December 2011
With DPF now effectively mandatory on all Euro V compliant diesel engines, the problem of DPF regeneration on vehicles used predominantly for short, low speed journeys is going not going to disappear any time soon.
The fundamental problem is low Exhaust Gas Temperatures (EGTs) inherent with the low engine load. With low EGTs, the ECU has to spray disel into the exhaust gas stream to raise the EGTs to a sufficiently hightemperature to burn off the soot. Clearly this is waste of fuel since diesel burned in the exhaust does not contribute to useful work. But the more worrying problem is unburned diesel running into the sump and contaminating the oil.... Read more
Hi, iv recently noticed a knocking coming from the front drivers side of the car. Now when im going over bumps/rough road im feeling the knocking through the drivers side footwell. Iv recently had the wheel alignment done on the car and the steering is fine and the car does not steer to one side when i let go of the steering wheel, But the wheel itself is not straight when going straight and true.
Im not really that clued up on cars, so im sorry if the info I have given isnt great. But any ideas on what this problem might be would be great.... Read more
I have a similar knocking problem with my Fiesta but it is in the passenger footwell. I was once told it was the heat shield that was loose by a previous owner :\
Yet more problems with this Megane.
Tonight whilst driving home the engine began to rev of its own free will then rev counter dropped to 1k revs regardless of throttle input, about 200 yards away from home there was masses of smoke pouring from the engine bay and the car cut out but restarted itself straight away. The stench was terrific ( burning clutch type smell ). Whilst the car was running I limped it the few yards to home then decided to call the RAC.
2 hours later and car is still smelling like a burning rubber tip and an RAC visit, the patrolman reckons he can't find a fault.
I am now very very disillusioned with this megane as I'm still only achieving 35 mpg max from it.
As some of you may recall it is a megane III 11 plate, 5 months old with 4,500 miles on the clock.
Read more
I agree with the comment about Polititians especially those in Europe. I usually buy diesel cars because I like the torqueyness of a diesel or at least I did til I got that stupid megane. The hire focus I'm in at the minute has much better torque characteristics from its 1.6 petrol engine than the 1.5 dci renault, yet the older version of the 1.5 dci Renault engine was great. By trying to get the emissions as low as possible ( down to 106 g/km from 119 g/km ) they have totally spoilt it.
...
I have just been given a 1996 Toyota Carina E 1.8 CD 77,000 from my grandfather for free.
He owned it from a couple of years old and has been serviced every year / 3000 miles (not by dealer, just basic mobile service)... Read more
A couple of years ago I bought an ancient 1.4 Corolla (98) It was advertised as a decent banger still driving as new. Low miles and good service history. Quick road test and I couldn't pay fast enough. In spite of being 12yrs old everything worked as it should. Electric windows, electric sunroof, rear demister- everything perfect. It starts instantly, and judging by the labels on the battery, it might be the original fitment. The car is so reliable that I don't even think about it not starting, or not reaching my destination. The only downside is that the bonnet paint is suffering from peeling laquer. And I like the car so much that I'm considering having the bonnet resprayed !
My 59 plate Mazda 2 won't start when the temperatures are low (around minus 5 and below). This first happened last Winter. I assumed it was a flat battery (the car hadn't been driven over the weekend so I got a local garage to jump start it and no problems). However it then happened twice more, it wouldn't start very early in the morning but a few hours later, once the weather had warmed up a bit it started. its been into the Mazda dealer twice who say they can't find anything wrong with it. Their only solution was to let them have it overnight and they would try to start it in the morning (which they did, but I'm assuming the temperature wasn't sufficiently low for any problems to arise). Can anyone suggest what the problem could be? I'm worried that the problem will reoccur this Winter (its been serviced and the battery is fine) and as I know nothing about cars I don't know what to ask the garage to do.
Thanks... Read more
Thanks for replying. Its a petrol engine and it cranks over but won't start. I'm not sure about engine lights but I *think* there are none lit when I try to start it.
Well, I have sold my existing i30 as I figured it was time for an upgrade so have been agonising for a couple of days over the next car - a choice which I am going to have to make very quickly as I will be without wheels from next weekend.
Basically I have decided between another, newer Hyundai i30 given that my last experience with them was really positive and the dealership is fantastic. I can get a 10/60 plate for under £10k and possibly even an 11 plate with the balance of a mega warranty for piece of mind.... Read more
I have had a bit of time to root through all the stuff that the car came with now. The car was given its full 2 year/20k service in September this year and has covered only 1500 miles since. I don't think that the oil change is a necessity at this stage; particularly as I found that the previous owner was a nice chap who lived about 2 miles from me and who confirmed that the car was sound and that all servicing carried out properly and prommptly.
Tyres arriving this week so it will probably handle like a very different motor once they are on - am looking forward to that....
Hello Folks,
I bought a 1998 Fourtrak last week. It looked tidy, there was evidence of recent welding, and I had a crawl underneath with a lamp and screwdriver, which indicated that there was some work to be done on the inner sills before the next MOT test, due in October 2012.... Read more
SORRY FOR THE RESURRECTION....BUT.... my old Daihatsu Fourtrak was...and in places,still is, in the same boat.
What 'kills' the Fourtrak, are the seatbelt mounting rules....
Hi all, am hoping you can help on behalf of a friend of mine, They have a 53/02 C3 1.4 petrol with 50k miles.
The car is intermittantly cutting out at junctions/roundabouts, the speedo (digital) has stopped working, and apparently the PAS is very heavy at all times (although I have not driven it).... Read more
An auto electrician would probably be a better bet than a garage - they usually know what they are doing.
The above car has done almost 50,000 miles (reg Feb '08) and I am concerned that I may be about to incur major repair costs - having become alarmed at discussion of dual mass flywheels and other issues? Should I consider replacement now? It seems very early for what should be a reasonably high quality vehicle.
... Read more
It's something I have pondered for a while. I remember perhaps 35 years or so ago a friend of my Dad's got a new Triumph Spitfire every two years. He exchanged the car and the financial setup of the time meant the HP payments were the same for the new car as the old. After a time the payments to change started creeping up and he stuck with the old car longer.
Hi, Iam currently on my 3rd accelerator pedal in 6 months due to the previous ones showning an engine management light on the dash and the car going into limp mode. The mechanic has told me on each occasion to get a new pedal which I have but the last 2 pedals have only lasted 2 weeks. Fair enough they are second hand pedals but they were both checked before being sent and were deemed ok.
The last resort is to buy a brand new pedal but if I do and the same problem occurs I will be no further forward. Does anyone have any ideas whatelse it could be as any help would be really really appreciated!... Read more
Have you tried the Vauxhall-only forum below?
Browse
.jpg)
It'll use a lean nox trap which doesn't require urea injection.
Lean Nox traps do not have as high NOx conversion efficiencies as Selective Catalytic Reduction-AND you have to regenerate the trap about every minute or so compared to about every 200-300 miles for a DPF. Guess how that's done...?