Car Servicing

As a mechanic of sorts, I can see another angle on the woman who wrote recently to question the brake pad replacement at low kilometres on her car. The service department, expecting not to see the car for service for another year and possibly 15,000km, would lean to the safe side. 

I got this view from a service manager I know. Just telling a customer the hard facts on pads being required is not enough. I don't believe it would hurt dealerships to explain the exact reason or, even better, tell the customer to return the car in say 5000km or 10,000km for a brake job. 

That way the customer would be happy, the dealership would be applauded for doing the right thing and we could all live happily ever after.

Due to rough gear changing and the engine malfunction light coming on in my 2011/2012 Ford Focus Ambiente, I requested a refund or replacement new car. Ford declined in 2012.

I have had the clutch replaced in 2014 as result of the dual-clutch problems. I kept complaining about the shuddering issue every time I took it in for servicing, but it wasn't until it was obviously very, very bad that they replaced the clutch.

Last month I took the car back due to the shuddering starting to come back.

The dealer advised me that the clutch is still ok and there was no need to replace it yet. But they have advised me that sooner or later I will need to replace the clutch again, as the problem will never be fixed.

They advised me to seek a resolution with Ford's customer relations people before my warranty expires, because Ford will not replace the clutch for free anymore.

I followed the advice and lodged a claim, demanding a refund. They declined my request, but offered me the chance to buy a new car at the employee discount price. When I asked what would happen with my Ford Focus, she said it was up to the dealer to buy it or not as a trade-in.

I am not happy, it seems that they don't treat me the same as other customers who have received a refund or buy-back.

Could you give me advice what to do from here?

I recently purchased a new 2016 Ford Ranger, colour white. It has amazing orange-peel in the paintwork. When I took it to my panel beater mate he said an assessor would knock it back if he tried to deliver a repair like that, but when I took it to Ford they said "it's a ute mate, what do you expect". I thought I'd paid $5000-$7000 more than the equivalent BT-50 or Colorado because Ford reckon it's a superior product. Maybe they should start by teaching their Thai partners how to paint.

My 2009 VW Golf 118TSI has just experienced compression problems and I have been told that piston number four has cracked and the bill will be $7000 to rebuild the motor. Should I go straight to VW with this issue?

My 2004 Nissan Pulsar jerks badly when it warms up. I have had the coils replaced, I use BP Ultimate after it was suggested that I had used dirty fuel, I'm driving in the right gear. Can anyone help solve my problem?

While driving up even the gentlest of hills, my wife's 2010 Ford Fiesta diesel displays an engine malfunction message and goes into limp mode. The dealer we took it to said that replacing the intercooler would definitely fix to problem. But after spending $1400 the problem is still occurring. We took their advice and spent the money but it didn't fix the issue. What do you suggest we do?

In a recent column you had a letter from a reader with a car cutting out. About 10 years ago, when I was doing pilot work for oversize loads, I was issued a Ford wagon and sometimes the engine just stopped. This happened on the highway and in urban areas — extremely dangerous to say the least. I'd stop for two to five minutes and away it would go again. After many trips to the mechanic over six to eight months the problem was found to be the fuel pump inside the aftermarket 160L tank. The pump was replaced; no more problems.

I bought a new Mercedes- Benz A180 in 2014 and had no problems for 12 months until the first service when a message appeared, "Add coolant, if on a slope". On a longer drive the temperature gauge would fluctuate quickly from normal to 90 degrees, then down to 75, then slowly back again, sometimes 20-30 minutes apart. I've been back to the dealer seven times, with four days off the road, for pressure checks, thermostat replacement etc. Now they report Benz has said it is OK and not to worry about it. This makes me think they don't know the cause.

I had my one-year service on my Mitsubishi Mirage at the dealership where I bought it. I have a fixed-price service agreement and had been told they will always try to sell you things you may not necessarily need.

My car had done just under 15,000km and they rang to tell me my front brake pads needed replacing. I queried how was this possible after just this distance, as it's a three-cylinder so it's not as if I've been hooning around in it.

I am a middle-aged female so I guess they thought I was too stupid to know any better.

I declined, then had it looked at independently after picking it up and the brake pads still have about 50 per cent left in them.

Just a warning, mostly to women I suppose, not to trust everything you are told.

We took our 2009 Toyota Yaris in for the airbag recall on May 24. There was nothing wrong with it, but when and we brought it home there was a problem with the central locking not working, and the inside light comes on when the central lock gets switched on. And the radio loses reception all the time. None of these things have ever happened before. Straight away I rang Toyota and let them know. Toyota told me they would charge me to diagnose the problem, which I think is unfair. Are we covered for any damage that they may do after they have our car following a compulsory recall?