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  • Any - Additional stop/tail/number plate light 6 Oct 2014 (Forum)
    Unit has 3 wires connected, stop(Red). tail/numberplate(Yellow). and earth(Black). To me it seems that if a resistance to earth is seen through the brake light filament then the tail light is extinguished. As tail light is extinguished even if brake is not applied. Strange that i have had 3 lights all display the same symptom. All have been LED lights.
  • Buying a new 4x4 - which one? 30 Nov 2011 (Ask HJ)
    Am thinking of changing my 56 X-Trail which I have had from new. Except for having to have two new brake calipers, I have been very pleased with it. ...
  • BMW 320D SE - BMW As & When Servicing 2 Apr 2011 (Forum)
    I bought this car new in March 2007 and the service interval was 20,000 miles or two years. Two faultless years followed, then a service, a year later new rear brake pads and an MOT. I then got a dashboard !! Sign saying service required at 36K. I took it in and it needed an oil change and fluids check. Fine. The bill? £357! Next up, according to the all-telling key fob, is a brake fluid change after another 1,600 miles.
  • Vauxhall Cavalier CDX 1995 2.0 - Long handbrake travel 25 Apr 2010 (Forum)
    I have to pull handle right up and think it's probably near maximum travel. Checked rear brakes & pads are ok. The spring lever on the rear brakes connected to the cable, seems at maximum travel, nearly hitting the surround end stop (see photos). 1) How easy is it to adjust ??
  • BMW 5-Series E60 (2003 - 2009) - 06 2.0 Is my handbrake stuck on? 16 Dec 2009 (Forum)
    I have to accelerate harder and the car is lacking power. I thought the brakes might be stuck on but they weren't glowing red hot when I parked, they were hot but I had just been coming up the motorway. I just went out to the car park and tested the hand brake and noticed that when the car is rolling forward I do need to pull the lever quite a long way before it stops (suggesting it might be half on-ish already).
  • Vauxhall Zafira A (1999 - 2005) - 02 1.6 Overheating of front left brake disc 7 Oct 2009 (Forum)
    When driving my Zafira it slowly came to a halt with smoke coming from the front left wheel. The wheel rim was too hot to touch. A mechanic collected car next day and replaced brake caliper, hose, disc and pads. It seemed fine but two days later my wife was driving home a short distance and the same problem occured. I contacted the mechanic and he told me to leave it for an hour and try to move car then.
  • Vauxhall Astra G Petrol (1998 - 2004) - 02 1.6 Brake Issues 20 Apr 2009 (Forum)
    however I just put it down to a different brand of pads, however the car stops perfectly fine. Anyhow recently when applying the brakes they have developed a very slight squeal, I thought this would disappear over time if the discs/pads where dirty etc however it hasn?t. It?s the same tone/volume of squeak all the time, and there is (AFIK) no degrade in performance.
  • Citroen ZX (1992 - 1998) - 1995 1.9d Bleeding problems? 15 May 2008 (Forum)
    with the rear wheels raised the handbrake is holding firm yet pressing the brake pedal results in the wheels not holding firm??? I have read horror stories about citroen brakes.....have I bled them in the wrong sequence or have I missed something else? Someone also mentioned a "dosseur" valve on some citroens....what exactly is this and has the zx got one?
  • Neglected aspects of car maintenance, 1st Place? 2 May 2008 (Forum)
    Neglect that owners *seem to get away with* brake fluid and antifreeze changes? I used to speak to some people with older cars out of main dealer servicing who just used to shrug or look blank when I mentioned it. The difficult thing is proving its required, beyond concerns of `boiling brakes and total failure` that we all know about.
  • Even more C Class Woes 1 Mar 2007 (Forum)
    But the real worry and thank god I'd got off the M42, as I came onto the business park, approaching a roundabout I went for the brakes. The pedal didn't move at all and no braking what so-ever. Thankfully there was no-one coming onto the roundabout and I went round on 3 wheels (Didn't fancy trying the foot operated parking brake option...).
