October 2008
Oh, the joy of having electric windows. For the past 5 years I have exercised my right arm when needing a bit more air in the car.
Two weeks ago, I invested in a slightly newer car. This time with electric windows.
So there I am, this morning, at a customers house over an hour away from my gaff. As I'm leaving I lower the window to finish the conversation. The window goes all the way down and refuses to move.
Please dont forget the weather that East Anglia have suffered today, and I now had to drive home in it, minus a window for protection.
Oh what joy it was. NOT.
AA have just been, and the switch is stuck in the "down" position. At least the nice man has now raised the window.
Guess I'll be going back to the garage tomorrow. Read more
Hi, I have a LDV 200 Pilot and am experiencing violent shuddering through the steering wheel between 45-55 mph before and after this it is fine, I have had wheels balanced and it still does it- Any suggestions please? Thanks Read more
At that speed it sounds more like an out of true problem than balance. I would check the rim's & the tyres themselves for run-out. I know it sounds weird but check the backs for a big buldge or run-out. A bad rear has been known to generate a pulse through the fronts.
Does anyone have experience of the likely water ingress points on these Swindon built models? The car leaks when stationary and does not have to be driven. The sound proofing on the footwell bulkhead is damp at the bottom (as its sitting in a puddle) but dry in the middle. The door seal is fine. I'm currently drying it our with newspapers to get some idea of where it gets wet first.
Thanks in anticipation Read more
If there is a blockage by the wipers near the air vent intake, water can find it's way into the fan unit. This is situated behind the glovebox, you can take this out to get a better look, and can be a cause of water ingress. There is a hole in the side of it where water can come out when driving aswell, you can feel if any water is coming out of it and see inside if you put the internal air circulation on(it lifts a lid on the side of the unit), it may also make a slushing sound when you turn the fans on due to the water. Pulling out any leaves and pipe cleaners down all the drainage holes and lots of very soap water a few times over a few days usually does the trick
Another option is a leaky windscreen seal, as this can happen to many cars after a number of years. Check carefully around all parts of the seal when it's raining, pressing the glass slightly so that you can see where any drops may be seeping through.
Also if you have a sunroof, there are drainage tubes which run down the A pillar by the windscreen, these tubes can become perforated over time or come loose(in which case pushing the connections closer together can fix it), you can also find this by removing the glove box and looking up towards the windscreen edge from the passenger footwell.
I changed the oil and filter today after some difficulty removing the old filter fitted by Audi at 40K now 49K. New filter fitted new Edge 5-30 oil and fired her up. Sptooed a small leak. On closer investigation it was not coming from the filter seal but from the seal between the oil cooler and the oil filter retainer. I can only assume the cooler moved when removing the tight filter and has damaged the seal. I will have to wait till tomorrow obtain a new filter as it is Sunday today. Anyone else had this. ??? Regards Peter
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Problem solved. The oil cooler had rotated whilst removing a seriuosly tight oil filter fitted by Audi and the large 'O ring with a couple of location tabs had moved and and was weeping oil. The location tabs were distorted due the the rotation of the cooler. The old seal was quite hard and some surface perishing. £3.10 for a new seal and all is well. Regards Peter
I have an 02 Reg Fabia 16v Elegance. I want to mask the headlights for a trip to France next week-end. The handbook says cover the area of the glass which is marked with diagonal hatching. The glass on the headlights of my vehicle does not have an hatching. Can anyone tell me which area should be masked? Read more
I would't take the change either, you wouldt be stopped for not having headlamps deflectors .But if you are in a accident it would be taking into account not worth it.
Hi
19 years of cyclic heating and cooling have finally taken their toll on the Escort's moulded plastic radiator end sections, which have deformed and separated from the core. So I now need a new radiator.
There are loads of sites out there but few tell me what brand of radiator they supply. Valeo do not make one it seems, and the only other branded radiator I've seen is Nissens. They're cheap but are they any good?
Overall prices seem to be static at around £70 but one site sells radiators for £30 more though I can't see any difference other than a lifetime warranty.
Cheers chaps. Read more
Well the Nissens/PMA radiator fell through so I have to find one locally. Turned up a 'new old stock' rad in Coventry for £30+VAT. Connections are fine and it feels solid. At least it doesn't leak!
