GalMan

Thanks MM, I leave the climate control set to auto and flick it down to 'LO' at least twice a month for at least half an hour each time, I hope this keeps it in working order as I'm one of the lucky ones that hasn't suffered a failure yet. Cheers, Galman.

Guys, I'm after your valued opinion. I used to use my Galaxy TDI for long business trips on a frequent basis and covered 35000 miles in its first 18 months, so I consider it run in now. My employer has now issued me a car for business use so the Galaxy is not used as much, it's only really used at the weekend. I was wondering if anyone could comment as to whether keeping it in the garage all week and only using it at weekends would be harmful or not. The usage at the weekends is on decent runs, minimum 30 miles at a time. Your valued opinion would be appreciated. :) Cheers, Galman.

1, Andy 2, Essex 3, Galaxy Ghia 115TDI 4, New in Sept 03, so about 19 months 5, Yes 6, Had two parking sensors replaced under warranty, no idea of cost 7, Project Manager

Mine came with Continentals on from new now done 29,000 miles and still a fare bit of tread left on the front with loads left on the rears, no problems with grip etc. and will probably replace with same when the time comes. Galman.

Glad to be of service Blatters, I must admit my speakers were getting bored of blasting AC/DC, Iron Maiden and the like out, and as you said there may be others infected by the bees. Galman.

Cheers for the advice. Just checked the sills and they appear fine at the moment, it will be serviced at the same garage as did it before so hopefully it will be OK, but I'm still going to mention it.

My Gal is soon going to a main dealer for it's 30,000 mile service and reading this comment about sills I was wondering if anyone could post a photo of what the damage looks like, or is it that obvious you couldn't fail to miss it. This is something else that I've got to add to my list to check before driving away, talk about lack of trust. Galman.

I was informed by my Ford dealer that if you set the CC down to LO it switches the AC on to cooling and that it's recommended to run it for 30 mins a month or more in that mode. Galman.

Solved the buzzing noise. I know it's sometimes difficult to locate noises in the dash, but my annoying buzzing noise has been tracked down to the rear view mirror. I was being dazzled by an inconsiderate driver and dipped the rear view mirror and behold the noise stopped, put it back and the noise started, I now have a temporary small piece of paper wedged in the clip and no more buzzing. :unsure: ;) :D I just need a long term solution, any suggestions?? Galman

Scanning through the forum will give you an idea of what sort of things may happen to the Galaxy, and what to expect from dealers etc. You'll find that Air Con problems and oil spec used by dealers seem to be most prevalent. The most important thing though is to enjoy the car rather than think of things that will go wrong. Enjoy. Galman

Thanks Ivor, Job for this weekend then, provided I can lay my hand on some Torx drivers. Cheers, Galman.

My gal has just developed the most annoying buzzing noise from inside the dash on the passenger side. It's loud and constant, so bad I hate driving it without the radio up loud. :D The only time it's not there is on perfectly flat tarmac cruising at about 58mph, how often can you do that though? The question is can anyone tell me if there is any way of getting into the area to try and stop it. Can you for instance get access from the two flip up storage boxes on top of the dash. Cheers, Galman.

Just driven 90 miles to work this morning, stopped to get a paper for about a minute, got back into the Gal started the engine and the aux heater came on and stayed on for the last mile of my journey. I would have thought that as the engine temp didn't have time to drop at all that the aux heater should not have come on, or should it? Any advice would be welcome, except the type that says yes it's a fault and another trip to the dealers is looming. Cheers, Galman.

The past few mornings the aux heater on my gal has been coming on, the outside temp reading has been 12 degrees, and 14 degrees, but this morning with a temp of 9.5 it didn't come on. Could anyone tell me when under what conditions it is supposed to come on, does the interior climate control setting have anything to do with it, i.e. high setting causes the aux heater to activate, as I've had this at different settings each morning. Cheers, Galman

Wouldn't you know it, booked the car in for the dealer to look at the problem and hey presto went out last night and the things started working perfectly again. :D The poor little things must have been frightened by the thought of being touched by the 'technical experts'. As dmc suggested a look at the module connectors under the passenger seat is in order. Cheers, Galman.

Thanks MrT, I think it's a trip to the dealers then. I can't see why they should be excluded either, but they did only say 'may be excluded' I wonder when they make their mind up? Galman.

