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• MINI Clubman - Dealers selling privately 29 Dec 2023 (Forum)
  I used gumtree and found a mini listed under a private sale. he stated the timing chain had been done and a full service history with the last being done by a mini specialist nearby.    I bought the car and within a week it started having issues. Radio stopped working, slow puncture, drivers window kept sticking open and various warning lights showed up on the dash. Checked using the obd reader and faults related to the oxygen sensor reading high.
• Jaguar Land Rover - Indicator sound too quiet/Sat nav voice too loud 7 Oct 2023 (Forum)
  The default sound level should be loud enough to be heard-it's nonsense spouted by JLR to say a safety warning shouldn't intrude on refinement - Jaguar cars in the past have been noted for refinement even though the indicator sound is clearly audible. As a suggestion, radios for a long time have had automatic volume increase as speed increases so why not on indicator volume? Another common complaint on JLR models(the reverse of quiet indicator noise) is the fact that the Sat nav volume cannot be adjusted below a pre adjusted volume & in this case can be too loud(Evoque for example has a minimum sat nav guidance level of volume 20).
• 2010 fiat 500 - My gf Fiat wont start after changing break bulbs!! 26 Jan 2021 (Forum)
  I got the unit out which has 5 small bulbs, I checked them all and none of them looked dead, so I moved them around and pushed them in better to have a better connection and when I checked 4 of them were working so I got the non-working 1 out, looked perfect put it back in and I think it gave a bad connection or something as all the back car lights went off as well as the lights from the speedometer which comes on the second position of the key, only the mileage and clock is on the dash board now. The radio lost all the saved stations but it is working still. I checked the fuse box and found small fuse number 30 gone, so I bought new ones from Halfords and replaced it but the car still won’t start and the rest of the indicators on the speedometer won’t come on.
• BMW 120i Sport auto 2015 - Electrical glitches 24 Jan 2019 (Forum)
  After driving for 5 minutes the instrument cluster burst into life and everything (including the indicators) worked normally for the duration of the journey   My initial thoughts were that the main car battery could be failing – I owned a 2009 BMW 320d prior to this and noted certain facilities (heated rear window/stop-start function/radio when engine off etc.) began to stop working before I replaced the battery. All functions were restored on replacing the battery on my 320d. However, the 320d was 6 years old with 120k on the clock before I began to notice signs of battery failure so I wouldn’t expect this with my current 3 year old/35k car Any thoughts on where these electrical issues may lie?
• Nissan Micra se 2003 - Can I use a 2nd starter button with original one? 7 Dec 2017 (Forum)
  I've read other people saying that when they have had the same problem, their car will start with a bump, so I'd think an extra switch would solve the problem and save me from having to set the radio code and the computer up each time. My main concern is, if I left the original starter wire going to the small starter terminal, when I turn the new starter button on, could it damage the relay on the original wire or anything by sending power up the original wire.
• first impressions of my new Volvo XC60 D4 Auto 19 Apr 2017 (Forum)
  Once located the electronic park brake is fine to use, it also releases automatically if you set off in D. The telephones for me and SWMBO paired up instantly. The DAB radio is excellent and the sterio also works well through bluetooth from my music library on my i phone. Satnav is simple to use and offers traffic reports and speed camera warnings. Cruise control is fine but I am not a fan really.
• Hire cars 19 Sep 2015 (Forum)
     The most useless things in the modern cars are 'Infotainment' systems.  At the end of the week I had just found out how to change the radio away from BBC Radio2.  I didn't dare try the SatNav.   There were several sheets of explanatory data in the car, but it was too brief and difficult to understand. The worst part of the exercise was the sales pitch of the staff to get one to double the price by adding on insurance etc.
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  Major electrical issues with Fiat 500 1 May 2015 (Ask HJ)
  I have had a Fiat 500 1.4 lounge from new. Now experiencing major electrical problems. Warning messages on dash, oil light on, headlight light on. Tailgate...
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  Buying a used car - what are my consumer rights? 16 Oct 2014 (Ask HJ)
  A friend of mine bought a Volkswagen Tiguan about seven weeks ago. However, yesterday, the infotainment system started experiencing problems. Upon start-up,...
• Toyota Carina E - maintenance and accessories 14 Mar 2014 (Forum)
  hi to all,  I have just purchased my grandads car for £300 it has 70,000 miles on it and is a toyota carina e 1.8 cdx on an N reg. it has been sat for 2 years my grandad lives in thailand so it hasnt been touched. sorned obvioulsy and mot expired. charged the battery overnight and ticked it over for ten minutes on my dads advice. started first time. i have not moved it or taken the wheels off so i am unsure if the brakes are ceased hopefully not they should just be sticky. it has been 2 years. a taxi driver told me i should check the clutch not sure how to do this. to my knowledge everything works except the radio/cd. which i can replace. was considering putting in a k&n air filter is this worthwhile. any advice other than try not wrapping it round a tree will be appreciated with thanks. i have read that castrol sms is the best for gearbox oil change which i happily take on board. will consider worthwhil modifications if its worth it for the car. i havent driven for 5 years and the car is 18 yrs old. i would imagine there are things on the market i do not know about and i would imagine there to be technology improvements in 20 yrs since the car was manufactured. i read that platinum spark plugs is an option but as far as i know this car has had bosch.
