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• jumpy/smoky F. fiesta, injector leak? 2 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  opened up the bonnet, around the right injector there is a lot of dark soot (lost for the correct description, it's not oil, but black stuff on the metal) i've been reading, alot, what i've found so far is that dark smoke is too rich air mixture....i know the air filter is due a change, would that by itself be enough to cause the problems?
• Yipee it's here 13 Mar 2005 (Forum)
  After 7 years with my trusty 528SE my new 535d Sport has arrived, I kept the 528 as I hardly drive it (43k) and I just could not justify changing it. I believe that when you load a car with extras it changes the economics of used car values. Three bits of advice / thoughts please 1. Do I de-badge it? 2. I need to install a camera / radar detector but need to be fitted discretly, with possible radar unit behind front grill.
• 306 d-turbo smoke 30 Nov 2003 (Forum)
  Also it doesn't feel quite as quick as it once was... doesn't always have the same kick when the turbo cuts in but sometimes does. I've changed the glow plugs, done all the usuall oil and filter changes and it's just had a new battery. One odd thing I noticed was that one of the old glow plugs either had a build up of carbon around it or it had expanded (Swolen up) in one place.
• Honda Prelude Type-S, opinions? 31 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  As far as I can tell the car is clean, both in terms of its history and the condition it's in now. The current owner has had it for two years, he's changed the oil every six months, changed the plugs and other routine jobs - he's had nothing whatsoever go wrong with it. Thing is, even with Honda's build quality, I'm a bit nervous about buying a six year old sports car - I suppose there could be a lot of expensive stuff waiting to go wrong, but on the other hand it is a lovely motor.
• 306 Dturbo starting 17 May 2003 (Forum)
  It doesnt use any oil(between 6k changes) or water. If its been warm and not fully cooled it has to crank a lot longer than when its cold before firing up. Not starting until the plug light has been off for a few seconds used to help reduce smoke.
• When is the right time? 28 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  Does any else out there agonise over the keep it/ change it dilema of their motor? My mondeo is now 8 years old,I have had it for 5 1/2.It has never let me down and in this time I have taken it from 24K to 88k miles.It has cost me £400/year at the garage including mot/tyres and all necessary work and servicing.I have had regular oil changes every six months.
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  Can I reject a car that does not have a full service history as advertised? 1 Nov 2023 (Ask HJ)
  I have recently purchased a car from a National Car Dealership under the distance online regulations. The car was delivered last week just before I was...
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  Audi Q5 stalling and jumping forward 7 Aug 2015 (Ask HJ)
  My wife has an Audi Q5 3.0 S line March 2010 with 50k miles with FASH. The car started having a fault where it would try to lurch forward against the brakes...
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  Does the Jaguar XJR have any known problems I should look for? 17 May 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I've owned a 2003 Celica (140bhp) for two years now and fancy a bit of a change. Talking down the pub with friends, we got on to slightly older but very...
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  Hire purchased 21 Nov 2009 (Ask HJ)
  Last month I purchased an 18-month-old Avensis Tourer TR 2.2 D-4D from a Toyota Dealership after reading your car-by-car details about them and also your...
• Nail In Tyre & Other Issues 12 Sep 2016 (Forum)
  Just returned from holiday to Andorra & week trolling round France. 2004 x type diesel, 2400 miles, 55 mpg, used no oil, now done 163,000 miles. Temp gauge mostly at 1/4, got up to 1/2 climbing the Pyrenees in 34 deg outside temp. Pretty pleased with a car that is worth effectively £1k-zero.  Did notice that after many miles of gentle cruising (even at 130 km/h) changing down and heavy throttle produced big black smoke from exhaust.
• Vauxhall Signum 2.2 DTi - Vauxhall Signum Gearbox Limp Mode 13 Feb 2015 (Forum)
  P0773-05 Shift Solenoid Valve 1 circuit open or high input P1590-01 Vacuum Solenoid Valve high circuit B3601-04 Key Capture P1700-00 Unknown DTC U2106-71 Invalid Data from TCM U2105-00 Can Bus - No Communication with ECM I have managed to get rid of P0773 (changed gearbox oil) and P1590 (changed turbo solenoid) however the existing codes are changing everytime I clear and restart. I am about to strip out the ERG and give it a good clean, try and clean the turbo and MAF but I am running out of idea's.
• Audi A3 Cabriolet - How to deal with possible fake jobs?? 1 Oct 2014 (Forum)
  Audi Main dealer messed up and didn't bolt on my water pump properly after a cam belt and water pump change. To compensate me for this bad service they agreed to do the DSG gearbox oil change and Aircon service FOC. I also asked them to repair the right side brake light bulb. So they ring me today and say I need a front right tyre as the one fitted is barely legal.
• When to change a cambelt. 27 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  My formula works like this: Take a petrol engine with a belt working under ideal conditions, ie correctly tensioned, no oil, no disintegrating idlers. Take a belt base life of 60,000 miles. Now apply the following factors as multipliers: Crank pulley teeth (half cam pulley number) 19t 0.7; 20t 0.9; 21t 1.0; 22t 1.05.
• Omega running costs 11 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  Bought at 26,614 miles, it's now done 79,112, so I've travelled a grand total of 52,498 miles. In that time I've spent £1,761 on servicing and repairs. Oil change every 5K, service every 10K, cambelt every 40K. That cost is a little understated, as I'm just 900 miles short of a cambelt change & service (last time £400), so let's add that in and call the servicing £2,161. (£464 of this is tyres, £167 is a repair rather than routine servicing) Since my wife gave the car a damned good clear out, I lost a raft of petrol receipts, so all I know is the volume, which I note separately; 1693.1 gallons.
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  Is my 2003 Nissan Almera suffering from rusty brake discs? 24 Jun 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 2003 (revised) Nissan Almera N16 1.5S. I’m hearing some strange noises from from the front end of the car after it has been driven constantly...
• Porsche Cayenne e-Hybrid - Porsche Hybrid 9 Feb 2021 (Forum)
  When I telephoned my local Porsche service they said that they had never experienced this before, and because no error message was being displayed, they thought I was doing something wrong. They agreed to have a look at the car and later that day told me that the oil level was too high because fuel had entered the oil because of the way I had been driving the  car on short journeys, not using the engine enough and not therefore not getting the oil up to a temperature high enough to eliminate the fuel from the oil.
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  What's a sensible mileage to look for on a used car? 12 Sep 2020 (Ask HJ)
  I'm looking at buying a used car within the next six months. I drive around 15,000 to 20,000 miles a year so ideally I need a lower mileage car, but budget...
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  What is the EDC gearbox in the Renault Scenic like? 9 Feb 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I like the look of the new model Renault Scenic and am considering changing my lovely BMW E89 Z4 M Sport auto for one. The Dynamique S Nav appears to be...
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  BMW 530 diesel versus 520 diesel - go for the newer engine? 17 Aug 2016 (Ask HJ)
  Congratulations on a great motoring column. I have a 520 manual diesel, which is 7 years old with 72,000 miles on the clock. Oil changes at 10,000 miles....