July 2006
I recently bought an S Type - and I'm very happy.
One of the keys had a flat battery, so I replaced it according to the instructions in the handbook, making sure I only spent a few seconds. The previous battery must have been flat as a pancake, as it now has no coding.
Is this one of the keys that can be coded by a sequence of keypresses in the vehicle, or do I need to go to my Jaguar dealer and assume the position? If the former (oh, please let it be so) where do I find the information?
V Read more
What is the best fuel system cleaner (additive). I have used redex and wynns before, but did not record if there was a change in efficiency. I drive a 95m ford escort 1.6 zetec.
Also what is the best petrol. I normally fill up with asda or sainsbury petrol. I have read that Shell may be better as it contains more detergent. Would it be better using super unleaded such as shell opimax? I have read my manual and I think that it was made to run on normal 95RON petrol. Read more
Another old thread resurrected.
Funny how often that seems to involve an ulterior motive....
I have a 95 M ford escort, 1.6 zetec.
My boot release button does not work properly. Sometimes it works, other times it does not. I press the button when the ignition is turned off. When it does not work, the de-mister light illuminates and so does the light for the rear foglights. (sometimes, when I put the rear wiper on, it does not work, and instead the demister light illuminates. Does anyone know what the problem is, and how much it will cost to fix?
The problem is made wors by the fact that the boot cannot be opened using the key (the lock has jammed/siezed). I am thining of buying a new lock. Would I be able to get one from a scrap yard, or would I have to go to Ford?
From my question, you can probably tell that i don't know much about cars, but I would appreciate your help, especially if you own/ have owned an escort and experienced similar problems.
Thanks,
Ish. Read more
Hi all. First post on the forum. First of many hopefully.
I have this exact same problem but I'm struggling to find the hinge that people are reffering to. any help please much appreciated.
I bought a car from a main dealer which was sold to me as a 1 previous owner vehicle.
The log book has come through and it shows 2 previous owners.
I've give the details to the dealer and am waiting for the response.
Assuming they make a refund of part of the asking price, what is a ballpark figure that the additional owner makes?
Thanks
Mike Read more
As has been pointed out already, when you bought the car,
the V5 would show one previous owner therefore the dealer was
technically correct to advertise as such.
Not really. By the time the buyer saw the car at the dealer's, the person still registered as keeper was a previous owner, having sold the car to the dealer.
But I agree that it's something that should have been checked beforehand.
I have an 02 Galaxy 1.9TDi with AC problems - my AC man suspects that as he cannot find a significant leak but it keeps losing gas in the space of 4-6 days that the evaporator is leaking. He has given me two options - replace the evaporator which is a big job involving removing the dash board or use a "rad weld" system espaecially for AC units - has anyone any thoughts on teh options, any success with stopping leaks in AC systems, has anyone had an evaporator fail?
Carl
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Interesting that there are two replies to a seven year-old post, I should think the OP has either fixed the problem or got rid of the car by now.
The yellow glowplug preheater light of our Renault Scenic 1.9DCi keeps coming on while the car is being driven. Additionally, my wife has noticed that the car has less power than normal.
Are these two matter srelated and what could it be.
The yellow preheater light has two symbols but I do not have an owenrs manual for the car to find out what they both mean.
Any help wopuld be appreciated. Thankyou. Read more
Thankyou for the posts.
I'm looking to sell the car within the next few weeks and so spending any money on it will be a real pain.
I guess I have no choice but to bite the bullet and take it to my local Renault dealer.
You never know, I might be lucky and it turns out to be something simple and cheap.
Okay, due to a few car related problems etc money is a bit tight for the next couple of months. So guess what? the washing machine decides to blow up and would cost more than £100 for the parts to fix it. So as a stopgap I have been looking at second hand ones in the paper and have found that they can be had for not too much.
Now the real question, would it be okay to cary them in a car? Will it destroy the rear suspension? It would be either a 91 Renault 19 or a 98 Escort estate. Read more
Going to look into freecycle. Thanks for the tip.
BTW I've already looked into fixing the old one, and replaced bushes etc, and after a bit of investigation found out that most of the circuits are wrecked, and the motor itself needs replacing. So fixing it is not an option.
I am considering buying an old shape volvo V70 with a TDi engine - I understand it is an Audi 5 cylinder design.
Can anyone give me their experiences with these cars, both good and bad ?
I have noticed that most of these cars for sale have very high mileages ~100K+
Do these cars still have plenty of life left in them, or will they become complete money-pits.....?
A lot of them also seem to be automatics - I quite like driving an auto, but have only had japanese ones so far (with no problems)- What is the reliability of the V70 auto-box like, especially at these sort of mileages. Is it a "good" box to drive (I know some autos are not great)
I have read HJs backroom article and note the cambelt/water pump change, but are there any other issues on these vehicles that needs to be considered when buying.