The new rad is made by International Radiator Services.
X Reg 2.0 Honda Accord Executive SE (Auto) 64K Miles
On a Cold start it fast idles at just over 1000RPM (which i gather would be normal to do with an automatic choke)
After about 5 mins driving, once car warms up a bit it does the following:
- when stationary idle stays at 1000RPM, no matter how long been driven for,
while stationary and placed in neutral or park, engine starts to hunt. RPM needle starts to bounce up and down (1000 to 1200) you can feel and hear this through the car.
-while driving, RPM counter hunts between 1000RPm and 1200RPM aprox when decelerating i.e when taking foot off excelerator, in this range the car feels as though it is going to stall.
If i stop and turn the car off and turn it straight back on all is fine. The ref counter at idle sits 500RPM rather than sitting at 1000RPM.
Can anyone offer any advice as to the problem, have just had the timing belts replaced at Honda Dealer. Have had the car at Honda but they couldn't replicate the hunting and as its getting into winter this is happening more often as i am having more cold starts.
Any hints to take to the honda mechanics would be greatly appreciated
Cheers
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Having put up with the issue for the past few years finally has been sorted out when i took the car to another Honda Dealership as it was getting more common.
As mentioned by the above comment ended up being a faulty air control valve - fault code P1519 INLET AIR CONTROL CICRCUT FAILURE. Part was expensive at £334 + VAT!...
I need to replace a rotor arm (it is a 'bonded' type) i.e not a push on fit (these were easy)
Is it an easy DIY fix or does it need a more specialist garage. How do you remove the old rotor arm. Any Ideas or experience welcome. Thanks.
{no need to mention car make/model in subject header - your selection from the drop down menus takes care of that, edited properly this time!} Read more
Many thanks for your advice, I'll try your method to remove the old Rotor Arm, although avoid using a hammer to crack it !
In the Hayes Manual its states, that it is a more specialist job, but really if it is just a case of the manufacturer glueing the original rotor arm when the engine was assembled then no worries.
I think after 75,000 miles it definately needs replacing too !
Has anyone else had recent problems with the Autotrader web site. For the last couple of weeks, it's constantly frozen and crashed my computer. No problems with any other sites, so it has to be an issue their end. Read more
Firefox 3 for me. Worked yesterday, but resets m postcode to something different every time I log on.
At the end of May this year my 75 year old mother was driving her Fiat Punto (2003, 25,000 miles) sedately along a suburban road, just having started up again after traffic lights. There was an explosion from under the bonnet. A terrifying experience, with the fire brigage being called and parts of the clutch strewn over the road and pavement, but fortunately my mother was not injured. The clutch had blown up. Repairs had to be carried out, necessitating a new gearbox, starter motor, water tank, some electrical parts and clutch.
My mother had to pay for these extensive repairs, under protest. The Fiat dealership where she got the car were totally uninterested in the case. The people at the different Fiat dealership which repaired the car were rude and completely disorganised. Fiat customer services were totally uninterested in the case, responding to my mother's letters and telephone calls with apparently random and not very polite comments indicating they hadn't read her letters and were uninterested in grasping even the bare essentials of the case.
I have two questions:
1. Is there anything we can do to get redress?
2. Does anyone have any idea what might have caused this incident? The car was being driven carefully and appropriately. My mother has been the only driver. She doesn't coast along for miles with her foot on the clutch or anything like that. The car mileage is low.
Thank you. Read more
I would say that getting redress now will be difficult.
You do not have the broken bits and although "under protest" the work carried out was agreed to.
Was the car serviced annually? If not than it may not even qualify for a full service history.
Given the extent of the damage and the vehicle age it would have been prudent to consider scrapping the car. Perhaps the dealer should have explained to your mother that this was a catastrophic failure and that the repairs would be very expensive and perhaps uneconomic.
Browse
My Dad had problems with them on an Alfa 166. He once had to drive home in the rain with a window stuck down, and on another occasion, had an important meeting and had to leave the car with the window down for an hour in the centre of Sheffield.
Not very safe but he was at the end of his tether with the useless main dealers so took the risk.
For me though I've had 4 cars with electric windows, have only had 1 problem in more than 9 years of motoring, a rear window that did not fail just went slow and needed guides lubricating.