October 2009
Had a "discussion" with my wife yesterday about roundabouts. Can anyone settle this?
Imagine a roundabout with 4 exits - 12 o'clock, 3 oclock, 6 o'clock, and 9 o'clock. You are approaching the roundabout from 6 o'clock, and want to go straight ahead, and exit at 12 o'clock. There are two lanes to enter the roundabout, but only one on the exit at 12 o'clock. There are no signs, or road markings indicating which lane to use.
I'm pretty sure that when I learnt the highway code to pass my driving test in the late 80's, the advice was to use the left lane for taking the first exit of a roundabout, either lane could be used for the second turning, and the right hand lane should be used at any junction beyond the second. (unless otherwise indicated)
Assuming my assumption above is correct, as you are approaching the roundabout, you notice there is a queue in the left lane, but the right lane is clear, so you decide to use it. At the point of entering the roundabout, the car in the left lane enters the roundabout at the same time as you to go straight on, but as there is only one exit lane, one of you has to give way.
Who has right of way?
The Highway code seems a bit vague about which lane to use, suggesting that you use an "appropriate" lane. Clearly it is easy to determine which lane is appropriate for turning left or right, but not straight on. I'm sure it used to say that you could use either, but can't find an old copy of it anywhere. Read more
Help!!
I have been meaning to replace the wifes rear wiper arm for ages (since our youngest decided it would be good to swing from it while no one was looking).
So, got out to the car with a spanner this morning, released the single nut holding the arm in place and thought I would be finished in another 2 minutes! Ooooooh No!!
How on earth do you now remove the wiper arm? I have tried whacking it to loosen it, tried hoiking it off with mole grips, tried wedging it off with a screw driver but it won't budge!
I've got an old Frontera Haynes manual and it says that if it sticks pull at it with mole grips, well if i'd pulled any harder I would have pulled the motor through the boot lid.
Hope someone can help me!! Please! Read more
Hi Peter
I managed to fix this last night with a Screwfix puller for
www.screwfix.com/prods/48634/Van-Car-Accessories/M...r for £13 odd.
Thanks for the tip!
Adam
Just bought a Corsa C this week and have struggled driving at night, seems that the lights are not very bright. With dipped headlights on i cant light up the bumper of a car parked 5 to 6 metres in front of me.
Tried the headlight range adjustment but this only moves and lights up when the main beam is switched on.
I have tried changing the bulb but the outer lights don't light up unless the main beams are on.
Any ideas? Read more
The only time the outer light comes on is when the main beams are on.
This to me sounds like there is a fault with the indicator/headlight stalk if the dipped beams only come on with high beam.
i have just bought a 2001 seat alhambra with only one key, i thought it would be simple to get a new key for it but in the handbook it says it can't be done without the key tag - which didn't come with the car...
does this mean it's impossible/ridiculously expensive to get an extra key cut? and what if i were to lose the one i have???
am a car key virgin so any advice appreciated! thankyou Read more
I hope help from a newbie on this forum is acceptable.
Reprogramming the keys on an Alhambra (once you have them) is a breeze.
Unfortunately nigelbrooks, you didnt read up your stuff very well.
The procedure you describe is to program the remote locking unit in the car, to accept the key.
So now you have a key that will open the doors using the buttons....
To start the car you need to program the PATS chip in the key to match the ECU (immobiliser) in the car. This can only be done by specialist equipment and security codes.
Wonder if Hyundai have addressed the problem that has been known to affect this model. I may purchase one if a cure has been found. Thinking it was probably just the odd car I had a look on the web and was amazed at the number of owners complaining (only looked because of the reference on this site). Anyone know? Read more
This is so frustrating. The same is often said of new exhausts and brakes. I have never picked up a new car with shrieking brakes a juddering clutch and an extra loud exhaust. You know you are being fobbed off but at least you have given them a time limit. I also find that when there is a problem like this you can become hyper sensitive to it. At least they recognise there is a problem. Good luck
This morning I went to a dealer to look at a suitable trailer for moving my old car around the country. I already had something in mind for size and length but was rather thrown when the dealership owner insisted that he would not be able to let me drive away with any of the trailers I was thinking of buying unless I had a suitable vehicle. He says - and I can't see any advantage for him in saying this - that if I buy a trailer weighing 600kg itself but plated to carry 2500kg I cannot drive the 600kg empty trailer home unless I have a vehicle rated for the full 2500kg rather than the 1500kg-rated car I had in mind for the trip home. This was news to me since I had always assumed it was the actual weight being towed that counted and not the potential weight the trailer could carry. I had ultimately thought to tow a trailer and light car having a combined weight of about 1300kg but the most suitable trailer is plated at 2500kg which means only a limited number of 4x4s could be used legally. It is possible to ask the trailer manufacture to plate the trailer down in weight terms but this could make the trailer hard to sell later. This was in Leicester where the dealer claimed the local police had an officer dealing specifically with trailer regulations and offences. Is all this correct because I can't see it on the Department for Transport trailer info on its website? Read more
Of course you could have a trailer plated within the limit of the vehicle and
accidently overlaod it exceeding the manufacturers limit and so operate illegally and
unsafely. It's as broad as it is long.
