Ask The Guide

Rubber window seals are a constant source of frustration for car restorers (and let's not forget the RX-7 Convertible is getting on for 40 years old now). The seals don't last forever (particularly in Australia with its UV radiation) and once the dealership supplies dry up, there's not always the demand for rubber manufacturers to continue to make them. Popular makes and models don't have quite the same problem, but even newer niche models like, say the latter-day Holden Monaro, is giving owners all sorts of problems sourcing replacement rubber parts.

Social media might be your friend here. Try to find an online RX-7 owners' group and ask the question, Even if there are none readily available, some car clubs have enough members that specialist manufacturers will run off a batch of replacement parts, provided the club buys a job lot. If not, you might just find another RX-7 owner who has stumbled on to a replacement rubber that was originally made for a different car (or application altogether) that will fit and do the job. Don't rule out finding a similar rubber seal and modifying it to fit your car by slicing off part of it.

Intermittent problems like this one can be very annoying as they rarely emerge when a mechanic is looking at them. However, you need to have the Mitsubishi dealership mechanic with you for a test drive as you try to make the problem occur, however long that takes. Perhaps you could video the car's behaviour next time it happens and show the workshop that way.

Common causes for a manual car to refuse to select a gear are usually down to a worn, maladjusted or damaged clutch or a poorly adjusted gear linkage. If there's a horrible graunching noise when this happens, I'd suspect the clutch, if not, it could easily be a simple matter of adjusting the selectors. Either way, this shouldn't amount to rocket science in 2024.

Just be sure not to take no for an answer; if the car has a problem, it's under warranty and it's Mitsubishi's problem, not yours. 

I reckon an early Kia Carnival would make a great platform for a vanlife adventure. It's very unlikely there's a lot of wiring inside the door, and the only electrical wiring that leaps to mind might be a courtesy light for when you open the sliding door, and the little switch that controls it. So, try to find that switch (it's probably down low near the floor) and see if you can see where any wiring enters or leaves the door via the door jamb. Don't expect to see actual wires, as they probably run inside a black rubber boot or sheath to protect them.

Again, it's very unlikely that there's wiring high up in the door near the window (which is where you need to curtain) but if you drill carefully and check the hole for any coloured wiring just as you punch through the metal, you should be fine. A strong torch will help with this, and disconnect the car's battery before drilling just in case you get mighty unlucky.

There could be a complex, electronic, fuel-supply or engine-management reason for this, and if that's the case, having the vehicle scanned would be a good place to start. Or, it could be a case of human behaviour that is skewing your fuel economy figures.

By which, I mean that when you got the car brand-new, you gave it the kid-gloves treatment, understanding that the brand-new engine needed to be run in and would appreciate a slightly easier start to life. Then, as the novelty wore off and the vehicle began to earn its living, you subconsciously grew a heavier right foot. And it is this that's seen the fuel consumption creep up.

Failing that, you might have an on-board computer that has been silently recalibrating itself, perhaps in conjunction with software updates at the dealership which you may, or may not have, been made aware by the dealer. To be perfectly honest, I'd find 6.4-litre per 100km average on a Colorado borderline unbelievable, and the sort of economy only a dedicated fuel-saving driver could even get close to. Ten litres per 100km, meanw

You've more or less answered your own question: When it comes to prestige makes and models, you'll often find you're paying for the brand image and how a car looks rather than what's in it. It's also very common for luxury brands to make many convenience and tech features part of an additional option pack that costs more for gear you might find standard in some more mainstream makes and models. That's just marketing for you.

A great example was the original Mercedes-Benz C-Class back in the late 1980s. This was Mercedes' first attempt at a cheaper car (to compete with the BMW 3-Series) and while it was nicely built and very solid, it had a small, relatively underpowered engine and a very plain interior. The argument was that you were paying for the core Mercedes engineering.

These days, there's also a compulsion to keep weight out of cars. Electric seats operate with electric motors and are notoriously heavy. By using manual seats, Audi can keep the kerb mass down which helps with handling, fuel economy and makes more of the relatively small engine fitted. Not to mention it gives the buyer the impetus to move up to the more expensive model with electric seats. Again, it's called marketing.

You're on the right track with looking at the camshaft-angle sensor. But rather than the actual sensor itself, the problem is likely to be within the wiring that connects the sensor to the car's computer. Without a good, solid condition, the best sensor in the world can't relay the information that the computer needs to command the engine to start.

The next step is a visit to an auto electrician who should be able to test the cam-sensor circuit and check for problems with fuses, wires, connectors and any other component that could be causing the information breakdown.

I'd say you're looking at two different problems here, neither one of which involves the actual fuel tank (which is, indeed, 55 litres). The first problem is more likely to be the calibration of your fuel gauge that is out. If the gauge isn't reading accurately, it will tell you the tank is emptier (or fuller) than it really is. Your car is actually doing what most fuel gauges do, which is to be a bit pessimistic, suggesting there's not as much fuel still in the tank as there really is. You could have the gauge recalibrated, or simply know that even when the needle is at empty, you've still got a buffer zone of fuel remaining.

The fuel consumption, meanwhile, is another issue and it's true to say that 20 litres for 140km of driving is too thirsty. A basic tune up might help, starting with fuel filters, air cleaners and spark plugs. But don't ignore things like correct tyres pressures and whether there's a roof rack fitted; these things will affect fuel economy more than you might imagine. And never under-estimate the affect driving style has on fuel use. A driver who smashes the throttle from every green light will soon start using more fuel every kilometre.

Different countries have different consumer protection laws and sometimes, a problem that is serious enough to cause a product recall in one market, is not deemed serious enough to force a recall in another. That's the short answer, along with the fact that a car maker will only issue a recall notice when all other avenues have been exhausted, as it's a very expensive, very reputation-challenging process.

The other thing to consider, of course, is that different markets often have very different operating conditions. A particular make and model, for instance, that has a problem with an overheating transmission, would often force a recall in a market like Australia, but would not perhaps show up as such a problem in a market with a much colder climate.

The other thing to remember is that very often, the same car, destined for different markets, will be built in different factories on different continents with parts from different suppliers. So, just because two cars have the same badge, they can be built to very different quality standards.

At the first sign of a fuel pump that has started to play up, the advice is to replace it as soon as you can. These electric pumps can start to have intermittent faults where they will not pump fast enough or not at all, and then the next time you start the car, they'll work perfectly.

Don't be fooled into thinking it's all okay, however, as the pump will progressively get worse and worse until it won't work at all. Trust us, these things do not fix themselves. And since a fuel pump will leave a modern fuel-injected car absolutely high and dry, you're way better off fixing it now (by replacing the pump) than finding yourself stuck on the side of the road in the middle of nowhere.

That's quite high mileage, but in a modern car with vastly better metallurgy, engineering design and oil quality (particularly multi-grade oil) it's not impossible for a car with that sort of mileage to still be in perfectly serviceable condition.

Frankly, if you're not after something newer with newer tech and convenience, and you're still happy with the Mazda, the advice is probably to keep it and drive it till it will drive no further. As it is, if it's getting close to 300,000km, it's not worth very much to trade-in or sell second-hand, so keeping it and squeezing every last kilometre out of it is the budget-conscious way to go. The exception would be if a bunch of little things all go wrong at once. At which point, you're probably wise to quit it  - even though it's worth very little - as a means of not throwing good money after bad.