October 2008
Hello,
Owned for only a few months, and trouble free thus far, albeit on lowish mileage. Pre-VVTi, so no oil consumption issues I'm aware of. Anyone had any common problems? They seem to be about the most reliable thing on the road. I'm interested in bodywork issues, as the mechanics seem to be rock solid in general. A few observations from mine:
Does not consume any fluids at all. I've heard oil leaks can develop but none so far.
book mpg is 35, but I'm getting a touch over 50- anyone else similar?
Would be interested to hear others' MOT emissions results to guage the condition of the engine. Mine: particulates <50ppm, CO Nat. 0.16%, fast 0.17%.
Dunno how long the catalytic converters last.
Would also be interested to know what tyres it was supplied with originally. I have 4 Good Years and a Michelin at the moment. I think some the GYs might be original, but not sure.
Bodywork:
I've noticed that the rear suspension springs have flaked paint and surfacerust. Does not seem to affect front, perhaps stones flung up can hit rear springs. sanded them a bit and sprayed clear laquer on.
The rear wheel arches have a strange lip at the bottom front end (3 dr version) which can fill with dirt. I've noticed a slight bubbling of paintwork there, but some work with an emery board and more clear laquer and it seems to be ok.
under the car, there is a rubber plug at the bottom of the spare wheel storage well. noticed slight surface rust around there, but easy to deal with.
The rubber headlight surrounds seem to have perished, and flap about a bit- seen it on others so I guess it's common. Bit of glue does the trick.
On the whole, very impressed. It's dull as ditchwater to drive, mind, but that's not important to me. Hopefully I can prevent it rusting and get many years out of it.
TR Read more
I have recently seen these badges fixed onto the fronts of really quite new cars. Are they still available from the AA?
If not, then - why are they used? I can see the point on cars of an era, but on new ones?
Perhaps these cars all have owners of a certain era! Older drivers, in other words. Read more
Do you still have this Jamaican badge?
Unfortunately Steptoe hasn't been here since the 14 Apr 2009.
I can try emailing him for you, if you like. DD - BR Moderator.
Hi,
My Corsa has done 70,000 + miles and just recently I have noticed that the oil warning light keeps coming on. It's usually when I am turning hard around a corner in 3rd or towards the end or start of my journey. The light comes on for a couple of seconds and then off. When I fill up the oil, this doesn't happen for a good couple of months but then it will occur again until I fill up the oil again. Seems like a harmless loop at the minute but im pretty sure I shouldn't be going through so much oil. Any ideas what this could be?
Thank Read more
>>I have used 3 x 4L of oil in 15 months which equates to about10 000 miles.
Does that mean you have used 12 litres of oil in 10K?
If it has, then I misread it earlier and thought the OP meant 3 to 4 litres in 10,000 miles.
I came across this is one of the broadsheet papers today.
"Non law-abiding drivers may be in for a shock as the DVLA has now been granted more powers in an effort to combat car tax evasion.
On 1st October, the DVLA, which previously did not have the power to clamp, or even put a ticket on a vehicle if parked on private land, was granted the power to clamp or ticket any car, anywhere. Tax evaders will most certainly be caught out, as many still believe that they are only at risk of being caught if on the road."
Apologies if this has already been posted!
IT WAS A NEWS ITEM ON THE SITE THE DAY OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT. HJ.
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Will it make any difference?
Down the road from me is an untaxed car (always parked on the road) which is used every day to commute to work by its owner. I know several people have reported it to dvla and the police.
Nothing happens. Police not interested - 'Its a matter for DVLA'.
Yet the same force make a big song and dance about a clamp down in York. //shrug
Hi all,
My dad's having problems with his Rover 75 diesel which has suddenly become extremely reluctant to start. Sometimes it will need nearly 5 minutes of cranking, other times it takes 5 - 30 seconds. Today it started after about 5 seconds and then cut out (actually, my dad says he stalled it after it had no power and couldn't face trying to restart it).
There are no warning lights. Performance is fine once it's going.
It went into the garage yesterday and had the fuel filter changed (they said it cured the problem but clearly not), and short of dragging it to a dealer to see if any codes are logged I'm not sure what the problem is.
Has anyone seen this issue before?
Cheers,
Dave.
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I 2nd that as well. Glad it was that simple but it is inadvisable to allow the tank to run below 1/4. Most manufactures now advise a minimum of 20 ltrs in a tank except for the cars with small tanks!. For a CR diesel to pick up any air is detrimental to the pumps!