  • Ford Focus 2.0 X-Reg, rear brakes 22 Dec 2006 (Forum)
    On the advice of the Garage I had the rear pads and discs replaced during the last annual service. 2 weeks later there was a loud knocking noise while braking so I took it back and they said the pad carrier on one side had caused the pad to wear out very quickly. I didn't really understand but they changed the disc and pad didn't charge me so I was happy.
  • Almera Sport Xreg - Noise from wheel 17 Jun 2006 (Forum)
    Hi All disc brakes + ABS. Multi-link suspension (front only?) Seem to have developed over time(but much worse in last few days) increasingly loud, initially squeaking, now grating noise from rear drvr-side wheel, I think.
  • Vectra C - Blowing bulbs? 9 Jul 2005 (Forum)
    more probs with "my lovely car".About 3 weeks ago, I got an error on the computer "check centre brake light".When I could,I did, only to find that it was fine.Last week, I got an error message "check rear left brake light".When I checked, the offside rear,bottom(there's two bulbs) had blown.I actually bought 4 bulbs and replaced them all,keeping the 3 working,old bulbs,as spares.Today, I got an error,"check rear right brake bulb".When I checked,it actually looks as though both rear "bottom" bulbs have blown.Another concern I have is that the error message repeatedly flags up.I thought it should only appear after starting up the car or immediately after detecting a fault.Has anybody else had this problem?.
  • Ford Focus mystery 26 Aug 2004 (Forum)
    The car has done 30,000 miles compared to 37,500 which is the expected mileage for this service. Every thing went fine until the service receptionist stated that the mechanic noticed the brakes were slightly louder under braking than expected so they very courteously performed a free brake analysis. Any way to make a long story longer the receptionist stated everything seemed OK, the pads had approx 50% wear left but the front disks were 1 - 1.5mm above the recommended thickness and she suggested at the next service these would need changing.
  • New Mercedes E-Class problems... 7 Oct 2003 (Forum)
    There has been a 'problem solution' working group for about a year now. There are also problems emerging with the SBC electronic brake system; details are very thin so it is not possible to describe what the problem is. I have read in 'What Car?' of one reader who suffered several complete brake failures with his new E-Class; DaimlerChrysler replaced the vehicle but refused to acknowledge there was an issue (they stated that the diagnostic memory did not record any such event).
  • Citroen Xsara Brake Lights 2 Jul 2003 (Forum)
    I bought a 52 Xsara from my local main dealer in Feb 03 thinking I would get a more reliable car than my aging Escort, how wrong could I be! The problem is the brake lights keep fusing! It's been in to the main dealer 5 times and they still can't fix it. The last time it spent a whole week in thier workshop with the ECU being replaced, prior to this it was 3 days with various switches being replaced.
  • Astra 1.7 Dti 05/00 management light at 22 Jan 2003 (Forum)
    now i know that the brake lights are on the same fault check circuit that the glowplugs are, i will of course check the bulbs first if this happens again. I assume that if i had changed the bulbs first, the fault code would reset and clear automatically.
  • HGV Trailer Brakes 18 May 2001 (Forum)
    Usually the problem is that the length of the central pin is a little bit wrong, with the consequence that when the tractor unit connects up the trailer brakes don't work properly. Now I know that there are very responsible firms out there who leave no nut unturned in their quest for efficiency and safety, but there are a lot more who don't. So when it was suggested that legislation should require that E-approved connectors be fitted there was an outcry.
  • Discrusted of Formby writes 9 Jan 2010 (Ask HJ)
    In June Liverpool Volkswagen (Derby Road, Liverpool) carried out what it described as a '2nd variable service' on my 4-year-old VW Golf. I was charged...
  • Hometune Service? Good Value? 13 Nov 2002 (Forum)
    Front Brake Pad Wear Check Check 20. Front Brake Disc Wear & Condition Check Check 21. Brake Drum for External Leaks Inspect Inspect 22. Rear Brake Pad/Shoe Wear Check Check 23. Rear Brake Disc/Drum Wear & Condition Check Check 24.
 

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