Has anybody suffered the failure of the tailgate struts and if so have they been replaced under warranty?
My car is now just over 4 years old (75000 miles) and it would seem that the bill to replace the two tailgate struts is approximately £450.
The classic symptom for this failure is that when you open the tailgate electrically it will not hold in place and closes again. If you open the boot by hand although some times it will stay up, on occasions it will drop down and close. This only occurs in cold weather at present????

Another thing showing sign of wear is the steering ? there seem to be some sort of take up in the steering column that can be felt on the steering wheel as the revs pick up from idle when pulling away.
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I know the Petrol/Diesel debate is ongoing but I see and hear conflicting advice which is best for short runs. As per the title, if the choice was between, say, a Jazz CVT and perhaps a Berlingo/Partner Escapade 1.6Hdi, what would you say? More concerned about maintenance issues rather than straight mpg on the short runs. Thanks. Read more

I was looking at the Subaru web site recently and noticed an advert for the Forester 2 turbo. It does not say how much you can get off but if you visit your dealer they are offering thousands off as a discount.
Clearly the C02 figures put it into orbit in terms of VED but it may be worth a look if the discount is big enough to offset this.
My question is, before I go to the dealer has anyone got any idea what thousands off would actually mean.
I am assured by my MP that a statement on the retrospective tax rip off may be re-visited in the pre-budget statement. This government have obviously messed up badly and need to do something to help people and so the VED increase may not be that bad after all - but of course any further statement could still be too late for buying a car now. Read more

Looking for advice please £1500.00 Catalyst failure at 26,000 miles. Under extended warranty, and 6 months and 1500 miles ago Lambda Sensors failed and Porsche GB replaced under warranty. Serviced and MOT by Porsche only 400 miles later . Now Catalyst failed and replaced along with £350.00 Lambda sensors though they had only done 1500 miles. They say if Cat had been found damaged 1500 miles ago they would have considered replacing under warranty as collateral damage. They say "how do we know how the car has been driven, and if you have put in dirty petrol." (Always used high octane shell from same large petrol station )

Formal final letter on the matter says " Lambda Sensors are NOT known to cause a Catalyst to fail, however a defective Catalyst can cause a false indication of Lambda Sensor failure, and this is compounded by the fact that replaced Lambda Sensors
have to adjust ( in this case 1500 miles ) to a particular engines operating characteristics
and that is why it took 1500 miles before the engine warning light came on again"

Can any of this be possibly true, because on a google search its 100% that failed Lambda
sensors can destroy a Catalyst, and 1500 miles for new lambda sensors to adjust seems beyond belief..Thanks for any technical help and advice Read more

In a current thread i notice one or two drivers use the transmission lock on their auto's without applying the handbrake, swmbo does the same with our pick up, but only on our flat parking area.

Just pondering about the lack of use of things, and i thought of those cars that have separate handbrakes with shoes, usually inside the rear discs, MB's and BM's and Volvo's notably but there are others too.

Do those with such systems apply the handbrake gently now and again whilst moving to clean the rust and muck build up off the drum, or does the constant use of the handbrake stop the build up enough?

I'm thinking of how quickly the clutch can rust solid on a car stood for even a few weeks, sometimes resulting in removal to free off.

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