March 2005
New A3 sportback should be arriving this week :-)
Can anyone tell me whether Audi stereos have any input sockets (e.g. for MP3 players)?
For what it's worth it's the Chorus II (single CD player).
Cheers Read more
Appreciate any help here guys ...
R Reg Mondeo - chucking out so much blue/grey smoke on standing and driving. Took it to a Ford dealer and they advised it needed a new Solenoid (?). So, I trustingly paid £220 for this, got outside to the carpark to start it up only to find so much thick black smoke coming out that it marked the carpark.
The mechanic said that this was because of the amount of carbon build up because of the faulty solenoid but this would wear itself through in about 6 turn-overs.
That was about 2 weeks ago and its still throwing too much smoke out - both on standing and driving (particuarly at high speed and accelaration).
Now I've noticed the engine revving when Im accelerating - more than "normal" and taking the meter to 4,000 revs until the speed catches up - and this happens in all gears. Also, theres sometimes a smell of diesal inside the car as Im driving and I've noticed fuel smears on the road occasionally after parking.
Ive booked it back in but they can't see it until 23rd - any tips on what to tell them - or how to stop them ripping me off?
Much appreciated
x Read more
I saw an amusing sight yesterday. A 1 litre fiat panda with a canoe on the roof trying to intimidate an HGV! We were on an A road going towards the M5 in Devon and this little panda was sitting up the backside of this HGV for several miles. It can't have been more than 8 feet away at some points. He had previously been sitting right up behind me and whizzed, well inched, passed in the crawler lane on a previous hill. I had to lift off as otherwise he would not actually have made it passed me, I was feeling unusually generous. I was tempted just to accelerate and just put a car length between me and him as he was going up the hill as he would have never been able to regain it up this hill at all ;-)
You should have seen it creep slowly by the HGV up the crawler lane. It took the entire distance of the hill to manage it. Engine bouncing off the limiter I'd imagine; as the new panda is hardly aero dynamic at the best of times, let alone with a huge canoe stuck on the top! He tried the same trick with a bmw but the bmw for some strange reason didn't want to let him get passed.....
teabelly Read more
Maybe he was sticking behind the HGV to reduce the wind
noise from the canoe?
Or trying to get an aerodynamic tow? (!) ;-)
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L\'escargot by name, but not by nature.
Hi all,
Wondering if you knew wether Audi ever made an Audi 80 TDI Quattro???
Just seen one for sale and never knew they existed! Read more
They did do a 100 Tdi quattro though
Hello!
We're currently looking at getting a small car, probably a Toyota Corolla (March 2004, 1.4 3dr T3) or Honda Civic (1.6 VTEC 3dr SE) to replace our ageing (but still hardy) Mk3 1.8 Cavalier.
We've seen a good Corolla at a Toyota dealer with 13000 miles on it, ex-Toyota owned, for £8995. I reckon that's a reasonable price, going by what parkers.co.uk has told me.
The Honda we have seen is a 1.6 SE July 2002 with 34000 miles on it, for £7995, which is a tad overpriced, apparently.
I've driven both (it's for my mum, and my sisters who are 18 and 16, so insurance cost is to be considered) and to be honest, I preferred the drive of the Corolla. It had a lot more torque throughout the range and was easier and more pleasant to drive than the higher capacity Civic.
Plus the car supermarket salesman selling the Civic was a prat, whereas the Toyota salesman was a nice guy and knew what he was talking about.
What do you all reckon?? Read more
If practicality is not an issue, a Ford Ka collection at IG 3 is well worth it!
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Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
hi, im thinking of taking kids on holiday to frane next year
camping around nantes area,
does anyone have any tips or hints about said venture or hints on driving abroad
i was thinking a keycamp or eurocamp around that region as i dont want to go too far in, as i have never driven abroad at all
but seeing some of the "dopes" in the office do it every year i think i could do it
appreciated your hints Read more
I've found in general that French drivers are no worse or better than British ones. (I've never been to Paris, though). However French BAD drivers are really BAD.
