October 2021
My wife’s 2012 Mazda 3 has had light rust in some of the seams under the bonnet for a couple of years. This has been contained by Hammerite.
This week it was MOTd by our indie and he gave an advisory for rear subframe rust (“rear subframe is corroded in places”). I am old enough to remember rust and welding being a regular occurrence in the 70’s but this is our first modern car with an issue.... Read more
Hi, I was hoping if anyone could help me. Iam due a timing belt change on my Ibiza and was looking to get it done at a specialist garage. They explained because of the model and location of belt it will be a lot more expensive. They quoted me total price of £665 for all genuine Seat parts or total price of £430 for INA timing belt. Is there much of a difference between the 2?
Thanks Read more
My wife has a 1.2 TSI 90 VW Polo (2016), so may be the same engine. I had the cambelt changed recently and on this engine there is a separate belt for the waterpump. VAG dealers don't always know this (unbelievably).
I got it changed at a VW franchised dealer and they charged me for the cambelt and waterpump. Once I had explained that the waterpump runs off a separate belt, they admitted the waterpump hadn't been changed and they refunded me the difference.
Typically hybrid cars have very small batteries. They can go very little distance (often less than 2 miles) on EV mode, if speed is typically less than 20 MPH.
On the flip side weight of battery + hybrid equipment is about carrying 2 extra passengers. ... Read more
All the talk about mpg on hybrids a lot forget that modern ICE cars are very efficient. A BMW 3litre auto, before they went hybrid, if driven sensible can easily achieve 40mpg on a run. I think they were the first with brake regeneration. You also get a decent size car.
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Hi,
I was wondering if someone else has had this problem. My C3 has recently been losing power when accelerating and at times feels jittery. The engine has cut out once whilst driving and the car went into limp mode but switching the engine off and on again fixed it. Had spark plugs changed + major service but it didn’t help.
I took it to Citroen for diagnostics and they gave me a diagnostic code: P306100 - they said they weren’t sure what the problem is but they think it could be carbon build up. However, as a starting point in the diagnostic process they want to charge me £704 for an engine clean and said it will likely need parts.
I don’t really have the money for diagnostics, especially considering they highlighted that the clean is just a starting point in the diagnostics so I was wondering if anyone has had the same problem?
I’ve tried to research the diagnostic code but it’s one of those ‘reserved’ information ones.
Thanks :) Read more
The Puretech engine is very reliable providing you remember the following. Its direct fuel injection so it will coke up the back of the inlet valves if always lightly driven at low rpm, this also causes oil consumption past the valve stem oil seals - they hate trundling about town at low rpm
I've tried using parkers and other even honestjohn to work out biggest boot but they only give overall volume of course.
I am looking at a used hatchback ( sub £4000 ) which has the height and depth needed for 2 large dogs. A lot of good volume but sloping roof which is not suitable... Read more
Maybe we have overlooked the Peugeot 207 SW which has amazing load area with no lip and sell for the budget the OP is looking to spend.
A few electrical hitches and a reliable but low output petrol engine it’s worth a mention.
If you want E5 petrol in the UK, you have to buy super 98 at an increased cost of 10 pence per liter. Yet in France regular E5 is still available at most petrol stations at an increased cost of 4 pence per liter compared to E10.
Why are we paying more for our petrol? Read more
If you have a Costco (with a filling station) near you, it’s worth doing the sums on a membership simply to buy fuel. I don’t pay too much attention to petrol prices (diesel user), but their premium diesel is cheaper than supermarkets’ regular stuff.
My nearest Cosco is about 17 miles away, and I wouldn't make enough purchases to justify the cost of becoming a member. It wouldn't be so bad if I could do the bulk of my grocery shopping there. Luckily I don't have to fill up with petrol that often as I haven't been working for a while now, so am less affected by the current situation, and my car can take E5 ok.
N/S/R central locking intermittently won't unlock either from the key or the switch on the drivers door. Works fine using the interior door handle.
So today I removed the door card to have a look. Nothing obviously wrong. There are five wires going to the lock. I'm guessing earth, lock & unlock. But what are the other two? The lock (or a switch within it) operates the interior lights, door open warning indication and of course, the alarm. Would one wire/switch control all these functions? I imagine the operation of central locking is pretty much universal across manufacturers, but I've never had any need to investigate how. Read more
Update.
Sourced a 2nd hand lock from a well known auction site and problem solved. Easy job apart from a bit of head scratching on how to remove the external door handle. Didn't want to force anything as it's mostly plastic, but following a bit of Googling, the handle is easily removed. Really straightforward once you know how.
Hi All,
I am currently looking to spend around £5K on a VW Golf - due to budget, this will be a MK6. Golf, typically between the years of 2009 to 2011. I would like to upgrade it in a few years, to a newer model. Generally speaking due to the above and the current market, this will have approx 100K miles on the clock. ... Read more
The OP has received some useful advice which hopefully will inform their decision.
As detailed in the sticky thread, if people have issues with the way the site is moderated then email is the method: moderators@honestjohn.co.uk...
Good Morning,having had a rather challenging experience with a Jaguar XF in the past,I was wondering if the C or E class are sound used buys at 7 or 8 years old or just expensive trouble waiting to happen?I know the E class are commonly used up to very high mileages as taxis but are the maintenance costs still high? Read more
Mercs are very expensive at Merc garages but as I keep banging on you need a good indie and your costs are no worse than many other brands.
Indeed. I have just supervised my son's front brake pad change on his 2012 100,000 mile S550. Easiest I have ever seen. Nothing to unscrew (apart from the road wheel lugs) and no fiddly spring clips. Just drive out a couple of retaining pins with a hammer and tommy bar, prise back pistons and remove old pads, insert new pads - both identical so doesn't matter which one goes where - drive pins back in - job done. Cost of pads $34. ...
Below is the link which fully explains why electric cars are a bad idea ..
... Read more
It did get me thinking with Hybrids that in cold weather perhaps there is the danger of the ICE not operating at optimum temperature if it is cutting on and off with the battery?
I know the Prius engine has several electronic thermostats to control the heating of the engine, so it doesn`t get too cold over parts of the engine, if one section gets too cold while running the stat shuts coolant off until the temp is reached and then stat opens according to rest of engine, it keeps engine at optimum running temp which probably means once batteries are charged the electric generated runs the motor/s...
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