November 2017
Hi all. My polo has been losing coolant for around 2 years now and I’m struggling to find the source of the leak. It needs topping up around once a week (I drive for around 30 minutes each day). There is no visible leak from the car when cold or hot, and the entire system has been pressured tested when hot and cold by both the AA and an independent garage. I’ve also had a sniffer test performed on the expansion tank to check for a blown head gasket, and the result of this suggested that all was fine. Over the last 2 years there has been no sign of the oil becoming milky, so this also suggests that the head gasket is intact. There is no sign of moisture in the interior of the car, and I can’t see any white smoke or feel any moisture coming from the exhaust My local garage’s suggestion was to just wait for the leak to become worse and then bring it back, but I’m not entirely happy with that, I’d really like to get it sorted. Does anyone have any good ideas about what might be going on? Thanks! Read more
HJ's reviews state that the car is vastly better as a manual than with the DSG box. Anyone got a view or experience on this that they are prepared to share? Thiking of either the 150 or 190 TDi. engine. Read more
Thanks folks, got a Passat B7 manual at the moment but have always liked auto's and fancied an auto box if I ever go to a B8. Opinions seem to indicate otherwise though.
I get an awful ticking noise from the tappets when starting the engine from cold...more noticeable in cold weather, hardly any noise when mild. Apparently this is a known issue with these engines. The noise goes when the engine has been running for a few minutes. Some people online suggest it could be piston slap. The engine has 60k on the clock and has been well serviced and carefully driven from new.
Is this noisy tappet causing any damage, and will not replacing the lot cause any problems? Read more
What is your typical drive cycle like? .... What oil are you using? and how frequently has it been changed? .. What does "well serviced" mean?
I've seen discussions on here in which the shortcomings of Ford's Ecoboost engines have been mentioned. I think the problem concerned the less powerful of the two 1.0 Ecoboost engines which are available for the Fiesta, but I can't recall the nature of the problem.
I know there was an early issue with these engines where a pipe in the cooling system was prone to give up the ghost, dumping the coolant and wrecking the engine, but something is telling me that some other problem was mentioned.... Read more
Thanks for that response, corax.
Found a long thread on the forum of the Ford Owners Club concerning rust damage to turbo cooling pipes on the Ecoboost Fiesta. The damage shown in some of the photos posted by contributors was pretty bad for cars which in some cases were only 18 months old, and these are apparently pipes that Ford will not replace without doing a complete turbo replacement, costing over a grand....
Hi
I have a 2003 Citroen c3 1.4hdi and the front wipers and washer has stopped working but the washer and wiper works on the rear window I have check all fuses in the car and in the engine bay but all are ok please can someone help
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If you have a donor car, then I would swap out the cabin bcm/fuse box. The engine will not start,but other functions should operate ok.You could also swap out the engine bay fusebox.If this does not fix it,then you may have a wiring issue.
I have had a noise in the engine bay for a few months now sounds like it’s drivers side.
I have had exhaust and all heat shields checked and they are all perfect
I had a new turbo and a new inlet manifold fitted last year.
The noise to me sounds like a rattling/vibrating noise.
The van is year 2008.
It had a new rubber drivebelt fitted 6 months ago.
Today while I was sitting in drivers seat and engine running I opened the drivers door and made a video, I had it in reverse and was riding the clutch and you can clearly hear the noise the odd chirp you hear is my reversing sensors.
The link to the video on YouTube is youtu.be/n8Ge0rb2K_4 if anyone has any suggestions what the noise is or could be the help would be much appreciated.
Many thanks for any help. Read more
Took it to a local garage quickly on Saturday and he had a listen in engine and he reckons either the alternator or maybe just the clutch pulley on the end of alternator
It’s booked in for Tuesday to be properly diagnosed
Evening- as the heading says, can anyone advise if the new insignia 1.6 or 2l diesels are chain cams? Read more
Thanks guys. I'll stear well clear of it. Every taxi driver i know with the insignia has had major problems. Shame lovely looking car. If they had stuck a TDI there it would be an almost perfect car!
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My Kia Rio 2010 is on 86,000 miles. And I do 700 miles a week in it for work. I was wondering how long it will last with this sort of mileage? And how I can make it last a long time? Read more
Yeah I think We Buy Any Car will give me £75 for it, so the service was way over its value! Filling it up with petrol is close to its value too!
It has a manual gearbox. I bought it at 46,000 in 2002 and in my ownership it hasn’t had the clutch replaced, so it may well be the original. It doesn’t feel that there’s a great deal left in the clutch but it isn’t slipping.
As I can still get 40+ mpg on my daily 50 mile return journey commute, it’ll be around for a few more years yet!
So I've been driving for 7 months now and in the new year I'll be doing my first ever long distance drive from Chelmsford, Essex to Glasgow. My plan is that I'm working New years Eve and I finish just after 1 o clock new years day and I plan on leaving work then driving straight up to Glasgow as I doubt there will be anyone else on the road. My car is a 2010 1.4 vw Polo dsg. So I would just like some advice on planning and doing such a long journey, any advice would be grateful. Cheers Read more
All the above noted with much interest and many thanks.
I do have a Garmin sat nav. It's a fairly old 2595LM and, to be honest, whilst the actual navigation is generally fine, the traffic bit has never been reliable enough to be of any use. ... so I shall look at the suggestions with interest....
My aging (but still generally in good nick and well maintained) Mazda3 is due for its 12 year service and the MOT early in January (original registration date), and I have, up 'till last year had it serviced and MOTed at my local main dealer on the same day, almost always serviced first, then MOTed later in the day.
I'm happy to say that, thus far, it has always passed its MOT, although the service mechanic said last year that there was a chance that a wearing wheel bearing might result in a fail. Fortunately it didn't (though it was an 'advisory', only one of two recorded in its history), and I did have the part replaced as well as some work done on the brakes not long after.... Read more
Just a quick update - I've effectively 'checkien out' by having the service and MOT done on the same day, as before (service first), mainly because the delaership said it was 'personal preference' (they sadly don't do specific 'pre-MOT checks' to cover all the areas checked on the MOT, though some are as [as shown in last year's service as described above]) and because I've had varying opinions on this thread about the merits of having the service done before or after the MOT. The dealership did say that if I had it MOTed early, its a bit of a grey area legally to be driving round (unless patently dangerous) after failing an MOT whilst the previous one is still valid (date-wise).
Unfortunately for me, I HAVE to have use of the car over the Christmas - New Year period (visiting family and friends), and of course, what I forgot, was that around that time, much of the service/repair shops and probably the spare parts side of the busines is on holiday, meaning that any item requiring repair to either pass/re-pass an MOT (even if not dangerously unsafe and the car couldn't be driven) would have to wait until very near the actual due date of the MOT in the early new year anyway....
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When the engine is up to temperature, stop the car in a safe place at night.
Leave the engine running & turn the heater off so the cooling system is under maximum pressure....