Ask The Guide

I definitely agree that 60,000km is pathetically short for the lifespan of a modern transmission. And if, indeed, the transmission has failed or is showing dramatic wear in that distance, I’d be asking Hyundai to help out with the cost of repairs. Even though the vehicle is out of warranty (by only about a year it would seem) the low kilometres and full factory service history might give Hyundai cause to come to the party on a pro rata basis.

Meantime, don’t hit the panic button yet. The fault could be a much simpler one than you might be imagining and could be something quick and easy to fix. The problem could be as simple as low transmission-fluid level. If the quoted cost to examine the transmission is putting you off, try an independent transmission specialist who should be more than familiar with this unit.

The Stinger is a great car if you like a big dollop of performance with your motoring. The twin-turbocharged V6 engine really packs a punch and there’s not much else around at the price that feels as potent.

But your budget gets you into some pretty impressive vehicles including mid-spec versions of the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4, both of which offer plenty of performance, equipment and pizzazz. It all depends on how you prioritise performance versus luxury and whether you place much value on the car’s badge. If not, then the South Korean Kia Stinger starts to look even more like a match for the European establishment.

That certainly is a lot of kilometres for a car that’s just seven years old. However, the car’s service history and how it’s been driven is far more important than the simple number showing on the odometer. If the car has a fully stamped and complete service record (with no missing services) then it’s a better buy than one with fewer kilometres but no written service history.

How and where the car has been driven is crucial, too. Country miles are generally kinder to a car’s driveline than stop-start city driving. And check for a tow-bar. Has the car towed anything heavy? These are all questions you need to ask before making a deal on any car.

Even though the car isn’t moving, putting it in gear, does place some load on the engine. The rule of thumb is that a miss under load will be ignition related. These engines are well known for failing coil-packs which, essentially, provide the spark for the engine. If these aren’t operating correctly, a miss can certainly be one symptom.

But a better approach would be to have the car scanned electronically. At that point, the car’s own computer will very possibly throw up the answer to what ails it. That will save you a lot of time and money changing parts that were not the problem in the first place.

Even if you could get the radiator from a Focus (and you haven’t told me what year Focus) a radiator designed to cool a small four-cylinder engine probably wouldn’t have the capacity to cool a larger, V6 engine as found in a 2002 Ford Cougar. Perhaps it would work at moderate speeds in cool weather, but a freeway drive in high ambient temperatures would very possibly see it fail to cope. You’d also need to ensure that the radiator suited the transmission fitted (a radiator for a manual car can be different to one for an automatic).

From what I can see, the radiator to suit a 2002 Cougar is, in fact, interchangeable (on some level) with that of a six-cylinder Ford Falcon from 2002 to 2008. Perhaps that would be a better idea, but I’d still be running a tape measure over both cars and taking careful note of where the mounting points are. Or, simply buy the radiator that’s designed to fit the Cougar.

Not really sure what the axles have to do with a tyre that has jumped ship, but perhaps you mean the whole front wheel and tyre assembly came adrift. If so, you’re lucky not to have crashed or hurt yourself or somebody else. If this was caused by a broken axle (also called a driveshaft) then perhaps that’s the basis of your question.

However, the answer is probably no; the driveshafts from a 2002 and 2006 Focus are unlikely to be interchangeable. Even though the engines and gearboxes form each of these two Focus models were similar, the later car was 141mm wider, which almost certainly means it had longer driveshafts than the earlier car. But if a replacement driveshaft is what you need to get back on the road, I wouldn’t have thought finding one from a 2006 Focus (the same as yours) would be such a problem. Parts recyclers are likely to have plenty of these cars in stock, and specialist driveshaft shops can be a great source of spare parts also.

Isuzu switched to a new, Euro 5-compliant engine for the D-Max ute in 2017. To meet the stricter Euro 5 emissions requirements, a DPF was fitted. But D-Maxes before that time do not have a DPF fitted. On that basis, your car will not have a DPF.

Given the problems experienced by owners of DPF-equipped vehicles (not just Isuzus) this is one of the things that has made the older D-Max such a popular second-hand buy.

Your vehicle has an official braked-trailer towing limit of 1500kg, so with the caravan at its maximum weight (the Aggregate Trailer Mass of 1478kg you’ve quoted) the answer is a technical yes. However, being so close to the maximum allowed towing mass means you’ll really be right on the limit of what’s safe and legal.

That, of course, is if you run the caravan at or near that ATM, which is the mass of the total towed load including water tanks and luggage. If you tow the van with empty water tanks and nothing inside it, it’s weight should be well shy of that ATM number. At which point, you’re looking a whole lot better.

Both two and four-wheel-drive variants of the Everest have identical towing limits of 3000kg with a braked trailer. So, on paper, there’s nothing to split them as tow-cars. And the reality is that a rear-wheel-drive vehicle should be a terrific tow-car, especially one like the Everest which is fairly heavy itself and has tough suspension and plenty of brakes.

The complications start when you tell me you want to use the vehicle to tow `mainly on road’. That suggests to me that there’ll be times when you may not be on sealed roads. At which point, the extra grip of the all-wheel-drive Everest might prove to be the difference between getting to where you want to go and not getting there at all. All-wheel-drive really comes into its own when the surface you’re driving on is less than perfectly grippy. Towing a caravan at the time only makes that difference greater and, when you’re half way along a dirt road and it starts to rain, that all-wheel-drive will be worth its weight in gold.

A minor increase in noise when shifting to four-wheel-drive is quite a normal thing to happen. By selecting four-wheel-drive, you’re suddenly engaging the transfer-case output shaft, the front differential and the front driveshafts. So, fundamentally, there’s a lot more mechanical stuff happening, and that’s probably what you’re hearing.

But the change in noise shouldn’t be a huge one, nor should it involve a high-volume noise of any kind. If there’s something screeching, grinding or knocking when the vehicle is in four-wheel-drive, then there’s probably something wrong with the driveline. If the noises are loud or nasty, then you need to have the vehicle inspected to find the cause and fix it before it causes more damage.