February 2009
Just a quick question about whether having the rear heated screen switched on whilst the engine is off as you can do with this car (for 10-15 minutes) can do any harm to the battery or does it depend on whether the alternator is working as it should ? Read more
The car concerned is a 1999 Ford Focus 1.8 petrol which has done 78k miles.
I have owned the car since 2004 and have always thought that the clutch "biting" point is near the top of the pedal travel compared with other cars I have driven.
The problem with this is that on hill starts it is quite difficult to balance the clutch pedal and the accelerator pedal in order to move off from a standstill. This applies to reversing on a hill or slope. The other thing that I notice is that when I have reached the biting point and the car is about to move, the engine revs on the tachometer come down to not much more than 1000 rpm. For example, if prior to bringing the clutch pedal up to the biting point I rev the engine up to say 2250 rpm and then bring the clutch pedal all the way up to the biting point, the revs drop right down to like I said about 1000rpm.
Does this sound normal ?
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For example if prior to bringing the clutch pedal up to the biting point
I rev the engine up to say 2250 rpm and then bring the clutch pedal
all the way up to the biting point the revs drop right down to like
I said about 1000rpm.
If the clutch was going engine revs would not die.
Best way to check a clutch is to park on the flat and select 5th release handbrake and try to pull away if car stalls clutch is fine if revs increase and clutch is fully out it is gone.
I have a nearly new Jazz and as part of the purchase I received a card and details of the... "Honda*** dealers name*** Accident Aftercare" service. It gives me a 24 hour number to call and they handle the accident by arranging collection to a Honda approved repairer and use Honda parts, courtesy car and manangement of the claim on my behalf as well as recovery of uninsured losses if not my fault. So now I can call them and let them sort it out - or call the Ins. Co. and deal direct with them (Ins. Co. said I could request a Honda approved repairer but I don't know whether they would still offer courtesy car if I make that request). The Ins. Co. said, when I asked them today, it's up to me who I call but it's better to go direct to them...."thats what you're paying us for". Honda Accident Aftercare said it's up to me who I call but it's better to go through them as they will work on my behalf. So who would you call? Who's paying for the Honda aftercare? and do you lose control of the accident management if you do use them? On the phone the Aftercare assistant didn't endear herself to me and we didn't have a terribly meaningful conversation and she certainly didn't sell the service to me, but that may not count for much. Would be grateful for anyones previous experience before it happens. PS - I haven't had an accident - just trying to be prepared in case the worst did happen. Read more
Thanks rtj70 for interceding on my behalf.....I should have made it clearer fron the outset that I was anticipating the worst and not seeking advice after it. The advice has been mixed - I would probably tend towards either going direct to the Ins. Co. or, as was suggested, telling both!
in this time of dramatically worsened car sales and many people keeping their money rather than spending it on a car, do you suppose that manufacturers or dealers might 'up their game' and actually provide some decent service across the board, instead of sporadic success stories..or maybe even tailor their products to what the customer really wants, rather than what the sales staff thinks looks good or we ought to want.
The following list is what I think ought to be a basic norm for a new car. I appreciate we're all different and the options list is for those who want to personalise it, but nevertheless i think there are basics that would appeal to many. (I haven't for example inc a sunroof, although that would be a definite for me)
- full sized spare wheel (what's all this space saver or mousse carp)
- easy to reach bulbs front and rear, (because let's face it they occasionally blow)
- easy to change headlamp settings for trips abroad
- robust cupholders e.g. near the hand brake, not some flimsy plastic thing that would
last a week or something Q would have been proud of.
- 'normal' cars to have comfort a priority over out and out handling (if you want to do
your Lewis Hamilton or Sebastien Loeb, order one with Sports suspension)
etc, etc
as for the dealers:
- how about treating a customer like Indian Restaurants do i.e. as if you're actually
welcome and would welcome you buying their product
- how about showing your item for the price you're willing to sell it at, rather than a
faslely inflated figure that the unwary/those that lack confidence, might pay.
- sort your parts dept's out so that the man behind the counter isn't surly and rude
- ensure the sales staff research their products so they know what they're talking about
- adopt a 'can do' attitude
- try returning calls Read more
But from where I stand a lot
of people want a simpler car!
Well, not me. When I buy a new car I want the very latest in technology and gadgets.
Anyone who wants to halt (or reverse) progress is a fuddy-duddy dinosaur.
I've got an 06 2 litre Diesel Focus and have a nagging doubt about the servicing of the car at the main dealer.
My last Focus from the dealership was always serviced there but one thing kept cropping up. Brakes 80% worn. I had the first ones done but after that I had doubts so did them myself. And ALWAYS found them to be around the 50% mark. Now with another car from them I'm doing the same. But I can't be bothered to complain - until now maybe!
Before the recent service I replaced the front pads because the fluid level went down to minimum. The new pads brought the level back up to the maximum mark. The old pads were about 4mm thick. Whats the new thickness 12.5/13 /14mm?
