June 2017

G0llings

Hi

I've been struggling with DPF regeneration on my company car that the lease company refuses to take seriously.... Read more

G0llings

Well, no surprise there. No fault found. The independent garage said they were unable to confirm the AA's diagnosis because the patrol had "deleted" the fault codes. This is despite me giving them a printout of the AA's report with the codes on it.

Oh well. Next time the EML comes on I won't stop driving.

fredthefifth

My Passat has had the emissions fix which I read can result in more soot and earlier DPF failure. Guidance is that I should have regular runs with revs over 2000rpm.

Trouble is on motorway runs in 6th at 70mph my rpm is just below 2000rpm. So do I have to change down? How far for? etc... Read more

fredthefifth

I have no idea when the car is carrying out a regen.

You won't. The ECM doesn't tell you. Passive regenerations take place all the time when the exhaust is sufficiently hot. The cooling fans will run during an Active regeneration, so that is an indicator of when it's in progress. If all else fails anyone with VCDS can carry out a forced regeneration. Check the VAG forums for someone who has VCDS near you. ...

vidapura

Hello,

I recently bought a 08 Renault Koleos.... Read more

Barsus

Here's an update for anyone interested: As intimated, I came across a later year of the same model (2014) so decided to upgrade. A family member is buying my old one - how many folk say, in later years, "I wish I had bought my father's car - serviced correctly, reliable and immaculate?"

The newbie is essentially the same, but is white, rather than black, with sunroof x 2, a two-tone light coloured leather interior and a (basic for them, but good) Bose sound system...4WD again since I have a boat to tow....

Alfred Rees-Glinos

Hey guys. Our Mondeo's head gasket is beginning to go. So after some searching online, I came across an advert for a 1989 190e 2.0 auto. 200,000 miles on the clock, one owner, full service history, and a years MOT. My main question is, should I buy it? I would rarerly be taking it on significantly long distances, mostly commuting 20 mins to work. Second, how easy would it be to find spare parts in the future? Would these parts be signifianclty expensive? Thanks in advance. Alfie. Read more

Avant

A 190E sounds like a great idea for a 'leisure car' - one that you might enjoy driving for fun - but not ideal for being relied on to get you to work.

I'd suggest only buying it if it's going cheaply, and you have enough left for a new head gasket. If that's all that's wrong with the Mondeo, repairing it is the cheapest option.

Bigshaun

I blanked my Egr off and ever since all I've had it no performance it's like being in limp mode. There is no power anymore It takes about 30 seconds to get to 60mph. I don't understand what I've done wrong. I've double and triple checked everything and everything is nice and tight and in place. I've reset the ecu by disconnecting the battery for an hour but this hasn't changed anything only my bad for forgetting to set the automatic windows back up...ooops.

Can anybody help? Read more

S40 Man

I tend to agree that a working EGR is a better more be responsible way forward. If you choose to keep it then look into the pipe/blanking b plate. Does it have a hole in it? If not do 2 or 3 8-10 mm holes and then refit. This can reduce flow of egr gas but as another poster mentioned won't confuse sir flow meter.

How do you get rid of annoying Australia banner? Makes typing on a phone a real ball ache!...

Roundglobetrotter

My wife and I have had a manual Jazz since 2003 and hve been delighted with it.

We are considering replasing it (not least because she needs seat height adjustment which it does not have) with an automatic Jazz....perhaps new but more likely second hand.... Read more

skidpan

The current and now ended Nissan Note is a dog and the evidence is there for all to see. Disgusting how Nissan never solved the suspension problem.

Is that just the new model - I found the model up to 2013 very refined and have never experienced any such noises?

With the rear seats fully back it's a little limo inside for four people albeit with a smaller boot (ahem) ...

peter973

I'm changing the head gasket on my car.

Should I lightly lubricate the Head Bolts or could this affect the torque tightening & in long term, tightening stability ?... Read more

Stanb Sevento

As others have said clean and dry is the default position in the absence of any other specific information. Dont get too hung up about being super scientific about it, its not a precision thing. Makers spec apply to new bolts not old and getting everything absolutly clean is near impossible, but thankfully there is a fair range of tension that will work fine. Correct sequence and eveness are just as important. Many old hands do it by feel rather than use a torque wrench. All bolts strech when under load, the bigger the load the more they strech, the problems start if you go past their "elastic linit". Thats the point where they dont return to their original length when the load is removed. You can feel if that happens, the bolt turns but the torque reading stays the same, or even falls back.

argybargy

Hi all

The 12v power socket on my 2007 Ford Focus has stopped working.... Read more

argybargy

The info available regarding the Focus fuse box is confusing, to say the least. The image nearest to my car's fusebox that I found online was for a Focus ST, and mine is the 1.6Ti, so there were no doubt fuses on that board that my car doesn't have.

Thanks for the advice about having test equipment. I tend to keep a USB adaptor in the 12v socket for phone charging, but it was taken out the other day when I used my tyre inflator, and not put back. Yesterday my wife put her phone charging lead in the socket thinking the adaptor was still there, obviously without result, but even when we replaced the adaptor there was no power. So I don't know whether what she did caused it to short out.

Ebob

Hi all,

My friend showed me this oil additive you add every 40, 000 miles. It uses nanotechnology, the particles have one sticky side which bind to the surfaces of the engine the other side is said to be very hard and low friction to protect the engine and reduce wear and increase mpg. ... Read more

gordonbennet

Wot, does no one believe this miracle goo fills in/replaces worn away metal effectively reconditioning the engine as you drive along :-)

Alex Kyriacos

My seven year old 308SW diesel has about 50000 miles on the clock, is well looked after and in good condition. There is one issue that is starting to worry me. When I change gear, the clutch behaves normally but on the way up, after the gear change, it will sometimes momentarily stick and then pop up by itself. It started doing this a few months back every now and then but now it happens a lot more. There are no strange noises coming from the clutch as far as I can hear. I have tested it and it sometimes - but more rarely - happens in neutral or when the car is in gear but the engine is not on. The bite point is still high up and gear changes smooth. The Peugeot garage seem to think that it is some dirt on the rod that is causing friction and have treated the problem with some goos old WD40, which seems to have helped but not eradicated the problem. I would be calmer but a couple of months back, in some inclement weather in the countryside, the car was pushed to its limits in order to get us out of a very sticky situation. Despite this, neither I, nor the garage seem to think it was sufficient to break a clutch.

... Read more

Alex Kyriacos

I thought I'd update this as it's quite interesting. All those months back, Peugeot told me that dirt must have entered the sleeve behind the pedal causing friction and told me to just drive it as normal. They said they could repair it but as it wasn't actually broken it wasn't worth it. 19 months on, I've added 40,000 miles, been to France a couple of times and not had any problems apart from a sticking clutch pedal every now and then. I am lucky that my dealership has always been so honest I suppose.