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• Vauxhall Vectra C (2002 - 2008) - 2003 Vectra Replacement 13 Sep 2008 (Forum)
  I'm still in shock of facing the prospect of a bill of nearly £700 for the service, MOT, wheel bearing, rear coils and brake pads of my 53 Plate 2.2 DTi Vectra. Though having done 88k miles since new I 've never had any major bills on it till now! I think it is time to move on and replace it. New job starting so will be not needing to rely on car so much, though will use it for motorway driving on weekends and evenings on some occasiouns.
• Peugeot 307 (2001 - 2007) - Excellent 'Local' Garage 31 May 2008 (Forum)
  A short story to illustrate the virtues of the smaller family owned dealership. My 4 year old 307 failed its MOT on Thursday due to rust/pitting of the rear brake discs. I rang my local dealer who had the parts in stock and could fit them on Friday while I was doing a charity collection in a nearby supermarket. While I was at the supermarket they rang me to say that they needn't fit new discs and they could just skim them.
• Citroen C5 (2001 - 2008) - 2002 110HDi auto - thirst for coolant 17 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  The header tank remains under significant pressure long after the engine and coolant have cooled - on releasing the pressure cap first thing in the morning (-4 degrees C) the water level rose in the header tank by about 2 inches! The engine is also rougher than previously, particularly noticeable when stopped against the brakes and in gear. My local Citroen dealership has ben unable to identify a leak, nor have I. The logical conclusion appears to be head gasket failure, but Citroen claim this is an unheard of failure at this mileage . . . .anyone have any suggestions or comments on this?
• Alfa Romeo 147 (2001 - ) - (2001-) 1.6TS - Revs slow to go down on declutch 10 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  Somewhere I recall reading that this may be due to lack of compression in the cylinders as there is not enough engine brakeing to retard the engine. Someone has also suggested that it is the clutch release bearing. The engine uses oil (1.5L in 5000 miles, so far), but mpg is quite good (37mpg). yet another person who fails to spot the 3 separate requests to include year/engine in the subject header
• Renault Scenic (1999 - 2003) - 02 1.6 petrol, burning smell 9 Feb 2008 (Forum)
  December I had problems with the engine coils so i got all these replaced (full 58000mile service too - even though car done only 49000miles). Then this month I had rear shockers replaced and also a new brake servo fitted. All parts were new parts and work carried out by Renault dealer. But now when I drive my car and get to where I am going there is a slight burning smell when I get out of the car. A friend said it could be the clutch????
• Staying on the subjects of lights. Fog lights. 2 Jan 2008 (Forum)
  You may also use front or rear fog lights but you MUST switch them off when visibility improves Rule 236 You MUST NOT use front or rear fog lights unless visibility is seriously reduced as they dazzle other road users and can obscure your brake lights. You MUST switch them off when visibility improves. [Law RVLR regs 25 & 27]
• Ford Escort (1993 - 2000) - 1998 TD - really bad MPG!! 21 Dec 2007 (Forum)
  I've checked for leaks and there are none, I've cleaned and blocked off the EGR valve and it's made no difference, brakes aren't binding, engines never smokey, so what the hell is happening to all my fuel? I did think the sender wasn't accurate as when I filled up last time from the red, I got around 45 litres in as I mentioned, but the tank capacity is 55 litres, so I thought the gauge was reading slightly low.
• Honda Jazz/Fit (2008 - ) - 2008 model engines 28 Nov 2007 (Forum)
  Does anyone know if it will still have the completely daft tappet adjustment, whereby, at the third service,the inlet manifold has to be removed, at great expense, to check valve clearances, and then to shim if necessary? I recently paid ca £573 for this service, which also included new front and rear brake pads. I have had my Jazz CVT for just over 3 years, and it has been faultlessly reliable. The gearbox is completely smooth in operation. The practicality of the folding seats is unmatched.I use the facility frequently.
• Priority road v kamikaze drivers 14 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  can anyone tell me what is the correct behaviour at these "priority over other road user" traffic islands as I find sometimes the driver who has priority driving straight at me as i exit the island as they have clearly been driving well above 30mph or accelerate. Is the rule that the priority user should not have to brake or lift off at all. Or should you wait if the non priority driver is clearly going to arrive in the "chicane" well before the priority driver does. What is the etiquette and if an accident occurs just at the exit of the chicane who is to blame?
• Lexus style lights..Electrical problem. 26 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  When i switch on the indicator and side lights, the filament in the side light bulb goes dim, and then bright inconjunction with the indicator bulb flashing, also if I press the brake light the indicator does light up at all or flash. At first I thought I had a faulty loom that was supplied with each of the lights, both identical, so swopped them over and still the same problem on the drivers side.