Hello All, My Gal is now just over a year old and the parking sensors have stopped working, when I select reverse the light on the switch flashes and no sound form front or rear is heard when something is close to the car. I phoned the main dealer to book it in for a warranty investigation and was told that as the car is over a year old the parking sensors may not be covered by the 3 year warranty, anyone have any comments on this? Could someone please let me know where the relevant components of the parking sensor system are located so I can have a quick look to make sure all connections etc. are in position. Or indeed if anyone knows the likely cause of the fault so I have some knowledge of the system before I take it to the main dealers next week for the

Thanks guys, You pay

Just had my 20,000 mile service carried out by my local Ford dealer. When presented with the invoice I asked what oil had been used as the type is never printed on the invoice. "Oh the usual 5-30 sir" came the reply. I hope not I said as that's the wrong oil for the diesel Galaxy. She went off to discuss with the "technical" people and came back and said that actually they had used 5 40. I asked if it was Formula SD 5-40 as that was the only oil Ford use that's compatible with the VW505-01 oil. Yes, came the reply without a bat of the eyelids. I suppose you have to have some amount of trust, but why can't they print the oil type on the invoice ? A question, is the Formula SD 5-40 oil a semi-synthetic oil?, as that is what is written on the invoice. When I had arrived home and let the car settle over night I checked the oil and guess what, it was at least quarter of an inch above the max mark. I phoned the dealer and the "technical" person said that it would not cause a problem. Why is it then that it is written on the oil filler cap " Do not fill past the max mark as this causes damage to the engine" I asked, the reply "Oh that's sort of just a precaution, but if you really want to you can bring the car back and we'll drain some off you" Which I am certainly going to do. Do you think I am right to take the car back ? In their defence the overall service by the dealer was very good, nice clean car waiting for me, I just wish they could sort the oil issue out for these engines. Galman.

Richmond and the RAC are correct, all other items are recommended which really means if you are a foreigner in France it would be wise to carry them. I'm going there soon and as well have having the headlamps changed I have a set of bulbs, GB plates (or sticker), red triangle, first aid kit and fire extinguisher. Don't forget you also need to carry your driving license, cert of insurance and log book. Regarding the headlamps, I recently had to replace a lamp unit on the wife's Fiesta it was sooo expensive I have invested in a set of plastic lamp protectors for both the Fiesta and Galaxy, these protectors have the areas that need to be blacked out marked on them and actually provide stickers to use, very useful. One last point, I'm planning on high mileage when in France and as I have a Tdi I've got some oil with me just in case. Happy hols to all, Galman.

Welcome Dog-God, I think it goes something like this, all silver tdi badge 90bhp, silver with red edging 115 bhp, all red 130bhp. Can someone confirm this for Dog-God. Galman.

Thanks Ivor, Didn't realise it disabled the rear parking sensors as well, I think I might ask about this as it's a pain always having to turn the sensors off manually every time reverse is selected when towing. I just hate having to ask the main dealers to do anything out of the ordinary in case they cause any other problems, but hopefully this should be a simple operation. The car is going in for a bodywork and paint check soon (free of charge which is a miracle) so I'll ask then. Whilst talking about bodywork I was told by the service desk of my local Ford dealer that if this is not checked annually and the service book stamped accordingly the guarantee becomes invalid, has anyone heard of this ? (If this needs to be a new topic please let me know) Cheers Galman.

Degens, I've had a Witter tow bar fitted to my '03 Galaxy since new, I've also fitted a stabiliser bracket and bumper protection plate, parking sensors all work fine. The only difference between this towbar and others I've had is that the twin electics seem to be mounted below and to the side of the bar instead of at the same level. The only thing that doesn't operate is the light in the dash display that is supposed to flash to indicate that the indicators on what you are towing are working, but since I have an audible notification as well I haven't been bothered to ask the dealer why, I assume it's something that must be switched on in the engine managment unit, does anyone know if this is the case ? Cheers Galman.

Don't know if I'm missing something here, I probably am and I'm sure someone will put me right, but if radio codes are so easy to obtain I don't really see the point of them in the first place. Galman.

Don't know whether I'm tempting fate here, but I've had no problems with the climate control on my Gal, keep it on auto all the while and change it to Lo at least once a month for 1/2 hour. You need to wear gloves and an overcoat in the winter though. Galman.