I've just come back from my christmas party in some adequate but dreary newish Mercedes something class or other I've no idea what.

It's the trip out that surprised me. My street has no lighting so I was met by strong headlamps that obscured my vision of the car but I climbed in the back of an enormous saloon. It was luxuriously appointed in cream leather with brown piping and the legroom in the back was enormous despite the driver adopting an arm-stretched laid back position. What impressed was every surface inch was adorned in great-smelling leather and the rear seat-belt buckles recessed neatly in their own little alcove rather than flapping around aimlessly like they do in my 406 V6. The dash was all leather as were the doors, trimmed with wood. I could tell it wasn't a recent model with its 90s angular styling but couldn't for the life of me see a logo anywhere that revealed its heritage. Despite seeming to be older than my car, it was screwed together like a Merc, not a rattle or roll after a decade of Polish roads, it was auto and had a wonderful gearshift, a cracking pace and was just a pleasure to be a passenger in. Frustratingly, I could see a steering wheel logo but it was so subtly embossed I couldn't make it out. I was starting to think Alfa Romeo 164 or at least something I'd never had the pleasure of riding in before. Whatever, I thought I wouldn't mind a piece of this to replace the old Peugeot.

After some 25 minutes I arrived at the club, paid the chap and headed rear to satisfy my curiosity. Can you tell what it is yet?








It was a Rover 825. Make of that what you will.

Best part of the evening by far. I resisted the urge to urinate on the new art director from the first floor mezzanine level but couldn't get this wonderful motor out of my mind.

Those of you who recognize my tastes will know that motoring for me is all about wafting in luxury and this car satisfied it by the bucketload. Would I have one? Probably not. A Rover? Are you joking? Read more

Last Thursday, I refulled from below a quarter to a full tank but there was no change to the available miles shown on the computer readout despite the analogue fuel guage showing the tank to be full. Later in the week, the low fuel warning light came on when the computer considered the remaining range was 50 miles (the gauge was still showing the tank to be full!) and I wondered if the ECU would stop the engine when the computer thought the fuel was about to run out. When I started the car the next day, the low fuel light was still on and computer showing only about 25 miles - 10 miles later, I noticed that the light gone and the available range was 720 miles.

I assume the most likely cause of the faulty reading is a poor electrical connection or the level reader in the tank rather than the computer. The car is coming towards the end of the 3 year warranty period but obviously is not faulty just now. Is this likely to be a simple fix if I choose to ignore it and hope it was a one-off incident that may not recur?

Any comments would be appreciated. Read more

I have just driven a friends 607 because he was complaining of a engine knock starting at about 3000 rpm, before that speed all is quiet. I would gess that its a fuel injection problem but not being familier with common rail engines I cant be sure. I have heard most noises from years of IDI engines but this doesn't sound like anything I have heard before. It sounds like a mechanical noise at half engine speed, so I assume it is only affecting one cylinder, but it is only there when the throttle is open wide, when you back off it all goes quiet again. Can anyone help? Thanks

Peter.N. Read more

Dear John,

I own an 'N' reg Vauxhall Astra Diesel Estate 1.7 TD with an Isuzu engine (96,000 miles)

The car has been a great runner but over the last few months it has had 3 problems which I've listed with the hope someone might point me in the right direction (Point 1 is the most frustrating as it has left me stranded on occasions!).

1. Engine cut out

Starts but after driving for about 50 yds it stalls and then proves to be very difficult to start again (often running the battery flat!). For some reason this seems to only happen if I park on a slope or slight gradient however it has occasionally done this after parking overnight on level groundl (Doesn't happen if the car is warm or within say 3 hours of parking).

2. Lazy alternator

When I start the car the battery light remains on till I rev over 2500 revs then it goes out until the next restart of the engine. The belts have recently been changed.

3. Airbag light

The Airbag warning comes on when I'm cruising at around 3000 revs when warmed up.



Any ideas? Is point 1 related to the fuel filter or pump? Are points 2 and 3 related?

I plan to change my 'Glow Plugs' tomorrow

Many thanks,

Jim

Read more

I recently paid a reputable (but not main dealer) garage to replace the Cam Belt on my 130BHP TDI Passat. As soon as I picked the car up it didn't feel quite right. It wasn't running as well as when I took it in for the service. Just a bit of hesitation when pulling away at low revs, and sometimes a slight misfire (as if it were a cold petrol engine). Also fuel consumption appears to be worse.

I have taken the car back to the garage for a check. They say that they ran the diagnostics and there was no problem. They did mention a slight oil weep from the Turbo, but nothing serious. They suggested I leave it to see if things get worse.

I suspect that the cam belt timing may have been set incorrectly. Are these the symptoms you would expect? Would a cam belt-timing fault show up on the diagnostics? Is there any easy way to check out the timing without stripping the whole thing down? Am I just being picky?

Any suggestions?

Thanks

{No mention of age of car, so picked up info from pull down make/model selection you made - DD} Read more