Ivor_E_Tower

Excellent, thanks a lot. I'll try to have a go later in the week when I'm not out somewhere and if it stays dry! Still looking for a TIS CD......

Ah well.....I copied my letter to Ford's to the local Dealer Principal. He's just phoned me at home to apologise for the problems and explain what happened. Apparently my car had a small hole in the condenser causing the gas to leak. It appears to have just been coincidence that the problem got "flagged" at the service they did, but was not picked up by their staff. Of course, they didn't test the compressor when they investigated the fault (no satisfactory explanation as to why not, though) so when the condenser was changed, it was only then that they discovered, as reported by others on this forum, that when the compressor tries to pump an "empty" system it gets ruined. So now we continue to wait for a replacement compressor (come on, Ford, get your fingers out!) and I'm told that I'll get priority treatment to get the car fixed when the bits arrive. Now that the whole story so far has been explained to me, I feel a bit less unhappy......but it's not over yet (so fingers crossed).

Warning: be careful of what driving instructors teach you - they are teaching you to pass the test, NOT how to drive and there is a BIG difference!!! Engine braking should be used appropriately - how many steep hills do you find have a roadsign saying something like "steep hill - engage low gear".

No unfortunately not - it's "T"-shaped and one piece goes all the way across the vehicle with another dividing down the luggage area, so you cannot use a 6th seat.

Back in the 1970's there sued to be a dogguard called "Dogmaster divider" that split the load bay of estate cars so that you could have half for luggage space and half for pets. Does anyone know if such a thing is made for the Galaxy so that you can use 6 seats and have an "isolated" pet area? I haven't managed to find one yet; Ford and VW don't sell one either.

Thanks! I have e-mailed someone who posted that they could supply the TIS CD but no reply yet. Perhaps, SA I, I'll need to examine a current-shape Alhambra, because on the face-lifted Galaxy you definitely need to remove the wipers to remove the 2 end covers that stop the central cover from coming out!

(fingers crossed) a small leak from the heater matrix can cause the windows to mist up (especially the windscreen). Is your water level dropping? Could also be a water leak into the vehicle from a bad rainwater seal somewhere, with water ending up near or in some of the vents.

Depends on how steep the hill is! Strange things like this happen due to the emission control regs and the knock-on effects on the way that engines are fuelled. When you took your foot off the accelerator in "the good old days" the fuel supply was effectively cut instantly; nowadays there has to be a generally slow reduction in the amount of fuel reaching the engine. If the ECU sees that the speed is still much the same, it probably keeps supplying fuel at the same rate. However as I now drive diesel, perhaps other petrol 2.3 owners might like to comment....

err, it seems on my car, to remove the central panel below the screen, you need to remove both wiper blades to remove the plastice panels that overlap the central panel - since this seems to be secured by screws. I had a brief look yesterday evening - and the other problem is that everything seems covered in grease or a thick layer of dirt! Just touching all the various plastic covers etc resulted in 2 black hands that needed washing-up liquid to clean. Do I really need to remove the wipers to change the filter?

Thanks, that's a long way to go from where I live but I'll try the website. Incidentally the Ford main parts warehouse ins in Daventry, or so I was told when I asled what was happening to the spares needed to fix my aircon. Hope that Ford are not raiding the breakers!

Which breakers is that? I'd like to find a good source of spare bits and pieces too!

Does it only happen when raining? Where I used to work, guy there bought a new "P"-reg Ka and had continual problems with rain leaking through the passenger door and into the car, soaking the carpet. I left there before he got it fixed so I don't know the outcome, but I know that he'd had at least 3 attempts to sort the sealing out before I left.

Sara - if you look under "customising your car" you will find that V6 Galaxy is selling a 5000 unit with CD changer - this may be your solution! However if you follow my link to the Ford Scorpio site, things may not be that straightforward. It appears that connectors may need to be changed too. Your cheapest, quickest solution may just be to buy an in-dash radio/CD unit (if you don't want to play any tapes). There are many good units around for just over

Before buying a used Galaxy, I realised from various sources that the aircon system of the pre-2000-facelifted models was prone to problems. I was however under the impression that this had changed with the facelift, and that newer models had a much more reliable system. In view of the problems that I am having with my car, though, I wonder what the "true" position is: How many people with the facelifted car have had problems with aircon, or know of someone who has had problems? Also at what interval have people had the system re-gassed?

Alhambra 115SE has sports suspension as standard - latest info from SEAT site appears to indicate that SE is now 130bhp standard for SE trim, and auto is older 115bhp engine. Do any of the 130bhp drivers know if the insurance costs increased over the 115bhp version?

Have you told Sara Seahorse? This might solve her problem!

...and stick the mdf to the roof panel? Sounds good, but if your're going to drop the headlining you're a brave person! Somehow they never seem to go back the same! Good luck - hope you're successful.

My first thought last week was that it was a wire thay got pulled off during the service, but the aircon doesn't blow cold. They told me yesterday that the compressor will not kick in now they have replaced the condenser. I assume that they have checked that there is power to the compressor. The aircon is not workin though - no chilled air through the vents, although the display has stopped flashing. Very odd, and I don't think I will take the car to this main dealer again. I decided to copy my letter to Ford Customer Services to the Dealer Principal, so we'll see what happens (if anything) to speed up the repair.

The offending dealer (well, they certainly offend me - refer to the thread "broken aircon during service") is ..... Inchcape Ford, Farnborough. Strange really as I have a Renault Scenic that my wife now drives that was bought from, and serviced by, Inchcape in Guildford - and they've always been excellent. Now I really do wish that I had bought an Espace insted of a Galaxy. Wonder how long it will be before my Galaxy is fully working again? (Anyone want to open a book?)

Even worse news: Went to collect the car and they tell me that the compressor is out of stock at the Ford parts warehouse - expected delay is 7 to 10 working days. I'm so ***** off that I phoned Ford's customer assistance telephone number 0845 841 111 and they tell me that the so-called service and treatment I have received is considered normal - diagnostic checks may not reveal the full extent of any problem, just the first thing that gets logged as a fault. As an engineer myself, I would have thought that checking the compressor, especially when they kept the car for a full day to investigate earlier in the week, was the least that they should have done. The sutomer assistance could do nothing to assist and would not let me escalate my complaint by referral to a higher supervisory/management level. So I'm writing to their Director of Customer Service in Glasgow, and copying the letter to the Dealer Prinicpal. I am now prepared to name and shame..... Watch this space!

More bad news: just had a call to say that they changed the condenser and it still won't work; need to order a compressor so the car has to go back tothem tomorrow. And to think they had it all day Tuesday to fault-find, and now they still haven't got all the bits to fix it. I'm beginning to wish that I'd bought an Esapce instead.

Check for power at the fuses! If none, then there's a power feed problem, if there is then there's probably a break in the loom.

The "ordinary" halogen headlamps on the current-shape Galaxy seem pretty good to me - much better than on the Renault Scenic I drove previously and which my wife now drives, and almost as good - perhaps slightly better- than on the Rover 820 I had before that - and the dipped beam lights on that Rover were some of the best that I've experienced. The xenons are around

Thought about getting a csutom-made "bracket" made? Could clip into the top of the "B"-pillar trims so that it doesn't leave a mark on the headlining when you remove it? Were you planning on just screwing it to the headlining, or finding a metal cross-bar in the roof to fix it to?

It is possible, but I would suggest NOT getting a Ford dealer to do it - satnav etc go to audio specialist; cruise control - use someone like Holdspeed (if they're still going). I think that retro-fitting the factory bits will be prohibitively expensive.