Ask The Guide

It’s possibly a faulty sensor sending the wrong signal to the ECM. Have it checked by your dealer or mechanic.

I don’t believe that what you want is out there, and can only reiterate past advice, buy a Patrol/Pajero/Prado/LandCruiser.

In terms of kilometres done 100,000 km is a significant mental marker, and that’s probably the time to move it on, or at least just less than 100,000 km. The only problem is that you do very few kilometres, so the car would likely be 7-8 years old by the time get close to 100,000 km and that makes it a fairly old car and less valuable. I’d suggest you think about moving it on within the next two years and take advantage of the low kilometres it will surely have done.

They have a lot or problems with the automatic transmission. If you really want to buy a Cruze buy one with a manual gearbox. Apart from the automatic transmission problems they aren’t too bad in terms of reliability. Parts aren’t expensive and they don’t a lot to service.

It’s the clear coat peeling away from the base colour coat and it’s quite common with the more environmentally friendly water-borne paints the industry has been using for a number of years now. Other than repainting affected panels there is nothing much you can do about it. You could talk to a local panel beater or spray painter for advice.

It’s most likely a problem with the engine management system; it could be a faulty connection, dodgey sensor, or a problem with the ECU.

The shuddering that caused such a flap with the Focus was related to the dual-clutch automatic gearbox that was fitted to earlier models. The 2016 model has a conventional six-speed auto and doesn’t have those issues.

The Corolla is one of the better small cars, it’s both fuel-efficient and reliable, if serviced well and not abused. Others to consider are the Mazda3 and the Hyundai i30.

A Calcium battery is a lead acid battery. It’s just that the calcium replaces antimony in the plates of the battery to give it some advantages, including improved resistance to corrosion, no excessive gassing, less water usage and lower self discharge. Most are calcium today. Battery life depends on so many things, and is generally shorter than in the past. A battery with a two-year warranty should last longer than that, three years is a reasonable estimate, and four years is reasonable for one with a three-year warranty.

A new master cylinder would cost around $100, a shock absorber about the same.