June 2014
We have a 3 door Vauxhall Corsa which means that the drivers seat handle allows it to fold forward and slide on the runners to allow someone into the back seats. The seat mechanism jammed / broke and so the seat backrest would not lock back into place and the seat slid up and down the runners and will not stop in any position and the car wasn't driveable. It ended up being a broken cable. This is a quick fix which will get the car working again. It should also work with the passenger seat.... Read more
I would agree, asked and anwered many times. But there's a specific case, hence proceeding:
... Read more
Research paper on the effect of low viscosity oils on heavy duty diesel engines.
Dear HJ, I have had my Aygo since 2007 and there has always been a jerking and shaking as soon as the car is fired up. It eases away as the engine heats up. Toyota have failed to diagnose a problem, and the car has had regular services and passed the MOT. Last Friday, after having made a quick journey and stopping the car for about 20 minutes, I failed to fire it up again despite turning the key (first time this has happened). The brake which must be pushed down to start the car had frozen; although, I was able to change the gears to put the car into drive and reverse. A local garage diagnosed it as a "gearbox problem" and said with automatic cars the gearbox cannot be repaired, just replaced. I was quoted £2200 by Toyota and £1500 by the same independent garage. Just by chance I sat in the car again and wiggled the gears (next morning) and as if by magic, the car started up! So I drove off and brought the car home as I didn't really want that garage attending to the problem. Do you think I was given an accurate diagnosis? I have been told by friends with some expertise that the whole gearbox does not need replacing, merely the motor that actuates the clutch. I am confused and unsettled by the quotes I've had and the safety of driving the car- it does seem to work fine now; I have made about 3 trips since. I only need the car to work for about a month as I will be selling it in a month (I will be honest and report the problem at the time). Please help! Many thanks! Read more
Hi,
I am currently encountering the same issue you are stating with my Aygo. Did you manage to establish where the issue was coming from?...
An expensive problem with a three year old Fiat 500 is the failure of the wiring loom where it passes through the rear of the body into the tailgate via a convoluted rubber gaitor. The central locking will fail and you can no longer open the tailgate(except from the inside via the emergency lever), various warning lights come up on the dashboard etc.The loom is subject to bending stress here every time the tailgate is opened and shut. The more it is used the earlier the wiring will fracture and break, for instance, daily use for shopping or letting a dog in and out. The main dealer solution to this car was a £600 fit of a new wiring loom. However, with a little patience there is a simple repair that costs about a £1. First, pull some loom through the gaitor from the C pillar., then remove the internal tailgate pressed board cover to reveal the wiring connections, disconnect the two rear heated window connections, the rearwiper motor connection and undo the rear lock which allow you to pull some loom through from the tailgate. Now you can see the broken connections. Carefully strip each broken wire, slide on a heat shrink sleeve and twist the bare ends together. Solder the wire and when all the broken wires are repaired this way apply some heat to shrink all the sleeving down to a tight fit. Relocate the convoluted rubber gaitor and finally carefully pull all your new wiring connections through into the tailgate, connect up the rear screen demister etc and refit the pressed board cover....Hey presto you have saved about £600 ! Read more
If it makes you feel any better about your FIAT, I had exactly the same problem with a Volvo 245 GLT estate years ago - and it wasn't as easy to repair either, I recall spending about 2 days in a freezing garage in winter sorting it out.
Been looking for a Hilux for some time. But the Top Gear experience has made them very sought after and consequently expensive.
Taking HJ's advice I tried an Isuzu Pick up but found the ride really uncomfortable to the point that I felt sick.... Read more
The Nissan Navara (post 2005, the D40 model, 2.5 diesel) was pretty good to drive, SWMBO had one for work for a couple of years. The rear seats (and this is true for almost all of these pickups) aren't that comfortable for adults, the knee-to-foot drop isn't that great, so people end up sitting with knees up in the air if tall.
