MrT

My previous Galaxy had a recall for the brake fluid issue.

I suggest you take a look at Pocket GPS World where there are many reviews and good forums on various GPS systems and issues.

The PDA option also gives you the flexibility to use mapping off roads using bitmap based Ordnance Survey Maps and A-Zs such as Memory Map. This is good for cycling, hiking or boats. The PDA option also gives you the flexibility to change map/navigation provider if you find a better data provider. The PDA version of TomTom3 has integrated Traffic Information (not sure about the GO) and you can buy another Traffic Program which in my opinion has better data but is not integrated called Traffic-I. The XDA version works on WinCE2003 PDAs and they are also developing a PDA specific version.

P2P stands for Point to Point which is a file sharing method between PCs which is most commonly used for the (usually illegal) sharing of MP3 music tracks. Often software is hosted on various sharer's PCs and the Ford TIS is usually shared in this manner. Various people download the file and then copy it to a CD then sell it on Ebay. Strictly speaking this is copyright theft from Ford, but they seem to turn a blind eye to it. I am surprised that Ford don't actually sell it as a workshop manual and make some money out of it.

Sounds like you were conned buying a version over 18 months old. The Jan 2004 has been on P2P services and ebay for many months.

Looking at the picture above the long silver handle is the indicator, the small black one above is the sidelight and it is difficult to reach if you have big hands like me.

My drivers wiper is the upper of the two when parked and if you have different length wipers (models vary 28+28 or 28+26) the longer wiper should be on the drivers side. Try setting your wipers up this way, it might need the 26 passengers to clear this way around. Mine is very slightly above the normal parked level (1") and reaches within 1/2" of the pillar at the top. Also if you remove the blades, don't let the arm accidentally spring back onto the screen as it will break it having a very strong spring. Surely it is better to have the wiper 1" up the screen than a 3" inch blind spot?

The simplest way is to turn off the wipers with the ignition key when they reach the maximum of the stroke. Undo the nut holding the wiper arm on and rotate the arm until the wiper is almost at the A pillar, then tighten the nut up. You will now have an area at the bottom of the screen that is not swept, but this is preferable to the area in front of your face.

One of the front foglamps supposedly requires a trip to the dealers to change the bulb.

The galaxy cool box is nothing more than a box. It is the lid that makes it a fridge. However the cool-box alone will set you back around

It looks like the black sharan so I guess it must have been a disability conversion. As for the green one, what is the roof box? I must admit I find it odd for a family car to be fitted with chrome child killers on the front!

I saw a silver Sharan (facelifted) the other day and it appeared to have an intergrated roof box fitted that made the car look like the roof had been made around 20cm higher than the original. It either covered or replaced the roof bars and it followed the contour back from the front windscreen and had no visible gap between it and the body. It reall looked like an integrated part of the car. Has anyone seen these or know anything about them? Does driving a Galaxy with a heavy roof load make it lean heavily on corners or at risk of rolling?

Then there is the rear chrome strip but unfortunately that only comes with a complete new rear number plate light holder. The number plate holder only comes complete with lights and also requires painting. As for fitting the bumper chrome strip, it has an adhesive strip for the upper surface and I suggest adding another for the lower to avoid having to drill the bonnet and risk rust. I did not have to remove or cut any trim or seal to fit it.

The tyres need to be rated to the weight of the vehicle and to get this weight rating they may need to be re-inforced. I believe the correct rating for the Galaxy is 97 which is 730Kg. So your tyre should read something like 225/55 ZR15 97W

I have seen this before on the old type of bolt which was manufactured in two parts and these parts held together by a spline. The spline pulls apart when pressure is applied at an angle to it. The newer security bolts are a single piece casting and unless the whole casting is broken by excessive force, do not suffer from this problem.

The bulb changing is handled in the car handbook but it a nightmare. The drivers side has some other unit next to it in the wheel arch that makes getting your hand in and out of the flap so that you can twist the bulb holder extremely difficult. You will probably remove the indicator bulb the first time you try as it has a 10cm stalk on it whilst the sidelight has about a 3cm.

