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• Yaris engine design fault - any advise? 4 May 2007 (Forum)
  Does anyone know if there is a better way to get this done - apparently I also need a lot of rubber bushes changed so the total cost will be a fair chunk of what the car is worth. (Around £1500!!!) I'm a little concerned that a car of this age needs this much doing to it - surely these parts should last a bit longer than this?
• M reg 1.4 Clio high fuel consumption 15 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  now i had my mum myself my push bike in the car plus clothes but nothing adding up to more than 4 adult passangers. i run the tyres at a higher pressure on long motor way drives. we drove at around 70 mph the whole way and had a clear run no substantial stationary traffic luckily. we averaged around 55-60 mph. in the last year the car has had 4 new tyres, balance and tracking, a new cam belt, two new half shafts as there is a wobble which i can't work out what it is relates to the speedo, when i first got the car i replaced all disks pads shoes, filters, ht leads, it doesnt seem to be a binding brake. The car is serviced regularly with oil change at least every 5k miles. My question is what could cause such a large drop in fuel economy. i am losing nearly 100miles per tank? Any possibility for the wobble, i gave up on the garage, which came highly recommended.
• Celica GT 2.0 - sell or keep? 8 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  I have owned the car for 7 years and I am the 3rd owner. All 3 owners 'mature - ie not boy racers. From 70k I have changed the oil myself every 3000 miles on top of the regular services. MoTs going back 8 yrs. I believe this is the Mark 4 model being the rounded shape with pop up headlights. The tyres are Firestones and only about 30% worn.
• Farewell Honda 12 Apr 2005 (Forum)
  But for anyone wanting a reliable family car - they are great value and as Jeremy Clarkson keeps saying - that engine has yet to fail. (Except if you don't put oil in regularly - aprox 1 litre per 1,000 miles) Anyone else got one?
• Omega MV6 hesitation on acceleration 5 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  d run out of ideas) and that made no difference (after 3 consecutive tank-fulls). The cam-belt and tensioners are up-to-date (about 15,000 miles ago they were changed). She doesn?t use any oil (I cannot remember when I last topped it up between services). No water leaks. No high temperatures shown. Air filter standard Vauxhall, exhaust Kwikfit replacement system.
• 2nd Hand Vehicles - After Sales Faults 28 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  I spent ages over Christmas tracking down the cars' history from the 3 main VW dealers who'd seen it, (may I add how extremely excellent and helpful Silver St of Taunton are and how crap Murray in Plymouth are!!) and found that no fault had been detected, although the last services had only been oil changes. To cut a long story short(er), I have had the car fixed at a cost of £280 which I am now trying to get back from the guy who sold it to me. He denies there were any problems with it - I know he's lying!
• LPG Conversions 19 Dec 2002 (Forum)
  Since then -no probs. I have done more than 250000 miles on gas now and so far it is just great. The engine oil has stayed clean and I have not changed it yet-just about to. THe conversion paid for itself in 9 months at a mileage of about 2500 per month. I save 55% on fuel costs, including the cost of driving to fill up with gas.
• OMEGA HELL 5 May 2002 (Forum)
  I purchased a 1996 Vauxhall Omega 2.5CDX Petrol in January. The car was brought for a good price as it had an oil leak from the engine and needed new brake discs, pads etc. I had I checked over by a local car trader who told me it was sound, but would also need the plug leads replaced. With this information I left the car to a mechanic, and entrusted him with the work.
• 
  Mk2 Cavalier convertible - new owner queries 9 Dec 2016 (Ask HJ)
  I have just acquired a tidy 1986 Vauxhall Cavalier Mk2 convertible with FSH and one previous owner. it's done 123,000 miles and importantly, the body is...
• 
  What mid-size vehicle will fit a mobility scooter in the boot? 19 Aug 2017 (Ask HJ)
  We need an automatic car as my wife is disabled and can only drive automatic. We also need a big enough boot to fit a mobility scooter, although we slide...
• A very detailed explanation of how DPFs work 2 Jan 2012 (Forum)
  Using this information the module predicts the level of oil dilution. When the oil dilution level reaches a threshold value (the fuel being 7% of engine oil volume), a red warning lamp and 'Service Required' message is displayed. Depending on driving style, a small percentage of vehicles will require an oil change before the standard 15,000 miles service interval.