The biggest problem I think they had with those was the fact that they were almost over-powered. Company car drivers used to go through halfshafts pretty regularly, the torque was that huge on them. SWMBO never managed that, but then again, she drives quite sensibly....
i have a 57 reg toyota avensis - oil maint reqd sign comes on.
i have topped up oil and dipstick shows levels are ok. ... Read more
No special tool needed to reset it (except the owner who doesn't change the oil and filter) ;-)
It's just a combination of button press and ignition cycling. As a Toyota technician at a main agents I do the reset on a daily basis but won't outright divulge the info on principal. You don't need to have a service done at the dealers, there's many Indy outlets who'll have the knowledge to reset the light, but seeing how cheap Toyota servicing is the differences are marginal....
Hi all,
New user here - but long time reader, so please take it easy on me!
A couple of things that I'm needing advice on if anyone could please help:
Basically I brought a car from Availablecar in October 2013. The car (1.4 Scirocco TSI 10 plate, 40,000 miles clocked) went to VW about three weeks back (7 months after purchase) due to the engine making unusual noises, the report came back as one of the cylinders having severely low compression which will result in a piston replacement + cylinder head refurbishment. Directly through VW this is going to cost a whopping £3000+ (although can go up to a new engine needing to be installed completely, so in theory could be at least double that) or (after taking it for a second opinion elsewhere) through an independent garage for around £1500!
My first question is do you think Availablecar have anything to answer for here? Stuff like this doesn't happen over night, it builds up over months/years. This is also a common fault with this 1.4 petrol VW engine after further investigation on the internet (can provide numerous links to VW Scirocco 1.4 owners having the same issue on various VW forums on the internet), although VW have never (wrongly) issued a recall on them.
This link:
www.adviceguide.org.uk/wales/..._is_faulty.htm
States anything after 6 months of purchase I will need to provide evidence etc to help any claim I may make.
Anyone had problems like this? Do I have a hope in hell going back to the dealership?
My second question is regarding my 'warranty' company of which I am paying £729 over 5 years for 3 years cover, the company - Mapfre Abraxas, are they trying to pull a fast one? They're trying to claim it's 'general wear and tear', but I strongly disagree as how can piston failure on a car 4 years old with only 40k on the clock be acceptable in terms of wear and tear? Especially when it's such a common fault with this particular engine.
I can provide much more info needed and will answer any questions anyone has.
Any help is, as always, greatly appreciated. This could turn out to be the biggest and most costly mistake of my life so far, so any help is priceless to me. But oh well... we live and we learn... I blame being young!
Cheers guys. Read more
Excellent outcome. Best of luck for the future !
Hi
Has anyone ever had trouble with the rear lights on this car? VW Passat 2010 Estate Highline 2.0TDI.... Read more
Funny, that.
Some of us have been suggesting for some time now that cars are being increasingly designed with a far less than 10 year life span, every silly toy that gets added, though seemingly desired* by new car buyers/users, puts another nail in their coffins....
Hi Folks
Could someone advice where is the best place to buy private number plates?
I'm thinking of buying one which has 3 letters followed by some numbers?
Thanks in advance for your responses.... Read more
Avant, what's to say the Golf Gti uses a Skoda engine? Or a SEAT one?
hi all,
three months ago i took my car to the bmw main dealer my ecu had failed due to water engress, they took my car in told me they would fix it and they did it cost me £1500 for the pleasure, but last week i had to tow my car back to the garage , the out come was the ecu had failed again to water damage !!!! but 'its now coming from another place close by'... Read more
You wouldn't be able to show it as a 'manufacturing fault' - the car is 8 years old, and the problem first came up 3 months ago.
Where you probably can get them on is 'reasonable skill, care and attention'. You took the car into a main agent, and the for the price you paid, you had a reasonable expectation that they would do the job properly. It does not seem that they have done so, so you have a pretty good case there....
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Fairly typical of my experience with our old Corsa, now gone thankfully. You will also find that the seat back frame is liable to collapse, the door handle cable will snap, the rear folding seat will fail and so on. They do soldier on ( to 100k plus miles in our case) but you need to be handy to deal with repairs due to the poor design and quality of a lot of the ancillary bits and pieces.