February 2012
I am currently looking to buy an Octavia Estate to ship my young family out. It seems there are some pretty attractive deals around for the "ex-demo" 1.6MPI version, especially when I compare it with new 1.4TSI. I believe that one reason is that the MPI is an engine that has been phased out of late. Some reports seem to suggest that the 1.6 version lacks oomph, while HJ's comments suggest that the 1.6TDi CR is not the answer due to its engine problems. Can anyone out there give me any advice? Read more
Hi
The EML came on in my car making it run lumpy hesitant and misfiring, after checking it read faults code for the MAF Sensor.
After talking to my local garage I replaced the ECU, Coil Pack and MAF,
The car ran fine for about two days, then it started to cough, misfire and lose power, flat as a pancake. After a while the EML reappeared.
A compression test and fuel pressure test were both fine.
I have since disconnected the Lambda Sensor and Knock sensor making no difference to the performance at all. Please any help and advice would be very much appreciated !!
Read more
What code did you get when you had it checked ? Was it P1555 by any chance ? This code can in some cases (depending on the diagnostic equipment used) point towards the MAF sensor, but in fact is caused by the throttle body air bypass port being blocked which in turn gives a false reading at the MAF (hence the trouble code).
What usually fixes the problem (well it did on my identical Vectra) is cleaning out the throttle body.
Take the throttle body off, get some carb cleaner (or use petrol and a cloth) and clean the carbonised gunk from the body above and below the butterfly flap.
Also a common problem is the idle air by-pass port gets blocked up (like this one was). When you take the throttle body off, you'll have a small bore rubber hose going from the rocker cover to the lower right hand side of the body onto a small brass stub. This allows air to by-pass the butterfly when on idle and it gets blocked easily as condensation builds up in the hose and dries / hardens, causing the blockage. I used a small straight pick tool (you could use a thin, strong steel wire or 2~3mm drill bit) and cleared it out by working it through the crud in the stub. Give it a blow out with compressed air and spray some carb cleaner down it to make sure its clear.
Bolt it all back together, check the fault codes and clear them and roadtest. If it was the same as mine, all should be OK with no hunting and the emissions light should stay OFF.
All the best,
Graham.
Guys
I installed 3 LED bulbs to replace the lousy Toyota bulbs in the overhead courtesy light box (including the map reading lights) and seem to have blown a fuse (I stupidly tried to fit the bulbs with the switches still in on position). The handbook on this car is frankly rubbish with guidance on changing a fuse spread over 3+ pages in different sections which is really confusing!! Can some kind soul point me to the correct fusebox please (are there 5 in this car???) and how to access the fuse? Handbook suggests the correct fuse is under the dash down to the right hand side of the steering wheel (RHD car) but I can't see a fusebox just a black plastic tag that may be hiding something else and I'm reluctant to do anything for fear of doing any damage. Also, I may have to draft in a limbo dancer if that's where the fusebox actually is!!
Incidentally, since blowing the fuse (if that's what I've done) the clock has defaulted to 12:00 and the rev counter/fuel and temp gauges are resting in odd positions only when ignition is swtiched off. Is this because a separate circuit has been interrupted?
Many thanks in anticipation! Read more
If it's of any help to others I got an Auto Spark to change the fuse which was located in a junction box next to the steering column (very inaccessible!). He also changed a fuse for the rear lighting array after I tried, unsuccessfully, to change a blown tail light. My point is, the once simple matter of changing bulbs has become a science which doesn't bode well for roadside fixes, especially at night.Will RAC/AA etc agree to come out just for a bulb change?
Auto Spark advises that modern vehicle fuse systems are now so senstive to protect the sophisticated electronics that even to change a bulb requires care to ensure that relevant swtiches are in the 'off' position before toching and removal. As it happened, I found myself with no tail lights or indicators/hazards/fogs but luckily one brake light still working enabling me to drive to the mechanic!!
hi, i've just bought a citroen xsara picasso, 06 plate, 1.6 petrol. it's done 34,000 miles and is an ex mobility car. the problem i have is as i'm coming down the gears the car seems to judder or kagaroo. it is as if the car wants to stall and the only way to stop it is dip the clutch. for instance if you drive in 3rd gear then let your foot off the throttle it only takes a second before the car starts to judder??? never had a citroen before so i'm wondering if they are high geared and i have to adjust my driving style (a driving style thats been fine for the last 13 cars i've owned) or is it a clutch or drive shaft problem? Read more
All you can do is try it- use higher gears, its called experimenting till you find the right combination of rpm and speed. If the car is stalling then change gear.
