March 2006
Hello.
Please can you tell me how to reset the service indicator on a 2004 Seat Arosa 1.0 litre.
Many thanks
John. Read more
Good afternoon Chaps! (and ladies)
I took my gaffers BMW 330ci into kwik Fit for him to get two new rear tyres for the beast, they did the job then gave me the receipt as its charged to our company. I was amazed at the price!! £424 for two tyres, I know they are pretty big 255/45/18 but its seems very steep to me?? which leads me to the question... What type of profit are Kwik Fit, ATS, main dealers etc making from tyres? the mark up must be plenty!!
Thanks
Lee Read more
Most people don't have a clue about the cost of tyres
(or it's on the company) so, when their rubber need replacing,
names such as Kwik-Fit etc spring to mind because of constant
advertising campaigns.
That's the whole idea of advertising
I haven't been in one of their branches in years but have used their mobile service for my company cars for the last 7 or 8 years and always found them OK. Don't know about the cost but if my company's fleet department and leasing company allow it it can't be that expensive.
I do wonder sometimes what the difference is between their lease company prices and their public prices
Does anyone have any info. on the digital climate control system or offer any pointers?
I want to get into the CPU control program to reprogramme it, as it's totally useless ( on all the three vehicles in our family (2000, 2001 and 2003)so I assume it's just a crappy design and not a fault.
Read more
I have seen the climate sensor report problems when doing diagnostics on a number of 407s and some 307s. On those models the sensor is in the dash around the glove box area and you can see the dust that accumulates in the little slots.
Can someone answer a question on the "manual" function of the BMW Steptronic gearbox?
In auto it is nice and smooth, but does tend to change up a little too quickly. I have a 3L diesel so it's nice to keep it down for a bit more fun.
In sport mode it also seems to change up a little too quickly, so I thought I'd give the "manual" a quick bash. The problem is that I am so used to the auto that I tend to forget to move the gear stick occasionally. However, it doesn't seem to matter.
As I pull up to a junction, if I forget, the box changes down for me. As I pull off and the revs climb, it changes up again. Pretty much in the same way as when in normal auto mode, except it seems to hold on to the lower gear a little longer and so gives that extra bit of oompf as it takes off.
I don't want to keep on doing that if I am going to kill the box, but it does seem to have the effect I like. I know the fix for this is to stop being lazy or forgetful and to drive it in manual and remember to use the stick. However, I just wondered if anyone had any idea if you are likely to damage anything driving it as an auto when in manual or if it is intended to do it anyway?
Any thoughts much appreciated. Many thanks.
Read more
Hi Cheddar,
Thanks for that. I'd read somewhere that the Sport should change at max revs but it just seems to change over so quickly. I'll have to get it on a decent straight and try it out a few more times. I think some of it may be that it is a very different beastie from my 318 auto. You really had to give that some hoof before it would move off. Lifting off the pedal was almost as good as hitting the brakes.
Anyway, thanks for the input. Have a good one.
Could anyone please refresh my memory as to the address of the webpage on the DVLA website, where one can check the tax status of a vehicle by its registration number ?
Thank you. Read more
Thats the one. Thank you very much.
Rgds.
I own a manual 1998 punto SX60. I'm a girl - please be kind!!!!
1st - clutch is starting to make whining/dragging noise at the start of depressing the clutch pedal, on all gears. Any clues?
2nd - When the car is sitting idle in queues and my feet are nowhere near the pedals, the engine revs, almost to point that I think it's going to stall. No amount of mileage seems to make any difference - when hot or cold. Again, any clues? I think this has been a problem for years, but I've noticed it's been getting worse in the last month.
I spent about £550 in November (heater matrix for one, plus service/MOT etc etc), so if it's anything seems obvious and you might estimate how much I might have to spend at my local garage (not a Fiat dealer) I'd appreciate it alot.
Thanks! Read more
Ooh blimey - I better get it sorted out sooner rather than later. Or, I could scrap the car and use my vespa instead!!!!
Has anyone got one of these cars ? I think they are a great little car but its only doing 37-39 mpg and vauxhall service said this is about right ...! Anybody any experience ?
It did 39mpg on a 160 mile round trip ...!
Read more
I find these discussions on fuel consumption very interesting, as no car that I have ever owned had ever varied a great deal in its fuel consumption over the time I had them. The longest period I have ever owned a car is the soon be 12 year old Xantia 1.9 TD. The fuel consumption of this car has never been below 40 mpg and I can normally rely on around 600 miles per tank, the tank capacity being 65 litres, which I think is about 14.3 gallons.
The car does very little mileage now and it is mostly used for short journeys, but I can still bet on a minimum of 40 mpg. I have never really done any calculations on long trips, the car being used for a long time by my wife and myself for a combination of short and longish journeys. However, I would think it would be capable of high 40s on long journeys.
