October 2022
I'm looking for recommendations for a Sat Nav which can be downloaded onto an Android Phone and which provides a good visual of the road, the road lanes and advance warning of changing lanes etc, directions etc. Having not driven on the UK mainland for three years, I need as much guidance as I can get, as where I live there are no motorways and no bus lanes. I've looked a the Tom Tom Go Satnav and wonder what if visual display is good, for example showing the number of lanes, bus lanes as mentioned, and plenty of warning when leaving a motorway.
Thanks in advance. Read more
Can anyone help with their experience of a P0421 fault code, catalyst below threshold bank 1, the car seems to drive ok, maybe a bit jerky from time to time other than that seems fine.
I’ve checked for exhaust leaks, bad smells and the economy seems normal, I’ve viewed the live data for the sensors and seem normal, one sensor quite steady, the other fluctuates, it may seem the car feels underpowered at times but nothing dramatic, I’ve reset the code and everything is fine for at least a couple of weeks, sometimes 1000 miles or more, the only time it seems to bring the fault code back is after numerous short journeys.
Is this likely to be the catalyst failing/blocking or should I be looking at other areas too? The Mazda 3 has two cats, one in the exhaust manifold and one under the car, as far as I can see there are two sensors, pre-cat in manifold and post cat (2nd cat), I’ve yet to check the temperatures either side of the cats.
Any advice and experiences greatly received.
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Would a good long fast run help to clean it up?
The speedo on my 2003 1.6 petrol Fusion (truly a great car) drops out occasionally. This has been going on for several years now. Sometimes it comes back after a few miles, sometimes after a few days. No apparent pattern or cause. Interestingly though, whenever it drops out, the radio volume decreases! My model does not have ABS, and according to Haynes the speed sensor is on top of the transmission, but I have been unable to locate it. Please does anyone have any advice on how best to proceed from here - many thanks :-) Read more
my 2003 1.6 petrol Fusion (truly a great car)
Quite agree with you re the merits of the Fusion (we used to have one), very under rated car!....
I bought my second-hand Meriva (2006 model) on sunny day in August. Later found wipers extremely sluggish.then stopped. Sprayed grease onto all visible linkages and got some movement for a month or so but they became increasingly sluggish again and have now all but given up. I bit the bullet and removed wiper linkage and motor assembly, and found at the same time that the motor and plug connecter were extremely hot. Very grateful to receive any ideas on how to proceed from here? Is it worth trying to disassemble/service the motor? If I remove the motor, should the linkages all move smoothly using just finger pressure? Any idea which of the five connector pins I could apply a DC current to in order to test the motor in my shed? Any known pitfalls? Many thanks :-) Read more
On a lot of modern cars , the wiper motor circuit can stay “live “ even after the ignition is switched off . So not a bad idea to remove the fuse or disconnect battery.
Fine, if you are certain which is the right fuse ....
My BiL and his wife are visiting from Aus. He is English and she is an Aussie, they have lived in Aus for over 40 years. At one time adding BiL to our insurance was straightforward. Last time they visited I specifically checked with the insurance company that he could be covered, yes was the answer. Except when the time came and it was EU citizens only. A formal complaint resulted in a refund with them having listened to the tapes and I managed to find another company who reluctantly and against their policy covered him.
Now my insurance company will not cover him under any circumstances and advised to go for short term visitor insurance. They would only cover EU citizens. However he has a clean licence, remains a British passport holder and drives on the left, unlike EU citizens, but is ineligible. We have now left the EU to become a global nation, but this strange rule prevails. I will look further for the elusive Brexit bonus. Read more
What a stupidly unhelpful insurance company! For minimal admin effort they should be making lots of money from such ubiquitous requests as most people are prepared to pay several pounds per day which, when translated to per annum, results in annual premium rates in the four figures.
I am in California staying with son and wife. Astonishingly, the simple task of adding me onto their dual car policy (old Merc S550 and ancient Scion Tc) resulted in a reduction and refund for them!
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I find Waze works well. Can be customised in various ways. It doesn't show which lane to be in but gives clear directions.