I've just been issued with a fixed fee penalty of £20 because my parking ticket was upside down. I want to contest this because the parking tickets are so flimsy that when i opened my door the wind must have flipped it over, and i didn't notice, as i'd put it in correctly.
i know its not much but they could see the ticket was there, and i've still got it as proof, and my car had been keyed in that area before, why couldn't they have been there to stop that.

i know it sounds petty but its the principle,

does anyone have any advice as i've never done this before, or got a ticket

many thanks
becs Read more

Hi, I recently bought one of these cars and am a bit miffed at the poor mpg it returns. I don`t drive it hard and do roughly 2 thirds town use (not rush hour tho) and 1 third A roads to work and back at steady 50-60 mph.

After owning the Ford TDCI 130 last year and averaging 40+ I was expecting roughly the same from the Pug. But I have been getting 340-350 miles to 10 gallons (well, £50 which is slightly more than 10 g). This has happened for 3 tanks.

I booked it in for a diagnostic check at JCT600 Pug dealer and they said to brim the car and do a mpg check that way which I have done. I then drove 129 miles, 75 of which were town miles with the remainder to/from work, and had to put 16.6 Litres in to brim her again which works out at 35.2mpg.

Now this is an average. I would expect that from just doing town use. When I initially filled it up and reset the fuel comp, which is tallying with what it is actually doing, the computer took 50 miles to get from 27mpg to just over 30mpg. This tells me that it is doing roughly 29-30 mpg in town with maybe 42 on a run giving an average of 35mpg.

either way I think from owning diesels and talking to other diesel car owners that there is either something wrong or the economy on these Pugs is pathetic.

Are there any things to go to the dealer armed with, any possible explanations? From what they said when I booked it in they think it is not that far removed from normal but the economy figures quoted everywhere are identical to the Mondeo`s, and most comparable cars in the class. Read more

Hi,

I'm after a little help / advice please.....

My Peugeot 206 1.4s is just 7 weeks out of the manufacturer's warranty and the ECU light is on. The car has little acceleration, seems constantly about to stall and the drive is badly affected. I've had the error independently diagnosed as code PO300 (multiple part misfire). The engine tuning guy told me to replace the ignition coil pack and spark plugs as this is a common fault with Peugeot 206s. If that didn't work, worryingly the problem is likely to have spiked and ruined the actual ECU, a much more costly affair. I've had the ignition coil pack and spark plugs changed. This fixed it for a couple of miles driving and then the issue is right back.

Peugeot confirm that they won't offer assistance outside of the warranty, claiming as they weren't the dealer they won't offer goodwill. I bought it brand new from a popular discount car website.

I need the car fixing asap. Should I take the car to my Peugeot dealership, pay the £80 diagnosis fee and ask that no work is undertaken without my prior consent? If the issue is down to wear and tear, I'll happily pay to fix the problem however if this is a faulty part then can I approach the company that sold it me 3 years ago and ask for them to fix it? The Sale of Goods Act covers me for up to 6 years with any inherent fault. For example, I'd expect a car's coil pack and ECU to last beyond 36 months. Tyres, brake pads, wipers etc I would expect to replace but not these things.

Also, if the company refuses to help, can I pay to fix it yet still begin a legal dispute to get that money back? Or must I not have the car fixed until there is an agreement?

Any advice will be very appreciated, I have no idea what to do here.......

Chris Read more

Hi,
Recently my car has started to judder, quite violently but briefly at speed, the Engine Managment light comes on, it then drives fine (slightly more sluggish ??) for a couple - few minutes and the the light goes off and all is well again. It will then happen again at any speed, but not at all (maybe just once...) when stationary and idling.
Took it for diagnostics and it reported P0110 - Intake air temp high voltage and P0100 - Mass air flow sensore low voltage.
Replaced the MAF unit (£250....) , but it stayed the same and reported the same faults. Took back and a 2nd MAF was fitted (FOC) in case a faulty one had been supplied, but still the same and reporting the same faults.....
I have considered cleaning the throttle body and all associated breathers etc, but I thought that this was more associated with stalling / cutting out at low revs.... (have previously, 2 years ago, experienced this and solved it by a good clean out.)
Has any one experienced this and got any ideas ?
Thank you in advance,
frustrated.......
yellow_stag
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This posting relates to an ongoing piston-slap issue on a Mazda-3 Katano (1,600cc petrol), which we bought new from {deleted - no naming/shaiming please} at the end of October 2006. While I am sure there are many satisfied Mazda-3 owners, I?m looking for specific feed-back from any owners who have (or have had) similar problems/noise with their Mazda-3.

