May 2008
Recently when taking foot off accelerator in my 2001 Focus estate fitted with the 1.8Tdci engine, the car wants to continue on its way. especially at low speeds Dipping clutch appears to solve problem till next time. When clutch is depressed the engine does not race. It is not a sticking accelerator pedal/cable.
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There are several unrestricted crossroads on a dual carriageway A-road near me.
Drivers waiting in the central reservation to turn right often pull into the outside lane and accelerate hard as I'm approaching in the nearside lane.
Every time someone does this, it's heart in mouth time as there is always a nagging doubt they have not seen you and are going to pull into the nearside lane.
Then you often end up level pegging for a while as they reach their optimum speed in the outside lane and one of you has to decide who is going first.
I think the whole manoeuvre is dangerous, what do other BRs think? Read more
>>The 'offender' is a local whose life has been messed up by the building of a big dual carriageway that he has to cross everytime he leaves his house.
It appears to me that many people move to a modern estate in a village, and then complain about traffic, mainly caused by the new, large modern estates.
They protest, and eventually get a by-pass. Probably a dual carriageway.
Hi,
I wonder if anyone could help with this problem ... my KA Collection x reg, was driving really well up until last week when it started to judder in low gears and at low speed.
There seems to be a flat spot on the acceleration and also there is a short puff sound that comes from the accerator not sure if the two are connected??
Any advice would be great!
Cheers Read more
Thank you! Looks like I have a fun bank hol ahead!
luigis hand car wash on the 412 in slough is a big place and seem to offer a good deal anybody used them and are they much better than cleaning the car yourself
regards tony
Subject line tweaked -no need to specify a vehicle when asking a general question Read more
Three years ago I was thinking that I would, at about now, be replacing my old petrol Mondy with a TDCI version. BUT, in the past few years, I have read so many reports about expensive problems that I have been thoroughly dissuaded. And then again, other drivers seem to swear by 'em.
I've just returned from filling up with petrol down at the local Sainsbury's. The dithering lady in front was filling a small green can with what I assumed to be unleaded. She seemed to be spilling quite a bit down the side of the can and then when she'd filled it, she re-fuelled the car with, as far as I can recall, the same stuff. My only thought at the time was that she was filling the can for the lawn-mower - and it was going down as 'expenses'!
After paying, she drove away in the large Volvo estate and my wife said "hang on, wasn't that a diesel car - it was a D5 - what was she putting in the can?'.
Maybe we'd got the wrong end of the stick, but it's seeing something like that which puts me right off a s/h diesel. And all these diesels that develop problems in later life ......... how many of those are the result of an earlier mis-fueling? Read more
Funnily enough the FIAT/GM developed Diesels (JTD range) rarely ever get a mention in the technical forums in terms of problems. They're used in a wide range of cars, too.
helo...can anyone help please?
My 1998 punto failed to start yesturday and the AA man couldnt diagnose it. He wrote on the breakdown report
" live feed to coils and injectors no switching" He said it might be either the crank sensor or a relay or the ECU. He said to change the sensor first and if it doesnt work to do the relay and failing that, the ECU
The fuel pump primes but there is no spark, my local (30 minute drive) scrapyard has the same model in but i have a mate who is an experianced mechanic says it is bound to be the ignition pack , saying the fuel wouldnt prime if ECU/crank sensor is faulty I dont realy want to buy the wrong bit/s for it obviously and i only have free car hire from AA till saturday lunchtime.If its the sensor or relay it would be handy (cheap). Thankyou for any replies Read more
Good job...
BTW a clutch slave should take no more than 30minutes max..easy job.
My car is due a P1 Service. The 3 year/60K warranty has now expired on it. Given the price differences in relation to using a Main Dealer or a normal garage for carrying out any maintenance work, is it still worth paying the extra, to keep with the main dealer?
Also, does it have any effect at all on the resale/trade in value of a vehicle, if you keep to a main dealer for the service record or to go with a local garage?
Finally, what is the main difference between a Nissan P1 and P2 Service?
Many Thanks. Read more
Full main dealer service history certainly affects the value of a car. But not by anything like as much as the additional cost of that history - unless perhaps you have some super-duper sports car.
My almera went in to get a new sump. The mechanic has removed and not replaced the engine covers that go just under the front of the engine bay (underneath the car).
This may be well-intentioned: they attach to the front crossmember, which has been prone to rust. Removing them has exposed the crossmember, which i can treat, and improved drainage through it as well I think.
But ... am I ok running car without these covers? Read more
Yes-they're mainly there to keep out snow in Scandinavian countries.
I'm a new member of this website after reading HJ's column in the Sat Telegraph and thought I would ask a question about Insurance.
I'm not sure whether to just go TPF&T due to my Polo being 10 years old and 107,000m, or remain Comprehensive. I feel that £222 for my renewal is a bit steep for Comp and can get TPF&T for £137. Not sure of pros and cons of this. I'm a bit worried that you get neglected when not Comp.
The car's showing it's age now too, so might the Insurer just right it off even after a small dent? Is there a somewhere I can check the current value just as a rough guide?
Many thanks for any comments and help for this old geezer.
Dougie Read more
"her solicitor claimed almost the full value of the car from the other insurers. Last year, the same thing happened again" "a car which has been written off twice"
While you can use a solicitor, there's no need. Very simple procedure that any lay person can do. The car has not been written off - she's received compensation for damage. A write off would be recorded on the insurers' database, and could mean an increased premium.
Cars are designed by lots of groups of people with each group fighting for a space to put their particular part. The next time you're complaining that it's difficult, for example, to change a headlight bulb just think where you would position the particular part that is making your life difficult. And you're not allowed to just delete that part! Read more
I had wondered while reading a previous thread on loves/dislikes, whether car focus group leaders would get such a well written series of points about the good and bad things in our cars anywhere else - over decades on this site of course!
We do seem to be led towards excessive safety - the whole width of cars now is the safety aspect, the huge weight increases and so on. Further, programmes like Top Gear focus on speed and cornering which drives the low profile tyres/hard suspension business. Would I buy a car with no side airbags/protection etc? Of course. Sensible - don't know. But I do know people drive their padded up Volvos to go hang-gliding.
I prefer the 1970s shapes [only] of many cars still being produced - 911, Mini, E-type [versus XJF], 1980s Escort [over the Focus], Saab 900, Audi 80 for starters.
S