December 2014
This is aimed at owners of Volvos with the new D4 VEA diesel engine. There seems to be a common problem which affects the engine's exhaust gas recycling (EGR) function.
Several owners of new-ish Volvo S/V60 and XC60 cars with the VEA D4 engine have had the ‘check engine’ light pop up within a few months from new (reported on the Volvo Owner’s Club forums). ... Read more
Hello,
I am having issues with my 2008 Volvo 1.6 diesel, it is currently driving very slowly (like there is no turbo) there are no warning lighs present, all I am getting is 'reduced engine power' on the message screen.
Fault codes where glow plug relay, 02 sensor and cam sensor. I cleared the codes took it for another good drive and all I am getting now is 'glow plug relay', I have tested the glow plugs relay in the fuse box and it is operating correctly, is there a another relay as I can only see the one?
Would a glow plug fault cause this lack of power (limp mode)?
I thought it would of defiantly be the 02 sensor and the cam sensor as it starts beautiifully with no hesitations and idles perfect, but as these codes are not coming back they may of been old stored codes?
All help is appreciated
Many thanks Read more
I would recommend a Volvo specific scanner. When I had my S40 I used a BSR PPC scanner. I found one on eBay, it looks expensive but mine saved me easily double that in garage fees. I am not sure you can get them new now. I remember I sold mine for more than I bought it for!
I have had my Passats engine cutting out three times now. It has always started and have driven off for a short while then stalls.
The first time the car wouldn't re-start, even for the RAC and didn't show any fault codes.... Read more
Hi all, there were further updates on progress but I forgot to put them on the site so by way of rounding up the saga of the Passat -
As above I had replaced the fuel pump and it ran perfectly - on the drive. I didn't want to drive it in case I pulled more crap out of the tan and damage the new fuel pump so I left it on the drive until the following weekend....
I see in FAQ that HJ is suggesting a new battery is required for a CRV a where stop start is not operating. If the battery is not holding charge then this is sound advice in this case. However stop start on my 2012 Civic doesn't work once winter kicks in as although the battery is otherwise OK my usage of the car is such that the battery seldom reaches full charge in winter and the system is set up only to work with a fully charged battery. Mine is working intermittently at the moment but I am sure come spring it will kick in again. When it first "failed" the dealer sent me a questionnaire about my use of the car and it's clearly a known problem. In my case fitting a new battery would not solve the problem as my use of the car is too infrequent to keep the battery fully charged. Not sure if other manufacturers' systems are similarly picky about when they will work? Read more
We've got a CR-V that's around 4 weeks old. Sometimes the stop-start doesn't activate, even when the car is fully warmed up, for no apparent reason, although most of the time it does. I don't see it as a big deal. When it does activate, the engine always starts when the clutch pedal is depressed to move it into first, so why worry?
What is the correct interval to change the cambelt on a Ford Mondeo TDCI Auto Reg KD57NSO first registered 08-10-2007.
My local Ford dealer says125,000miles. the ETIS sheet says 62,500 miles.... Read more
Nice to have the heated windscreen.
The Ford ETIS website tells you, me and everyone everything we'd want to know about your car.
If you lookup your vehicle then click "Generate a FordService schedule" then you can generate a PDF service schedule for every year of your vehicle's life. It's saying 5 years for belts.
Hi all my reversing light is not working and i think it may be the fuse. Where can i find which fuse this is please so i can change it. i have tried searcing on google but cannot find wat i am after as so much nonsense comes up diagrams/pictures too small.
... Read more
I assume that you have checked that the bulb is OK first?
If fuse OK then bypass gearbox switch by connecting the two wires on the switch together. If light goes on on then the switch is faulty. Replace it and all should be OK....
I replaced the catalytic converter two weeks ago, along with the pre and post lambda sensors - the converter had a hole in it so needed doing. Brand new OEM parts were used.
The car has been running perfectly since (it was very sluggish and used tons of fuel). I now have error code P0172 coming up. The car is again noticeably sluggish when accelerating between 1500 and 2000 RPM. Fuel economy seems fine. When I clear the code, it returns within a few miles - the engine light never comes on though.
Any ideas what the cause could be? Read more
4WIW I cleared some debris from my rear exhaust section by detaching it and back- flushing it out with a garden hose.
