August 2006
THIS IS NOT CRITICISING VW BEFORE YOU TELL ME I'M OFF AGAIN.
I read today that VW are to introduce an extension to their brand by introducing the i models.
These are initially aimed at the Phaeton & Toerag but will also cascade down to Passatt and Golfs etc.
The i brand will be alomg similar lines to MB AMG and BMW M badges but will not necessarily focus on POWER - the R badges do that.
The chrome i badges on the cars will signify more luxury and kit I think.
But it will be marketed as being more exclusive than the standard VW badged cars. Read more
I'm hoping someone out there will groan 'not one of those again' after reading the title of this thread.
Took our 99V Passat 110 TDI on hols last week and noticed it struggling up gradients. Initially put it down to a car full of kids and cases (i.e., more weight) but the longer it went on the more convinced I was it had simply lost its mid-range muscle somehow.
Took it into spannerman today and he said the air mass flow meter (??) had failed, it was a common problme with Passat TDIs, and it'd cost £230 all in to fix.
Does tjat sound like the cause, what difference does failure normally make, what improvement can I look forward to when fixed?
As if that's not enough both front CV joitns need replacing cos the boots split...yippee Read more
Impeccable deduction, as ever, DD.
I'm trying to keep quiet about, though, just in case the car twigs and throws a horseshoe...
Just bought an S Reg Audi A3, and Warranty Direct have quoted £255 for a years cover. Has anyone used this firm, are they any good, and are their quotes reasonable?
Thanks,
crjos Read more
Here in NZ I have purchased warranties from WD twice for two different cars. The price was reasonable and cover comprehensive. Never needed to make a claim with the first warranty BUT with the second a wheel bearing failed after I had only owned the car for about a month. My local garage dealt direct with WD and all I needed to pay was the excess. Very simple.
The only point to wary of is the service intervals dictated by the warranty - 6 months or 15,000km here. If these criteria are not met the warranty is void.
My car is a 1992 Volvo 240 SE manual 5-gear estate.
The clutch had been slipping for a few weeks so I decided to get it repaired before it failed completely. A week or two ago, I took the car into a garage and asked for the clutch to be replaced.
This was done, and I collected the car after a couple of days.
I paid 230 pounds cash: is this a reasonable / high / low amount?
I drove the car away and at first everything seemed fine: the clutch operation seemed perfect.
However, I quickly became aware that the gear stick position had changed; when I selected gears 1, 3 or 5 the gear stick was against the dashboard fascia (ie too far forward). This did not seem to make much difference to the car?s operation; it just seemed to foul access to the ashtray, etc.
I continued to drive the car normally, but went back to the garage a week later and explained the problem. The garage asked me to bring the car back on the following Monday; but made no suggestion that I should not drive the car and I mentioned that I was continuing to drive it.
However, the next day I was midway on an 80-mile journey in the car, I suddenly heard a sort ?whirring, clunky? noise from the gearbox. Suddenly, the only gear I was left with was 4th gear (and neutral). The other gear positions could be engaged by the gear stick but there was no drive to the wheels.
I continued on my journey and got back OK (using 4th gear only!) More inconveniently, there is no reverse either!
I drove the car into the garage on Monday morning and the staff spent some time examining the car from underneath. I was present at the examination, the technicians who had fitted the clutch mentioned that they had had problems connecting the new clutch up, they?d had problems ?poking the rod through? (or something like that). There was a suggestion that there was some kind of internal connection fork that hadn?t been engaged properly.
The garage have agreed to strip down the gear box free of charge and repair it. However, they have not admitted liability and have refused to loan me a courtesy car for the duration of the repair, which may take several days.
I am happy for them to repair the car; but I have tried to insist on a courtesy car that I need for business & other reasons.
Would anyone like to comment of this case? I am particularly interested in a technical explanation of what might have broken; also do I have a right to require a courtesy car?
I am on the point of initiating small claims legal action; but I want to check facts first.
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So it was the teeth inside the gearbox - then I would be inclined to disagree with the garage's view that this could not be caused by poor fitting technique - my first post above suggests a possible cause for this fault - One other obvious one is that they allowed the gearbox to hang off the first motion shaft, rather then properly supporting it with a transmission jack - thus bending the shaft, which would lead to very rapid tooth wear.
