Refine by channel:  Forum (2586)    Ask HJ (1587)    News (484)    FAQs (14)    Article (11)    productReview (2)    Good Garages (1)  

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• 
  Chattering Class 24 Jul 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I have owned a series of S-Class Mercedes. At least ten in a row, all wonderful, and all petrol. Recently, against my better judgement, I bought an ex-demonstrator...
• 
  Can you recommend a large and comfortable car? 22 Mar 2015 (Ask HJ)
  I currently own a 2009 Honda Civic 1.8 iVTEC Si-T. I'm looking to buy a new car of medium size for around £25,000. Some of the cars I've looked at are...
• 
  We need a new car with easy access and good reliability with low mileages - what do you suggest? 4 Jul 2012 (Ask HJ)
  We are a couple in our early 70s and we have enjoyed a Mercedes C180 for some years, but it gives signs of rising repair costs and we give signs of decreasing...
• Vauxhall Astra 2.0 CDTi Diesel (2013) - Vauxhall Astra - acrid smell inside car 14 Feb 2025 (Forum)
  I have a diesel Vauxhall Astra that I've had on-off problems with for a couple of years, mostly DPF related. I've done quite a bit to remedy this including having it taken off and cleaned out and having all the fuel injectors replaced for new ones.
• TOYOTA ESTIMA EMINA 1996 - 96 Estima Injector spill control Electrical Fault 19 Feb 2024 (Forum)
  I had the Injector pump replaced in my 1996 3C-TE Toyota Estima and upon turning the ignition in the on position,there is a continuous ticking sound right on the spill control valve. see video LINK below to youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBuSB3SsSfU The Engine would crank but would not turn over.(no diesel coming to the injectors) However,When i disconnect/Intercept the black wire (Earth which runs from the ECU)from the spill control valve and ground  it directly to the body,it does not make the ticking sound eventually Diesel comes to the injectors(bleed) and the bus starts,but  the engine revs itself up to 2000 RPMs with Diesel Knock and excess whitish smoke which i presume means excess fuel presumably as a result of the valve not being correctly controlled by the ECU.
• 
  What's the best used car for 120 mile commute? 18 Apr 2016 (Ask HJ)
  I need a car with great fuel economy for my 120 mile per day commute. It must be reliable, comfortable and suitable for my family. Budget circa £8000,...
• Any. - Reasonably priced reliable commuter vehicle. 9 Aug 2014 (Forum)
  I always use main dealers for servicing, so a good value menu serving scheme would be an advantage. (My car has a full Toyota history) I'm not sure I want another diesel as I only average 44mpg over my ownership on my 40 mile each way motorway return. In addition each of my diesel cars have had major breakdowns (diesel related) that have cost a fortune to put right. ( negating any fuel saving and more) My wife has a fiesta ecoboost that is fantastic and I can manage 50-55 mpg on my commute but will cost more than I'm willing to spend.
• 
  Peugeot 308 or Ford Focus? 23 Aug 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I need a used car and have been looking at a 2009 Peugeot 308 1.6 HDI. There are lots of cars around with just 37,000 miles on the clock and I’m very tempted....
• Citroen C3 (2002 - 2009) - 03 1.4 16v ECU failure 13 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  Hi, C3 Diesel 1.4, 16v HDi, 92hp. 3 yrs 10mths old 55K miles, looked after, shell diesel fuel only etc. Citroen UK are 99% certain that the ecu has gone duff. £852 inc vat for a new one! After my protestations that the ecu is not exactly a 'service item' and should reasonably be expected to last longer, CUK have agreed a 33% goodwill offer discount on parts and labour.
• Jaguar X-Type (2001 - 2009) - Massive problem with diesel Jaguar 8 May 2008 (Forum)
  The dealers said that there were quite a lot of problems with that model so they gave me what they called a preferential trade in on a diesel X-type with manual gearbox. It was 2 years old at the time and recorded 30000 miles. That was a year ago. Three weeks ago, with the car just out of the guarantee, it would not start in the morning.