• BMW E30 - Electric cars are slow but can be ****** fast 10 Dec 2011 (Forum)
  Just been listening to 702 ABC Sydney Radio and heard about a guy who is developing an E30, electric, capable of 0-100km/h in 5.5 seconds. A quick Aussie google search and hey presto:-   Croatian tuning garage, VST Conversions, has developed a 500 horsepower (373kW) all-electric BMW E30 3 Series.
• Nissan Qashqai - Nissan Qashqai power failure when driving 11 Oct 2011 (Forum)
  Needless to say if I was on a motorway, it would have been another story. I had my baby in the car and was quite shaken up by what happened. All through this time the radio was still working. We took the car to the dealership where we bought it from. They ran diagnostic tests and while they admitted there was an anomaly, they couldn't find a fault. They then rang and said that I had probably knocked the car key with my knee thereby causing the power to fail.
• BMW 3 Series Touring E91 - warning lights / cd multichanger 17 Feb 2011 (Forum)
  Hi Can anyone help ive just taken my car to the dealership because of lights warning me of headlight failure that keep coming up on my satnav display they have told me that  the unit in the footwell needs replacing my car is under warranty with the company i bought the car from so the £600 for the unit didnt upset me as i wasnt paying but bmw then rang me to say that they cant update the computer to accept the new unit as an error keeps coming up that says basically i need a CD Autochanger (£505) fitted now when i bought the car it was second hand 57plate and didnt have a CD Autochanger just the basic radio cd ive since checked and i know they come prepared for a autochanger but why do i have to have one fitted just so the new unit that is being fitted will work this is costing me over £600 of my own money just so i can keep the warning lights from coming up on my Satnav Bmw told me i need to have the unit replaced as it controls all the lights and windscreen wipers etc on the car and if i dont have it replaced more problems will occur i find this amazing that i have to buy a Cd autochanger just so  it will work as it should and the computer will accept it Can anyone help on this matter ?
• Ford Fiesa 2010 Zetec S TDCi - Not always starting 29 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  I went out to the car to go to work and found that it would not start, there was some life in the battery as the ignition was working and the radio / lights wer working but it would not start. I have been told by the dealer it is my phone that is draining the battery of the car and a software update is on its way which will fix this. Since they advised this was the problem i have unpaired any bluetooth device from the car and it has been working ok.
• 170 TDi - New Scirocco... an odd situation 13 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  Had my new Scirocco 170TDi (manual transmission) now for just over a month and its a super amazing car. Notice after 400miles (only beause I turned the radio down) that there was a weird rotary purring type noise when depressing the clutch during acceleration. The noise only begins after a mile or so from a cold start. Apart from that the car drives perfect.
• A Ford ICE warning 1 Jul 2010 (Forum)
  At this point, he decided to open the driver's door via the front passenger side and discovered the Ford 6000 radio/CD unit had been carefully removed, along with items from the glovebox and the boot. The door handle was found a short distance away. After reporting the matter to the police (barely interested), inquiries next day revealed that there is currently a spate of thefts of this particular Ford ICE unit from both Mondeo and Focus models.
• Volkswagen Golf IV (1998 - 2004) - good buy ? 22 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  I gave it £130 worth of service, wipers, spark plugs, oil filter, fully snyth, air filter, fuel filter, topped up steering fluid, mended brake light switch under foot brake. 2 owners full service history, 2 keys and plastic key with number on. handbook. cd/radio/tape/ everything works on it. 1st owner had for 3 years - up to 89K miles 2nd owner 4 years, up to 109K miles, all MOTs and tax and service docs, shows had a cam-belt change at 69K all service and mots add up. even the log book was at his home address. £2100.00 seriously such a decent car, no rot, all panels line up, all original underneath, no leaks in boot, or at rear. no leaks from brake pipes, exhaust still got decent life in it. goes like stink for a 1.4, and such a heavy car. wife just said though she skidded today in wet. looked at parkers and it should have abs.
• Technology and the lack of information for drivers 28 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  Anyway, it set me thinking, we have cars that can talk to us, display all sorts of useless information on their laughably named "trip computer", radios with ever mode complex displays, in built sat nav.....little marvels of technology So why......does it cost £50-£80 quid for a garage to plug something in and read the fault codes etc.. from your ECU....is it beyond human ken to build in that function on the cars dash and perhaps loose some of the other useless crap we're given.....how hard can it be.....they call cars sophisticated...that's a laugh.
• Ford S-MAX (2006 - ) - 07 2.0 Unusual noises - Any ideas of causes 17 Feb 2009 (Forum)
  this is not immediately noticeable especially if playing the sound system loud. The noise is a little like the whistle from an out of tune AM radio station. This sound appears to be coming from the front centre of the car. My guess is it is coming from a pump. Local Ford dealer says its ?normal?. I?ve not heard this noise in several other recent Ford 2.0 TDCI Mondeo?
• Ford Mondeo II (1996 - 2000) - 1999 1.8 Central Locking 3 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  If the remote battery is good and the system partly works then the cure that I use is to simply disconnect the battery and leave it for 30 seconds or so and then reconnect it. If you have a KEYCODE radio, then this will lose it's code, so ensure you have the correct code. If you dont have the code then the best way is to disconnect the Central Locking control unit which is located behind the drivers side lower dash liner.