July 2012
We bought this car from new 2 years ago and have completed some 18k miles. During the last few weeks we have noticed upon starting some clutch judder in 1st gear although after having driven some way this does not recur.
We mentioned this at the 2nd service a couple of weeks ago but typically the garage could not replicate the problem. However my wife had a scary moment when the judder occured as she was pulling across a junction and it took a moment fro the clutch to "bite".... Read more
Hi,
About me:
I am a city dweller with a family of 2 small twins. So pram + car seat will be in our life for next 3-4 years. I will be driving mostly on weekends for shopping and long tours once a month. I expect my annual mileage to stay around 2000 miles and not more.
I am prepared to spend upto 10K (including first year's comprehensive insurance and warranty)
I am looking for a car that
1 is very safe
2 is very reliable
3 will fit 4+pram+luggage or 4+2
4 has low maintenance vehicle (obviously)
5 low insurance (first time driver)
Looks don't matter at all - not literally but almost.
===
From last few weeks I have been reading though forum to finalize my first family car. And based on review had decided to go for Toyota Avensis. But quickly found out that even its huge boot wont be enough for keeping huge twin pram and luggage.
So starting all over again, now I am looking for 7 seater MPV. With rear 2 seats folded, I should be able to keep twin-pram and luggage.
Also, I need 1.8 Petrol Automatic (2.0 only as a last resort)
So far I have considered:
Toyota - Corolla Verso
Toyota - Verso
Mazda 5
One of friend recently bought Mazda 5 (manual) and he is happy with it. But I am not sure how petrol auto holds up and also 1.8 is rare.
I could not find very good review about Corolla Verso and Verso (kinds of reviews I found about Avensis). Are these cars not good enough than rivals?
I would like to know if I can consider
VW Zaphira,
Ford Grand C-Max (petrol auto is not available - pls correct me)
Anything that I am missing?
Read more
The best for space is surely a ssangyong rodius?
...
Hi
I am looking to buy a used lpg converted car. There are two option either buy a petrol or get a ready made factory fitted lpg cars.I think getting afactory fit lpg will be better than getting someone to convert a petrol car. PLease advise on this , which option is best?... Read more
I don't think it is the same with ther Astra factory LPG (which actually has a pretty poor reputation) but I do know on the Volvo factory LPG systems you did get the same power on petrol and LPG.
The engine had a slightly different map on LPG and the power came in about 300 rpm higher but the peak power and torque were exactly the same figures.
My VW Passat wouldn't move due to 'parking brake fault' and had to tow it to authorised dealer in Southampton(Peter Cooper) as normal garages were not able to decipher the error code using their devices. I could hear the motor rev on one of the sides not on the other. They say that brake calipers needs to be replaced and that will cost around £600! Is this reasonable? I am suspicious as they charged me around £500 for cam belt replacement just a few weeks ago(later realised that other VW authrosied guys in Basingstoke quoted £380 for the same work! ). I would like to know what you guys think.
Thanks Read more
It's not an unknown problem on the Passat, usually caused by the plastic cover over the caliper electrics having cracked & let in water & carp. Can usually be fixed DIY for £0 by dismantleling, cleaning & greasing, then repairing the cracked casing. But you are stuck between a rock & a hard place, immovable car stuck in the dealers. I belive the electrical mechanism that bolts to the back of the caliper & usually where the fault lies isn't available separately, so have to pay for the complete caliper assembly.
I've had a 5th occurrence of what appears to be a straightforward bad-connection problem on the starter motor. Can anyone offer advice? Is this a common Shogun fault? Have I misdiagnosed the root cause?
The engine refuses to crank on the starter motor, although the panel lights go out, the interior light dims and the battery voltage dips to about 10 volts. No obvious solenoid "Clack" is audible. Removing the solenoid connection (spade terminal) from the starter & connecting the voltmeter to it - you get 12 volts when the starter key is turned. Reconnecting the solenoid & putting the voltmeter onto the starter-side large terminal gives about 10 Volts when the key is turned. Access to this terminal is really difficult with the starter motor on the car, so on each occasion the fault has occurred, I have removed it at this point. This is easier said than done, needing about two and a half feet of socket extension pieces and a UJ to remove the upper bolt.
On each occasion, the starter-side large terminal (the one switched by the solenoid) has been overheated & burnt. Giving this connection a good clean has cleared the fault each time. The starter motor tests ok, giving a good "clack" when the solenoid connection is energised. On the first happening & again last time, I completely stripped the motor, checking for worn brushes or any signs of cracking, but it all looked fine. The last time, I also renewed the nut since there was slight corrosion of the steel.
