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• From the Daily telegraph - Petrol Theft not a Crime! 25 Nov 2018 (Forum)
  Make motorists pre-pay for petrol to stop drive-offs wasting our time, says police chief The Daily Telegraph 5 Nov 2018 By Charles Hymas Home Affairs editor MOTORISTS should pre-pay for their petrol to prevent tens of thousands of drive-off thefts so police can focus on violent crime and burglaries, one of Britain’s top police chiefs has said. Simon Cole, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) lead on local policing, criticised petrol companies for putting profits before crime reduction with a business model aimed at encouraging drivers into forecourt shops. He said the companies could end “bilking” – where people drive off without paying – at a stroke.
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  Is the Rover 414 prone to head gasket failure? 19 Jan 2018 (Ask HJ)
  My girlfriend is currently between cars and her grandparents have offered her their 1994 Rover 414, with 60,000 miles. They have owned the car from new,...
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  Best small car to buy in 2017? 13 Dec 2016 (Ask HJ)
  My mother is contemplating replacing her five year old Fiat 500 1.2 in 2017. She loves the style and character of the 500 and wants the Twinair version....
• Renault Drive test drives - great idea 21 Jul 2016 (Forum)
  It was all very relaxed and well run. Anyway, it must have cost Renault a lot to stage these, but if it helps lead to sales, good on them. I wonder whether other makers might do a similar sort of thing? It certainly was a good way to check cars out in your own time and pace.
• Volkswagen Passat CC (2013) - Catastrophic brake failure after service error 1 Oct 2015 (Forum)
  Longer version: On Monday was driving, with my two children, on a A road leading up to a roundabout. I approached the roundabout at around 60 mph and pressed the brake. Nothing happened. I looked down to see if I'd hit the accelrator accidently - we were quickly approaching the roundabout with a vehicle already on it - to my horror my foot was to the floor and the brake was fully depressed.
• The death of the diesel engine? 19 Oct 2013 (Forum)
  . :) The dominance of diesel engines in Europe’s new car market could be over before the end of the decade. That's according to leading automotive engineers, who say a combination of increasingly stringent emissions regulations and the high cost of new-generation anti-pollution technology will make diesel engines much more expensive.
• Mazda 5 - Mazda 5 DPF light reset success! 14 Apr 2013 (Forum)
  --[endif]--> Which is an old extension lead a blue crimp and bit of metal out of the blue wire to insert into the box. The copper wire needs to be attached to the negative (-) on the battery.
• Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi, 2001. - Occasional rough starting 27 Oct 2012 (Forum)
  Engine runs normally aside from starting, with smooth idling and good acceleration. Problem started about 1.5 yrs ago. All glow plugs and their leads have been changed but problem still exists. During recent service, garage found one fault code P1200 but did not have time to further diagnose. In searching this and other forums some people recommend changing the Camshaft Postion sensor.
• MB C220 CDI - momentum warranties - the wear and tear scam 25 Sep 2012 (Forum)
    My own engineer's report says: Rotating mechanical components will always be subject to wear.  Under normal circumstances, this leads to a gradual reduction in performance.  However in this case the turbocharger central bearing - which is not a serviceable component - failed resulting in blade damage.  This failure lies outside the normal expectation of progressive wear.
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  Does the Dacia Duster offer good value for money? 9 Aug 2012 (Ask HJ)
  The Dacia Duster base model, priced at £8995, seems to be very good value for money. Given all the positives including Renault technology, low insurance,...
• 2003 Saxo 1.5D - 2003 Saxo 1.5D does not want to budge... 28 Mar 2011 (Forum)
  Hi all. Few problems have lead me to this site.. I have a 2003 Saxo Desire 1.5D, and over the past few days I have been unable to start it. First of all there was life in the Battery (only 3mths old) - Now Flat - even doing a jumpstart does'nt get the car to start.
• Volkswagen Golf IV - White smoke from exhaust 14 Oct 2010 (Forum)
    The trader said they couldnt find ANY white smoke coming from the exhaust so they just done a basic engine service, doing an oil change, new leads and plugs and a new air filter. When I questioned that none of those things would be a cause of excess oil being burnt they said the air filter was clogged up and this would cause it?! I know I'm a woman and I know sod all about cars but even I know that a blocked air filter will not cause the car to burn humteen litres of oil since I have owned it!!
