Ivor_E_Tower

One "problem" with facelifted Ghia alloy 16" wheels is that the centre cover is plastic not metal, and clips into place. To remove it to check or undo wheelnuts, you effectively have to damage it with the pry bar when you lever them out :-(( This tends to scratch the plastic too -a ll4 wheel centres on my Gal were damaged like this when I bought it second-hand. Not yet enquired how much new ones are....and I would like to get the wheels refurbished to get rid of the blemishes caused by first owner. Still waiting for wicked wheels to call me back........

..and CC demist also allegedly switches on the heated front screen for even faster clearing of the mist.

What the *$~@ is a "body control unit"?

I checked the Garmin website and the colour thingy I was looking at costs aboutUSD1600, and has to be hard-wired into the car - not portable as it needs a speed sensor input :lol: Ah well, as mainly do local trips that's another gadget that will have to wait for a while....

Anyone got the latest Garmin thing that's currently being advertised? Supposed to be fully portable and moveable from car to car. Is it any good and how much is it? I take it that the GPS sensor is integral with the unit.

I'm in south-east too - not only had the aux heater cutting in, but the ice warning bleep at +4 deg C one day this week too! I wondered what the bleep was for, at first, then looked down and saw the snow crystal logo flashing. No sign of snow or ice yet, though......

So looks like the Gal/Sharan/Alhambra actually runs best on the factory-recommended settings then....and I'm heartened to know that the tyres should wear nice and evenly if the geometry is correct.

Have you checked the transmission oil level? Sounds like it may be related to the hydralic clutch/torque converter and as the oil warms up, it helps to minimise the symptoms

SA I - what tyre pressures do you use when on your long jaunts to eurotunnel and France etc? TIA Ivor.

Sounds like your aux heater is working normally. Glad I'm not the only one who likens its sound to a jet engine! As for tyre pressures - I've also got Dunlop 2020's and the recommended pressures for normal driving seem OK to me - can certainly push it round the bends without tyre squeal, even if it rolls a little bit!

Definitely worth getting clutch done at same time as engine is out. As to 90/110 - I think they are more or less the same engine but turbo is different; variable nozzle device on the 110 so I don't know if more control electronics are required; may be worth checking with VW importers to see if they can offer technical advie (or even asking at local VW garage?).

Always leave the car in gear - unless parked in your garage or on flat ground when it may freeze! I suggest that 8-9 clicks would constitute an MOT failure through excessive movement being required to operate the handbrake. Ford will probably say that the reason you have insurance is to pay for such damage, and that you were negligent in failing to ensure that the handbrake was applied properly. How much to you want to spend fighting them? You will need an independent engineer's assessment/report on the handbrake operation NOW before any repair work is undertaken, plus legal representation (do you have any through your insurance and/or breakdown cover?) Good luck.

Unfortunately it would seem that most, if not all, car manufacturers are just not interested in one individual customer's problems. When I bought a new Renault Scenic 5 years ago, I was phoned by the dealership the day before I should have taken delivery to say that it was the subject of a recall from Renault, and they had been advised by Renault UK that I was not allowed to collect the car or drive it. Replacement parts were not available for several weeks. I was due to go on holiday in the car 3 days after collecting it - I went in my parent's car as Renault would not provide a replacement vehicle even from their Press fleet. The supplying dealership had no loan cars to lend me, but on return from holiday they hired a Mondeo from a rental company for me to use until Renault UK eventually sorted out replacement parts for "my" Scenic nearly 2 weeks later. I was impressed by the dealership's service but doubt that I will buy a new Renault again. As to breakdowns - a few years ago (about 6 or 7) I had Britannia rescue cover with replacement vehicle to be provided if my own could not be repaired same day. I had a breakdown on a Saturday morning which required parts that could not be obtained until the Monday. The car was recovered to my home with the instruction to phone on Monday morning to arrange further recovery to garage of my choice. When phoning to get my free hire car, I was told that as it was Saturday and after 12:00 noon, it was impossible to get one delivered, but if I could get to the hire car office at Heathrow airport then I could collect one myself! As this was a 40 minute journey from home I decided against it. When my renewal with Britannia came up, I changed to RAC as I was not satisfied with the way that my complaint was dealt with (or the service I had received). As to the breakdown - I bought the required replacement parts (an alternator and new poly-Vee-belt) from a motor factors on the Sunday and fitted it myself.

