Showing results in  Forum [Show all channels]

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Wrong Spark plugs! 11 Jun 2002 (Forum)
  The owner of a small independant vehicle workshop near our office asked if we knew anything about electronic control units on Vauxhall petrol engines. Seems they were automatically shutting down or limiting engine speed if any non-Vauxhall spark plugs were fitted. It all sounded highly improbable but we nevertheless made the phone call to Vauxhall. To our surprise (and indeed that of the helpful press officer who followed up what must have seemed like a bizarre enquiry)the answer came that back was affirmative.
• Mazda CX-5 2018 diesel - White smoke problems 17 Jan 2024 (Forum)
  Seems like it's happening more though as time goes by and when it's cold outside. I've also noticed recently that when the car is cold the automatic gear changing can sometimes feel a bit sluggish and not so smooth. There are no errors messages and the glow plug light does light up momentarily when the engine starts, but doesn't stay on.
• Where are all the deals going? 1 Feb 2023 (Forum)
  Fellow motorists, I am in the market for 2nd hand vehicle for the missus to get the drivers licence, petrol automatic and on the smaller side (up to segment C is fine though) I have  a budget of 2k. A budget that up until now never failed to get me good cars for 20 years wherever I lived.  And I can repair and maintain my car up to a very good standard.
• Vauxhall Astra GTC - What else if not head gasket? 1 Feb 2023 (Forum)
  Hi All,  Wonder if anyone had similar issues. I have a automatic, 1.4 Astra GTC, petrol car, 40k miles, 2016 plate.  I had coolant problems since last year, some hoses were changed last year as the coolant leaked out. Then it was fine till like September, I noticed when accelerating to 60-70 the temp gauge jumped up for 10 seconds or so then went back down to normal and stayed that way.
• Driving licence @ 70 9 May 2022 (Forum)
    My question is can I apply online, get the plastic card back which I understand comes through very quickly as it is automatic. Nobody "working from home" needs to process it. But can I then apply for D1 as a minimum to be restored? I gather you can continue to drive a category providing it is under application. That way I can be much more assured that I have the licence for the french trip, and also continue to drive the minibus for the locals.
• Honda Jazz - Catalytic converter theft 9 Oct 2020 (Forum)
   I know from reading on here that the early models are pretty reliable, although they will all be getting on in years by now.  Also, he wants an automatic and I warned him about the Powershift gearbox, although I’m not sure mk1s had that transmission - did they?  He also mentioned Kia so I told him about the 7 year warranty.  He is open to Mazda too.
• Hyundai i20 - What year i20 should I buy? 19 Sep 2020 (Forum)
    Would like to get another i20, literally the only thing I didn't like about my previous car is when driving on the motorway I always felt like there should be a 6th gear, my friend drove my car and did the same thing - automatically reaching for the gearstick to put the car into 6th but of course there is no 6th gear. So my question is, do more recent i20 models have this issue or has anyone else noticed it? Have had a lot of short term car hires since I've moved back (to visit my granny etc) so open minded about getting a different car altogether but I did feel I got a lot of car for my money with the i20...my model had a lot of spec and perhaps things that other people would consider novelty like the heated wing mirrors, DAB radio, climate control - I really appreciated!!!
• Audi Q3 - Car on order with all the things Backroomers hate! 15 Mar 2020 (Forum)
  Mrs 72 dudes recently had a medical reassessment for PIP, and to our surprise, she has been awarded the enhanced rate of mobility, meaning entitlement to swap her benefit for a Motability car. She wanted a high driving position and automatic, so it was off to look at small SUVs. Not being a very confident driver, she wanted a lowish fascia and shortish bonnet. This excluded things like the Qashqai, Kadjar, Ateca. I wanted to go Petrol due to short journeys, so that excluded others like the X1 and Sportage.
• Is Big Brother watching your cars every move? 3 Feb 2020 (Forum)
  A few days back I posted in a thread (can't remember which one) that the Mazda USA website revealed their cars there are fitted with Telematic Control Units which are activated by Mazda before delivery and thereafter automatically transmit a vast amount of data back to Mazda. This covers both the functioning of the car and your driving, including GPS data. As there is nothing equivalent mentioned on the Mazda UK website I asked them about my car and received this reply.
• Toyota Starlet - Transmission Problem 19 Sep 2019 (Forum)
  I’ve had my Toyota Starlet GLS ‘98 automatic for 16 years and she’s been an absolute trouper! However, just out of the blue she started making a noise, what I originally described as sounding like a spoken dokey on a bike (remember those days!).
