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• Volkswagen Passat (2001 - 2005) - 03 1.9TDi jumping/jolting! 22 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  Hi there - apologies if this topic has already been answered elsewhere but I couldn't find anything with a search! I have a 2003 VW Passat TDI 1.9 automatic estate which is regularly serviced etc and had a new alternator pulley fitted a couple of months ago. Has about 48,000 miles on it. Today it did a funny thing 3 times - when it changed between gears (I was driving around town so between the lower gears in case that makes a difference) it did a strange jolt/jump.
• Mazda Mazda 6 (2002 - 2007) - 2003 Airbag Module 2 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  Recently on Mazda diagnostics a fault code appeared on the computer B1871 - Passenger airbag deactive, module fault Automatically I was told by the mechanic, that'll be £400 odd for a new module, to which I declined as I didnt have that sort of money. Now my question is this, could this fault code be due to the passenger side airbag being deactivated for posisbly a child seat?
• Do the VED bands mean the end of the petrol V6? 11 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  Both the cars in my household have V6 petrol engines with automatic transmission. One is a 2000 Jag S type with 3 litre engine and the other is a 1999 MB W202 with 2.4 litre engine. At the moment I'm still paying the old-style VED because both cars are pre-2001.
• SAAB 9-5 (1997 - 2009) - 00 3.0 Miss-firing when hot start up 21 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  Your advice please, > > I have a V6 turbo automatic Griffin which > has done just 90,000 miles. The car starts instantly hot or cold and > drives as you would expect, smooth and fast. When hot however, if the car > has been parked for 45 minutes to a couple of hours, it will start > without problem but after a few seconds will start to miss and then race, > repeating this sequence for a short while.
• Renault Clio 1 Diesel (1991 - 1998) - 94 1.6 Central locking / key problems 14 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  Hello I only have one key for my M reg Automatic Clio but I am having problems with the central locking. The 'plip' button on the key doesn't work which isn't a real problem but the main problem is that the car opens it self! I have to check the car on way to work and way home from work to make sure that it is locked (more often than not it is open and I have to manually lock the door) The central locking works manually - so if I lock the drivers door the other doors lock but I am not sure if the problem is because someone else in my street has the same code, but it has happened elsewhere so I assume the central locking is broken and just unlocks at random What can I do!?
• Toyota Corolla and Verso (2002 - 2007) - Come back Laguna,all is forgiven!! 25 Nov 2008 (Forum)
  Hi, Having had a few largish bills for my old Laguna 1 in succession,I decided i would get rid and invest in a toyota as the trade tell me they are 'bulletproof'.So i bought a 05 Corolla Automatic...seemed like a good idea....big mistake! Although the Laguna is a much older design car,the level of comfort and refinement is way above that of the Corolla.Despite being a low mileage,fsh example i find the engine/gearbox very noisy at PARK or low revs,although the box is very smooth.Tyre noise from the front is,in my opinion,excessive.My wife has an old clio auto which is considerably quieter at 70mph!
• Renault Scenic (2003 - 2009) - 08 2.0 auto stays in low gears too long 11 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  The car is noisy and is stressful to drive. If you select manual and select a more appropriate gear then return to automatic the car changes down. I have requested a test drive of another car with the same engine/transmission to see if the problem is replicated because the garage has analysed the gearbox for 2 days and says no fault found.
• Ford Mondeo IV (2007 - ) - TDCi "transient overboost" -- what triggers it? 8 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  I'd be very interested to know: --> is it only triggered when the pedal is floored (similar to kickdown in an automatic)? --> or is the ECU clever enough to give overboost if the pedal is 'stabbed' quickly, over a certain defined range of pedal travel? --> is it only available in certain conditions (i.e. coolant / oil temp above a certain range, exhaust gas temp in a certain range etc) I would have thought the driver has to actively initiate it with a determined right foot -- especially after the "unintended acceleration" lawsuit that hit Audi in the US in the 80s.
• Spacious & high five seater? 3 Jun 2008 (Forum)
  I would prefer not to go down the 4WD route if possible but apart from the Mazda5, do not know other contenders well enough to comment. We want petrol, automatic and enough grunt to get a loaded car down to London from Manchester with ease. Oh and it has to be stylish! Any ideas?
