March 2008
About 12 months ago my car started to knock at the front nearside when going over rough surfaces. This was cured by replacing the anti-roll bar bushes but returned about 3 months ago. The garage who did the initial repair changed some other bushes (not sure which) but the problem still persisted and they suspected the anti-roll bar needed changing. I mentioned this to another mechanic i know who thought the roll bar wearing was unlikely and maybe the bushes had not been set up right. He had a look and could not see any wear on the bar so changed the bushes again but with little improvement so only charged me for the bushes, a few pounds. I intend to take it back to him but would appreciate some advice to other causes of this problem.
Also, this morning while i cleared the ice from the car it locked itself with the keys in the ignition. Luckily my wife had not left for work and i could get back into the house for the spare keys (house keys with car keys). On other occasions, also cold mornings i suspect it may have locked or unlocked itself before.
Thanks Read more
To prevent me from being a complete blonde and being totally ripped off on Friday when I take my car in, can anyone advice me on a ball park figure I can expect to pay for brake pads and discs to be replaced on my beloved passat? Thanks in advance! Read more
Here's a short video on changing rear brakes (rotors/pads) on a 2003 VW Passat. This video applies to the 1998-2005 VW Passat and 1996-2001 Audi A4.
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Just been told the EGR (or EGI) valve on my 37k C-Max needs replacing. I am apparently 2 months outside the Ford Goodwill elgibility criteria.
It was bought 2nd hand from main dealer and has been main dealer serviced since is there any chance I could persuade the nice men from Dagenham to contribute? Or should I just cough up the £400? Read more
Have you been able to progress with this one mrp26 ?
Be interested what you find out as this is of interest to anyone with a motor with a 1.6TDCi engine.
Have you been caught by a speed camera in Chideock, Dorset, in the past 10 years?
According to the Daily Telegraph today [ page 4 ] a camera there has been found to be illegal because the road referred to in the paperwork does not exist. Over £1 million worth of fines can be reclaimed! Read more
I do hope that publicising their location does not result in their being put out of use by some anti social element.
Hi,
I purchased a 53 plate Ford Fiesta 1.4TDCI in December in the pursuit of a more economical car ( I had been driving a 1.5LS Civic Estate). The reviews I had heard state that the MPG on this model was amazing with 50mpg plus expected combined (My friend gets around 65mpg)
Now, I am 26 and have had some powerful cars in the past (prior to a family) and I am at times prone to braking late and revving where I shouldn't...........although I don't think I'm any worse than anyone else.
For the last 3 months I've been getting on average around 35mpg. I travel to work each day on the motorway and my journey takes an hour and so cold engines aren't an issue. I also had the car serviced prior to pick up.
Am I being unrealistic in thinking that I should be getting a little more MPG? I was hoping for at least 45mpg. Can anyone give me any idea's of what the issue may be......if any at all?
On top of this, I also thought a diesel engine, even a TDCI would have a heater plug light on the dash. I've never seen this on my dashboard. Is this a fault that needs repairing, or is it not present on this model?
Appreciate your help.
Glyn Read more
Hi,
We have three of these on 04 plates with over 100k on each. No pre heater lights show on the dashboard.
MPG is always around 48-52 mark
Baz
Treated myself to this new car in 2005. Still a couple of months warranty.
2.0 tdi manual box 12700 miles, no naughty habits of slipping or riding the clutch.
Nasty growls and grumbles in the last 2 weeks becoming worse.
Used Audi Rescue for an opinion and the diagnosis - "you need a replacement dual mass flywheel!"
The car is duly booked in at the nearest Audi agent (25 miles away) for this Thursday on the tech's say-so.
I remember it being recalled when almost new for a flywheel check (probably a duff batch) but was given all-clear.
Mercifully the warranty will cover this, but what is the general experience with this Volkswagen group's 2 litre diesel? Read more
oh yes, Audi build quality or not.
i too had an 06 A4 2.0tdi, new clutch required at 11k miles, 9 mths old.
previous A3, gearbox syncros and turbo failed at 50 k miles (1.9 tdi 130 bhp) 2.5 k to repair!!!!
after numerious returns with the a4, i had enough and decided to get rid just before the new model A4 was being released to get a much back before prices were hit.
bought an 06 focus tdci zetec and well impressed, maybe expectations were not so high and a fraction of the running costs. £95 for a main dealer service, couldn't be bad.
I pondered about where to put this topic - it's a question, it's about sat nav and it's about motoring. So here it is.
I'm planning a touring holiday (?), well a break if not a holiday, in Cuba. Car hire is easy enough, but apparently you can't buy maps there and it's case of bring your own. There are very few road signs and it is said you need a decent knowledge of Spanish to get directions from the locals.
