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Glitches in digital displays like these are not uncommon across all makes and models. They can occur suddenly and for no good reason and while some of them can be repaired, replacement of the whole unit is a more common approach.

But don’t forget that this is a warranty job on your car, so make sure SsangYong is made aware of it, fixes it and foots the bill. A fault like this is why cars have factory warranties in the first place.

Diagnosing starting faults often requires a mechanic familiar with a particular make and model who will know where to start looking, as there are literally hundreds of causes for behaviour like this. An auto electrician can also be your best friend at a time like this.

However, as a very rough guide, the problem could be to do with something in the engine bay getting hot and not allowing the engine to restart. The symptoms bear this out; no hot start, but play resumes once things have been allowed to cool over time. Suspicions would be drawn to the ignition system, and a dodgy spark plug, distributor, ignition lead or coil-pack can easily create this sort of problem. In fact, the coil-packs on your car would be a very good place to start looking, as they have a reputation for cracking and putting a stop to things, especially when they’re hot.

A lack of drive in an automatic gearbox can be down to a number of things. Most commonly, it’s internal wear inside the transmission or torque converter that is not transferring drive from one component to the next. This can be caused by broken or loose vanes in the torque converter, a failed transmission pump, a faulty valve body, worn clutches and bands or a mechanical failure of the gearsets. And more.

Any of these things will require a transmission specialist to assess and repair, but before you do that, check the level of the fluid in the transmission. Low transmission fluid can easily cause this very problem and a top up may restore drive to the vehicle. Then, of course, your job is to find the source of the leak, because the transmission is a sealed system and should not require top-ups outside of regular servicing. But it might just get you back on the road in meantime.

The cooling system on a modern engine like the one in your Volvo should be a sealed system, capable of catching and recycling any overflow from the radiator. It does this by using a catch tank or expansion tank which allows a small amount of coolant to leave the radiator when the engine is hot, which is then sucked back in to the radiator as the car cools down.

As such, there shouldn’t be any need to top up the coolant on a regular basis. You might lose a tiny amount from evaporation over time (or possibly not) but if you’re topping it up regularly, then you either have a leak or an engine problem. Common engine problems that would cause coolant loss include a blown head gasket or a leaking water pump. A failed transmission cooler could also allow coolant to escape, probably into the gearbox where it would destroy the transmission, so you’d likely know about that by now.

But the first thing to check for is a physical leak somewhere in any of the plumbing, the radiator or the expansion tank. Modern cars often have a lot of cooling joints and junctions, many of them are made from plastic and all of them are potential leak points. Also, take a big sniff of the car’s interior. Does it smell musty or damp? Are the carpets in the front damp? If so, you could have a failed heater core (which uses coolant from the engine to heat the cabin) that is allowing coolant to escape.

You can also park the car overnight over a large piece of cardboard and watch to see if any drops of coolant appear somewhere under the car., This will help you trace the source of the leak and will make diagnosis easier.

As part of a car’s exhaust system, a catalytic converter contains some pretty exotic metals that help convert the engine’s exhaust gasses to less harmful chemicals. It’s pretty high-end chemistry, but the converter’s job is to make the overall exhaust emissions less harmful to people and the environment.

Several things can go wrong with a catalytic converter that can stop it doing this job, and that’s when the dashboard light will flash on, alerting you to the fact that the converter needs attention.

Sometimes, the converter’s internal structure (the matrix) will collapse, at which point the only solution is to replace the unit. But sometimes, the matrix simply gets clogged by soot and other contaminants from the engine’s combustion process. In the case of the latter, you can remove the converter and manually clean it or, add a chemical to the car’s fuel tank that will be burnt in the engine, pass through the converter and hopefully clean it.

However, the jury is still out on whether using either method to clean a catalytic converter is worth the time and effort. Many cleaning attempts have led to the dashboard light flickering back on within minutes of the cleaning taking place. Perhaps the additive method is worth a try, but in a high percentage of cases, converter replacement is the only fix. So why not just remove the converter? Because it’s illegal to tamper with a car’s emissions control devices and there are big fines for those who do so. Also, a catalytic-converter warning light on the dashboard is actually a roadworthy item.

