Hi There

I need a little advice. I have a Vauxhall Corsa 07 plate its on 2 and half years old and under warranty until May 10. Its had all its relevant services (not at Vauxhall, but at my local car garage, my book has been stamped and i have the receipts). I have had a winter check at Vauxhall last year so it has been well looked after. The past few weeks i have heard a weird noise from my heater when i put it on highest setting 4. I popped into the Vauxhall garage as i had a front light out which they fixed and they couldn't spare me 5 mins to look at the car and said that i had to book it in. So.... i made an appointment but as they didnt have any courtesy cars untill the end of the week i had to wait until then. During the week the heater stopped working and cold air was coming out, i called them and stated this and they said for me to check my coolant level as this would be the reason. When i checked this it was slighlty below the level so topped this up and the heater came back on. The snow came down heavily the next few days and i was unable to move my car so asked whether i could move my appointment until the following week, once again they had no courtesy cars available until the end of the week so had to wait until then. Over the next couple of days i kept checking the water level as the heater kept going cold so i kept topping this up so that it could last until my appointment. Last Thurs my car broke down on the way to work and it completely died. I had to get recovery and the recovery man said that it looked as though the head Gasket had blown and the water coolant container was leaking into the engine causing it to overheat and cut out. The vauxhall garage originally said that this should be covered under warranty , but now there technicians have looked at this they said that they may not pay for this as they think i've driven for too long on low water causing more damage. The next coming days they are going to be sending a technician from head office to determine who should be liable. I'm not silly and no that they are going to get out of this as it looks as though its going to be a big job and they may have to replace the engine. I'm so annoyed as the car is so young and the recovery guy said this normally happens on cars 10 years old. I've had problem after problem with this car since i've had it and this could end up costing me a fortune (2K plus), do you think i have a case to take this futher? Kind Regards. Read more

I bought a new fiesta in June of last year. Two months later it started struggling to start. Took it to garage twice and they found no problem.
This morning car would not start. Just turning over and not even trying to start. On third attempt I tried depressing the accelerator and it tried to start. On fourth attempt (whilst depressing accelrator slightly) it started. After a few seconds I switched it off and started it again. (It did start) It had low revs (below 1000 rpm, 500 rpm I think) then creeped up to cold idle revs of 1200 rpm. Does anyone have the an answer as to what this is. Its booked into the garage for Wednesday but would like an idea of what this could be so they can't fob me off. I think it could be the starter motor)
Any help much appreciated Read more

Does anyone know where this is and what is the correct value please? Read more

Hi looking for advice please.

I want to drive an estate car, not an MPV.

I have 3 kids (7, 5, 3) I'd like the option of sitting them all in row comfortably. When we pick up friends I'd like to open up spare seats in the boot.

I guess I'm looking for an estate that can have a 7 seat conversion?

I know the Volvo V70 has this option and the Merc estates too. Any other options or tips on companies that'll convert other estates?

By the way I really don't want an MPV of any sort, I just prefer estates.


Thanks,
wbuchan Read more

On two occasions I have had the brakes fail when joining a roundabout. The brake pedal goes hard like the servo is not working and the car does not stop, quite frightening. Problem goes away and works perfectly ok when you go for the brakes again.

I googled this problem and found that it is a common problem with the A4, RAC website has at least 20 members that have had the same problem!

Have taken the car to Audi today and they have confirmed water has entered the servo and master cylinder, cost to replace £780 including 10% discount!

The water gets into the servo via the plenium chamber (battery area). This surface water is meant to drain away via a 'plug hole' located under the battery. As this plug hole is impossible to access without taking the battery out and the fact you would not be aware of its existence, it gets blocked and therefore causes the problem.
I now learn that this plug has been the subject of a recall notice for this car of which I have never been made aware of. They say they made the modification in August (2009) when cam belt changed. No notice of that when picked up in August and no mention of it on invoice when paying cam belt bill. So I am left to think that they never did this modification, hence the water ingress.

So left high and dry, with a known fault about water ingress to servo causing sudden loss of brakes.
I have owned the car from new at the same address. Audi managed to send me sales details but don't manage to call me in for what I consider to be an important recall.

I would be glad if any other A4 drivers have had any similar problem and ask if you could post here if you have had the 'drain plug' modification done and whether you know about it. For something as important as brakes, I feel I am not going to be fobbed off quite so calmly, without a fight. Read more