November 2007
Having read the previous thread on 'night before' de icers, and the various methods to de ice the car widscreen in the morning why is the quick clear windscreen as fitted to Ford vehicles not available on other makes of car?
They appear on Fords, Jaguar and I presume other marques that have been or are still in Ford ownership. The quick clear windscreen is a very good safety feature, is convenient and seems a nonsense that it's not standard fitment to all cars. Other safety features that have been developed such as seat belts, ABS, Air Bags, laminated glass, traction control etc etc appear almost universally as long as your car spec includes it.
The system has been around for 10(?) years or so. I suspect that Ford have patented the system or have protected their design and manufacture rights, if so how long would this last and can other manufacturers get their hands on this safety feature?
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Got a vectra 98 auto 2 litre petrol - any help much appreciated.
So far garages can't help, have charged me but no joy.
Problem is at idle, car idles when engine warm with jolts. These jolts are also evident as slowing down stopping. Once stopped for more than a few secs jolts and perhaps nearly cutting out is evident. Had this 2 months now.
What I've done:
cleaned throttle body, breathers into throttle body, front pipe breathers, camshaft cover ducts/breathers, checked for vac hose splits from air intake etc, cleaned idle control valve and even bought a new one too, checked egr valve and even blanked it to see if iany difference (now unblanked), new air filter, new fuel filter, new oil and oil filter.
Diagnostics said cam sensor gone (which it was, revving was limited to 4500 rpm) - new cam sensor fitted. Still no difference.
All I can note is that during the rough idle the idle valve voltage keeps going up and down between 9 v and 13 v continually cycling and the engine changes with this cycling. Should the idle valve have a fluctuating voltage? If not, does this mean bad earth or bad alternator or what?
Am just an amateur, any help appreciated. So far just spending money and getting nowhere as well as doing a lot myself DIY on it but no better at all.
Petrol consumption also seems quite a bit worse on short urban journeys but fine for motorways.
SLT to show engine and year... Read more
Hi my friend i had the same problems my self wer my car would not rev over 4500 revs we put the car on a diagnostic machine and it came up saying it is a cam shaft sensor that had gone he replaced that and the car revs lovely now
i have also got the same problem when idling as the car sometimes cuts out when stopping or it revs up to about 1500 revs so the car went back on the diagnostic machine again and it came up with the answer and that was that the E G R Valve was faulty he mechanic said you can clean these but it does not always work he said you are better off just buying a new one i hope this has been usefull to you
I have an 04 plate Corsa sxi CDTi with an Easytronics gearbox which keeps playing up. I can unlock the car, try to start the engine, get an F in the gear indicator display. no start. Turning the key does nothing. I can leave it for a few minutes, turn it on again and the display shows N and the car will start. If I drive off it is likely to suddendly stop and the F indicator returns. Once again I can retry and the engine starts, we move off and can go for a few miles. An indicator on the dash, showing a small car and spanner appears and is described as "the car needs to go to the nearest dealer/mechanic to diagnose a fault that has occured".
The car has been into my local Vauxhall dealer and they initially said there was no fault, despite the fact that I gave them a diagnostics printout from my local garage clearly showing there is a fault. I asked if they would do a software update which might solve the problem as well as a couple of recall mods. I go to collect the car and it stops again 100meters up the road. They recover it and tell me it needs a new engine ECU at £600 plus and after fitting that they may be able to find the other fault. Having lost faith I have removed the car to my local garage where it now sits whilst they do some further tests. We keep getting a message saying that the CAN BUS cannot detect the gearbox control unit.
Does anybody out there know anything about this setup as it appears to be fairly uncommon. Where I have found other owners some of the problems I have they have found too and similarly most garages, inc. main dealers have little or no experience of this transmission.
I am also considering converting the box to a manual change or replacing the whole unit with a manual setup. It seems that the main differences between this box and a normal manual box are the automatic clutch and gearchange module and a slight difference in the actuation of the hydraulic clutch.
Any help with ideas or contacts who might have some knowledge and advice would be very much appreciated. Many thanks
slt
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Is this worth going for..Im being quoted 24 pounds a month?
I guess you should explain your situation to them and ask them to confirm in writing that they would cover the box and all its components. You're buying peace of mind so no point in buying the cover and then worrying about it.
These boxes afre becoming increasingly common so they must be coming across them now (which may well be why they would want to avoid covering them!).
