April 2007
So daughter's month old Colt is proving a little difficult to get into first from rest, and the 1st to 2nd gear change can be a struggle. It's just the same after a month and 1000 miles as when new.
I remember that the gearchange in the (brand-new, 4 miles) car we test drove wasn't quite as slick as our Jazz, but it was more 'clunky' than 'baulky'.
What do other Colt drivers / owners think of their gearchange?
Otherwise she's very happy with the car - I can really feel the quality difference between it and the Jazz, but then it did cost £4000 less, so something has to give.
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Please save me from this nightmare! I bought my Peugeot 106 about 4 months ago and the keypad immobiliser was not working. The previous owner did not know the code for the keypad anyway.
On Sunday I had a new stereo fitted at Halfords and whilst this was being done, the Halfords chap realised that one of the fuses was blown. He offered to replace it and when he inserted the new fuse, the immobiliser came on.
As I don't know the code, the previous owner dont know the code and Halfords washing their hands of any wrongdoing, the car is now at a Peugeot dealer in Stevenage.
Got off the phone with them this morning and they informed me that they are unable to reset the keypad! They have no idea what to do. The guy told me the last resort is to replace the entire ECU at a cost of £900!!! Surely this must have happened before and there must be a sollution?
Please help!!
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You are all missing the fact that the valet number ie default has been changed therefore the ecu is encoded with the number a previous owner has inputted.(therefore any record at dealer will be worthless)
A man with a multimeter will not crack this trust me, i spent a week a few years ago trying, when these cars were common as they could come cheap if the 1111 code wasnt available.
Bba may be able to unset it but the million dolla question is.....................................can they do it cheper than a breaker?..............i tink not
But am always reddy to be amazeled
I have in my wallet a cheque from the university for an expense claim (£108 worth of van diesel). Unfortunately, they've written the correct amount in words but put £180 in the number box. It takes ages to get a cheque issued from the university and the office is only open at stupid times. Can I correct the amount to the lower (correct) figure myself or does it actually have to be done by them? Read more
The service charges bit was sent to me in a fee
quotation. "Thank you for asking us to quote for selling your
freehold property. Our fees will be £1 750 + VAT. Please
advise what service charges are payable in respect of the property.'
Pfffft! Get an online quote via www.reallymoving.com or similar.
I have the opportunity to have a new one of these, (when they arrive in a few weeks time) with the brand new 2.5 twin-cam diesel engine with a really good discount.
This "fully loaded" model has all the toys as standard (including leather, secure top, sat-nav, 18" wheels, etc.)
Can anyone with experience of this vehicle (good and bad) give me some feedback please?
My other option is a 150CDi Merc. Vito with a second row of seats, but I won't be getting as good a discount on this, (unless Mercedes are desperate to sell at cost for some reason).
What would you do? Is the Vito likely to be a lot more economical, (based on driving them in the same manner)? Read more
I was wondering that after the 30K miles in the Nissan does he prefer it compared to his previous L200?
Just before Easter I bought a dinghy with a road trailer on ebay. My car did not have a tow bar, so I decided to fit one myself. Found a supplier on ebay at just a couple of pounds over £100 including relays and delivery. Checked the fitting manual online, seems simple enough and an estimated fitting time of 2 hours 10 minutes. Went ahead and purchased it, and was duly delivered. Checked the parts and everything seemed straight forward.
It is only when you start fitting it do you find 2 badly corroded bolts that have to be drilled out, the exhaust (even when dropped) always seems to be in the way, I kept dropping the nuts, I picked up the wrong tool, etc. Then you realise after 3 ½ hours you must be somewhere and have to dismantle everything to make the car driveable.
The following afternoon you think you can complete the job as the basic bits should fit quickly. So after another 4 hours I get the tow bar fitted and again I realise I should be out for my Mum's birthday meal. No time to start the electrics, but decide to skip the starter and order the main course by phone and arrive 25 minutes later as the rest are finishing their starters.
The following morning (Good Friday) I then had a 180 mile drive each way to collect the dinghy, so I planned to leave at 7am. But I still did not have the electrics fitted, so I left at 6.15 missing all the hold ups except where the A303 goes from dual carriageway to single lane by Stonehenge. Arriving a few miles from my destination I then start on the electrics, only to find that part of the fixing plates obstructs the removal of the interior plastic panels to pick up the electrics. Finally I wire in all the lights except right hand indicator as I did not have any spare cable for an extension (but the car indicator can still be seen over the dinghy). The only thing that went smoothly was testing the light board - everything worked first time (except the right indicator!).
