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• Renault Megane II Estate - Hand brake failure 10 Mar 2018 (Forum)
  Parking up at work this morning pulled handbrake on and the hand brake suddenly went soft and wouldn't hold the car - assumed the cable had snapped, so took it to the halfords next door in hope they would fix quick/cheap They however have said it isn't a fault with the cable, the calipers are seizing, and the cable has disconnected from the calipers - they have reattached the cable, but say I need new calipers - they want £550 to do this I'm OKish doing some things myself (done pads before, reasonably mechanical) - how easy are calipers to do - alternatively am I ok driving, knowing I'm lacking in handbrake (parking in gear) until I can go see my friend with a vehicle lift and workshop (and more knowledge!)
• Three Car Colision 5 Sep 2017 (Forum)
  I was driving a hired van down a B-Road in the countryside third in a line of four vehicles at approximately 50mph. Suddenly and without warning the first car in the line braked heavily, causing an accordian effect in the traffic. The car directly in front of me and myself followed suit. While still under braking I was struck from behind by another car and which overpowered my ABS and sent me skidding into the back of the car in front.
• Braking distances 26 Jul 2017 (Forum)
  I see that the 'charity' (IMO read anti-motoring pressure group) Brake is at it again: http://news.sky.com/story/highway-code-stopping-distances-woefully-wrong-10960892 They may well be right (assuming the study is to be believed) regarding thinking time, but, aside from a few Morris Minors & Co still on the road, all modern cars (especially if fitted with tyres designed under 5 years ago) can almost certain stop in far shorter distances than the highway code says, so I would suspect the overall effect on the total stopping distance is negligable, or even reduced.
• ford fiesta - mk6 fiesta brakes 29 Mar 2017 (Forum)
  Today my car failed it's mot on a leaking brake pipe not the rubber 1 the copper 1 under the car, This pipe runs over the fuel tank and drops down to above the fuel filter my first question is has anyone changed 1 of these before and if so how was it done as with the fuel tank in place you can't get a spanner in the gap :@  My second question is dose the join need to be there or can I join it in a easier to access point cut bk the line and replace it would that pass the mot and dose anyone no how the pipe is held in place under the fuel tank or if at all?
• Tipper Truck and Limp mode - Two Surprises OUCH! 24 Sep 2014 (Forum)
  Driving on the A41 Hendon way, saw the lights change and decided not to chance it, so braked and stopped for the lights, Tipper truck behind emergency  braked and whatever he had in the back (big and heavy) broke loose and hit the front of his load compartment with an almighty bang, although he stopped a good 3 feet from the back of my car.
• Vauxhall Corsa B 1995 - 1.2 petrol - Blowing brake light bulbs 10 May 2011 (Forum)
  After noticing that the driver's side brake light bulb had blown on my son's Corsa, I replaced it, checked that the new bulb worked, then fitted the holder and cover back into position.  We checked it again, fully expecting it to be working OK - but it immediately blew again.
• Replacing brake calipers and such 12 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  I notice over on technical that a 4 year old MB needed a new front brake caliper. Don't know about you lot, but apart from when a bleed screw has broken off in the caliper body i've never had to replace a front caliper yet. I've overhauled and resealed a few, and had to clean up plenty of grunge and lubricate many, especially the sliding parts of single piston calipers.
• FIAT - 03 2.0 g/box oil refill brake query for Ducato 24 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  or is there another point to refill from? the vehicle is a fiat ducato 2.0 jtd front wheel drive 2003 model also i have a brake shoe change to do on the rear wheels does the drum just bang off the shoes after removing the 2 release pins, or do i have to undo the centre axle bolt to remove it, or do i have to release something internally as there are 2 small inspection hole's on the back of the housing?
• Honda Accord UK (2003 - 2008) - 2004 2.2 cdti Shudderung on start up 1 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  However, today my wife had been driving it, and the alert (exclamation sign flashed) and then car started to knock and shudder whilst in motion. She pulled over and after a few minutes all seemed well, except for the fact that the foot brake sounded like an air brake everytime she depressed it! By the time she arrived home, on parking it and turning the ignition off the foot brake had no give in it and as she described it, 'It was solid.'