Bit of an emergency, my oil light came on this morning (5.30) as I was on my way to train station. bit surprised as I check my oil once a month and last time didnt notice anything untoward, also only had a service two months ago. The car is a 53 MK4 Golf 130 TDI PD, I need to get some oil on the way home, can anyone tell me what the spec is please? I know that these engines can use oil sometimes, and I will deal with that issue after, unless its just a fluke and need to check more regularly, but I need to get home from the station tonight (50 mile journey)
Thanks in advance. Read more
When you go to Halfords look for Castrol Edge 5W/30, on the can it will say it is for VW and Audi cars. I will also have the most important bit, 504/507 spec. As has been said by others, it is very important to use the correct spec oil.
4 Litres costs about £40-£45, 1 litre is about £12.50. This is quite expensive, but the engine only takes 4 litres and let's face it, it is a lovely powerful economic piece of kit!
Seen a couple of Touareg's on the continent, with R5 TDI badging.
Heard of a V5, but what on earth is an R5?! Do VW do a 5-cylinder diesel? Read more
There may be a V5 diesel in VW somewhere but the R5 is an inline 5-cylinder engine.
I live in a relatively built-up part of London, (not in the suburbs) and every Saturday or Sunday I'm out in the street at 7:30am washing my car by hand on my hands & knees etc, with my chammi, sponge, alloy brush etc. Appart from the odd bus passing by while I'm doing the offside alloys it's problem free.
It takes me 20-25 mins to get my car looking like new, with no swirl marks or missed bits.
People walk past me looking at me as though I'm completely mad. Children ask their parents 'what that man is doing with the bucket', sometimes they are unable to answer, and even the little dogs turn their noses up at me as they patter past. I go to the local supermarket at the weekend and see people waiting in a queue for easily 15 mins to have some spotty teen with a mop rub dirt & grime into their cars for £9 a time. Ridiculous. I'm actually considdering offering my services to my neighbours as a 'I'll wash your car while you sleep' kind of opperation. If I could do £100 a weekend for 3 hours of exercise without leaving my street that would be a nice little suplimental earner!
The question is, is it really that crazy a thing to do these days to wash your own car in the street? Read more
Well, as I had today off work I thought I'd wash the Passat.Took me over an hour.
Used a nail brush to clean the green stuff off the window rubbers and got rid of the green stuff from the roof seams. Cleaned the gunge off the steel wheels.
Was it all worth it? No.
Was good exercise though.
Daughter has an 04 Corsa exclusiv (1.4 petrol) Standard car including Vauxhall alarm.
Yesterday she unlocked the car, got in and. . . the car was beeping for a few seconds then the alarm went off.
She tried several times and eventually it sorted itself out. She now tells me it did something similar about 18 months ago.
I did not witness events and she thinks it may be the sequence she does things in, she drives with the car locked and may occasionally lock the car before putting the key in the ignition.
Will try to replicate the fault this weekend. Any suggestions on what it may be ??? Read more
the alarm ecu will hold the details of the last ten times the ecu was triggered, there is no self test on this system and to be honest she would be better off (and the neighbours) getting it into the dealers for a tech 2 test, give them all the details, ie power sounder all ready changed, because the first thing that they will say is,you need a new powersounder !!!!!!!!
How does one test to see if a coil pack has gone
Thanks Read more
Will be taking car to Mazda specialist next week (ex Mazda mechanic), his labour charge is 1/2 what the Mazda dealer charges and usually all the iscv is just a clean.
I'm getting intermitant power steering faiure. when it happens, I can drive the car but with very heavy steering (ie it's the power assisance to the stearing which is failing) Stopping and re-starting the engine cures the problem, temporarily. I believe it's a 'normal' (ie, 'known') fault on this model (along with the Head Gasket and ventilator issues).
My dealings with he Fiat garage have been 'mixed', so before I go I wanted to ask on a civilised forum whether this a big job or an easy fix.
Views from those of you in the trade especially welcome and many many thanks in advance. Read more
GJ
Lots of small garages have, or at least have access to, the necessary kit; worth an ask.
My partner has a special birthday coming up and I want to get him a private plate for his car. I have have my own views on private plates, but he likes them and would like something that means something to him personally, and stops the car being dated, rather than one that spells a word, if that makes sense.
His car is a company car but is leased from the manufacturer, not through a leasing company.
If I buy him a plate as a surprise, he will be able to use it wont he? Or do you have to keep the number plate you are given when it's a company car? What happens at the end of the lease, as the plate will be his? Will the car revert back to it's previous reg? I know his boss wont have any objections.
Please tell me if it's not going to be possible. I don't want to spend money on something he can't use. Read more
If it's a lease car then the answer is probably no. They will have too many vehicles to sort this.
If the company owns the car then it's maybe possible.
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I have had quick clear screens for years including on my Jags and Fords and currently on my landrover, never been a problem at all. Are you sure the glass is clean on the inside and out ? I think quick clear screens are Fab. Did have a car with a webasto diesel heater and one with a Kenlow engine pre-heater fitted but QC's are best.