Within a week of delivery, the car developed a loud, metallic knock when started from cold, which I thought was akin to big or small-end knock. I requested that the car be changed or my money refunded. However, the garage Technicians tested and persistently denied any problem, stating that the noise was 'normal' for a Mazda-3. I am aware that the 1,600cc engine used across the range can rattle, but the hammer on our car is entirely different and is a distinct knock, especially when pulling away cold (i.e. engine loaded).

After much protesting and at my insistence, a Mazda UK specialist was sent to assess the noise while at the garage's premises. The specialist diagnosed the problem immediately as that of piston-slap, saying that he had heard that noise before on the Mazda-3, advising that a new short-engine would be fitted at Mazda?s own cost.

Some weeks later, the new short-engine was fitted by the garage, just a week before we were due to drive from the UK to the Czech Republic (CZ). I should explain that although native British and still UK residents, we semi-retired to CZ and are renovating a dilapidated farm-house on an intermittent basis.

Shortly after arriving in CZ, the power-steering hoses severed and all power-steering was suddenly lost. We survived, but it could well have been a different story had the failure occurred while at speed on the autobahns, or had the escaping fluid ignited.

Subsequent investigations by the Czech Mazda dealer found that the garage's Technicians had routed both hoses entirely the wrong way, to the extent that they had actually been made to contact the pump drive-pulley. Additionally, it was discovered that the bolts which secure the power-steering pump to the engine had been left loose and that one bolt was actually missing! When the hoses failed, the pump-casing also fractured, causing the pump to detach completely, where it came to rest against the bulk-head. I can support all of the above with digital photos, taken by the Czech dealer's Senior Engineer, all of which were sent to the Technical & Customer Services Manager, Mazda Motors UK Ltd.

That abysmally dangerous repair issue aside (for which we have never even received an apology from the garage), we found to our dismay that the new engine also developed the same cold-start hammer not long after arriving in CZ. That noise has become progressively worse, and we have been battling with Mazda and the garage ever since.

Digital recordings of the noise (.wav files) are available to anyone who wishes to analyse or compare, and are certified virus-free (PC-Cillin.) I know that accurate assessment of any recorded sound is difficult at the best of times. However, the hammering noise is very prominent and even our ?mechanically unaware? colleagues have told us that something is detrimentally wrong with this, Mazda's second engine.

Repeated complaints and requests for a replacement car or our money back (since I first reported the problem), have been refused by both the garage and Mazda UK. During my exchanges with Mazda UK, I mailed the Technical & Customer Services Manager, Mazda Motors UK Ltd, asking him directly if ours was the only car to have suffered piston-slap. He conceded, in writing, that a 'small number of other instances have occurred in the UK '. We were then offered a £1,000 compensation, which we refused on the premise that a new car should have been issued immediately (besides, our costs and losses already exceed that amount).

When I insisted that the new engine is also faulty, Mazda UK advised that we take the car to our local (Czech) Mazda dealer for assessment. When we did, however, we were told (surprise, surprise) that they ran the engine for two hours and that the noise was normal for a Mazda-3. I maintain that running the engine (unloaded) for any length of time is in no way an appropriate test for piston-slap, especially when the noise only occurs from a cold start. For example, at circa minus 7C, the engine sounds as if it is running without oil, which it is not.

Trading Standards (deleted) advise that, should the car fail, it is covered under warranty, but that if I believe there is a manufactured issue ( i.e. piston-slap), then legal action and employment of a Technical Expert is the only recourse, which is why I?m looking for any similar experiences.

Our first (and last) experience of Mazda UK, is that it seems content simply to replace items as and when they fail (viz; the first engine, an as yet unexplained rear shock-absorber failure, the power-steering pump, and now the second engine) under the umbrella of their warranty. Customer satisfaction or peace of mind appear not to enter their equation. Above all, piston-slap should NOT occur at all, let alone in a new engine. That the same noise now emanates from this, Mazda?s second engine, equates to a 100% failure rate in my book.

I am in the process of employing an Expert Witness, with a view to litigation. Consequently, any and all supportive case-histories or comments would be welcomed.


{Some editing done to comply with this site's policy on no naming & shaming. Edited words are in italics - DD}
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