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• Driving in the Rain 11 Aug 2004 (Forum)
  Was the motorcyclist I saw without lights actually trying to commit suicide or did he think that everyone else had xray vision? Why don\'t people leave longer gaps? Does safe braking distance mean nothing? Do drivers not understand how high their bow wave goes over other cars? MPV and HGV drivers seem to be particularly poor at this - hey guys, some of us (and our engines) are nearer to the ground than you!
• Buying a bike 13 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  I have a full licence, also an old R80 BMW, but it's becoming rather high maintenance, and I'd like something lighter with brakes that work! I'm not ruling anything out (except perhaps scooters), but there seems to be huge void between 125's and 600's, with the exception of one or two 500's. The old Suzuki GS500 seems to go on and on, but I would like something a bit less ordinary, maybe.
• Chipped 156 JTD 8 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Many grins have been had, especially when the twonk in a fiesta van in the inside lane tried to pull out into the side of me earlier this evening. The Bora up my backside made braking a poor option and the o/s was the usual camel train so I just booted it (75 in 5th). In the time it took for the twonk to complete his ill-advised manouvere, I had pulled clear, leaving a rather dazed Bora driver and a totally oblivious van driver.
• BMW 318IS Noise! 3 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  Could anyone also let me know what oils to change when I service the car - gearbox and diff (I have not changed them in two years) as well as engine? and finally how often should the brake fluid be changed - done a year ago with dot4). Thanks in advance. Matt
• Speeding (mostly excl cameras) XIV 20 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  I also tested a Merc with a speed limiter - like a cruise control but in reverse as the salesman explained it. You dial in the speed you want to keep to and it intervenes via engine & brakes to keep you to that. It was absolutley lethal. It operated via a stalk near the indicator and TWICE I knocked it while trying to indicate left. As it was set for 30mph and I was at about 45-50 each time, the sudden deceleration was alarming and not conducive to avoiding rear-end shunts.
• major close call 20 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  Then a car sweeps into the middle lane inches in front and going slower than me (maybe he was trying to exit the motorway?) I had to slam on the brakes and swerve to the right to avoid hitting him but as the road was damp the wheels locked and I ended up skidding sideways down the middle lane of a congested M4. Fortunatly I managed to pull the car straight again and got over to the hard shoulder witout hitting anyone.
• Primera - Persistent Engine Fault 29 Jan 2004 (Forum)
  : On morning start-up, my 1997 Primera (SLX 2.0i Automatic)stalls sharply when Drive or Reverse is engaged at the initial idling revs of 1400, and will not engage until the revs have decayed to under about 900, which takes about 5 minutes. Once engaged the revs tend to 'hunt' a little at first, and the engine judders under braking for the first mile or so. Curiously, on later start-ups in the same day the car engages normally even when the initial revs are at 1400. I have had the thing investigated by dealers, main distributors and Nissan HQ, and also on their advice repalced the ICV without success.
• Yet another problem with my hilux! 8 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Looking underneath, it appears the reason for this is that the lever sticking out of the back of the drum on which the cable pulls actually hits the leaf spring before it can pull the brakes on. I've got a feeling that one of the (many) previous owners has at some point replaced the levers off a 2WD hilux, and that these levers are not long enough to clear the leaf spring on a 4WD hilux, which sits quite a bit higher.
• Express Fit 26 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  The cost was £158.00 all in for their standard service for cars 3+ years old, and: New front offside Continental Tracking Balancing Change of brake fluid In my view that's pretty damn good, and better than taking my car to a back street garage with an element of the unknown. As garages generally get a bad press, I just thought I'd attempt to balance things out....
• Morris Minor Traveller - advice please 6 Sep 2003 (Forum)
  Car is H reg, reading 9,000 miles, so no real idea of true mileage (probably irrelevant anyway). New wood, full MOT, servo brakes, good tyres, generally good condition. Some rust on rear door hinges, and signs of touching up below windows. 1. Any ideas re value? (I won't say initially waht it's up at) 2. How realistic is it to run such a car these days, even over fairly low mileages?
