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• Ford Mondeo 1995 idle speed control 28 Mar 2007 (Forum)
  Following on from the petrol issues of late, I have had my car at the main ford dealer due to severe problems with tickover speed and stalling at low revs (its a 2.0 Petrol auto model). Stalling as you turn a corner or on a roundabout, in an automatic, can be such fun when the power steering cuts!! The ford dealer did a diagnostic check and fixed a small rubber t piece on the vacuum system. The subsequent test drive noted the same problem. They then disconnected the MAF Sensor and told me the car needs a new idle speed control valve.
• Omega Estate 2.2 TDi - any thoughts? 14 Feb 2007 (Forum)
  A colleague is offering me one of these - 2002, 130k (km), lots of goodies. It´s the automatic apparently and has all the toys. It´s a bit early for us to get rid of the Astra (we´were going to wait til next Autumn), which is still running perfectly, but I thought I would have a look at it at least.
• Stereotype bites the dust... 7 Nov 2006 (Forum)
  little old lady, silver hair in bun, invisible from behind, (due to headrest being in the way), driving a white Metro 1.1?. Teeth go into automatic grind mode (the road, although two-way, is about 5 miles long with no overtaking stretches. I anticipated twenty-five minutes of creeping and sotto voce muttering.. Well! Another preconception bites the dust...
• So why not a Yaris then? 23 Oct 2006 (Forum)
  I am thinking the solution is a reasonable newish (by my standards) 2/3/4 year old Toyota Yaris automatic. Preferably 1.3 to give a bit more grunt, and 3 door to give best possible access to the passenger seat. Air con and a CD player would be nice as well whilst we are at it, and of course the benefit of toyota reliability and quality.
• Taiwan top for radar trapping? 17 Apr 2006 (Forum)
  Other motoring things noticed: either side overtaking traffic light cameras many motorway cameras mostly around junctions tow trucks in big cities wide scooter lanes in most towns and often in the country signposting mostly English as well as Chinese but it helps to know road numbers the occasional Rover 600 and the odd Freelander Toyotas, Toyotas, Toyotas Don't try drag racing at the lights with a Kia Picanto EuroStar automatic! And parking tickets. I think I got a municipal one but as it is in Chinese apart from the car reg I had no idea what to do with it. It looks like a pay up soon or it doubles and triples street parking fee so the car hire company will find it and a lot of change to cover it when they pick up the car after I have left for Hong Kong.
• Peugeot 306 Auto Stalling Problem 24 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  Hi, I own a V Reg Peugeot 306 Automatic (from new) and recently have started to have a problem with the engine stalling when at traffic lights / junctions - this could happen in any weather conditions and makes no difference if the car is cold/hot.
• omega gearbox bizare problem 23 May 2005 (Forum)
  I have an Omega 3.0 Elite with 46K on the clock, The problem i have is the automatic gearbox. When the engine and box are cold it runs fine with perfect barely noticeably gearchanges is very quick to respond to demand on changing gear. you can manually move the selector from D to 3,2,1 whilst driving slowly and it is smooth up or down, not to mention when going to pull away its is instantly responsive, Perfect until the engine and box warn up to between 90'C and fan kicking in.
• I have a Question Volume 58 22 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  I have just purchased a PIR triggered outside light that also has the option to automatically switch on after dusk to provide a constant level of background light. When a heat source comes in to range, it the switches to full brightness, returning to the dimmer background mode afterwards.
• Oh Dear! 16 Nov 2004 (Forum)
  The offside one was only in by a wing and a prayer, the headlights, although intact, were some 2" behind the bonnet, the grill was now a very loose fit and the bumper looks like it's taken most of the rest of the impact, apart from that absorbed by the near side wing, which now has a disctinctive 'modified' shape to it .... and she was only trying to park! Apparently she mistook the brake for the accelerator (automatic) and, well you can guess the rest! At this risk of HJ mentioning the dreaded left foot braking... I know but... The garage mechanic suggested we did not open the bonnet "Otherwise everything will fall out".