One thing to watch out for. In France there are many stretches of single-carriageway main roads that run dead straight for miles. Some drivers, including HGVs, tend to use these roads as you would a dual carriageway, using the oncoming lane as a 'fast lane'for passing long lines of slower traffic. These drivers duck back in when something's coming the other way, then straight back out again. The sort of thing you see fast bikers doing here, except in BMWs, Transits and 44 tonne trucks. Scary!
Sometimes you get whole lines of vehicles folowing an HGV down the wrong side of the road. The HGV cuts in at the last minute to avoid another oncoming heavy, leaving the following vehicles with nowhere to go. Happens here in UK too, but not so much.
Cheers, SS
Starting from cold my '98 Passat tdi 110 hp engine temperature gauge stays in the cool zone .The top of the radiator is also cool.However after stopping for 15 minutes and restarting, the temperature gets to normal (90 degrees C) and stays there. Can anyone suggest a reason for this? Read more
>>>>get your facts right before posting.
As rob 5 asked the question.I wonder why you said that.Point about sensor being bolted to head.Yes it may well send to ECU.Temp guage sender should be located as I mentioned. after thermostat..Same as fan switch.Unless their is another way of doing it now???
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Steve
I will shortly be taking delivery of a Volvo S60 D5 2.4 Turbo Diesel. I will be picking it up from a dealer about 200 miles away from home.
For this journey (and subsequent trips for the first thousand miles or so) should I stay mainly on A and B roads giving the engine a mix of cruising speeds and light / hard acceleration or would I be better to sit it on the motorway at mixed cruising speeds. Should I avoid high revs altogether or is this something that it would benefit from?
I have always understood that, whilst production of engines is far more accurate than it was in the old days, a car still needs to be 'run in' for a while to let things bed in.
Can anyone give me the benefit of their advice so I can give the car the TLC it no doubt deserves?
Also am I best to give it 'Top Of The Range' diesel for the first few tanks or give it the normal stuff from day one?
It will only get normal stuff for the rest of it's life as it is a company car and the company (and I!) would resent the unreasonable premium there is on these so-called premium fuels. I know they are often given the thumbs up by people but the reality is I won't use them.
Much appreciated!!!
Gavin Read more
Very kind. Cheers!
(Tugs forelock gently..)
:0)
I notice that there is a new motorcycle strategy published. Some good points, but a disappointing line on diesel spills. Apparently a motorcyclist is 25 times more likely to die than a car driver, and 5 times more likely than a cyclist.
www.dft.gov.uk/stellent/groups/dft_roads/documents...f
There must be an election round the corner! (I remember the pictures of Tony Blair sitting on a bike at the NEC show, and then the government doing nothing on the big issues). Read more
I agree election on 5th May then nothing. IMHO motorcyles to be allowed in bus lanes is a must. Very succesful in Reading.
Hi all
I have an Audi 80 TDI 90BHP. 1994. Basically the car runs fine most of the time but when im "cruising" in fourth and fifth (doing about 40mph in fourth an 50mph in fifth) the car seems to vibrate and shudder. It is usually solved by going into a lower gear and hitting 3000 revs plus. Does anyone know what it could be.
Also sometimes usually in third gear when going through the rev ranges the car seems to knowck me back and 2000 revs when the turbo kicks in but then doies it again at 3000 revs? Anyone what this could be?
Any info would be great
Cheers Read more
YOU ASKED THE SAME QUESTION 3 WEEKS AGO !!
read the replies.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=29549
Browse
>>The revving only happens when Im accelerating quickly - such as when joining the motorway and wanting to speed up quickly. Is this what was meant by the slipping clutch?
Sounds like early stages of clutch failing..Is the Diesel electronic control.As I wonder if they meant injector/s solenoids? Just a thought
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Steve