Not at all and you must be missing the whole point of this thred.
The hypothosis here was that just by using an unladen trailer that is plated above the limit of the vehicle you are breaking the law.
Of course you are breaking the law by exceeding the manuacturers limts, but that applies to ANY vehicle.
Quite a lot longer there than it is broad I'd say.
I see that in the HJ column of the DT there's a query about turning off daytime running lights on a Golf. In his reply HJ states that these "do not dazzle".
I call cobblers on that. Driving into Brussels this AM, there was a light to medium mist. The number of VAG vehicles relying on their "daytime" lights was quite scary. Presumably their drivers have got the lights set to "auto" and are too dumb to override this when conditions demand, i.e. when in misty conditions with a sky just bright enough to trip the light sensor. Very dumb indeed in mist since these daytime lights don't have rear counterparts - a massive oversight IMHO. The conditions were sufficiently misty to make it very obvious that rear lights were a "must", rendering those vehicles with them off invisible at range.
What was very noticable was how the "daytime" LED lights (designed to be easily visible in bright sunlight) appeared considerably brighter than the headlights/foglights on other vehicles (which are designed to not dazzle at night), bearing a strong similarity to main beams from the POV of the poor prune in front (me in this case). I eventually had to resort to the dipping mirror after having my eyeballs roasted for the umpteenth time by one of these idiots running up behind.
I am now firmly of the opinion that these things are more trouble than they're worth. Read more
Just had an Audi Q7 following me along.
Is there a race to see how many leds can be fitted on a production car?
The marketing section has infiltrated the design department. All the marketroids previously worked as hairdressers.
Hi all.. Advice gratefully received for the following question....
Changed the front brakes on my Octavia 1.9 Tdi today, but after bleeding the system the brake pedal can be pushed to the floor when the engine is running... With the engine off the pedal has a little more resistance, but can still be pushed all the way down... Servo sounds like it's sucking air when I pump the pedal... Brakes were okay before apart from wearing down... Any solutions??? Thanking you all in advance..:) Read more
marina with disc brakes and then realised the caliper was for the wrong side and so couldnt get the air out
I had exactly the same with a Marina disc brake conversion on a Minor which had been done by a friend. After assembling the conversion, he couldn't get a good pedal, and he asked me to have a look at it. I have to confess it took me an embarassingly long time before the coin fell, and I registered that the two bleed nipples were pointing downwards! D'oh!
My son has a problem with the brakes on a Citroen C3. They were dragging and overheating on a run. He has replaced the front discs and pads. After adjusting the rear shoes the brakes were still dragging so he attempted to bleed the system by pressurising the master cylinder but could not get any fluid out of the bleed nipples, front or back. Bear in mind I am passing this info on, but I can get more if required. Thanks for any help in anticipation. Read more
I don't think you will have a master cylinder problem on such a new car unless you have flipped the seals when the pedal may have been pushed when the pistons were back.
You could remove the master while the pipes are still connected pull back just to see if fluid is passing out of the front seal.
I still think this is a basic problem not abs releated.
The carpet in the nearside rear footwell is sodden wet but confined to the area underneath the front passenger seat mostly towards the middle of the car under a sort of fan shaped plastic air vent.
I have noticed for some time now that the map wedged down between the passenger seat and centre console has shown signs of damp but it is now absolutely soaking so I suspect there may have been a problem for some time but it has just got much worse!
Since there has been little rain over the past months and I haven't hosed the car down or taken it through a car wash for absolutely ages, I am doubtful it is a straightforward rainwater leak.
However, there are no telltale smells to suggest the cause and the fact that it is only the one rear footwell affected must limit the options.
Any ideas please? Or am I faced with removing seat and carpets etc.? Read more
Hi speedycar53
...
Browse
It's quite apt that the discussion is about roundabouts then ;o)
Time to turn off into a Cul De Sac and park up though I think.
Thread locked.