September 2009
The more I read the forum, the more it feels like we are being sold a bit of a pup by the auto industry. This pup is in the shape of inherently unreliable, or overly complex technology that results in much higher costs for us and reduced reliability, all seemingly to increase profits for the motor industry. In addition it makes repairing cars over 7 years old fairly uneconomic in a lot of cases....so built in end of life/reduced lifespan.
I am interested in what others think and feel a robust discussion of this stuff may just get noticed. It's certainly one of the reasons I think there is the massive fight against all electric cars by the industry and this love of the Internal combustion engine.
I have a few examples, I am sure there are many others.
1. Dual Mass flywheels.....my goodness , I can't think of a part more likely to fail or cause problems, the reasons for it being in so many cars are a mystery to me. The complexity of it is completely unnecessary and it's in the drive train. Just one look at it and it's easy to predict most of them will wear within a fairly low mileage and give problems fairly quickly. Is it really better than an ordinary flywheel that lasts the life of the car, because I don't remember many problems with those on the road or track?
2. The beloved ECU.....can it run windows 7, or Vista, does it have a full colour 18 inch display, or 300 gigabytes of storage and 4gb of onboard ram. Does it have multiprocessing ability, can it play music, does it replace your stereo, or MP3 player, can it play DVDs in the car. NO! So why do they cost £400-700 or more to replace, it's a ridiculous price when you think about it?
3. The Ford super electronic intelligent charge system......Why, oh why. It's extra complication where it wasn't needed, requires a more expensive battery. Were the problems with ordinary batteries and charging systems so bad? I must admit, my Civic has had the same battery in for nearly 8 years (still going strong), my Honda Insight battery only lasted 9 years. neither car ever failed to start in the mornings. Perhaps with the over complex and more expensive ford solution, my batteries would have last longer. With most people owning cars for around 7-8 years from new, do you really care. The added bonus is I can use any battery I want as long as it's the correct amp hour capacity. Which means I only need to pay £25-£30 for a battery.
4. The DPF.....great idea, especially the regen cycle being so bad on many cars that it starts diluting the sump oil with Diesel. No problem I read just change it if the oil level rises too much...whaaat, we pay a lot of money for quality lubricants, with fancy ratings and don't worry if it gets diluted by half a litre or more of Diesel. I can't think of anything more likely to introduce extra wear within the engine, plus other problems. Yet it's OK and we are not driving the cars correctly? Yup, a wizard idea the DPF
5. HID headlights....Yeah great, so what was wrong with the halogen bulbs for £2.99, they were easy to replace as well. But no the auto industry starts fitting these expensive white elephants...perhaps because our modern streets and motorways are not lit as well, or perhaps we can't see so good. Possibly it's just that cars are faster, but speed limits are dropping?
I am perhaps a little cynical, but I don't remember people asking for all this stuff and I bet many don't want it when it fails. It has not enhanced my motoring experience in any way. I know the arguments, better fuel economy lower emissions etc..There are many great ideas that would have achieved these things, but the auto industry for some reason has not rushed to embrace them with the enthusiasm of these white elephants. Now don't get me wrong, there have been many great improvements, but it just seems these last 10 years, that a lot of effort is devoted to removing extra money from our pockets.
Do you have any more "improvements" from the auto industry that you don't like?
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Hello all,
I thought it might be vaguely interesting to find out what type of vehicles us Back Roomers are entitled to drive. As an optional extra, please feel free to tell us how many points you have.
I'll start -
Car, manual transmission, passed 23/04/1992, no points.
Bus, manual transmission, passed 01/10/1997, no points.
And that's it. I'd like to do my Class 2 LGV but pecuinary impeculiarity precludes.
Cheers. Read more
Cheers, Harleyman. I've already got my digital tacho card and as I'm an exisitng licence holder, I don't need to worry about CPC (which I believe is just another Government box-ticking exercise and a total waste of time) until 2012, IIRC.
the alternator on my ford ka doesnt seem to be charging. i put a multi meter across the battery when the engine was running and it read 11.82 as it did when the car wasnt running. is this just a straight forward alternator swap or could it be something else. i dont want to take the part off if it could be something like a relay or fuse somewhere. does it need to go on a computer???? many thanks rich Read more
A friend had his Rocam Ka needing a new alternator lead after the connectors on the alternator (front of engine) corroded through. Aa elec doc. says it's worth checking these basics first.
Can I tow my Micra automatic behind my motorhome, anyone?
