April 2018

barney100

There you are driving along and the bulb failure light comes on. Some cars are a doddle, old CLK rear bulbs were simple to do but the rear cluster on a V70 Volvo require several plasters on cuts to my hands after changing them. You have to take the headlight off the V70 to get at the bulb. Why do they make it so difficult? Apparently some Renaults need a major effort. Read more

Steveieb

One way to get round the problem of an awkward bulb change is to fit OE bulbs that are filled with an inert gas as opposed to normal air which have the impurities that cause the bulbs to blow.

That's why manufacturers fit these special bulbs to save the hassle of fitting bulbs under warranty or having to deal with angry customers when they are presented with a bill for half an hours labour.

But is it possible to source these special bulbs ?

The nearest I have found is Lucas or Osram bulbs which certainly last a lot longer than the normal Ring brand

brianposter

The power steering mechanism on our Renault Megane (2002) has recently been replaced. When the car was collected a light but persistent clunking had appeared, noticeable particularly when travelling at low speeds (say 10 mph).
Neither we nor the garage (in 20 mins) have been able to find an explanation. Any suggestions ? Read more

Deryck

Unfortunately I don't know anything about the hydraulic system.

catsdad

I was out yesterday when I saw a risky bit of roadside maintenance. On a sloping road a man had run his nearside wheels up onto the kerb to give him height and then put the skimpiest little jack onto the kerb and raised the car up on the front jacking point. The engine was running so the car was only being held by the handbrake.

He had his upper half under the front of the car and was working at something. One slip off the jack and he'd have been injured. I didn't say anything and when I passed later there was no blood or body parts on the road so nothing happened. And of course 99.99% of the time he would get away with it so it was potentially rather than absolutely dangerous.

So should I have said something? Or would I have been an interfering busybody?

Read more

retgwte

I have stopped a young bloke who was just about to remove a radiator cap from a hot engine, who had no idea he was about to burn himself in the most spectacular way...

Gave him strong advice to only ever do that when the engine was cold as cold could be...

Daniel Meghen-Kirkwood

Hi there,

Can anyone help with my radio code for my 03 Nissan Almera. I replaced the battery and I do not have the code. It also isnt in the manual.... Read more

Galaxy

Sorry I can't do Nissan radio codes, only Ford ones.

I can only suggest using one of the paid online services, something like:...

Oli rag

Beer in my local pub costs around £3.60 for a pint of bitter and a bit more for a lager. Is this the only example where buying from a supplier from bulk stock ( keg or barrel) is far far more expensive than buying an individually packaged ( canned) version of the same product from a third party?

The pub in question is brewery owned and selling its own brewed beers and lagers, so I’m not talking about a pub company which in itself has to buy at brewery prices.

It seems to me this is the equivalent of buying bulk petrol from a petrol station at say £6 a gallon and then being able to buy a “ packaged” gallon container of petrol from a supermarket for say £3,
Read more

concrete

Certainly agree with the present bunch of political chancers that they are simply managing a situation of which they are entirely ignorant. Professional political chnacers who have little or no experience of the world and how it operates. It started with the Blair/Brown pact and had steadily eaten away the reputations and integrity of lots of politicians. When Brown became Chancellor he had complete sway over the way I conducted my life. How I paid my mortgage, bought and ran vehicles, looked after my children and saved for a pension. At that time ne himself did not have a mortgage, does not drive, was not married and had no children and had a gold plated government pension to rely on. Who exactly was he be in charge of the destiny of millions who had all those things? Just an example of the hipocracy of it all.Rant over. Thanks.

Cheers Concrete

Firesoph

Hi all,

I hope you can help. ... Read more

pd

This link sets out your rights:

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/buying-or-repai.../...

Ethan Edwards

Anyone got any top tips for a UK driver who hasn't driven in the USA since the early nineties?

Read more

ExA35Owner

Just back from holiday. Booked a mid-range hire car and ended up with a 2-month-old Nissan Sentra. Worked perfectly and comfortable too; drove nearly 2000 USA miles in two weeks, absolutely no complaints.

But the car had no character or style whatsoever. Nothing to make it interesting. It was just a vehicle and nothing more.... Read more

KB.

Blimey, I know I'm not that adventurous but reading the above I'm clearly worse than I thought ....

Among the thirty something cars owned since 1967 there were some pretty bland machines.... Morris Minor, couple of Austin 1100s, couple of Maestros, various Anglias, Singer Gazelle VIII (the boring 1967 square shape).... and so it goes on....

Dainius Sutkus

Hi all,

I’m scratching my head right now as to what to do with my car. Recently I brought it second hand and have driving it for around 300 miles then at some cases engine light and pressure light came on momentarily for a couple seconds with a slight loss of power then everything would turn back ok. In that case I got it serviced asked them about it and they said they would plug it in. No fault codes, nothing. Car is all good runned for 300 further miles when the light came on again but this time after it went off a minute later the car completely died on me with an EAC Fail coming on at the mileage part of the dash. Got it towed off where I got it serviced they could not do anything as the car seems to be fully immobilised so when i turn the ignition on the padlock flashes.

When AA tried to fix it , I got the fault codes sent over to me as to i’m not sure how he managed to retrieve and even a proper garage couldn’t get any codes at all when immobilised :We have recovered your vehicle.Patrol found the following fault code/s:\N{ }\N{ }System : Engine control 1 - 07N / SIM 22\N{ }\N{ }U0122 - Unknown fault. Error Message : .\N{ }P0608 - Unknown fault. Error Message : .\N{ }P0646 - Air conditioner compressor relay. Error Message : Short to ground.\N{ }P1632 - Unknown fault. Error Message : .\N{ }P1794 - Battery voltage. Error Message : Outside specified range.\N{ }P2107 - Engine control unit (throttle valve monitoring). Error Message : Malfunction.\N{ }P0625 - Alternator charging voltage. Error Message : Value/signal outside min. range.\N{ }B1681 - Immobilizer signal. Error Message : Communication error.\N{ }\N{ }\N{ }\N{ } - Requires further investigation required at Garage.

I tried disconnecting battery, fuses seem all fine. Its a MK6 Ford Fiesta pre facelift 2005 reg 1.25L 16V petrol engine. Car is now over to fords hands but as which it take them over a week to even diagnose it for a ridiculous amount of £114. During this i’m here to ask for any guidance as to what I am in here for? Looked everywhere cannot find anything on what I am experience. Mileage is also 65k so not too bad. Any help would help thanks for reading :) Read more

MARK Two

Hi. Did you ever resolve this? I'm experiencing a verysvery issue to what you describe.

Appreciate any help.

Handjamjohn

Anyone help with this one? A6 2.7 TDI Manual. All gears engage OK, clutch bite is fine, but as the clutch bites the engine cuts out. It doesn't stall through mechanical means - ie it doesn't appear to be a clutch problem - the engine just cuts out. It's like a sensor is faulty. Any pointers much appreciated as 2 good mechanics have looked at it and got nowhere. No fault codes showing, no warning lights to go on. No warning signs of failure of any sort. Just trying to avoid a long (and probably expensive) trip to main dealer. Thanks..... Read more

elekie&a/c doctor

On this model, do you need to press the clutch to start the engine?If you do,then does the pedal need to be pressed hard into the carpet?