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  Skoda Octavia DSG problems 18 Jun 2015 (Ask HJ)
  Over the past few months, when starting from cold, my 2012 Skoda Octavia estate DSG diesel struggles to move through the gears. As a result, I end up bunny...
• Mini - ALL - Clock ticking on condition based services 3 Jul 2021 (Forum)
  Had I know, I'd have asked supplying dealer for an oil change in acceptance.  So for the privilege of retaining the manufacturers warranty (LOL), which is oddly 3years from date of registration, not production, I am forced to pay through the nose.
• Mazda MX5 (1998-2005) - Putting laid-up car back on the road 19 Jan 2009 (Forum)
  It's been sitting on a relatives drive for the last five months, in the open, with its' hard top on. It's only had two oil changes in its' five years. She wouldn't let me change the oil or brake fluid before it was parked up. I disconnected the battery, pumped the tyres to around 45PSI and sprayed around with WD40 as a rodent deterrent as recommended here.
• Thoughts on Magnatec? 25 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  They don't. But what was really interesting was that Mr Castrol seemed incredulous that I was changing my oil every 4.5. He could see no reason for doing it. Presumably, not even selling more oil. Which leaves the question, does anyone who knows anything about oil have any opinions about Magnatec?
• Berlingo HDi gearbox trouble 8 Sep 2005 (Forum)
  Now, after a couple of days of that, a whine has also appeared on fourth gear and sometimes fifth, again only evident after using these gears for a while. This, and the faint whiff of gear oil when emerging from vehicle, leads me to suspect I am gradually losing gear oil from somewhere. So two questions: am I right? And secondly, how do I check / top up the oil level, and what fluid to use?
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  Is my 2006 Volkswagen Golf GT likely to suffer from bore wear problems? 22 Sep 2012 (Ask HJ)
  I was quite alarmed to read, under "Chain reaction" about what was said about the Volkswagen Golf GT 1.4 TSI 170. I have the very same model, also a 2006....
• Any - Dealer Satisfaction when ordering next car 6 Jan 2012 (Forum)
  With the various issues I have had with my car since purchased, all fixed under warranty i must add, and the fact that I have been more than satisfied with the car in the past 18 months, I am less than satisfied with the main dealer for things other than the warranty, ie service parts not available, (no air filter in stock) a problem getting hold of a spare key, but sorted when I made a 140 mile round trip to another dealer here in south wales who had the key in stock and was kind enough to knock £30 off the cost which was enough to pay for the fuel used. My local vauxhall (network Q) have been servicing the car, twice this year plus intermediate oil change when "change oil now light" came on, another oil change due at 30,000 because i don't trust the dpf regeneration system even though it appears to be working properly, so to avoid a sump contaminated with diesel, I am doing supplementary oil change @ 5000 miles, with each main service every 10000, I have no problem with the costs of the serving at all.
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  Did the dealer damage my ECU? 10 Feb 2011 (Ask HJ)
  I had my Audi A6 serviced at a main dealership. At the same time they did a gearbox oil change for me. They returned the car to me and said all the work...
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  My Golf has 174,000 miles on the clock and is still going strong 14 Jan 2011 (Ask HJ)
  I bought a Volkswagen Golf MKIV GT PDI 130 from my brother-in-law who owned the car for years and bought it with 30k on it. It's now done 174k, mainly...
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  Double charged 31 Oct 2009 (Ask HJ)
  I have a VW 1.4 Twincharger, 2 years old, which has developed a frequent slight hesitation at about 3,500 rpm when accelerating; this may be as it switches...
• Mazda 323 pulls back 17 Jul 2006 (Forum)
  I've bought a V plate Mazda323 1.5 petrol recently and when driving in 4th or 5th gear, car seems to pull back a bit and you can feel it. I've changed oil/oil filter last weekend but it hasn't made any difference. What other things should I look at. Could it be a faulty spark plug or something? Thanks
• Ford Mondeo TDCi - Oil Pressuere Light 20 Feb 2011 (Forum)
  I read somewhere it could also be a pump failure, or even wear on the bearings? its got 137k on the clock now and oil change was about 6k ago.  HELP?!?
• M Reg Fiesta 1.1 burning oil 21 Oct 2005 (Forum)
  I haven't looked too hard yet but I hadn't noticed clouds of black smoke when daughter pulls away. During elder daughter's ownership, it was run pretty dry of oil once. There is no oil in water, no water in oil as far as I can tell - head gasket was done about 2 years ago (3 maybe). What is the problem likely to be and how can I verify what it is?
• Ford escort 1.4 CVH carb problems 20 Dec 2002 (Forum)
  Just had my oil and filter changed at national tyres. The t*** who did it overfilled it by 1/2 cm on the dipstick! I then just thought it had spilled out somewhere over the engine. On closer inspection it seems oil has managed to get up into the air filter.
• BMW 3-Series E46 (1998 - 2005) - 30K since last Service - no oil change please it's 16 Oct 2007 (Forum)
  When phoned to tell him the mis-firing had been fixed with plugs + coil the owner did not want the car serviced as apart from the mis-firing it was going well!! Not even an oil & filter change - £30 worth of materials & labour. The mis-firing was £100+ VAT - the coil must be the expensive bit as there was only 45 mins or so between start & finish of the work. In true BMW style the owner had arrived with dipped headlights + spot lights on at 8:30 {And in true BR style, within 24 hrs of the last mention of lighting abuse, it gets yet another one ;0) - DD} Anyone want to buy a 318, Silver, 3yrs old, 1 careless owner........................
• Oil Specification & viscosity Info. 1 Aug 2005 (Forum)
  and your Owners Handbook is a very good place to start as it lists the temperatures and options. Oils thicken at low temperatures and thin as the temperature increases. The actual rate of change is indicated by their viscosity index (this number normally listed on the oils technical data sheet indicates the degree of change in viscosity of an oil within a temperature range, currently 40-100 degrees centigrade) An oil with a high viscosity index, will normally behave similarly at these two temperatures but an oil with a low viscosity index will behave quite differently.
• Peugeot 207 1.4i (07) - Engine rattle after oil top up 4 Jan 2016 (Forum)
   I sought a second opinion who said their is a small injector or pump to fire the oil to the top of the engine and the wrong oil will seize it hence the rattle, tho can't be sure until he get the car and checks.  He would change the timing chain etc at the same time as well as the damaged part.
• Nissan Almera (2000 - 2006) - 05 1.8 Recommended oil & timing chain noise. 29 Nov 2009 (Forum)
  My 30,000 mile 05 1.8 petrol Almera has always been serviced by a Nissan dealer using 0w-30 Elf or Total oil (French) I have noticed on some cold starts, especially if not used for a day - that the timing chain is making its presence heard for a few seconds and although the car is no-way due for a service I think I'll change the oil anyway - just to be on the 'safe side' So. the question is - what is the best oil to use for max protection on cold starts?
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  Strainers in the night 6 Jun 2009 (Ask HJ)
  I wonder if you can help me? I have an Audi A4 Cab 1.8T, it is three and a half years old, has done 70k miles and has always been serviced and maintained...
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  Can you recommend a warranty plan for our 3-year-old Skoda Yeti? 3 Aug 2013 (Ask HJ)
  We bought our Yeti 1.8TSI 4WD new in September 2010 and have been absolutely delighted with it. We bought a Monthly Service Plan at £15.57 per month to...