I'm pretty certain you can't get a Sat Nav with Cuba mapping but I fancy getting a hand held GPS thingy which will at least tell me where I am and which way is up. At worst, if I'm totally lost it'll let me retrace my steps.
Has anybody any experience of such touring and which GPS should I get. I suppose a compass and good map would do, but I fance a GPS thingy. Read more
More like smuggling "bread" man.
I know we've done a lot lately on the relative merits and economics of petrol and diesel engines, but I've done some calculations lately that made me sit up.
Here's the background: we're now looking seriously at buying a Toyota Verso as a family and weekend car. It will get moderate leisure-time use, a couple of long holiday trips a year, and will probably do my motorway commute one day a week. Probable total 12-14,000 miles a year.
Now, the Verso is available with four different engines, of which only two concern me. Actually, until I started calculating, it was only one - the 136PS 2.2D, which I've driven and which suits the car very well. But there's also a 130PS 1.8 petrol.
If you walk into a Toyota showroom, ask, "How much?" and write a cheque for the answer, you'll part with about £17,500 for a new petrol Verso and about £1,100 more for the diesel. You could have your own argument based on the break-even figures for those two. But I'm planning to buy something nearly new, and that's what made me pay close attention. For a year-old Approved Used T3 of about the same mileage, Toyota dealers seem to want about £16,000 for a diesel and more like £13,000 for the petrol.
So we can see that the petrol model doesn't make a good new buy. But it looks a lot more attractive 12 months on. At today's rates and my likely mileage, the difference in fuel cost is about £350 a year. (Even another 20p a litre would add about £70 to that.) The petrol car is an insurance group lower, servicing might cost a little less, and there's no worry over common-rail durability.
That leaves depreciation. There aren't any four-year old Versos to compare, but four-year-old RAV4s seem to show about a £1000 premium for diesel. So it looks as if a year-old petrol Verso might lose £5000 in the next three years, but a diesel one might lose £7000.
So what am I missing? It's possible that the 1.8 engine isn't up to hauling a short but not small car, so I'll try one and find out. I very much like driving a good diesel - my Volvo D5 is terrific - but not at any price. Has petrol power really become that unfashionable? And have I stumbled on a special case, or is this the same wherever you look? Read more
Someone wondered why the Verso is a 1.8 petrol, not a 2.0 or 2.2.
Toyota's big market for right-hand drive Corollas (and derivatives) in Europe is Ireland. As a nation, we love Toyotas. Our road tax and insurance scales also become punative for anything over 1.9 litres. Hence the majority of private cars are 1.6 petrols and the majority of repmobiles are 1.9 diesels.
Irish buyers will go as far as 1.8 in an MPV but no further, so that's what Toyota offer you in the UK too.
I know someone who has had their 1.9 GT Tdi PD 115 remapped to 150. Can anyone tell me if this is safe for the car as I was under the impression the 150's had a much larger camshaft to cope with the extra torque?
(no mention of year, so used info from the drop down menu choice made) Read more
Got a tuning box on my 130 pd golf had it for over a year aprox 20,000 miles only problem is a bit of clutch slip when driven hard, I do know of earlier engines that have been tuned and the five speed box tends to give up the ghost with out much warning
Hello there
I've 2 queries on my Clio.
1. My grandma used to own the car, that= driving round her town at 25mph in 5th gear!!
I am planning an oil change and want to use 5w/40 fully synthetic, this seems to be the best mix, high enough as recommened by Renault to protect the engine when hot and low enough to cause the minimum amount of wear when starting,
So basically is it safe (ie not too thin), to use a 5w/40 fully synthetic?
2. the 2nd question, what size allen key do i need to get the sump plug off?, I want to know first and get it off as opposed to undoing the 'undercover' and having the wrong size plug?
Just one more for fun, I've read these engines can have idling problems so all 4 coils have been replaced, cleaned the ICV valve, PCV valve, and as much of the throttle body as I can, are there any other problem areas (ignition, engine wise) that I need to be aware of.
Many thanks
BW Read more
That oil will be more than suffice, renaults recommend 10W/30 semi synthetic I think.
The sump plug is a square drive not an allen key, I think its 11mm but not 100%, i got a tool for mine from Halfords years ago for about £5.
As for the idling problems youve gone a bit overkill cleaning all that and replacin gyour coils, from memmory they're expensive. There are a lot of things that can cause the idle problems, I spent ages tracing mine and it turned out to be a blocked impulse line to the MAF sensor.
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The double clicking sounds like the double deadlocking is being activated somehow, the possibly caused is a malfunction in the central locking unit but it's not an easy one to catch as it's an intermittent problem. The garage most likely will change the unit concerned to see if that fixes the problem. Worth asking the garage what they reckon and get a quote and then make a decision.