Ask The Guide

The standard scissor jack lives under a lift-up panel in the cargo area flooring. If using this to lift the Ford Escape you should lock it in the factory jacking point, located approximately 30cm behind the front wheels or approximately 30cm in front of the rear wheels, as marked in the owner's manual. Laying on the ground you should be able to see a small arrow marked on the vehicle's sills pointing inwards, which is the factory jacking point. Locate the scissor jack on the vehicle's pinch weld (the thin metal strip running along the car under the sill) at the jacking point, ensuring the jack is positioned on flat, stable ground, and the handbrake is on. For floor jacks, otherwise known as trolley jacks, you should position the jack under the centre of the front or rear suspension cradles, lifting from the approved factory lift point as listed in the owner's manual. Ford Escape models weigh between 1670kg (two-wheel drive) and 1750kg (all-wheel drive) depending of the model and trim.

The offer you have been made is pretty standard one, and not a bad one given that your car is now eight years old. If you want to pursue Holden for the full amount it would be best to consult the state consumer affairs department in Perth and get their advice.

Take your car to the dealership, or your local mechanic, and ask them to do it for you. There is something of a black art to correctly aligning headlights and (if you get it wrong) you could blind oncoming motorists or not be able to see the road properly, which could lead to disastrous results.

The automatic transmission in the 2009 model was a conventional one, not the DSG that proved so troublesome after it was introduced in 2011, so there’s no cause for concern there. There was a recall in 2012 related to an injection pipe on diesel engines that could crack with the possibility of a diesel fuel leak and engine fire.

In comparison to other cars on the market today Qashqai parts aren't really considered expensive. Some parts are more expensive than more common vehicles like Toyota's RAV4 or Mazda's CX-5, while they're also cheaper than many European marques.

Of those choices the Mitsubishi Mirage would appear to be the best option. It is the newest, has the fewest kilometres, and is the cheapest. It’s also reliable and should give you good service. In order of preference I would suggest the Toyota Corolla and the Holden Cruze.

Start by using a trim removal tool to lever out the shiny black trim that runs across the dashboard. When you get to the air vents in the centre, these come out with the black trim and you can lever from the top of the air vents to make it easier to pop them out. Behind the air vents there is one bolt and three clips holding the radio unit to the dashboard, so you can push upwards and forwards at the same time and the unit will pop out of the dash. Disconnect the wiring and the radio unit is removed.

The batteries used in Toyota hybrids have been good for many hundreds of thousands of kilometres, so it’s surprising that yours has failed after so few kilometres and just four years old. I would approach Toyota and put your case for a refund to them.

Programming one of Toyota'a new-generation Smart Keys requires you taking your car to the dealer to have it coded to the new key. Specialist computer programs are required as they have to pair your key to your specific car, via the car's computer. This makes the car secure to your particular keys.

I doubt that it is intentional, particularly as they’ve offered to try and buff it out for you.