October 2004
I drive a V reg 306 1.8XS with 56K on the clock. Ever since I've had the car (18 months), there's been a couple of annoying problems:
1. There is a squeak from the front wheels (imagine a rusty bike wheel). It initially started as an intermittent problem, only when steering to the left. It generally occurs at speeds above 30mph. Now it happens pretty much all the time, but from both wheels, whilst driving in a straight line. It's more pronounced when steering though. The handling of the car is a little skittish at times and the steering doesn't feel as smooth as it should (this is the second 306 i've had). Could it be a sticking caliper? Or the bearings, ball joints or cv joint?
2. The brakes have always been noisy (more squeaking!). I've had all 4 pads & discs changed, so I assumed that this would cure the problem. Unfortunatley it hasn't and it appears to be a little worse than it was! The brakes now occasionally make a "mooing noise" at low speeds (curiously, again while steering). It's more noise than you'd expect from just brake dust.
Any help would be very much appreciated, as its driving me mad! Also if anyone could recommend a good mechanic in the Cambridge area, I'd be most grateful!
Thanks in advance
Stephen Read more
Is there any quick way of finding out if a vehicle which has been part of a safety recall has actually had the work done? Knowing how long garages take, I dont want to book it in, go without for a day or so only to be told the work had already been done.
Thanks
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There is usually some means of quickly telling if a recall has been done.
Sometimes, it is as simple as the black box is replaced by a green box - really easy to check.
If nothing visually obviuos, or something difficult to access is modified, there is usually some mark applied. Among many possibilities, it may be a certain coloured paint spot in a particular location, or indeed a dot punch mark.
There is a website which may help.
www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/default.asp
number_cruncher
I have a Lupo Tdi. Recently it has shortly after starting up started to make a low key whining noise from the engine area.Its as if something was pressurising up.
This happens for only 10-15 secs. Otherwise the car goes extremely well. Any ideas what it might be please.
I would take it to VW but it is just out of warranty and they will charge £75 an hour to look at it and may not diagnose the problem then.
Morganic
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As a Brit who has had close connections with the 'Land of the Free' for 30+ years I was amongst the many critics of the wallowing barges that epitomised Detroit's finest.
However things have changed!
This is the latest list of cars categorised by TVI(Total Value Index)
2004 TOTAL VALUE INDEX WINNERS BY CATEGORY
Small Car - Hyundai Elantra
Compact Car - Toyota Prius
Mid-Size Car- Hyundai XG 350/Acura TSX
Larger Car - Mercury Marauder
Near-Luxury Car- Mercedes Benz C-Class
Luxury Car - Lexus LS 430
Small Specialty <$25,000 - MINI Cooper
Small Specialty >$25,000 - Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe
Mid-Specialty Car - Honda Accord Coupe/Chevrolet Monte Carlo Convertible <$30,000 - Volkswagen New Beetle Convertible
Convertible >$30,000 - Cadillac XLR 784/Lexus SC430
Minivan - Kia Sedona
Small SUV - Hyundai Santa Fe
Medium SUV - Toyota 4Runner
Large SUV - Toyota Sequoia
Near Luxury SUV - Lexus RX 330
Luxury SUV - Lexus GX 470
Compact Pickup - Nissan Frontier
Full-Size Pickup - Ford F-150
Heavy Duty Pickup - Dodge Ram 2500/3500
The tie up between Mercedes and Chrysler has led the way for affordable large cars. The Chrysler 300 is(almost) on a par with the Mercedes E Class and the forthcoming Charger with a 400bhp Hemi as a starter could be seriously interesting.
The downside is the preponderance of 2WD SUVs - many of gargantuan proportions - and lack of interest in diesels(petrol is still about 30p a litre)
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The more clued up American motorist who tend to live on
the East or West coasts
I'm sure there are many that would strongly disagree with that statement.
Sales will gradually decline until the big three
will go out of business. The Europeans and the far east
will sooner or later take over the market.
US makers market share will decline over time, its 1% this year but the same is true of European car manufacturers in Europe. Don't expect European cars to expand much in the US, their sales are in decline (by 6%), the expansion will come from Japan and S.Korea(up 5% this year).
In fact Europe manufacture decline is just as great as the US, the Asia's are taking market share off everyone. In Europe foreign manufactures increased sales by 6.2%, Europeans dropped by 0.7%
**** Poll closed. ****
This weeks poll, as suggested by Stargazer (and partly by NoWheels) is now available.
