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• Peugeot 306 diesel - Cambelt Failure Catastrophe 13 Mar 2012 (Forum)
  I don't want to sound arrogant but have reasonable engineering skills (have a lathe, milling and grinding machines, welding equipment etc) and have done automotive work on own cars and family since at father's knee when he was repairing his Morris 10 scraping-in the big-end bearings using engineer's blue. In spite of all this, I have had catastrophic failure leaving my ego severely bruised and camshaft broken in four places with cyl head totally wrecked.
• HGV another viewpoint 4 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  Ignore the stone hauling, quarry type, and car haulage etc type vehicles (they usually cause no problem because of the routes and way they are paid; time is not too important on their pay). But pay attention mostly to curtain sided arctics and/or wagon and drag units (mostly foreign) and obvious supermarket lorries.
• SPECS Camera Flaw 19 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  But under Home Office 'type approval' rules, each individual set cannot be linked to any of the others. So cars are timed only between sets of number plate readers 'paired' for the same lane. Most of the time each number plate reader in a pair will be directed at the same single lane of traffic and will therefore not detect lane hoppers, according to Mr Collins.
• First wheels 7 May 2007 (Forum)
  Nothing came out. I stuck my finger inside. It emerged covered with what looked like silver metallic paint. I had asked for the gearbox to be drained but omitted to say anything about refilling it. Refilled with new oil - silver metallic oil before long - the gearbox stopped making noises and seemed unscathed, for the few weeks more that I used the car.
• Citroen C-Crosser - Advice on MOT history on used car 18 Aug 2017 (Forum)
  Hi I'm about to buy my first used car - found one with 90 000miles on the clock and a good price. Just wanted to understand if any of these issues from past MOTs are worth worrying about?  Am I better spending more to find a version with fewer past issues?
• Car's The Star in Japanese 14 Mar 2002 (Forum)
  Now then, I could care less about missing the football results and What Doctor Mugabe Did Today Shock Horror, but I do get teed off when I can't enjoy the re-runs of The Car's The Star which are currently being aired, especially as I want to tape them. As HJ pointed out, this is an excellently produced programme, and the choice of classics it covers is impeccable. It must be, since they include the Mustang ;-).
• DS 5 - Smoke from DS DS5 Diesel engine after a short run 16 Jan 2018 (Forum)
  I revved the engine again and could see the same smoke coming from behind the engine block. Checked under the car and could see nothing escaping from the exhaust. I took the cover off the engine for a better look and could see nothing untoward, no obvious leaks. Coolant level was normal and the oil level too, although I did notice a few bubbles on the oil on the dipstick.
• Citroen C Crosser 2.2 HDi (currently) - replacing a diesel SUV ? with what? 2 Aug 2017 (Forum)
   the C Crosser is terribly thirsty on such short trips. getting only 2 stars out of 5 makes me wonder if the autoexpress team know why such a car is even on the market?   How about HJ,  come on HJ please review it, i really trust your rviews.  On the wider topic, presuming the UK buyers love affairs with SUVs continues, I would love to see HJ cover the topic of what we should consider  if we want to move away from Diesel?
• Vauxhall Astra F (1991 - 1998) - 96 1.7 Diesel. Wierd fault: fuel stop / cut off so 28 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  I am wondering if the normal looking (as on most diesel cars of this age and older) cylindrical stop-solenoid is permanently stuck open or partially open and whether there is another solenoid (that the 3 wires go to, in the back of the pump), that stays open for at least 12-15 seconds after starting, even if you switch the ignition off again within that time.
• Floods. 7 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  Oddly because the Fens are flat they don't suffer the same flash flooding as river valley situations but when the water does cover a road it does so for a long way. There is a location near here on a rural commuter route where a long run in flood water is needed several times a year to avoid an annoying long detour. It is amazing the risks you see taken with normal cars just to "get through".
• Automotive: The Right Tool for the Job 4 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Hammer: Originally employed as a weapon of war, the hammer nowadays is used as a kind of divining rod to locate expensive car parts not far from the object we are trying to hit. Mechanic's Knife: Used to open and slice through the contents of cardboard cartons delivered to your front door; works particularly well on boxes containing convertible tops or tonneau covers.
• Skoda Fabia VRs - Failed ECU 4 years old - Sorry for the long post! 18 Jun 2010 (Forum)
  I agreed to insure the courtesy car from 23rd March (I was to drop my car off the next morning) and insure it until Friday 26th March when I would return it to collect my car. On Friday March 26th I travelled to the garage to return the courtesy car and collect my car as agreed.
• Hyundai i30 Estate - Hyundai. A modern ghost story. 9 Mar 2012 (Forum)
  Next morning, we rang SG Petch and asked to speak to someone in sales about the blue Hyundai i30 estate. We were put through to Scott. We asked Scott to confirm that the car was indeed still for sale, be no point otherwise in us driving all that way. He asked us if we had the registration number of the car. We did; we'd saved a copy of the car's photograph from the SG Petch website / Autotrader listing.
• Dilemma of dilemmas of dilemmas 2 Feb 2012 (Forum)
  And fuel economy can play a big part in the overall equation: 26k miles pa at 40mpg is approx £3900pa; at 60mpg is approx £2600pa, so if I can get a car that will do nigh-on 60mpg, I'll be saving myself £1300 a year anyway, and the longer the tying-up situation persisted, the more (fuel) money I'd save... The thing is, looking through HJ's Car-By-Car Reviews, it genuinely seems almost impossible to find any diesel car that doesn't have the potential (maybe even likelihood) to go wrong in one or more expensive ways!
• Forced out of car due to insurance blunder Vol 2. 15 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  It is busy but thankfully drivers seem to slow down a bit as they go by. We load ourselves up into Graham's car and thaw out. Within the hour I confirm with Budget Insurance Services, my broker, that my policy is up to date and I am covered. They are most happy to take a call from the police to confirm this directly.
• For Volvoman 14 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  whereas ours was just one car in front of us! Do it anyway. It?s great fun.
• Mercedes-Benz B-Class - B class review 6 Aug 2011 (Forum)
    For extra length the seat bolsters can be removed.   Some cars have an optional load system where all but the driver’s seat can be removed completely – I imagine this does turn the car into a van.   Despite not having this I have transported a 204 cm long Ikea wardrobe in the car by reclining the passenger seat fully.
• Lexus LS, Lexus RX450h - I tried LS500h and RX450h, here's what happened 30 May 2023 (Forum)
    Then we sat in LS500h and took our time to make ourself comfortable with the car and its controls. There is a lot going on in this car and I don't mean that in the wrong way. We wanted to make sure that we are experiencing all the key features to be able to make a more informed decision.
• Accord Diesel Tourer 14k report 27 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  s the big wheels making a difference, and it?s certainly not annoying on most surfaces. The fantastic stereo tends to cover it anyway, although there is no aux input for an mp3 player, which is annoying. I believe I can have one fitted for £100 if I decide that the 6-disc changer is annoying me. Brakes are powerful, but need more of a shove than my last car, which I?
• 2500km in a Citroen Xantia 17 Feb 2002 (Forum)
  bit) is large, with a nice flat floor, low loading, and no silly lip at the back. Also, a nice shelf and extendable cover for the whole thing ? which is especially useful in high-risk parking areas. The suspension was difficult to assess ? at least by me. I do accept someone else?s point that given the type of cars I normally drive, it isn?