January 2011
Problem started today. Car has not been used for a couple of days. It was very cold this morning. When i tried to start the car it struggled. It felt like the battery was flat, dashboard lights went off, the engine turned sluggishly, then started. When the engine was started the needles on the speedo and rev dials turned clockwise to read maximum speed/revs then settled back to zero then went back to normal. This is the first time it happened.
Now on the driver's door only the driver's electric window switch works. Other three are dead. The electric window switch on the other doors work, it is just i can't open them using the switches on the driver's door.
The car now starts perfectly, i have checked the fuses and operations of all lights/horn/wipers and no problems there.
The problem with the electric switches is still there.
Any idea what happened? Read more
I live on a slight hill and as soon as a decent fall of snow arrives I have great difficulty getting onto my drive due to tracton loss.
The adaption to the vehicle involves a lowered floor with a spring loaded ramp which is some 500mm behind the rear axile.... Read more
I second BiG above, run your present set through this summer and fit a set of quality all season tyres when the winter arrives, straight replacements.
BiG recommends Goodyears, there are others and Vredestein is well respected in this sector with Quatrac 2 or 3. ...
I have an Audi a4 1.6 petrol manual, and its giving really over the top figures for poor mpg. I put £20 in last week and i got 90 miles until the light came on again.
@ 122.9 a litre, 90 miles, £20 spend works out for me at 25.14mpg.
I drive it to work on a morning and drive it back. Its not spirited, just a steady trundle at about 50 miles an hour all the way for about 9 miles.
The tyres are all pumped up, the only thing i could think of is that there is a slight misreport as i have 19" wheels on it, but surely not this noticeable (maybe a few miles out).
Is there anything i can do to the car to ensure i get the best mpg engine wise, and aside from checking for fuel leaks?
Many thanks.
Read more
To find out the real economy you really need to measure the distance between completely full tanks, otherwise you risk trying to solve a problem that isn't really there. The fuel warning light may not be consistent in when it gets triggered - going up or down a steep hill, round a sharp bend may affect it.
If you are really getting 25mpg then it does need investigating of course....
Hello my ford mondeo is using water ,and i have to refill the header tank every fortnite to 3 weeks,ive looked in the oil chamber and their is no sign of water getting in there ,i have no leak as ive checked the floor ,and ive checked the hoses and there is no damaged ones ,but in the cold weather it seems a little sluggish untill ive gone a few miles ,it doesnt pull very well ,but it starts first time ,i have noticed when i turn the key to the first notch i hear a rush of water like a glugging sound then i turn the engine and all is fine ,i havent noticed any smoke out the exhaust so its a little baffling as to where it is going ,could this be the start of head gasket trouble hmmm im not sure ..my mondeo is a y reg 2001 i think and a 1.7 5 door estate ..apart from that its a great motor ..if it is head gasket trouble how long possibly will it last ..thankyou .. Read more
Thanks for everyones reply and all your help the problem has now been resolved ,after noticing the loss of water , i asked around to what could be the course ,and alot of people said that the HG was the lilkely course so i set about checking for all the symptoms as well as all the hoses ,given the age of the car and 97000 miles clocked HG was the number one suspect ,having none of the usual symptoms i thought i would come to this amazing site ,and to say that the problem lay with the thermostat housing leaking ,..
Anyone who has water loss in there motors should not jump to the conclusion that it is HG and to properly have it checked and definatly come here first ,this site is top draw thanks again ......
Interesting article in the mail on line a 64 year old motorist got a heavy fine in Grimsby Linconshire for alerting drivers of the opposite side of a dual carriage way by alerting drivers about a police speedtrap.A bit harsh in my opinion where does it say in the law that preventing anybody breaking a law is prohibited? Read more
Actually I don`t know if anyone else can remember but back in the days of yore, when AA patrol men went about their business on motorcycles and side cars they used to salute passing members when they spotted the members AA badge displayed on the vehicle.
The origin of this practise goes back to the early days when the AA was first formed and the salute was a means of forewarning members of police speed traps ahead, no salute given, road ahead clear !
2003 plate 1.4 16v 100BHP saloon, BBZ engine with 50,000 on the clock, which over the last three years has developed an engine stutter. Engine runs sweet in all other respects. This can occur at any time but usually when the engine is in 4th gear at or near 2000 RPM on a slight incline. Basically, there is a sudden power loss, which can be sufficiently severe and sudden to throw me foward in the seat (despite being belted), Tacho needle dives to zero and then engine recovers within 1-2 seconds without further incident.
Cleaning of the EGR valve at the last service (Feb '10) seemed to remove the problem for a while, but it soon returned, though less severe than originally. Service engineers say I may need a new EGR valve this time round. Do you think that this is correct. The severity of the original stutter made me think that the car was silently backfiring or that there had been metal to metal contact inside the engine. That said I have toyed with various theories including, sticky valves, faulty ECU, bad electrical joint, radio frequency interference from passing mini-cabs/public service vehicles blitzing the ECUs working values. prompting a reset etc. Any ideas ? Nothing appears to show on VAG COM diagnosis.... Read more
Moved to Technical, where you should get some more help.
ATS, while looking for a slow puncture, have identified a tyre problem where the inner tread blocks are not smooth around the tyre periphery, caused by the edges of adjacent blocks not being of the same height. All 4 tyres are affected, but fronts and rears were swapped 3000 miles ago so the cause could be at either end. I am thinking of going to one of the alignment centres given on the website, or could the cause be something else?
Vehicle: Jaguar X-type 2.2 Diesel Estate, June 2006, 63000 miles, dealer serviced, never crashed.
Tyres: Michelin Primacy HP 225/45 17YR, all 4 fitted at 43000 miles Read more
I've been to an "Alignment Centre", one listed on this site, and they found too much toe in on front offside and toe out on rear offside, using a fancy bit of kit. Presumably this causes the car to crab and the blocks get slightly twisted and so do not wear evenly.
As there's nothing drastic wrong I'm going to replace the rears which are down to 2mm, and swap them with the fronts. I am wary of the trade obsession with saying things are unusable - it always sounds like a sales push - so am happy to keep the distorted blocks on the back. It'll be interesting to see if they then wear straight again.
Hi all, ive a problem with my vauxhall vivaro 2005 model,i put some egr cleaner in my tank ,and since doing this ive occured a tapping noise since adding the cleaner ,local mechanic thinks the cleaning additive as worked but probaly got a bit of carbon stuck on a valve or a lifter ,he says told me to drain oil and do a engine flush and get some good oil and filter ,is he right in saying this ??????????? Read more
Makes sense to me.
the airbag warning light on my wifes fabia is staying on all the time since i pulled the instrument panel fuse with the ignition on. how do i reset Read more
Thanks. Will have it reset at its next service
3 year old X3 BMW has had no serices whatsoever and a warranty repair is being refused.
The vehicle was taken into the dealer on a number of occasions saying she believed it needed servicing but was told that when they "plugged it in" no service was shown as necessary.... Read more
Concentrate on what is important: driving. Service Interval Indicator in the BMW X3.
Say goodbye to fixed service appointments. The Service Interval Indicator observes your personal motoring habits (such as journey lengths) to determine your servicing requirements. It also checks the time/mileage recommendations for fixed services.
Based on this data, the Info Display automatically informs you when service appointments are necessary. This allows you to plan your appointments well in advance and avoid any unnecessary maintenance work.
Lucy,...
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After fully recharging the battery i had reset the windows as instructed in the manual. Now all four switches on the driver's door work.
Excellent :-)