Yes but the current Espace and its predecessor have a glovebox in the centre of the dash that is supposed to be large enough to take a briefcase. It's all to do with where the dashboard controls, wiring loom, heater matrix, radio gubbins etc are located (Espace has 2 heater matrices, one each side of dashboard rather than one in the centre). Also interesting to see on HonestJohn's column recently that Espace diesel engines suffer from a known problem due to crankshaft thrust washer which results in a new block being needed. Now I am REALLY glad that I didn't get one of them instead of a Galaxy!

Hmm, connection between shopping trolley, Ka and Galaxy is.... They all have a wheel at each corner.

Just my views but... All performance cars are bad. Pointless on today's overcrowded UK roads, and they are anti-social too, burning more fuel than is necessary - do you really want to give the Chancellor more tax than you have to? Harsh ride makes life uncomfortable for passengers, and what will you do with the couple of minutes you save on a medium-length journey? Still, some people like them.

Seems to be a problem with many modern cars, especially MPVs and midi-MPV's; glovebox in my Scenic is also a joke. Reason for Gal and Scenic gloveboxes being so small is that the engine firewall is so close to the front of the dashboard. Better designers are needed to plan the interiors of modern cars - maybe most of them are ladies who just carry everything around in handbags so don't need that much storage space in their cars. Not trying to be sexist here, just stating the truth! One old test of door bins, for instance, used to be to see if they would take the Michelin "red book" of France. ..and who actaully leaves their manuals in the glove box anyway? I never have - always leave them at home in a boxfile which contains all car-related bits, such as all bills/receipts, service history, old MOT certificates etc.

Seem to remember this sort of problem being asked before. Cannot remember solution, sorry. Perhaps receiver is fitted to all cars and you may need just a remote key to sort it - else get an after-market alarm fited, which has the remote locking function. Global closing only works with key in the driver's door lock, NOT from remote key (on facelifted models anyway). Maybe Ford can tell you what system is fitted ?

Don't know if 2.3 has an idle stabilisation valve but this may be the problem. Have known other pertol cars with this fault - albeit usual symptom is high and unstable idle rather than low speed problem. May be worth checking? Also can you get engine management checked for logged faults?

Sorry to hear this tale of woe; contact the Ford customer relationship centre and tell them that your vehicle is off the road due to faults which the dealer seems to be guessing at. Tell them that they have changed bits that have not cured the problem but they expect you to pay for them. Tell them that you have lost confidence in the dealer and ask what they will do to get your car working again. This is getting beyond a joke - why do Ford appoint dealers who are unable to diagnose faults or get vehicles working again within a reasonable timescale?

Why should YOU have to take this matter up with the dealer? If you draw Ford's attention to a problem with one of their dealers, IMHO they (Ford) should take the matter up unless it is very minor. I find it lamentable that Ford seem to want to distance themselves from their appointed dealers.

Other enquiries I have made about the aircon system have produced responses saying that it is a bad design and that regular maintenance will not necessarily keep it trouble-free. Apparently there is a badly designed oil return path to the compressor (whatever that may mean) and the conbined condenser/drier unit in facelifted models is not working as well as the designeds thought - witness many people who have had gas leaks through corrosion producing holes in the condenser; no amount of routine maintenance will stop these units corroding through from the inside. Aircon expert advice is to buy Japanese or Korean (eg Previa or Trajet or Sedona). I know what I would prefer - just hope I can afford to keep my Galaxy's system working!

Never went to the club - preferred to venture into Central Manchester's China town to get some decent nosh!

Extra lights can only be usd with main beam. Fog lamps can only be used legally when visibility falls under 1 kilometre - quite how you prove this to Plod if he stops you, I don't know. But this certainly makes their use in broad daylight, or clear nights, illegal, as witnessed by several people who have been stopped and fined for such use. (Similar law for rear fogs to). Any extra lights fitted must not protrude forward of the front bumper line - I think it's the construction and use regulations that cover this. Spot/driving lamps will need to be wired such that they can only be switched on (manually or automatically) when main beam is in use - I think that use when "flashing" headlamps is also permitted. HTH Ivor.

SA I - Bredbury eh? I have fond memories of staying at the Bredbury Hall hotel a number of times when working on a project that took me to Stockport some years ago now.