November 2016
I have a 2014 Santa Fe 2.2 197 auto (diesel) that has a DPF.
The car gets a sooty boot and the exhaust pipes are black.... Read more
Our 2008 XC90 was bought second hand with 22k on the clock in Jan 2015. It had been serviced prior to purchase and has a FSH. I had it serviced again this January (2016) - including oil and filter change. In September a knocking noise alerted us to the fact that something was wrong. At the time the engine had 44k on the clock.
Upon inspection, number 1 bearing was totally gone and has caused scoring in cylinder 1 as well as damage to the top of piston 1. Essentially we need a new engine. There was no oil warning light before any symptoms or knocking.
The car is within its "5-star warranty" with Mapfre Abraxas, who have had an engineer to inspect the damage...but the outcome is that they will not take the claim. They say that the damage is due to "low oil or heavily carbonised oil" and that this is not covered.
I've asked the warranty company to confirm the reason for the denial. The T&Cs they quote are under GENERAL EXCLUSIONS:
... Read more
Thanks for updating us, and glad you got the car sorted to your satisfaction.
Incidents like this give the aftermarket warranty market a bad name, and kudos to you for fighting this, must have been very stressful, and great to those on the forum who pitched in and helped too. ...
I know there's a few other posts about this, but I seem to still be having trouble... so any advice is much appreciated!
I've got a 2003 focus with speedo issues, replaced it when I got the car about 3 years ago and had no speedo problems after that... until a couple of months ago. Same symptoms, and so I replaced the speedo again, except this time, the speedo still drops to zero and stalls out when I slow down to take corners etc. (I don't know if they preplaced it with a generic one, or if that makes a difference). ... Read more
Unlikely to be anything else.The speed sensor is a very common failure on Focus.I have replaced mine for the same reason.Fortunately my one was the bolt -in type.
I was reading in a different on line motoring magazine that the new Land Rover Defender will be the most high tech car yet, more than the latest Discovery and Range Rover etc.
Are Land Rover now nothing more than a Chelsea tractor school run manufacturer and forgetting what the Defender is really all about.
I fear for the reliability issues if it is to be laden with Tech. Read more
In Australia the saying is "If you want to go bush take a Land Rover. If you want to come back take a Land Cruiser".
Cars of any type even zero emissions do pollute simply by existing. However unless you are actually driving it, it's not going to be a fair system, the new VED rates.
I would say keep current zero tax for the least polluting vehicles and simply 'cane' all diesels particularly school buses i sometimes follow which given the fact they are transporting children is even more shameful, the amount of 'asthma triggering' pollutants they are chucking out!
Add to that, in recent years the truth about misleading economy figures for most diesel cars, and that manufacturers have been aware! A shake up may be due,but yet again the wrong car owners will be targeted.
Theresa May should simply step in and crush Osbornes bill as whilst it may be simple to navigate that does not make it fairer. Newer cars however high polluting, unless diesel, should not be charged more for extras. That's ridiculous.
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Just another way to screw the motorist
I had the previous model for a short time, 1.8 diesel. Great apart from the dangerous turbo lag at junctions. Looks like they haven't improved the power on the new ones, 114 BHP was a bit wimpy for a 1.8! Also, why do all 4x4 esque designs have the plastic trim around the wheel arches, it always colour fades after a few years? One good point of the old asx. Read more
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Have you ran it at speed for at least an hour? Try to get the whole car exhaust HOT by running on the motorway, maybe in a lower gear than usual. If that doesnt help clear the exhaust then it needs a proper investigation. If the dealer cant help try Bosch servcie centre. They usually have all the kit to check modern diesls, and some have a rolling road.
Black smoke tends to suggets over fuelling- running a bit rich?...