I have the Halfords big box and very small box along the Ford box and the performance is very different. The Ford box has air circulation inside, whilst the Halfords (and most others) rely on the heating/cooling from a flat metal plate inside which does not have any fins. The Ford box cools quicker and keeps cooler. The Ford box uses under 3A whilst the Halfords uses about an amp more. Both size Halfords boxes use exactly the same power, so I assume the same thermal unit. The Ford box has the disadvantage in that it takes the place of a seat and is not easily carried from the car to the picnic. If used in the very back row, the lid also catches on the tonneau cover. It is also massively overpriced.

Never had that problem in my Gal but in a Cavalier I was following a police car in Winnersh and every time I moved the wheel the horn went off. He gave me funny looks.

Can anyone tell confirm the type of bulbs (not HID) used in the facelifted Galaxy? Dipped beam = H7 Main = H1 Sidelight = Wedgey shaped but number? Foglight = H7 Front indicator = ?

A fairly simple test to see if they are working is to let the engine idle and switch them on. As they use so much current, the engine load from the alternator will change and you will hear a slight change in note as the engine takes up the load. You may also notice lights dim very slightly. Usually if the warning lights come on in the switches, this is a sign that the relays are working as on my model the power to the warning light comes from the screen heater side of the relay.

On the later models the front windscreen will only heat if the engine is running and that is actually running, not the ignition turned on and the engine not started. Are you sure you don't have a ventilation problem as if I turn my air-con/ventilation off the car mists up very quickly, even with the heated screens on. I am surprised that you are misting up at this time of year. I have not had the heated screens on for months.

Thanks but I am in the Enfield area. My logic of going to the Ford dealer was that if they mess up they can sort it out. The unknown (to me) small backstreet garage might just say their finish was good enough or a little less polite. Its a bit like sending your wife out for cosmetic surgery, you want a perfect finish and will pay a bit more for a known operator.

I had this on my Mk1 2.8i Galaxy and it went through two sets of discs under warranty. No problems on the Mk2. It is not dangerous in that warped discs do not affect the braking or steering, but it is very unpleasant and disconcerting. However I would make sure it is warped discs as other things can cause the same effect such as loose wheel nuts and worn front suspension components and these could be dangerous.

Does anyone have any tips on touching up paint chips? I have numerous pebble chips on my bonnet, fortunately none have broken the primer and marks on my rear passenger door from supermarket trolley. Now why Ford chose to use white primer on a black car is another issue. On my bonnet, I have tried using the Halfords touch up pen/brush kit. Cleaned the bonnet thoroughly, filled the chips with paint a little at a time till until it built up to the right level. But when I used rubbing compound and T Cut, it removed all the paint from the chips. I assume the chips were too small for the paint to get a proper grip/key. On the door I did the same but as the scratches were larger the paint held and it gave an almost perfect finish except for the slight impact mark to the metal that can be seen in the reflection in strong sunlight at a flat angle. However two months on and the edge of the area I repaired, the paint has the appearance of a frosted ring around the edge of the repair. Someone suggested putting clear lacquer on top, leaving it for a few weeks then rubbing it. I am not sure if that would give that part of the door a totally different look. I have had chips away to look at it and they said on the bonnet that they could paint in all the chips, but they don't blend in the paintwork and it would be noticeable and would cost around

You should be able to remove the radiator grille from outside then reach the lock. With V reg I am not sure if you have the facelifted model or not. If you have, you can try and remove the radiator grill with the large ford badge in it. It is held in by eight tongues with a locking wedge on each end. A really good pull would remove it but your run the risk of breaking these attaching wedge locks or more likely their weak upper mounts. There are four tongue mounts top and four bottom. The outermost are about 7-10cm in from each end and the innermost about 2-4cm outside from the ends of the Ford badge. If you pull gently you can see the points where the grill does not move and these tongues are fixing it. One way of removing the tongue and wedge is to push a solid thin object, (I suggest a teaspoon handle rather than a screwdriver which will scratch) and push the tongues on the top edge down whilst pulling and the lower edge up. Its tricky but you can do it. Try and free the top edge first then the lower and keep pulling the whole time so they do not spring back in. If you have the earlier model you can try and remove the grill/opening but I have no experience of doing this.