The latest service report says my rear pads are 75% worn. The latest poster on the wall of the dealership shows 25% 50% and 75%. Change of emphasis? Or do modern pads wear quicker? I've checked them with calipers and find them to be 6mm. That would put the new ones at 24mm thick! Nearly an inch in old money!!
I'm going to try and make up a kind of go/no go gauge
I had the brake fluid changed - because it's hygroscopic - but can't see any sign that the bleed nipples have been touched but the reservoir is covered in brake fluid and not even cleaned. Is there any other way of getting the fluid out apart from the usual method?
Probably the most trivial thing as far as I'm concerned was that the mechanic put "Car Dirty" in the comment column. This might give the impression of a car covered in grime with number plates obliterated. It's not.
I've driven it all week when others were having days off work due to the bad weather and even managed to get to the garage for the service - when others didn't -in the snow and slush so to see a comment like that makes me wonder what they expected to be presented with.
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I want to trust this main dealer. But my
experiences with them in the past are telling me I might have been too tolerant.
Ford dealers are inspected by the RAC (tinyurl.com/dn3g5o) so they have to be reasonably trustworthy and efficient. What reason have you for thinking that their employees would be any less trustworthy than you are in your job?
Hello,First time on here,i'm looking for some help
I have a 2005 model Passat Estate 1.9TDI(130).The problem i have is the car wont start,it seems to be turning over fine but it wont fire up ??? When i got in the car today i noticed the clock was wrong and the trip comp was at zero ??? When trying to start it i got a warning on the dash :STOP Oil Pressure low or something along those lines,Anyone have any ideas ??? At first i thought it was possibly the battery but now i'm not to sure,thanks in advance Read more
Hi,thanks for the quick reply.Yeah the battery was my first thought but when the STOP Warning came up it concerned me a little ???.The battery is currently on charge,i,ve tried it a couple of times and it turns over fine but its just not firing
hi, can anyone help pls, we have had the AA out this car, a call out mechanic and still no joy, the car went dead with no power at all, so we had the battery changed and over night the new battery went flat,
we have checked and clean all hearth points and checked leads, i have just put another alternator on and stiil drained all the battery,
when it was driving the battery light came on and then went off, then it died at the lights but it started up that time, the light's went dim and bright when we touched accelerator.
just had the car jumped started and i left it for a while to charge and when i put the light's on it cut out or when i touched the brakes it cut out and would not start as no battery life was in the car, please help me Read more
just to let you know i have solved the problem, it was a battery save relay that drained the battery THANKS FOR YOUR HELP !!!!!!!!!!!
The old Vectra has been given intermittent emissions warning via the lamp on the dash. It will come on and go off after a few ignition cycles. The garage I use put the car on diagnostics and told me that it was the engine temperature sensor that had caused the fault light, but as it was the first time it had illuminated and had gone off I was told to keep an eye on it.
It has been on and off a couple of time since so it could be a faulty sensor or connection. The question is the sensor resistive and is there a normal resistance range for the cold sensor? I just thought that I would check both the sensor and connections to see if I can sort it myself before going to the garage.
Thanks
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yes it is fitted to this engine, there is a resitance range but you would be very good to spot a fault they run in two stages ie they reach a stage then switch back down to a higher resitance then start again what makes you think that its a cts fault, normal fault/sympton with this is stalling and hard to restart far better to get the codes out of the ecu, paper clip methord or a dedicated code reader. Regards TB
The car in front dropped a low profile alloy in it and jumped into the air - the sound of castanets followed as the drivers head hit the roof and his teeth went jibber-jabber, while his tongue played Russian roulette with the guillotine...
Well, would you wouldn`t you if you put one of those 2" tyres on 17" wheels in?
www.forumpics.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/pothole.jpg
(Link - to my own site - valid for one week)
Have you seen better - or rather worse? - perhaps one that actually rips the front wheel and drive shaft out - flinging it across the carriageway.
Actually, this pothole was seen on the way out on as B road at 9.00AM. Turned round and parked to take a photo, exactly as a Council official pulled up and sprayed the paint around it. I stood there with the phone waiting for him to finish and said `Good morning` as I took the photo.
Returning just over an hour later the pothole had not only been filled with tarmac (in a large square) - it wasn`t even steaming.
I wonder why so quickly ;-)
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Came round the M25 today A12/127 section and near A1 junction there are some pot holes that could easily smash a car wheel in the inside lane mainly along the tracks where the truck n/s wheels run.
One hole which i obviously didn't alight to measure must have been a very vicious 6/8" deep at the lowset point and probably 12" wide by 24" long, truly the worst i've seen untreated on a motorway.
I managed to avoid most of them, but any souls scurrying about tonight in the dark and wet could easily come a cropper.
Any ideas how to remove acrylic underside to access bulb .....flashes with remote instructions? Thanks Read more
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IIRC my old '98 Focus switched off the HRW after about ten minutes.