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• Diesel estates 3 Jan 2002 (Forum)
  Is the Audi A4 really better than the bigger Passat. The Current Mondeo Diesel is rather cheap as an import. I currently run a 96 Xantia and I have become very fond of it but the C5 looks rather plain to me. I really didn't think choosing would be this difficult Any advice gratefully received. Cheers Peter
• synthetic oil 6 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  Is it reasonable to assume that the added cost of such oil and much proclaimed superiority should see something well in excess of the oft quoted 5k. interval for the standard lubricant. (for this age of car particularly I guess.) The car does not suffer the 'school run syndrome 'and usually reaches working temps. with considerable motorway work of late. It has always been regularly serviced and is coming up to a genuine 60k on the clock. Gem of an engine!
• jetta ignition problem 3 Nov 2001 (Forum)
  I have a late 90 jetta 16v which runs unevenly and occasionally cuts out. The problem is believed to exist at higher revs but is more obvious on tickover. My (very helpful) VW specialist has spent several hours attempting to diagnose the problem, and has narrowed it down to a malfunction in the ignition.
• Best web site for 'Route Planning' 21 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  Green Flag - Awful. I seem to recall this site was very good in the past. But for some reason this evening it kept running some American style route planner (MapBlast) which was ridiculous for a UK journey. The RAC - Poor. As it could not find my starting location, which was an area of London! Was fed up by now. What are your views?
• ?Fuel starvation on BMW 5 Series 8 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  Yesterday I drove the car about 10 feet and jacked it up to check the front tyre and brake wear. Then it wouldn't start, misfires with occasional bouts of running on all cylinders for a second or two. Have taken out and cleaned all six plugs, all looked OK, so seems like a fuel system problem. Is there an inertia switch somewhere and if so how do I re-set it?
• Volvo 480 ABS 7 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  How do I stand with an MOT, at what point does this become a failure, should I ensure they MOT my car after a run so the light 'goes out' quickly? Is this a problem developing with the ABS pump ie it takes a while to build up pressure in the morning? Does anyone have much experiance with ABS Thanks in advance!!
• rangerover c/locking and idling 28 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  and, in damp weather (this could be a coincidence) when I start it up sometimes the revs just sink down to zero and it conks out. After a minute or so of running there isnt a problem, although (there's always an "although") the idling is a tiny bit uneven and there is a slight flat spot on first accelaration. There is a firm in warrington called camco 88 who will diagnose an injection fault for £60 + VAT, but again is it something to live with, or am I looking at the beginnings of something big and horrific????
• Ex Police T5's and Omegas 25 Sep 2001 (Forum)
  Anybody out there purchased one of the above. I fancy the power and am prepared to pay for the tyres, but I would like to run an ex striped one for about 3 years after it's come off its last duty. I've found a place in Cranleigh in Surrey that sells all sorts of white Vauxhalls and Volvos. None of them with more than 100k on the clock and all priced pretty reasonably for 250bhp (£6k for a T5 and £4k for the V6 Omega's) Am I setting myself up for 3 years of replacement gearboxes and expensive engine parts or can I safely scare the hell out of anyone in the outside lane.
• Off-Road day 10 Aug 2001 (Forum)
  If you have a shiny off-roader, and fancy taking it somewhere to do what it was designed to do, then there is an open day being organised by the All Wheel Drive Club on 18th August at the military proving ground at Bagshot. It starts at 11.00am, runs till 4.00pm, and costs £20 for non-members. Access is from the 'Maultway', off the Jolly Farmer roundabout, (now the Mongolian Restuarant). It's a tame course, so you won't suffer any damage to your RAV/Freelander/Merc, but you'll get the chance to slip the gearlever into 4LOW (it's the shorter one next to the main one).
• MGB pinking 15 Jul 2001 (Forum)
  He has been told that a thicker head gasket can be obtained that will lower the compression and solve the problem. Any ideas on how to stop the pinking and make it run sweet gratefully received. I told him that there was bound to be an MGB expert in the Back Room Cheers Peter
• Website Privacy at HJ.co.uk 11 Jun 2001 (Forum)
  Dear Mod / HJ, Just a quick question about the information gathered by the web site from the browsing public: I run a utility called McAffee Guard Dog on my pc. It warns me if any web site I visit tries to syphon off personal info or infect my pc. Quite neat really- it woofs at you! Anyway, I notice that my pc is interogated by this site every page I visit.
• Bleeding brakes 15 May 2001 (Forum)
  I have been spoiled by owning green-fluid Citroens where the system pressurises itself if the engine is running and the brake pedal propped "open". Fluid changes and brake bleeding were a simple one-man operation:-) Any comments much appreciated.
• Old Polo rickety starting 28 Mar 2001 (Forum)
  I changed the spark plugs to no avail. It still seems to fire up one cylinder at a time. Once it's warmed a little it runs fine. I haven't been able to replicate the problem for a garage. The coil, cap, rotor and leads are all Bosch and 2 years old. The cooling system has been flushed and anti-freeze mix filled. I have noticed that my neighbour's car (a J reg Peugeot 106) does exactly the same thing, as does my grandparent's C reg Honda.
• Old for Old? 12 Jan 2001 (Forum)
  They have it advertised at £4695 which is high even accounting for the mileage I think. I had it in mind to swop and end up with a low miler that I could run for another 4 years thus delaying the new car purchase and over-pricing issue. The dealer offered £3800 for my Vectra in exchange. Have you a view on the relative valuations and the merits of swop idea?
• Fuel additive 18 Dec 2000 (Forum)
  I had a persistent cool-running problem with the Audi 100 that I sold last year. It surged and stalled, sometimes in dangerous circumstances. None of the Audi main dealers who serviced it regularly over most of its 10-year life with me solved the problem, which was almost certainly attributable to coking up because of short-trip usage.
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  Polo GTI 1.4 TSI Oil Consumption - 3rd engine soon 8 Nov 2013 (Ask HJ)
  My contract hired 2011 Polo GTI has had excessive oil consumption from new, it's currently on the second engine and today has gone back to the dealership...
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  Are petrol particulate filters problematic? 10 Feb 2025 (Ask HJ)
  My daughter's three month old Kia Sportage mild hybrid petrol automatic recently flashed up an instruction to re-generate exhaust filter having covered...
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  I can't drive my car with the warning light on but the dealer won't look at it. What do I do? 13 Mar 2020 (Ask HJ)
  Six weeks ago, my six-month-old BMW G20 3 Series had an engine management light come on. I called my dealer and booked it in (10 days was first appointment)....
• Vauxhall Zafira A - How long can an average petrol car run for? 24 Oct 2018 (Forum)
  So I'm not too sure what to think, it's annoying me that he keeps mithering me about buying a new car when actually this car still seems to be running fine (he also keeps telling me to go to somewhere like Arnold Clark and spend about £6,000 on a decent car rather than some dodgy trader - I can't quite see the irony of this that he actually bought his last car from Arnold Clark and within 2 months it was smoking - ok they did fix it but it still broke!
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  What van would be good for every day use before converting into a camper? 16 Jun 2017 (Ask HJ)
  We currently have a 61 plate Renault Trafic SWB 2.0 dCi SL27 115 van which is used for weekly shopping trips as well as filling it with stock and towing...