• Which Used Car for Killer Commute? 9 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  Other thoughts were a Rover 75 with the BMW diesel engine or a Skoda diesel. I've got a budget to 7k, which I'd be looking to pay back in 3 years, so the vehicle would need to last that long if it cost the full amount. I'd be interested in hearing people's suggestions, either along similar lines or, if you think I'm approaching things from the wrong angle, from a completely different perspective.
• Any - Analysis of Rechargeable Battery - Electric Cars 16 Jul 2014 (Forum)
  Given that for every 10 kWh (units) of electricity made 'available for use' in our homes, the far distant, Midlands based fossil fuel (coal or natural gas) powered power station has to generate 37kWh of 'heat energy' then surely it makes much more economic and ecological sense for us to generate our own electricity as close to home as possible?
• ANY - Inefficiency of Rechargeable Battery-Electric Cars 12 Jul 2014 (Forum)
  Given that for every 10 kWh (units) of electricity made 'available for use' in our homes, the far distant, Midlands based fossil fuel (coal or natural gas) powered power station has to generate 37kWh of 'heat energy' then surely it makes much more economic and ecological sense for us to generate our own electricity as close to home as possible?
• VW Golf GT Sport (140 BHP) - 91W and 91Y Tyre Pressures 9 Jun 2012 (Forum)
  This does not bother me as I would happily sacrifice some fuel consumption for safety, but now I am thinking that maybe my new 91Y rated tyres are not correctly inflated. I know that the GYEF1's are excellent tyres with very good grip, so maybe the drop in fuel consumption is due to them being slightly more 'stickier'/grippier than my old tyres (which were worn, so maybe that is a factor?)
• Peugeot 406 (1999 - 2004) - 02 2.0 HDi low power after hitting flood. 23 May 2008 (Forum)
  Its obviously delivering fuel, more than before, yet I have really low power in the lower revs. Overtaking is now a memory!! Tried the disconnect battery thing to reset ECU, all this got me was an "ENGINE IMMOBILISER FAULT", a tow trip to the garage and a 100 euros to reset.
• 
  What can I do to pinpoint a hesitation problem in my diesel Hyundai i30? 28 Jun 2010 (Ask HJ)
  At about 1500 revs, from cold at about 20/30 mph and with the temperature about half/two thirds to optimum, my Hyundau i30 diesel automatic hesitates as...
• main dealer-do they really want to sell me a car? 23 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  After 5 mins trying, he says the seats don't fold. I know for a fact they do, so he trys again and eventually succeeds. Off we go in the diesel. No fuel, so off to the fuel station. There he meets an attractive young lady and talks to her for 10 mins. Gets back in the car, no apology, and says that she works for Audi, which is where he also used to work, and they get better company cars.
• 2003 Ford Mondeo 2.0 Tdci 130 - 2003 Mondeo 2.0 Tdci 130 Trusty Glow Plug Light! 13 Feb 2012 (Forum)
  The first time this light came on, on a long run, and would not go away on restart, I took the car to a Ford garage and they told be the fault code was "Knock threshold reached on number 3 injector", so after the first recode (which cleared the error for about 5000 miles), when the error came up a second time (this time on "number 2 injector"), I bit the bullet and had all four injectors and the fuel pump reconditioned by a very reputable firm, at this time I also replaced the DM flywheel (which was filling my starter motor full of grindings) and the fuel filter. The filter was clear, as was the fuel pump, so my fears of rubbish coming through the fuel line were removed.
• Ford Focus 1.8 TDCi - Intermittant judder problems 40-60mph range 6 Aug 2022 (Forum)
    The last 1,300+ miles have been run using BP or BP Ultimate Diesel rather than supermarket fuels in my own attempt to flush out any potential problems. Car still exhibits same symptoms.
• Mercedes-Benz GLA - DPF regeneration problems... reject car? 24 Jun 2021 (Forum)
  The dealership are discounting this possibility, even though the regen process continued for 23 minutes. I did some calculations too. I was interested to find out how much fuel was injected into the exhaust system to heat it up sufficiently to burn off the accumulated soot. It turn out that the trip to school (16 miles) used 1.2 litres of fuel and the trip back used 3.2 litres... so the DPF regen process used 2 litres of diesel (£2.50), took 23 minutes and still didn't complete!