Last night, I had to help my mate recover his '05 Mondeo DCi 160 ST from a flooded road.
Anyway, before driving through the rather large 'puddle' he witnessed other cars of varying makes safely negotiate said flood with no problems. The water level was below wheel hub on his 17" wheels.
He didn't race through it and followed the usual advice of not changing gear half way through and keep to a speed in low gear that generates a small bow wave. Guess what happened?

The last car he saw go through must have dropped its undertray as it was bits of the previous car that we pulled out from the mangled and folded back remains of his car's undertray. Even though it was at a safe speed, the debris (hidden under the water) got caught under his car ripping off the tray and causing a large amount of water to be deflected upwards into the intake.

Car stopped dead, so he tried to restart - with result that starter motor stripped its teeth trying to turn over an engine that was hydraulically locked due to water ingestion!
The air filter was soaking with large amounts of water floating around the intercooler, turbo and cylinders.

(The annoying thing is the road floods since the local council put in full road width speed humps that now act as very effective dams. A great design.)

Luckily for him his insurance will cover the repairs but the new mondeo and most other modern cars have very low air intakes so beware of standing water and if in doubt don't go through! Read more

Got a 2003 Renault Clio 1.5 DCi diesel that according to owner seems to have a problem with the headgasket. On start up it idles roughly for about 3 seconds then settles down to a stable idle. When the throttle is used, huge amounts of white vapour/smoke exits the exhaust making driving look like a low level flypast of the Red Arrows!!

As soon as engine returns to idle, there is no smoke. I have noticed large amounts of wet, sooty/oily deposits in the tailpipe but as it lacks any real smell, I can't tell if it's condensed diesel vapour due to fuel not reaching correct vapourisation point on start up, or water vapour.
Incidentally, a coolant pressure test showed a loss of pressure from 15psi to zero in under 14 mins, and the level drops under pressure but returns to correct level when pressure in coolant expansion tank is removed. Coolant is correct colour and free of deposits/emulsified oil as is the rocker cover.
Have also noticed lots of air bubbles in clear fuel lines. I know that conventional diesels don't like air in the fuel but do common rail diesels tolerate air and could this cause the excessive smoking?
Not knowing much about these Dci diesels, anyone out there know if these cars suffer gasket failure

Cheers,
Andrew Read more

I currently have a Ford Focus Mk1, which I have owned for the last 5 years. It has been a great car, giving me no real problems, and providing a great drive with lots of room and practicality.

I am thinking of "passing down" the Focus to a family member who will be soon starting driving lessons, and so am looking for a replacement.

I have been looking at the Mk V Golf GT TDi, and just wanted the opinions of people on here who have driven one/owned one.

The readers comments on What Car seem to highlight a poor quality interior, with lots of rattles and poor trim. In my Focus the quality may not be the best, but I don't have any rattles/poor fitting trim.

So what are your opinions on the MK V Golf? Read more

Hi Guys,

I had the cambelt changed last week and I have noticed a real lack of power when accelerating. It can become quite dangerous at take off as there is no pull until after 2200 rpm and then the power quickly disappears after 3000rpm. Does anyone know when the turbo is supposed to kick in? I thought it was nearer the 1500rpm.

Also any ideas on what is going wrong. I have taken it back to garage once already and they said that they couldn?t find anything wrong but did agree that there was no power. I am taking it back tomorrow so they can check it again but I would like some ideas on what could be the cause before I go in.

Thanks

Note the car is a 2001 Passat sport with 120k on the clock Read more

We have just bought a CFI fiesta 1.1 1993 with a genuine 21800 miles from new.It drives as new but has an intermittent fault. The car occasionally 'drives itself', lifting your foot off the throttle doesnt slow the car, and if you dip the clutch the engine is racing. Sometimes when you stop at a junction it will be racing, sometimes the revs surge violently up and down before settling. I dont really know where to start looking, so any pointers would be great. Cheers. Read more