July 2011
Hi, recently I've noticed a whirring/humming noise coming from the back of my VW Golf when going above 30-40mph. The noise increases in pitch but not volume when accelerating. What are the possible causes for this and should I be worried? Read more
For inf:
Finance Act 2011 published yesterday.... Read more
Many thanks, DVD.
An easy way to get access to any Act of Parliament is to go to www.opsi.gov.uk and click on legislation, then browse legislation.
A man loses his dog. So he puts an advert in the paper which says "here boy!", Read more
Don't feel bad if someone rejects you... . . . . . . . . . . People usually reJect expensive things because they can't afford them. :D
i took my merc to a merc dealer (the one i bought it from) for a serivce and as the MOT was due soon but i failed on a number of items
1 both upper caster arms... Read more
Hello tommyt, this is appalling, a main dealer stooping to those sort of tricks. I would write to your local Trading Standards Office naming the dealer and giving full details of your experience. I would also write to Mercedes Benz with the same information and asking for their comments on their own dealerships behaviour. Also informing them that you will from now on use an indepenent garage for servicing, using genuine MB parts and oil spec, and expect the manufacturers warranty to stand alongside that, because you have no confidence in your local MB dealer. Cheers Concrete
My dad is very happy with his Honda Accord, but would like to buy a 2 seater convertible. He has about £2000 to spend. What would you recommend? Read more
Looking at a couple of MX-5 specialist dealers there are several MK 1s out there at just over 2K. Private sellers should be cheaper. On the whole these cars are fairly bomb-proof if well maintained but considering they will now be quite elderly some things may need attention.
Having said that, mechanically they are quite easy to work on with parts being fairly cheap and available. Rust to the sills, wheel arches and suspension wishbones may be a problem. By now I would think most would be at least on their second hood but a damp smell in the cabin should set alarms ringing. This may not be due to a poorly hood but there are drains within the car that can get blocked which many owners are not aware of....
I have spent far too long reading car fan-club discussion boards, online mags, Honest John, etc etc and have totally confused myself.
I think I will trade down from my Octavia 1.9TDI.... Read more
I remember when the Ford Fiesta was a SMALL car. Now its like a Focus which has been through a really hot wash and just shrunk a little. Getting four people into a Fiesta used to be a challenge.
I have purchased akeyless entry unit to fit to the Suzuki Wagon R.
The instructions say establish if actuator is negative or positive triggering in order to... Read more
Hi, can anyone help. I was approaching a set of lights today, happily day dreaming away when they turned amber. I made a split second desicion to go for it. There was a traffic light camera on the junction and I am not sure if i got caought. I know for a fact that when the front wheels crossed the line the lights where amber but by the time the rear wheels crossed the line the lights where red and I think I saw 2 single flashes, but im not sure. I know the cameras go 'live' when the lights go red so think they where triggered buy my rear wheels... Have I been had or beacuse the pic will show the rear wheels and the 2nd the van disappearing have I got awaqy with it? Read more
The amber ligh shows for 3 seconds +/- 0.25s prior to the red. Please explain your 2.9 seconds. Regards Peter
No diagnosis required! Driving to work last week in my Focus, the engine suddenly died, loss of PAS, potentially brake servo assistance, etc Engine turned over but would not restart. Stranded on major 'A'-road for 1h waiting recovery...
Car towed to my local garage, who found the problem was a failed cam sensor. Apparently a regular issue on this engine (Ford 1.8 TDCI), leading to same potential safety risk of sudden power loss as the VW piezo injector death frequently reported on here. The sensor costs about 20 quid and is easily replaced by undoing the single bolt which attaches it to the cam cover. Might be worth a try if your Focus fails under similar circumstances!... Read more
I realise things fail. I've just never had so many failures on a single car before - i.e: drivers door handle, stereo, instrument cluster, tailgate struts. Also, car has failed twice - once in limp home mode and then the recent cam sensor failure. The car is serviced annually every 6-7k miles and any additional maintenance is carrried out on time.
The engine stopped instantly when the fault developed, on the A6 in rush hour, and so I lost PAS and brake servo immediately. Complete loss of power could be dangerous to many people and for the engine to fail just because one sensor fails is not very impressive. After all, the ECU still has a crank sensor to tell it the engine is still turning!...
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On a Golf this age it is likely to be a wheel bearing (easy and cheapish to fix).
It is the later higher spec more powerful Golfs (& Skoda Octavias)with low-profile alloys that suffer from strange and noisy rear tyre wear