Thanks Steady. Read more
BiG
>>>>>>>>>>>>the common view is that it is not legal.<<<<<<<<<<<<<
This is only true if you are talking about 'A frame' towing. If the towed vehicle is wholly on a 2 or 4 wheel trailer braked as required wrt respective weights, (as the links to manufacturers above)., there is no issue of illegality.
I got a Council PCN, I forgot to pay. But, the ticket shows the wrong make of car. It says Volkswagen, I have a Nissan, the registration is correct, does it matter?
{moves from classifieds to discussion} Read more
One presumes that the PCN was sent by the Council ( it is not a private parking jobbie is it?)
in which case it is what they term a Regulation 10 Notice. Under the Schedule to Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 one of the requirements of information that HAS to be included on the PCN is MAKE of Vehicle, which in your case in wrong.
You have failed to pay the PCN in 28 days so bang goes any discount ( normally 50%) so the next thing is that they will send what is called a Notice to Owner ordering you to pay or appeal. Your first line is to appeal back to the Council within 28 days and in this case consider pointing out the Notice is incorrect and therefore does not comply with the Regs and therefore invalid.
They will either accept and NFA or send you a Notice of Rejection and form to take the matter, should you so wish, to the Adjudicator within 28 days.
Bear in mind there will be photographic evidence of your infringement with car details thereon and as in previous cases the Adjudicator, like a Mags Court, has accepted minor errors so it may well be prudent to pay.
dvd
i am having the same problems as stated in a lot of the other threads with regards to engines refusing to idle when approaching junctions etc , i cannot afford to replace my icv until the middle of October ,so i want to give it a good clean with carb cleaner to see if it helps.
my problem is when i remove the valve is the any oil or water passages behind it i should be aware of or is it just bolted to the cyl block as a mounting point Read more
Cracking ad - just on TV, not seen it before.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=16e8Sm4PeII Read more
When did "bike" cease to be used to mean bicycle and start to be used to mean motorcycle?
Some time ago. "Bike" magazine has been around since the early 1970s
www.motorcyclenews.com/Bike/Best-of-Bike/
One of the best bits of bike is the Ogri cartoon
www.grinfactor.com/category.php?catid=15
Hi All,
Just wondered if there are such things as evening car maintenance courses anymore? I'm near Notts and Derby, but can't find anything suitable nearby. I'm looking for a basic course so I can do oil & filter changes, etc., etc and get a good idea of what's going on under the bonnet.
Anyone any ideas?
Cheers
Pootle Read more
>> The other skill that simply takes time to develop is the "feel" eg not stripping nuts or screws
the appropriate torque-setting tool should be used to achieve this.
True, l'escargot, but what I think Dave c's getting at is when you're dismantling something often in a confined space, and knowing just how much "grunt" to apply to a spanner in those circumstances (and indeed using the right one on the first place) is indeed something that is only acquired through practice; not only can it save you money but often skinned knuckles as well!
Hi does anyone know how to add/where the 2 extra seat belts that get fitted for the 6th and 7th seats that fit in the boot I think i can manage the seats themselves unless you know of complications cheers
Y reg? So that'll be either 00 or 01 as the year of manufacture then Read more
It is still an OEM part specifically designed for the vechicle, the only difference is the guy on the wrench is probably not a spotty faced teenager.
Our car scraped the bumper of a hire-car in December 2008 in a car park.
The damage caused was a scuff on the bumper of the size of a 50p.
Having caused this damage we talked to the person (a colleague) who currently had this car and apologised.
The hire car company have now contacted us this week claiming for £300 worth of damage.
We received a bill today for £250 labour and £50 parts - for a repair done in August quoted as 'moderate impact' ( ie 8 months on from the actual damage with the car being used over those 8 months by other people ).
How is the best way to dispute this ??
Any advice gratefully received.
{company name removed} Read more
Bananastand, there's a similarly relaxed attitude at the local car hire place that I use (Leafield Self-Drive in Bradford, www.leafieldgarage.com )
But that may be because they have a very difft business model to the big firms. Instead of buying new cars at a discount and selling them on as nearly-new, these guys buy cars and vans a few years old and maintain them in their own garage. Their mechanical maintenance seems to be great (all their vehicles run very sweetly, despite clocking up high mileages), and I presume they do their own bodywork touchups as needed, because they too are not paranoid about little scratches.
Like you I find that it's a much more relaxed experience than the big hire companies. Since I discovered these guys I avoid the big hire firms like the plague.
You obviously don't do your own maintenance, but have enough money to pay exhorbitant garage fees.