The moral of this tale is that no manufacturer's claimed fitting time is to be believed - use a multiple of 3 or 4! Remember your hands will take a lot of knocks and become grime encrusted, plus a few face fulls of road dirt.
Would I do it again? Probably as I did learn a lot, as I had not fitted a tow bar before. Also I expect I could fit one in 6 hours now, not 9!
By the way the dinghy towed exceptionally well and I laughed at all those stuck in traffic jams using the route I had zoomed along a few hours earlier.
--
Roger
A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well.
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Hey, you got there in the end ;o) We've all done jobs that take longer than the should in theory, having to make do with tools that are'nt really fit for the purpose.
;o)
Hi all. I wonder if any one out there has tried fitting a temperature gauge to one of these. If so, how is it done, and how difficult is it. On my car, just bought (2003 1.3i with the duratec engine) is just a warning light telling you when it is to hot. I would rather know this info before that. Any help or advice please. Thanks all. Graham.
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I'm fairly certain you can get some of the ECU parameters up on the LCD display in the dash by pressing and holding down the trip button while turning the ignition on, and then keeping the button depressed for a few seconds more.
You'll know when it goes this mode as the dials both traverse full range of their scales and the lamps test too - don't panic.
Once there, the trip button cycles a number of parameters through the LCD display, one of which is an accurate digital speedo, last press gets you back to normal.
On a Focus one of the display options is coolant temperature, but I can't remember if that is one of the things that didn't make it to the KA.... The KA being a few parameters short of a Focus, so to speak.
I've just had my 2000 1.8 petrol Mondeo serviced and MOT'd and the only major issue that came up was that the clutch is 'on its last legs' (suspect failure may have something to do with members of the armed forces rescuing me from a snow covered mountain by somehow driving it uphill in 3rd gear in Feb!). I need some fast advice because the 1 year warranty that came with it runs out in 12 days, and in the booklet it says that clutch parts but not labour ARE covered. Now I've been quoted by Nationwide Autocentre £380 to put a new one in, what I need to know is how much of that is likely to be parts and how much is labour, as I suspect my own local mechanic can do it for less but wouldn't be able to go through the warranty company and hence no money back. If anyone with experience of the costs of this job can give me any pointers I would be very grateful! Read more
I'm a great believer in extracting as much value as I can from a workhorse car, but I've clearly got a lot to learn ;-)
Hi
My Audi A4 Avant has recently developed an odd habit. Overnight, the brake lights come on on their own and stay on until I depress the brake pedal. On one particular occasion, I know that the brake lights were NOT on at 2 in the morning, but at 6, they were.
I've had a look at the brake pedal but all seems OK.
What's that all about ?
Cheers !
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this has just helped me massively after all the years ago it was originally posted lol thank you
Hi
I have a ford galaxy 1.9TDI 2003 and the air con gas has run out, and I have noticed halfords are now selling the gas for air con to refill it yourself but I was wondering if someone can give me help in where I find the refill valve on this car.
Thanks for any help
Tony Read more
Hi,
I used to have a galaxy 1.9 TDi 130, i had the same problem, as did hundreds of other galazy owners, i would almost guarantee a leak, i refilled my system to no avail, car was still under warranty when the problem presented itself. sorry if this is a bit doom and gloom
Sorry if this has been dealt with before.
Can anyone tell me where the oil filter is located ?
I've changed filters on cars for years but this one has me stumped.
I can't see it looking down on to the engine, and I've removed the plastic undershield and looked up but still no joy.
Help much appreciated.
Thanks.
Edders. Read more
Bikerider - Many thanks again.
I'm off to a wedding today, so I won't tackle the job till tomorrow - probably with a thick head !!
Thanks again.
Edders.
Browse
Mitsubishi boxes are very difficult to get into first gear if the car is moving at all. I have yet to drive a Mitsubishi with a good synchro action. Its all down to the synchro design. The synchro's are small diameter and they use (IIRC) double-cone synchro's on first and second on most of their boxes. Another common fault on Mitsi gearboxes is progressive difficulty in getting reverse as the car ages, this is due to damage to the reverse synchro dogs (they use a reverse synchro, which is not that common). It will need quite a few miles on it before you experience that though.
In my experience gearshift can be improved by changing to a different gear oil. A syncho unit is effectively a small wet clutch, so gear oil frictional properties are critical and many modern lubricants are actually too 'slippery' to give good synchro action. I have a lot of experience with Mitsi gearboxes, in fact I have a Galant box in my workshop awaiting a reverse gear repair at the moment....