Car Servicing

As a purchaser of a new Mazda 3 less than one year ago I expected the GPS system to be fully functional. It has not reliably worked on a continuous basis since taking delivery. The system can take 10 or more minutes to start tracking and even then most of the tome it shows the car as being up to several kilometres from where it actually is – sometimes not even on a road. It has been back to the dealer twice and the system software reloaded, but it is still not fixed. The dealer says they are waiting on further updated software due in 2017. Could you please find out from Mazda a more precise date when my system will finally be rectified?

I recently traded in my 2012 Hyundai ix35 2.4-litre automatic for a new 2016 Tucson 1.6 turbo automatic. I was happy with the towing on the ix35, but the Tucson is totally different. Both vehicles have the same 130 kW, so logically I thought they would be the same.

How wrong could I be? I didn't consider that the gearboxes could be different. Reversing up my driveway is an "S" maneuver, which requires a slow and steady drive. A warning sound is heard and there is a display on the dash "Transmission temperature is high! Stop safely." Eventually the dash tells you "Trans Hot! Park with engine on".

As it usually takes more than one attempt at reversing, the vehicle always does this. It's very annoying, the ix35 was a dream to reverse. Yes, I have been back to the dealership to be told this is normal for this gearbox. The dealership told me to ring Hyundai's roadside assist and report it.

I'm now waiting for a callback from Hyundai's roadside assist department, who are investigating. Have you heard about this problem before?

My husband's 2011 Holden Cruze has broken down this week and he has been advised that the automatic transmission needs to be replaced at an approx. cost of $4000. I am slowly getting over the shock of the cost, and keen to know should a barely 5-year-old vehicle that has been serviced at Holden dealerships only and just out of warranty should have such a major failure? Also is the cost in the ballpark for this sort of work?

My Mitsubishi Outlander has lacked performance on highway driving since new, some days it’s good, some days it’s bad. The dealer checked it at service times and in between, but could not find any problem. He says he would have to experience the problem and go from there.

Now, in the hotter weather sometimes the accelerator pedal goes limp, with very little engine response, so I have to turn the engine on and off again to get a good accelerator response. It may last another 50-100 km until it happens again. The car has done some 19,000 km, so much for Mitsubishi warranty.

I was a recent victim of 'blocked sunroof drains' in my Mini Cooper S. I have always owned cars with sunroofs and had never heard of this problem until it destroyed all my electrics and cost me $5000-plus and eight weeks to repair. The drains are designed to send rainwater from the edges of the closed sunroof down through the four corner pillars of the car, but when these drains get blocked the water diverts straight onto the electronic control module in the front and the electric wiring in the rear pillars. After the event, I discovered that it is a common problem for this vehicle, but apparently BMW refuses to act on it. They have never advised me to get checks of sunroof drains during any service or repair, and the manual makes no reference to any checks or tests for these drains. BMW's only advice to me now is that I should have kept the car under cover and I should have checked the drains. Really? You shouldn't own a car unless you have a garage? You should check a hidden part of the vehicle that normal people know nothing about and is not mentioned in the manual? What sort of stupid, impractical advice is this? If I go to a BMW service centre for each scheduled service or unexpected repair, then surely I am entitled to expect such advice before the problem occurs.

I have owned my 2008 Mercedes-Benz C200 since new and have always had the dealer service it. It was last serviced in September 2016. It subsequently broke down and was towed to dealer, the problem being the timing chain stretched and caused damage to the engine. No warning was given! Surely this is a major fault with the car. It has only been driven only 120,000 km in eight years! What should I do?

Two automatic windows on my 2011 Ford Territory are not operating correctly and need replacement motors. My mechanic called our local dealer for parts and said they had a back order of eight. It makes me think this could be a common problem. Are you aware of this? Being a five-year-old car should they last longer than that and could I push Ford to cover costs?

I have a 2014 Ford Focus automatic, which has currently done approx. 38,000 km. I have taken it back to Ford on four occasions and each time I have raised my concerns with the transmission slipping and shuddering and I get the same answer "that it meets Ford specifications etc." They reset the transmission and reflash the ECU, but nothing else is done about it. I'm afraid that it is getting worse and I turn corners and it neutralizes. I have spoken to their customer service team about replacing the vehicle or giving me a full refund and they have told me they will do nothing and to take it to any other dealer I liked to have it rechecked. Any suggestions?

I have a 2012 E3 HSV GTS that I bought as a showroom demonstrator with only 50 km on the clock. The very first time I attempted to use the sat-nav the screen cracked and I've been trying to get it fixed under warranty ever since. HSV keep telling me it was just bad luck, so they wouldn't fix it. They told me to contact Holden seeing the sat-nav is a Holden unit, not specifically HSV. This has now gone on for years and I don't feel I should pay for something that broke the very first time I went to use it. I'm sick of the buck passing from HSV to Holden. Neither one is prepared to repair it. Should Holden cover the cost? What do you suggest I do?

I've had a number of problems with the 2013 Isuzu D-Max LS-M Auto Crew Cab I bought new. We've had a lot of water around my area in the last four months and my back diff got full of water and was a write off. The replacement cost was $3582. I asked about the front diff and the transfer case, but there was no water in them. You would think they would all have water in them. I think something failed.