November 2009

sajid

i got a jazz a 53 reg and bought it from the dealer 2 years ago, the car has done only 25k, today i noticed that the seat fabric driver seat, has split from the edge of the seat where the seams are held together, the car itself has been very reliable but am shocked that a car of low mileage have this problem with the seat fabric, going to the dealer see if they would sort it for me, i understand that if a car of high mileage or age the seat fabric would split but not of this age and mileage for my current vehicle.

Just wondering if honda knows of this issue, heard there was something about the interior carpet being worn as well, i bought the vehicle 2nd hand from the dealer, and is out of warranty, but i have a aftermarket warranty from warranty direct, i dont think it covers the seats at all just see what the dealer says when i pay them a visit.

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Pugugly

Would you be too lucky to find one in a real or virtual scrappy ?

aahbarnes

Finally said goodbye to our 2005 Scenic 1.9 DCi Privilege last week, sold to an online buyer. No more problems with turbo, EGR valve, heater resistor, dash electrics, weak trim etc etc.

A great car to drive, plenty of room for family, spoilt by terrible quality and dealer service.

Renault, never again.

Regards
aahbarnes Read more

perro

Maybe so, but some marques (like the Scenic) will require more lemon-aid than others.

paulvm

My wife is seeking a replacement for her Mondeo 2.0 Zetec, as it has done just over 125,000 and is starting to give niggly problems. However, she is also aware that the MPG of this car is not the best and the cost of fuel will continue to rise.
She requires a 5 door vehicle as she takes her elderly mother out once a week who requires a wheelchair. She also commutes 30 miles to work each way on 4 days per week. Her annual mileage is about 14,000 so it is marginal for diesel. She would like a more fuel efficient vehicle and is very keen on the new Ford Fiesta 1.4 Zetec. It has similiar fittings to her Mondeo, such as heated windscreen and trip computer etc., all items which she is keen to retain in a new car.
I run a Honda Accord Tourer and that is our general load carrier, so as long as her new car will accommodate her mother plus wheelchair then that would be ok. Almost all of her driving is on A and B roads, and she likes to have power to overtake when safe and appropriate. She would like to buy new as she has just had a policy pay out and her budget is up to about £11,000. Any suggestions from the Backroom would be greatly appreciated.
By the way she is not keen on either a Yaris or a Jazz - not sure why, but then that is one of the great mysteries of women. Read more

barneybear

I would have thought new fiesta boot is too small to take wheelchair.
Small estate will make lifting the chair in and out much esaier - eg 207 sw, Fabia estate, Clio Estate. However when I was looking they were coming out more expensive than run of the mill estates. In the end I got Meagn estate 1.9 Cdi, turns in almost 60mpg and good enough pull at all levels, but comfortable too.

mk124

A workmate bought a Vectra at 3 years old a few years ago (52 reg) for about £7K and this morning has announced that a garage has told her the Vauhall Vectra has either a broken gear box/cluch that needs replacing (total cost £1600 (no split available)) or a new ECU (Cost £600), the total potential cost being £2,200.
This is after the car was taken on a very short trip, and stuggled to get back to the house. The AA was called and the car would not move at all - The gear box felt like it has seized up.
The car was taken to a garage and it has informed her that the trade in value before the work will be about £500, and the trade in value after would be about £1500.
The car sounds to be otherwise fine, has done 77K miles and the normal driving routine is urban but with longer journey every few weeks. Some work was also done to the suspension last year.
It is new enough not to be covered under the scrappage scheme (hence some of the angst!).

My question is would you repair or sell?

Right now she is looking for another 3 year old Vectra for about £7K (same as last time!).




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M.M

Is it an auto... if so see...
ww.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?f=4&t=578...7

M.M

In our continuing search for a second family car several 2006 Astra 1.3CDTI Estates have come up at decent prices.

A forum search has indicated some starting issues (CIM module?) and turbo-lag. Is this a chain cam engine?

