Car Servicing

I have a 2010 Holden Cruze that has just ticked over 140,000 km and the auto transmission has gone. I reversed out of my driveway, put it in drive, and it wouldn't move it just revs. I am aware that this is a common problem in the Cruze and people have had their auto transmissions replaced "quietly" by Holden. What do I do?

I've recently received a quote of $2500-plus from my Ford dealership of to fix the front and rear diff bushes on my 2005 Ford Territory. Since receiving the quote I have spoken to a friend of mine who also has a Ford Territory who had the same problem but were able to get it fixed for free due to a recall on the bushes in the 2007 model. She told me she was informed that the recall wasn't just for her '07 model, but a range of models and I'm enquiring today to see if you know any information about the matter and if my '05 model is also covered?

I have had a number of issues with my 6-month-old Jeep having to take it back six times for a range of faults varying from poor servicing and straight-up manufacturer defects. I've requested a replacement vehicle, but was told that is next to impossible. I was told I could get an extended warranty, but maybe only 12 months. Why can't I get five years like other manufacturers? Is my request for a new vehicle asking too much? Should I be expecting faults?

Our 2010 Nissan Navara 4WD turbo-diesel has suddenly got a loud knocking noise in the engine. Our mechanic advised us to take it back to the Nissan dealer where they advised it has "an unknown noise in the engine" and for $2700 they can pull it apart and tell us exactly what it is. It's possibly a big-end bearing that's damaged, which would then require the engine to be replaced for approximately $7000-plus for a second hand one. On speaking to two other diesel mechanics they advised this diesel motor is known to be a dud and they are now making a fortune repairing them. Seems to be a common thread on website forums also – surely the manufacturer should be responsible to fix the problems if their engines are known to be faulty?

I acquired an as-new Jaguar X-Type, front-drive V6 auto at 48,000km. It's a bit underpowered but a lovely motor and gears. It rides well on undulations and curves but the front suspension reacts noisily to sharp edges of bumps. I had Pedders check the front end but no faults or looseness was detected. I am happy to change tyres to a softer type if it would help. I have lowered the pressure a little but with no difference. Am I just too fussy?

My wife recently received an urgent recall for her eight-year-old Toyota Yaris regarding potential problems with the driver's seat rail and airbag. She called the dealer who sold and serviced the vehicle and was told the car could be inspected in October. We were concerned about the delay and emailed Toyota Australia and didn't get the courtesy of a reply. Then we contacted another dealer, who gave us a booking in less than a week. I find this situation peculiar. Could you please explain?

I recently bought a 2013 Nissan X-Trail with the 2.5-litre petrol engine and CVT transmission. How often you should change the CVT oil? The 2.5-litre petrol engine seems to use more fuel than I expected, the fuel gauge goes down to empty quicker than my 1994 Toyota Camry 2.2-litre manual. Can the fuel consumption be reduced? Also when I had half a tank full the distance to empty showed 185 km. This does not seem correct due to a 65-litre fuel tank and if doing 10 L/100 km in the city should give 650 km driving distance on a full tank, or 325 km on half a tank. Is there an error in the fuel gauge system?

I have just found out that the Holden Cruze seems to be having a transmission problem. My father currently has a 2010 Holden Cruze CDX and last year had a transmission failure. When he took the car to Holden they never acknowledged the problem and claimed it was his error and needed a replacement, which cost him $5000. So knowing that there is a problem, is it wise to take this further and demand the money back?

We purchased a new Mazda 3 Astina in March and since picking it up the GPS has had problems with locating our car on the screen maps. This generally happens when we start the car for the day and after some time the GPS locates our car correctly on the right road and performs well for a while. We have taken our car back to the local dealership twice and now have had two new versions of MZD software loaded (the latest being version 56.00.513). Going back to local dealership tomorrow for a Mazda Tech to have another attempt at finding the issue, but I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

I brought a demo 1.4-litre turbocharged Holden Cruze CD from my local Holden Dealer with 2000 km on the clock. At my first free service, they said it had a leak in the water pump, so had it replaced for free. I took it in to my VACC approved dealer to get my 30,000 km service and guess what! The water pump needs replacing, that's three water pumps in 30,000 km of driving. I'm not a happy Holden owner.