December 2004
There is a growing trend to decorate houses with lights, inflatable santas, all sorts of things.
Now to keep this motoring related;
1/ Best lights you see
2/ worst / tackiest lights you see.
3/ Motoring link
I will start the ball rolling..
1/ Not seen them yet
2/ Scotland Bridge Road, New Haw - very tacky
3/ Right before a set of traffic lights controlling a narrow canal bridge, been one minor shunt already caused by the distraction no doubt. Read more
I have just been reading the DVLA document New Car Tax Rules.
It says that SORN lasts 12 months, but apparently it cannot be transferred to a new owner, unlike car tax. So if I buy a SORNed car I must immediately SORN it myself.
There is the problem. Supposing I buy such a car part-way through a month. Its old SORN now lapses, and I must re-declare SORN myself. But ?SORN applications cannot be backdated?, and apparently can run from the first of a month only.
So what happens about the 2-3 week gap before my new SORN starts?
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I suspect that this another example of sloppy drafting of legislation and the intended wording is "SORN cannot be backdated to a month previous to that in which it is declared".
Bit of a strange of for you. The heating started going hot and cold a couple of weeks ago. Investigations proved it was a airlock created by a water leak. Filled it up and bled it out OK.
The other night I got back to my car and there was about half a cup full of coolent on the floor - near the drivers side front wheel. When I put the car up on ramps it is impossible to see where the leak is comind from, just apears to be from the L.H.S of the engine (as you look at it from the top).
Any ideas on diagnosis ? Its not lost a drip in the past few days but I think its just a matter of time..
Cheers
PS - Its not the heater matrix - been replaced
Its not the head gasket - Oil looks OK and normal ruinning temp is fine Read more
Stockport, just in case ;-)
Hi, i would be grateful if any body could provide some comments on the new Skoda Octavia, costs of ownership, relaibility and overall satisfaction levels. Is the car durable, ie if one was to buy a PDI 130bhp version will it go on for 10 years...
Thanks Read more
I tried one of Skoda's 24 hour test drives in the new Octavia with the 1.9tdi 105bhp engine. Interior was on a par with VW Audi products, everything felt well put together and solid. The boot was cavernous and plenty of cubby holes, cup holders etc dotted the cabin.
The only downside was that the engine sound left you in doubt it was a diesel, it did sound clattery both outside and inside when driving.
I decided to spend more money and buy the outgoing Audi A4 Avant and got a very good deal on a stock, but unregistered model. It has the "old" 1.9Tdi 130bhp lump and sounds much smoother. Under normal driving conditions you can barely hear the engine let alone recognise it as an oil burner except for the infrequent stops to fill it up. Averaged 45 mpg and the car is barely run in at 700 miles.
If money were more tight, I would have certainly tried the Octavia Estate when it comes out in the new year.
I have a late 98 Mondeo 88k miles with what I assume is the Ford CD4E autobox.
As far as I am aware it is the original box.
FFSH but I obviously do not know how it has been treated.
I intend to keep the car for some years.
Most comments from respected experts here are not very kind about this autobox.
So my questions about any autobox are:
Apart from checking the colour and level of the fluid, what else can I do to preserve it?
I am a gentle driver with most miles done in the urban areas.
No towing things.
What style of driving should I use?
What should I not do? I have a sport / normal button.
What are the signs of impending doom?
If the worst happens should I have it rebuilt or get an exchange box?
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Try having the transmission fluid flushed, rather than just drained and replaced. If just draining and refilling, most of the fluid in the box stays where it is, and only about a third of it drains out. Flushing renews all the fluid, with no old fluid left to contaminate the nice new stuff. Transmission specialists offer this, and it is the proper way of changing the fluid.
Hi all,
My Ford Fiesta XR2i 1991 (H Reg) has recently, within the last week, been illuminating the oil warning light on the dash when the engine is running. I am confused as to what the problem may be.
The oil level is spot on where it should be, it is not burning oil as I reconditioned the cyclinder head in Aug with new stem seals and there is no smoke being burnt from the rear. However when I'm driving and accelerate/rev the engine hard the oil light is no longer illuminated until I let off the accelerator and return the engine to a lower rev and/or idle.
Any advise greatly appriciated.
Thanks
Steveo Read more
Perhaps try changing oil/filter, putting in a less viscous oil, such as a 5w or 10w40 and see if this makes a difference.
