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• volkswagon polo 1.2 2002 - Battery problems 2 Nov 2010 (Forum)
  My Mum's Polo has a history of flat batteries, three of them. the AA keep turning up and supplying "new" ones (I'm told). The advice she has recieved it to "leave it running on the drive for 20 minutes" this isn't any good as it upsets neigbours. My understanding is that if a car consistantly flattens batteries then it is the alternater at fault. the question then is; Do I replace the alernater?
• Vauxhall Vectra B facelift - 2 Litre diesel 25 Sep 2010 (Forum)
  Hi I have a Vectra 2 litre turbo diesel. the engine loses power when the temp rises to normal running temp on tick over the engine surges took to main dealer and they told me that the fuel pump module had gone cost £200 but have to replace pump also cost £800 it did this about 12 months ago for about a fortnight then cleared and has been fine until now any ideas
• Fiat Punto - Car won't fuel up and revs a lot 12 Aug 2010 (Forum)
    This is despite the fuel tank showing empty.  Now it has started revving madly when I drive it and attempting to run away, ie doing 30 mph in 2nd gear with no gas and jut pulling further ahead. What could be the problem? Thanks    
• noisy clutch mk 3 fiesta 30 May 2010 (Forum)
  hi, along with my warning bulb (earlier posting) the clutch was making a bit of a racket after a long run today (idling in nuetral) but seemed quiter when i dipped the clutch pedal it doesnt slip at all when travelling so i dont suppose its the friction plate should i ignore it or get the clutch replaced and if so do the kits contain all the bits apart from the friction plate or will i need to go to a breaker for additional parts
• Ford Focus II (2004 - 2007) - 05 1.6 excessive fuel consumption 5 Feb 2010 (Forum)
  I have a Focus estate 1.6 zetec 55 plate, bought it in July last year and was happily getting 39mpg , now only getting 33.5 mpg..is this simply down to winter?I drive sensibly but only do 6 miles to work in morning and then back at night plus running around after kids.Would doing so little mileage really lose me 6mpg?. Any help appreciated
• Ford Focus (1998 - 2004) - 1999 1.8 turbo diesel loss of power & noise 13 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  noise increases with rpm and sounds like a piece of metal would in the spokes of a moving bicycle. the noise also 'runs on' after the throttle has been released when driving. i am thinking it is something to do with the turbo but would appreciate any advice on being able to pinpoint the problem.
• Cars for around a grand 12 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  Can't spend more than a grand, got the wife and 2 kids to squeeze in but will mostly be used for the work run. Done a quick search through a few reviews and although I had my heart set on a P reg onwards Golf I'm undecided after Reading other reviews. Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Golf are the only ones I've cOme up with so far any recommendations or avoid lke the plague are welcome cheers
• Citroen Berlingo Multispace (1998 - 2010) - 01 1.9 Heater blower failure 4 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  My auxiliary drive belt shredded itself (tensioner problem I think) while I was de-icing the car outside the house. Now the fan blower does not work and I'm sure it was running at the end of the last journey. I know there could be many reasons (the fuses all appear OK both under the dash and under the bonnet) but is there a common problem with this on the Berlingo? Car is 1.9 diesel.
• Winterising my bikes 29 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  My Triumph tourer i've put on sorn, sprayed it with ACF50 (great stuff, google it) which protects the finish, waxed and polished the bodywork, and finally installed some fuel stabiliser in the tank and let it run for a while. Next my Honda, same ritual but i will be using it through the winter so will repeat as nescessary, Now i'm ready for whatever this winter throws at me, are you?
• Volkswagen Golf V (2004 - 2008) - 04 1.4 Front windscreen wipers failure 29 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  The water still sprays and the rear windscreen wiper is still working. Rang VW dealer and was quoted £49 to run diagnosis machine before any work is done. I've tried doing a bit of research and some sites suggest it could be the fuse, others say it could be the motor, but i wouldn't know how to check either.
