jkspoff

The diesel Galaxy has a very efficient engine, so efficient infact that it doesn't produce enough excess heat for heating the cabin, hence the aux heater. It can take up to 15 minutes on a very cold day before hot air is blown out, this is apparently normal on diesel Galaxys, I suppose money is being saved on fuel consumption :blink:

After speaking direct to Ford UK they told me that it is 4 years or 40,000 miles and that the owners handbook was incorrect where it says 4 years or 60,000 miles. The same apparently goes for all the Tdi VW 1.9 engines fitted to Sharon/Galaxy after 2000.

Sorted, popped down to local dealership and found a mechanic wondering around in the car park, he was very helpful and reprogrammed the fob using the method mentioned in the book, apart from turning the key 3 times in the open position, NOT the locked position as it tells you in the book, to get it into the programing mode. :rolleyes: Strange thing is though, even main dealers don't seem to get many Galaxys in, where do they all go? :unsure:

Thanks for that, but it doesn't appear to follow the same rules, as its the VW immobiliser system, tried it, but no luck, thanks anyway.

I have a remote fob that doesn't reprogram using the method in the manual, i.e. turning 3 times anti clockwise etc etc, the key works fine in the ignition. Is there another method for reprogramming the remote fob ??

I have a remote fob that doesn't reprogram using the method in the manual, i.e. turning 3 times anti clockwise etc etc, the key works fine in the ignition. Is there another method for reprogramming the remote fob ??

I have just bought a brand new remote key fob from ebay (

Pollen filter changed recently, whistling does exactly as you describe, I think it sounds like the vacuum pipe you mentioned, is it a DIY job ? Thanks

My Gal's heaters have started whistling when above 3 LED's, (about half way) has anyone suffered this on theirs ? The noise sounds like its coming from behind the dash...... :angry: is it the fan, or is it a vent thats not fulling opening and therefore not allowing a perfect air flow???? Can I fix it myself, or maybe just put up with the whistling, after-all noone else ever whistles at me ! :huh:

My average fuel economy is about 36 to 39 mpg for urban driving, giving me between 400-500 miles per tank full. On a long run recently to Scotland I got 650+ miles and got it upto an average of 50mpg. It makes a huge difference to economy if you have a roof rack or roof box. Also if the tyre pressures are in-correctly inflated this can severely affect the fuel economy, regular checks save on fuel and tyres ! In a recent survey by a well known break down company it showed that 7/10 drivers never check their tyre pressures for the duration of driving between tyre changes and services !! I noticed that one reply had chipped his Galaxy, and the mentioned economy was poor, I am a firm believer that 'chipping' a vehicle does not do it any justice for fuel economy, only increases performance, that will always use more fuel. The Galaxy weighs in at nearly 2 tonnes, and I think anything above 30mpg is impressive for a car of this size and weight, and no matter how hard I drive it I can never get it below 30mpg. :lol:

After driving the C8 for a few days on hire before getting the Galaxy, I can say that the Galaxy is more car like, the handling and overall driveability is loads better. There seems to be something missing from the French people carriers, the Renault Espace been one of them, the VW/Ford/SEAT Galaxy is more refined and firm, more like a Mercedes or BMW, but loads more affordable and practical. I would not hesitate to recommend the Galaxy to you, it also seems to have a bit of envy about it, people with families seems quite jealous of the Galaxy, whereas the likes of the C8 and Peugeot equivalent just get overlooked. Maybe its the straight forward, yet smooth lines of the Galaxy. It also helps the image as the police have started using the Galaxy now. Highly recommended, even with the intermediate faults that all cars get at some stage. Just make sure you get a good warranty.

On the 2000+ models, the arm sweep can be adjusted by loosening the retaining bolt on either arm, thus adjusting the overall sweep and resting position of both wipers. This is easily done and I've found that by adjusting the bolt for the drivers side arm I can almost completely eliminate the blind spot. The wiper rests slightly higher, but still at the bottom of the screen out of the way.

Not sure which way that was !! :huh:

I've bought some replacement Bosch wipers, the banana shaped ones, which way round do they go, do they attach so when looking at them from the front of the vehicle they are 'smiling' or 'sad' ?? if you understand what I mean !

The climate control unit has 2 small fans that draw air into the unit, so that it can measure the temperature and adjust accordingly. These make a slight whirring noise only noticeable when engine off and somewhere quiet......

Does anyone know of anywhere other than a Ford dealer where I can obtain a key fob, I have the key part but the microchip is lost. Ford quoted over a hundred quid with re-programming, but my tight budget can't afford that !! Has anyone else had to purchase one, how much was it ?? :D

Take an extended warranty from a 3rd party company that covers the repair costs of air con.....My warranty cost

The TomTomGo speed camera POI is excellent, its already saved my license !! I've set it to warn 100yrds before any speed camera or traffic light camera, with a 'gong' type noise, plus it flashes the speed camera symbol on screen, yet another addition (free) to this already excellent Sat Nav device........ B)

The oil on nearly all diesel engines will be blackish, unless its brand new. The main thing to check is that the oil is fluidy and not thick. It is very difficult to completely remove all old oil from a tdi engine, unless you use an engine flush every time the oil is changed. This is unnessessary and the engine runs just as well with regular (10,000) mile oil changes on a VW tdi engine. As long as the correct oil is used (5w40 synthetic) then the engine will run for hundreds of thousands of miles if properly maintained.

Decided to take Galaxy to my local Ford Rapid Fit centre, I got them to put the correct oil in Ford SD 5W40, even watched them do it so in future I can do it myself ! They did a good job of it.......

TomTom Go, a superb faultless Sat Nav system, that has the advantage over a installed system that it can be taken from car to car and be removed for security.....from a user - highly recommended.......

DIY I think is the only option, but surely this shouldn't be the case in this day and age, you pay thousands for a car thats cost millions to develop and the dealer doesn't even know what oil to use, or how much to put in. At

So, lets say the level is OK, as it's only just over the max, will the oil thats been put in (if its wrong) cause damage, or does it just mean that the engine may not perform quite as well as the recommended stuff ? I think I'll change it myself in future ! Where do you buy the correct oil (5 litres ?) VW or Ford ??

Thanks for that, they have used 5w30 oil on the receipt. The woman on reception said they use semi-synthetic oil in all their servicing for all cars, leading me to think that they have a general drum they use for all oil changes........and that they don't use containers.......so I think not only its the wrong oil but also too much of it.......

It seems obvious that the oil level on the dip stick should be between the min and max marks...........but............my Ford dealer has recently done me an oil and filter change, the oil appears to be above the max marker, over the ridge of the dip stick.........is this OK, or is there too much oil in there, if so what can I do ?? Will it cause engine or CAT damage ? or do VW have a tolerance built into the level that allows maybe a little too much to be OK ??