Car Servicing

New South Wales has splurged on car bling this year, nearly doubling the 2012 spend – but cutting back on servicing. However Victoria has been more caring of its cars, increasing the amount spent on servicing, although still laying out more than last year on accessories.In a review of the cost of motoring on the eastern seaboard, conducted by Bingle insurance, NSW spent $464 million on accessorising, an increase of 96 per cent over the $237m in 2012. Victoria was more conservative with the bling, ringing up $185m, an increase of just 50 per cent, while Queensland pulled back 29 per cent on last year’s $126m to shell out just $90m in 2013.Victoria led the three states in servicing, upping its spend 14 per cent to $2.45 billion from $2.15b in 2012, followed by Queensland’s 7 per cent rise at $1.8b (from $1.68b). However NSW cut back on servicing,  spending $2.75b – 2 per cent down on 2012’s $2.8b.However NSW led the increase in car maintenance with $939m (up 23 percent) with Victoria spending $246m for a more modest rise of 4 per cent and Queensland up 6 per cent at $135m.The tropical state had the biggest increase in tyre costs with a rise of 21 per cent to $590m, while NSW shopped up 7 per cent at $939m and Victoria cutting back 21 per cent to $498m.With all other categories of expenditure taken into account, NSW led on both overall and per-head spending, splashing out $4.94b, or $1098 per person this year – up 8 per cent. Victoria followed with $3.39b, $998 per head and up 2 per cent, while Queensland was $2.72b, $908 per head and 5 per cent up.However the per head expenditure on servicing put NSW at the tail of the trio with $612, beaten by Queensland on $647 and Victoria leading on $702.Bingle expressed concern about the emphasis on accessories in NSW at the same time as servicing spend reduced."It’s concerning that shopping on items such as car stereos, GPS devices, steering wheel covers, seat covers, smartphone car fixtures and other decorations, has increased, but investing in basic car servicing has declined," Bingle spokesperson Marcela Balart says. "The danger is that drivers appear to be splashing out on car accessories at the expense of ensuring their vehicles are properly serviced and in the best state to be on the roads."While the research is restricted to the three eastern states at this stage, Balart said the results covered a large proportion of the country’s drivers. "These three states make up the majority of drivers in Australia with the highest number of vehicles on the road -- 75 per cent -- so it could potentially be indicative of trends across the country," she said.This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

I've been having power delivery issues with my 2009 Skoda RS diesel DSG over the course of this year and have had the exhaust pressure sensor, throttle actuating valve, and turbo waste gate valve actuator replaced to try and fix the problem. After spending about $2000 I've now been told that the Diesel Particulate Filter is clogged with ash and needs to replaced, and the part alone will cost $4000!! This is a 'consumable' item under the terms of the warranty, but I'm countering that the exhaust pressure sensor being faulty has meant that there hasn't been any warning of impending issues there, meaning no re-gen. I drive regular freeway trips and service the car religiously. It's done only 65,000 km and I don't feel that a $4000 part should fail within five years and nominal km. I've had the car at the dealer for five weeks now and am still none the wiser as to whether they'll come to the party with a goodwill claim on the part cost. Any idea how I can get a resolution?

I recently changed the oil on my Skoda Octavia 1.4-litre 90 kW TSI. The book says to use 3.6 litres, but the oil level was way, way above the full level on the dipstick after only 3 litres had been put in. I'm certain the sump was empty. The owner's book is full of warnings about damage to the catalytic converter if driven with too much oil. Your thoughts please.

I have been told that the head gasket on my 2009 Nissan Murano is leaking. It's only done 76,000 km and has been serviced every six months. I have heard it has happened to a few of these cars. Nissan has offered to cover 25 percent of the cost, which means I will still be out of pocket $2000. I thought you got a recall when they know about a problem with a car, but I am told because it is not life threatening it doesn't apply in this case. I am one very upset customer.

A dealer has told a mate of mine to use Premium unleaded in his 2009 Hyundai i30 to overcome an ongoing pinging noise that has been evident for the last four years. His manual states that he should 'use unleaded petrol', so why would the dealer not fix the problem properly without using the more expensive fuel? What do think is causing the pinging and what can be done to overcome this problem?

My FG Falcon XR6T ute suffered a timing chain guide failure at two years of age. The guide was replaced and the timing was reset. Now four years old it has dropped a valve. Once the cylinder head was removed you could see impressions in the pistons from where the valves had previously contacted the pistons. What can I do?

My 2011 FG FPV GS Falcon recently had a water pump replaced at 14,000 km. Ford replaced it with a modified water pump sent over from the US, and they also changed to a different coolant. Since then the thermo fan has been coming on flat-out quite regularly and sometimes for long periods of time, even when its only 14 degrees outside and I don't have air-con on! Ford couldn't find a problem with the fan and suggested that they have an active fan and that is quite normal. I told them that it didn't do it before the water pump got changed and they said well it should have!

The rear brake pads on my 2009 Honda Accord are wearing out at almost five times the rate of the front ones. I am advised that this could be due to the rear brakes being applied slightly before the front brakes, presumably to assist stability when braking, however it would appear that Honda have overlooked the resulting higher loads. Honda has advised that they have no intention of upgrading the rear brakes, apparently the excessive wear rate is considered acceptable. Are you aware of this issue?

I noticed in your column recently that someone complained of a whine in the gearbox of their Toyota RAV4 and it made me wonder if the new Camry had the same gearbox, as my new Camry has a whine or a very low growl between 1900 and 2000 rpm. You can`t hear it before the 1900 rpm or after 2000 rpm. The dealer could not work out what it was and said to leave it till it had done a few more kays. In the meantime I took it to another dealer and they loosened the engine mounts and let it sit for a while, which seemed to improve it a little, but it is still there. Have you had any other reports on this and could it be the gearbox? Both dealers have heard the noise, but I don't think they really know what the problem is. Have you heard of this problem?

Like other readers who have reported a vibration problem with their Nissan Navaras I too had a problem with mine. When driving at speeds of 60-80km/h it would generate a drive vibration as though you were driving in too higher gear for the transmission. Once you put your foot down and kicked the auto into a lower gear and got beyond this speed the vibration would disappear. With most city driving at around 60-80km the vibration was most annoying and to drive at higher speeds to avoid the issue risked a speeding fine. The Nissan service people who drove the vehicle recognised the problem and believed it was due to the torque converter locking up and that it was a characteristic of the vehicle and something Nissan would not recognise as a problem because they had few complaints. I was told that the best way of getting around it was to turn the overdrive off at low speeds. I thought great, why have an overdrive at all. I traded the car six months later, as the check engine light came on three times and three times while overtaking other cars I lost total power. If a car company can't take your problems seriously then stop buying their products is my solution. It will be a long time, before we buy another Nissan.