• Vauxhall Meriva A MPV (2003 - ) - 04 1.6 Screen Washer not pumping 26 Dec 2009 (Forum)
  My daughter's screen washer has stopped pumping screenwash. You can hear the pump running. I have removed one of the pipes under the bonnet and blown liquid out of the little hole in the bottle cap. With the same pipe removed it still doesn't pump. We are pretty sure nothing is frozen.
• Ford Fiesta (1995 - 1999) - 1999 1.25 gear selection problems 16 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  my son is having problems selectecting gears on his fiesta 1.25 zetec t reg it sometimes goes into gears 1 and 2 but very difficult to select anything else , have tried it with car running but no better we had a new clutch and slave cylinder fitted about 1 month ago was fine but just started playing up today any ideas ?? {Moves to Technical Matters}
• Winter in Germany - snow chains? 11 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  A colleague and I are planning a 10 day demo trip to northern Germany next month. It's just occured to us that most cars in Germany run on winter tyres at this time of year, but obviously our company van is on normal UK spec rubber. What's the reality of the situation? Are we likely to have any problems over there? Should we be thinking of hiring something more suitable, or do we just need to be careful?
• Ford KA, KA2, KA3 (1996 - 2008) - 04 1300 heater problem 6 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  Have replaced control panel and completely flushed the cooling system no joy. have also tested power to heater valve and steady 12volts. Valve opens to cold but will not switch to hot, have tried two different valves any ideas? Car runs fine with no over heating to engine etc.
• Toyota - Hiace 01 2.4d ticking noise on deceleration! 26 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  Had a look last night and could not see where it was coming from. If you rev it sharply you can hear it , the only thing i can think of is it has a free running fan and the noise could be coming from there?? Any advice greatly recieved. STUART.
• Peugeot 306 (1993 - 2001) - 99 1.6 Intermittent ECU/immobilizer start fault? 15 Sep 2009 (Forum)
  My 306 1.6 petrol Meridian will occasionally fail to start in the morning. Just prior to engaging the starter there is no sound of the fuel pump running. The starter turns the engine over but there's no sign of a spark. Removing the key, locking up and leaving for a few minutes seems to help it start (immediately as usual). Coilpack and plugs changed a year ago.
• Renault Clio II (1998 - 2001) - 99 alternator belt falls off after cambelt changed 9 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  Hi, I had a new cambelt fitted at Renault about a month ago on my 1.6 engine, and since then the alternator belt has come off twice. The bottom pulley looks to be wobbling slightly when the engine's running, could it be a case of Renault not putting everything back together properly, or is it just a case of bad luck? Cheers Chris
• Buying road tax online, credit/debit card question 2 Aug 2009 (Forum)
  Somehow I have managed to lose the cars MOT certificate and the tax runs out today, so I am going to have to tax it online. I don't have enought in my account to cover this as I withdrew the money this morning to tax it at the post office, a friend has aggreed to put it on his credit card and I give him the cash, will they accept payment from his card or would it be rejected as an anti-fraud measure?
• Tyre life - what's reasonable ? 28 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  I'm just curious here, swmbo's VW Eos bleeped its low pressure warning, and I discovered a nail in a front tyre. :-( On examination the tyre tread depth blocks were only just clear of the tyres running surface, so it will be 2 new front tyres please. Mileage is 22.5k I would have thought to have done better than this, would this be typical for the fronts of a fwd car with a diesel engine, driven normally ?
• Chrysler 300C (2005 - ) - 08 3.0 1 year old car - not used - service immedia 11 Jul 2009 (Forum)
  Hi I've just bought a 08 plate Chrysler 300C diesel which has only done 20 miles and was owned by Chrysler themselves. I'm guessing it was sitting in a dealership or a field for that length of time. It seems to run nicely but should I have it serviced now - change the oil , flter etc? Or will it be fine until its first service is due? Thanks for any help