asimons

An idea I saw before was to buy the plastic headlamp protectors and fit the deflectors to these. On return to the UK remove the protectors, leaving the deflectors in place. Next trip, put the protectors back on. Cheaper than

This gets more bizarre! My #34 fuse is red not brown, though it's a current 130TDI Ghia just like bizarrefish's. And it wasn't blown. But my #33 (also red) was blown. That's the aux heater and air con. Replacing this fuse has reinstated the wipers. This phenomenon of one fuse blowing making other things misbehave is not totally new to me: on a Cavalier a few years back the cigarette lighter fuse blew, unrelated instruments (fuel gauge etc) half gave up the ghost. First I knew of it (other than the pessistic fuel gauge) was when it boiled in traffic, as it was also the fuse for the electric radiator fan. Oops! On a semi-related subject (well, it's wipers and washers) when I try to wash the rear screen I get a "whoosh" under the passenger seat which I don't remember before. The washer seems a bit half hearted, so maybe there's a constriction or a leak under there. Anyone else had similar?

Our 130TDI suffered the same prob today - just off to find a brown fuse!!

If the brake or clutch switch were not working, it would disengage the automatic speed control, but would not turn off the light on the dash which stays on as long at the slider switch is in the "on" position regardless of whether it is engaged (itself a bone of contention). Assuming you're not inadvertently knocking the switch to the OFF position, sounds like a wiring or switch fault.

My 03 Galaxy also had the wet-screen syndrome on the recent wet days. Took longer than I expected for the heated screen and aircon to dry it off too - but then the humidity outside was close to 100% and inside wasn't much better as I'd got soaked walking (swimming?) to the car. I've also recently (i.e. in the cooler nights that we've had) encountered misting of the glass when running without aircon - worse on the side windows than the windscreen - mainly with 4 people in the car. Seems you need the aircon even though the air outside is dry. As far as I can tell, the recirc flap is behaving - at least, turning recirc on and off makes a difference to the noises. It was all so much simpler when it was hot and there was no question you needed the aircon on al the time!! Aid

I too have seen the heated screen come on "automatically" on a cold morning, without turning the CC to "screen". It does seem to have a mind of its own - but as long as it's intelligent why not? I encountered another "undocumented feature" the other evening when we had had (or were having) heavy rain. The wipers were on intermittent (a middle frequency setting), and were wiping every few seconds as I sat in the queues in town. Then, when the rain got heavier, they ran continuously for a while, then back to intermittent. The pattern continued as I drove at higher speeds home. It behaved like the automatic wipers on my wife's Peugeot, but I didn't know the Galaxy had them (though SA Intruder implies his Alhambra does). Next morning, in similarly showery weather, the wipers remained doggedly intermittent, whatever the rainfall. There's nothing I can see in the manual or on Ford's web site that describes this capability. So I'm baffled! (Not that I mind having an "intelligent" car, but I would like to know how/when it works. Thereagain, the operation of the auxiliary heater on the TDI is well documented in this forum, but I'm not convinced the actual behaviour reflects these rules!) Any more examples of "covert intelligence"?? Aid

On a 90PS engine, the "TDI" badge is silver on black; on a 115, the "I" is silver on red; on a 130, it's all silver on red.

My 3-month old 1.9TDI 130PS has developed an intermittent fault with the trip computer. I will be referring it to Ford under warranty, but wondered if anyone else had encountered anything similar. Most of the time the trip computer works fine. Occassionally (more often in the last few days) you start the engine but the computer display does not light up. The only way I've found of bringing it to life is to turn off the ignition and restart. So far this has always worked. When it does start up it hasn't cleared memory 1, which should clear after 2 hours, even though the vehicle has been standing all night (or all day). Which almost suggests a shutdown rather than a startup problem. I know intermittent faults can be challenging for the garage, so any experience that might steer them in the right direction seems worth having! Aid P.S. First and only fault in 3.5 months / 7000 miles, so I'm not too unhappy!

Not a particularly cheap option, but I have a Thule 973 Backpac, which hooks over the top of the tailgate and bolts under the bottom. Holds the bikes above the lights and number plate, and doesn't move. But it costs

My TDI 130 has never stalled after starting, though it always dips just after starting and then picks up again. However (much to my embarrassment) I have found that it is quite possible to stall if you get teh right combination of low revs and poor clutch control. Normally it pulls like a train, but sometimes the revs drop and it just gives up. I'm told that it's a characteristic of turbo diesels that when they drop below a critical rev level they just give up. Certainly it only really happened when I first had the car - unfamiliar throttle & clutch, you know the excuses!

