May 2008
hi everyone - i'm a newbie here - so apologies if this ends up in the wrong forum. I have an 'R' registered VW Passat 1.8 20 valve, which i bought 2nd hand from a local VW dealer. It's really thirsty on fuel - even though it's only a 1.8 20 valve. I have been watching the on board trip computer - which gives readings of 20 - 30 mpg during town driving. Sorry i can't give an exact figure of how thirsty the car is - but it seems alot more thirsty than 20 - 30mpg - and it's only 1.8 - my previous Passat 1.8 diesel by contrast was brilliant (but noisy!). Could the '20 valve' thing be the culprit (i'm not a tecchy - but the 1.8 badge on the boot is followed by '20V' - which the dealer tells me is a slightly faster car - but not as fast as the 1.8 turbo).
Anyone had a similar problem/got any solutions??
thanks for reading.
ali Read more
I have a Mk4 1997 Ford Fiesta 1.3 (HCS EFI 60PS) that I am trying to find emissions info on so I can register it in Germany.
I have tried Ford UK who have been unhelpful in the extreme. Usually it's on the DVLA's V5C registration form, but it isn't. Or you can get it off a Certificate of Confirmity, but because the car was built before April 1997 Ford won't give me one. A Type Approval Certificate doesn't have the info I require. I've spent ages on the £1 per minute Technical Line, General enquires, COC department, but got nowhere. Ford, who made the car, have suggested I try the internet.
Does anyone have any idea where I could find out:
Mk4 1997 Ford Fiesta 1.3 (HCS EFI 60PS)
Sound level:
- Stationary (dB(A))
- Engine speed (min-1)
- Drive-by (dB(A))
Exhaust Emissions:
- CO2 (g/km)
Any help would fantastic. It's been stuck in the garage now for over a month.
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Thanks for that. I already have that info, but they say it's not enough.
During an eventful journey home last night, spotted a Merc CLK convertible hurtling down the outside lane at a good (or bad) 90+ mph. Just after he passed me he had to conduct an emergency braking manoeuvre to avoid running into a car that had moved into his lane. He then resumed his frantic pace down lane 3.
Only then noticed that the car was driving on trade plates. Could n't help wondering how the owner (or prospective owner) would have viewed the way car was being treated.
What are the rules for using trade plates? Do they just mean that the car is being driven under the garage's insurance or are there other implications?
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........ or done-in!
I am just about to purchase a new car this weekend and wondered if anyone has a view on GAP insurance as this is not a product I have bought before.
Any words of advice or warning before I commit myself would be gratefully received.
Thanks. Read more
Why don't people buy insurance to provide for "betterment" with other products in other areas of their life?
I guess they do - most household contents is "new for old".
Also, there are frequent posts about insurance companies write off valuations - if you have RTI GAP then you don't have to worry about that.
Although it does occur to me that you could get stuck in the middle of an argument between your insurer and the GAP provider about the valuation of the car, as both will be looking to minimise their share.
Hi I have just bought a Golf Driver 1.8 my problem is that when it starts it revs at 2500 RPM and when the choke goes off the car revs at 1000rpm. I cannot seem to find any of the adjustment screws on the carb. Can anyone help me please? Either with diagrams and keys of the parts or where exactly i can find information. Has anyone else experienced any problems with this type of carb? Many thanks Seanyb Read more
>>I cannot seem to find any of the adjustment screws on the carb.
Good!, they're almost certainly not the root cause of the problem.
As above, check the operation of the cold start system.
When you have found and fixed the fault, the idle and fast idle will return to being virtually correct, with at most a small tweak being required. By fiddling at this stage, you're actually making 2 jobs - one finding and fixing the real fault, and 2 re-adjusting the carb to remove the effects of ill-advised twiddling.
The instrument panel has been having some intermittent problems where the clock gets reset. Also the trip computer and mpg etc get reset as well. Last week the whole panel blinked on and off for a few seconds. Since then been OK. Dealer has tken a look and there is a fault in the panel which means the whole dash needs replacing at a cost of £466.
the car is just under 4 years old with 72K on clock. I moaned a bit and got a call from renault customer service offring to pay 25%. Interesting he admitted its not a wear and tear item but then said it was only 25% because of the mileage.
