Denis

I wonder why the headlights seem so much more effective in the facelifeted versions. Higher Wattage bulbs? If so why weren't they fitted to the older models?

As headlight alignment is checked as part of the MOT test and is therefore not a big deal to carry out, I wonder if your local garage/MOT centre would check them for you for a few quid?

dipso, you don't say what year your car is but I had this problem on my T reg auto and the cure was to adjust the inhibitor sensor- i think it is an optical sensor rather than a switch. If you remove the cowling over the gear selector you will see a small screw sealed with an orange thread sealing compound. Careful adjustment- one or two turns was all it took on mine.

I really enjoy driving my V6- many of the good points have already been mentioned though I like to wind the window down and listen to the engine when I am going slowly- the best kind of music! Having changed from a 2.3 I also appreciate the improved overtaking, this alone is worth the extra fuel costs. Like Richmond and Dally I bought the car myself and pay for my own petrol. Pricey but for me, worth it.

It does seem a bit daft that once a fault has been logged by the computer, even if it was a temporary condition, that the warning light remains on. But thinking about it, I wonder if this is a safety measure so that an intermittent fault in the airbag system forces you to visit the dealer? Without this, people might be tempted to drive their cars with an airbag system that worked some days and not others and crossing their fingers that they don't have an accident when the system is having an 'off' day.

Well... a mate of mine has fitted something like this to his Golf TDI, it fits in the wiring loom and can be removed easily when it goes in to be serviced. He is delighted with it, he claims increased power and increased MPG... it would be interesting to see some independent figures to back up the claims of the manufacturers.

Thanks seatkid. The idea of 'anticipating' a start when someone opens the door seems a really neat idea.

I thought the glow plugs protruded into the cyclinder, like a spark plug, to make a kind of 'hot spot' and encourage ignition when the cylinder was cold. Am I wrong or have I misunderstood your explanation seatkid?

The Dunlop 2020's and Conti Ecosport have 'Reinforced' marked clearly on the sidewall, suspect the other manufacturers would do the same.

Sounds a bit odd- I've had mine almost dry and never got anywhere near that amount in it. Either: -The petrol pump was 'faulty'. -Or the tank has a generous reserve, I wonder if anyone has ever run out of fuel and then noted how much it takes to refill it?

Yurir, I take it you are experiencing the (not uncommon) squeaking fanbelt tensioner problem, my 2.3 suffered this at about 20k miles. The tensioner I am sure, had to be replaced as an assembly, I think it was

I'm a bit confused by all of this myself. I assumed all facelift models had Xenon headlights, are they an option? The headlights in my car are vastly superior to my last (pre-lift) model so I assumed they were Xenon. How can we tell what we have? I too have the dashboard adjuster and it doesn't seem to do much- but self levelling suspension- wouldn't this be a hugely expensive option fitted to only a few cars?

EEk! what do you mean Seatkid- that dud cars get put into the Ford Direct pool? Wouldn't it show up on the logbook, that there had been more that one previous owner? I'm worried now, think I'll check my V5 tomorrow.. <_<

Thanks seatkid, I have tried that also. Though it's not a whistle, more a buffeting sound. Strangely, someone I work with has a 53 Galaxy and he has always maintained that his car doesn't have this problem. Today I borrowed his car and it's just as bad as mine! So I guess part of the problem might be how good your hearing is!

I bought my car from Ford Direct and was pretty happy with the deal. It came at the price listed on the website too. I tried to buy the car through a couple of the small Ford dealers near me because I thought the aftersales would probably be better but they weren't interested. They said basically, the price (or their margin perhaps?) was too low. So I was forced to buy from large main dealer a bit further away.

Having done a variety of tests I think I have a better idea of where the noise comes from. It seems to be turbulence in the air that passes just above the mirror mounting. If you drive with the window open and feel the air passing above the mount, it is very turbulent. If the window is open you don't really notice it but when the window is closed the turbulent air hits the glass and hence the noise. I have done a few experiments and haven't managed to cure the noise, though I have been able to significantly change it by taping small objects to the door, just above the mirror mount, in order to disrupt the airflow. Quite a few of us seem to have this problem, if anyone comes up with some more ideas I think it would be really good. Maybe we need those horrible clip on perspex wind deflectors that used to be so popular. Uugh!

Looking at the state of my old disks which were heavily scored/ grooved, they seem to live a very hard life. But then how heavy is a Galaxy? 50% more than a standard car?

Assuming you mean a wobble when braking then 2 Years/ 20,000 miles.... could be the disks again. My 2.3 Auto ate up two pairs of disks over three years!

A common problem used to be water under the passenger seat rotting a box of electronics that sits there- but possibly the box had been resited by the time the 99 models were produced. You could try disconnecting the battery for 5 minutes to reset the electronics, this has worked recently for a mate of mine who had a focus that wouldn't unlock the boot.

Thanks for the offer AndyJflet, I am in Bristol. Yes, it is getting frustrating. The worst thing dropping the car off/ collecting it from the garage only to find the problem is exactly the same. My car came from Ford Direct, I can't see any sign of repairs though I am not an expert. The passenger and drivers windows seem to be positioned the same as far as the arrows go, about 1cm gap from the bottom of the arrow to the door rubber.

I have given it a go, driving with the mirror folded flat. It didn't effect the noise at all so perhaps that eliminates the mirror. Driving along with the window open, even though it was quite windy over the weekend there seemed to be an excessive amount of turbulence, again it's hard to tell where it's coming from. So could it be that the door seal is ok, but the turbulence around the windows is what causes the problem? It's all very puzzling.

I'll give it all a good check over tomorrow Ivor. I'll try taping up the gaps on the mirror housing, I think that there wil be an immediate improvement once I've found the part causing the noise. Looking back, my T reg Gal suffered from a very loud wind whistle which was caused by something in the mirror housing, and only on the drivers side!

I would not claim to be an expert but it sounds quite ridiculous to me!

There have been numerous references on the forum to new shape Gal's suffering from this problem. Mine has been back to the dealers twice for 'adjustments' and it is as bad as ever. Yesterday I did a few experiments with some masking tape and found the following, -Taping the join between the door and the bodyshell didn't improve the problem. -Taping around the top of the window glass didn't help either. -Taping the groove at the bottom of the roof rail, at the front, didn't make any difference. So I wonder if the problem isn't with the door seal at all? Maybe it is turbulence from the mirror? I don't know. But I don't get how Ford and their dealers claim this isn't a known problem when clearly, it is?

Dally et al, I have done a few experiments and I would say my car isn't happy between about 1000 and 2500 revs. If I hold the revs at that level it seems sort of hesitant/ uncertain- but not as bad as the kangaroo jumping it does now and then. It was in the local dealer yeaterday, surprise surprise they found nothing logged on the ECU.