Questions from June 2010
My Smart car had a new battery. The Grundig radio cassette locked out. I thought it would be no problem to get the code from an internet site (have done this before) but would you believe it, they respond...
My 1998 Range Rover suffered the dreaded coolant leak from the porous engine that the V8 became well known for. I had a new engine fitted with top hat liners to cure the problem, but now after 80,000 miles...
The fuse has gone on my cigarette lighter in my 2005 Honda Jazz. Is it easy to replace?
I bought a Renaultsport Clio 200 brand new two months ago and am experiencing issues with acceleration, particularly from cold starts. On six or seven occasions the car seems to "kangaroo" within five...
I have driven a company car for 23 years and just retired. I have a letter from the company's insurance broker confirming my accident-free and claim-free record for the last five years. Also, my employer...
My 11-month-old Citroen C4 Picasso 5 VTR Diesel caught fire on my drive after travelling just three miles from work, causing damage to my house and the house next door. The car looks as if it is a complete...
We have to replace a much-loved and travelled S-reg Audi A6 2.5 TDI quattro and need a 4-wheel drive car - something good value, economical to run, roomy and comfortable. Perhaps a Honda CR-V, but any...
I have a 2001 Volkswagen Golf TDI 130 and I've noticed that there is steam coming out of the engine in the area around the oil filler. I found oil around here and it seems to be finding its way to a slight...
The cooling fans in my Peugeot 406 don't come on when they should. I've checked the fuses and replaced one but it's still not working. Could somebody please tell me what the problem could be?
My old Volkswagen Polo is labouring and dropping revs when going uphill. What's wrong?
We are about to receive the DLA at its highest award which will mean a Motability car will be available to us. We have had Fords since the year dot and now have a C-Max (which I do not like due to the...
I was driving home yesterday when I heard a sharp noise in my right ear. It sounded louder than a central locking motor in action but not much. On checking for the cause, I found my seatbelt loose. The...
The electric windows on my Audi A3 V-reg are only working on one side. I can't see anything wrong with it but also the central locking only opens the driver's door, and then the alarm goes off.
My best friend is coming back from New Zealand to the UK next year for four months, with his wife and two small children. He will be renovating a cottage in Scotland. I am trying to find out what is the...
I pretty sure European cars are better than American cars, but I always hear people saying American cars are better. I don't know why people say this but I need your opinion on who is better at making...
I have found a Mazda 6 1.8s for £3995 with 103,000 miles on the clock. It's a petrol model with full Mazda dealer service history. Is this a good buy or should I avoid it?
I would like to buy a small car to get to the train station, do occasional school runs, go into the village, and also, when required, to use as a work car for occasional 270-mile round trips, mainly on...
Attached are pictures of some incredibly bad speed cushions in Cardiff. I think they exemplify the type of badly maintained humps about which you rightly complain each week. Several cars passed very close...
I want to enlighten your readers of a parking-ticket "scam" in the London Borough of Islington. On 10th of February I made an evening visit to see a client at Pentonville prison on the Caledonian. Counsel...
I'm looking to lease a BMW 116i, under a business contract as I'm a sole trader. Who is likely to able to provide the best rates for this type of car, or this type of lease?
I have a daily commute to Birmingham. The rail service is expensive and takes longer than the car journey of 60 miles each way (half on empty minor roads and half on the M6). At present, I drive a boring...
I got my Peugeot 406 2.2 diesel coupe ECU remapped in October. It didn’t run very well at all until I cleaned all filters. Now she will run 100% for about 3 weeks then the filters will clog up again. What...
I have been caught doing 103mph while my wife was pregnant and was in pain. She texted me while I was on a job and I drove back home in a panic. I told the officer all of this. He said you’ll be getting...
On Saturday, 6th March, I bought a 2001 'Y' reg VW Polo with 1.4 16v engine and 59k miles on it, from a fairly local dealer. I paid £2,700. On the Monday, I 'phoned the dealer to check when the timing...
My 80 year old mother-in-law is driving a V reg automatic Scenic which has seen better days. She suffers from osteo-arthritis in her shoulders and needs a car with relatively high access that she can just...
