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• Thinking of Changing My Car 7 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Coupled with the exorbitant charges for services - almost £200 for the first service, which was basically an oil change. Anyone care to comment?
• Towing with auto Saab 23 May 2001 (Forum)
  I currently own a Saab 9000CSE 2.0ltr LPT with auto box. The vehicle has covered 85000 miles and has been regularly serviced including changing the auto box oil. I have previously towed my caravan (approx 21cwt laden) with a BMW 2.8i auto with no problems. I changed that car for a 2.9 Scorpio auto and blew two boxes, one whilst towing and the other shortly after a tow trip.
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  My car has failed its MoT on emissions - what can I do to make it pass? 23 Jun 2025 (Ask HJ)
  I have an emissions fail of 5.41m-1 average. Should I consider that a bad fail? Or hopefully should an air filter check/change, putting in additive and...
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  Are the engines good in a Volkswagen T5? 12 Oct 2022 (Ask HJ)
  Are the engines good in a Volkswagen T5 (2004-2008)?
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  Should I keep or sell my high mileage 2007 Renault Kangoo Van? 6 Mar 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I've got a petrol 2007 Renault Kangoo Van that's done 150,000 miles. A little battered, but in good working order. My dilemma is: selling it for what it...
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  Air con failure on Volkswagen Golf - who should pay for repairs? 6 Oct 2013 (Ask HJ)
  The air conditioning on my 2011 Volkswagen Golf has failed. My local dealer has found the gas level to be low, but couldn't source the leak and will recharge...
• bora ( jetta ) tdi pd 10 ( ASZ) - vw TDI 130 lack of power / torque 9 Sep 2013 (Forum)
  hi all, currenlty having a night mare with this car. i'm having a loss of power and seems to be no torqe in any gears, i just  cant seem to find the problem. its been to a few garages and they have no idea whats wrong with it. one said the timing belt could of jumped a tooth or 2. things i have changed: maf sensor map sensor n75 valve. actuator intercooler ( brand new ) new vaccum lines. fuel filter air filter oil change quantum oil tandum pump.
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  Does my Ford Focus have a DPF? 9 Sep 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I have noticed from some of your articles that diesel particulate filters are likely to cause problems, especially in low mileage vehicles used for short...
• Ford fiesta. - Thoughts?low mileage, 2k in 2 years. Is this good? 4 Sep 2023 (Forum)
  Things I was going to check , battery, flat spots on tyres. , blocked water runs and rust - tail gate etc. , oil change regardless of mileage. Fluids in general.  I once bought a low mileages pristine sports car and the turbos blew within a week as the oil channels were blocked through lack of use.
• Volkswagen Sharan (1995 - 2009) - 1998 1.8T 'mayonaise' in Header Tank 7 Dec 2012 (Forum)
  I was checking it over for him and noticed that there was a thick layer of "mayonnaise" on top of the coolant in the expansion tank. However there was no sign of any under the oil filler cap, and the oil has not been changed that recently by the look of it. First thought is a blown head gasket, but other than a tendancy to get hot a bit quick (it does not overheat) it drives fine.
• 97 Astra 1.6 8v - Don't know what to do! 3 Aug 2012 (Forum)
  Right guys, ive cleaned the Idle control Valve, cleaned the Throttle body, changed oil and oil filter including a can of wynns engine flush and im still getting some problems. Firstly, the idle hasnt got any better, it still chugs and is not far off stalling, and its still making a tappet sort of noise when driven gently, this goes away though when driven harder.
• VW Bora Fuel Pump Relay 27 Apr 2011 (Forum)
  The traction control light stays on, no glow plug light, no fuel pump priming and engine turns over and won't start. When it did start I had "low oil pressure" alarm come on even though there is enough oil in the engine. I have tried replacing relay "109" which I believe can cause problems but this has made no change. The AA have plugged in their diagnostic software and there are no errors stored on the ECU.
• SEAT Altea (2004 - ) - Dodgy garage ? Has my car really been serviced ? 4 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  I am not convinced the garage has done much at all as they had it for not much longer than an hour. I popped the bonnet and had a cursory look at the oil on the dip stick. It is black, thin and dirty so I took it back to the garage to discuss. They said because it is a diesel the engine retains a large amount of dirt and as soon as the new oil circulates it picks up the remnants and changes to black.
• Ford Focus TDDI Tappet noise 31 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  Is this a common fault with this engine? I'm pretty disturbed to have this sort of problems at 70k with oil changes every 6k (always using good oil as well). I've only ever had this type of thing happen at the 100K plus mark on previous cars, and even then, only when the engine was good and cold. I'm not sure whether the valve clearances are adjustable on this or if it is hydraulic tappets?
• Overdue service on Mazda6 8 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Bought a Mazda6 TS 2.0 petrol at auction with 15,000mls and found that the 12,500 mile service hadn't been carried out - no oil or filter change! Oil wasn't low, just dirty. Car seems fine and obviously hasn't been thrashed (hardly any disc wear, interior in good nick, and alloys unkerbed). Is this serious? Dealer says related parts of my warranty will be affected.
• Sticking clutch - Golf Mk2 9 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Then I'll park up, start up a while later, and it's red-face-no-gears in the middle of the street again. Clutch changed about 30k ago. Did it myself, used the little packet of grease on the splines. Box oil level ok. Slight oil leak from diff flanges. Car used almost every day. Is taking the gearbox off with a new clutch kit to hand being a little rash?
• passat tdi stop sign illuminating 16 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  It only seems to happen when car has been left parked up for a couple of days or more and does not stay on long enough to show the fault (oil presure,coolant level,brake fluid etc). Put the car into VW to have it plugged into the vag com no faults recorded. Incidently the car has covered 58,000 miles from new full vw service and extra oil change between services.
• Rover 600 SDI sump plug 13 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  Went to change the oil this weekend on my 95 plate 620 only to find that the clown who did it last must have tightened it as hard as he could. Try as I might with my fairly hefty socket, I couldn't get it to budge, even with a spray of Plus Gas and little blast with a blow torch.
• Extended service intervals, gone daft? 13 Mar 2004 (Forum)
  Happened to be wandering around the M-B website today and noticed the service intervals for their range of vans. Now, in my cars I've always worked on the basis of 6months/6000 miles for an oil change but M-B are advocating intervals of up to 18,000 miles for the Vito and up to 30,000 miles for the Sprinter! My question is:- do M-B know something, or use something, different to the rest of us, or, are they about to lose their reputation for vehicles that go on forever?
• VTEC engines, does pushing them hurt them? 10 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  I like to get a shift on, so it's been seeing quite a lot of 4000rpm+ action, is this going to have a serious effect on the engine's longevity or are they designed to be pushed a bit? I'll be getting it serviced, including an oil change with high quality synthetic oil every 6000 miles or so (2000 less than Honda's recommended). Cheers, Alex.