Ask The Guide

It’s rated to tow 1700 kg with a trailer equipped with brakes, and 750 kg if the trailer has no brakes. Fitting a towbar won’t affect the warranty.

Most versions of the Santa Fe diesel had a timing chain, but there was a 2.2-litre CRDi diesel, codenamed aD4EB-V, made between 2006 and 2010 that had a belt. Check the code number of your engine to see if you have that engine.

It’s not likely to be a burned valve, as the engine would be running roughly if it were. It could be the tappets. Next time you start the engine lift the bonnet and take a moment or two to listen to the engine to see if you can get an idea of where the noise is coming from.

As the car is running normally, with no other signs of a problem it’s most likely to be condensation in the exhaust system. If so it’s nothing to worry about. Changing the fuel won’t make any difference.

It could be a loose wire on the selector switch, or maybe the switch itself could be faulty.

Yes, it was fitted with an engine immobiliser from the factory.

It depends what your priorities are, but I’d be going for the 3.0-litre turbo-diesel V6 version; it has good performance, decent fuel consumption, is well equipped, and comfortable on road.

The Vito van has been under scrutiny for failing to meet the emission laws, and Mercedes has been ordered to recall them.

Remember Jeep has gone through a huge change in ownership following Fiat’s buyout of the company from Daimler. There have certainly been quality issues since Fiat took over, but they don’t appear to be as frequent now as they were.

I assume it’s the harmonic balancer on the engine, which dampens vibrations in the engine. A faulty balancer could ultimately damage the engine. The cost seems way too high; a balancer should cost a couple of hundred dollars, so check the quote to see what it includes.