• Insurance for test drives 31 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  I'm particularly paranoid about this, because it's a very nice car (4 yr old 5 series) that might attract, how shall I put it, interest of the wrong kind. Also it's an automatic, and I've read all the warnings about left foot braking and accidents resulting from people being unfamilar with autos. But I don't want to put off serious punters. Any constructive suggestions greatly appreciated!
• Low Mileage usage? 12 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  I should stress that she does only use the car when really needed (she does a lot of local work for the school, parish council, church, etc). I was thinking of changing it for an older automatic (93-onwards). Should I go for a petrol or a diesel? I should stress I'm not worried about running costs - so the 'diesel-savings' are irrelevant - plus it's only 5k miles per year. Am I being too paranoid about potential engine damage?
• Toyota Estates Camry, Carnia or Avensis? 15 Aug 2003 (Forum)
  I've driven Vauxhall for years but anything newer than the 94 models seem to be nothing but trouble, hence my decision to change. Ideally I'd like the car to have the following features: 2.0-2.2 engine preferably diesel Automatic gearbox Rear load cover Air Con Remote Locking Alloys I cover about 400-500 miles a week on average and so a reliable car is a must. The bigger the car the better as far as I'm concerned but what really I would like to know is the differences between the 3 aforemntioned models.
• S80 aircon and fuel consumption 15 May 2003 (Forum)
  Are we paying too high a price for aircon in terms of fuel consumption? I acquired a 1999V Volvo S80 SE(170)automatic in January and have been really pleased with it - fast, comfortable and never missed a beat. Naturally I did not choose it to save on petrol bills and following HJ's advice - and what I have seen in The Back Room - I run it solely on Optimax.
• Shock ! F1 gets interesting 16 Jan 2003 (Forum)
  Autosport have reported that the following will happen this year: Placing cars in parc ferme between final qualifying and the race (teams will be unable to work on them, except under strict supervision) Elimination of traction control, launch control and fully automatic gearboxes (possible derogation for all or part of 2003, to be followed by absolute enforcement in 2004, if necessary by standard ECUs) Elimination of pit to car and car to pit telemetry Elimination of all radio comminucation between car and driver Allowing only two cars per team (ie: no spare cars) Some REAL changes which should close up the grid.
• Car Claim 13 Nov 2002 (Forum)
  About 2 hours later Carbody of Banbury turned up, took away the damaged car and left a replacement. They even managed to dig out an automatic for us. The car was repaired when they said it would be, cleaned inside and out, and polished. I cannot even find where the damage was, other than conspicuously clean/new pieces of plastic & chrome trim.
• Wrong Spark plugs! 11 Jun 2002 (Forum)
  The owner of a small independant vehicle workshop near our office asked if we knew anything about electronic control units on Vauxhall petrol engines. Seems they were automatically shutting down or limiting engine speed if any non-Vauxhall spark plugs were fitted. It all sounded highly improbable but we nevertheless made the phone call to Vauxhall. To our surprise (and indeed that of the helpful press officer who followed up what must have seemed like a bizarre enquiry)the answer came that back was affirmative.
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  Is clutch failure covered by the Consumer Rights Act? 28 Jun 2022 (Ask HJ)
  My son bought a 2015 Ford Fiesta ST180 in March 2022, paying £11,000. He purchased it from our local main dealer. He was driving home one evening and...
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  New car vs Used car 29 Oct 2021 (Ask HJ)
  We're a family of five and have been driving a 2009 Ford S-Max Titanium that we've had for six years. The car has been ideal as we often use the 7 seats...
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  Why hasn't the DVLA responded to me for over a month? 8 Jun 2020 (Ask HJ)
  I've had to surrender my medically-restricted, yearly license for a year on medical grounds. It was due to expire November this year and I was planning...
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  What is the best car experience day that isn’t supercars? 27 Nov 2019 (Ask HJ)
  Can you recommend a car experience day that’s a little bit different? Everyone does the supercar experiences and they are a little bit boring. What else...