• Audi A3 + S3 (1996 - 2001) - 00 1.8 turbo,whining noise from fan/cambelt pulley 19 Sep 2007 (Forum)
  Anyway, i tried to identify exactly where the noise was coming from but on the Audi there is so many pulleys...Then I tried changing gear (I have an Automatic), the tone changes significantly when I move from park, neutral etc. Would this indicate one of the pulleys/bushes in the cambelt? The noise definitely comes from the front of the car, but is most noticable when you are in the car itself..especially when sitting at, say, the traffic lights?!!
• Petrol Grade 95 or 97 ??? 2 Aug 2007 (Forum)
  - - - - The general rule, I understood from this at the time is that for modern engines (where adustments of this type are made automatically as part of normal operation) you may be better to use 97 when doing long periods of high speed motorway driving with a car load of family or luggage. Around town, on your own in stop start driving, you are wasting your money.
• Americans puzzled by manual gearbox 25 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  While the thief was trying to start the car, restaurant employees called the police who arrived and caught the teenagers as they tried to escape into nearby woods. Unlike many parts of the world, the majority of cars in the United States are automatic and many drivers are unused to driving "stick shift" vehicles, in which a clutch pedal must be depressed to change gear.
• Argh! Accords and motorbikes... 5 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  I was aware I couldn't do any braking while he was there so decided to increase the gap between me and the car in front so I can slow gently if there's a problem. Tapped the decelerate button on the cruise control and the automatic gearbox drops into 3rd gear with a jerk as the car slows and climbs an incline - motorbike misses the back of the car by inches (and only by a violent swerve on his part) and squeezes past with unpleasant gesticulations etc.
• Latest MB E220CDi estate comments? 19 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  The fact that it is around £3k cheaper than the E280CDi makes it very tempting. The relatively strong performance of around 9 seconds 0-60 in automatic form sounds promising, but I'm concerned about falloff in performance with a reasonable load (why else buy an estate?), altough it will normally only be two adults, sometimes three, with a bootful of holiday luggae or student trappings.
• buyacar ltd keep V5 for 28 days..???? 7 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  In the mean time you will have the bill of sale from Buyacar which is your proof of purchase and your V5 will be automatically forwarded on to you. I would like to stress that this purely an administrative process and will not affect your enjoyment of your new car in any way. "
• Selecting a parking space 19 Jan 2007 (Forum)
  Whilst the psychologists looked for a deep meaning, I concluded that it was simply to get more elbow-room. So, why can't car parkers automatically try to leave a space for door opening? Or ..... is it a man/woman thing?
• 1997 Alhambra 2.0 auto - opinions? 27 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  A local dealer has a 1997 Seat Alhambra MPV 2.0 litre automatic, one owner from new with 80 000 miles at reasonable money. I've had a mind to change the Punto for something bigger and more comfortable to drive that will fit two dogs in the back, so its taken my fancy.
• Troublesome Vectra 28 Dec 2005 (Forum)
  More recently however it has been troublesome. Firstly the cruise control failed to work as did the automatic wipers (the would not work full stop). The garage put this down to a faulty computer and replaced it. The central locking failed and had to be replaced - twice! On going to the sales today with the family the whole thing died on the up ramp to a multistory car park.
• 1991 Nissan Patrol 4.2 Turbo Diesel 27 May 2005 (Forum)
  Hi, I have just bought a 1991 Nissan Patroln LWB with an extra high roof (think it's called a Safari or Grandroad) and would like to find out a little about this enormous beast. It has the 4.2 litre turbodiesel engine with a 3 speed automatic gearbox - I think this is quite rare and actually seems to work quite well despite a mileage of 190,000! Could anyone tell me the power of these turbo engines as most seem to be non-turbos in this country?
• flashing 'S3', Sterling 827SLi 18 Dec 2003 (Forum)
  Hi, I have a 1991 Sterling 827SLi with a flashing 'S3' light. The only info. I can find is that it is an automatic transmission issue. The engine and drive train is basically, if not exactly the same as a 1990 Acura Legend (827 engine, 2675 cc.). I am in the US and the last year they marketed it here was in 1991.