• Changes to Theory Test ? 19 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  Learners, among other things, will need to show that they understand : 1. how motoring affects the environmwent, 2. what speeds are best for driving and braking ?? 3. route planning to minimise fuel consumption. They will be penalised for 4. excessive use of the accelerator when starting the engine 5. consistently failing to use engine braking. It looks as though the self appointed experts are going to change their instructions again.
• Brake discs worn at 10k?! 24 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  Anyway - the supplying dealer, who fitted the discs and pads, says the parts are only warranteed for 10,000 miles, and the discs have been on for 300 miles longer than that(!!) They've agreed to "have a look" at the brakes, but won't necessarily do anything else. Should I put my foot down and argue that 10k is unacceptable for a set of front discs?! I previously thought that the original pads/discs hadn't lasted very well at 24k!!
• A new addition to the family 8 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  Just arrived this evening, purchased on behalf of my elder daughter, a 1994 Citroen AX Spree 950cc, sunroof, one lady owner, no tax, new exhaust, good tyres, exterior straight but with a couple of dents, chips and scrapes, back bumper cracked, interior like new apart from the vanity mirror falling off the sun visor and the heater fan switch broken, 2 months MoT, Citroen service history to 60K miles, recorded 68K miles, handbrake adjusters believed siezed and car pulls to the left on panic braking, head gasket believed sound, trace of mayo in the rocker box, £450. I'll knock the brakes into shape, service it with a change of fluids, put a high-level brake light in it and run it for a week or two before handing it over to daughter who lives 100 miles away in Nottingham.
• Peugeot 406 Estate - radio, brake lights 11 May 2005 (Forum)
  Hi, Recently (Sunday) bought a 406 estate. Fine except for a couple of faults. Firstly, the high-level brake light does not work, and it had been covered with a strip of black sticky tape by the previous owner - presumably some sort of MOT evasion measure! I can't work out how to get into it - does anyone know?
• BMW E30 325 front brakes 30 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  Hi, I have a couple of slight problems with the front brakes on my E30 325. I changed the discs and pads last week, and in order to get the old discs off I had to drill off the cap of the small alignment nut (it serves to hold the disc in place against the hub when changing the wheel).
• Excessive brake pad wear - Fiat Punto 23 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  I have a Fiat Punto ELX 5DR, registered May 2001. Since I bought the car I have had 5 sets of brake pads, and due for yet another. With a total mileage of 40,000, surely this is not \"fair wear and tear\" that Fiat keep telling me. I have also had to spend £110 on a new exhaust which completely fell off a couple of months ago.
• Are seatbelt mechanisms "handed"? 23 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  understanding of inertia-reel belts was that they had two mechanisms inside - one locks the belt under hard braking, and the other when the belt is stretched suddenly. So I assumed that the belts would be "handed" left-right as the direction of the braking force would be different side-to-side. Well, Halfords had 20 different types of belt, but no sign of left-right differences.
• What happened to talking cars? 8 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  with voice synthesiser. It started off as a gimmick but it actually said some useful stuff like, \"Brake problem! Emergency circuits in operation. Avoid braking hard. Service as soon as possible\" .. which turned out to be low brake fluid. My S-Class Merc doesn\'t tell me even 1/2 as much as the Renault did.
• Overheated Brakes 16 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  Today, immediately after a 10 mile run at 70mph (the first journey over 25 mph and 2 miles) the rear drum brakes seriously overheated (tons of smoke). I thought the whole car was going to go up in flames. Luckily, I had a bottle of water to hand to cool things off with, though after 1.5 litres carefully poured over the drum, it was still hot enough to turn the water into steam.
• VW Polo pdi engine management problem 7 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Obviously I have to take it to a VW dealer to check out. I phoned the dealer who said to check the brake lights! If they were still working then the problem isn't urgent. If the brake lights are not working then to bring the car in immediately. The brake lights are working so this means they can't look at the car until next week.
• Volvo V50. 05 plate - Anti skid message brake failure, immobilser activa 30 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  And indicators not working, all wile the brake messages and limp mode activated. The day before yesterday my car failed its mot and had the following work done. Rear brakes cleaned and adjusted, n/s/f coil spring supplied and fitted. Rear number plate bulb Do you think the two are related or is it just a coincidence that this has happened now?