I would re-iterate that they shoud check the spigot, and make sure the 'box fits properly, rather than pulling it into place using the bell-housing bolts. If this were my car, I would be watching over this process (well, really, I would be doing the job myself, but you know what I mean!).
Number_Cruncher
I have seen various adverts on Ebay and other websites for interface and software kits that allow a PC to be connected to the OBD-II connector on most 1996 onwards cars and thereby create a seriously useful diagnostic tool.
Do you know what else this can be used for apart from diagnostics? I guess what I am getting at, is whether it is possible to code new PATS keys on my 2000 Mondeo and thereby kill two birds with one stone.
Anyone know if this is possible?
Cheers
DP
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Thanks for all the replies chaps.
My Mondeo is odd. It's a late mk2 1.8 TD which as we all know is an olde worlde mechanically injected lump. It has no engine management light on the dash (at least that works anyway), but according to the Ford specs it has the "EEC V" ECU, and what looks like an ODB socket on the underside of the dash in the driver's footwell.
I love tinkering with stuff like this (my inner nerd breaking out), but couldn't justify the cost unless I could get a practical benefit out of it. As I need a new PATS key and only have one existing one, I thought I might be able to use this to justify the cost instead of paying the Ford dealer over £100 to reprogramme the system.
Some useful info here though. Thanks again!
DP
My rear offside was 15 psi when I checked this morning. Can I tell the difference now? Nope...but I'd rather have the recommended 32 psi in there. :-O Read more
>>If that low would recommend checking tonight- could have slow puncture- happened to me couple of months back- and couldn't tell the difference either.
Wise,but my 218 suffered this on front wheel,pressure dropped over 2 days.Did so for almost a year,I did have new tyres fitted to front as well and every attempt to find the leak failed.
I resorted to removing offending wheel ie steel,and kept in an old tank half full of water..this resulted in finding a leak in the steel rim approx 1/2 inch away from the valve,as the steel was perfect as far as paint coating was concerned must have been a flaw in the metal causing it to leak.
I have since replaced the wheel and it has not happened since,took a long time to find it though and was getting annoyed at not finding it before..I will add it only happened when metal was cold
--
Steve
The indicators on the new Passat are not "easily visible enough".
The fronts seem too small, but the rears are really bad, especially in sunlight and if the brake lights are on.
There.
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How about the rear indictors on the new astra hatch? almost invisable in sunshine due to the fact that they are a milky white colour. Should they not be as visable as possable? they are conventional clear lenses on the estate, i wonder why?
406 coupes? Any good? In terms of everyday driving differnces in 2.0 compared to 3.0? Read more
I think they look gorgeous.
But very low and Peugeot electrics.
madf
Anyone shed any light on the compulsory A CLass Recall affecting 05 plate models? My car is in France for the next few months, although it will be back for servicing, and MB won't shed any light until it is inspected.
Thanks. Read more
Without the reference number it is difficult to say precisely what the issue is. However, I don't believe that there is a full 'Safety Recall' on the A-Class.
MB has 3 different types of recall/service measures:
i) Safety Recall - these are issued in conjunction with VOSA as the problem may be dangerous (i.e brakes, seatbelts etc).
ii) Service Measure (with customer contact) - a problem which is not dangerous but needs to be checked as early as convenient.
iii) Service Measure (without customer contact) - minor issues that can be checked when the car is brought in for a service.
MB has issued a Service Measure (with customer contact) recently on the A-Class to inspect the fuel house to ensure that it is not touching the air filter housing as this may cause a buzzing sound. Presumably this is the one the letter is referring to.
ive been watching a liquid tyre sealant on a shopping channel
basicly you put a small amount of the liquid into your tyre and then pump it up....this sloshes around the tyre and if you pick up a nail or whatever the liquid seals that hole
sounds like a good idea...i can imagine the tyre fitter would be angry when it comes to changing the tyre
anyone use it? Read more
Sorry UT but stopped on the hard shoulder is statisically the most dangerous place to be on a motorway or on a dual carriageway if it's got a hard shoulder.
True. But the most dangerous place to be on a motorway is still safer than most other roads. It's not nice having traffic pass by at 60+mph a few yards away from you, but neither is being perched on a set of extended ladders as you clear leaves out of the gutter. But we man up and get on with it!
Browse
i agree ;)