May 2007
Afternoon all
I've got a 1995 1.6 Golf with an AEE engine. It had to have some work done recently which involved disconnecting the ECU (don't know if this is relevant, but . . . ). Since then it's had an intermittent (but consistently intermittent!) dead spot on the accelerator. The dead spot is about in the middle of the pedal's travel, and corresponds to between about 65mph and ~100mph in 5th. This makes motorway driving very annoying :)
To go into a bit more detail:
- When I start the car, it's fine, but the idle's very high (2k - 2.5k rpm)
- After a few minutes driving (varies), the dead spot kicks in. This happens every time.
- If I'm in neutral for more than 30 seconds or so, the dead spot goes (but will come back in a couple of minutes)
- If I hold the accelerator in the dead spot position and depress the clutch, I can see the revs spike from ~1000rpm to ~1000rpm every second or so. Very odd!
Has anyone got any idea what could be going on here? There car's driveable, if very annoying, but it can't be doing the engine much good for it to be kicking in at full torque every now and again!
Cheers
Phil Read more
Moving house the other day and hired a van. Forgot to swap the permit for my space to the van and got a penalty charge of £75.
Does anyone have any suggestions how to avoid paying all or some of this, or should I just grin and bear it?
Thanks Read more
Private land? It's probably an invoice then, Pepipoo.
You are not the registered keeper, therefore you can ignore the invoice should you wish to do so. But check the terms of the hire agreement, you might find that the rental company will debit your credit card if they subsequently receive an invoice from the parking organisation, although any contract that may exist is between the driver and the parking organisation, not the rental company and the parking organisation.
You might decide to contact the parking organisation to discuss the issue, the downside is that you will then probably admit to parking without the permit during the conversation.
A devious person would do nothing at the moment and then if things get sticky he would tell the parking organisation that he had displayed a permit, assuming it's available for use for any vehicle. But that would be a fib, so don't do it.
It's probably been asked before, but how can I stop my front windows screeching against their seals when going down? The motors seem to be having a real hard time moving them in either direction. I've tried silicone spray but to no avail...
Thanks in anticipation. Read more
If it's the rubbers screeching when they are dry try giving them a light coat of talcum powder. Alot less messy than oil and doesn't attack the rubber like some oils will. It also stops door rubbers sticking in cold weather.
On a similar note:
The driver's window motor on my Z28 is playing up at the moment. It's a well known problem where the built-in overcurrent sensor becomes more and more sensitive. It gets to the point where the window will raise a couple of inches then need a minute or two to rest before it will move another couple of inches.
A few weeks ago I called GM Europe to order a replacement motor. I was told that they are only supplied complete with the regulator arms and the cost is approx £400 per door. GM USA supply the motors on their own so last week I ordered two for $39 each plus $60 air freight. Total cost £70 plus any import duty I end up paying.
The recent Rip-Off Britain report was damn right. If you don't look around you can get taken for a ride.
Kevin...
We have had a 1996 1.3 Micra CVT from new. It has recently started 'whining', getting louder with engine speed and acceleration, becoming unbearable at 60-70, reducing when speed reduces. Is this likely to be the end of the CVT? Would be grateful for any ideas.
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I am interested in the life of these systems. What milage are you on?
Might be worth a gearbox oil change. Fairly cheap and it might give you another year??
Last year I drove to France and obtained a Green Card from Direct Line, as I was told that without it my comprehensive cover was reduced to third party cover on the continent.
I've since been told by a friend that the sole purpose of a green card was to prove to the authorities that you have at least third party cover. Direct Line still insist that the comprehensive cover drops off in Europe without the card (for which they charge over £20!).
This is potentially worrying, as I'm sure many people will purchase Euro breakdown insurance but assume that their UK level of insurance cover remains just that. Apparently not so; you may get the car repatriated, but if the accident is down to you the prospect of a very substantial bill looms...
I take it this may be common for all motor insurance, so hopefully not falling foul of naming and shaming as Direct Line have been excellent.
Any views or experiences?
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Just checked the wording of the DL policy which does indeed state that the the policy 'provides the minimum cover you need by law to use your car in the EU'.
Doesn't exactly spell out the pitfalls, does it?
It goes on to say that 'in return for any extra premium we will extend your policy and give you the same level of cover as you have(in the uk)'...
I reckon this should be given far more prominence.
