Ivor_E_Tower

If I'd had an extra 3 grand, I would have bought from Eurocars Epsom. They are family-owned and part of Wilsons of Epsom Group. They are about 40 minutes' drive from where I live. (I also had a previous car re-rustproofed by Wilsons - remember Tuffcote Dinol?). If you really want the versatility pack, I don't know if Eurocars can order a vehicle with one fitted, but from enquiries I have made trying to get the net alone, it's horrendously expensive even if you can find a dealer willing to order the bits.

Personally I'd prefer an auto, especially the later ones with "tiptronic" full manual option. However...don't know how reliable this VW 'box is; some autos are prone to requiring major work at under 100,000 miles whereas others seem to go on for ever. If you're looking at a 48,000 miler, how many miles per year are you likely to do, and how long were you planning to keep the car?

Update: Garage kept the car all day and told me that they need to order parts to get it fixed - the compressor or conderser (bloke on the phone didn't seem too sure) plus some other bits. I still find it strange that this went wrong when they serviced the car and still feel that they may well have triggered the fault. It's too much of a concidence that after 2 and a half years, the aircon packs up during the 2 and a half hours that they had thecar. Oh, they have no courtesy cars or drivers available, so another day when I have to walk half an hour to work, and half an hour back again. Still, the parts are due on Wednesday and the car is booked in for Thursday, so perhaps it will all be working agian by the week-end.

Don't forget that the Galaxy has rear discs and there are several ways of having a handbrake function, eg separate drum in centre or separate way of applying the pads to the discs. Only had my used Gal a month so don't know what the answer is yet. Must get round to looking for a TIS CD soon.

They should work all the time, not switched through the ignition. Have you checked the fuses? Also you may need to remove some of the plastic shround on the plug on the coolbox - have you checked with a voltmeter or lamp-on-a-stick that there is power at the sockets?

Try this link: http://www.fordscorpio.co.uk/RadioTo995.htm You need to make sure that your 2007 can control an autochanger as it seems that not all of them can (which is what I suspected). Have you tried talking to any local car hifi specialist dealers yet? Good luck

Got in the car to come home from work this afternoon. As the (tdi) engine started, the hazard lamps flashed twice then stopped, followed a few seconds later by the glowplug lamp in the rev counter flashing on and off at about 1 second intervals. Let it do this for about half a minute (with engine running). nothing else seemed wrong. Switched engine off, re-started and no problem. Is this an obscure warning of some problem, or just a one-off electrical gremlin?

Oh Gordon Bennet! You really ought to have some idea of what you are doing before attempting anything electrical on a car; you can blow fuses or worse (eg cause a fire) if you do something really bad! There are only a few companies who make car CD changers, other companies buy them and stick their names on them. Don't know who actually makes the one that Ford use. If your Head Unit (the bit in the dashboard) has a CD-controlling function then it is possible, but not certain, that the other end of the loom you have found is plugged in already (but it may not be! you may have to take it out to find out). Yes, it sounds like you have found the other end in the back of the car. The CD changer mounts vertically and the magazine goes in from the top. It MUST be securely mounted to the car or else you wil get jumping on tracks and goodness knows what else damage could be caused. Oh incidentally I am almost sure that it will not play home-recorded CD-R's, only "bought" CD's. The "adapter" thingy that you are referring to is, I think, a clever device that eanbles some CD changers to play on any car radio head unit by "tapping" into the aerial lead rather than requiring a separate signal "in" socket on the head unit. Any more questions? WIll have a go at answering.

...but you will still need to fasten the velcro to the headlining. Have you tried the slim-line lcd monitors that fit onto the back of the headrestraints? If you mount an lcd to the roof with velcro, you may find that vibration is an issue and those watching could get headaches. Not sure of any other alternatives -anyone working in an ICE store who reads this forum and could offer some suggestions?

I always make sure that I hand a piece of paper in with the keys so that there's no excuse for a garage not to have done any work when I collect it. Strange how many places grind to a halt when their computers go down!