Should I just accept the 35% or could I get more (I really feel like taking them to small calims court under sales of goods act). Doing that would involve me proving it was a fault from being built (I had it from new).
Any advice or am I just being greedy? Read more
It really is a doddle.
The surround is in two parts (upper and lower)
Very carefully unclip the upper surround in a downwards direction and put it to one side.
Very carefully unclip the lower surround in an upwards direction. If there's a wiring plug behind it, carefully disconnect it.
Undo the two instrument panel screws (one either end) and slide the panel forwards until you can reach the wiring plugs on the back.
Move the locking levers on the plugs aside and pull out the two connectors.
Just checked, and Haynes back this up as well.
Any dealer charging two hours labour for this needs to be reported to Trading Standards IMHO.
HJ published 2 letters in lhis Saturday Telegraph column (24 May) reffering to Dual Mass Flywheel failure on diesel engined VW Group vehicles - VW, Seat and Audi.
I drive a Skoda Octavia 2.0 TDI with the (auto) DSG gearbox. Has anyone suffered dmf failure to any so equipped VW group car - or is such failure solely down to 'clutch slip' due to 'drivers behaviour' with the manual gearbox? Read more
I have a Skoda Octavia 2006 with a DSG gearbox. Although the vehicle is less than 3 years old it is out of warranty as it has done 100,000 miles. The Dual Mass flywheel has just had to be replaced at a cost of 900 pounds. I also know someone else who has an Octavia on which the Dual Mass Flywheel has had to be replaced. My Local skoda dealer has stated that there has been a problem with these flywheels, so shouldn't they be replaced under warranty.
Usually it is said that most speedos over rate speeds. Does it affect odometer reading? How accurate are odos?
Also, if someone uses a different size of tyre, it will affect odo reading as well. That means even without clocking the odo, you can get a false mileage :)
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Don't put it on bloks and do otherwise you might end up like Ferris Bueller. Anyway unwinding in reverse, with the current price of fuel, might be an overly expensive way of doing things!!
Out of interest (or not) these campavans that drag a car behind them, does the towed car have miles piled on to it as well? I presume it does.
Hi,
About to get by C5 serviced. One thing I've noticed for quite some time is that, if I accelerate fairly hard from lowish/medium revs - especially it seems in 4th-5th gear, as you would if you're overtaking (and using the diesel's torque) - the revs sometimes initially rise without any increase in speed before they drop back to normal. It doesn't always do it and doesn't seem very dramatic, just very odd when it does. Had no juddering clutch when pulling away and I'd generally consider I'm fairly kind to the car.
Anybody any suggestions what it might be? I initially assumed it to be a slipping clutch which I thought odd considering I first noticed it when it had done about 20k miles not long after I bought it, it's now done 32k and not got any worse. With all the interest about dual mass flyweels on this site and in the DT I started to wonder if it was that. I'd like to be armed with some advice before it goes in for its service - I've asked them to check this - in case it's something that can be fixed under warranty.
Thanks!
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This time the dealer was finally able to experience the clutch slip effect and I supplied a copy of all of the previous correspondence about the subject from the website. This was enough to persuade them to book the car in for 3 days for gearbox removal. They were able to confirm that it did have a defective oil seal and a contaminated friction plate and I was told that they replaced the whole clutch assembly. So far, there has been no repetition of the slippage...........my thanks to all contributors!
Circumstances have forced me into buying a cheap car quickly. After splashing out £700 on a 'S' plate Fiat Marea Weekend HLX, fully-loaded, which looks and goes well. Apart from the hideous name, do they really deserve the bad write-up that HJ has given it? Read more
But how can you know that for certain?
Because there are so many of them, some must be...
Actually, OP. It's much worse than you suggest. Your budget would have bought this 51-reg example on eBay. 170222411527 Specimens like yours seem to be closer to £400 - proving that the Audi is still twice the car of the Fiat... :)
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The Passat will be a 1.8, 4 cylinder, 5 valve per cylinder, 20 valve.
Poor low down torque meant this engine did'nt stay in production for long in the larger bodied VAG cars, superceeded by the 20L 8 valve 115 bhp engine with a more suitable torque curve.
Performance and economy will be lacking :o(