my megane today that I never knew existed,
So did I. a thick layer of rust underneath.
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i feel that my good-will and nature may have cost me dear!.
opened post this morning to find a "demand" for £512.78 insurance costs + £300 claimants excess.
this goes back to an incident in july 2003, when another driver hit my parked car, causing miniscule damage to mine, but caving in his own passenge side door and ripping off his door strip.
to cut a long story short, he didn't want the police involved, was insistent that he would sort out the damage, and didn't want the insurances involved as he thought that the loss of "no claims" would be dearer than the repairs.
as my car was already booked into a body shop for having some stone chips treated, i agreed to drop the matter, and until today,(7 months later) i haven't heard a thing about it.
his insurance co. are claiming the money under something called the RIPE AGREEMENT, what is this? and before i do anything (in anger)at this stage, what do you think my my next steps should be.
any advice gratefully recieved,
billy Read more
Hiya...
If I rememeber rightly, RIPE agreement stands for reduction in paper exchange. Certain insurance companies are signed up to it and it means they can settle things over the phone, reducing paper and time taken to settle claims, or so they say.
Is there more to this than you've said? Did you admit liability? Or did he just merrily drive into the side of your car?
If it were me, I'd tell my insurance company and let them take it on/contest it for you, especially if you have legal cover on your policy. (I think you're meant to tell them if you have a collision anyway, even if it's just for info and you don't need them to do anything).
Hope you get it sorted.
Do any car manual specifically recommend NOT using an injector cleaner?
Can they do any damage?
Does anyone uses one? What would they recommend? Greased lightening, Cataclean, Redex, Wynns? etc Read more
Ford's advise not to use oil or fuel additives in the vehicle handbook, but I just use Shell Optimax all the time in the Mondeo V6 and it runs as smooth a silk (I must go find a piece of wood to touch now);).
I owned a 1.8 Ghia for 6 months in 2000.
- Engine was utterly characterless; economy disappointing even when driven gently
- Steering lacked feel, was uncommunicative
- No rear discs
- Radio reception was poor; the cassette player sounded AWFUL
- Seat made my back ache
- Doors clanged shut
- No synchromesh on reverse
- No gas strut to hold bonnet open
- So so interior - cool dash, though.
Chassis was hugely competent, though; could have handled a lot more power.
But it was one of the most disappointing, least stisfying cars I have owned. (Yes, why did I buy it? I admit I did it all wrong.)
The VW Golf GT TDI 110 that replaced it addressed all the above, plus extra airbags and other kit. Steering not too responsive (but better the harder you pressed on) and the damping was iffy. But overall, a much more satisfying car to drive and own.
The fabulous Focus. Am I missing something, then?
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Exactly. Its the first Ford I have driven for a long time, apart from SiL Puma. This had a logical lights set up, everything was on the stalk ! The Focus' felt as if (Peugeot style) default to dip when first switched on but it didn't. The light switch has migrated to the left hand side of the dash, agree witht ehcomment about the Sierra - good old fashioned ergonomical excellence.
Browse
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Digital read out on dash read 60k when my dad bought the car, its a spetember 2000 with the 193bhp engine. I think it had been sitting around for ages, had an auction tag on the keys dated a few months prior to the day we purchased it. Bought from BMW finance sale at blackbushe. Didnt drive all that well, hesitation at just over 2k rpm etc, little power, felt rough. Drove it like that for a few hundred miles. Put a bottle of the valvolene stuff in the tank when i filled up and things began to improve. Engine noticeably running better. I wondered how much of this was due to the cetane enhancer in the additive, but it continues to run well with no additive. Run on texaco or shell fuel. If your cars not filled with junk it wont make much difference, but if you have a suspicion it is, and it isnt running well, give it a go i say, it only a few quid. Much cheaper than a diagnostic check up at a dealer.
MPG deffinately increased- got less than 40mpg driving the thing home from auction gently on m25. On a recent trip to the auction in morning traffic it managed an indicated 48.7mpg for the journey. I would stick my neck on the line and say that the additive DID have a positive effect on fuel consumption. Note i did remember to compare economy and running of the car on the new tank of fuel after the one including the additive, with the original few tanks, so as not to confuse the effect of the additives cleaning properties with its cetane enhancing properties. Sorry i dont remember exact figures only memory of improvement around 5mpg. Hard to say how much car would of improved from normal use without additive as it had been sitting, but did drive for a few hundred miles prior to additive with no change.