Recently bought an 2004 mazda 6 diesel estate with 50k miles on the clock. Been very pleased with it, but have noticed that it sometimes kicks out a large cloud of grey smoke on start up. This seems to normally happen when it has been parked facing down hill, and not only after a long rest; today it happened after the car had only been left for 2 hours - hardly long enough to cool down fully. At home I always park on my drive which faces up hill and it never happens there. I have seen this fault mentioned on forums before, but there has been no suggestion as to the cause. Being reasonably familiar with diesel engines this is the sort of smoke you get when there is excess fuel at start up i.e. it is effectively unburnt fuel, and this would be consistent with its smell. The car always starts very quickly so it is not due to diesel building up due to long cranking before starting. I assume therefore that fuel is getting into the cylinders while the engine is stopped with the car facing down hill and is kicking it out as the smoke when it is next started. Sounds like there is possibly a defective valve which is supposed to stop this type of gravity feed when the engine is stopped. Any idea where this might be or any other suggestions? Have people who have experienced the major fuel pump problem noticed this in the run up its failure? Read more

Don't know if anyone else has had a similar proiblem. Over the past several months or so I've noticed after heavy rain or if I've been to the Car Wash, a strange 'sloshing' noise can be heard when I'm on the move and either accelerating/deccelerating/changing course etc. It's really difficult to pin point the exact location but think it may be coming from the Nearside/front - possibly even the doors.
Could water have actually managed to get into the the doors some how ? - I have checked the usual things like the door/windows seals and they seem to be intact and working fine.
Any suggestions would be greatfully received. Read more

Looking at new tyres for my car (225/50 17"). Currently have three mixed worn tyres, Pirelli P6000 and Michelin Pilot Primacy HP, and a relatively new Pirelli P7 with a couple of thousand miles on it.

I can get 3 more P7s for £128 each from mytyres (£14 for fitting, each).

Or other tyres Goodyear Excellence £81, Toyo Proxes T1 R £100, Goodyear Eagle NCT 5 £101, Dunlop SP Sport 01 £108, Michelin Pilot Primacy HP £125. £16 for fitting, each from tyrexpress.

Has anyone got any recommendations? First priority is a smooth ride. Read more

Hi all,

I am considering both of these cars at the moment and would be interested to hear of any ownership experiences from the backroom. I have read in a number of places that the 1.4 is preferable to the 1.6 and that the Hyundai offers a smoother ride.

What I am interested in is the experiences of owners, problems they have had - or not, fuel economy, service from dealers, servicing costs etc. We are a small family (2 grown ups and a 5 year old) and the car appears fine for our needs bearing in mind we are down sizing from a Vectra estate. Just means we'll need to buy a bike rack.

I may consider a used 1.6 diesel version, but the deals available on new petrol versions (i30 1.4 for £9695) are very attractive. We only do an average sort of mileage - around 12-14k pa so are probably just below the economic threshold for a diesel.

Thank you in advance for your comments!
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Hi to all,

I am new to this forum (though not to Chrysler MPV's) and have some techical issues regarding a recently aquired Grand Voyager LX (GS Body - Model build year 2000).

The vehicle is in excellent general condition with comparatively low mileage for its age however I would value assistance concerning restoring full function to its extensive equipment fit and accordingly, any/all advice will be very much appreciated!!

BTW.......I do have access to a 1998 3.3L Grand Voyager LE (almost the same spec as my LX as it had most of the factory options installed) as it has no engine it is a ready source of spares!!!

Issue 1.

The drivers seat heater (backrest & cushion) does not work (passenger seat does btw).

My limited research identifies the components involved as Heater elements, Heater Switch, Heater Relay and Heater Module? Which are common to both seats? Do they share a common fuse...if so which? Where are the relays/modules/fuses located?Looking for a start point diagnosing the problem.

BTW. Have just had a reply on another forum suggesting safety/satisfaction recall D43?? may be required.....Does anybody know if this applies to UK vehicles or only US?

NB. The 98 LE does have a working drivers seat heater are the various components easy to change??

Issue 2.

The reversing sensor system is inoperative on the LX (but not the LE!)......

Both vehicles are equiped with a Mopar Reversing Aid (Part No: 01040148) with sensors adjacent to the rear number plate. They were sold as a genuine Mopar accessory (manufactured by a company called Meta Systems? - marked on interior component). I have a 99 dealer accessory brochure (it was a 'dealer fit' item) and the system is clearly shown!

Is anybody familiar with this particular "accessory" and how it was wired into the vehicle electrics by the dealers? I assume it is somehow wired to the reversing light bulb circuit but how/where is it fused?

Issue 3

When the headlamp leveling wheel (switch) is moved the motors can clearly be heard to work but no adjustment of the headlamp beams is effected plus the motors seem to 'hunt' rather than drive to one stop point.

Again as the leveling system on the LE works how easy is it to swap the components and what is involved??? ............or could it be another problem??

Issue 4 more of a gripe really!!!

The superb trip computer is calibrated in US gallons, is there any way it can be calibrated to read in Imperial gallons hence MPG?? Just hate doing the mental maths from the US measure!!!!!

Perhaps something can be fitted (maybe into a feed wire?) to accomplish the 1.2 X multiplication required to display Imperial Gallons and hence MPG correctly for the UK? .......Maybe some electronic expert(s) have already done this.......... or else might suggest how?

Some people have suggested that this can/has been done with the GS body vehicle. I believe this was fully rectified in the later (RG body) Grand Voyagers from the 2001 Model Year.

All/any advice/instructions much appreciated.........


Thanks in anticipation of your help!!


VP

{Typo in header now corrected} Read more