Car Servicing

I have a 2014 Ford Focus that is shuddering in the transmission. I have taken the car back to Ford five times. Where do I stand with this issue? Feel dealership have not been all that helpful.

Rust is a scary word as most people think it signals the death of their car but, with basic tools and a little time, you can stop your car rotting away. This isn't just for full-blown restoration work on a classic car. Thankfully, you don't need to completely dismantle your car to fix it, or spend thousands, if

My 2008 Ford Falcon ute is a factory fitted LPG only. Most of its life I’ve only got about 350 km out of a tank of LPG. Various Ford service departments have told me there’s nothing wrong and when I asked is it because I’m doing very short trips I was told that this is most likely the reason so I believed them. Recently I had the tank inspected as it is now 10 years old and it started giving me near 500 km out of a tank. I later discovered this is because the battery was disconnected which reset the computer. Unfortunately this only lasts about for about three tanks and it reverts back to 310-350 km out of a tank. Unfortunately Ford are not interested, they just want to send me to a local LPG specialist and I’ve been to three of them so far and haven't been able to find the cause. I’d rather not get rid of it because I can’t afford another decent car. Can you help?

I have a 2004 Mitsubishi Magna VRX AWD and was wondering if the front and rear shocker towers and front calipers and rotors of a 380 would be a straight bolt on?

I am experiencing exhaust problems with my 2004 Nissan Patrol when accelerating from standing/after decelerating such as coming out of a bend in. Whenever I do it, it expels black smoke and I lose power. This problem seems to be worse when the engine is hot. Cold starts do not present these conditions. I suspect it may be associated with the turbo in that excessive fuel, which has not been mixed with enough air leads to a super-enriched mixture going into the cylinders and the engine/acceleration becomes very sluggish. Continued depression of the accelerator results in a slow increase in speed (with black smoke) but then picks up with normal acceleration and no black smoke. It seems to run normally when travelling at road speed with no visible signs of smoke and fuel economy is normal (as measured before start of problems). I have some 445,000 km on the clock albeit I had an engine rebuild at 185,000 km. Any guidance you can give associated with what could be the problem would be appreciated.

My 2013 Ford Kuga diesel (82,000 km) is having problems with its auto transmission. It's shifting very erratically. Ford cancelled the transmission service halfway through and informed us would cost over $10,000 to repair. Looking at forums I can see problems and class actions with other transmissions they knew about but they deny the same problem with ours. Can you help or advise on whether we should make a claim or get it fixed? Surely a transmissions life is not 80,000 km.

 

Recently my 2014 Nissan Qashqai overheated and after taking it to Nissan I was informed that it would cost me $300 to top it up with coolant. I'm not happy with their explanation in the shop. That coolant just disappears over time and I'm reluctant to spend that much money without a proper cause so we decided that the car should be pressure tested. This has resulted in finding that the following from Nissan: The heater core has failed and needs to be replaced. The dash assembly, centre console, kick trims and pillar trims will all need to be removed to access the core. The coolant will be drained and the air conditioning will be degassed as the A/C evaporator is in with the heater core. My warranty expired at the end of 2017, but Nissan has offered to pay 50 percent for the repair, parts and labour as a good will gesture. The offer is valid until the end of March. 50 percent of the cost will be around $700. Do you think this is reasonable or should I push further? In my opinion a heater core should last longer. The date I drove the car out was March. Because it was a demo model they took the warranty from the first rego.

 

The passenger door on my 2009 Holden Colorado has locked itself. We have tried unlocking with central locking and with key in door and neither work. Just wondering if there is a way to unlock the door without damaging or replacing the door.

My 2015 Mazda BT-50 starts to drop back from 6th gear to 5th on a slight incline on the road when it would not usually happen. Then it starts to loose power and goes into like a limp mode. This happens when highway driving from 200 to 300 km. No warning lights are displayed. If you leave it turned off for a few hours or overnight it’s right to go again. You can drive around town all day. No problem.

You can see the trend by ever-extending service intervals on certain new cars which in some cases have moved out to 30,000km.More evidence can be seen in "sealed for life" transmissions and differentials, but a sealed for life engine? Who knows?Perhaps major car components (engines and transmissions) will become disposable like batteries, tyres, mufflers and shock absorbers. We might one day see cars with engines like cassettes where you run it for a year then take it to a replacement centre which un-clicks the old engine and clicks in a new one.In the meantime, we still need to take the car regularly to have its vital fluids checked or changed and other electronic and mechanical functions reviewed or adjusted.Technology in cars like electronic fuel injection and electronic control units certainly have simplified servicing and "tuning" a car if the right computer equipment is used but they have also made the process more involved for the mechanic (technician) who must be trained to a higher level.There is much more to servicing a modern car than simply giving it a "grease and oil change." The old $35 dollar grease and oil might have passed muster a decade ago but is in most cases insufficient attention for a new car with its many sophisticated systems.Car servicing can involve up to 50 or more component and system checks and adjustments. And despite complaints about the cost from some car owners, it's worth the money. Maintaining the engine in peak economy, performance and emissions condition requires electronic monitoring and fine adjustment according to the diagnostic computer read out.A correctly serviced and tuned engine will have a longer, more economical service life than one that is run into the ground with minimal or inappropriate attention. It can also pre-warn or potentially major problems with the engine and transmission.A full service will include fluid level checks and or changes depending on the system. Hydraulic fluid is hydroscopic (attracts and absorbs water) and should be changed at regular intervals. Water in hydraulic fluid has the potential to corrode the system from the inside with predictable results.Coolant is another critical fluid to a car's performance and engine longevity. Coolant degrades over time and loses its ability to inhibit corrosion inside the engine and also its cooling efficiency.A full service will pick up any potential cooling system problem including leaks from the radiator, cap, water pump, cylinder head or gasket and hoses. A full service will also among other things, tell you the condition of the brake pads, battery condition, steering alignment, tyre tread depth, suspension condition, oil leaks of any sort, exhaust leaks or corrosion, even how well the door locks are working.And the best thing apart from having a fully functional, safe car is that with a complete service history, the car will be worth more when you sell it.