October 2008
I'd really appreciate some advice on an ongoing problem I've been having with my car, as the mechanics I usually take it to can't seem to work it out.
About a year after I got the car it started to lose power at speeds of about 70. The garage said there was probably a coil that needed replacing but it wasn't urgent or dangerous. As they were far away and the problem was intermittent I let it be, as reapplying my foot on the accelerator seemed to do the trick.
The problem came back a year or two later - again at high speeds and also when there was a lot of weight in the car. Since then it has deteriorated, setting in at lower and lower speeds. Recently it has started to kick in around five minutes after I've started the journey. Reapplying my foot on the accelerator is not working now, and when the engine is idling the car shudders slightly. The other day it turned itself off entirely when I was cruising very slowly looking for parking.
When I took it to the mechanics they said the coil was fine but that they had cleared out a tube which was blocked. This hasn't made any difference though. They don't seem to have any suggestions as to what else it might be. The engine light has been coming on most of the times when the problem occurs but the diagnostic is not returning any information.
If anyone has any suggestions as to what it might be they'd be much appreciated.
moved over from Discussion and engine/year details inserted
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Hi All
I need some help please with my 1998 V6 Renault Espace.
It recently overheated and was towed back to a garage. The AA man said it's the expansion chamber, which I have replaced and it no longer overheats. It now makes a noise but yesterday a friend poured some water on the belt next to the pump and the noise disappeared for a minute or two.
Therefore is it just the belt that needs adjusting or replacing and not the water pump which I have been quoted £700 to replace. If so, is this a big job to do?
The car doesn't overheat, the heating and air con work and all the hoses get hot at present and seems to be fine apart from the belt noise.
Thanks Read more
I don't do a quarter of the annual mileage I used to so when I need to make a long trip, I like to check the Internet for hold ups before I start out. I lost interest in Traffic England and its associates, Traffic Scotland and Traffic Wales (and for all I know, Traffic Isle of Man and Traffic Holy Island) when I found that they didn't join up, and that Traffic England was slow to report jams that I knew existed. (Many of my local journeys take me under or over the A1 in North Yorkshire).
The service that supplies data to Tomtom traffic, iTis, also supplied Toyota's www.getmethere.co.uk site which shows traffic data in an easily absorbed pictorial form (I like pictures). Getmethere also allows one to move from country to country on the mainland so I was surprised to find it removed from the Getmethere web pages last week and replaced with something that might help me to find my mobile phone, were it lost.
Keepmoving only works if you can be bothered to set up various journeys in advance and doesn't seem to understand commuting at weekends which shift workers might do.
Many of you might have Tomtom Traffic or its equivalent for your separate devices or PDAs, but what are your favourite traffic web pages? Read more
Google maps has live traffic on it now too.
I just came across this article from the Telegraph and note in it that HJ suggests 3 diesels - 2 Toyotas and 1 Ford.
tinyurl.com/679psa
HJ mentions the possible problem of dual mass flywheel failure with the Ford but not with the Toyota. I thought that virtually all new diesels had dual mass flywheels these days so why no mention of it by HJ with regard to the Toyotas? Do Toyota diesel engines have dual mass flywheels? Or are they just immune to this problem?
Thanks,
T.
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I will never have seen the bills or anything so maybe it wasn't.
People who drive into crashes on the motorway should be prosecuted for careless driving.
Discuss. Read more
CC I have found good in areas with camera zones, A34 in the midlands springs to mind!
Slightly off a tangent, but what is it with cars that have come to a stand-still on motorway? I have seen numerous roll backs with drivers taking the foot off brake or not putting on hand-brake and allowing the car to roll back and hit the car behind them - always seems like slow motion (I expect a circus band music to play for some reason though nothing comedy about it)
The front pads need changing (after 15000 miles)
and the discs have a noticeable lip on them, although they are not scored or cracked.
Total mileage of car is 38000.
Why do discs have a service limit?
What would be the effect if I ignored the wear and just changed the pads?
Also, having looked in the workshop manual, it seems that the discs are not mechanically fixed to the hub. Is this correct?
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and the discs have a noticeable lip on them although they are not scored or
cracked.
Got a filing sander? Put it into first and grind it off.
But as suggested check they're not worn beyond the manufacturers recommendation.
Hello to all! Today i serviced my scirocco (done every 6000 miles.)
This time i used some engine flush.
I followed the instructions to the letter then dropped the oil and filter.
i primed the new filter (halfords) using the reccomended Halfords oil then filled the engine to mid way on the dipstick (and before this replaced the sump plug!!)
The problem came when i started her up, the oil warning light continued flashing!
Strange i thought but kept running at idle thinking the filter was not quite full.
I stopped the engine because she was starting to sound a little "tappity"
Any ideas??? completely bemused as i have never had an issue like this before!
Thanks for looking! Read more
had this problem years ago when changing oil i also changed oil pressure sender which was leaking.filled with oil started but had no oil pressure,got round it by removing distributer which opposite end is oil pump drive.Then used a drill to turn oil pump till it was primed,and all was well.
I noticed a report on Manheim's website (Manheim.co.uk) this morning which states the used car prices are UP by 3.5% in September. This kind of confirms what I've seen at some local dealers - i.e. the really undesirable stuff (engine over 2 litres or 4x4) is staying cheap, but anything 'practical' and 2 litres or under is quite strongly priced.
I suspect that with new car sales down by 21% in September, used car depreciation could start to slow up a bit. Read more
"...with new car sales down by 21% in September"
Doesn't seem to have stopped VW pricing the Mk6 Golf at approx. 10% more than the current one - e.g., 138bhp GT TDI five-door at £20,980 - despite well-publicised reductions in manufacturing costs. Probably blaming currency fluctuations.
Hi guys looking for advice about 2 weeks ago I accelerated and the cur shut down no warning going from 2nd to 3rd gear just leaving a junction Light went off after a few hours andthen it happened again put a fault code reader on and it showed there were no codes. Cleared EML. Last Sunday the car started 2nd time then through out the week it has got worse. Put car to mechanic on Thursday as took ages to get car started he checked the fuel pump and cleaned out some of the plugs earths etc. As he is not a specialist he was unsure of what was causing this to happen.
Got car back last night and it took about 5 times to start. This morning it started 1st time took car to disused taxiway and got car up to about 70 mph and the magic beep and car cut out pretty dangerous thats why we got permission to try it off road, put code reader in no codes found cleared EML and drove home carefully then car wouldnt start. I think it has something to do with the fuel either when firing up or when asking for more but I am not sure. Bit scary as you lose confidence any ideas to what could be causing problem
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OK; that clarifies things a lot. An EOBD reader is useless on these and OBD-II is for US cars only. Any useful codes will be P1xxx format not P0xxx.
You can usually hear a tank pump running - or see the filter housing swell for 10 secs at just key-on.
You need to get the codes read with a proper scanner to find out what's going on. An injector leak-off rate test might show something too.
Is a two year old BMW 730d, 21k, at a BMW dealer for £17800 (before negotiation) a bargain? This car must have been around 50 grand new.
tinyurl.com/6eav5j
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So true about the wipers, I never got it especially as the right hand market is so profitable for BMW.
Browse
hi i was wondering if anyone could help me ive been having a simular problem with my AX as the one mentioned above, when i drop down into second for turning at junctions or roundabouts, there is a large loss of power and the car begins to judder and it loses revs my handbrake light comes on and at the end of the journey the car smells of burning, can anyone help ??