December 2009
Just been watching "Spooks" on BBC1. I know we've discussed the product placement thing before but one would imagine anyway, that a whole sub-division of automotive marketing expertise has grown up around it since Bond first got his Aston, The Sweeney got their Granadas and the Professionals their Capris.
On this current bang-bang-shoot-shoot-good-triumphs-over-evil thingy the car allocation is interesting.
Good guys - Lexus saloons - image message...solid dependable establishment maybe?
Bad guys - Audi Q7s - image message ....dangerous, edge of the law, dirty money perhaps?
Good guy ( or girl ) who turns out to be a bad girl - Some japanese hybrid thing, possibly an Insight ? - image message....ironically duplicitous possibly?
Maybe the producers have a hidden sense of automotive humour! Read more
Hello contributors
I wondered if anyone has any specialist knowledge to share.
I want to get a used Focus auto. Would the larger engine provide noticeably better acceleration than a 1.6 which I believe is sluggish? And would it be significantly more expensive to keep on the road?
For those of you who might be interested I have a 2004 Primera 1.8 auto. I can live with its sluggishness but it's not as reliable as previous models I have owned.
Many thanks.
William James. Read more
Thanks guys. Re the gusto: I'm more sine than con, to be honest.
Ive recently had a lot of problems with my focus zetec 1.6, firstly it started cutting out, the problem was found to be the coil pack which was replaced. 2 months later and water got into the wiring loom which had to be fixed. Now the engine warning light comes on for a few days then goes off for a week or 2 and returns? Does anyone have any suggestions as after 2 engine diagnostics and 2 repairs I think I may be back to square one!
Just a note there doesnt seem to be anything wrong with the engine it appears to be running fine??
Really wish I hadnt bought the car in the first place!!!!!!!!! Read more
my HDI estate front and rear wipers are not working at all.checked the fuses and all are fine there and even took out the BSI unit to check for water leakages but there is none there.everything is working apart from these wipers which are giving me headaches.the fuses in engine fusebox there are all ok and can someone advice me where to go from here to eliminate this problem that is causing sleepless nights for me.shall i attempt a direct connection to the front wipers to check if the motor is fine likewise with the rear wiper motor as well.does anyone think maybe its the earthing problem affecting both wiper motors.
i opened the driver's side footwell carpet to check for the multiconnectors there if there has been some corrosion and rust on them but i found out that all the wires were bridged directly and there are no longer any multi connectors and it was done professionally so im dumbfounded as were to start and go in order to fix this problem
ANY SUGGESTIONS WOULD BE WELCOME. Read more
hie guys many thanks for your advices unfortunately wiper stalk and all the motors are working perfectly well.i took it on a dedicated scanner and all the live feeds were tested and found out to be OK unfortunately there is no communication between the BSI unit and the wipers and therefore i was recommended to take the car to a dedicated peugeot dealer to reconfigure the BSI unit and download the software to it in order for the wipers to work
it seems im gonna shell out top dollar to the dealers and get myself ripped to shreds
Hi there.
I own a 2000 'X' (D9) registered Peugeot 406 HDi 90 Saloon with 129,800 miles on it.
I have 'problem' where when I accelerate moderately or full foot to the floor above 1500rpm (ie, when the turbo kicks in) there is an audible hissing noise coming from the engine bay.
With the windows up it appears to be audible through the air vents and bulk head area.
With the windows down it very apparant that there is air (boost?/egr?) leaking.
I should say this noise is seperate from the intial spool of the turbo at 1400-1500rpm.
The noise continues through out the rev range & happens in all gears and on a hot or cold engine.
To go along with this when I turn off the engine after a run and open the bonnet there is a strange noise coming from the bulk head area around the 2 solenoid valves/EGR area. The noise is like a high/low pitched tone which fluctuates.
When tapping either of the solenoids valves on the bulkhead the noise can also be 'made' to fluctuate.
I am guessing these two are linked?
This high/low pitched noise can be stopped by pumping the brake pedal to extinguish any remaing vacuum in the system
What steps should I do to troubleshoot this problem?