Slight change of tack, but related... how do you position beam deflectors on the current galaxy? The headlight glass (plastic) is pretty featureless. Is there any alternative to avoid damaging the plastic? Are the headlights actually asymmetric? If not no need for beam deflectors!

I have a diesel galaxy, so that doesn't help, but I used to put Optimax in my petrol-engined Zafira. The fuel consumption was always pretty poor, and variable, and Optimax not always available, but I believe I did see a real improvement when I ran on several consecutive tanks of Optimax. Whether the improvement was as much as the 5% more that Optimax costs is another matter. It might have been, but my sample was not statistically significant. I reckoned it was pretty much cost neutral, as a gut feeling. Whatever, it won't do your engine any harm, the other good things it offers may enhacne engine life, so it's worth a try. HTH Aid

On the issue of Galaxy / Sharan / Alhambra, it seems (to me at least) to be quite difficult to compare the differences. The Ford brochure has a longer list of standard equipment than the Seat, some of which (I think) Seat don't bother to itemise. On the Ghia, Ford give you the CD multichanger and side curtain air bags; on the SE Seat give you more instruments, dipping mirror, tonneau cover, heated front seats. The tonneau cover (load cover) is useful (or would be if I had one!), but would be even more useful if there was somewhere sensible to stow it when you have all the seats in!

If you really want the tonneau cover I'd go for a supplier who will order the vehicle with this option from the factory - it's

I have a 2-month-old 130. My first diesel, and I love it. 4000 on the clock, it's reporting 40+ mpg, depending on the roads. I nearly bought mine from Jamjar, but their delivery date slipped to the right and I found a dealer with one in stock (delivery date was critical to me). No problems with jamjar - they even refunded my deposit without a question. But I did discover that some Ford dealers were even cheaper (and some were much more expensive). If you want any extras, like the load cover, order with the car as they're extortionate afterwards. Surprised SA Intruder didn't mention it, but consider the Seat Alhambra. Same basic vehicle and engine, different fittings, generally more gadgets for your money, depending on the deal you get (I got a Galaxy Ghia for less than I could get an Alhambra SE for, despite a list price difference of

In good daylight or at night when everyone has their lights on, the darker windows may not make any difference. But on a damp winter's afternoon, just getting dark, some fool driving without lights - you need all the light transmission you can get. It's little consolation that they were at fault when they smash into the side of your vehicle.

I got my aero bars from www.skidrive.co.uk in Cambridge - 20% less than the High Street. Other internet sales but none I could find as cheap. I'd recommend buying the bars and box together, so the onus is on the supplier to ensure they're all compatible!

I used my old Karrite roofbox on my Galaxy for the first time at the weekend. Surprisingly little noise or fuel economy impact. I'm using Thule Aero bars - expensive, but they really are quieter than the rectangular section ones, though you may need special fitting for the box.

In my experience, this does happen but only on moderately steep inclines or when you are trying to maintain a low speed - at higher speeds you need power to counteract drag. As the manual says (and I paraphrase) Automatic Speed Control doesn;t absolve the driver of responsiblity and the need to pay attention. If anything, you have to pay a bit more attention because reaction is slower - you don't slow till you hit the brake or clutch, rather than when you life your foot. Setting cruise and then climbing into the back for a coffee (as tried by a Winnebago owner in the US) is not recommended - though he successfully sued the manufacturer because the manual didn't say he should leave the vehcile to its own devices. Don't know about anyone else, but I find that when I use cruise I tend to set it 5-10 mph slower than I might drive manually.

The situation with warranties seems confused. As I understand it the car comes with a 1 year manfacturer's warranty which is upped to 3 years by the importer. It's all the same if it's not a grey import (though whether the 3 year warranty is Europe wide, as the first year will be, I don't know). To muddy the waters further, I've been told that all cars sold in the EU must have at least a 2-year warranty.

It's true, the new Galaxy doesn't have "Range" on it, even though the current Alhambra clearly does. Another subtle difference between the Ford and the Seat/VW. Don't know why, but maybe it's to do with credibility - a friend who ran out of fuel on the motorway was assured by the on board computer that he still had 60 miles left! (Not in a Galaxy though).

I think it is available - at a price. My car came from stock without the "Versatility Pack" (load cover & cargo net). A

I had to find this out quick the other day, parking the car on a ferry, didn't want my alarm going off at sea (again). Always surprises me that this information is buried in the manual. My Zafira was similar - you had to press both interior light switches together before locking the car to disabe the ultrasonic sensors. Very clever, but hardly intuitive!