May 2008
Is it best to report a dangerous vehicle to the local plod just on their normal number or is there a national scheme for reporting vehicles in dangerous condition?
I ask as today I followed a B reg maestro with one rear wheel which was wobbling visibly, both rear tyres were bald and the driver's side rear the canvas could be seen. Car was clearly a death trap. Its uninsured but it has current tax.
Read more
A word of warning - and any advice gratefully received. The 607 (and I think maybe the 407?) are fitted with electronic TPI sensors, as special valve that transmits a soignal if the tyre pressure is low, or if it is flat, that produces a warning on the dashboard.
Firstly they have a life of about 10 years but - in my case - a valve was damaged and had to eb replaced. The cost is £70 each but that's not all. Rather like a key the TPI has to be coded to the car and the Peugeot garage say that would be a minimum charge of £40
Of course we all know that the actual job will be 35 seconds - connect a lead, press a couple of buttons and job done, but apparently the software is only available to Peugeot dealers so - once again - it's a captive market
If you dont have it done then every journey starts with a warning that there is a TPI missing. So that;s your choice - £110 extra per TPI or a warning each trip.
Unless anyone knows a garage weher these things can be re-programmed? Read more
Its a simple turn on or turn off procedure ,what is all the scaremongering for.If you want to be pedantic the UK is out of line with the rest of the EU regarding the MOT here in Germany where they follow the letter of the law more so than the UK the equivelent of the MOT is required on new cars.
I'm looking to get my Golf serviced and when i called the local VW dealer they were unable to give a quote for the work as they said it depended on what the 'chip' in the car said it required. As anyone else had this response? I'm unwilling to take the car in unless they can quote first so have decided to use a local garage. My main question is does a garage need to have all the high tech diagnostic equipment to be able to perform a thorough service on the car or is it just a matter of finding a competent mechanic who replaces the oil, filters and whatever other bits need changing and tops up fluid levels?
Thanks is advance for any advice you can give. Read more
Spot on, Lud: it's the independent experienced specialist whose price is not rock bottom and who will take the time to talk through problems and issues. You build a trusting relationship with them and have no discomfort with their bills, because of the quality of the work and your involvement with it. Beats main-dealer experience hands down. It's "Well, you could leave that for another six months, but if I were you I wouldn't because . . ." rather than "Hello, Service reception here. You need new disks and pads . . . No, sorry, I can't connect you with the mechanic . . .".
I have an imported Pajero 2.8 LWB that runs fine when warm but when starting from cold the engine cuts out after a few hundred yards, if I keep the key turned or leave it for 5-10 mins it will eventually start, it will sometimes do this again before I can drive away and then it will give no problems all day.
Does anyone know the fault and cure.
As I said it is a 1994 Pajero/Shogun 2.8 Auto.
Read more
Its pump off,quite a big job,i've had the job done many times in the past but my man has now retired.
I know the normal arguements about Diesel vs Petrol. i.e. Diesel will give better economy, torque is useful and it will pay for itself if you do more than 15k / year.
We are looking at a Midi MPV, and having test driven a few (Mazda5, Verso etc.) the Diesel engines seem to suit my wife's driving style / car weight better (low end grunt, meaning less gear changes in stop/start traffic, and plenty of torque for motorway overtaking).
The concern I have is that 95%+ of her journeys are going to be short ones, less than 5 miles from a cold start, plenty of it stop / start traffic.
What would the real world fuel economy of a Diesel engine vs Petrol from a cold start over a short distance be (I presume the Petrol would warm up quicker)?
I've also heard a number of horror stories of particulate filters clogging and severe fuel dilution of oil after only 3k when a car has been subjected to such short journey abuse.
Should I be concerned?
Is a modern Diesel still a sensible(ish) choice for a school run car?
TIA - Rufus. Read more
Thanks everyone - so looks like Diesel won't be too stupid a choice, provided it gets a weekly blat!
All I need to do now is convince SWMBO that I *HAVE* to rag the nuts off the thing to keep it running sweetly!
Rufus.
Hi, we have the air bag and service light illuminated on our Megane dash. We put it in to be checked out and the garage say that it is the spring behind the steering wheel. It might be just a wire loose but we have to change the whole module costing £180. I have heard other people locally having this light coming on. What are your views on the forum. Thanks, regards, Paul
{awaiting exact year and engine details to arrive in my inbox - DD} Read more
Oh, third precaution is DO NOT USE AN ORDINARY MULTIMETER to test continuity of Airbag Circuits, that could set off the detonator.
The Airbag computer uses a very very low current to test circuit continuity.
Hi all, recently bought an 05 S60 D5 auto with 26000 miles on it, i've since put a couple of thousand miles on it and it seems a nice car to drive, but what do the BR's think of these cars and what is there to look out for in the future, regarding engine, gearbox, suspension etc, thanks for your views. Read more
just bought a 2003 D5 a couple of days ago and love it!
its got 135k on the clock with full dealer SH
with things like the top engine mount and bushes being the likely cause for anything to go wrong would it be worth while taking out an idependant warranty? I can get the Platinum www.warrantyworks.co.uk/carPlatinum.jsp for £280 for the year.
Anyone had any experience with these sort of things?
I'm always dubious with insurance companies looking for the first way out of paying!
cheers
In my rearview mirror, on Saturday I spotted cars behind me being flashed by a speed camera on the dual carriageway section of the A46 Lincoln bypass. In the past, in the absence of signs to the contrary, I've always assumed that the limit was 70 and in fact I've driven past the camera at 70 on countless occasions. The question is .......... has the limit recently been dropped to 60? If it has then I missed seeing the sign, the camera may have flashed me as well, and I may be in trouble! Read more
They also flash at fixed intervals as it is good for the discharge capacitors which lose capacity if left constantly charged and ready to fire.
Wonder if anyone else has come across this and even better has a solution that does not involve a trip to the workshop.
The CD player with in dash 6 CD changer unit on my 56 reg Nissan Note will not load or eject CD's. When I start it the message comes up 'Checking Trays' which it just keeps scrolling. It will however play the CD's and change discs happily enough, it is just the load/eject function which appears at fault and the continuously scrolling message.
If there are no ideas for a DIY fix is there any way of extracting the CD's currently loaded? The manual is silent on 'emergency ejection' procedures!
Thanks in advance for any help or comment.
Steve Read more
Problem sorted! This may be of interest to other Nissan owners with the same CD player setup as well.
In desperation yesterday evening I tried a bit of the old fashioned impact technology. As the CD player started up I gave the unit a couple of sharp thumps on the dashboard immediately above it. Turned unit off and back on again. Pressed eject and the CD's started coming out again and so far it seems to be working fine.
A trawl through some (mainly American) websites suggest that 'sticking' CD's may be a bit of a possible issue with these units. Some sites also suggested that the cause may be home burnt CD's in the unit slightly warping. I did have one in there and maybe that was the cause.
I have learnt a lot from this site and I hope that the above is of some use to other forum members.
Regards,
Steve
Does anyone have any knowledge of problems with radio's in a 2003 Seat Leon. This is the second radio fitted. problem not fuses or wiring, problem is definetly in radio. but what causes problem, could it be overcharging.
Read more
I have just encountered this problem, i pulled out the radio to find that the 10 amp fuse which is in the radio its self had blown so after resolving this problem i am now charging my car up for an hour so i can ener the security code. Hope this helps.
I have certainly phoned the police to report dangerous driving on the motorway and they definately followed it up, as I could see the police join the motorway at the next junction and tuck very neatly behind the offending vehicle.