May 2018
My friendly neighbour and car enthusiast used to castigate me for my choice of means of getting about. His pet phrase .. "You cannot beat German Reliability and Engineering John".
I say used to, he no longer does that now. Not since A dozen years ago when his fine example of German Automotive product left him stranded on the hard shoulder of the nearby M5 whilst his car burnt out its engine. His Porsche cost more to repair than my MG ZS cost new "on the road" back in 2003.
He is well clued up like so many UK car consumers. He's convinced my MGs and Rovers are very reliable simply because of their Honda engines.
He's puzzled that those engines have R O V E R or MG large across their spark plug covers. I imagine Soichiro Honda would be spinning at very high Honda revs in his grave if anyone put their name on one of his engines.
OK I lied about his being well clued up. He is far from alone with such Automotive ignorance. Our UK media in all its forms has much to answer for. Read more
I am about to buy a Suzuki Grand Vitara 2.0L petrol, manual transmission, 2006, hatchback. All seems fine with the vehicle including engine bodywork and internal condition. It has 127 thousand miles on the clock. My only concern is that the owner has told me that it makes an ocassional sort of dull or doh sound when he puts it into reverse. It works fine and the gears are all good. He has no idea what is the sound and is reluctant to spend hours and potentially money finding out. He has offered it to me for sale at a friends price of 1200 pounds. Any ideas please what on earth that occasional sound could be when reversing? I have looked everywhere on line but cant find anywhere to explain what it is. It has apparently done this for quite a few years but it has never affected the functioning of the vehicle. I woluld like to go ahead with the purchase very soon and I trust the current owner very much but am worried slightly about that sound occasionally heard when reversing. Can you help me please? Many many thanks. Read more
1st thing I look at in these situations is the rear geabox bush.
Bolts from the box to the subframe and when in reverse the engine/box moves opposite to regular.
Looking for some advice on buying a spare wheel/tyre. Can't seem to find an exact match to what I'm after. I've got 17" alloys and would like to have a spare wheel either full or space saver. Can't find one that is suitable for Leon Estates, or is it that if it works for a hatchback it'll work for the same type of estate? Best place for buying? Cheers. Read more
Thanks all. Spoke to one of the ebay shops suggested and they've confirmed what I need so will buy over the next few days. Cheers!
It seems road rage is getting worse to me, heard this morning of a driver attcked by another and sustaining serious harm. Twice yesterday I was hooted at and sworn at. Once because I overtook a middle lane hogger and pulled into the L hand lane on the M3, later on at a T junction I was making sure my L exit was clear from traffic from my R and got abuse for it, no more than a second before I moved out. Another time swmbo was indicating to go L into a parking spot and a bloke comes round us, and tries to reverse into the same slot.
My good lady wouldn't let he bloke in and he got out swearing and cursing whereupon I got out and 'remonstrated' with him. Just three silly instances of drivers quick to lose it. Read more
The ignorant come in all shapes ages nationalities sexes sizes and social/financial standing.
Hi, this is strange! Wondering if it's happened to anyone else and they got to the bottom of it.
Driver side Brake light not working so replaced the dead bulb with a new bulb. Still not working.... Read more
Sorted it. Schoolboy error, i'd bought single filament bulbs and they needed to be dual filament. They also need to be put in the right way- they can go in both ways around.
Didn't even think about it, I removed the old bulb looked at the marking on it "P21/5W" and that's what I went and bought!...
I presume its got to be the Suzuki Jimny, is there anything else that beats the jimny for robustness?
I would have said the citroen berlingo multispace but the Jimny is more robust with its 4x4 suspension.... Read more
“Not so sure about the HRV, haven’t read any long term owner reviews.”
It’s basically a current model Jazz on stilts with a straightforward normally aspirated 1.5 petrol motor should run till doomsday if it sees fresh oil every year. There are no inherent weaknesses in the current of previous gen Jazz but early Mk I’s were known for clutch (often down to the kind of driver they typically had) plus gearbox and thrust bearing problems later in life, usually past 100k.
Well , I find that quite strange , I wanted to get a Seat Arona , I was told 26 week wait and that was a provisional figure , so I went to Honda to get CRX but was told at least 12-16 weeks wait , then went to Hyundai and the wait time is one week , so I ordered A Tucson with al the bells and whistles fitted. Read more
Will simply cause more pollution! Read more
The figure of 40,000 people was raised by a panel set up by the Government consisting of, people from the pharmaceutical industry, the chairman was Ceo of an asthma drugs firm, the deputy was working for Pfizer and most of the other members had interests in the asthma charity's. Just read the report yourself, you couldn't make it up. So guess what the outcome was now more people get Asthma drugs which these people have interests in and jobs.
I suppose it is the same as last nights BBC programme about the doctor that is trying to improve peoples lives by natural means not drugs. On depression and anxiety. The results actually if read properly say that the placebo tablets had virtually the same affect as the drug companies tablets, disgusting. Also the instance of babies becoming milk intolerant was highlighted when it was found that the so called independent discussions were sponsored by the major manufacturers of replacement milk products some costing 10x the price of normal baby milk and there was no real proof it worked. The sooner people wake up to the fact that major organisations are running the country the better. Not the government. The other point people may die from NOx and other pollutants but the world will die if the Co2 levels reach danger levels. Whether you drive diesel, petrol, hybrid or electric cars.
I started in the morning, after 2m engine died, now no start anymore, and a new light in bord, a car with a repair key. Read more
That will be the MIL. The fact it's on means there is a code you can read which ought to help diagnose the problem.
As it stalled and now won't restart, have a look for this:...
My radiator hoses are cold after driving and fans run on as the car overheats
No fault codes. No warning lights... Read more
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I would be interested to find the reliability of (former) Japanese companies - manufacturing vehicles outside of Japan - such as India (Suzuki Baleno) compared to a (supposedly) similar Swift, from Japan.
Similarly - KIA and Hyundai - started in S Korea - now made in Mexico, India, Romania amongst many other locations
I understand that they are all supposed to be built to a "standard" but are they ?