• Isuzu Diesel 11 Jul 2003 (Forum)
  The only thing that concerns me is in honest john car by car breakdown it says that the combined alternator brake vacuum pump is very expensive if it fails, £600 to replace! Just curious to whether this is something that does fail often and is it DIYable? Also if anyone has owned a vauxhall with this type of engine (as far as i know the engine is pretty much the same as the 1.7 td one in the astra and cavailer) is it easy to tell if it about to fail or does occur suddenly and is there any sort of maintenance it requires or that will extend its life?
• Test Drives 18 Jun 2003 (Forum)
  We find that an hour is about ok as it gives you the chance to try various different road conditions (town centre, country lane) in addition to flogging it up the motorway a bit at 90 and slamming on the brakes to see if it stays straight! We did find one dealer who was prepared to lend us his own Ford Galaxy for the weekend to see if we liked it (we didn't, much!). But most seem to think 10 minutes is quite sufficient.
• Full Service History? 5 May 2003 (Forum)
  (The air filter looks like it has never been changed) I am concerned that the oil and filter may also have been missed as there is no sign of the drain plug having been recently disturbed. I have not, as yet, looked at the brakes, although as the vehicle is of fairly low mileage, I don't expect any horrors. I am due to return to the dealer to sort out other matters and will point out these findings for his comment then. It seems to me that a dealer stamp is no guarantee that the work has actually been carried out!
• Almost side swiped - Advice please. 28 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  Opinions of the backroomers required please, regarding the following incident : Driving along a dual carriageway today at my usual 65-70 mph. Car passing me on the outside lane starts to pull in while ALONGSIDE me forcing me to brake and blast the horn to alert the lunatic. This wasn't cutting in - it was almost a side swipe. This incident was witnessed by the occupants of the following car - who made their disbelief clear to me as they passed.
• Motorway Madness! 25 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  I have lost count of the times where I have left a suitable gap between myself and the car in front, only for someone to dive in, leaving me with no option but to slow down to account for the fact my safety zone have just been nicked. Add to this the fact that as soon as the idiot has pulled out, they invariable have to brake themselves due to the lack of space they have left - this surely causes a domino effect and people a mile behind come to a standstill... Am I ranting for no reason? Is this practice now acceptable and I'm set in my ways?
• Vectra engine cooling problem ? 17 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  Whilst travelling at a steady speed in a straight line, the temperature gauge (basic analogue one, no fancy digital version fitted) registers no temperature at all, the needle sits on the lower stop. When cornering, accelerating, or braking, the needle rises about 25% of the way up the scale, then drops back down to the stop again when travelling in the aforementioned straight line. At a halt, with the engine idling, the needle oscillates slowly between nothing and about 25%.
• Low mileage bmw compact - advice 15 Apr 2003 (Forum)
  It's now done 23k and is loosening up nicely! it was serviced by BMW before I bought it and due to it's age they changed the brake fluid, coolant, and plugs along with the oil. It has only had 2 oil services in it's life previously (I guess it was serviced on the "lights", and it has been used infrequently). It has a 4 spd auto box, should I be looking to change the fluid in this kind of transmission to prolong the life of the box, and what about the differential, would this benefit from change at this age or shall i leave it for a few more miles.
• Citroen BX Turbo Diesel. 21 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  Full history, always garaged, a couple a supermarket type dings but otherwise good, MOT to Jan 2004, tax June 2003, towbar fitted but only used a few times for a light boat. Boot will contain spares such as new discs/pads, brakes hoses and some other used items parts. Located in Bridgewater Somerset but owner is coming up to the Aylesbury Toyota dealer next Tuesday 4th March to collect their new Yaris. He will be in the BX that day and could sell it there and then to someone who would meet.
• "The Ultimate Driver's Machine"? 8 Mar 2003 (Forum)
  For those unfamiliar as you look down to the pedals, the clutch is exactly in line with the centre of the steering wheel and dead in the middle of your legs. The brake pedal is subsequently over to the right whilst the throttle... How it can possibly be comfortable driving this I don't know - for me to sit in the car with my feet on the pedals involved a very twisted (and painful) back position.
• Passat ESP System 26 Feb 2003 (Forum)
  I felt I was going slower and slower which was a bit alarming with the hill getting steeper all the time. The system packed in eventually -presumably it timed out to avoid overheating whichever brake was working. I tried switching the system off to see the effect , little difference except the car weaved a little bit. I abandoned the car eventually as the roads got so slippery I could not keep the car stationary on hills.