Car Servicing

About 5-6 months ago I noticed that the steering on my 2011 VW Touareg was grinding on full lock. After checking it the dealer said there was nothing wrong and it was probably caused by the road surface. About four weeks ago I noticed that the tyres were delaminating with large pieces of rubber missing and the grinding had become more pronounced. This time the technician who drove the car heard the noise, but when I picked it up I was advised that there was nothing wrong with the steering or front-end. I drove the car a couple of days later with the service supervisor and he agreed there was a problem and he took photos of the tyres and reported what he found to VW. The car went in again 10 days later and after three days I got a call from one of the service guys who said that there was nothing wrong with the car and that the tyre problem was my fault because I had not rotated them. The car still has the grinding fault and an independent tyre company has given me a report that the tyres are unroadworthy. I have complained to VW, but haven't yet received a return call. What would you suggest I do next?

My 2007 Subaru Liberty GT sedan is now out of warranty, but on each occasion I had it serviced while it was under warranty the Subaru dealer sold me two containers of fuel additive; one for immediate use with a full tank of fuel; the other for use three months later. After my last service I asked the Service Manager what was special about the additive and whether it was different from any other product that might be bought at any auto parts outlet. He did not really answer my questions. I am still uncertain of the necessity to use the additive. Now it is out of warranty, I intend to have the car serviced by my “regular” mechanic, who isn't supportive of fuel additives, but I would like to know if you are aware of any need to continue to use a petrol additive of any sort in my car.

The vibrations and reluctance to change down to a lower gear in my 2010 Nissan Navara STX. 2.5-litre diesel auto were so unbearable I took it back to my Nissan dealer. Coincidently the heater coil had ceased to function. The head mechanic told me that Nissan knew of the converter lock problem, and the vibrations from it had caused the aluminium link across the firewall for the heater on some Navaras to break. Well! Last month, after its 80,000km service the heater stopped working again. The problem was immediately identified it as the heater coil, and the vibration noise as being the aluminium link. The underlying cause remains. Writing to Nissan was a waste of time. They advised that I take it to the dealer and demonstrate the problem. The issue then is, you identify the problem, and they then tell you what you have identified is normal. Well, it is not normal. A car doing 60km/h up a steep hill should drop back a cog or two. I have owned and driven cars for nearly 50 years, and I believe the Navara is the worst I have ever bought. The lack of acknowledgement of this problem by Nissan is downright shameful. This car has been off the road for more than four weeks to fix problems caused by poor design.

I purchased a Mercedes Benz S350 demo in 2006 with 4000 km on it. I have kept it in immaculate condition, maintaining and servicing it when required and when lights on the dash signal to do so and I have had it serviced at a Mercedes Benz dealer throughout the life of the car. Last week, the car 'collapsed,' almost touching the ground. The dealer informed me that the suspension had leaked and needed replacing and that it would cost me just over $7000. I understand that the car is not under warranty but I do not believe that a 7-year-old car should have suspension problems, particularly a Mercedes Benz. Could you please advise me on what I should do and whether my beliefs about the suspension are correct?

I was interested to read about Richard Curtis's problem with ants invading the ECU on his Honda Accord, and I add that it is not an uncommon occurrence. My brother's 2007 Accord Euro had the same problem after about 14 months. His ABS light would not go out, so he took the car in for an inspection. At least his dealer was able to show him the dead ants after they sprayed the area. It would appear that black ants and cockroaches are attracted to the coating on the motherboard and as they eat this away create a short circuit. He traced the problem down to a parking spot he used at work during the day that was only a couple of metres from an ants nest that had an active trail across the parking s pot. Since he changed parking spots he has had no problems. ?

We have had a few problems with our VW Amarok as outlined here. In May we drove 180 km from Bendigo to Geelong with the headlights on high beam and the lights are so dull not one vehicle, including two police cars, flashed us. The service we have received from our dealer is appalling. My wife had the vehicle in for a warranty claim on one of the broken door handles and the service manager told her that we would have to pay $150 as the vehicle had done over 100,000 km and was out of warranty. My wife explained to him that it had a 3-year unlimited km warranty, but he insisted that she was wrong until a young mechanic explained to him that he was wrong and the vehicle did have a 3-year unlimited km warranty. The same day they had to replace a headlight globe again. The vehicle had to go into the same service centre after we had had it for one month regarding a problem with the cruise control and Bluetooth. The service manager told me to take it back to wherever we had purchased these items, as they were aftermarket. I asked him to have a look at the tax invoice they had provided us and see that they had these items installed. Our own auto electrician has made some adjustments to the lights, but they are still not good. Our dealer's service manager told me that the Amarok was not designed to have a Bull-Bar and that is the problem with the lights and that if we wanted a n improvement we would have to install driving lights.

I have a 1999 Holden Jackaroo diesel that has just recently been back to the dealer to have the clutch and flywheel replaced. After getting it back the car has been blowing lots of white smoke and has been boiling. I took it to my local mechanic who did a pressure test on the cooling system and reported that it was all normal and he said it could be a blown head gasket. What do you think the problem could be?

My Wife and I bought a new Ford Focus Ambiente in June and from the beginning we have encountered the shuddering that was mentioned in one of your recent columns. Ford told us that "this is how the gearbox works.", but we also have a grinding noise that the Ford dealer's service manager said was a clutch issue. Ford than told us that "the car has to get use to your driving style and work itself out". As if that wasn't insulting enough, and far more alarming is my wife and I have noticed the car accelerate from a parked position on its own, aggressively, when changing from P to D or R without even touching the accelerator. We think that's a huge safety issue, to which Ford added further to their reply above with "Ford recommends you drive the vehicle up to the 3000 km first scheduled warranty service and then we can look at things from there". Yes, that's correct, Ford stated that my wife and I continue to drive an unsafe vehicle with all the mentioned faults. Of course if we were stupid enough to follow the recommendation it would put us outside the 'up to' 3000 km new car replacement for a faulty vehicle under warranty, after driving 1 km from the service center after this scheduled service! We have contacted Ford head office, we have spoken to the service centre manager three times, and we have spoken to the salesmen that sold us the car, asking them all to provide us some assistance or even replace the vehicle, to which all we have been offered is another service and a replacement car for the time our car is off the road being serviced. Any advice?

When I picked up my new Mazda BT-50 3.2-litre twin-cab ute with a tub, the dealer told me that there were some issues with 'cracking' in one of the corners of the tub if a 'non-Mazda' canopy was fitted. A reputable 4WD outlet said that if it was 'cracking' it was due to unsatisfactory workmanship because they had not heard of it on any other vehicle, and their price was $1300 cheaper. My dilemma is which canopy to go for. If I choose, say ARB or such, Mazda will refuse liability for the tub cracking, whereas their tub will be covered by all warranty. Have you heard of the tub cracking?

My 2000 Daewoo Nubira has started to idle at around 2000 rpm. I purchased and fitted a new idle motor, but it still idles between 1500 and 2000 rpm ? I am getting conflicting advice as to whether to take it to an auto electrician or a mechanic ? Do you have any advice as to the cause and remedy?