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• Peugeot 306 HDi X Reg - Loss of power and white smoke from exhaust 30 May 2011 (Forum)
  The result straight away was ever decreasing power, no speed over 40mph... then 20mph - lots of white smoke from exhaust. AA towed me to services, although when car was ticking over there wasn't no sign of any problem. No smoke, sounded sweet, nothing on the dash to indicate a problem at all. AA recovered it and they managed to drive it fine on an off the trailer, but they did note some white smoke.
• Audi A3 - Almost crashed due to shoddy garage repair. 9 Jan 2011 (Forum)
  The AA came out and discovered that the brake fluid container was completely empty, suggesting a leak, and a tow truck had to be called to take it to a garage. Two days later the garage had a look at it and discovered that a brake pad/caliper had been fitted incorrectly causing the brake fluid tube to twist and snag on the brake pad which, over time, led to a rupture causing the sudden loss of brake fluid and braking capability.
• Renault Scenic - Car died as I was driving it!!! 30 Jun 2010 (Forum)
  We bought a renault scenic on 8th may, on the 10th june the car completely died on me as I was driving my daughter to nursery, and so I got towed by the aa to the garage we bought it from. The garage said they would fix the car at no cost to us, so we thought great! A few hrs later we get a phone call from them and they say they won't fix it because debris has hit the drive belt causing it to shred and then b***** up the whole engine.
• Volkswagen Lupo (1999 - 2004) - Diesel filled with unleaded 26 Jan 2010 (Forum)
  My wife's dizzy friend filled this with unleaded last week & drove it less than 6 miles till it came to a stand.She hasnt even had any proper mechanical advice yet & just simply listened to the various horror stories about.Result was her hubby has gone out & bought her a new motor (more dosh than sense).So shes round tonight asking what to do with the Lupo,I asked what she wanted for it,replied 200, I choked on my whiskey,ran upstairs & came back with 10 twentys.Will tow it up to my indie 2morrow for the once over,im hoping for an easy fix as remember being told that the sdi type wouldnt be too affected by this.Hoping that ive got a real bargain here,will really get me loads of brownie points with the wife if she gets this little runaround.So what do you all out there think the worst diagnosis could be,im no mechanic & simply took a gamble,here's hoping!!!!!!!
• Vauxhall Combo van (2002 - ) - 05 1.3 Turbo failure then oil pump failure 12 Oct 2009 (Forum)
  I purchased an ex post office combo 1.3 diesel with 30000 miles about 6 weeks ago. I drove it for 80 miles until it came to a grinding halt. I had it towed to a garage for investigation. after two weeks (dont ask), it was discovered that the turbo had failed and dumped oil into the cat and blocked the exhaust. The cat and turbo were replaced. once the engine was running again, I was informed that there was oil coming out of the exhaust manifold and the cylinder head would need to be removed to investigate this.
• Renault Scenic (2003 - 2009) - 2004 1.9dCi Clutch pedal failure 7 Mar 2009 (Forum)
  Engine starts and runs fine, sounds perfectly healthy, no vibes, and all six gears (and reverse) engage cleanly if you switch the engine off. I had the engine idling when being towed the final 7 miles home in order to have PAS and brake servo working. Labour is hopefully going to be mate rate (to be negotiated), but what do you reckon I'm looking at parts-wise? I have horrible DMF and clutch kit thoughts in my head at the moment.
• America Unchained 8 Oct 2008 (Forum)
  As this breakdown also meant staying in the town, the motel owner invited them to his family thanksgiving meal. On a later breakdown they were even towed 10 miles by a passing pick up driver who took pity on them, and continued to do so even after it appeared the Torino accidentally hit the back of his pick up as the Ford brakes were not that efficient.
• MG MG ZT (2001 - 2005) - 03 2.0 (135)fuel lift pump 8 Jul 2008 (Forum)
  By this time beginning to loose all faith in the car but felt unable to change it due to the Rover bankruptcy and the huge loss we could ill afford to incur.Since then we have had another loss of power at high speed in the outside lane of the M25, rescued,another episode whilst towing a caravan,middle lane of the M25,each time taken to main dealers in the local area by breakdown company and supposedly repaired either by fitting new fuel lifter pump.Had all work done last year in france again when it failed again after running perfectly for 12 months.
• Diesel reliability HDI technology 29 Jun 2007 (Forum)
  However I double my oil changes from new with carefull running in for 3000 miles with a very gradual increase in revs, when starting from cold I allow to tick over for 30 seconds before I move & I drive gently without turbo boost untill the temp gauge is out the blue, I don't change down to overtake I use the torque very rarely going over 2500 rpm, mostly 1600-2250, I always use a major brand of fuel ( & not supermarket ) I use fuel line cleaner every 3000 miles ,Always allow the engine a slowing down period after a hard run & allow to idle for at least minute before I switch off. I cover huge milage & tow a 1500 kg caravan all over europe for the last 12 years with no problem on reliabilty!. I have however had clients take me out in there diesels under what they would call normal driving & cringe at what they do to an engine!
