Recently - shortly after having the alternator replaced (Genuine Ford part, diagnosed and fitted by Ford dealer) the glowplug light started flashing, and once started it continues until the engine has been switched off and restarted. When it happens there is a loss of power.

I have looked at various forums on line, and while it seems like a common problem, there doesn't seem to be any consensus on the most likely cause. I get the impression that I would spend £60 or so on diagnostic tests that will not get to the root cause.... Read more

Hello there

I have a 2006 T5 2.5l TDi 130bhp (145k miles). The engine ceased a few
months ago, shortly after putting petrol in instead of diesel (duh). I ended up having the engine completely remanufactured for the princely sum of £3,700 (they also replaced the flywheel and clutch kit). When I got the van back it started to shudder very badly - usually around 1600-2000 rpm. Took it back and was told the air mass meter had failed, so I replaced that. Shudder continued. Took it back, they replaced all the engine mounts and fitted another new flywheel and clutch to be safe.

The shudder didn't go away. They did notice a little bit of excess play in the drive shaft (a few mm), but basically the mechanics are at a complete loss as to what is causing the shudder. Their current theory is that it is likely to be the gearbox. What they think might have happened is as follows. They reckon that when the engine ceased, the forces involved might have had a major impact on the drive shaft (hence the excess play) and subsequently b*****ed up the internals of the gearbox to some degree.

The shudder appears to kick in in all gears, but is very noticeable around 1500-2000 RPM in 3rd gear and up. Particularly when going up hill or when putting my foot down for quick acceleration. The mechanics have basically suggested to monitor it for a while to see if it gets worse, as that might help pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. Whilst this makes some sense, I am very worried everytime I accelerate the van. The van should have heaps of power but because of the shudder it performs sub-optimally.

In addition, the van has been starting very badly and failed to start completely today - however, this is probably to do with the starter motor, so hopefully that's a relatively quick fix and probably unrelated to the shuddering?

Could anyone shed some light on what might be wrong and what to do next? Also, if it is the gearbox - what sort of cost am I looking at and should I replace it asap or wait for matters to deteriorate?

Any views and advice much appreciated! This episode has already cost more than £4k and still isn't right - am I very worried...

Bjorn Read more

i think i have bought the worse 7 speed dsg gearbox ever made, my vw caddy van was new in june 2011 and as soon as i got in it i found that this was not brilliant made better. if i put the van in drive on a hill from a stop the van will get upto 4700 rpm before it will change, if i dont give it the beans it will not change, the only way is to do it in manual, also if on a hill if i am creeping forward in slow moving traffic upto 5mph the gearbox will disengage and roll back after about 3 seconds, and there is a horrible delay from hitting the throtle to engine responce, vw say this is a charectaristic of the gear box, i said i will see them in court.......has anybody has similar faults with there 7 speed dsg. Read more

I shall soon be looking at auction for a replacement car of about three years old. I don't specifically want to buy a diesel but most of the ex fleet cars at auction are diesels so I limit my choice if I avoid them. If I buy a deisel I wish to aviod the hassel of a dpf. I shall be looking for a focus or astra size car. I am told that the 110bhp focus has a dpf but not the 90bhp but I don't know up to what date that changed. Can anyone tell me of any other diesel of around that age and size which does not have a dpf or one where if you have problems with it you can comfortably throw the dpf away and still pass an MOT. Read more

The days of high mileage diesels seem to be at an end - discuss! We have had our Focus diesel for 5 years with not too many major problems. However, after 80,000 miles it has been 1 problem after another. First the alternator went last winter - £600 kerching! Had the car serviced before a trip to France in August £450 Kerching! The Ford garage informed that the DPF fluid needed topping up an extra £99 Kerching! At this point we had no idea what a DPF was and that the car had one!

Off to France safe in the knowledge that the car was ok or so we thought. 800 miles in on came the engine warning light. The car was duly towed to a Ford dealer where it took 2 weeks to fix! £610 for a new EGR valve Kerching! Back to blighty another 800 miles , 2 days after getting back on comes the warning light again, loss of power... drove slowly to our local Ford garage to be told that the DPF was clogged and must be replaced cost...£1100 !!! No Kerching because we are not going to have the work done instead we will get rid.... Read more