This is actually more common than you think and affects lots of different makes and models. Service station fuel pumps are designed to shut off once the tank is full (to avoid over-filling by the customer). They do that by detecting any splash-back up, or pressure build-up in, the throat of the fuel filler. In most cases, this splash-back or pressure wave is caused by the fuel level being so full, the fuel being pumped in has nowhere else to go. And so the fuel pump shuts off.

But for some reason, some cars are just harder to fill with some pumps than others. Whether it’s the path the filler neck takes to the tank to even the pressure produced by the fuel pump, it’s just one of those things, apparently.

The best way to get around it (and avoid having the fuel pump click off annoyingly 20 times every fill-up) is to be a bit tactical with the pump nozzle. Instead of pushing it all the way into the filler neck, withdraw it slightly. The other technique is to twist the fuel nozzle, say, 90 degrees so that it sprays directly on to a different part of the filler neck. The other thing you can try is to not pull the trigger on the fuel pump all the way. By modulating the trigger slightly, you might find that the fuel now enters the filler neck at a rate more agreeable to the pump.

Holden’s factory maintenance schedule for the 1.8-litre Trax suggests a 150,000km (or 10 years, whichever comes first) timing belt change interval. Don’t forget to change the relevant tensioners and belt idlers at the same time. Many owners also elect to replace the water pump at the same time while this area of the engine is apart for the timing belt change.

The turbocharged 1.4-litre version of the Trax used a timing chain rather than a timing belt. This chain should be good for the life of the vehicle.

Fault code P0014 is, indeed, a problem with the engine’s camshaft timing. It’s also a very common one on these late-model V6 Holdens. Your engine doesn’t have a timing belt, instead using a timing chain which, theoretically, should be good for the life of the car. Unfortunately, in this V6 engine, the timing chain was under-engineered and many owners have found out the hard way that the timing chain needs replacement at relatively low mileages.

The fault code shows up when the car’s computer can’t make sense of the relationship between the engine’s crankshaft and camshafts. That’s because when the timing chain stretches, that relationship varies and the engine’s valves are no longer opening and closing precisely when they should. At that point, the computer throws its hands in the air and triggers the fault code and check-engine light.

The only real fix is to replace the timing chains. The cost will vary depending on what else needs to be done and who carries out the work, but even at its cheapest, this job could easily run into the $2000 to $3000 region. Industry wisdom also suggests that you also replace the timing chain guide and oil pump at the same time.

It certainly sounds like it could be a blown head gasket that is allowing the car’s coolant to mix with its engine oil. A brown, oily looking fluid in the radiator is a sign that this may have occurred. Check the engine oil next. If it’s milky and discoloured, then that’s another sign of a blown head gasket. That said, just because there’s no evidence of coolant in the engine oil, doesn’t necessary mean the head gasket is intact.

So, before you rip into the engine and remove the cylinder head, make sure the gasket is actually the problem. This can be done with a chemical-based test which samples the coolant and determines whether there’s any contamination in it that can be traced to the engine’s combustion. If it’s there, then the head gasket is almost certainly faulty.

The 1989 Courier was available with a 2.0-litre diesel engine or a range of four-cylinder petrol engines ranging from 2.0 to 2.2 and even 2.6 litres in capacity. You’ll need to ascertain which engine your vehicle has and then obtain the correct workshop manual for that specific powerplant. The good news is that all these engines were relatively simple and changing a head gasket should not be too taxing for anybody with average mechanical skills.

Your Ranger was sold with a factory warranty that should cover it for the first five years and with no limit on the kilometres covered. Provided you’ve maintained and serviced the vehicle properly (with the paperwork to prove it) then the warranty should definitely be intact.

But whether that warranty applies to an EGR valve is the real question. Ultimately, it will depend on why the valve has failed. That’s because most warranties don’t cover wear and tear, so a build-up of carbon and soot inside the EGR system may not be covered. But if the valve has failed due to a materials or manufacturing fault, then it should, on the surface, be Ford’s responsibility to replace the unit.

If there’s any form of dispute between Ford and yourself on this matter, the best advice is to have the vehicle (and EGR) independently tested (motoring clubs are a good place to start). That way the facts should determine the outcome, rather than opinions.

As an aside, don’t be tempted to drive the vehicle any farther with a coolant leak within the EGR system. Eventually enough coolant will be lost that the engine could overheat. And even before that happens, a leaking EGR valve can allow coolant inside the combustion chamber and the turbocharger with equally devastating results.