I've been experiencing occasional brief slowing down when driving as if I've applied the brakes momentarily. I've also been told of my brake lights flickering. Since I believe this subject has come up before (Linesman in March 09 I believe) I'd be grateful for any information to explain this experience and, hopefully, a cure for the problem.
(this is my first post as a newcomer)

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Hi

I have a Laguna Estate 2.0L RXE Limited Edition. The one with leather interior and rear brake discs rather tha drums)

I recently had all 4 tyres changed.

The fitter put the rotation on the front left tyre the wrong way round, so switched this with the rear right one.

After getting it back on the road i noticed a knocking sound coming from the front axle getting louder between 20 and 30 at a specific point as the axle turned.

Ive to date switched the front tyre for a spare to eliminate thread problems and paid £28 to have the wheels tracked. Still the same, there has always been a slight rubbing sound when turning left but this is not noticeably louder.

Its as if the wheels oval!! lmao

Ive taken it back today to the garage that have fitted the tyres, there the experts............COUGH........Theres a slight lip on the disc which they say they nwill grind off tomorrow to see if this helps, of it could be a ball joint..

But the question hasnt been answered that if the car was OK before they fitted the tyres WHY all off a sudden am i presented with bag of bolts??

Any answers would be appreciated as im skint and cant afford to be messed around by a mechanical merrygo round special!

Regards

Lav Read more

David

I own a Yaris and replaced my own pads and disks (DIY) for £105 parts only).
An indie should be able to do it for £40 labour tops: it's an easy job 1 hour tops..

A 2003 Yaris will easily last to 2013 and do 120k miles + if serviced regularly...

As far as Buy now or later, the BOE are printing money like it's going out of fashion. Some time or other sterling will slide and imported car prices rise...(and all small cars are basically imported)
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Having had one problem solved on here today, thought I'd try the other one. My 1.6L 2002 Ford Focus Zetec has developed an annoying intermittent problem - only happens maybe once/week.

Will be stopped at traffic lights/roundabout, and when I come to accelerate in first gear it just doesn't accelerate - moves along at about 3-5 miles/hour for about 7-10 seconds before kicking in. This is with the clutch fully out. Pressing harder on the accelerator doesn't make any difference. Engine doesn't over-rev. Just doesn't accelerate for a while, then suddenly off it goes.

Has been going on for about a month and has happened maybe 5 times - no obvious cause, no funny noises. Pretty dangerous when it happens on roundabouts though - any ideas? Read more

Just found this site and it seems the perfect arena to vent my utter exaperation with VW. Also, I think it is good for VW users to use a forum like this to exchange experiences as I am not at all sure customers are being treated, dare I say it, honestly. This is a bit long I am afraid, but hopefully enlightening.
The warning light came on to say that brake pads needed fitting. I had been told by a friend, who is not altogether totally ignorant about cars, that only the front pads are likely to need doing, 'dont have the rear pads done until I look at them, or the discs'. I duly booked in for front brake pads and also a new cam belt. I had been told several times by VW that it was important to have this done even though the car only has 35000 miles on the clock. I was warned of the potential cost I could incur if the belt went. I relented and agreed to have it done yesterday with the brake pads. However I received a call from VW to say that the brake pads all round together with the discs were very very low and scored etc etc and all needed doing. £958.65 was the bill for this. That was yesterday. Yesterday, all I had was a brake pad warning light - today I have the ABS warning light on, I cant move out of parking into neutral easily and I have taken the car straight back.

By some strange coincidence, the very day after the work has been done (but I am assured by VW this is purely coincidental), the ABS pump needs replacing at a cost of £1000+ just for the pump plus labour and VAT! I had a brake sensor fitted to alleviate the gear change problem, which at the moment seems to have done the trick.

This is not the first time I have left a VW garage with more wrong with the car than when I went in. With my last VW - after servicing I found nails in the tyres - on three occasions! On one occasion I discovered that the service hadnt in fact been done, although I was charged for it, not even the oil was changed.

This has come at a very bad time for me because only last week my daughter (for whom I had leased a POLO for 2 years), had the end of lease inspection. The car was in immaculate condition and had only 9000 miles on the clock. The front wheel trims were scuffed, I replaced them, the 2 year service was due, I had it done, I replaced a couple of bulbs and had paint repairs on a couple of small scuffs to the front bumper, minor and very tiny dents on the doors (hardly visible and certainly not photographable). I was confident the car would pass any inspection. At the end of the inspection I was given an estimate for £1700 plus VAT to 'put the car right'. I immediately took it to two garages for an independent inspection - both agreed with me the car was in good condition and had a very small amount of use - which they considered fair wear and tear. I have had leased cars myself for many years (including VWs) and have never, ever, had to pay back one penny in 'refurbishment'. The inspector said I needed two new tyres at the front - the VW dealer I subsequently took the car to for their opinion, disagreed and said the tyres were legal. Sensing I was in for a battle and feeling extremely anxious that the inspector I had was on a commission earning exercise - I took the car to a renowned body specialist and had every tiny imperfection taken out. On reinspection, the inspector noticed a speck of dirt inside the paint on the bumper (seriously I am not making this up) where the car had had a minor paint repair. He said they would have to redo the paintwork. In all I spent £1515 getting the car to their very high standards. I have just received an invoice for £134 to cover the wheel trims at the back and a new front tyre!! The wheel trims at the back were very very lightly marked and the tyre was legal even according to the VW dealer. I have refused to pay it on principle. Can anyone tell me how I trace the lease car so that I can see if they had the 'refurbishsment' work done, which I dont believe they did. I am going to sell my VW Golf and buy another make of car altogether. I feel I have been dealing with complete charlatans. Would love to hear from anyone with similar end of lease experiences or major problems materialising after a visit to the VW dealership for servicing, minor repairs or indeed if anyone else has had a cam belt replaced and their ABS pump suddenly needed replacing??? If so then VW are aware that this is a problem and this would account for the pressure to get the cam belt done - they recommended I had the cam belt changed when I only had 20,000 miles on the clock, but left it until I had 35,000 miles on the clock.
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