Lastly what are they like to maintain ?? I have a good mechanic who comes to my house with his equipment packed in avan, and has had no problems maintaing my older japanese cars over the years, but will this V70 TDi be something he can service ? For diesel specific problems I imagine one could take the vehicle to an independent diesel specialist (Do these exist I am in SW London/Surrey) and he could do the servicing/nuts & bolts jobs.
Thanks for any pearls of wisdom about these cars
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I have a W124 E300 diesel automatic. Not the quickest away from the lights but more than capable once running, and if booted nips along nicely and will cruise all day and very quietly at 80. Of course it is not a car that you would drive whilst wearing a reversed baseball cap, and sedate progress becomes a lifestyle choice with these especially with leather and auto. Sitting on the M40 yesterday for 20 minutes waiting to exit at junction 4 I found I was doing the same speed as everybody else :-) .The 24 valve engine (with the louvres in the offside wing) gives much better performance than the earlier model, you will find these in the later models from about 1993 onwards. My view is that you would not buy one of these due to lack of performance. With regard to mpg I get 36 mpg around town and about 40 on a run. Yes it is an old tech diesel engine. That's why they have a dirty great chain driving the camshaft that doesnt need replacing every 40-60k miles at a cost of £500, it doenst have common rail technology either, see what Aprilia has to say about that. It could help to explain why these engines are regarded as one of the most long lived and reliable diesels. Being old fashioned and low technology they were built by engineers and not accountants and are immensely solid. I have done 20k in mine now and apart from regular servicing I had to have a fuel valve fitted where the filter is attached which cost me all of £30. Of course they are not without problems as any 10+year old car will be and history and condition are as important as ever. They also suffer electrical problems with things like sunroof and windows being problematic and the rear suspension can get troublesome. After my strong recommendation my brother bought a 93 manual model for regular towing work, it has the clunky 12 valve engine. He got it off EBay with 170,000 miles on the clock, just nicely run in then, and paid all of £900 for it. He gets 40mpg+ and cannot speak highly enough of it. If you can find a nice one, and thats the problem now, then it is likely to be a very astute buy.
Cheers, MGs
Hi,
My cars manualgives the tyre pressures in bar but my tyre compressor does psi. How do i work out what 2.2 and 2.0 bar is in psi? Read more
I once saw a man blow his tyre up on his motorbike at a garage to destruction and it did a good job of buckling his wheel and cleaning the cobwebs out of my ears.................
i used to like blowing old inner tubes up to destruction in bored moments..........
at the end of the day you cant beat an old fashioned psi stick type measurer i have about 3 at work and they are all consistent with real pressures...........
regarding baby my first instinct is to help but guage mummies reaction as well.............
regarding woman with tyre in garage yes i would go and help...............
thats just me though and i usually regret many decisions later especially when sat in cell with no shoe laces ;-)
Here is an e-mail I received from Vauxhall today re the complaints about my car, they have confirmed that clutch judder is a 'characteristic' of the Astra. I really can't believe it, the whole car shakes for pity's sake if that's a characteristic then I'm going to be selling the car real soon!
Dear Mr Tink
Thank you for your further email.
I was very sorry to learn that you are experiencing difficulties with your
new vehicle and that the garage were unable to resolve these on your
vehicle's recent visit to their dealership.
However, I have spoken with Mr deleted, the Service Manager at
deleted, who explained what action had been taken regarding each of your
issues with the vehicle.
1. Fit new offside repeater.
This has been completed.
2. Dent/Crease in offside rear passenger door, investigate and repair.
3. Bonnet peppered many stone chips, please touch up.
Mr deleted advised that you had been speaking with their Sales
Manager, who is arranging for these to be rectified.
4. Car doesn?t always start straight away. Ignition lights come on but
no starter activity. When this happens takes 5 attempts to start.
They have been unable to replicate this fault, however, from the
symptoms you have described they feel the replacement of the CIM and
keys will resolve this concern. These parts are currently on order.
5. Serious judder from clutch/flywheel from cold. This happens when
pulling away until engine is warm. Whole car shakes. Seems to happen
when it has been cool & damp overnight Identical problem
experienced with previous Astra. Dangerous for me as have to pull out
straight from drive directly onto main road and never know when it will
happen.
Mr deleted has explained that clutch judder is a characteristic of the
model when starting the vehicle from cold. It is for this reason,
regrettably, no modification or repair can be recommended.
6. Not easy to engage clutch smoothly when changing gear seems to grab,
especially when air con is switched on. Difficult to drive smoothly in
stop-start driving ie in traffic.
No fault has been found in this area. However, Mr deleted has
explained that no vehicle will run as smoothly with the
air-conditioning on, as more load is put on the engine and it has to work
harder.
7. Air con smelly after switching off.
When your vehicle is returned for the replacement of the CIM and
keys, deleted will carry out an air-conditioning flush to
alleviate this.
8. Rattle from glovebox lid.
I understand that this has been addressed.