• First wheels 7 May 2007 (Forum)
  Feeling that the Citroën, which never received a tuning check at my hands, needed some sort of routine care, I took it to a small garage (still a service station) near the top of Parkway in Camden Town. The service man, a gloomy but fairly sympathetic Greek, agreed to flush the engine and change the oil, and suggested an underbody oil spray. I had never heard of one of these, but it didn't cost much and sounded a good idea although things were frankly pretty far gone. As an afterthought I asked him to drain the gearbox.
• Volvo S60 (2000 - 2009) - Two weeks (almost) review and update 18 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  No play in anything and no sign of impending bills. Had the 120k service done 5k late using an OEM filter and Fuchs XTR oil. Done 600 miles since, and none of the fluid levels have budged, although the previous owner (a mate) reckons it does usually need an oil top up or two between services - always has done apparently.
• New Car Time - Replacing Nissan Primera P11-144 6 Dec 2013 (Forum)
  Not fussed about leather and heated seats though, or climate control. iPod and Bluetooth connectivity is a requirement whether it's part of the car or available through an add on, with full integration - ie, not just a parrot kit of audio in cable, I want to control the device through the radio. Either that or I have the ability to change the radio for an OEM. Other things are niceties, but I think if I had to put two things at the top of my list for other most desirable things, it would be: Front Fog Lights for the aesthetics - they really do change the look of a car (even though I don't use them) and heated front screen.
• Daihatsu Charade (2003 - 2006) - 12000 mile report 3 Nov 2013 (Forum)
  The gearbox is a bit noisey but I think that when it has its 6th year service and its first gearbox oil change, this should certainly quieten it down so Im waiting to see how that effects it. Its not irritating, you just become aware of it. Running costs. I pay £24 a month to insure it which I think is just fine, road tax is the ever useful £35 a year and buying that Im sure will never get old, its a guilty pleasure for a penny pincher.
• Renault Twingo - Arnold Clarke will not do body warranty inspection 16 Oct 2020 (Forum)
  Service and MOT £175, you can watch the MOT but not watch the service. And how much for just an oil change? £110! Nah, Im not up for that. Receptionist say I can pay for a service at another dealer, bring proof of the service being done and provided all Renault service items have been carried out, they would do the paintwork \ body warranty inspection for free!
• Ford Focus tdci 11 plate - Advice needed 23 Apr 2018 (Forum)
  June 2017 - engine light on and halfords say need a new solenoid, aa covered this Nov 2017 - Turbo failed aa cover we just pay for parts that aren't covered for turbo change leave garage get home light back on halfords say to drive for a few days so can do a reading it stays on and start to get a strong burning smell so it goes back and told faulty turbo so new one ordered and put in Dec 17 - engine light on told turbo again and need new lambda sensor aa will cover sensor and i guess turbo on part warranty?
• 2004 Astra G 1.7 CDTI 80ps - Astra 1.7 CDTI Starting Troubles 4 May 2015 (Forum)
  Hi right its my mates 2004 astra G 1.7 CDTI 80ps Problem is it wont start on the key starts fine with a bump start or i'm guessing with easy start also altho i haven't tried this yet. Fuel filter and air filter have been changed and made no difference When running there is a bit of a knocking noise when cold, sounds a bit like an injector knocking altho this is alot quieter when the engine has warmed up a bit.
• 2001 Fiesta Zetec-S - Fiesta playing up 16 Aug 2013 (Forum)
  The fuel came out black when we changed it. So not sure if it threw some crap into the injectors. This is a video of said smoke. I believe its condensation and I can see no blue to it http://s191.photobucket.com/user/Mastspotter/media/20130805_171736_zps9e69e6da.mp4.html.
• Vauxhall Corsa D (2006 - ) - Another Dealer Servicing Rant 2 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  On the return of the car, they had charged for fuel system and oil flushes at a total of probably £30 (waste of time and money). The bonnet catch and bonnet, door and hatchback hinges had seen no lubrication, the battery contacts had not a lick of Vaseline or similar on them.