I'd tried measuring manifold vacuum and couldn't interpret the results (at least from any description I found on the internet) so I made an adaptor to measure exhaust back pressure directly....
I have just bought a new Forester XT. A bit of a heart versus head purchase. Having been running a Freelander 2 SD4 for the last three years and waiting for the Forester diesel Lineartronic (CVT) to be released I got fed up waiting and was seduced by the superb new 2.0 DIT petrol turbo in the new Forester.
I have been running this for a month now and have to say it is a pretty convincing package. I have been driving for nearly 50 years and have owned a large number of cars of various types and think I recognise a good car when I drive one. Why is it then that all the usual suspects like What Car, Auto Express, etc generally give it ** in reviews when the owners reviews they publish generally give it *****? In one review I read the main criticism seemed to be that XT was a stupid name for a car with a turbo!
It was purely fortuitous that I ended up with this car. On holiday in Wales in early September, the Freelander displayed a warning on the dash that traction was reduced. I contacted Land Rover Assist at 7.30pm and discovered that the warranty expired at midnight. I took it into the local Land Rover dealer the next day for diagnosis. They happened to have just taken on the Subaru franchise in the area and I looked at Subarus they had in the showroom. I had not considered the previous generation Forester ( too much objection from wife), although my car prior to the Freelander was a third generation (SG) Forester 2.0 XT. Up until this moment I had not considered the fourth generation Forester (SJ) because of the poor reviews. When I was told the Freelander needed a new Haldex unit I Googled "Haldex and diff issues" and decided it was time to get rid.
To cut a long story short (apologies for going on) I had a number of test drives in the various versions of the new Forester. It would have been more sensible to go for the N/A 2.0 petrol, but the turbo was so beguiling I fell for it. And I reminded myself that I really don't like diesel - 6 of my last 8 cars have been petrol. Now if I hadn't previously owned a Subaru (and found it to be one of the most practical and satisfying cars I have ever owned) I would never have got this far. How anyone who does not know the marque ever buys one is a mystery bearing in mind the "comic's" reluctance to acknowledge their qualities.
BTW, the situation in the USA is quite the opposite. Subaru generally sell over 40,000 cars a month and the Forester makes up over 13,000 of these per month! I think I read Subaru sales in the US rose last year by over 40% compared with the previous year. Are the British public obsessed with the badge on their car or what? Read more
My mistake - 2.5 is still being imported in the form of the WRX STi. Perusal of US Subaru forums suggests that a complete redesign of the 2.5 petrol engine in 2011 (particularly the cylinder heads) has eliminated the HG problem. Also, polls of owners in the US re oil consumption seems to indicate that this is no longer an issue with the 2.5.
My wife has an April 2011 Panda 1.2 Active that has done about 30,000 miles. At the end of November it was clearly suffering from an intermittent misfire, although nothing was showing on the warning lights. We took it to our local Fiat garage & they diagnosed a faulty coil pack. To Fiat's credit, they stumped all but £20 for the repair within an hour of the garage asking them. The spark plugs were also changed.
However, we were then told that the car was lumpy when idling as there was a spllt in a breather hose. This was changed last week ( I still think that £30 + VAT for a small bore breather + £40 fitting is taking the ...) and the car still isn't running quite right.... Read more
Sticking valves doesn't sound like a cheap fix!
...
When I bought my new Kia Sportage in June 2014 it came with alloy wheels and TPMS valves fitted. With the advent of winter, I took those wheels off and fitted steel wheels with winter tyres but these dont have the TPMS valves fitted. I now have a permanent warning light telling me I have a tyre pressure problem as the system cannot locate the TPMS valves. I have seen advertised sets of 4 TPMS valves with a display unit. Will these valves work if fitted to my winter tyres and will they then be recognised by the Sportage's on-board monitoring system? I check tyre pressures the old-fashioned way every week so know there is no problem with pressure. Come the spring time, I will refit the alloy wheels and have been assured by Kia dealer that the warning light will go out again. Read more
Soon to be a legal requirement
TPMS became a legal requirement on all newly registered cars from 01 November this year....
Browse
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How do you know when a car salesman is lying? He's got his mouth open.
Hope you've not put a deposit down? My usual response to that sort of promise is to say call me when you've had it done and I'll come back. Never had the call!