My BMW 3-Series has a rusty dipstick with black stuff on it. I was told when I bought the car that this was a quirk of BMW 3-Series but two years down the road it is much worse. I have to go on a long...
I swapped my 2004 MG Rover for a 2002 FIAT Stilo 1.8 16v Dynamic. The thing is I’ve been completely ripped off. I was told by the seller that there was only a problem with the exhaust and at times the...
I was interested to read that one of your readers was getting 62.9mpg from his 2002/52 Ford Fiesta diesel. We exchanged our 2002 Fiesta 1.4 diesel for a 2009/58 Fiesta1.4 Zetec TDCi four months ago. Our...
I am sick to death with the tyres on my BMW 5 Series. They are run flats. I can’t tell you how many times I have had false alarm warning lights go off. It is very alarming to have to stop on the motorway...
When my throttle jams open (it's happened twice in 40 years) I simply switch off the ignition and slip into neutral. With a modern car you don't even have to switch off as the ECU will stop the engine...
My insurance is due for renewal. Over the last year I have had my son as a named driver. However he is now at University and I'm reluctant to continue paying when he is no longer at home. Are there any...
What has happened to colour coding? New V-Power PETROL with BLACK flexible pipe and nozzle? My last visit to a Shell petrol station in Warrington Road, Rainhill, Merseyside was a rather infuriating and...
I own a 2004 Toyota Avensis, and have had trouble-free motoring since I bought it new. A couple of weeks ago the ignition failed completely, the key just turned in the barrel. This was a mechanical problem,...
You appear to know about motoring law than most people I know, so I wonder if you could resolve a minor issue between me and my son?
Next week he has to attend a stag do to celebrate the marriage of an...
Here is an example of how large amounts of taxpayers’ money is wasted when Councils refuse to use commonsense after the smallest infringements of traffic law. I parked outside my daughter's house displaying...
I travel widely in West Dorset and East Devon and over the last few months the authorities have spent an enormous amount of money adjusting pavements and then painting bright yellow 'Bus Stop' signs on...
Your list of cars the other week that use the unreliable Teves Mk60 ABS part included the Mazda3. I am about to purchase a new Mazda 3 and the dealer can't tell me whether the new Mazda 3 is still fitted...
I am thinking of buying a FIAT 500 with the diesel engine. I recall that some time ago you said that there had been problems with the diesel engine but I can't remember what they were. Also, the diesel...
When I took delivery of my new BMW X1 I was given a hard sell in respect of this "Shortfall Insurance". If the vehicle is a total loss in the 4 years of the cover, it pays up to £10k of any shortfall between...
About twice a week I join a two-lane dual carriageway from a single carriageway road that joins it at right angles at a roundabout. Several times over the years I have nearly been hit by a car from the...
Yesterday was a very sad day, when we were told that the end was in sight for our trusty old Volvo 240 estate, which has done 344,000 miles and which we have owned for 16years. If the model was still made,...
A conundrum. It’s time to part with my nearly 8-year-old super Mazda 626 GSI SE that’s been faultless and consider a replacement. Any ideas? I’m 6’, 65 years old, active, want a bit of ‘class’ but not...
I live in the London Borough Of Ealing and received a parking ticket for parking my motorbike on the pavement against a big U shaped bracket for locking bikes to, whilst I went into the bank. I received...
Could you recommend someone who refurbishes engines who could fix my 2006 KIA Sorento 2.5 diesel auto, or supply a reconditioned replacement? The engine overheated and has scored the bores.
I am hearing a rumble and gurgling noise through the front of my 1999 Renault Espace 2.0 automatic when driving. It doesn’t happen when stationery. It still changes up and down through the gears, and drives...
Please can you explain to me where I am going wrong? Yesterday, whilst driving around a roundabout, a car came from my off side, (I was travelling around on the left hand lane) and attempted to access...
My mother-in-law has a Y reg Ford Fiesta 1,600 16v S and she is looking to replace it with something similar but more up to date (not brand new). She has road tested a 2006 of same model and finds it very...
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