I was looking at some old Fords on e-bay and trying to remember some of the colours that were current around the time of the Cortina 1600E in the late sixties. Silver Fox, Blue Mink , Saluki Bronze come to mind. Then there was that metallic pink, was it Oyster ? Anyone help out? Read more
I had a MKIII Cortina in saluki bronze, or poo brown as everyone else called it.
Most reliable car I ever owned, seemed to have been constructed from bridge supports by superman.
Drove 100 miles down the motorway once with a strange banging noise coming from somewhere. Parked on my parents drive and the bonnet could be seem to be moving up and down. Turned out it was the heat from the engine, the radiator had holed outside my student digs and I had driven it all that way with no water in the radiator.
Happy days.
White stretch limos seemed to me to be the height of ostentation and bad taste, but today I saw in Cheadle Hulme something to cap it. To stretch a Cadillac is one thing, at least some people will hire them for weddings, but a grey Jeep? I saw it from a distance, but that is what it looked like. Read more
LOL, an Alfa would never make it
::drums fingers on desk seeking a pithy response, gives up and continues thumbing through brochures for gas-guzzling SUVs::
I've read elsewhere that the new Passat will have "an electronic parking brake".
Not seen any more detail than that, but I don't feel entirely comfortable with the idea...!
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Colt CZT sounds like fun.
Hi guys,
Been a while since I have dropped into the forum to post anything, do still get time to read your posts occasionally.
I thought this particular problem merited a few words in the forum. I bought a brand new Mazda 3 for leoness back in July this year. From the word go I didn't think it "pulled" as well as the demonstrator I drove, which was identical in every respect except colour. So from new the motor in my opinion always suffered from a bit of lag under acceleration.
After about three months (4,500 miles) I went to pull out of where we live, I pressed on the accelerator and nothing happened. I repeated this and the same - nothing. On the third attempt the car pulled away normally. I took the car to my local dealer who told me nothing was stored in the fault memory, but there was a software upgrade from Mazda which they would install. Software installed and the problem has not re-occured.
About three weeks later pulling out of same junction, the amount of lag seemed more noticable than usual. As I accelerated, I discovered the car would not exceed 3,000 RPM. nocked her out of gear and gently brought the revs up again, she would still not exceed 3,000 out of gear.
I switched her off then back on and the fault had gone. Took car back to the dealer again and it was the same explanation. No fault recorded and Mazda had released another software upgrade. - Starting to think Bill Gates is a shareholder in Mazda!!!
Over the next month or so the same problem moves from being intermittent to persistant, but with two new symptoms. The temperature gauge never moves of the cold extreme, and the glow plug waring light stays on until you start the engine. I booked the car into the dealership where it was bought, commenting that I believe this to be a safety issue and Ideally would like it replaced before it gets me or my other half wrote off. The dealer asked for the opportunity to check the car over before any exchange of merchandise would be considered.
The day after the car was booked in Mazda released a Technical Bulletin stating the symptoms above, and recommend replacing the air flow meter. The tech at Mazda showed me the bulletin and explained what was proposed as a workaround. Mazda recommend replacing the air flow sensor and the pipe which connects to the rocker cover vent. seemingly an excessive vacuum is created in the narrow pipe connected to the rocker cover which draws oil into the pipe leading to the air flow meter and knackers it.
They could not explain the association with the temperature always reading cold, so they replaced the sender unit anyway, and explained the glow plug light was just a warning which the handbook states refer to the dealer. Once again nothing was recorded in the fault memory.
I got the car back on Saturday and drove about 30 miles in her. The lag was no better than when the car was new, but the other problems were out of her. There is now a total of just over 6,000 miles on the car and tonight all the previous faults are back again.
Firstly is it unreasonable to request a new replacement car of the same model.
What do you think are my chances?
Would you advise that I allow the dealer another opportunity to rectify the fault bearing in mind he is likely to replace the same parts yet again.
We sold a trouble free TDI golf to buy this bag of nails.... now I am haunted by VW's advertising slogan. If only everything in life were as reliable as a Volkswagen!!!
Your comments are welcom either here or by e-mail to - rightclickit@btinternet.com
Perplexed,
Leon Read more
All look out for a 'Mazda Approved Used' Mazda 3 with about 6000 miles on the clock then!
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:-D