Pays to read the small print, then! I had a similar hoo haa with another insurer who quietly changed the wording of their policy, effectively rendering unalarmed houses uncoverable. Not nice if like many people I paid for years by direct debit on a policy that didn't have this exclusion originally!
Has anyone else picked up on what HJ reported yesterday ?
In the auction report, the following was reported:
'Please note that to help prevent cars disappearing Auctions are now obliged to submit buyers details to the DVLA and the charge for this is £23.50'.
So on top of the buyers premium there presumably is another £23.50 charge. Ten years ago, a private buyer had to pay less than £100 indemnity for a £2000 car. Now, with the extra charges, it will be over £200.
All they have to do is compile a list of buyers names and addresses of each vehicle from ID shown by the buyer (eg licence/utility bill/council tax bill etc) and send an A4 envelope in the post with the list and a back up email. How can it cost £23.50 for each record ?
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Manheim will normally supply the buyer with the complete V5 either way.
Has anyone had an experience like this? I took my 3-years-old Citroen Berlingo Multispace HDi in for its first MOT at a garage here in Easter Ross the other day. At the conclusion, the workshop foreman came over and said, "The vehicle's absolutely fine except it's a little smokey and needs a good clear-out to get through the emissions test. We can put an additive in and take it for a test run, it'll take about 15 minutes." I happened to be pushed for time and didn't ask to see the test sheet there and then.
Instead of a £40+ bill I was given one for £70+ which included a quarter of an hour's time for the mechanic plus £10 for the additive.
I don't want to believe the worst about the garage but since I'd driven the vehicle at 4000 rpm in second for around three minutes on the way in specifically to blow out any carbon and dirt, and I always use Miller's diesel additive, I am suspicious.
Has anyone else, especially up in this part of the world, been told the same thing and paid out a lot more for their MOT than they expected? Or is this quite a common occurrence and therefore above suspicion? I'd like to think the latter is true.
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In my experience no additives are needed at all, It just needs to be really hot and driven in 3rd or second at the limiter prior to the test. I usually do it on dual carriage ways/motorway around here.
I do a sort of loop up and down the motorway sliproads holding it for a minute or so against the limiter and after 20 or so sessions over half an hour it really is a clean exhaust when held against the limiter, Its surprising how it cleans up.
The other thing is the exhaust already needs to be really hot prior to this as its soot burning out of the exhaust thats causing the problem.
IMHO garages love to sell cleaner to put in the tank and I think some of them actually really believe its needed.
But its full throttle against the limiter and the consequent tongue of flame and heat, down an already maximum heat saturated exhaust, that cleans it up.
Regards
My volvo V70 clutch/slave cylinder has just died, and my independent garage, whom I trust,has quoted me up to £700 for repair.- this sounds a huge amount - is it right? Read more
Assuming the clutch assembly is replaced whilst it's all apart (£260-£300 IIRC), then yes, £700 is about right for this job. Main dealer price is nearer a grand.
Hi.
HELP PLEASE !
Am Half way through changing the steering wheel on my '97 Citroen ZX 1.9TD. Safely disconnected battery and removed airbag unit without mishap. Removed hub nut as directed by Haynes, but no amount of persuasion seems to remove the old steering wheel. It seems stuck fast, even after liberal amount of penetrating spray to help free it off.
Is there some other form of fixing I'm missing here?
Any Help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks.
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Will try that Richard. Didn't think there was another fixing but was shaking whole car and wheel was still stuck fast.
Thanks for the tip on the nut - Makes a lot of sense
I'm surprised that no-one has picked up on this, from HJ's column on Saturday:
petitions.pm.gov.uk/Nohumps
The whole list of transport petitions is here:
petitions.pm.gov.uk/list/open?cat=521
Every time I find these things I e-mail them to a list of "motoring friends" and encourage them to get involved. Read more
So, with no participation the govt can say "We opened up this channel to give people a chance to express their views. Unlike the road-pricing issue, people obviously don't care about speed humps. We shall do nothing."
Are speed humps a problem? You bet: increased pollution; increased noise; inexorable increase in wear & tear -- i.e. damage -- on tyres, suspension systems, steering geometry.
www.abd.org.uk/speed_humps.htm
It really does sound like you have a big air leak poss around the throttle housing or servo hose split. Find a good independent VW specialist & they should go straight to it
Regards