• Almera and Kia Rio 17 Dec 2006 (Forum)
  Some tales of broken timing chains needing a £1k fix which seems to cancel out the obvious advantage over a timing belt design. Also they might be prone to brake calipers seizing, especially the rear ones (rear discs?). I remember some earlier Kias were based on Mazda engines but elsewhere it is mentioned that the Magentis uses Mitsubishi mechanics - either is good news.
• Unrequested work at garage 21 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  When I went to collect it the owner, its a small independent place in a village, had gone home. However, he had left the MOT and invoice with the pump attendant. Turns out one of the the brake drums had siezed and needed to be released (or something like that) Cost was an extra 30 quid. I was most unhappy about this as I had specifically asked him to call if there was a problem. Now, the garage do not take credit or debit cards and I did not have a cheque book.
• fabia engine warning - oil overfill 5 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Had my Fabia 1.4 16v in last wednesday for an annual service, mot, brake fluid change at skoda dealer. £350. Used the car little during the week, a couple of miles and this tues went up the road 130 miles or so. A day later a little into the return journey the amber engine warning light came on so I pulled into the services not knowing what it meant.
• The deep joy of driving in France! 12 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  Light traffic, no fist shaking, no glaring looks, Then....horror of horrors, Dover, M20 - London bound. Jockeying for position, boxing and coxing, ducking, diving, brake, accelerate, honking and hooting, rude onbnoxious drivers everywhere, flags of St George a flutter. Wished I was heading back to France instead of coming back from my hols. By the way....not a single flag to be seen there on any vehicle or any house.
• car probs 13 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  hi ive a motability car (cmax)...weve had nothing but trouble with it since december 2004.. its been ok for the past 4 months just after its 1st service..now it makes a nasty grinding noise from the back brakes when put into reverse! window wiper keeps catching the screen and makes a funny sound..driver window wont go up or down when we want it to.weve developed a vibration when it goes to 1500 rpm..or go above 60...mph.i dont know what to do now as i dont want to sound like a moaner when i tell ford its now got these probs...i really cant trust the car..as i keep having a "power steering failure" come up on the computer..and other warnings...but ive had this problem before and it took them(ford) 4 weeks to do diagnostic checks to tell me that a meter had gone wrong...i dont know whether to get a second opinion??
• my tappets are noisy! 1989 Nissan Micra 8 Jan 2006 (Forum)
  Helo everyone,i was hoping i can get some advice....... im new to the internet and having trouble finding a site that might list the valve clearances for my 1989 1.0 gsx nissan micra (87000 miles one previous owner no history) its not worth buying a haynes manual because its the only job i have to do that requires spec.Besides,the car was only £20, but i expect it to be a reliable a run-around seeing as it went straight through the mot after being stood still for a year outside(i only serviced the brakes before i took it down mot station) Its in real good condition other than the clearances needing doing.Im not expecting much power out of it but i do need to do this so can anyone tell me where/if i might find the spec?
• MOT Tests 13 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  I knew it was going to fail because they like to fleece me.This time it was the back brakes.So I said I would take away the car to get it sorted, but they told me under the new law if I took it away I would have to pay another £44.15 for a full re-test. So £80.00 later for back brake discs which were done at the garage in question and £44.15 for MOT, I'm broke. I don't understand why we Brits are letting the govt take us for a ride like this. Surely a new car doesn't need an MOT for at least 4 - 5 years and a car under 10 years should only have an MOT done every 2 years.
• Sharan TDi stutters 6 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Occasionally, the problem will also surface when cruising at low to medium revs in fourth. (The stutter itself feels like a very short but sharp dab on the brakes). When this problem was in its infancy I took it to a vw mechanic who ran a diagnostic check and found nothing wrong. He did say however, that from my description of the problem that it may have something to do with the air filter regulator/controller (may have the exact name wrong) but couldn't be sure without being present when the fault arose.
• Repair your own car - get insurance hike 19 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Insurance companies do things to absolve themselves of responsibility which suggests to me that vehicle defects and accidents due to them must be on the increase, hence the desire to avoid paying out. Could this be in part due to the increased wear and tear on braking/suspension components with worsening roads and use of humps? Of course it might entirely be due to lengthening servicing intervals so no-one looks at a car often enough so dangerous faults are being missed. teabelly
• Out of control Auto 7 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  He said he was forced into getting an auto because of ankle problems. He admitted that he had accidentally touched the throttle rather than the brake. (Okay easy mistake to make) My point is that there seems to be a misconception that driving an auto requires less skill than a manual and that if you can drive manual then naturally one can drive an auto without much difficulty.