HJT

Yes I noticed they had done this. It's one of the small things I miss about my Mondeo. I used to hit the button as I stepped out the door from work and by the time I had the building alarm on and the place locked up, the hot air was released from the car. (I was only 20 feet from my car so I wasn't asking to get it nicked by doing this!). Still, I prefer virtually everything else about my Galaxy Ghia so I can't complain. Howard

The Mondeo Ghia has "global open and closing". By pressing and holding the lock or unlock button, the windows and sunroof will open or close depending on whether you are locking or unlocking the car. You may have accidently pressed the button as you walked away from the car and caused the windows and sunroof to open. This feature is documented in the handbook. I actually found this feature very useful on my 2001 Mondeo Ghia. After it had been sitting in the sun all day you could open everything up as you walked to the car and get the hot air out before you got in, rather than having to climb into a baking hot car then get the ignition on then get all the windows down while you fried. Howard

The climate control on my dual aircon 2002 Galaxy does speed the fan up and down and change the temperature of the air coming out but it is not a large shift each time. This is quite normal as it is trying to maintain a constant cabin temperature. If the fan speed and temperature change is very dramatic and very often then I suspect you have a dodgy temperature sensor. Howard

And don't listen to Ford main dealers that tell you it can't be done like I did! Howard

Was the original car purchase a private sale or through a dealer, because as Ivor says, if it's a dealer you have definately got some protection in law on the original purchase. I would definately get some legal advice. One session with a consumer solicitor could save you a lot of money. Or as I mentioned above your home or car insurance company might have a free legal advice line, (many do). Good luck. Howard

Thanks Ivor I'll get it sorted. Howard

Under the "Sale of goods and services act" the goods or service i.e. the warranty has to be of a merchantable quality and fit for the purpose it was sold. Clearly the dealer was negligent in not checking the mileage and has sold you a warranty that is not fit for the purpose it was sold for and is liable. I would definately get some legal advice here. The dealer has sold you a clocked car without informing you and a warranty that is of no use to you. You are in the right on this and should not be out of pocket on it. Howard

It would be interesting to see if they have changed this on the new Mondeo that has just come out this month. Howard

Is the hazard light switch in the face-lift model Galaxy supposed to be backlit when you switch on the headlights, because mine isn't and I'm not sure if the bulb's gone or it's mean't to be like that. Howard

Got the roof box and bars. Went for Thule bars and a Fapa box on the recommendation of the guy from The Roof Box Company. It was larger, cheaper and the quality is as good as the Thule apparently. Tried it out today, you guys were right, no extra wind noise and no funny handling effects. All in all I'm a happy bunny. Howard

Thats pretty unusual, sounds like a duff one that slipped through the quality control net. Howard

Sorry to hear about your aircon troubles. not sure if the Esapce would be any better though. When I was deciding which MPV to get, I read in "What Car" magazines reliability survey, done through one of the warranty companies, that the Espace was one of the most unreliable cars, which put me straight off them. Howard

Diesel engines are more efficient than petrol and don't burn as hot which is why they take longer to reach the normal operating temperature. This is the reason the auxillary heater is supplied, to stop passengers freezing while the engine warms up. Howard

Automatics are great if you do a lot of in town traffic. The down side is they do use a bit more fuel (about 5-6 mpg), and are slower on acceleration (about a second on 0-62). They are also more expensive to repair when things go wrong as they are horrendously complicated inside. I had a Granada Ghia auto back in the mid nineties and it was nice to drive without the hassle of changing gear. Howard

Check your car or home insurance. Many companies like Churchill, More Than, Directline etc offer a 24 hour free legal advice line for any matters at all. I have used this a couple of times and they have always been very helpful. Good luck and don't take any nonsense from them, they often try these sort of things on to get out of paying. Ask them to quote exactly where in the policy (page number,paragraph etc) it states that this isn't covered. Howard

I noticed there were 2 different types of bars, the ordinary and the Aero bars. Might be worth the extra expense of the Aero bars then if they are quieter as I will be using the box on long holiday type journeys where noise could become annoying. Hopefully, using Thule throughout I shouldn't need any special adapters. Howard

Looks like I'll go for the Thule Evo 100 then. Does it create much noise, difference in driving feel and fuel economy? Howard

The car is under warranty, even if it is a coincidence, so they need to fix it at no charge to you. I would kick off big style if they say you have to pay, as the aircon was fine when you took it in. Howard

Hi all Does anyone use a roof box on their Galaxy. I need to get one and was wondering what to go for. I've looked at the Thule Evolution 100 and it seems quite good. Anyone got any advise, comments or recommendations on roof boxes. Howard

I agree, very annoying. It's about the only thing I miss from my Mondeo Ghia. Howard

Had the same thing on my Jan 2002 Diesel Ghia (also silver, maybe it's something to do with the colour :D ) Spotted this on the test drive and insisted the dealer fixed it before I collected the car, which they did. Unfortunately I don't know what was causing it but, there does seem to be an issue here, so it might be worth taking it back to the dealer. The car should still be under warranty as they came with a 3 year warranty (if the servicing is up to date and on time), so it may be covered by that. The mileage on mine was 18000 Howard

Just driven home in the rain and my sensors beeped intermittantly when I reversed onto my drive as the rainwater ran over the sensors. Has it been raining since you picked up the car yesterday? Howard

I have a Ford fitted tow bar on my Galaxy and don't have any problems with the parking sensors. They do beep once when you put the car in reverse but this is to tell you they are on and is normal. Does sound as though there is a problem though if you are getting an intermittant beep. Probably worth taking it back and showing them the problem. Check that the sensors are clean first though as dirt on them can cause problems. Howard

Have you tried speaking to a specialist ICE shop about getting your unit repaired? It might be cheaper than replacing the unit. Howard

When I switch on the ignition of my 2002 diesel Galaxy, I get a loud (ish) heavy sort of thump from the rear of the car. The best way I can describe it is, it is like when you turn on a hifi amplifier and the sound is turned up quite loud and you get a bassy thump from the speakers. It isn't the radio as it happens when this is switched off. Is this normal on all diesel Galaxys? Howard