Ask The Guide

If yours is a vehicle with the rotary knob that selects four-wheel-drive (rather than the old fashioned gear-stick method) then you might have a faulty or poorly adjusted switch. While these electronic switching systems were deemed to be an improvement for the driver, many find that the switches sometimes refuse to effect the desired gear or drive-mode selection which, if you suddenly find yourself needing to engage four-wheel-drive in a hurry, can be frustrating to say the least.

You may find some contact-cleaning spray might clean the switch up, but you may also need to remove the rotary switch to either clean it or replace it.

If the problem is not with the switch itself, you may have some other kind of electrical glitch or maybe even a mechanical engagement problem with the transfer-case.

Any commercial vehicle as old as this one must be checked carefully for condition as there’s a fair chance that one or more previous owners has used it as its maker intended. If that’s the case, it might have had a pretty hard life.

Check the maintenance handbook and make sure the vehicle hasn’t suffered skipped servicing or other routine maintenance. An overall check can tell you lots, too. Is the tray battered and scratched? Is there a huge tow-bar assembly hanging off the back? Is the vehicle fitted with a winch and rock sliders? All these things point to plenty of hardcore use and may affect the amount of life left in the thing. Which is another way of saying that any commercial vehicle of a certain age must be assessed on its individual merits rather than any rules of thumb.

This could be a rattle or vibration caused by any number of things, and very possibly to do with general wear and tear. That fact that the vibration goes away when you accelerate or take the strain off the driveline, it’s possibly down to some movement in an engine mount, transmission mount, exhaust or heat shield. But since such harmonics can travel right through the whole car, it could even be a piece of interior trim or fitting that’s rattling and vibrating.

Selecting fourth gear (overdrive in the Micra) at just 60km/h means the engine would be turning very slowly, and this is when the harmonics created would be the most noticeable. Also, the Micra’s engine is a three cylinder which is inherently a bit more vibey than some other layouts. It’s probably just a characteristic of the car rather than an actual problem. The solution is probably to use the overdrive lock-out and hold the car in third gear until you’re travelling fast enough for the vibration not to appear.

The Territory was sold in pretty big numbers, so finding a replacement transmission either in a wrecking yard or a specialist transmission shop shouldn’t be difficult at all. That’s helped by the fact that it used the same transmission as the Ford Falcon and that car sold in huge numbers over the years.

But before you rush out and buy a new gearbox, make sure the one you already have actually needs replacing. Sometimes, a small problem can cause issues like the ones you’re having, and it’s a simple, cheap fix instead of a complete replacement.

The first thing to check is the level of the transmission fluid. Low fluid level can cause a loss of drive like you’re experiencing, and a transmission shop should be able to diagnose exactly what’s going on. That said, a loss of drive in this particular transmission is often the first sign of a terminal failure.

This fault code usually has something to do with the car’s lane-keeping alert program. A lot of newer cars have this system which either warns the driver that they’re straying outside their lane, or in many cases will actually intervene with some steering input to correct the car’s path. Obviously, it’s important that this safety tech works as it should, and the warning you’re seeing is to alert you that the car thinks there’s something wrong with the lane-keeping system.

Depending on the make and model, these systems use radar, cameras and other sensors to detect the lane marking, the edge of the road and even potential obstacles. As such, any problem with any of these devices can throw the system into disarray. But it’s not always a hardware or software fault; sometimes something as simple as a bug-splattered sensor or camera can cause this warning light to flash up on the dashboard. Even minor scrapes and bumps can throw the system off balance, too.

If there really is a problem with the system or its computer control that is not damage related, then you need to take the car back to the dealership as these safety systems should be covered by the car’s warranty. Don’t delay the fix, either. A car without all its safety gear working properly is potentially unroadworthy.

The most common cause of this problem is a flat battery. Often, a battery will have just enough charge remaining to switch on the dashboard lights (which don’t need much power to operate) yet be too flat to actually crank the engine (which requires a huge amount of power).

You can have the battery charged and its overall condition checked, as well as the vehicle’s charging system. You may also find you have something as simple as a loose battery terminal that is not allowing the charge to flow a freely as it needs to.

This sounds like a home bodge designed to keep a car running even if it’s not how Ford intended things to operate. Often, when something like the temperature sensor that controls cooling fans fails, a dodgy fix is to short-circuit the switching mechanism to have the fans running all the time. So, the vehicle’s engine stays cool, but the fans are now running constantly.

Even though you’ve replaced the temperature sensor that controls these fans (which is what the previous owner probably should have done) the short-circuit bodge means the fans still keep running all the time. Fundamentally, you need to work out what was bodged and reverse that process. Only then can you start to fix the original fault. An auto electrician should be able to unravel things for you.

The probability is that you’ve disconnected something electrical to change the crank-angle sensor and failed to reconnect it afterwards. It sounds simple, but it’s a common problem. Either that or the car has been sitting for long enough for the battery to lose its charge.

So start with the basics. Check that the battery is charged up and that the terminals are connected properly and are clean and tight. There may also be a fusible link in the positive terminal that might have blown during the reconnecting process. Then, make sure the earth cable from the battery is, indeed, earthing on the engine or body of the car (preferably both).

If there’s still no joy, you need to check for power at the starter motor. If there’s no electricity getting to the starter or its solenoid, the engine will not crank. If that’s the problem, you need to start chasing the break in electrical continuity, starting with the fuses and relays that control this circuit.

Replacing random parts to fix a problem is a great way to tear up dollars and time. It’s also pretty frustrating when the problem doesn’t go away. The first thing to do is to have the car electronically scanned to see if the car’s own computer can point you towards the cause of the problem.

It may be as simple as the car needs a tune up and a new set of spark plugs, but you won’t know until it’s been properly diagnosed. This is not a complex car, so any good workshop should be able to sort it for you. The other problem, of course, is that the issue is intermittent, so it may take the workshop some time to be able to make the problem appear. Patience is the key here, not throwing a load of new parts at it.

These two readouts are closely linked in that one determines the other. Your average fuel consumption dictates the distance the car estimates it can travel based on what’s in the tank. But variation in these readings is perfectly normal. That’s because the range estimate is based on your most recent driving. So, if your fuel consumption has jumped from 7 to 8 litres per 100km, the computer will adjust the range down to compensate and prevent you from running out of petrol. That’s all very normal.

The bigger question is why your consumption has recently increased. Have you changed your driving style? Are you suddenly towing a trailer? Have you allowed another driver (with a heavier foot) to borrow the car? Are your tyre pressures correct? Have you added a roof rack? Do you now do more city and suburban driving than before? Is the car in need of a service and tune?

All these things can have a noticeable effect on fuel consumption, and any one of them could be the key to your fuel consumption increase and associated range reduction.