Q & A: Ask Smithy

The automatic transmission in my 2010 Commodore SV6 was replaced recently after developing a fault. Is this a known fault? Do you think I will have this problem again? Is fitting and external cooler an option? What mileage should the transmission be serviced?

17 May 2013

My four-and-a-half year-old Volkswagen Tiguan has developed a vibrating issue when you accelerate. The dealer has had the car now for more than three weeks and has replaced the injectors and the diff without fixing the problem, but has called in VW to help. So far I am satisfied with what has been done, but what should I be paying for, given the length of time they have been working on the car and the parts they have replaced which haven't fixed the problem. Should I only be paying for the parts that have actually fixed the problem? Also what if they can't fix the problem or don't want to invest any more time in trying to resolve the issue, what options would be fair and reasonable in this instant.

17 May 2013

My 2009 Toyota Camry Altise 2.4 has just blown a head gasket after 130,000 km. Just prior to its 30,000 km service it had a complete cooling system failure at highway speed and had to be towed to the nearest dealer. The motor has never been the same since. I advised the dealer that this was the case in documented service notes, and that the motor had developed a ping, but we were assured everything was ok. It was raised again at 60,000 km and they suggested a fuel-injection service without success. The only thing that helped was the expensive option of running the car on high-octane petrol. In a nutshell both the dealer and Toyota have backed away from the prospect of any assistance and we have a quote for $3500 to fix the car. We believe that Toyota should be making some kind of goodwill gesture towards the cost of getting this car back on the road and any suggestions or advice you may have would be greatly appreciated.

17 May 2013

The Jeep Wrangler 2-door 3.8-litre in 2010 has been using on average three litres of oil between services. Each time I have the vehicle serviced I have to purchase an additional 3.6 litres to top it up. I have been in constant touch with the dealer I bought it from, Jeep Australia and the NSW Department of Fair Trading. Jeep Australia has told me that this is a normal amount of oil usage per 1000 km, which I find difficult to accept. My daughter has a 2010 Jeep Wrangler 2-door 3.8-litre and her vehicle uses between 100 to 200 ml of oil between services. The warranty expired in March this year and the problem from my view is getting worse. What can you suggest I do?

17 May 2013

Further to my recent e-mail about the transmission oil cooler on my son's Falcon XR6 exploding, I can advise you that his car is an FG model and it was three months out warranty when it happened. Where does that leave us?

17 May 2013

Ever since new the suspension on my Holden Cruze has rattled, especially over corrugations. Is this normal for this model, and if so is there any easy fix? Would fitting more pliable 17-inch tyres help? I have not mentioned my concerns to my dealer, but as the car is coming to the end of its warranty period maybe I should get my concerns on record. What do you think?

17 May 2013

I was aware that my one-year-old Holden Captiva LX diesel 7-seater was leaking a bit of engine oil, however, after a closer inspection via Holden, it's also leaking water and transmission fluid around the engine area. It needs to have the engine removed and will be off the road for 5 to 6 days. Are you aware of this matter, or indeed has anyone else experienced this problem with the Captiva?

17 May 2013

I hope you can advise me on an issue/conflict I have with Holden. I bought a new Holden Barina in 2010. For two years the car was ok, since January this year, the final year of my warranty, I have had nothing but problems with the engine malfunction light coming on. The car is going ok, but as I paid new price for this vehicle I expect it to be in full working order and do not want this problem to decrease any trade-in value I am considering. Since January I have returned the car to the dealer six times and they have not yet been able to fix the problem. In that time they have told me the problem was caused by everything from a fault in the sensor to bad petrol, a problem with engine parts and now faulty fuel injectors which they now cannot get parts for within Australia. They told me the car is perfectly safe and fine to drive, which I refuse to do as I don't wish to void my warranty and this totally contradicts what is in the owner's manual. In sheer frustration I have contacted Holden and my dealer, but they have all been unhelpful and refuse to give me any refund or replacement of the vehicle. Holden has said they will try to continue fixing the problem until my warranty runs out in October then I am on my own. The car has done 33,000 km.

17 May 2013

Our 2004 Territory was recently in at the Ford dealership, having a recalled matter fixed, and while there I asked the service staff about the towing capacity of the vehicle, as we have upgraded from a Jayco 'Hawk' Camper trailer (tare weight 1000 kg) to a Jayco Expanda pop top (tare weight 1561 kg). The gentleman I spoke with said we really need to have a $700 alteration made to the four-speed transmission to stand up to the towing job. It was the addition of a fan or cooler. He told me that anyone they sold the 'four-speed transmission model' to, where Ford was informed that a towing weight of 2300 kg would apply and the client wouldn't have the aftermarket addition done, Ford would have the client sign a 'waiver' to exempt Ford of any responsibility to replace a blown transmission. He said the six-speed transmission is capable of our requirements, but not the four-speed. Is this true? If yes, and we have the work done, I'm guessing there is still a chance the transmission could go.

03 May 2013

After coming across an article written in December 2012 quoting the Mazda Public Relations Manager stating that there was a fix for the problem of the oil level increasing in the Mazda CX-5 diesel (software update and new dipstick) and Mazda had already begun contacting affected owners I contacted two Mazda dealers about it. Firstly, three months after that article, I had not been contacted by Mazda to have my car reworked. Secondly, the first dealer told me that they were unaware of any fix. The second dealer said the same thing, but then searched around on his computer and found that there was indeed a fix and I booked my car in to have the work done. The “fix” is a software update, which I assume does something. The second part of the “fix” is a new dipstick. The only difference with the new dipstick is that the “Full” mark has been moved up to the level where the “X” (danger level) mark was on the old dipstick. Is Mazda now telling us that this level, which they previously had us being paranoid about having to change the oil, is now perfectly acceptable and is not going to damage the engine?

03 May 2013