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• Forte diesel engine treatment 31 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  I notice that whenever someone queries the efficacy of various fuel and oil additives the sceptics seem to outnumber the enthusiasts and I feel that a lot of the objections are on principle but not necessarily on experience. I notice from time to time HJ (whom God preserve) in his ST column recommends certain treatments so presumably some do work and I guess he would not be included in "the one born every minute" class that some people seem to regard users of these additives as being in.
• Golf GTI cold start problems 29 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  I have a 1996 golf gti 2.0ltr 8 v (AGG) it takes ages to start from cold when left overnight,it also has a slight miss fire. up to date it has had replaced,plugs,leads,2 x lambdre sensors,crank angle sensor.othe sensors i cant remember which ones,fuel filter,its also had the injectors and rail cleanedout,the thottle body has been cleaned,and re set,oh i forgot its also had a new dizzy cap rotor arm,and a new ignition amplifier, recovery man out 5 times,the alarm /immobilizer has been checked its fine.
• Accuracy of onboard mpg indication 23 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  The best indicated consumption for a significant individual trip has been 34 miles at an indicated 70mpg when the M25 was heavily congested but free flowing at about 40mph. It has displayed better consumption figures since about 3k. The most fuel inefficent use is cold starts. Until the engine warms up (say 3miles minimum) the consumption is regularly about twice the normal figure. -- pmh (was peter)
• Changes to Theory Test ? 19 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  Learners, among other things, will need to show that they understand : 1. how motoring affects the environmwent, 2. what speeds are best for driving and braking ?? 3. route planning to minimise fuel consumption. They will be penalised for 4. excessive use of the accelerator when starting the engine 5. consistently failing to use engine braking. It looks as though the self appointed experts are going to change their instructions again.
• Golf MKIII idle hesitation 31 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  1995 I.8 Monotronic ABD engine Golf, Recnetly at idle the the engine is very slightly rough, runs well, new leads plugs, cap rotor, fuel cleaner. The same. So I am down to an air leak. Just spent 2 hours chaecking all the pipe work, operation of the purge valve and Carbon can an can find a leak anywhere. Purge valve resistance is 43 ohms and appying 12 volts it operates and opens the valve allowing air through the can into the inlet manifold. small ridged black pipe allows air in one direction i.e. you can blow but not suck, and the click sounds healthy and the feed pipe down to the can when applying suction clunks closed with no leaks.
• Ford Fiesta 1.25LX Start & Running Probs 6 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  Help is greatly appreciated in helping to solve the mystery. I tried Columbo. but he couldn't help - he said he doesn't understand fuel injection... ;-) Matt.
• Ford Focus TDCi poor starting 2 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  Warm: Same sound as when warm but either turns then stops or turns and when it does start, sounds really rattly for a second then smooth out. When the car is running it's fine, no power issues or odd sounds and fuel economy is spot on. I would normally assume the battery was at fault in this situation but I have a friend who owns a Peugeot 1.9TD which sounds just as slow when turning over and he had a new battery.
• Ford Focus dies for a second! 26 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  It started again first time. i've had it checked at my local garage on the diagnostic machine, but could find no fault. i then took it to a Ford garage and put it on their machine, again no faults detected. this problem only occurred twice in the space of 24 hours, and has never missed a beat since, any ideas? the Ford garage did suggest fuel pump 'may' be the problem, but at £1200 to replace, i'd like to think not! I would have thought that if that was causing it i would have had more problems since, to date 5 weeks have passed without a hiccup.
• Just got a mini cooper - what to watch? 24 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  Was really pleased that I got the same trade in as I bought the car for 2 years ago, especially as it has starting issues that has been put down to fuel pump and ECU!!! Anyway is there anything specific I should be keeping an eye out for in terms of problems and what is the best way to ensure it lasts for quite some time. Currently done 44K and BMW are looking after the servicing free until either 2011 or 80,000 miles.
