rwtomkins

Thanks a million, MM, will do. Certainly beats the previous suggestion but thanks anyway, Seatkid!

Heading east out of Machynlleth at the end of the family holiday on Saturday, I switched on the wipers in a shower and the one on the passenger side promptly flew off. I stopped the car and retrieved it but it seems the plastic component that holds the blade assembly onto the arm has disintegrated. Can anyone tell me if you can just buy the new plastic bit or whether you have to buy an entire new blade assembly? I think I must have broken it when washing the car the previous day and lifting the wipers up.

Where do all you folks go on holiday with 5 bikes strapped to the back? My kids are just getting into bikes but I don't know a holiday destination where they can use them safely, except Center Parcs which is too expensive. Is there somewhere where very young children can have great fun cycling around while not being on a public road?

If the stick's in tiptronic mode (over to the right) then, like MATT says, the gears should only change up when the revs hit the red zone. But I think I'm right in saying they change down whenever they feel it's appropriate, which can be a bit annoying. Oddly, if you use manual gear selection (with the stick over to the left, selecting 1,2,3 etc instead of D) you can take the revs right through the red zone until the engine explodes without the gears ever changing up by themselves.

You can read all about it here http://www.fordgalaxy.org.uk/ford/index.ph...=2116&hl=chrome but I'd also be interested to hear from anyone else who's had experience of fitting the kit - any problems, etc.

Heavens, tim-spam, why pay so much? As Marky points out above, the official Ford 505.01 product - SD 5W40 - as specified in the Galaxy handbook is only a little over twenty quid for FIVE litres. People say the Millers 505.01 product is also around the same price if you can find it, or get it delivered.

My guess is it's the plastic grill at the bottom of the windscreen. This is well know as a source of noises, often including a banging or rattling sound at higher speeds. Mine's been whistling since I last took the Gal in for a service, presumably because they removed the grill to change the pollen filter. Usual cure is just to give it a thump.

Interesting ideas... much appreciated, thanks a lot guys. It seems this isn't a problem others have. I think I need to analyse exactly when the problem starts and when it stops, to see what it coincides with. I wonder if it's anything to do with the "ignition" switch? There must be a light switch inside there because something switches the interior lights on when you pull the key out. Will post the outcome when I have one.

When I get into the car and the interior lights come on, they flicker - not completely on and off, more a kind of trembling. If I put the exterior lights on, they flicker in exactly the same way. This continues even after I start the engine and isn't affected even if I rev the engine. However, after about a minute's driving, it stops all by itself and doesn't happen again until... When I reach the destination, stop the engine and pull the key out, the interior lights come on and start flickering again. If I put the exterior lights on, I can see them flickering in exactly the same way. Has anyone else had this or can anyone suggest what might be causing it? It's more a niggle than a problem but I'm afraid it might be a symptom of some impending problem that I ought to get fixed while the car's still under warranty.

If you replace the rims, don't you have to make sure the new rims are the same weight as the old ones? Otherwise the suspension might not be properly suited to them. Just a thought - I know nothing about this, though I'd like to know more.

I agree, GSMGuy, but to be fair to tahirti3 it did sound as though he was getting an excessive amount of smoke and this is a known fault. There's a technical services bulletin on this - please correct me if I'm wrong but I think it's 118/2000. If tahirti3 points this out to his dealer maybe he can get the problem cured a bit more effectively.

That link is for Air Con John, I believe. He's been recommended before on this site. Good to know he's still around - I'm wondering how soon I'm going to need him!

I agree the standard Ghia alloys are not especially nice and I'd be interested in something better-looking. Anyone else got any suggestions?

Just picked up the Gal on its return from the bodyshop and they seem to have done a very good job on it. And guess what? THEY DIDN'T OVERFILL THE OIL. They even returned the container of SD 5W40 I supplied with about half a litre left in it. Is this a first? Am feeling pathetically grateful.

I completely agree, I think the road noise is a major disppointment on the Gal and unworthy of a vehicle that advertises itself as travelling first class. Only small consolation is that I think I heard roads in this country are being gradually resurfaced with lower-noise asphalt as part of a campaign to reduce aural pollution. It's very noticeable how the internal road noise varies from one type of road surface to another. PS: I'm on Dunlops.

GalMan: there was a thread on this two or three months back in which IIRC seatkid and/or others gave a detailed description of what happens. In my case they completely bent in the metal flange that sticks vertically downwards from the bottom of the sills, fore and aft. It was immediately visible from a crouching position. I would see the service manager when you take it in, say you are a member of an on-line forum that says this is a notorious problem with Galaxys and asking for his assurance that it won't happen to you, and if it does, that he'll accept full responsibility for the repairs. Probably won't work but...

I think I see now - it's a bit like the cambelt & tensioner change at 40K on the TDI. I presume that's not included in the price of the basic service either but it's highly advisable to get it done.

Picked the car up from the second annual service yesterday and guess what, when I came to give it the once-over before driving it away, they'd crushed the sills on both sides. It's thanks to this site I had the presence of mind to look for the damage - even though it was after dark - before driving the vehicle away. The mechanic - sorry, technician - just wanted to bang them back into shape with a brummy spanner but I said no way, I want this in the body shop for a professional repair and a written guarantee that the work will be good for at least as long as the original bodywork guarantee. They manager agreed without hesitation. It strikes me that the reason why services are so expensive is that only half the money goes on the work actually done, the other half pays for rectifying the damage they do. Grrr. And I haven't even checked the oil level yet!

Sorry not to be clear, the car is indeed two years old - the mileage is a lot less than 20K. I still don't underastand- if the fluid change is required at the 2-year interval it should surely be included in the price, and if it's not, it shouldn't be on the schedule.

My TDI is in for its second annual service (20,000 miles) and I've just had a call from the dealer saying the only extra thing is a brake fluid change costing around

I can't back it up with facts but I believe blatters is correct - as long as the auto function is on, the aircon system is operating and the climate control mixes appropriate quantities of chilled and heated air to provide the right level of warmth and humidity in the cabin. If I remember correctly the handbook states the need to run the aircon for at least 30 mins a month but does not state any need to fool the aircon into switching itself on by selecting an abnormally low temperature setting. If anyone is still in doubt, you don't have to freeeze to death to make sure the aircon is on - you can set the climate control to an abnormally high temperature, then reset it to normal, and you will feel the aircon cooling the cabin down. But I'm convinced this is completely unnecessary.

With respect, I disagree - although the turbojet sound is certainly unmistakeable from outside the vehicle I am never aware of it when I'm inside with the engine running and the doors and windows shut. However, the sound I CAN hear is the tick tick tick of the fuel pump that serves the booster heater. This is a known fault - completely harmless - affecting some years of production and I'd like to get it fixed when I take the car in for its service on Monday. Can anyone tell me the number of the technical service bulletin that covers the rectification of this defect so I can point it out to the dealer? It was sometime last year I think.

I've got a black Gal with oyster beige interior. They contrast beautfully and there's a lot to be said for a light-coloured interior trim to make the interior more light and roomy. But obviously you have to be that much more careful about marks and stains. If I was starting again I'd definitely treat the upholstery with some sort of protective spray.

Yes, sorry to be unclear, I meant the auto box would lop quite a bit off the mpg - they always do, don't they? Not least because IIRC they've got one gear less than the manual box.

Presumably an auto box makes quite a difference. But I'm agog at all these stories of 50mpg from a 115 - I struggle to get 40mpg on long journeys of congested motorway driving at about 60-70mph.