December 2002
I had a 'discussion' last night with my girlfriend (ie I was told I was wrong) about reversing lights. She is adamant that all cars have to be fitted with two reversing lights. I've seen plenty with only one and pointed several out to her. She thinks this is illegal, but I've just checked the online version of the MOT testers handbook and can find no reference to reversing lights at all.
What is the legal requirement? 1, 2 or none at all? Read more
I've already had a passenger seat airbag fail/replaced on a 3 month old Stilo. The onboard computer is again intermitently reporting "Airbag Failure - Stop Engine"...anyone out there experiencing the same problems?
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The original post was over 8 years ago and the car was under warranty, your answer is one of many solutions to many different problems that may occur so pretty useless really.
Anyone know how to reset the service indicator on a 2002 model VW Passat? Mine is not in the trip meter display as per the handbook, but in the central red display area.
The car has just been serviced and this was an oversight by the north Cheshire VW dealer.I do not want to take it over to Cheshire as I live around 40 miles from this dealership. Read more
not all vag cars on longlife can be reset like this. Or so I am told by a usually reliable source.
ok its my 406 again (i hate it somtimes),
when doing a turn in the road the other day before i'd put my radio in, when the full lock was on either way i think (hard to test), obviously moving slowly their was a grinding noise coming from the wheels.
once you take even a little bit off it stops, and only at full lock, don't know about speeds cos obviously you can't move that fast with full lock on.
what does it sound like to you mechanics? Read more
ok when at a standstill there is no grinding with full lock on either way, its only when moving.
additionally i heard the noise the power steering pump makes at full lock when not moving and thats not it either.
with it being dark all the time and i'm always at work and my torch being useless, i can't get a look at the discs
Hi
Some dealers have advised having the carpets and seats protected with a scotch guard type of procedure. Has any had this done and if so does if really protect the interior?
I ask this I am looking to buy a new car with a light coloured interior and would like to keep it looking newer, longer if possible
thanks for any comments
alan Read more
I agree, its been mentioned here before that the best protection for your car is Auto Glym super resin polish followed by Auto Glym extra gloss protection. I've found this to be the best finish for my car and much cheaper.
I own a 2000 Ford Focus Zetec 2.0 ESP.
The car runs fine but I've noticed that recently it's getting more and more difficult to engage a gear, particularly 1st and 2nd. The problem is more pronounced when the engine is cold but even after 20 minutes motorway running it is still quite stiff.
The cars done 30,000 miles and has been serviced at a Ford dealer at regular intervals. The next service is due in 3000 miles time, approx 2.5 months time.
Does the Focus suffer with a notchy gear box or is it something unique to my car.
Cheers
MD
{made use of drop down menus that weren't previously available} Read more
Having got a Focus and a Mondeo with the MTX gearbox. I noticed the gearchange getting tighter between 1st &2nd gear. I changed the gearchange cables on the Focus with no decent result. Spoke to the local Ford garage receptionist who said that they hadn't had a problem. But on talking to one of the mechanics he advised me to change the gearbox oil. The oil he recommended was Comma MT75/MTX75. This is a mineral oil as to the synthetic oil fitted by Ford. After changing the oil it was a totally different gearbox, much smoother changes.
I suspect I know the reason for this, but advice and confirmation would be appreciated. I went to start my Yaris this morning and it seemed to fire as normal. However, it died almost immediately. Attempting to restart it and the starter seemed to be turning fine but it only sounded like it was attempting to fire occasionally. I finally got it started by pumping the throttle and it has run and started fine since.
My only thought is that last night I pulled it forward about 6' to allow a friend to get parked behind me. As the car hadn't been out all day and was only turned on for about 10 seconds, might this have been the cause? Something like overfuelling or the computer not having had time to start up properly?
I noticed the battery voltage seemed a little low - 12.4V after I'd tried to start it twice, dropping to 10.5V while I was turning the engine over, but it did seem to be turning OK. It's only a small battery, so I'd assume there would be quite a drop under load? How is battery condition tested anyway? I assume voltage is no real indicator unless under load, but how much load do you need?
TIA! Read more
OK,to answer these points,firstly the voltage reading of 12.4 volts was taken after attempting to start the engine,thus removing the surface charge of the battery and so would be an expected value.If you measure the voltage after the car has run a few miles it will be around 13v and will gradually taper off down to about 12.5v (the ideal reading is 12.8v)
Secondly,if this happens again:find the fuel pump fuse on the Yaris and remove it then crank the engine until it fires then stops.Put pump fuse back in and engine will then start up fairly normally.
Thirdly,its not a good thing to let the engine warm up before driving off every time you start it,but on the few occasions when you need to move it a few feet and the engine is cold I don't think letting it warm up a few minutes would be a problem.