• Review - Punto van Mk2b 1.3 Multijet (pre DPF) 9 Apr 2010 (Forum)
  Possible design faults?  door check strap on drivers door wore after only 15,000 miles leading to a clicking sound on opening. Fitted a new one (cost £15) and used a couple of drops of Mobil 1, now and then, instead of spray grease.It`s still like new after another 15,000 miles Running faults - Went into limp mode once two years ago on going to 3,000 revs on the Motorway.
• Car Radios. 26 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  The second was one of the first Stereo FM radios around, cost a fortune and would hiss like a kettle and crackle in time with the revs, despite many chokes, capacitors, and new leads being fitted. The radio was as deaf as post and could pick up rock all. Anyway, the stock radio in the Lancer, while being ergonomically good, with good function (reads MP3, Audio in jacks) was rather lacking in the tonal department.
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 02 2.0 Engine stalls a few seconds after starting 13 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  and as soon as it cuts out, just switching the key to ACC and back to IGN quickly before the revs die, it will catch again for another 5 seconds. It is logging the P0351 and P0352 Ignition coil faults, but I have swapped coils and HT leads and it didn't help. I have measured the voltage to the coil power feed during this stall (min-hold multimeter) and it never drops below 14V (until the revs drop), so all the fuses and relays seem to be okay.
• Honest John's advice after cyclist RTA [Read Only] 1 Jun 2009 (Forum)
  If you are saying the cyclist wove into your path and caused the collision, then that, combined with him not wearing fluorescent clothing, might lead to a decision in your favour rather than his. "I wouldn?t mind doing this if I thought I could get away with being found not guilty. " That's a reasonably clear admission of guilt, and note the driver doesn't dispute the collision, just the road it took place on.
• BMW 5-Series E34 (1987 - 1996) - 1989 3.5 Does My Car Have A Cold Start Valve 12 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  the ignition system is in a1 condition and i have a good strong spark and the plugs are quite new. all hoses and pipework for the inlet system are brand new so no air leaks. im now believing the car is overfueling which is causing the flooding. after reading lots of info on the net cold start valves and thermo time switches keep getting mentioned on the m30 engine but i don't know if my year has one, i only have two connectors on the thermostat house but i gather there should be a third if i have a thermo time switch. another possibility is the fuel pressure regulator could be knackered leading to overfueling, ill have to check this tomorrow. at the minute i just need to get it to start and rev properly so it will idle then i can start to look for the issue, so i was hopin to find and just disconnect the thermo time switch which would disable the cold start valve.
• Citroen C3 (2002 - 2009) - Thinking of selling my C3 18 Aug 2008 (Forum)
  Unidentifiable electrical problems meaning the car has gone into limp home mode about 6 times, all of which have lead to them not knowing what has caused it because the code it comes up with is not recognised. Power steering going all of a sudden, then coming back with no logical reason. Then one by one things going wrong - I've had to call RAC out 4 times in just over a year.
• BMW 5-Series E39 (1996 - 2003) - 1999 5.0 V8 M5 - Throttle Problems 8 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  They say there is nothing showing on the diagnostic machine or in the history? They have changed Both air flow sensors All the spark modules (spark leads) All spark plugs Some form of ´rev´sensor (situated near clutch housing) Currently the total cost stands at about £2500... The fault still occurs and now they want to replace sensors on the clutch assembly, the clutch whilst it?
• Which car to buy? 18 Mar 2008 (Forum)
  Ford Mondeo TDCi Ghia X 53 reg onwards - love the spec on these following the facelift and I think they're pretty comfortable, tyres should wear slower than the MG, parts will never be a problem but I've heard tales of MAF, EGR and injector problems. Jag X Type 2.0d Sport - As per the Mondeo really, also concerned at possible discontinuation leading to plummeting resale values. Volvo S60 D5 Sport - I really like these to sit in, but only like the looks of ones following the 2004 facelift. Heard of no major problems apart from heavy tyre wear and some injector problems.