Car Servicing

Over the past two months I've noticed a puddle of water on the driver's side floor of my 2003 Nissan X-Trail. I took notice of it, but the amount of water varies each week and I thought it had dried up. As of a couple of days ago, I noticed the driver's side floor and the back passenger's floor soaked in a puddle of water, also the back of my boot where my spare tire is has filled with water? We have had rain on and off but didn't think it would cause so much flooding. I do have a sunroof, which I thought could be the source of the problem, but as a student I have very limited funds and going to a mechanic is my last resort, so I was wondering if there was something/somewhere I should be looking to stop this leak?

I bought a 2015 Holden Captiva in January. It's gone back five times and they still can't fix the unknown rattle in the boot area, and other problems. I have asked for a refund as the car is a lemon, but they won't do it. They have now agreed to swap it, like for like, or upgrade to a Colorado. The price of the upgrade is more than what it was sold for a week ago and I feel I am being bullied into another Captiva. I have asked for a refund all along, as I don't want to deal with Holden anymore, as the service has been disgusting. I also have to agree to their terms and conditions, which includes a confidential agreement. How can I get a refund without using a lawyer?

I recently purchased a used car, but I failed to notice some damage to the front guard until I got home and spotted it. The car is white so the damage was difficult to spot when I viewed it at the yard. Do I have any rights under the consumer act to have the dealership repair this?

Last time I dropped you a line we were thinking about buying a Mitsubishi Challenger. Luckily you talked us out of it and we selected a new Pajero Sport Exceed instead and it is a great car. But I've a question about warranty terms. Over the years I have had all of my new cars serviced while under warranty by the dealer, so if there were a claim there would be no issues. Once out of warranty I've gone to our family mechanic who is a good operator. With the Pajero the first service at 15,000km was part of the purchase price and completed by Mitsubishi. But I have just had the 30,000 service completed by our family mechanic instead of Mitsubishi — $230 against $800 — and he has stamped the book and assures me my warranty is secure as he is registered to do the work. Do you think I am OK with this procedure or is it going to be a problem if there ever was a warranty claim?

I bought the new Mazda3 for my wife when it first came out in early 2014, an SP25 GT Sedan top-of-the-range. She likes the Mazdas and the write-ups on this model mentioned a lot less road noise, but I could only test it up to 80km/h on Melbourne roads, so thought it was reasonable. How wrong I was. Tyre noise has been an issue from day one with the new one, although I waited until 30,000km to change tyres. After a bit of research, I went for Continental ContiSportContact, which I also have on my Volkswagen Passat wagon and find quiet. It has reduced road noise on the Mazda by maybe 25 per cent, but still not acceptable in today's motoring and I find it hard to talk over the noise when on coarser road surfaces. This is the third Mazda we have owned and it will be our last.

My wife and I drive a Mazda3 Neo built in August 2014. Will replacing the supplied Toyo NanoEnergy tyres make a significant difference to road noise? I reckon it's just a matter of insufficient noise dampening materials fitted in the vehicle.

I have a Ford Fiesta which is going to need yet another clutch change less than six months after the last clutch was replaced. Not only does this mean that my vehicle will be on its fourth clutch but also that I am being forced to wait to have it changed. In light of the possible class action that Ford Australia faces over the PowerShift six-speed automatic transmission/gearbox it is apparent that mine is not an isolated case/problem.

What sort of cost would be involved in replacing the timing chain in my 2005 Mazda Tribute, and how often does this need to be done?

Any tips on selling a 2011 Hyundai i45 with a spun bearing that basically needs a new motor?

I am the unlucky owner of a 2014 Hyundai iLoad, which began to develop a gearbox whine late last year. It was booked in to the dealer in January to have a logbook service and the noise investigated. The verdict came back that it was a faulty thrust bearing and the complete clutch kit/dual-mass flywheel would have to be replaced at an approximate cost of $6500 as it was classed as a consumable.

I duly investigated further and found a reputable clutch and gearbox workshop that could do it for $3000. After the workshop began to replace the clutch I received a phone call from the workshop proprietor asking why I was replacing a perfectly good clutch? I said Hyundai had diagnosed it as a faulty clutch, but he told me the input shaft had too much play in it, and he thought there was a gearbox issue.

I now have a perfectly good secondhand clutch in the garage and the same whining gearbox. In July I booked the van in for another log book service and let them have another go at investigating the whine. This time they told me the gearbox is low on oil and has the wrong oil in it, and there's metal shavings present, and I should take it back to the clutch workshop because they put the wrong oil in it, and it's not covered by warranty.

They recommended the clutch be changed, which I did, and I believe they should have taken an oil sample when I first reported the whine.

Where do I stand considering I have a paper trail that says a wrong diagnosis initially, I followed their recommendation for a new clutch kit (although not Hyundai's own clutch kit, which has no warranty any way), only to find the original problem still exists?