And lastly the engine oil may have excess fuel in it from this episode so an oil change would be a good idea.As far as I know this is the only bad effect.(The spark plugs will self clean as you drive)
David Davies (Tune-Up Raglan)
MB 320
Is there an auto guru out there who recognizes these symptoms:
* On four occasions during a 200-mile trip, the engine revs surged before the transmission engaged properly, at which point the car moved onwards with a bit of a jolt. On each occasion, I had braked for a roundabout and then started off again; I don't think I came to a complete halt on any of these occasions.
* Later: This has happened again, on each occasion after firm braking and while resuming acceleration without stopping. Also, on turning into a main road from stationary when the car was still fairly cold, I had all revs and little motion for several seconds. Changes up seemed somewhat erratic on the same occasion during the warming-up phase, and reverse engages sluggishly.
* Starting up from cold on my gently upward-sloping drive, the transmission failed to engage instantly and the car slipped backwards a little before picking up. Read more
I see what the problem is! I caught a closing parenthesis (that sounds grand, doesn't it?).
Try www.honestjohn.co.uk/forum/post/index.htm?v=i&t=66...5
I bought a brand new BMW 318SE touring in November. I drove it for 4 days and covered less than 100 miles. I had to return it to the dealers and lost nearly £2000. Why?....I didn't realise that the pedals in a 3 series are offset to the right - the clutch pedal is on the centreline of the driving position. Consequently, although the top half of your body is square to the steering wheel, your legs are both canted to the right. The driving position is also fairly low, and so as you depress the clutch it causes a twist and stretch action. Fine for the majority of people, but for anyone with a weakness in their lower back I believe it can cause a significant problem. Within a day of buying the car I had backache. Within 2 days I had a sciatic pain in my right leg which I recognised immediatly the early stages of a disc lesion - something I haven’t experienced for over 10 years. By day four I couldn't drive the car. I tried very hard to get the pedals modified but BMW wouldn't do it. So the car had to go back.
Has anyone ever tried returning a new BMW?....I wouldn't recommended it.
BMW say they've never had anyone with this problem, however since returning the car I've found info that other people have had problems caused by the offset pedals. Therefore, the purpose of this post is simple.
1. To alert people to the potential problem.
2. To ask if anyone has (or knows of someone who has) experienced a similar problem.
Any feedback would be much appreciated.....John Read more
M.B.
Thanks. I read your original post, but I must confess I didn't follow the links...Which I've now done. Very interesting research, and clearly the issue is more widespread than I'd first thought.
With the benefit of hindsight, yes, I should have done more research and yes, I should have been more careful about taking a proper test drive, but I simply wasn't expecting the BMW to cause me a problem. I'd not had any difficulties with my back for over 10 years - during which time I'd driven my original 318i touring(M), a Volvo 940(A), a Peugeot Mi16(M), a Mercedes 300TE(A), a VW Golf(M) and a Renault Scenic(M). (I don't remember the pedals in my original 318i being offset..The car was always very comfortable.)
"Let the buyer beware".....Yes indeed. And I also wouldn't expect BMW to publish warnings that it's cars can cause (a minority of people) to experience back problems. However - they are equally not geared to dealing with the issue when it happens.
As soon as the dealer realised I wasn't going to accept the alternative (a used auto 320, with 10k on the clock, in a colour I didn't want, all for an extra £1500)...They pulled the shutters down.
"your car is parked on our premises, what are you going to do about it?"...Is not exactly what you expect from a BMW main dealer within one week of buying one of their cars!!
Regards.....John
I have a fiat punto 1.2 year 2000 that has an intermittent problem. While idling in traffic it revs to what sounds like 5000 revs on its own accord. The only way to cure the problem is to take it on a long run.
The local dealership cant find the fault so they cant fix it, FIAT uk dont know of the problem either. I know that this isn\'t limited to my car as the dealership have confirmed that others have the same problem (and they have not been able to fix there cars either).
Does anyone know what the problem is ? Does anyone have the same problem ?? Read more
Hi, I had this problem. When mine reved it would have gone all the way, kill ignition to stop!
Took it in the a fiat garage, put it on the tester, intermitent fault, nothing logged, didn't happen. That will be £30 please.
(Oh, we can rebuild the engine for about £650 though, it might help).
When they tried to drive my car out of the workshop, it wouldn't start. Put the tester back on, intermitent faulty injector.
One £65 injector later, no problems.
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It’s a Thumb rule. The Fog lamp lit the center of the road.
Its function is to tell the vehicle behind you that the width of your vehicle ends here and helps him overtaking....