I have asked that Mr deleted contacts me again when your vehicle is with
them for the remainder of the work to be completed, and I will continue to
follow this matter until I receive confirmation that this has been
resolved.
It is regrettable that you have been unfortunate enough to experience these
concerns, and if you remain dissatisfied with the quality of the vehicle /
Network Q checks carried out by the dealership prior to sale, I would
respectfully suggest you contact the Sales Manager at deleted in order to
discuss this further.
Please be assured of my continued interest in this matter.
Kind Regards
deleted
deleted
Vauxhall Motors Limited
Griffin House, Osborne Road, Luton, LU1 3YT.
( 44 (0) deleted
Fax 44 (0) deleted
* deleted@vauxhall.co.uk
To
deleted@vauxhall.co.uk
01/07/2006 01:10 cc
Subject
Service Request No: 1-491934799
Dear deleted
Re: Vauxhall Astra, Reg No DU55***
Thank you for your letter dated 22 June 2006.
I thought I would write to you following my visit to deleted on 28 June to
let you know from my perspective what happened.
I left the car with deleted on the evening of the 27 June so they would be
able to test the car from cold on the 28th. Whilst I was there I spoke to
deleted who sold me the car and told him about the problems I had been
experiencing. He sympathized and said he was sorry he wouldn't be there on
the 28th as it was his day off. I arrannged with the service desk to give
me a call on the 28th when the car was ready to be collected.
On the 28th I waited until late afternoon for the call but it never came so
I called them back and they told me the car was ready to pick up but it
would have to go back as they had to order some parts. When I arrived at
the garage I spoke to one of the assistants on the service desk and was told
they'd ordered a new CIM unit (had this replaced twice in the last car) and
two new keys to try to cure the intermittent starting problem. When I
asked if they'd looked at any of the other problems on the list I'd given
them (copy attached) I was met with a blank face and a 'Sorry I don't
know'. They did say their 'dent guy' hadn't turned up and neither had
their 'paint guy'. I don't think the car should've passed a 'stringent'
Network Q check with a dent and many chips and scratches to the paintwork
but that's another story! None to pleased I booked the car in again
provisionally for the 11/12 July to get the problems looked at again.
Yesterday (30 June) I called deleted and told him of my frustration at
what had happened and asked if he'd found out anymore than I had about the
findings when my car was in. His reply was really quite surprising. He
said he had spoken to deleted, the technician who worked on my car and he told
him that the clutch/flywheel judder is a 'characteristic' of the Astra H
and 'they all do it'. I the told him that I experienced it again that
morning and also about the car being really difficult to use the
accelerator and engage the clutch smoothly when the air con is on. The
whole driving experience is really jerky and I feel like I'm a learner
driver again! Deleted agreed that I shouldn't notice any difference when the
air con is switched on. He then suggested that when I take my car in on
the 11th that he will drive my car to see if he experiences this problem.
I said I would like to try another Astra 1.8 to see if that drove the same
way but that request was conveniently ignored! So this is where we're at
now.
I really do find all the waiting around quite disgusting when in the
meantime I have to drive around in a car that isn't up to a satisfactory
standard let alone the Network Q standard. The car was delivered to me
with a dent in the rear passenger door, many paint chips on the bonnet that
hadn't been touched up, a starting problem, the clutch/flywheel problem and
the jerky controls when using air con. I wish now I hadn't accepted the
car or could ask for my money back. I've owned the car two months now and
can honestly say I've not enjoyed driving it once. Ironically before I
bought this car I told the Sales Manager at deleted of all the problems I
experienced with my previous Astra and he said 'Well Vauxhall should've
replaced it with another one'. I expect now this car has just as many
problems and the ball is in his court he'll be singing a different tune!
Hopefully the information I've given you will allow you to reply more
subjectively than with just deleted opinion alone.
I thought you may find the following web links quite interesting, forum
posts by Astra drivers who are experiencing the same judder problem as me:
www.m1gst.com/vb/showthread.php?t=69624
www.vauxhallownersnetwork.co.uk/showthread.php?t=8...r
www.astra-sri.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=10590
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=38296&...f
I am desperate to have my faith in Vauxhall restored but while this saga
continues I can't see that happening. I went through so much hassle with
the last car to go through it all again with another is quite frankly soul
destroying!
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely
Matthew Tink
{Various parts of this thread have been amended/edited to satisy the no naming / shaming policy this site operates - DD} Read more
I have just booked it in for 2yr service and asked if they can check the clutch.
There has been a replacement clutch issued, and if I'm not mistaken should a customer complain of the clutch juddering when cold, Vauxhall will look into it and replace if found to be faulty. Take a look at the latter end of the following thread.
www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=38296
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In the interests of a Happy New Year, I thought I should let you know what the results were to a few technical questions I've asked on here. If anyone's interested, that is.
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This one's now fixed.
V