• Dodge Caliber - Car won't start - battery issue? 8 Jan 2019 (Forum)
  hi, new to the forum, hoping for some help/advice please. i own a Dodge caliber, bought brand new in 2008 (automatic, 2 litre, petrol). On a handful of occasions over the last 8 weeks or so, it's needed a jump start to get going. I took it to a national, reuptable servicing company after a couple of times of it not starting who ran a diagnositc on the battery and they said it neeed a re-charge and to go on a long journey (apparently i do too many short journeys and it doesn't re-charge properly).
• 2017 Hyundai Tucson 2.0 TDCI Premium SE auto 4x4 - Problems on a nearly new low mileage car 13 Mar 2018 (Forum)
  Hey, I purchased a (nearly new) 10 month old automatic Hyundai SUV from a Hyundai dealer, three weeks ago.. (2017 Tucson Premium SE 2.0 diesel 182 bhp auto 4×4). Since, I have discovered that: – the car accelerates slowly between 50 – 70 mph whilst overtaking on the motorway.
• Petrol, AWD, auto - which SUV? 7 Feb 2018 (Forum)
  I want:   petrol (reason cited above) SUV/Crossover AWD automatic  with AEB (auto emergency brake)  with ACC (adaptive cruise control) new price not over £30k (I'll possibly buy a 1-yr old) not hybrid     For petrols, the choice with above features are limited.
• Bargain motor for, err, umm,....somebody 7 Nov 2017 (Forum)
  I drove a few of the daihatsu versions while working at a car and van hire company which happened to share premises with a daihatsu dealer, in both manual and automatic form, and thought they were highly amusing. But i suppose i am a bit weird in my car taste!. I like cars which are small and light, i like cars which make you smile, i like cars which are odd, and i like 3 cyl engines, so this ticks many boxes!
• Auto gearbox - any reliable unconventional ones? 21 Feb 2017 (Forum)
  Hi, My wife has an automatic-only licence and does about 24,000 miles a year. Until now we've had Petrol 1.6L cars like the Astra, Focus etc. We buy used (2-3 years old) when the car's done about 20,000 miles & px it at 100,000.
• Best car for London 30 Jan 2017 (Forum)
  It's an unusual list and only contains 4 that I think I can spec up to a level to be acceptable - the main manufacturers are Mini, Toyota, Renault, Audi/VW. I think with all the stop-start I do in London the time is for automatic, so with that in mind it's down to: MINI Cooper auto media pepper Audi A1 1.0 DSG7 Sport + tech + comfort pack Toyota CHR hybrid Icon (basic) VW polo r line 1.0 dsg/1.4 BlueGT DSG (+opts) I've test driven the CHR in a higher spec but didn't like it on the motorway and thought visibility was poor so it's trailing a bit but I do love the look and reliability.The Polo I drove was the 1.0 with the dsg and that seemed smooth enough so made me question whether I needed the bluegt.
• Peugeot 206 1.4L Look 8v petrol. - Very rough idle on start up!!!!! 14 Mar 2016 (Forum)
    But now that issue has been resolved, when starting, whether the engine is cold or at optimum temperature, the car appears to have a misfire for roughly 30 seconds - seems to tie in with the automatic choke. Once the choke kicks in, the car is as smooth as anything. However, if I try to drive before the idle sorts itself out the car kangaroos. So in essence the revs fluctuate and the car is very jolty and sometimes no power at all for a few seconds until the choke kicks in.
• BMW X1 2016 SDrive - Help with BMW x1 Sdrive Diesel 13 Feb 2016 (Forum)
  It looked soo much better than the old one. Now that it is out, I have test driven the entry sDrive18d Automatic diesel and it was just brilliant.    Problem is that I do not want to go for the higher powered (high emissions) petrol versions. Shame that they do not do a ECO Petrol version.
• Chrysler Sebring - Chrysler TPMS & new MOT 18 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  However as a result of taking the sensors out I have had a warning light permanently on since then, a fact I chose to live with at the time. However I believe that warning light will now be an automatic MOT fail due to changes in MOT rules. I suppose my questions are: Is it fair to have an MOT fail on the basis of a system I no longer have and took out before the rules changed? Is this challengeable?
• Fiat Qubo or alternative - Fiat Qubo or...? 8 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  She replaced it, temporarily with a Mercedes A170, with the intention of selling that back to our (friendly) garage in June when she closed one of her  shops (she assumed that only one car would be necessary and our main business car is a FIAT Doblo). Now the automatic gearbox has gone on the Mercedes and she's looking for a second car (having recalculated and found it would, after all, be useful). She wants something roomy (the A170 was almost big enough, the MINI too small; we need decent room without having to physically remove the rear seats), comfortable (the Merc was OK, the MINI... well, we're getting a bit old for that...), and 'fun' (hard to define, I know; I even had fun once driving a decidely dodgy Corsa).