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Hi guys, i need help, i recently managed to buy a HP Workstation wx6400 with dual intel xeon 3.0GHz chips, 4 GB RAM 80GB hd.
i paid £200 for this and chose this over a new build with an AMD bulldozer 6x setup.
1.Was this my first mistake
i should probably say that im a student so will be using the typical student software, but also alot of AutoCAD and CAD based programs,
i picked up twin Dell 19inch monitors for £70 and chose them over 2x 20in samsung syncmaster for £110
2. Was this also a mistake?
then due to the tiny hdd and i tend to download quite a bit, i bought a samsung f3 1TB internal HD for £70
3. is this any good?
and now im contemplating RAM, the motherboard can take up to 16GB but i think 8GB would be enough, plus my budget is reaching the bottom of the pool and i have seen some RAM for £20 or so but im not sure if i should wait and buy a more high spec ram or would it even matter (by that i mean will i even notice) because ill have 8GB so it should handle most things i throw at it, shouldnt it?
sorry to write such a lengthy post but i really need the help
n.b i have had a little bit of a rush of blood to the head and bought all of this in a little bit of a frenzy alt=":hammer:" /> i know im dissapointed in myself but come on.... who hasnt
cheers guys Read more
thanks
Hi everyone, my older sister is starting a new job meaning 18k miles a year driving. Her boyfriends family own a fiat garage so they want to get a fiat, due to access to cheap servicing and parts.
She is wondering which is the best deal. £5k for a 2009 fiat panda 1.3 multijet diesel, 9,000 miles. Or £5k for a 2007 fiat bravo 1.9 multijet 120 diesel with 19000 miles. I think the bravo will be more comfortable for the 90 mile round trip she does everyday, but apparently the panda is a reasonable car at 70mph. Fuel economy for the panda is quoted at 76mpg at £30 a year tax. The bravo is meant to do 54mpg and £120 a year to tax.... Read more
I hope she enjoys her new Panda. We have both a Bravo and a Panda (despite me being a ford main agent tech!), they are fantastic cars and neither has been the slightest bit of trouble.
Hi there....I don't know anything much about cars first of all!! This particular problem started when I started getting smoke coming into the car through the interior heating ducts (and steaming up my windows). It smells slightly sweet. I have been told that this is my heating radiator that is leaking. today I see that the passenger footwell is wet under the mat.and I am now having to top up the water quite a bit. My question is this....will Radweld do anything for this problem. And is replacing the radiator is a big job?? thank you very much! Read more
If it's a simple hour or two job to replace the heater matrix, you won't be looking at a big labour bill (the matrix itself will only be c £40). But if it's a long job I'd stick some Radweld or Barsleak in (both products have been around for years). Unless yours is a cherished Volvo, then you are into bangernomics motoring.
Would any of the Radweld haters really spend £500 plus on stripping out the dash on an 18 year old car?
1st MOT on 2009 car. My car has failed its 1st MOT as the front shock absorber needs replacing. How can a new car, with 30,000 on the clock need new shock absorber? I have never had to replace shock absorbers on previous cars and the first car i owned was 10 years old! The warranty runs out in 3 days, any advice would be great. Read more
"How do you know? The previous owners could have spent a fortune keeping them going? Just because it's got 200k on it, doesn't mean it hasn't had some massive bills in the past, does it?"
Because they have been lease cars and I have seen the service and repair print out so they could cost the profit.Non of them had anything significant spent on them apart from tyres which seem to last 25k on the front and 30k on the rear.No exhausts no clutches couple of door window switches just mainly service items.
Woof, woof, a dog of a car. http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/AllCars/261518/ Read more
Presumably Kia interpretation of Hyundai Genesis, another model we will never see then.
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Yes you're right it's old technology, less less powerful than the TSI but simpler and given recent reports on the TSI engine, maybe a better long term bet. Only way is to test it's fit for your needs. Also worth checking out new ones at drivethedeal for 20% off to make sure you're not paying over the odds for a demo car.