"Which do you prefer to drive?"
Front wheel drive.
Rear wheel drive.
All wheel drive (permanent not switched).
Dont know, as I have only driven one of the above.
I don't know whether my car has front, rear, or all wheel drive.
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Living and working in the Derbyshire Peak district, front wheel drive made a big difference whether you could actually get home.
Rear wheel drive cars would just go sideways into the kerb.
Going from lock to lock with the wheeels spinning on a front wheel drive was often the only way to get going up my road.
Yes I know about starting gently in second and not spinning the wheels , in theory- but what works -works.
My friend an ex-trials driver has a Morgan and a BMW 3 series - both of whch he finds useless in snow.
The only time I bought snow tyres we'd two mild winters on the trot!
--
I wasna fu but just had plenty.
I need a heater motor for my vectra 2.0 DTI which has air con fitted what sort of price can i expect to pay at a breakers. steve Read more
No idea of price, but give these guys a try:-
www.dixonsvauxhallspares.co.uk/
Warning!! Prepare yourself for the noisy intro and subsequent annoying sounds whilst browsing the site. I ended up turning off the speakers.
What are the symptoms that makes you think the motor is shot, btw?
Hi, can anyone tell me the cylinder head torque settings for a '94 1.5 Vauxhall Corsa diesel?
Many Thanks
Ray Read more
Cheers for the advise. I managed to find out the below information for all those who may also require.
Stage 1: 40nm
Stage 2: 60-75º
Stage 3: 60-75º
I spent from 1pm to 6.30pm to drive from London to Swansea last Friday to catch the ferry to Cork.
My route was from junction 25 on M25 and then M4.
Any suggestions on how to improve either the quality or duration of the journey.
I am governed by ferry boarding time of 7pm but could be flexible regarding the day.
Returning I used the M40 to link the M4 and M25 this was preferable
to continuing on the M4.
Any suggestions gratefully received .
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Kerry,
I regularly go from Central London to Chippenham on a friday evening and I prefer M40 to Oxford then A420 down to Swindon to pick up the M4 at J15, where traffic is generally lighter.
Watch out for the Oxford Rush hour though, if they're all piling out of the Cowley Mini factory then ring-road is very slow.
I'd avoid the A40 west of Oxford for the time being as that's in the process of being dug up at various points.
The slow bit of this is crawling through Acton on the A40, although it's fairly consistent at least. The actual M40 is fine.
I usually take about 2.5 hours to Swindon leaving London at 5.00pm
CF
Any help appreciated as always.
Since I've had the car (2 months) the heated rear window has never worked. I have checked all the fuses and they look fine, all of the elements in the rear window also look fine, no cracks etc. I swapped the back bit of the switch with the fog light as the switch for the rear window looked burnt at the end. I suspect that it may have been switched on for a long period previously.
Can anyone advise please ? Could it have "burnt out"?
I'll need something to keep my hands warm when I'm pushing it this winter !!
Cheers
Paul Read more
Hi
Yes, certainly worth a check of the wiring. How does the circuit get from the body to the boot lid? is it a wire in a black sheath that bends around all over the place when you put the lid down (like my Mk4 Escort!). If so I suspect the wire might be broken. Shouldn't be a difficult job.
OK, the thing is I went to Spain for a week. Parked my Pug in Ibis Gatwick, taking advantage of their night in a hotel and a weeks parking. Got back to UK, found out that my G/f's mum was at deaths door and got back to London with all haste. Now I've discovered that the rear bumber on the near side has been subject to heat damage, possibly from a coach/lorry exhaust. It is basically starting to sag, ie it got v warm. I left the premises without checking for minor damage...ie it had four wheels, all windows and wasn't graffitied up (is that a word?) Anyway some advice would be good, thanks guys
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Doesn't prevent the liabilty of anoher party (bus driver etc etc) though.
Browse
Right, somewhat later than i thought, i've taken the car along to an independant and explained the situation and also put forward your suggestions. He had a good look and found nothing wrong with the bearings and the anti squeal pads appear to be in place. He came to the conclusion that a lot of dirt had built up in the calipers and they hadn't been cleaned/stripped when the pads & discs were changed. He's gonna do that for me and see how it goes!
Any other possibilities?
Cheers
Stephen