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Corroded head gasket - should Kia pay for the repairs? 6 Jan 2016 (Ask HJ)
I purchased a used 2009 Kia Picanto last year from a dealership. One evening after work the car started shuddering and making an awful noise. In the morning... -
Ford focus EcoBoost engine failure 7 Nov 2014 (Ask HJ)
I have a 2012 Ford Focus with the EcoBoost engine. It's done 19,000 miles and recently broke down with a serious and spontaneous overheat. I was rescued... -
Bought a faulty used car - what are my rights? 15 Jun 2014 (Ask HJ)
Two months ago I bought a used car for £749 - a 2005 Rover 25. It had covered 74,000 miles and was in good condition with three months left on the MoT.... -
Ford Fiesta 1.6tdci Titanium - Cat C repaired car - major issues, any advice 28 Jun 2012 (Forum)
I went to the garage and they showed me a bent chassis leg, a broken engine mount bracket that had had the bolt simply welded back on and a damaged inner supprt panel. There was dented air con pipes and leaking coolant hoses. The guys at the garage said that this car had obviously been involved in quite a heavy front end impact. They also said that the cambelt had probably snapped due to the mis-alignment of the belt on the fuel and cam pulleys casued by a shift to the engine (probably upon collision) Ford have quoted £5,400 for a replacement engine and fuel pump to be fitted and just over £2,000 for bodywork repairs (although I admit I thinksome of this is unneccassary). -
Review Fiat Doblo 2002 JTD "the Fault-Master" 13 Apr 2010 (Forum)
"You`re driving outside it`s design parameters" commented the dealership and I was called in and advised I should be driving properly. The side door jammed at this point and one of the coolant hose had to be replaced due to chaffing (spotted by me) Time went on and there were many other little foibles and faults such as the rear window rubbers becoming sticky - as in seemingly uncured rubber - and on the sills that little forward facing overlap of an edge seam began to lose it`s paint. -
Nissan X-Trail (2001 - 2007) - consumer rights 10 Feb 2010 (Forum)
Was told by the sales guy that I'd get their full 'gold warranty' with it so felt reassured with my purchase that if anything did go wrong I'd be covered. Anyway, about a month and some 800 miles or so later I was doing some routine checks (coolant/screenwash/oil etc) and was shocked to see the oil level was below the 'Low' mark. I topped it up immediately and just figured that the dealer hadn't checked it before selling to me. Then at the beginning of December I checked it again before taking a trip away for a few days and was shocked to see it down near the 'Low' mark again! -
Honda Accord UK (1998 - 2003) - 00 2.0 Auto Gearbox Failure after service 17 Jun 2009 (Forum)
It did this a couple more times from 1st to 2nd although I was much more gentle with the throttle so it wasn't quite so bad. From 2nd to 3rd was slightly jerky but not too bad. Once the engine started warming up (coolant gauge moving to warm) the problem disappeared and all changes were nice and smooth again. All was well until the next time I started from cold (after standing for several hours) and the same thing happened. -
Ford Mondeo III (2000 - 2007) - 04 2.0 TDCI 115: Flashing glow plug light 2 Jun 2009 (Forum)
I tried booking in to Fords for Saturday but no luck so I've had a good read on the net and have realised that the flashing glow plug lights can be anything from £15 worth of work up to £2000! When I turn the ignition the engine management light comes on and the coolant/aircon light (? I think- the snowflake light) goes from amber to red. When I start the engine the glow plugs light starts flashing above 2000 revs. From what I've read the possible causes could be (starting with cheapest option) Camshaft sensor Crankshaft sensor Pressure sensor on fuel pump Fuel filter and fuel gauge sender unit ECU recalibration and recoding injector EGR valve Reconditioning injectors New Injectors So starting with the cheapest option first I've replaced the cam shaft sensor (which is what the AA man did) and reset the ECU and no change. -
Advice Sought On Paying The Bill 20 Nov 2008 (Forum)
In short, two weeks ago I was 50 or so miles from home when a STOP - Oil Pressure - Engine Off! - Owner's Manual red warning came up on the MFD. Having ignored a coolant warning on my Golf 6 years ago I stopped straight away, followed the instructions in the owner's manual, and ended up calling the RAC to recover me back to Manchester. The patrolman didn't even bother to start the engine and winched the car onto his foldout trailer. -
Ford Mondeo - Rant about blatant lies from second hand dealer 10 Sep 2015 (Forum)
When I actually got some time to check it at home I found the brake fluid below minimum, the coolant below minimum and the washer fluid empty. The brake fluid was the most alarming obviously... Unforunately, being a diesel when I dipped the oil it was already black so I have no way of knowing if it was actually changed. -
DPF Q&A -- sheds some light 1 Aug 2009 (Forum)
Engine running since start for longer than 2 minutes. b.) Calculated saturation higher than 80%. c.) Coolant temperature over 70°C for at least 2 minutes. d.) No DPF-relevant faults stored in system. e.) A defined vehicle speed threshold must have been exceeded (e.g. for >80% loading, 100 km/h) Question: Under what conditions is regeneration interrupted/ended once it has started? -
