Refine by channel:  Forum (930)    Ask HJ (460)    News (263)    Article (21)    FAQs (5)    productReview (5)  

Sort by: Relevance | Newest first | Oldest first

• Audi A4 B7 (2005 - 2008) - 05 2.0 chain drive to oil pump -snapped day after 1 Sep 2011 (Forum)
  Had my 64,000 mile 2.0 tdi Audi serviced and the morning after the service my wife was driving to work and heard a loud bang and car lost power. She limped the 1 mile to the garage and after investigating they have advised that the chain drive to the oil pump has snapped and so they will need to replace. Having looked at Car by Car breakdown, this appears to be a known issue for this engine - but it strikes as being far too coincidental for this to snap immediately after the service.
• Peugeot 306 1.9 TD DHY Conrod failure 3 Aug 2006 (Forum)
  Hi all 2 weeks ago I had a conrod failure on my Peugeot 306 1.9 TD from 1998 with a XUD9TE/DHY motor. When I searched on the Internet for an engine to replace it, I found the Car-by-Car Breakdown telling that this failure was not unusual: "Spate of conrod failures on 1997 -1998 R and S reg 1.9 XUTD diesels; one case of a late reg T: too many to attribute merely to running with low oil levels.
• Peugeot 306 - Buying an old used one! 26 Sep 2004 (Forum)
  I have just had a garbled message form daughter that I have been detailed off to give a used Peugeot 306 Diesel the once over on behalf of her boyfriend who is useless! I have printed out the car by car breakdown from the HJ site so can see the recurring bits and bobs - so happy with that. However, I thought she said it was a 1992 1.9 Diesel and this is not covered in the 306 dates, so assume that must be my error and the car is a 93 or a 94.
• Have I bought a weird VW? 13 Apr 2004 (Forum)
  I know VW were a bit miserly with standard spec then, but I've only got two keys, no blippy things! Is this right? Also, has anyone got anything else I should look out for? I've looked at the car by car breakdown - and have also spent an hour poking around the car to check for things, but I've probably missed something! For those who know him, RTB is doing well back oop north. Cheers. DB
• The car acting as life support 24 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  Topic `Circumstances arise where cars are acting as life support machines: Discuss` My proposition is that often unwittingly and for varying periods of time, cars are driven through `zones` where an engine dead breakdown could be fatal.
• 
  My daughter put petrol in her Audi A3 TDI - should the fuel tank be flushed? 26 Oct 2013 (Ask HJ)
  My daughter, having recently exchanged her car for an Audi A3 2.0 TDI, made the mistake of filling the car with petrol. The car was taken as instructed...
• 
  Should I have my Peugeot 3008's timing belt changed? 12 Oct 2013 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 2008 Peugeot 308 S 1.6HDI 5-door hatchback. So far it has been an excellent car with no breakdowns. A few months ago I received a leaflet from...
• 
  I think older cars, like my 2003 Jaguar S-Type, are excellent value for money. 14 Apr 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I read with interest the letter from ‘MH’ with regard to older luxury cars being value for money. I purchased a 53 plate S-Type Jaguar, 4.2 V8 model for...
• 
  New VW Polo 1.4 reliability 3 May 2011 (Ask HJ)
  I'm planning on buying the new VW Polo 1.4 Trendline. For me, reliability is one of the most important factors when coming to choose the right vehicle. Upon...
• 
  Is my Nissan Micra's engine problem due to an MAF fault? 3 Aug 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I have a 2001 Nissan Micra K11 1.0. I've been experiencing really poor engine performance recently. It would start easy enough and idle OK, either cold...
• 
  Aired grievance 5 Dec 2009 (Ask HJ)
  Despite its somewhat boastful "Just like a Golf" advertising campaign, presumably Volkswagen will not be comparing the aircon systems of other cars with...
• 
  3-piece sweet 18 Jul 2009 (Ask HJ)
  I need to replace my old Audi A4 Avant TDI. Living in Central London running a furniture/antiques shop and with dogs, I want a workhorse. It must be...
• Honest John's Motoring Agony Column 07-10-2017 Part 1 3 Sep 2019 (Forum)
  Good to see scientific evidence (not!) used to bash German cars because one person saw 3 allegedly broken down on a motorway (which is hardly ever my experience and I drive 25,000 miles a year). Ive owned 3 BMW cars from new; an E46 diesel that did 217,000 miles before I sold it and is still on the road, an E92 disel that did just over 22,000 miles before I traded it for an E89 which did 69,000 miles before I sold that.
• BMW 3 series vs 5 series running costs 2006 -2008 21 Mar 2013 (Forum)
  Hi Guys I was looking to get either a 3 series or 5 series (preferable) and wanted some advice, what are the average annual running costs for the above cars in terms of servicing and likely faults/breakdowns, I've had a reliable (but slightly boring!) car for 4 years which has never gone wrong and annual servicing is only £150 on it. My budget is about 9 grand, looking on autotrader it looks like I can get a 3 series with 50k or below miles or if I want a 2008 5 series it would have to be 100k miles which is probably a lot, I want a automatic this time and am a bit worried the transmission will pack up if I get a high miler...
• proton jumpbuck pickup 25 Jun 2006 (Forum)
  The insurance angle is of no concern to me because i am considering the pickup for myself because (a) its less than 3 grand and 5000 miles 05 plate (b) its different (c) its got the goody chrome roll bar fitted ive looked at the car by car breakdown but no feedback,my question is anyone got one?.........do they like it?......is it economic?.....would you have another? etc etc,ive got until monday 26th to buy it. anybody ???????
• EGR valve - Vauxhall Astra 13 Mar 2006 (Forum)
  The AA man said the EGR was stuck open (which he said he had seen loads of) and took it out and cleaned it (it took a few minutes)and said that might do the trick (in the longer term), it is now running fine. Being an elderly woman my MIL is very worried the car will break down again (she also often has her disabled mother in the car). The questions are: what exactly happened to cause the breakdown and should she just get the EGR changed (presumably the labour would be minimal but how much would the part cost)?
• 
  Is £389 reasonable for a first service on an Alfa Romeo MiTo? 12 Aug 2010 (Ask HJ)
  I have had my Alfa Romeo MiTo serviced this week. It is it's first service. It was bought in May 2009 and has done just short of 20,000 miles. I took it...
• Mazda 2 - Battery replacement 11 Dec 2021 (Forum)
  Do modern cars have back-up power when a battery dies and is replaced?
• Car after Motability 12 Jan 2016 (Forum)
   However, very soon my brother will be going into long term care and I will have to hand back the Motability car.    I would be looking for a similar sized car to the Peugeot 308 and would prefer zero or very little road tax.  I would also like a boot size comparable to the Peugeot 308 as I will be taking my brother out on day trips in the car and will need a reasonable sized boot for his wheelchair.
• Ford Focus II (2004 - 2007) - best place to buy car mats? 12 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  Hi, After reading the advice in HJ's CBC breakdown, this forum and What Car? magazine over a period of many months, I eventually bought a black Ford Focus LX 1.6 petrol (113 bhp), 2006 06 reg, from Carcraft in Staines, Chertsey. I am basically happy with the car except for its slightly boring interior, handbrake on the left hand side, and apparently poor fuel economy (but having said that, I mainly do short journeys in London).