I know that a guy where I used to work got his aircon topped up by a mobile aircon specialist who told him that some systems were better than others. He said that Jaguar, in particular, had very bad systems that lost plenty of gas. May be worth speaking to a specialist, as they may know how good or bad the Galaxy system is. I know that the pre-facelifted Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambra has a reputation for aircon problems, but I thought that this was fixed with the 2000 face-lift which is much more than a face-lift - not quite an all-new vehicle, but extensive modifications and alterations were made to the vehicle and its systems.

Want another laugh.... the luggage net that is supplied with the tonneau load cover for

So if the warranty co have also suggested using another garage, they must also have their doubts over the one that currently has the car. Ask the warranty co how they would expect to get the car transferred between garages - be prepared to split the cost with them, but if they agree, ask the garage you now want to use if they will do a deal with you, eg for cash for the towing.

You should still be covered by the 3-year warranty. As cars become ever-more electronics laden, it seems to be best to let the dealers attempt to investigate anything that could be covered by warranty. If they won't, try a specialist. The gas should not all have leaked out in less than 3 years. My "other" car, the wife's now since I got the Galaxy, is a Renault Scenic with aircon; it's nearly 5 years old and the aircon seems to work better than when it was new!

Is the linkage OK? If the revs rise, is it with gentle pressure on the accelerator? Could be that the box is not actually going into "drive". Got an auto gearbox specialist nearby? Worth giving one a ring and explaining problem in case they have come across this sort of thing before.

...but the warranty company have already told you that you are covered. Did you note the name of the person you spoke to? You presumably know the approx time they told you this. Phone the warranty co back and tell them that the garage expect you to possibly pay

Does someone out there have the brochure from mid-1999 to say what features your car has? Sorry I don't have one.

I've got them to agree to look at the car next Tuesday (3rd June) now. I'm still convinced that they caused the problem during the service. Mind you, reading Porker's tale of woe, seems like my problems are small....

I suggest that you get in touch with the warranty company and tell them what's happened so far. Suggest that they get one of their engineers to visit the garage where your Alhambra resides. Are you a member of the AA, RAC or Consumer's Association (Which magazine)? Do you have access to any free legal advice? Good luck; keep us posted on developments.

2000 (W) is around the time of the changeover from "old" to "new" shape. Which version do you have? Certainly the "new" shape should have remote locking as standard. The problem may be, as well documented elsewhere on the forum, that with only 1 remote key supplied as standard, if the first owner lost it, or forgot to leave it when selling the car, I don't think any garage will voluntarily order a remote key and code it for the next buyer! Ford certainly should be able to tell you if the car has the remote facility though. Good luck! The key is about

AA and/or RAC used to hire things like this from the docks. Cannot find anything on their sites at the moment but it may be worth calling them.

County yourself lucky - back in the 1980's I had a Citroen where the engine was almost on its side under the bonnet. Not only could I guarantee to cut myself at least twice trying to change the plugs, but you needed a special plug spanner and tommy bar, plus there were special extension pieces that fitted onto the plugs so that the leads could reach them. Then there were some seals that were supposed to stop water from filling the hole....but these never realy worked and the extension pieces used to rust causing misfiring, poor running etc etc... No wonder I now have a diesel; no plugs to worry about!

Does anyone know where the polen filter is on a Jan 2001 Galaxy TDI? Is it an easy item to change yourself, or best left to a garage?

I don't think it's acceptable either, but they won't give me another choice. They say it takes at least an hour to plug the diagnostic unit in and run the check; can't even manage to do it on a Saturday morning. I doubt that the car will be going back to them for its next service; I'm sure that they have disturbed something when working on it. This morning it hasn't fixd itself yet and I discovered that the fusebox lid was partly open with the fuse puller hanging down still attached to one of the spare fuses..... I think I may go back to them later this week and ask them what they're playing at.