January 2017
Just for the sake of clarity, Virgin have said they are not losing these channels.
community.virginmedia.com/t5/News/Discovery-Channe...2 Read more
Went to start my son's VW Golf Mk 5 (2004) petrol which was working fine earlier. Although the engine cranks readily there is no sign at all of the engine wanting to fire up. I notice that the EPC light is not coming on when the ignition key is in the first position as I think it should. I think the exhaust warning light is also supposed to come on initially but doesn't. I initially though immobiliser but that light comes on briefly and then goes out as it should. It has a new battery with plenty of charge.
This is the second time this has happened - both times the car had been left for the day and failed on returning to it. The first time my son ran the battery completely flat cranking it over and next morning it started fine with a jump start. I did use the spare key so cannot say I have eliminated the immobiliser but the light suggests this is all OK.... Read more
I would guess this is an Fsi engine.In which case you should hear the in-tank pump prime up when you unlock the car and open the drivers door.Tank sits under the rear seat with the pump inside.You may be able to hear it better with the rear seat cushion lifted.
The eagle eyed among you will remember my recent purchase of.a £1200 MX-5. I was feeling very smug at my canny purchase, but it's not been a good week!
Straight after I bought it I took it for a full service, as it had a history of services at a main dealer, but no stamps for a couple of years. The service was all fine, I kept expecting a phone call to say they had found something terminal, or it had fallen apart when up on the lift. But no, all fine and they even complimented the car on its good condition.
You can probably sense a but coming, and you'd be right! At the start of this week I got a puncture AND a chipped windscreen. I didn't notice when either happened, just a flat tyre in the morning and a big chip which my son spotted on the way home from school.
New tyre sorted (I used Tyres on the Drive who were quick and cheap) and new windscreen booked with Autoglass. And here's the but, because on taking the screen out they discovered rust which was not visible from the outside. It seems that the screen has been replaced before and the paintwork scratched but not repainted or primed, so rust got in.
Now I need to have the rust and the frame sorted before a new screen can be fitted! Oh well, at least I've budgeted for a few small jobs, I just hope it is a small job! Read more
Thank you, that's a good idea, I will do that! And as a friend has rightly pointed out, I've probably got lucky with the rust being discovered now, as it's only surface rust at the moment and would have got much worse had it stayed hidden and undiscovered.
It's off to the local body shop on Thursday and the whole frame is being stripped, treated and resprayed.
hi , could someone help me with a problem on a KA Sport 2005 , the alarm goes off when unlocking the doors with the key fob , many thanks in advance Read more
factory fit alarm, i found on google to unplug the alarm module for about an hour or so to reset the module , but cant seem to find the module , but i would of thought disconnecting the battery would do the same thing
Perhaps it's time for all cars to have some kind of "Blackbox" within it's ecu for reading in the event of such carnage?. Could also trigger an alert to beacons regarding serious speeding offences. Read more
A lot of info can be obtained from some vehicles ECUs. I work in a main dealer and we can tell the speeds that the vehicle has reached and how hard the cornering was.
So don't tell lies you will be caught out.
Crossovers what where all the the subaru cars then if not cross overs Honda firest HRV the Amc Eagle etc Read more
very short. very abrupt.very amusing.more details required.
Regarding the item on the Suzuki Celerio's fuel economy, I can add the following... I used to drive a 2013 Kia Picanto 1.0L manual (same engines as Hyundai). I drive like the Pope's mother and the best that I could get out of it was roughly 55 mpg (averaged over 18,000 miles). This was a real disappointment as it was worse than my old 2006 Daihatsu Sirion and the wife's 2005 Aygo MMT (both gave around 60 mpg). It was also disturbingly getting worse over time despite regular servicing. Then we replaced the wife's Aygo with a Celerio SZ4 AGS (which 90% of the time I drive). The difference in fuel economy was immediately apparent. Over the last 4000 miles it's averaged 69.9 mpg but it has hit 74.8 mpg on long motorway trips. I was so impressed, I got one for my daughter-in-law and one for myself. I've only got mpg figures for one tankful on mine but it did 66.7 (but this was over Dec/Jan which is pretty good considering how cold it's been). Also for contrast, early last year, I helped my daughter buy a brand new i10 Premium Automatic (with the 1.2 Kappa engine). She gets a pathetic 38 mpg (although she does drive faster than I do). From the above comparison, IMO, Suzuki's overall approach to making small cars is far superior to Kia/Hyundai's. The latter promises good fuel economy but doesn't deliver it. Suzuki does. Read more
We have averaged 53mpg over 7000 miles in our Hyundai 2016, 1.2 manual which is slightly better than the average for the 1.0 and 1.2 on HJ’s Real MPG stats.
There does not seem to be a significant difference in fuel consumption between these two engines with manual transmission but with an auto box, consumption increases to a seriously disadvantageous 38.1 MPG. on HJ RMPG.
The Celerio 1.0 AGS (auto) is even more economical than the manual version, according to RMPG.
W... C.. (sorry HJ) has developed its own version of the HJ more realistic fuel consumption idea, which they call True MPG.
Their professional team has carried out tests and quote;
“The Suzuki Celerio is the most fuel efficient car we’ve ever tested.”
Even with a’ lowly’ fuel consumption of 57.8 MPG.
You need a few driving tips from HJ readers lads!
I have badly scratched my windscreen and one side window with my scraper on a frosty morning. Will my insurance company happily cover this on my windscreen excess or will they refuse as I caused the damage and it's not broken ? Read more
And the claim for self inflicted damage then becomes insurance fraud...
Hi, have been looking for a new car and think I've settled on a fiesta ecoboost mainly for the cheap running costs and decent power. Planning on buying through the ford direct scheme as the warranty is appealing, but have noticed a lot of the best prices are nowhere near me. Would I be mad to buy the car based on the word of the dealer and have it delivered to me? The cars I have seen are all less than a year old and no more than 2000 miles on the clock, infact some only had a couple of hundred. Also, from what I hear Ford Direct cars are usually in great condition, has anyone bought one of these before?
Cheers! Read more
I bought a fully loaded S-max in 2010 and after five years sold it with only one repair in that period. Bought it blind and could not have been happier.
I think there has been discussion on previous threads about this subject, but here goes. The new vehicle I have ordered comes with a tyre inflator kit instead of a spare wheel. The option is a spare wheel and jack for £150, which seems reasonable enough. I have no experience of the inflator kits, and frankly they sound pretty 'heath robinson' and a convenient get out by manufacturers not to supply or accommodate spare wheels within the vehicle. I have used my spare only once in the past 12 years, but at least you know you can get home or to a repair garage. Any comments and experiences would be welcome.
Cheers Concrete Read more
I am weary about leaving anything on display in a parked car ... my understanding (may be wrong) is that anything not secured out of sight in a locked boot is not covered by car insurance for theft - certainly it is an invitation for someone to break in and steal the item.
I have privacy glass which helps discourage prying eyes, and always carry a large rug which I throw over any items on the back seat that I can't fit in the boot....
Browse
Car SOS is the real deal. Wheeler Dealers are crap and very amateur and back street cowboyish compared to them. Stopped watching Wheeler Dealers when they did the DS on there. They did something that was physically impossible on a DS. I should know, I restored them for over 40 years!!