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• auto gearbox "best practice techniques" 6 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  Hi All I am about to get a Corolla 1.6 auto and, never having owned an auto before would like to know if there are any driving tecniques I should adopt (apart from laft foot braking, which I am unsure about!)? For example: When should one use the 1 and 2 gears manually? Should one take it out of drive at every oppertunity? Use overdrive in town etc etc? Park or neutral and foot or hand brake at traffic lights?
• VW Rear Disc Brakes 17 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Is it my bad luck that both a Mk 5 Golf and now my Passat developed seized and worn out the rear pads at 2 1/2 years? Costing me lots of money to sort...
• Saxo VTR front brake discs 28 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  Has anyone changed them?. Trying to look into it as a favour for someone so I am not too willing to splash out on a manual etc. I had the wheel off for...
• Use of cruise control 5 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  Resting my foot flat on the floor, whilst comfortable, feels downright dangerous. Similarly, resting against brake pedal, whilst safest option in event of having to brake, also risks deactivating cruise control.
• Fuel Guage, Mk3 VW Golf 26 Oct 2003 (Forum)
  Help.... Fuel guage stopped working on MK3 VW Golf... Was working fine yesterday. Changed front brake pads, brake servo hose and coolant leak. Guage read 1/4 tank before fixing these things, now reads zero...... Wiring from fuel sender to guage seems OK (reads 400 ohms). Fuel sender seems to be open circuit...
• Volvo 440 1.8 CVT 12 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  The car has been well serviced (by Volvo) and is pleasant enough but has one downside - sometimes (particularly when cold) when coming to a halt with the brakes the car shudders and almost stalls. This also sometimes happens when moving from P, R or N into D (unless your foot is off the brake). Is this a common problem with CVTs? and if so is it something that can be fixed easily or do I have to live with it?
• Lack of engine braking on Omega Auto 18 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Does anyone know if the auto box on a 2.5 V6 Omega is supposed to down shift on a closed throttle (i.e. going downhill foot off accelerator)? I thought...
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  Camper van won't move - are the brakes stuck on? 4 Dec 2019 (Ask HJ)
  My camper van won't move. It was parked up after going through a flood and is now stuck. On starting it fires up and both forward and reverse gears can...
• Worn brakes on car just bought 22 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  This mechanic, a very well thought of local man, (soon to leave Raunds to live in Spain) discovered that the front brakes were worn down so that there was hardly any pad material left and the disks had been damaged. He says that the brakes should not be worn in 30,000 miles, and they are checking the mileage with the previous owner.
• rear end shunts 28 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  I know that in a rear end shunt, the shunter, not shuntee, is usually at fault (should keep distance, anticipate braking etc.). But the other day I was following a car down a steep hill in heavy traffic and not once did its brake lights come on. Neither did they come on at the next set of traffic lights we both came to, also on a hill.
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  How often should I replace brake discs? 4 Dec 2024 (Ask HJ)
  My 2016 BMW M135i owned since new with only 52000 miles just had a BMW Health Check which showed that the front brake discs had a slight lip and the pads...
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  The coil spring of our 2017 car broke, severing the brake and starting a fire. Can we do anything if the car is out of warranty? 30 Apr 2021 (Ask HJ)
  Due to a strange noise, while driving, we thought was something banging around in the boot. We stopped to check and flames were coming from the offside...
• Honda Civic 2018 - Rolling Car 12 Jan 2020 (Forum)
  The car was probably only active for a couple of seconds. I am as certain as I can be that I put the parking brake on - I've had electronic parking brakes on previous cars and you do it instinctively. I do know that on exiting the car, I looked at it from beside the front wing to check the new parking position, and that I noticed that the wheels were dirty (which surely implies the car wasn't rolling away at that point).
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  Is there anything specific I need to address at the next service of my Jaguar XJS? 20 May 2019 (Ask HJ)
  My 1992 Jaguar XJS 4.0 straight 6 coupe with 101,000 miles is due for a service in a couple of months. In addition to the standard items involved in a...
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  BMW X3 triad of lights, 4X4, ABS and Brake 29 Apr 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 2006 BMW X3 2.0d sport, bought through finance. I've had it since 2014, but since the DPF issue I seldom use it. In the first quarter of 2015,...
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  I've been offered a rarely used 1993 Rover 416 GSi - will it need a lot of maintenance? 1 Mar 2017 (Ask HJ)
  I've recently become in need of an automatic car due to a health problem. I was going to purchase a used Nissan Micra, however, I have also been offered...
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  Why doesn't my Volkswagen Touareg's cruise control work on downhill slopes? 7 Dec 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I purchased a Volkswagen Touareg 3.0TDI new six months ago and am delighted with it, but on a steep hill in Argyll the vehicle runs away with me over the...
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  Is it common for the electric parking brake to fail on Land Rover Discovery 4s? 24 Aug 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 30-month old Discovery 4 3.0d HSE automatic with 28,000 miles from new, with full supplying dealer history. It has just destroyed its electromechanical...
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  Buying a friends' low-mile Shogun? 1 Jun 2013 (Ask HJ)
  A friend has offered us first refusal on their 2003 Mitsubishi Shogun SWB Equipe 3.2 Diesel with just 15k miles on the clock. It is obviously a very...
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  Do I have to pay for this? 29 Jan 2013 (Ask HJ)
  My Vauxhall Omega went in for full service (80,000 miles) plus timing belt change, ignition plugs and brake fluid change. I requested that if additional...