Ask The Guide

I don't think anybody these days considers less than seven years and just over 100,000km to be the lifespan of a modern engine. Certainly not in a car serviced properly. And since this is a known problem with these engines, I think you have a very good case for Hyundai to at least help out with the repairs on a pro-rata basis.

Our experience lately has been that some Hyundai dealerships have been ignoring cases like these and not giving them the consideration they perhaps should be. In any case, any decision to help out with repairs must come from head office, so I'd forget about the dealership for now and go straight to the top. Hyundai Australia has a customer service division and that's who you need to be talking to. Approaching the ACCC should be your last resort, but at least give Hyundai the chance to do the right thing by a loyal customer.

It's good news. Your car is indeed compatible with E10 fuel which means you can use the slightly cheaper fuel without risking damage to your vehicle. The car should also run exactly the same as it does on normal unleaded petrol, although you may find you use slightly more fuel per 100km. This should, however, be more than offset by the savings you'll make at the pump.

The corolla is typical of more recent small cars by being very frugal and displaying very little fuel consumption difference between the two transmission choices offered; a six-speed manual or a four-speed automatic. In fact the manual's combined official figure of 7.3 litres per 100km is only a fraction better than the automatic's 7.4 litres per 100km over the same test.

Other than the actual numbers, perhaps the most important thing to know in these days of sky-high fuel prices, is that the Corolla can run on standard 91RON unleaded petrol and doesn't require the more expensive 95 or 98RON stuff.

The 2008 Corolla also scores points for being able to use fuel with anything up to 10 per cent ethanol (e10 fuel) potentially saving you even more at the pump.

As with any vehicle, though, by far the biggest factor in fuel economy will be where and how you drive. Highway running will give you the best results, while urban driving uses more fuel. Similarly, drive with a heavy right foot and you will definitely use more fuel than a driver with a more delicate touch on the throttle.

Both those models of Holden used the same engine; the L36 (Holden's internal code) Ecotec V6. As such, you should be able to fit the engine from the VT Commodore into the Statesman with very few other changes. The biggest hurdle will be if the Commodore donor car was a manual-transmission vehicle, as the ECU may be different to the Statesman's unit to allow for control of the electronic transmission. The best bet is to retain the Statesman's wiring and computer and change over only the engine hardware from the Commodore.

The other (minor) catch is that the VT's version of the V6 was tuned for 147kW, while the later version of the same engine in the Statesman was good for 152kW. There was a small torque difference, too (304Nm plays 305Nm). So you'll be trading off a small amount of performance but, realistically, not enough to notice.

I'd start with my local Toyota dealer. Chances are it will have a copy of the relevant DVD in its archives, just as it would have copies of technical manuals for vehicles going way back into Toyota's past. Whether or not you'll be able to make yourself a copy of the DVD is another matter, but it can't hurt to ask.

Failing that, check out your local Toyota or four-wheel-drive club whose members might have the DVD and will be happy for you to copy it. Whether that's a copyright breach, though, might be worth looking into.

If none of those options are available, I've seen the DVD in question advertised online. It isn't cheap, though, at $200 or $300. Perhaps there are websites out there that can download a copy of the files which you can burn to a DVD for a fee.

The smell you're describing has been around since 1986 when all new cars sold in Australia were forced to use unleaded petrol. That move was to protect the catalytic converters fitted from that date (leaded fuel would have damaged them) and the combination of these converters and the new fuel resulted in the smell you're noticing. So it's not new, but it does vary from car to car and possibly even from one brand of fuel to another.

It's supposed to be harmless to humans, but if you can smell it, that automatically means you're being exposed to other chemicals in the car's exhaust emissions, including various carcinogens and carbon-monoxide which is a known killer. Think of the rotten-egg smell as an early-warning system that there's exhaust gas in the air around you. Excessive gas can also be a symptom of a car's engine that is not turned correctly.

It's really important not to run a car engine inside a garage for any longer than is absolutely necessary as these toxins can build up very quickly. It sounds like your garage is attached to your house, and that reminds me why garages were once separate to the house they served. (As were kitchens in the very old days, as a means of ensuring a kitchen-fire didn't take the rest of the house with it.) Don't be tempted to reverse into the garage, instead drive in nose-first, leaving the tailpipe nearest the garage opening and never start the car with the garage door closed.

Honestly, this problem could be caused by anything from a transmission that is worn out to one that is simply low on fluid. It could even be caused by a bad earth somewhere on the car or something as simple as a blown fuse.

You need to take the vehicle to a workshop that can electronically scan the vehicle and hopefully turn up a fault code that will pin-point the problem. Without doing this, you're simply guessing at what the problem might be and will end up replacing parts you didn't need to.

Oil filter part numbers differ according to which brand your use. But in the case of the most widely known brand, Ryco, the engine in your Great Wall will use an oil filter with part number Z516. If you use an AC Delco oil filter, the part number is AC084. Other brands can be cross-referenced (with the part numbers listed above) online at a variety of websites or in the parts manuals kept by automotive parts stores.

This model Colorado doesn't have a completely clean rap sheet in terms of its long-term reliability, so I'd definitely want to see a complete service history with no gaps or skipped maintenance. Beyond that, manual-transmission versions of this car didn't like towing and had a small gearbox component that could fail requiring a new gearbox.

But even an automatic version was known to have (in some examples) oil consumption problems (Holden's fix was to fit a different dip-stick to alter owners' perception of the consumption). Other problems included leaking coolant plugs, electrical wiring issues and even water leaks into the cabin.

All that said, the Holden was actually an Isuzu D-Max under the skin; a vehicle that has a better than average record for reliability among its peers.

Don't be so sure your car isn't covered by Ford's factory warranty. If it was delivered brand-new (as opposed to built) after May 1 of that year, it's subject to a five-year/unlimited kilometre warranty, so would still be covered. However, if it was delivered before that date, the warranty would have been three years or 100,000km which has now run out. Even so, given the kilometres and the service record, I think you'd be a good case to have Ford come to the party with some help on the repairs on a pro-rata basis.

From what you've told me, I'm guessing you've only dealt with Ford at the dealership level. Go over their heads and talk directly with Ford HQ's customer service department. A quote for $3500 just to examine the car is, on the surface of it, absurd and should be treated with suspicion. Any competent mechanic should be able to diagnose what's going on and whether or not the engine needs to be replaced. My advice here would be to have the car inspected by your state motoring club (the RACV in Victoria) which can give a cost-effective and independent report on the car's condition (and won't cost anything like $3500). This is also excellent legal and evidential back-up if the case does progress to VCAT.

On the face of it, 62,000km is not a reasonable lifespan for a fully serviced engine and the manufacturer should shoulder at least some of the cost of putting it right. Your last resort should be to contact the ACCC and talk to that body regarding your rights under Australia Consumer Law which covers goods (including cars) that are not built to a reasonable level of quality or are unfit for service. A failed engine at such mileage may well fall into that category.