Car Servicing

I have been told my 2009 Mazda CX-9 Luxury needs a transfer case and now a new transmission. The transfer case is going to cost $3500, but out of "good will" Mazda will pay for the transmission, but I still have to pay $500 for the installation. The way this issue has been presented to me, and the reading I have done, it sounds like this is not the first time this has occurred. Have you heard of this?

My 2010 Audi A4 1.8-litre turbo has been using too much oil. I have been topping it up with a little of oil every 250km. I believe this model has an oil consumption issue and we have made Audi aware that they have to pay to fix it, and have booked an appointment to put an "oil splitter" in to test the consumption. As the appointment was a week away the car beeped as normal saying low on oil. One day I started it and it stopped working. Now Audi has taken the car apart and is telling us the timing chain has snapped, the engine has lost compression, and it might have bent valves. Could this have been caused by the lack of oil, as it would have overheated also have high friction and caused various parts to malfunction, but they say it has nothing to do with oil and are trying to charge me. Do you have any advice to give me on how to tackle this issue? I'm not willing to pay money to Audi for their mishap in engineering this engine and negligence towards my car.

I bought a 2003 Mini Cooper S in November 2013 with 27,000km. It has now done 66,800km and the power steering just stopped working. A bit of web searching revealed big issues in 2002-05 models in Britain and the US. Articles about thousands of cars affected in Mini forums mentioned BMW doing goodwill repairs and, in the US, extended warranties of 13 years or 150,000km. My dealership said it didn't matter what happened in the UK or US. I rang BMW Australia but they said I was not the original owner and the car did not have a full service history with BMW. I think it is most unfair that BMW Australia can take a sit-on-the-fence attitude when elsewhere a problem is recognised with the same vehicle. A replacement pump unit is about $1000 just to buy. This only slightly detracts from what is a great car to drive.

My Renault Clio 2014 model had brake fluid leaking out from under the cap that screws on to the reservoir and dripping into the engine bay, resulting in the paintwork having to be resprayed three times. Nearly 12 months on it needs a fourth respray. I know there are many Clios out there with this issue and it needs to be addressed.

I've just had my 2003 Nissan X-Trail serviced by my garage, which they do every six months. It has done 120,000km. They said my tyres are now getting a bit hard and should be replaced, even though there is plenty of tread left. I had two fitted in February 2008 at 66,000km, the next two at 83,000km in April 2010. I retired in July 2011 so we don't do the kilometres we used to. My question is, at what stage do they start going "off" and do they get to the stage where they are dangerous?

My partner is the unlucky owner of a 2012 Ford Focus Titanium, with its troublesome transmission. The clutch has now been replaced for a second time and she has been told to expect it to happen again. The service adviser strongly recommended contacting Ford Customer Care, because they are apparently offering to settle the issue with a buyback option. The communication with Ford thus far has been fruitless and frustrating. Do you have any advice, or can you recommend who we can contact so we can actually get something happening?

I have a 2009 Honda Civic GLI and have a problem with the Supplementary Restraint System indicator and the Side Airbag Off indicator lighting up on my dash. I have complained to the dealership about it during the warranty stage and they said no fault codes were found and that there was nothing they could do. This is a safety issue and something has to be done. I feel unsafe driving it.

A warning light that I cannot identify from the owner's manual has come on in my 2007 Mazda CX-7. It looks like a fan. What does it mean?

As soon as I purchased my 2014 Nissan X-Trail, diesel auto I noticed a surging/jumping type action, particularly around 80 km/h. It has now done 30,000 km and it's only getting worse. The dealership has been nothing short of hopeless. I took a short video of the issue yesterday, as they appear to think nothing is wrong. The revs go up and down even while cruise control is engaged on a straight, flat road. The revs go between 1500-3000 rpm while cruising at 100 km/h. It just keeps going up and down, then goes up and done quite quickly while a little surging/jolting can be felt in the car. The temperature remains normal throughout. Any advice would be much appreciated!