Ask The Guide

This is one of those questions where there are no hard and fast answers. The lifespan of pretty much any automotive engine will be determined far more by the way it’s been used and maintained than any rule of thumb being tossed around the industry.

Vehicles that do mainly highway kilometres tend to last longer since the engine is under less stress than one idling in traffic and then accelerating from every traffic light. The same goes for vehicles that have never had a tow-bar fitted versus one that has hauled a three-tonne trailer every day of its life.

Servicing plays a huge part, too, and a well maintained engine will always outlast one that has had skipped oil changes and other preventative maintenance. Overall, diesels used to live longer than their petrol equivalents, but the extent to which modern turbo-diesels are tuned to deliver power and torque means that’s not always the case these days.

Over the years, we’ve seen these Ranger engines fail at mileages as low as 100,000km, while others make it to 300,000 or even 400,000km while still in good health. Common engine problems to watch out for with this model Ranger engines include failed EGR coolers, contaminated and even blocked inlet tracts, worn turbochargers, DPF problems and failures, leaking and faulty fuel injectors and coolant leaks.

The legal dimensions of steel or alloy ute trays actually come down to what each state allows, not what a manufacturer sells. In your state of Queensland, the maximum rear overhang for a ute tray is either 60 per cent of the vehicle’s wheelbase (the distance between the centre of the front and rear axles) or 1200mm, which ever is the smallest dimension. You could try to find a vehicle with a longer wheelbase to increase this distance, but once you’re at 1200mm, you’ve hit the limit anyway.

For side overhang, QLD restricts the overhang to 150mm per side. But that’s measured form the side of the ute’s body, not the tips of the exterior mirrors. A tray supplier should be able to give more advice on this subject and don’t forget that different states and territories have different limits, so check out the local situation before committing to a purchase.

In the old days, this would (probably) have been a simple matter of a faulty wiper switch. But on modern cars, functions like the wipers are controlled by a computer called the body-control module. If this starts to fail it can send odd signals to the various things it controls (wipers, lights, central locking, climate-control, entertainment systems and many more).

An automotive electrician might be able to pin-point the problem, and that’s a good place to start. But before you do that, try this: Disconnect the car’s battery and leave it overnight. When you reconnect the battery, you might just find the computer has reset itself and things return to normal. It can sometimes be just a temporary fix, but it’s definitely worth a try. And it’s free.

Without knowing what the problem is, we can’t advise driving the vehicle any farther as you risk doing more damage. Clearly there’s something with the driveline and the car needs to be scanned to find out what it is.

On the plus side, often the blinking D indicator light means there’s a problem with the transmission pressure sensor, rather than a major problem inside the transmission itself. But until you can determine that for certain, driving the car at all is risking destroying something large and expensive.

There’s not really any such thing as a close fit when it comes to a windscreen; it will either fit and seal, or it won’t and will leak. And these pieces of glass tend to be very different from one make and model to the next with very limited interchangeability. Sometimes, you might get two models within a line-up that share a windscreen, but since the Pyzar was based on the much smaller Charade hatchback, that’s not going to be the case here.

Despite that, I did manage to find at least one online business that claimed to be able to supply the correct windscreen. If that doesn’t work out locally, I believe the Pyzar was a pretty popular model in New Zealand, so perhaps a search of suppliers across the ditch might pay-off. Yes, you’ll have to pay for shipping, but a car with no windscreen is pretty much useless until that crucial piece of glass has been replaced.

The widely accepted definition of a vintage car is one that was made between 1919 and 1930. So, no, your Daihatsu is not a vintage car. But a collectible one? That could be different. Really, it’s such a subjective term that it all depends on your personal definition.

But if you apply the template for a car to be considered eligible for historic registration, then your 1995 Applause is definitely in the frame. Most states have a cut-off whereby vehicles need to be at least 30 years old (25 years in Victoria) to be eligible for cheaper (but restricted) historic registration. The aim of this scheme is to allow older cars to remain on the road at a cheaper rate so enthusiasts can enjoy them while also running a more modern car as their daily transport.

This is a great scheme and is good news for the service and spare parts industries as well. And since there’s no ruling on what makes and models are eligible, your Applause is indeed, considered a classic car of sorts. Generally, you’ll need to be a member of an accredited club and use the vehicle within the rules mandated by each state, but the reason we still see so many older cars on the road in this country is partly down to these schemes.

In a broader sense, the chances of a Daihatsu Applause ever being a true collectible car commanding big prices from enthusiasts seems a bit remote. That said, stranger cars have achieved cult status over time, so who knows. Trabant, anyone?

The engine in your Combo has a code-name C14NZ (for future reference). This 1.4-litre four-cylinder unit has an engine oil capacity of 3.5 litres which includes the little extra oil required when you’re changing the oil filter as well as the engine oil.

For the record, changing the filter every time you change the oil is best practice. While some mechanics reckon a filter change is only required every second oil change, the vast majority of tradespeople recommend a filter change with every oil change. Why put clean oil through a dirty filter, is the basic argument.

If you’re planning to do an oil change yourself, make sure you buy a four or even five-litre container of oil as this will allow you to carry out the oil change as well as having some oil left over for top-ups between services.

Your car is fitted with climate-control air-conditioning which means it should be able to be set at, and maintain, temperatures from low to high. To claim that heat can only be produced at settings of 29 degrees (pretty darn hot) and above is just ridiculous.

Perhaps there is a problem with your car that means this is the case, but I can assure you it’s not normal for this, or any other, model.

The first thing to do is try another dealer. But if you don’t do any good there, go over the dealer’s head and tackle GWM’s Australian customer service department. Unless you’ve neglected the car’s maintenance or modified the car in a way that affects the A/C performance, this is almost certainly a warranty issue and GWM needs to fix it. Don’t take no for an answer.

This is a really topical question right now as EVs that are actually rated to tow decent loads start hitting the market. The EV9 with dual motors has a large, 99.8kW battery and plenty of power and torque, making it, on the surface, perfect for towing duties.

Without a trailer hitched up, our testing has showed the big Kia uses about 21 to 22kWh during mostly open-road driving. But experience on EVs generally has shown that towing anything really bumps up the energy consumption and slashes range (which is an official 505km for the EV9). Hook up a really heavy trailer (and 2500kg is getting up there) and you might just find that your effective rage falls to about 200km or maybe even less if you’re not super careful with the throttle pedal.

Ultimately, it will all depend on ambient temperature, driving style, cruising speed, trailer mass and the overall aerodynamics of the loaded rig. Suffice to say, the turbo-diesel is still the tow-car of choice at the moment.

First things first; have the car electronically scanned to see what fault codes are thrown up. From there you can make a much more accurate diagnosis of the problem. Simply replacing random sensors and other parts on a hunch is a fast way to throw money away and still be stuck with a car that doesn’t run properly.

The de-carbonising process you mention is sometimes necessary in modern turbo-diesels which, for reasons of emissions control, consume a percentage of their own exhaust gasses as well as any gas build-up inside the actual engine. And since the exhaust gasses contain soot, and the crankcase gasses contain oil, those two compounds get mixed up into a black, gooey paste that clogs the engine’s intake system. At this point it usually needs to be pulled apart and manually cleaned. If this is the case with your car, it could well be the cause of the check-engine light and the poor running.