I Doc
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15 tonnes.
Cordoba Vario - basically a Polo Estate
Daughter is currently hiding up the emabankment on the M3, waiting for RAC recovery. Her initial description is that the pedal has 'broken', not the cable, altho it is possible that the pedal has come off its pivot point. It is not a suitable enviuroment to get head under the dash with legs in the slow lane to investigate further! Obvious Recovery options conflict with plans for the weekend away so can anybody give instant advice on the most likely mechanism of failure.
I must give her lessons in driving with no clutch! I am prepared to drive it back here in the small hours around the M25 without the clutch if that becomes one of the recovery options that has minimum impact on her weekend away.
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Final closure.
Just replaced the temporary repair with a new GSF cable (auto adjust against my better judgement).
Fortunately I did not believe the the book of lies, which tells you to take out/ loosen the steering column, and relied on daughter to get her head under the dash to fit the new cable to the pedal. The other bits of advice to any future readers of this thread, remove the whole wiper mechanism (only 3 bolts) to make removing the old and threading the new cable easier and get yourself 4 new plastic clips (at 48p each) from Seat to secure the the plastic scuttle shroud.
If your cable breaks like this at the clutch end you will need to buy the clutch arm fastening clip and damping weight from a Seat dealer as they will be distributed over the carriageway at the site of failure.
Enjoyable job even at this temperature, total cost about £29. The clutch now feels like new and very light.
p
i recently bought a 206cc 1.6 allure second hand. the only problem i seem to have with it is the clutch seems to bite at the very top, (and i mean at the top)
i have asked around and some people have said this is a normal biting point for this model of 206 cc, but its that high i am unsure whether this information is correct.
i was just wondering if anyone could offer me some advice, as to whether they know if it is normal, or if there sound like there may be a problem.
if anyone could advise me how to resolve it ie, if you could adjust it ( i have been told its a hydrollic clutch) or if it does sound like it will need replacing, i would be very grateful for your advice
thanks in advance
jenkn
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www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?t=68032&...f
You've already asked the question here !
I like to think I'm fairly knowledgable about cars but I wasn't sure what to suggest for this dilemma - Budget about £10K for a newish car, annual mileage about 12K, as compact and economical as possible but will be required for regular 2/3 hour motorway trips with five full size adults, two of the passengers fairly elderly so comfort is very important. Otherwise not very interested in cars.
What would you suggest? Read more
In terms of comfort for 3 adults in the back then I think width is just as important as legroom, in 'normal' car terms then maybe Vectra or Mondeo, most suitable MPVs have already been mentioned I should think, maybe the Honda FRV?, seems a very wide car for its length, so may help from a 'compact' point of view. An Astra is cosy with 3 kids in the back, nevermind adults, Zafira A is a bench in the middle so much the same situation; although I did do a tour of the New Forest with 4 adults and 3 kids ( 1 in a big kiddie seat) in SWMBO's - wouldn't want to go any great distance like that though.
Hi,
I've owned this Petrol focus (mk1) for 6 months. Recently it has developed a very slight lumpy idle. Now when the weather is cold it will stall when coming up to junctions. It will behave perfectly some days. Am i correct in thinking it could be the idle control valve at fault?
I have had the fault codes read at a Ford main dealer and none are showing. As i understand it, one of the few sensors that can fail or stick and not generate a fault code is the idle control valve. is this correct?
All thoughs are greatly appreciated. Read more
I had very similar issues, thankfully I have a local independant & very reliable garage who diagnosed a faulty PCV (valve) which was £50 to replace & £25 to fit and crankcase ventialtion hose (£15 to source & £25 to diagnose & fit). TOUCH WOOD my issues are over now... The car does seem OK.
It seems I was (hopefully :-)) lucky 'cause both of the above parts were relatively cheap to supply & fix. The faulty PCV should have lit the engine warning light straight away but didn't :-(
From all the reading I did it seems that Ford used slightly "dodgy" hoses throughout the Focus engine - hopefully your issue can be easily found & cheaply fixed!
Browse
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I bought a 1.3 3dr in 2006 metalic grey VGC at the time, it was an emergency buy as my Rover 416 had been rear ended and written off a week before holiday
it was a one owner and said he knew nothing about cars and it had missed several services, I asked about cam belt and his reply was, whats that... ...