June 2006
I know you all wait breathlessly for the daily update from the Wild West, OK the Mild South.
A classic (Morse style) Jag has just gone up in flames in Tescos car park. Surrey Fire Brigade are in attendance.
Guildford town centre is jammed in all directions due to an accident outside the fire station plus the knock on effect from the M25 closure both ways between 8 and 10 (!!! its about 10 miles away).
Its not pretty out there. Read more
www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/local/surrey.shtml
news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_counties/5064...m
Read more
Not as glad as I am I rode today...!
due to a clerical error, one of our super high mileage company cars had to have an mot organised v quickly. Our usual "trusted" mechanic couldnt do it in time, so it went somewhere else.
oh dear. It failed on eight points. two new tyres apparently (funny, it had two new rears this week and the fitters didnt think the front needed changing, neither do i). So far so unsuprising. A couple of points that i wouldnt have a clue about, so will give benefit of doubt. Then my personal favourite. According to the mot test, it has a 40mm crack in the windscreen in zone a. Right in the drivers vision then. I cant see it! my engineer cant see it. No one can see it!
makes you wonder about the rest of the points. The car is now off the road until my trusted mechanic can look at it.
how can an mot tester sign off on a blatantly incorrect document?
will let you know what our normal mechanic has to say on the matter.
Read more
Follow the procedure on th enotice of failure form or VOSA won't touch it.
www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/carlgvowners/mottesting/appea...m
Martin
Noticed yesterday that the air con on our mk2 Mondeo is cutting in and out when in use.
The green "AC" light on the blower switch remains on, but I can hear (and feel) the compressor clutch engaging and disengaging.
The time between cutting in and out seems to vary, but I would say on average it's about 30 seconds to cut out and about 15 seconds to cut back in.
The air con is running nice and cold (when it's working) and one of the rad fans cuts in (as I believe it should) whenever the air-con button is pressed.
Any ideas?
Cheers
DP Read more
Thanks Dave.
I thought it was only climate control systems that did this. This is a bum basic hot/cold dial and an AC button.
Good news though, and thanks for the quick reply.
Cheers mate
DP
'03 Nissan Almera 1.5 manual 9K miles
My engine management light came on 150 miles from home, and as the nearest dealer couldn't look at it for 4 days, and the book said it could be driven, I drove it home. Inside the tail-pipe was black, as was a spark plug I removed. Trip computer said it did 20 MPG on the journey (I'd expect 40 MPG).
Local dealer diagnosed lambda sensor, and replaced it under warranty.
The question is, what, if any, damage would this have done to the catalyctic converter, and can I minimise it? Read more
My eldest Son's gf drove her MX-5 30 miles with a misfire later traced by the main dealer to a coil pack problem. Replaced under warrantee. 3 months later at MOT time it failed emmisions and the Cat was deemed to be US and replaced under the same warrantee £560 plus vat plus ladour. That was a great Used car Warrantee that they bought from the previuos owner for £30. Regards Peter
Is anyone aware of a known handbrake-sticking problem with the VW Touran?
I have a 1.6 petrol Touran, I noticed the backwheels were very hot one day and it appears there's a problem somewhere in the handbrake system. A local garage changed the brake pads but didn't feel there was a problem with the cable - he just made a minor tension adjustment I think. But the problem remains - although admittedly not as bad as it was. Now the wheel and sometimes wheels get quite warm, not hot.
The guy at the garage did wonder if the actual breaking mechanism next to the disk might be dodgy. Seems like more than a coincidence that it's affecting both sides.
Read more
Not aware of the problem, and nobody seems to have mentioned it on the owners club (www.clubtouran.net). On my touran, its getting the thing to work thats the problem. On any sort of hill it needs a good pull.
To check if its binding, chock the front wheels and lift a rear wheel. Let off the handbrake and see if the wheel turns freely. If the brakes are binding it should be obvious.
HTH
Joe
Hi There
Does anyone know how to adjust the idle on one of these?
Thanks in advance.
Regards
Pete Read more
Engine code, Injector system and Ignition system code required. If it is an LH Jetronic system then there is no adjustment but the Idle control may be stuck or faulty. Regards Peter
Hello,
2002 Mk III Mondeo TDCi Ghia X, 107k miles, slight clonk felt through steering wheel when rocking it while stationary, not at all noticable on the move. I have checked the column and the track rod ends - all OK, however if I hold either track rod while the steering wheel is rocked gently I can feel a slight clonk perhaps from within the rack, I know various suspension joints could exhibit such symptoms, also drive shafts/CVs.
Any thoughts?
Thanks.
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Steve, Thanks I did say "I have checked the column and the track rod ends", I was helping my dad change track rod ends 30+ years ago! I am thinking it is a suspension joint or mount.
Regards.
Hi all,
I have just taken delivery of a brand new Mondeo 2.2 TDCi.
Its got a factory fitted (Premium) mobile phone kit and i've just bought the adaptor cradle (PN 1 374 347) for use with my Nokia 6230i phone.
It works - but I'm having problems getting it to scroll through the address book. The symptoms are that I can do it from the <> keys on the radio itself (Sony 6CD) but not the stalk SEEK buttons as its supposed to do according to the manual.
Does anyone have experience of the factory fitted kit in a Mondeo?
Thanks in anticipation.
Robert Read more
Hi Folks
I'm about to opt out of a company car scheme and buy myself a car for the first time in 20 years. I need good space for me and 3 large kids, a decent drive, something classy but without stupid running costs. I currently have a Merc E320CDI, which I love and which I've put 80,000 miles on in 2 1/2 years. However, my mileage should drop to a more sensible 10k pa now. I'm happy to buy something 2-3 years old, and my budget is £25k. I quite fancy a Jag XJ but fuel economy seems poor. I might even step up to a Merc S class, for the luxury! I've never quite gone for the new shape BMW 5, a Range Rover is likely to be out of reach and too expensive to run. I may even end up with another E class of a similar age to the one I currently run. (and if I had no kids I would buy a 911!).
Any ideas/views?
Thanks! Read more
I could lease....
Maybe my ignorance is showing, not having had to worry about
car ownership for so long. But I assumed that if
I spent £25k on a car now, sold it in 3
years for, say £15k, borrowed some MORE money to finance a
purchase at £30k, then in a few changes I might have
worked my way up to a 911 by the time the
kids have left home, one that I actually own!
Steve, every time you buy a car, you are going to lose part of its value in depreciation. In general, the more you spend, the more you'll lose.
So if you want to treat yoyrself to a special car down the road, the most effective way to get there is to buy a cheap car each time, and put some money aside towards your dream car. Put £1000 in a high-interst account, and you'll probably have £1100 after three years. Put it in a car, and you'd be very lucky to get £500 back after three years.
Of course, if you want to move upmarket in steps, that's a perfectly reasonable decision ... but don't kid yourself that it is getting you to your dream car as quickly as a savings account would.
Browse
I saw that too - the front end was a complete mess. He'd probably called in for some "value" firelighters.
659.