Those whom the Gods would destroy... 10 Apr 2005 (Forum)
Removing the radiator cap does however reveal something more reminiscent of Starbucks than radiator coolant. That needs looking at. Four 50% worn Bridgestones with nice white lettering on them. On the road. Satisyingly light and vague power steering as is SOP for all American automobiles. Shocks are stuffed and plenty of body rattles. -
diesel - Diesel Engine remaps and emissions. 10 Jan 2011 (Forum)
Modern diesel engines are invariably equipped with air intake temperature sensors, air mass flow sensors and coolant sensors. Unlike gas engines, diesel engines do not NEED any of these data to operate. These parameters are measured solely so that the ECU can optimise the fuelling rate and timing to real time local conditions. -
Picked up the Scenic today.... 23 Apr 2007 (Forum)
I found not having dials in front of me a little odd at first, but the big LCD panel works far better than I was expecting. The panel contains the aforementioned speedo and rev counter, plus bar gauges for fuel and coolant temperature, and a text information panel which relays information from the trip computer, as well as any service errors. . Dynamically it's not so great. The steering deserves the first mention because quite honestly it's dreadful. -
Renault Espace (1997 - 2002) - Diesel Problem Vol2 19 Sep 2018 (Forum)
Seems like I should think strongly about getting rid of this car but as I bought it expecting to keep it from new for 10 and possibly 15 years, I am still quite reluctant to do this especially after just paying for the 72000 cambelt change, the 72000 major service, and for coolant and brake fluid changes (not at a Renault garage but using Renault parts and a saving over Renault dealerships of 50% £600 for all this rather than £1200). Apart from the engine problems I think the car is excellent. -
Skoda Yeti - Skoda Yeti - my thoughts on 10K miles / 1 year 1 Sep 2013 (Forum)
It was definitely a distinctive car and on more than a few occasions I found random people asking me what it was etc. Over the first year / 10K miles it required no oil or coolant whatsoever. The tyres at 10K miles were 1/3 worn on the front and appeared virtually unworn on the back I had 3 unscheduled visits to the main dealer * ECU Flashed / interior bulb replaced * Cam position sensor replaced after ESP failure popped up on the maxidot * Passenger rear door lock replaced after child locks/central locking failed. -
Spent £826 on repairs this year on a reliable car 23 Oct 2009 (Forum)
. £90 2) Two new rear springs £50 (Ted very kindly did this for me, I just bought the springs) 3) Two new rear tyres (old ones were perfectly legal but side walls had small cracks so replaced them to be sure) £60 for a pair of Barums 4) Two new front brake pads £45 inc labour 5) New front wiper blades £15 inc fitting 6) Two new front springs £156 got ripped off but it was an emergency 7) New catback exhaust £100 8) New MAF sensor (did this myself) £86 for a genuine Bosch 9) Resprayed wheel trims (cosmetic) £6 for the primer and finsih 10) Resprayed wiper arms (cosmetic) £1 paint from £1 land 11) New coolant and brake fluid £25 inc labour 12) New front tyre £45 (emegency) 13) New rear shock absorbers 14) New ball joint 15) New CV boot £156 fir 13, 14 and 15. 16) Some body work treatment done by me just treated a tiny rust spot etc. -
Warning for Rattle: how to do it, how not to do it 14 Feb 2010 (Forum)
A minute later the water temperature needle edged towards the red. The stone had squeezed through the flimsy grille and pierced the radiator from which coolant was squirting. Remember the title of this piece. I was in a hurry. I did not want to spend money. The hole was not all that big. I poured a two-dollar bottle of grey gunk into the coolant along with more water. -
Corsa CDTI 2004 - LOTS of Black smoke..... 13 Nov 2011 (Forum)
(there seems to be plenty of fuel/pressure there)(Swapped from working car) Fuel filter case/new filter/Air filter Map sensor (Swapped from working car) Maf Sensor (Swapped from working car) Crank sensor (Swapped from working car) Cam sensor (Swapped from working car) Coolant temp (Swapped from working car) Leakage pipes (Swapped from working car) Continuity tested the engine loom. Glow plug and times tested EGR was replaced 12 months ago when the light cam on in the car so isn't very old (less than 250 miles on it) i have removed this and inspected it (there was lots of loose carbon inside but apart that looked like new) Recent new head gasket (no oil in water or water in oil) Compression was checked and was 350psi on each pot (cold and dry) Valve timing, I checked this using the cam tool and a 6 mm drill which i put in the hole in the bottom of the gear box and they lined up fine. -
Renault Megane (1999 - 2002) - 01 1.6 inlet valves bent on test drive after newca 17 Feb 2010 (Forum)
2001 1.6 16v Megane 83000 miles ** I know this looks long but it's a good read and it would really help me argue my case with the garage** My water pump suddenly got very noisy, I was leaking coolant and the engine started to overheat. Knowing that the water pump is cam belt driven and knowing how expensive a broken cam belt could cost I receovered it to my nearest AA recommnded garage. They stripped it back and confirmed that the water pump had gone (2 metal blades broken).