Hi, When my mondeo 2.0 TDCI (117k) is idling it has a rattling sound which sometimes disappears. It just sound like a loose plastic casement vibrating, but when I press the clutch down it stops, or if i lightly press the accelerator the noise eases off a little . Someone said this could be the thrust bearing or flywheel starting to go. Can anyone assist ?
Thanks Read more

I observe from various posts in the BR that cruise control is a well-regarded feature on a car by many posters.
I have cruise control on my car and actually, it is easy to operate. Set / Resume / Speed-up / slow-down - are all there and a doddle to use. However, I just can't see the point of it!

Every few months I make another attempt at using it, and then give up in despair. I find that I am forever setting and resetting the cruise control as I get closer to slower moving cars ahead of me, or having to break and drop out of cruise because the Audi lane is already full of cars and I can't overtake, or someone drops into my lane and forces me to break and drop out of cruise.
In fact the cruise control goes on-and-off like the proverbial tart's underwear!

The other problem is that there is nowhere to put my right foot, if it is not on the accelerator pedal. (Left foot has a nice foot rest, but not the right foot)


Could someone enlighten me - maybe I am approaching this all wrong. Read more

Back in July, I had a minor knock.

To explain the situation, I was at a t-junction indicating a left turn, second in line behind a pick-up which was indicating right at the give way line. The pick-up set off on his right turn, changed his mind, stopped half way across the junction, and reversed back in to the t-junction towards me. He didn't look, went too far in his haste and hit the front of my car, puncturing the plastic bumper with his tow bar (the corner of the bar which hangs below the bumper, not the ball bit, hence the puncture), and furthermore denting a metal cross member behind the bumper. The bumper is also bent out of shape on the other side of the number plate as a result of the movement, and will need replacing to ensure a proper repair. I was so surprised to see him reversing towards me, I didn't have time to check behind me (it was clear as it turned out), select reverse and move out of the way before he hit me.

My guess as to the cost of the damage is more than a couple of hundred pounds (it's a 2006 Mazda 6), considering it's a whole new bumper and a straightening out job on the internal damage. I'm thinking, probably a couple of grand, even though it doesn't look much.

I was driving my children to nursery at the time (1 and 4 years old), so I jumped out of the car and took the pick-up driver's name, number plate and phone number. Foolishly I didn't get his address as I wasn't thinking straight, as I just wanted to get back in the car as quickly as possible to calm the bawling children down and get them out of danger. I couldn't take them out of the car as there was no-one else to look after them. There were no witnesses and no bystanders, it was about 10 to 8 in the morning in a quiet residential area on a very quiet day for traffic.

So, I informed my insurance company, snip !, and provided my statement and drawing of the scene. Since then I have been chasing them up for progress, and now they have stated that the other driver's insurers have 90 days to respond to my accusation of liability to the other driver. And, even after 90 days they only have to respond if my insurers have incurred a financial loss, i.e. we've gone ahead with the repair.

So let me get this right. If I go ahead and repair, my insurance company pay. If they then insist on a statement from the other driver, he may well deny liability. In which case, I'll lose my no claims history and it'll cost me a packet come renewal. Or I cough for the repairs myself. Can this be right? Can the other driver refuse to respond to a enquiry regarding liability? Read more

My '51 106 (main dealer FSH) has now failed its MOT twice on brake imbalance, despite new pads between failures (didn't need them, they were pitted but thought it might cure it, its only done 30k so on original pads)- calipers look fine, move fine, pistons move with thumb pressure, discs look ok, hoses look fine, no judder on braking. Its giving a 36% imbalance (passenger side better) on first pressure which drops to 12% ish, but the tester wouldn't pass it. Chaged the discs over and it dropped to 25% Any ideas? Everything else is perfect, in every way, just this issue. It does seem to be pulling to the left on braking, more so on harder braking.

{Moved across to Technical Matters} Read more

I can hear the groans already...another tyre thread.

The thread on worst budget tyres had a lot of interest for me, especially when Hamsafar dropped a link in to this years Autocar test of budget tyres.

I had a chat to my son today about the tests, he buys good tyres too.
But he asked a pertinent question, were the tyres tested 'bedded in', a strange term which really more rightly means scrubbing the releasing agent from the tread before the tyre can give it's full potential.

These tests could be flawed in the respect that some tyres will bed in very quickly, whilst others take several hundred or more miles to do so...could these tests be fixed in theory by a favoured tyre being professionally cleaned off?

It could be interesting to hear how long our tyres take before giving the sure footed feel of fully bedded/scrubbed in.

Toyo's on my car almost immediately, maybe 100 miles.
Yokohama summers on the pick up about 2000 miles, Vredestein winter tyres must have been buffed at manufacture, full grip immediately.
Tyres on my work truck about 1 month...say 5000 miles depending on make...drive axle most noticeable.

Have others noticed this. Read more