I think the problems are/could be
1. EGR diaghram leaking/not sealing when the valve applies vacuum
2. Leaking/not sealing Solenoid valve(s)
3. Leaking pipe work (Although there is not a lot of these since the HDi 90 has no IC)
Any help and feedback would be great.
Thank you,
Bruce Read more
Only had my car 2 weeks but a garage pointed out that the brake fluid level is insufficient. It is just below the min mark but should be nearer the max mark. I have been told that whilst driving with low fluid air could have got in to the system and it would need bleeding at a cost of £25. Is this correct and have I done any damage? Can I just top it up with new fluid?
This does explain why there is a lot of travel when braking. Read more
Thanks for the advice, will go and get the brakes done at a garage.
Hi All
A question for you regarding my mums car.
My mum was in a accident where she was hit from behind - the damage was minimal and the third party has admitted liability.
My mums insurance company has said that her insurance is invalid due to her not notifying them of a spoiler they had fitted to to the car ( she did notify them by email with a picture attached and is going to take further legal advice re this matter).
So that she can get her car fixed she is now going through the third parties insurance, who have told her today they dont know if they are going to write her car off!
I have read on the internet on a few websites that if the third party admit liability then they are bound to fix my mums car and not write it off - is that correct?
if they do write if off and it is only a C 0r D write off, my mum wants her car back, approximately how much does it cost to purchase your car back from the insurance company?
thanks
Shouting sushed ! Read more
So that she can get her car fixed she is now going through the third
parties insurance who have told her today they dont know if they are going to
write her car off!
I have read on the internet on a few websites that if the third party
admit liability then they are bound to fix my mums car and not write it
off - is that correct?
Yes!
Insist that your vehicle is returned to the condition before the accident, as they have admitted liability.
You should not be in a disadvantaged position because of the fault of others.
Also, you can choose where you get it repaired.
When I visit the USA, I often see machines like this on garage forecourts, for cleaning car mats
www.moderncarcare.com/articles/self_serve_carwashi...l
What a great idea, but.... I have NEVER seen one in UK.
Has anyone seen one preferably in the Herts area? I really need to run my mats through something like this, no amount of hoovering will do what I want (wash, scrub and dry), yet hiring a carpet cleaning machine to do a few car mats is not justifiable.
Guy Read more
There is not much left to clean of the drivers side one i buy a new set then on the second time fit and trim passenger side to fit drivers side, at £6.99 a set it gets vaced but not washed.
Why, oh why do people swing out to the right before turing left?!!!!
I wonder sometimes if I was the only person who was taught that if you wait until the corner is level with your left hand windscreen pillar you can turn left without swinging the car to the right and into oncoming traffic, or me if I'm passing them on a dual carriageway...
(PS I'm refering to car and small van drivers here!!) Read more
SWMBO didn't believe she was doing this until I told her to try going round a corner by only turning the wheel one way.
The underhand/palm up approach to turning the wheel horrifies me. Try telling the perpetrator they need to suddenly swing the other way to avoid a child! I was a passenger with a guy who races on track that does this. I asked if he did it on track. He didn't reply.
Today I was filling up my Jag XJS with petrol alongside a truly horrid thing, Range Rover sport in sickly orange colour (like Ford Focus ST colour) with matching orange wheels.
Driver was non other than Rupert Grint, aka Ron Weasly from Harry Potter, they are fliming just down the road from me at Leavesden.
I think he took a lock of his hair to one of those colour matching services!
It was enough to scare the horses. Mind you I think RG has the capacity to be a truly fantastic actor, and I will enjoy watching his future roles with interest.
Anyone else come across anyone else (famous or infamous) on the forecourt of their local petrol station?
GUY Read more
i bumped into Henry Cooper whilst "filling up" my coffee mug in the canteen at work , must of been nearly 25 years ago..i was working at a tesco store that had recently opened and they were always having celeb guests to promote the store...also met...anita dobson, percy thrower, the gladiators, oh and the honey monster !...and not forgetting tom baker, but thats another story
Browse
From the comment of the American character, I took the hybrid as being a symbol of the new US administration's desire to be more friendly to the outside world. Just like they don't do torture any more, they don't drive big gas guzzlers either.