Any other thoughts? Bear in mind its use will be mostly with just driver for a 20ml each way commute, sometimes plus two small teens and never with a load.... and we only travel on level Fen roads which can be bumpy. Read more

M.M

It's a good point b308. The differences were noticeable between a Citroen TD motor in the Xsara, ZX, Xantia and Rover 218.

Optimist

This may have been discussed before but I've been wondering about this recently.

Do m'learned friends make the choice for themselves and try to persuade partner of the rightness of the choice later when it's on the drive? Or is there a shortlist maybe?

Is the choice an entirely joint matter?

Does partner see car in street and suggest it for next purchase?

I've bought the majority of my cars using my own skill and judgement, but am now moving towards a joint approach: as I get older I want Mrs O to be entirely happy in driving my car so she can get me back to civilisation if I keel over at the wheel in the middle of nowhere!

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DP

I go along with this because I agree and I have my own reasons for
keeping a 205 ...


That and it's a fast appreciating asset. Another good one for a sceptical partner :-)

Of course your own reasons would have nothing to do with the astonishing handling.... ;-)
Pondlife

On an auto, if you lift off the accelerator and coast then the revs drop down. So the torque converter allows the wheels to turn faster than the engine. But if I select a low gear when going downhill, I get engine braking, so the TC must be forcing the engine to turn with the wheels just like a manual would. I've seen this behaviour on all autos I can recall, so it seems pretty standard.

So what is happening? Does selecting a lower gear engage the TC lock-up clutch, or is there something else going on?
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Number_Cruncher

It's not the torque convertor.

When you're in drive, in some ratios there are overrun clutches in the gearbox which allow this freewheeling behaviour because it leads to a more relaxed jerk free drive.

When you select a low gear hold, an extra clutch is activated in the gearbox which locks the overrun clutch solid, removing the freewheel effect, giving better downhill speed control.

There are rare faults where the overrun clutch fails completely, and these faults can be diagnosed by having no drive in that gear while in D, but, having drive in that ratio while in the low gear hold selector position.

Dave_TD

To compare and contrast with the "Biggest Improvement" thread, Avant posted a reply that I felt warranted a thread of its own. So - can you think of any new models or range updates that were touted as progression but were in fact anything but?

I'm thinking along the lines of particular vehicle ranges rather than general technological developments such as DMFs, DPFs or catalytic converters. Examples mentioned in Avant's post include:

BMC 1100 to Allegro (which should have been a British Golf with a hatchback)

Alfasud to Alfa 33

Peugeot 205 to 206 and 306 to 307

Saab 900 (pre-GM) to 9-3
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Happy Blue!

Thats a heck of a number for a van.

Mr.Tee43

Carrying on from the thread asking for pictures of our cars, and the current thread of idiot bike riders, I thought I would post a link to a part of a video I made four and a half years ago on a 4 day road trip in Scotland.

It sums up for me why riding a bike is just great !

www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWBJAklSKlc Read more

1400ted

Edit - was in blinking Slough today......

Come friendly bombs, and fall on Slough.

Ted
Stubakka

Hey Guys,

Can anyone shed some light on my problem, as Mercedes just shrug their shoulders and say i need to take it in for a full assessment £££££.

I've got a great low mileage 1990 2L 190e. since I bought it, its had its ups and downs but generally purrs like a kitten. Recently it has started a weird little problem.

Most of the time it starts first time without effort, no matter what the weather is doing, but now every 5th to 10th start, it just turns over with absolutely no sound of even getting a spark. Its so chalk and cheese as its totally perfect when it does start but absolutely no go when it doesn't.

A hour later I can go back and it starts first time again. weird. its got me trouble a few times now so i need to sort it out. Any ideas?

The coil? the distributor? are there other little control modules that can go dodge?

Thanks chaps,

Stubakka Read more

elekie&a/c doctor

These 190e models are generally very reliable and suffer very few component failures on the fuel injection system.However, an erratic starting fault could be caused by an intermittent problem with the fuel pump relay.Iirc it is situated behind a plastic cover,behind battery.I doubt if a M/B dealer could fix this,they have probably never seen one before!!hth