• Kiev car life 18 Apr 2007 (Forum)
  Thought I would finally write something with a 'local flavour' Just enjoying a post lunchtime cigarette, on the office balcony and lo and behold 5 tow away trucks pulled up across the road - ensueing flurry of car owners saw all but one remonstrate succesfully (exchange of folding noticed) and one taken away. The local rate is $100 to get your car back - the local authority recieves $120k per month from this per month.
• Avensis D-4D Diesel - Opinions/ please ! 9 Sep 2006 (Forum)
  At the moment I have an old '94 Corolla 1.6i petrol which is too small, although with its 110Bhp is rather quick....... I need a larger car, probably will be looking at an estate version avensis, and also maybe towing a caravan I am able to borrow at times. Can anyone tell me what the performance of these engines is like - they have same Bhp as my old Corolla, but it is a bigger car, although there will of course be loads more "grunt" from a diesel ?
• Rover 416 problems (seazure and clutch) 30 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  I don't need this engine, but for the ease of moving it to our new house in a few weeks it would be handy for it to have it's own power even though its being towed there. Whislst on the sunject of the Rover, does anyone else have a problem with a really high biting point and shudder on clutch take up on the 414/416? it is a new clutch that was fitted buy a service centre just before I bought the car (only for £500), but seems a bit wierd to me.
• Breakdown Mechanic killed my car 21 Jul 2004 (Forum)
  In his words, the starter must have been a bit tired and the gears had been stripped, I common ecent. So he towed me home. I\'ve just managed to get the starter off the car.. and my worst fears are confirmed. The starter\'s fine - but the flywheel has 6 of it\'s teeth stripped - and I can only find 4 of them.
• Volvo 240 Pitfalls and Benefits 20 Jun 2004 (Forum)
  I've been informed by my Mum as she was driving round for work about an E reg Volvo 240 estate with an LPG conversion near to her clinic. She said that it says on the advert in the window "100% reliable runner, ideal for towing" as it has I presume the Volvo factory fitted towpack. She said for it's year it looked reasonably smart and so I was wondering what fellow BR's thought - if we test drove it and it ran well and everything worked would it be worth paying the asking price for it or is it worth not even considering it and walking away (bear in mind we haven't even contacted the seller as we're just thinking).
• Speed Hump Damage - Can you claim? 15 Apr 2002 (Forum)
  She is not a 'boy racer', she is a mid-fifty year old, well respected, local school-teacher driving a 94 Metro and insists that she was doing no more than 15 mph when she went over the hump. Now she faces a bill for a tow-in and a new sump. Now, given that we have picture evidence of all the damage etc which is the best way to proceed? Should we try ringing the local council as the highway maintainer, put it in the hands of her insurance company, go straight to a small claim or claim against the utility that owns the manhole cover?
• Fiat Punto Melted Piston 19 Oct 2001 (Forum)
  I pull over to the hard shoulder and loads of smoke is pouring out of the exhaust. The engine cuts out, the engine is steaming, smoke everywhere. Get it towed to a garage. The guy tells me that the Piston has actually melted, and head is warped and some serious damage has been done and I need a new engine. Question is, have i got any comeback to Fiat about what has happened.?
• Ford Fiesta 1.4L Titanium Automatic 2011 - 2011 Ford Fiesta 1.4L Automatic Undercharging 23 Feb 2021 (Forum)
    But if 7 FORD technicians can't diagnose the problem, what hope do i have? I have already spent £100 at the first garage for diagnostics, £70 towing it and now Ford are charging me £165 for the Aux belt and the diagnostics.  So already spent £335 and been without my car for 3+ weeks and am no further forward. Note - I am not a car expert by any means, just a lady consumer who loves her Ford Fiesta that has served her well for 10 years.
• Why do you run so many cars? 5 Oct 2004 (Forum)
  Me - for pleasure - needs to fit 4 people, plenty of space, safe to drive and manual 4 x 4 is preferable as I do plenty of rural driving, and tow heavily laden trailers. The wife - needs the exact opposite (typical!). Won't drive it if she has to think of changing gears, and it needs to be small. Fitting all of us in it is not that much of an issue, though it is handy.
• Suzuki Vitara - 13 months on 30 May 2025 (Forum)
    Not massive, but adequate Good stereo  I like the panoramic roof Surprisingly.good at towing Cons: The seat bases are narrow The interior is a bit cheap  The infotainment is not great and the android auto interface is temperamental  The engine and gearbox combination is not amazing.
• Audi A1 - Advice needed: Engine went within 6 months 8 Jan 2024 (Forum)
    Called Audi Assist and the AA technician stated it was the cambelt and that it needed to be towed to a garage.  The workshop at the Audi dealer are currently going through renovations and couldn’t accept the car, so after calling around I managed to book it in to another Audi dealer for 21 December, who are under the same franchise ownership.