November 2009
Do you buy your fuel in £ or litres, or just fill it up?
How do you judge your fuel consumption?
My current car does 100 miles for each of the top three quarters of the tank so I fill up at about 300 miles or 1/4 on the gauge. Read more
I'm considering buying one or other of these vehicles. If you have experience of either, I'd like to hear it.
At the moment I have a 2003 diesel XTrail which I'm well satisfied with, although minor quality problems at 6 1/2 years and 130000 km are making me wonder if Renault quality isn't rubbing off on Nissan.
When I tried the XTrail, I was surprised to find that the transmission didn't change into 6th until 110km/h. Can anyone tell me if this is a 'smart' box which will learn that I have a very light right foot and go into 6th at a lower speed? If not, I'm not interested since I rarely use motorways.
The RAV4, driven gently, goes into 6th before 90km/h and seemed generally to suit me better (example: I don't need the enormous boot of the XTrail). However, my wife's Corolla Verso is presently immobilised for its 5th breakdown caused by the engine and anti-pollution systems since I bought it new 3 years ago. That doesn't inspire confidence.
All remarks welcome. Read more
I drive a Ford Mondeo with the 2.5 v6 engine petrol . I use sixth gear from about 2000 rpms- 30-35 mph. I cruise at 50mph at 1700 rpm, and it will happile cruise at about 30 mph- 1400 rpm. approx
Whats wrong with the gearbox in diesels?
I might be doing some fairly long drives this winter, and I have been wondering whether I should take any kind of equipment/supplies (shovel, blankets etc) with me, in case of breakdown or other problems.
Just wondering whether there is any equipment/supplies that you carry all year round and whether it varies during the year.
Read more
Spade
Gaffer tape
Binbags
Torch
Oops, have I given the game away?
how u all can help.i have replaced battery in my focus key fob and gone thru the re program sequence(turn from pos I TO II 4 times then press again.the boot button works ok but the doors wont lock.they try to lock but unlock straight away.the front door wont lock at all.when i manually lock the front door then use the fob it will lock and unlock the passenger doors but not the front,here's hoping u can help :)) Read more
It's possible to change the remote battery without the need to reprogram the key, so it sounds like you've got a fault with your central locking system.
Was this fault present before you changed the battery ?
There is a diagnostic mode for the remote/central locking - can't remember exactly how to get into it, but it involves pressing the driver's door sensor a load of times until the lights flash.
Search around this forum to see if you can find the procedure - it should certainly tell you if you have a faulty fob button or door sensor.
A friend has a Volkswagon Golf GTI that has a problem of stalling in neutral or when reducing speed. I understand that Cutting out on 1996 - 1998 petrol and diesel Passats and Golfs may be due to relay marked "109" in the fuseboard.
My first question is what does this relay control: in my friends car it has one relay missing and does not have this relay at all. I understand he has checked the pipes for leakage, the air flow mass meter was cleaned out and the car was tested for codes.
Any thoughts would be appreciated
Greg Read more
Has anyone had this issue before? What does the relay marked 109 actually do...the car by car breakdown on this site mentions this particular item.
Greg
can anyone tell me if you can fit a renault laguna2 1.9dci 2005 engine (F9Q.674) into a renault grand scenic2 1.9dci 2005 (F9Q.812) without modifications. Does clutch / dual mass flywheel have to be replaced or anything else. Or should you attempt not to do this?
Many thanks
Trottyveck Read more
Having determined that its unlikely that the EGR valve on my Laguna 1.9dci 130 hp is faulty due to it being a passive device i.e not the older models solenoid operated type I wonder if anyone has experienced the rough idle, there are no warning messages on the dash and the engine does not appear to be missing on a cylinder, it seems to pull as normal and mpg still in the high forties. Read more
I assume 1.9D indicates diesel, if so lumpy tickover if its OK at higher speeds is probably down to a faulty injector.
Hi, my dad has a focus TDCi 115 and it has since ever suffered from the following problem:
Drive normally, accelerate hard in ANY gear (though 1st is the least susceptible) and the rev counter needle simply FLIES to 3000 - 3500 rpm...and all the occupants are slammed against the seat...from then onwards the power just stops or else continues to rise very slowly, the engine hesitates, or sticks to that rpm. The local dealer (the ONLY one in my country) took two years to finally diagnose a broken wire from the MAF sensor to the throttle potentiometer. A temporary fix ensued with a simple wire soldered to both ends. The problem was solved for a few months but returned. I demanded that the correct wire be used instead of the temporary fix, but to no avail. Fault codes? What fault codes?? The ECU just records nothing amiss! The car has currently some 30k kms. I had solved it again temporarily by fitting a performance chip, but after 2 weeks the problem resurfaced again. Maybe worth a mention is the simply dismal fuel consumption...urban driving hardly returns 35 mpg...longer, gentle runs struggle to top 40. The car has also passed through the dreaded DMF saga, but the dealer not only repaired it under warranty, but after a couple of weeks also recalled us to fit a modification to ensure the fault does not return.
Any suggestions welcome guys as I am really out of options now. The dealer has basically thrown the towel, either claiming that there is no trouble at all, driving it and saying that the car drives fine, or else asking me to leave the car there indefinitely until they find a fix...and I get to pay for goodness knows how many hours of labour. Read more
Booked a "small" car via the web for 6 days in France. Website suggested Fiat Panda or Peugeot 107 1.2 would be supplied. Either of those should suffice I figured, even though I had a 400km drive each way they should keep up with the traffic.
Hertz gave me a Matiz 0.8... No other cars that small in their entire car park. Only saw 1 other one on the road in 6 days. To its credit it could generally hold 130kph on the autoroute, but what a lightweight flimsy car. Surprised they are still on sale new to be honest. Far inferior to a Panda or 107. I feel cheated! Someone must be having a laugh! Have any other backroomers been let down by car rental companies like this?!
In the UK the previous week I'd booked a Mondeo and got a Mondeo. When I came back from France I'd booked a Fiesta and got a Fiesta. Thanks Hertz France. Read more
>>Worse still, there is a vehicle shortage in some European countries/destinations as you may have read in the national press.
True as I found out to my cost this year on holiday in Spain. In August I was left with one week to hire a car for a fortnight in Malaga. Searching the web, the vast majority of firms including most of the big brands had no vehicles at all and the few that did had some sort of cartel sorted where anything Fiesta/Clio size was £1,200+ everywhere or £3,000 for a Mondeo. We taxi'd when we couldn't bus or walk and looked local to where we were staying for a 3 or 4 day hire to get some sight seeing in but calling in at five separate hire companies confimed nobody had anything free until September.
Quick question - Can the non-PD 110hp engine run on bio diesel? Read more
Yes, and the PD of that year is approved too.
It is supposed to be RME to EM14214.
Most of what is on sale commercially is FAME, but I have used this too with no problem.
VAG only approved their cars for a few years before the blasted DPF exhaust traps mandated by EUIV emissions rules were fitted which were not deemed compatible with vegetable smoke.
Browse
5 miles per litre? That's dire ... 23 mpg. Doesn't bear thinking about. :-(