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This is a bit trickier than removing some stereo systems as the unit was designed specifically to fit in the centre-stack of the car, rather than the more conventional double or single-DIN units that are a bit more universal. Assuming you want to replace the standard Ford stereo with an aftermarket unit, you’ll need to purchase a double-DIN fascia panel that replaces the stock unit and allows for mounting the aftermarket head unit. It’s also extremely unlikely that you’ll be able to separate the CD player from the rest of the stereo, so replacing the whole assembly will be your best option.

To remove the standard stereo, you have to disassemble a fair bit of the interior in terms of the plastic trims. This requires some specialised trim-clip removal tools and you need to be careful as these plastic trim pieces are easily damaged or broken.

Be aware, too, that in some versions of the Escape, the wiring for the passenger’s air-bag runs behind the stereo panel, so unless you know exactly what you’re doing, this is a job best left to the experts. It also goes without saying that you should disconnect the car’s battery before attempting any of this. If you’re still keen, a workshop manual for your specific car will be able to walk you through the process in detail.

If the transmission is working properly between bouts of slippage, then it’s reasonable to think that this could be an electronic problem rather than a mechanical one. By turning the ignition off and then restarting, you’re effectively resetting the computer that controls the transmission. That’s why the gearbox comes good for a period before reverting to its old tricks.

That’s on the surface, anyway, but the problem could also be within the torque converter or something intermittent inside the actual gearsets, clutches, bands or valve body that is giving the same set of symptoms.

Ultimately, this is probably going to require a trip to a transmission specialist who will be able to identify the cause more accurately. In the meantime, though, there’s something you can try that might reset the transmission more permanently. On this model Mercedes-Benz, there’s a specific transmission-reset procedure that should take the gearbox back to its original factory settings. If that’s the case, it might fix your problem, but if not, then you need to call in the experts.

The procedure starts with getting in the car, closing all the doors and turning the ignition key to the on position, but not actually starting the engine. You should have all the dashboard lights illuminated at this point. Then, press the accelerator pedal right to the floor, making sure you can feel that the kick-down détente has been activated. Hold the pedal all the way down for at least 60 seconds and then, without releasing the accelerator, turn off the ignition. Don’t open the door and don’t remove the key from the ignition. Now release the accelerator and wait five minutes before starting the engine and going for a test drive.

Good luck.

Although it was a reasonably popular car when it was brand-new, it’s fair to say Holden’s Cruze hasn’t aged terribly gracefully. In fact, there has been an ever-growing list of potential problems including (but not limited to) cracked cylinder heads, broken driveshafts, various oil and coolant leaks, not to mention the Takata air-bag recall fiasco. And, as you have discovered, the automatic transmission was a problem-child, too.

Holden actually extended the warranty of the six-speed automatic to five years or 150,000km, but your vehicle is well outside those parameters. Which means, as you’ve pointed out, you decision now comes down to repair or replace the car.

This model Cruze varies enormously in price, and your car could be worth anything from $5000 (at which point you’d be over-capitalising with a new gearbox) to $15,000 which would mean it’s worth fixing. Based purely on the kilometres your car has travelled, I’d say its second-hand value is somewhere right about the middle of those two numbers, which muddies the waters ever further.

Perhaps you should have the rest of the car checked out by a specialist who might be able to give you a more concrete idea of where you stand. Obviously, throwing several thousand dollars at a car that’s about to break somewhere else makes no sense. Remember, too, that selling the car with a broken gearbox means it’ll be worth almost nothing.

Subaru has a long history with the CVT transmission, and it hasn’t always been clear sailing. The first Subaru to feature this transmission was the Justy in the late 1980s and while we saw the similar Sherpa model, Australia never got the CVT transmission. In fact, the Justy had so many transmission problems that it was dumped from world price-lists in about 1995.

Our first taste of the Subaru CVT was in 2009 with the launch of the fifth-generation Liberty and Outback models which featured a CVT on four-cylinder petrol versions of the car.

The CVT has since been extended to the brand’s Impreza, Forester, XV and even the sporty WRX line-up.

And, yes, there have been issues reported by owners. While catastrophic failures have not been widely documented, the Subaru CVT’s overall behaviour has been criticised on a number of levels. Those include a jerkiness to forward progress (particularly in low speed and light throttle conditions) harsh shifting, shuddering under acceleration and a delay when selecting gears from Park. In some instances, a reflash of the electronic control module has improved things, for other cases, Subaru has introduced a completely new, improved software package.

Part of the reason Subaru has copped so much flak over the CVT is that the symptoms it displays are often the death-knell for other types of transmissions and consumers- rightly – have been worried. To counter this in the USA, Subaru extended the drivetrain warranty of 1.5 million cars with CVTs from five years and 100,000km to 10 years and 160,000km.

But even if total transmission replacements don’t seem common, do you want to live with this gearbox? For many people the answer is no. But to be fair, most of the problems seem to have occurred on pre-2018 models and later CVTs appear to be better units.

In the case of the Outback you’re interested in, with the update of that model in 2018, the CVT was revised with a revised torque-reduction control to improve upshift clarity, a short-pitch chain was used for lower noise and a revision to the shifter was made to improve shift feel (although we suspect that’s feel through the shifter itself, not the way the transmission feels when it selects a gear).