So, less than 40 mpg for a modern diesel in a smallish car sounds very poor to me.
I wonder if the problem is related to the Distributor again. I had this replaced 3 yrs ago (covered 20K miles since). The problem is that the car turns over by the starter motor, and the RPM needle reads approx 300 - 500 rpm. But the eggine does not seems to fire up. I remember I had the same symptom 3 yrs ago and I called out the RAC to disgnose. The mechanic was spot on, he asked me to replace the distributor, which I did and fixed the problem.
I know it's not the battery, it's only replaced last few months (I also tried using a battery jump start to rule out that it'snot a battery problem).
I have alos serviced the car last month, with the spark plugs replaced. The car runs beautifully yesterday, but it failed to start this morning suddenly? Can this happen?
Can it be the distributor again? What can I check for? Or shall I just call the RAC again?
Thanks for any advice. Read more
I will try and take leads back to see what they say. After all the part was not fit for purpose, i.e shorter length and the original VW. If that fails then I will eBay it.
My 2000X 1.6 Focus Duratec high speed fan runs even in the depths of winter after even a short traffic free journey. It does not have a heated screen and the aircon is not on at the time (I've checked that the electric clutch is disengaged). The problem dates from last summer when I changed the coolant. There seemed to be an airlock as the temp gauge went high and erratic, also the coolant level dropped. Topped up and it hasn't dropped since. But soon after that the a/c would not switch off. New switch fixed that but temp gauge was still erratic. New temp sensor in the head failed to give immediate fix but since then gauge seems to have stabilised by itself. New thermostat and cooling system flush to no avail, despite careful refill and bleed to avoid airlocks as before. Have disconnected battery for a few hours in attempt to let ECU self-reset but no change. If I arrive home with fan frantically whizzing away and switch off for a few seconds, then restart, fan is off. Very baffling. Read more
Thanks for that suggestion, it might be some sort of partial or intermittent blockage.
The radiator does work if you start the car and leave it to idle. As the engine heats, after about 10 minutes, the thermostat opens and the radiator gets hot and presumably there is a flow through it. If you are driving the car it gets hot and then at some point the radiator fan kicks in, cools the radiator and it goes cold and stays cold, as if somehow the flow to the coolant valve that feeds the heater is bypassing the radiator or there is a restriction to the flow through the radiator. Perhaps a blockage that clears and reforms?
I think I will ask them to drain the radiator and try to back flush it to confirm whether it is blocked or not. The coolant is very clean.
I'm also thinking it could be an airlock.
They are also going to try the by pass modification from the heater pipes to the radiator top hose at their cost, although apparently it only applies to the Focus. I've ordered the Ford TIS disk to get hold of the TSB. I also have a Focus 1.8 Zetec from 1999 and that has a completely different coolant hose system so comparison with that isn't much use.
Hi BR's
My air con seems to have stopped working. Before I take the car (00(W)Peugeot 306 2.0 SE cabriolet) to a aircon specialist.
I need to locate the fuse for the compressor. As previously when I pressed the A/C button I used to hear a click from the compressor now I hear nothing. The car has never been topped up.
In addition I took the car for its intermediate inspection at a Peugeot main dealer. They alerted me to the fact that my one of my cooling fans are not functioning correctly. Apparently it doesn't work at low speed. I think this may be just a relay fault perhaps. I have had a cooling fan changed last year. As I understand that the two fans run in parallel and have two speeds for cooling.
Before I changed my cooling fan last year my air con worked with just one cooling fan working.
Before anyone asks - Yes I have checked the handbook and it only refers to cooling there is no mention of air con or compressor in any way. The Haynes manuals don't cover the cabriolet.
Once I have checked the fuses I will then take the car to aircon specialist in Manchester (any recommendations welcome - none exist in NW area in HJ's FAQ) to check for leaks and gas level.
Can anyone help?
--
306 2.0 SE Cabriolet Read more
The pressure safety switch is on top of the aircon drier bottle under the bonnet, Its a brown plug with 4 wires, With the ignition ON so the warning lights are on but the engine NOT running short pins 1 & 2 together on the plug, set the temp to the coldest setting & switch the aircon on.
If the cooling fans roar into life & the aircon clutch relay clicks then its re gas time
DO NOT under ANY circumstances run the engine with the pressure safety switch bypassed!
The diode is inside the aircon control black box, This has been covered lots of times before.
Click the link www.peugeotlogic.com/workshop/base/workshop.htm
Then click Electrical at the top & then on Short circuit in 306 A/C


Chirpy.
Your advice was spot on.
Many thanks
John