I realise some of my fault description appears to contradict itself....and this may be a clue to why I haven't solved it. The battery voltage is being pulled down to 10v, suggesting the motor is drawing current, but there isn't an audible "clack" when the solenoid energises & the motor doesn't turn.
Five times I've been lucky that it's let me down at home, since it would be almost impossible to fix at the roadside. It did it today only 2 months after the last time. Can anyone help me get to the bottom of this?
Many thanks
John Read more
I did have a strange fault on my sons pickup where the starter operated intermittently, by complete accident I found that although the terminals were tight one of them was not making contact. I only found this when I shorted the tag to the bolt and it sprung into life. I can only conclude that some electrolytic action had turnd the surface into an insulator/semiconductor, a good clean cured the problem.
I wonder if anybody has encountered my problem and can offer advice. My passat recently developed a problem, when I started the engine it died almost immediatly. This would occur maybe 2--- to 6 times then would run no bother. When it occured the one indicator was that the glow plug? pre-heater? symbol would show on the dash. I left it into a garage and they put it on diagnostics and that indicated the ignition switch was faulty, what puzzled me was that the glow plug was the constant indicator. Has anybody encountered this problem and if I do replace the ignition switch does that solve my problem. I bought new in 2006 --- 60,000 on clock. Read more
Sounds like you have the model where the key fob is inserted into the dash & there is no actual key. The steering lock then has to be actuated by an electric motor driven pin, mouinted on the steering column. So you now have a relatively compliated system replacing a tried & tested key & steering lock, brilliant.
If you follow the link below to a thread on VWAUDI Forum there are instructions on how to make a DIY repair....
Anyone who has had dealings with Glasgow Motor Company should contact Strathclyde Police on 0141 532 1011
Thanks Read more
I may be wrong (it has occasionally happened) but this complex is the result of an old established trader semi-retiring and instead of running the site, rented out space (the complex is deceptively large) to a number of traders, good and bad. While Jimmy Doyle is a chancer of the highest order, just because GMC (now folded) had the biggest sign, they didn't even rent the whole place. A few break away and start-up traders have got caught up in this mire.
Get a "High Battery Drain" on start upon the morning and have lost Bluetooth ability in the car. After running for a couple of minutes the sign goes away and nothing appears in the Fault Finder. Just spent £200 having the car "diagnosed" at a garage to be told they can't find anything wrong. They changed the battery for a new one but the following morning the High Battery Drain re-appeared. I'm at. Loss as to what to do and would really appreciate any guidance and comments from guys who have had a similar experience. Read more
Had
Internet Exploder strikes again.
Had to have a new battery on our 1 series, luckily under warranty. BMW''s must have the correct batter fitted and it has to be programmed into the ECU. If you don't the car does not know its a battery thus still shows a fault....
just been reading on here about turbo problems on 1.6 tdci ,my son has on one of these and had two turbos go, one only done 25 miles and disintegrated, was fitted by a reputable garage, but they didnt want to know, so i did some research on the subject and found that when you disconnect the oil feed pipe to the turbo and crank the engine over for ten secs it should put out something like 300mls of oil, it was only putting out one third of what it should, so i removed the lower banjo bolt on the oil supply pipe drilled out the wire gauze in it and repeated the test, it put out gallons of oil, car has now done around 15,000 and is fine now, hope this helps someone. Read more
Hi David just wondering if you ever got the tsb on replacment turbo? I have just bought a ford focus and would like to take preventive action!
If possible could you email it to me at michaelpjmahon@gmail.com...
Hi all,
Anyone have any idea what kind of job it is to fit a new vacuum actuator/unit on the inlet manifold ?
Apparently there's a diaphram in this that splits and a new part is only about £10 ish .
It is attached to the front side of the inlet manifold ( so I am informed )
It looks like a possible cure for intermittant underboost and stuttering.
Many thanks Read more
The part number for the vacuum unit on a BMN engine is 03G 129 061 C, about £12 from any VAG dealer.
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Hi, saw your post and wondered if you got a solution. I have a '10' plate Nissan Micra K12 1.2 Visia with this same problem. The clutch judder started after just 9,500 miles. We have had it back to the main dealer 3 times (Manufacturers warranty runs out in April 2013). Share your safety concerns also regarding busy road junctions.
1. First time at the main dealer they reset the engine control parameters as they thought it was a tick-over issue (revs too low) - only happens when setting off from rest in first gear. Outcome: no real improvement....