The Jayco Lark is available in two forms, the Touring (on-road model) and the Bushpack (designed for rougher roads and bush camping). Because of its higher ride-height and different construction (to handle rough tracks) the Bushpack weighs slightly more than the Touring with a tare weight of 1030kg versus 980kg. Of course, that’s the unladen weight and both versions of the Lark have a loading mass of 415kg (including an 80-litre water tank) that would take them, fully loaded, to a weight of 1445kg and 1395kg respectively.

The 2021 Nissan X-Trail, meanwhile, can legally tow a braked trailer up to 1500kg (1650kg for the diesel-engined version). So, yes, you can legally tow a fully-loaded Jayco lark with your vehicle.

There seems to be a bit of confusion around what this model can and can not tow. Plenty of info sources have published a legal towing limit of 2500kg for some versions of this car. But Mitsubishi checked for me and told me that since the 2011 model-year, all Challengers have been legally able to tow 3000kg. Prior to that (MY2010 and earlier) the limit was 2500kg. That’s why your tow-bar is stamped with a 3000kg limit.

The other possibility, says Mitsubishi, is that your car is a private import from another market and may not match Australian-delivered cars spec for spec. Also, if your tow-bar is not a genuine accessory one, it could itself be rated to 3000kg, even if the car it gets fitted to is not. The other problem, or course, might be a roadside chat with a police officer who has read the incorrect specifications for this model (as you have) and has decided you’re towing too much.

Failing or fluctuating needles on a car’s dashboard are often a symptom of a poor earth somewhere in the wiring loom. But the fact that the engine dies whenever this random symptom occurs suggests that there’s something a little deeper going on electrically. The tachometer needle could even be a red herring of sorts; going out in sympathy with the engine which has suddenly quit.

For that reason, you really need to have the car electronically scanned to see if it throws up any fault codes that can lead you to the problem component. It’s likely there’s a bad connection somewhere or a sensor that is suffering a slow death and giving these intermittent faults which stop the engine in its tracks. Without every sensor (and there can be dozens of them) working properly, a modern engine has no hope of functioning properly.

It's also worth mentioning that, in 2015, Kia issued a service bulletin for this particular Rio, examples of which had been illuminating their check-engine light and recording fault codes. The fix was to reprogram the ECU (the computer that controls the engine) so that’s would be worth checking, too. A Kia dealer should be able to identify cars that have had this fix.

The decision to repair or replace comes down to a lot of things, starting with whether you’re spending more on the car than it’s actually worth. Right now, a 2006 CR-V Sport has a market value of something like $9000 or $10,000, so spending $3500 on it won’t necessarily be a deal breaker.

So what about replacing it with a second-hand car? One of the biggest problems with this is that you are then stuck with a non-working car (your CR-V) to dispose of, and non-running cars are notoriously difficult to unload. Typically, you’ll end up selling it to a wrecking yard for scrap value. That means you’d be tearing up plenty of money. That said, spending the $3500 on it and then selling it, won’t increase its value beyond the market value of $9000 to $10,000, but at least it would still be worth something (as opposed to nothing).

Good second-hand buys now are things like Hyundais and Kias which had a six or seven-year factory warranty and, in the case of a three-year-old example will still have about half of that to run. The catch is you need to find an example that has a full service history so that the warranty will be honoured. But these are reliable, good quality cars that have a good track record and represent hassle-free ownership in most cases.

If you’re going to tackle a home service on a vehicle like your Nissan, the first piece of advice is to buy a workshop manual and then find out exactly what a 150,000km service on that car demands. A service is not as simple as an oil and filter change, and if you don’t know what else is involved, you’ll almost certainly miss things. And don’t forget, the service list for the 120,000km service will almost certainly be different to the 150,000km job. Check the car’s glovebox for the service handbook which – if you’re lucky – will list the things you need to check and change for this service. The workshop manual, meanwhile, will let you in on the little secrets that make your car tick and how to get at the various bits and pieces.

As a guide, though, the petrol-engined T31 X-Trail’s 150,000km service requires replacement of the oil, oil filter, air filter, brake fluid and air-conditioner filter. You also need to inspect (and rectify if necessary) the drive belts, cooling system, fuel lines, EVAP vapour lines, brake and clutch fluid, brake and clutch system, brake booster hoses, transmission oil/fluid level, steering and suspension, differential oil, wheel alignment, seat-belts, and the park brake. This service also calls for lubrication of the vehicle’s locks and latches.

And people complain about the cost of a simple service!

Prices of second-hand vehicles like the Ranger are high right now, mainly because there are such long waiting lists for new vehicles. When that happens, people who want their car now start looking at the second-hand market. At which point, simple supply and demand mechanics dictate that prices rise.

Even though the Ranger isn’t as badly affected as some makes and models, there’s still an average waiting time of two or three months for a brand-new Ranger (depending on specification). Which is why there’s a strong market for a second-hand example like yours that has been looked after and serviced properly. The low kilometres showing also puts a vehicle like yours on to the short-list of a brand-new buyer being forced to look for a second-hand car.

Prices right now for a vehicle matching yours seem to be anywhere from a low of $48,000 up to about $60,000, although whether the selling asking the higher figure will achieve that is another matter. Either way, though, you’d probably start the bidding at around the low-$50s for a quick sale. As an aside, while the accessories, mileage and service history all play well for your car, the extended warranty (protection plan as it was sold to you) probably won’t add a single cent. That’s because these dealer-supplied extended warranties are rubbish (rarely covering anything meaningful) and often are not even transferable to the next owner anyway.