June 2006
Guys -
Since the hot weather has arrived, my wifes Fiesta Zetec has started leaving a puddle in the passenger footwell. The puddle doesn't smell of coolant etc so I assume its clean water. Its only really been evident since she has been using the air con lots so im guessing its a blockage in the condensation drain pipe? I doubt it is the usual suspect (pollen filter cover) because it hasn't been raining!
Any suggestions? If it is the condensation drain pipe, any idea how I get to it to clean it out / replace it?
Cheers
Steve
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problems with vibration through the power steering.
dealer says all is ok i have serious doubts Read more
I want to thank grease monkey for the reply and help I wrote to The Honda service dept and they arranged to have the car sorted I still am not certain what they did but I quoted your reply verbatum in spanish translation and the job got done Many thank Ingram
The above is offered as an extra on my car insurance.
Has any Backroomer experience of this service? Do they run their own fleet of vehicles? What are response times and helpfulness?
Your comments would be appreciated.
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Mondial generally run breakdown schemes for manufacturers rather than individuals. So if you ring your main dealer for breakdown assistance or if your car is under warranty and you ring a central helpline then you are more likely to use the services that Mondial Assistance provides, rather than just being a 'normal' private customer who has broken down.
Mondial also generally cover the breakdowns of the prestige manufacturers such as Aston Martin, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes, Rolls Royce etc, as well as a few of the run of the mill manufacturers, but are regarded as being at the upper end of the market.
With this in mind you should get a 'better quality' of breakdown/recovery assistance as the Mondial recovery operators are vetted and only the 'better' ones are chosen for their contract work. So theoretically you shouldn't get any old cowboy coming along to fiddle with your car. Whether this works like that in practice is another matter. Its all very well getting a man turning up in a shiny new truck with a shiny new jacket etc, but he will probably be no more knowledgable than the guy with the 5 year old truck and the dirty overalls from the local service station 'down the road'.
I recently purchased a VW Passat automatic, with 2.5 v6 TDi (AKN) engine. It is 4 years old and 111,000 'motorway miles'.
I keep suffering from loss of ability to accelerate.
For example, it is a bit slow from a standstill in 1st gear, but worse is when turning right at traffic lights, you can roll up and wait for a gap in oncoming traffic and press the accelerator right down but nothing much happens for 1-5 seconds, then there is a violent surge in power and a puff of black smoke.
It also does this at roundabouts, when you roll up to big roundabouts on A roads, it is a bit dangerous as it just crawls onto the roundabout and when you have gone halfway round there is a sudden boost of power (If it was like that all the time I'd be pleased)
So while in the deserted countryside I replicated this, and with CC off and widows open, I could hear a quiet hiss from the engine, and at the exact point the power boost occured the hiss stopped and there was a noise like a pneumatic valve closing, (split second rise in pitch like when you let go of an airline trigger)
It is almost like a wastegate stuck open which suddenly snaps shut, but I have read it doesn't even have one as it is a VNT turbocharger.
All obvious service items replaced, and visual inspection under bonnet doesn't reveal anything untoward.
I can see the VNT actuation lever, all pipe clips look original, but I can't hear any air leaks at this stage.
I have read lots of info about the N75 valve on 1.9tdis, do I have one of these?
Thanks for any help before I go to VW, and roll my eyes!
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Ashok
This isn't an anti-spyware issue is it? Some of mine hate ElsaWin with a vengeance and block it's registry hooks to stop it installing. Tried disabling your anti-virus/spyware and seeing if that made a difference? IIRC those 4 data DVDs contain about 9 Gig!
***** This thread is now closed, please CLICK HERE to go to Volume 136 *****
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I'm just about to buy an Olympus E500 to complement my trusty old OM1 and OM4 (plus a couple of digital compacts and a 6x6.) Available for around £600 including 14-45mm (28-90mm equiv), 40-150mm (80-300mm equiv) lenses and a 1GB card, it covers just about everything I need as a fairly competent amateur.
If I need something special, I hire it.
Kevin...
{Although this thread is now closed, please continue with any questions in the next volume - DD}
Has anyone experienced a loud rattling noise seemingly suspension related? Mine seems to come on after about 40 miles or so and can be really loud, but you've guessed it, it miraculously disappears when approaching a Fiat dealer so its really difficult to track down. The dealer has been helpful and checked all the nuts and bolts etc but without hearing the noise they're a bit stymied. I wonder if a damper is intermittently losing its damping ability for some reason allowing the suspension to crash about but I only think that because I cant think of anything else. Any ideas out there?
Its a 1.2 dynamic with 250 miles on if thats any help. Read more
Check all the steering rack joints for signs/feel of movement.
I purchased from a dealer a Laguna with Carminat Sat Nav. However, it didn't come with the manual which covers the radio/ CD player and sat nav. The dealer cannot get one from scouting around he says, the previous owner took it out the car (why?, why?) and it seems that I cannot get one from Renault as it doesn't have a part No. and they aren't printed anyway.
Now I have got the hang of most of the system, but not all of it. I am thinking of the future re-sale here as well.
Where can I get the manual for my sat nav/cd/radio? the car is an 04 reg so it's not that old is it ?
And if I want to update the maps can I do that easily enough?
Any help is appreciated.
Thanks. Read more
Never really thought to count them, er lets see.....yes, think so. Very good I'd say. If only I had the manual.....
Some bird poo has marked the paint on my car, despite it only being on there for less than 24 hours. I have tried cleaning it and using MER polish but it's marked. It's hardly noticably but if it had been on there for longer then it might be really bad.
So be warned, if a bird deposits yesterday's dinner on your paint, clean it off quickly. Read more
>>>Just as well my car has a glass roof...
I recall one glorious summer's day driving down a tree-lined road, stopping for the lights, and having a large bird make its daily deposit RIGHT through the sunroof, onto my head and down my shoulder...
delightful.
On a serious note, a mixture of bicarb of soda and warm water, soaked into a rag or spnge, and left on top of the offending muck to soak, works wonders.
The acidity in the guano is reduced, and the muck softens.
The bicarb also acts as a gentle abrasive.
I have a renault scenic 1.9 dynamique which has nearly 20k miles on the clock. All four tyres are now needing replacement. To replace the existing Dunlops is going to cost me £301. Michelin are £391. Is it worth paying the premium for the better brand? Am I likely to get more miles out of them? I`m keeping this car for at least another two years which will probably be beyond the life span of any tyres I get. Read more
Thanks for all that info. I`m tending towards the Michelin Tyres but I will have to check out the exact model/spec
I have a 2001 peugeot 406 2l petrol glx estate. when i returned from a long journey of about 350 miles my fuel guage was reading empty and the low fuel light was on the trip computer stated i had about 30 miles left in the tank. whilst driving to refuel the vehicle the guage showed 1/4 full tripo showed 150 miles range left ?. I have refuelled the vehicle 22 litres of fuel guage now reads 3/4 full trip reads 350 miles range ?? any ideas re this thanks. Read more
Haynes manual explains dashboard removal clearly.
About half an hour if you're competent. You need to remove the panel on the side of the dash, by the driver's door and remove a retainer screw, otherwise the right hand heater vent won't fit back in properly as you'll snap it out when you remove the dash.
Incidentally Lee, the instrument panelts are different for the later cars than the earlier ones - if you've not had one of these out for eight years then it'll have a different setup from those you've worked on.
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Thanks guys
Steve