• Vauxhall Astra Estate 1.7 TDI LS 17 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  Saw this at a local dealer:- http://www.abbertoncarsales.com/moredetail.asp?referrer=find&id=2360 Its in good condition, seems to fit the profile in terms of power/fuel economy/insurance group/tax band - but doing some research seems quite a bit overpriced. I know its a dealer and you should expect to pay more but this much? I'll be a cash buyer so do you reckon I have much haggle room here?
• Petrol, diesel and beer 24 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  So I spent more on three pints a night than on diesel getting the family there and back, a 250 mile round trip. Makes fuel seem fairly good value.
• HDi Performance and boost gauge 26 May 2006 (Forum)
  Having just driven a friends 1.9TD back to back with my 2.0 HDi, I am disapointed that the performance on mine feels so flat, could it be a fueling issue? I have a 2001 Citroen Dispatch HDi 94bhp, his is a 1997 1.9TD with 90bhp, yet it feels so much more spritley. Mine also seems to have a pinking sounding noise. mine will struggle after 90mph, his will cruise at indicated 100.
• Nissan X-trail - stuttering 3 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Nissan took the car last week and it drove fine with them and they carried out a diagnostic check which did not find any immediate faults. It feels like the fuel is not getting through properly at times - but then I'm not a mechanic! Like I mentioned, it is intermitant. Saturday it drove perfectly and then on Sunday it started playing up. Nissan will take another look this week.
• VED and hypocrisy 24 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  An average medium to large petrol car can now cost over £200 to tax however the less efficient cars already make a much larger contribution to the Chancellors coffers via fuel duty. And there is a reasonable hike for Pre March 2001 vehicles as well. The truly daft thing though is that, for instance, a a 1999 reg 1.6 Clio now costs £50 a year more in VED than a 2000 reg model though a 1999 S500 costs £30 less than a 2000 reg model and £50 less than a 2006 reg model.
• Choosing and Using a Roofbox 12 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  Any other selection criteria or suggestions? What effect does it have on driving. I can see the following: - (1) Worse fuel comsumption. How much? (2) More susceptible to cross winds and HGVs. (3) Poorer handing - no elk tests. I intend to pack soft, light things up there (towels, clothes etc) rather than beer or wine.
• VW 2001 Passat needle flicker 9 Feb 2006 (Forum)
  Hi All Can't see that this particular variety of VW electrical fault has been posted before so here goes. Noticed tonight whilst driving back that the illuminated needles on the temp gauge and fuel gauge were flickering intermitantly. This does not affect the speedo or rev counter and the flicker is an illumination flicker not needle movement flicker. The background of the dials in question stays illuminated just the needle becomes invisible and then comes back.
• Volvo Ignition timing 18 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  Any ideas as to what may be causing this. The ignition LT pulses are spot on and stable but just late. No Fuel or Ign ECU error codes and engine now cycling the O2 at Tickover and at 2500 rpm. Any help appreciated. Regards Peter
• Decent/cheap battery charger? 19 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  I got in it yesterday, after it had sat a few days (and was also bitter cold) and it didn't turn over with its usual enthusiasm. (Not just 'cos the oil is viscous, but the fuel pump sounded slow too) Question is, which battery charger? Practical Classics tested them not so long ago and a Sparkrite (SBC6) came out with the 'best budget buy' accolade. Like this one, I would ideally like a one with a battery charge/charging display and the ability for it to switch itself off/convert to trickle charge once the charging cycle is complete.
• VW Passat 2.0 TDI - Intermittent misfire 3 Nov 2005 (Forum)
  Have noticed that it does not happen when the engine is cold. You should also be aware that this car had the tandem fuel pump fail completely after only being driven for 12 miles from new!!!. Took them 10 days to get a replacement from Germany!! Don't know if this is relevant as I think the misfire was there even before the pump gave up.
• New Van ? 29 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  The van is to be bought second hand I have a budget of £12000. My isuzu manages motorway speeds up to 95mph so this sort of ability would be great (fuel economy is not important). Paul