Car Servicing

My partner's 2005 Holden Barina needs its water to checked/topped up or refilled every third or fourth day. It's not overheating or leaking. Any suggestions?

I am faced with a major engine issue with my 2011 VW Tiguan 125TSI 2.0-litre. It's out of warranty and VW Australia has grilled me, but I still await an answer as to a resolution. I have only had it serviced at VW dealerships, but this was irregular due to job redundancy, having my mum die, and then my father. At the last service (90,000 km/72 months) in November 2015 all was ok. It was towed into the dealership on 10th February and I am still awaiting a response. VW seems at best to be defensive instead of proactive, and I'm concerned that the "emissions saga" has tainted the way they handle current customer service issues and that will reflect in my outcome? What can I do if I'm not happy with outcome?

We have just been driving to Queensland in my partner's 2006 Mitsubishi Triton 3.2 turbo diesel, which struggled to get up hills. Doing 110 km/h it would drop to at least 80 km/h. He changed the suction control valve, but it was clean, and his EGR valve was blocked off as he has had manifold problems before. I was wondering what this problem could be?

We bought a 2012 Ford Focus automatic just over three years ago from a Ford dealer in Perth. Straight away we noticed issues and a simple software upgrade did not do much. The problem got worse and the dealer replaced the shudder. The problem got better, but not completely gone, before it got even worse and it was skipping gears and shaking like crazy. They replaced the shudder and clutch and boy it drove well for a month before it broke down, again skipping gears and not drivable in sport mode with some lagging, which is very dangerous. I am seriously concerned about the safety of my children when my wife drives her car. I feel it's a disaster waiting to happen. What do you think I should do because it looks like there is no fix for this problem?

I've had my new Mercedes Benz C250d Estate for three months and I love it. Having dropped it off for a small warranty repair, I asked about an annoying "clicking" noise — seven small clicks that come from within the dash area or from under the passenger seat — which happens three to six times an hour. I was told it's the Keyless Go, with the car looking for the remote key. They say nothing can be done. Really? I have owned other cars including another Mercedes-Benz, and test driven other Benzes before purchase, and this did not happen. Can you help in getting rid of the "cricket" that lives in my car?

Recently my 2002 VW had some coolant leak issues, which were repaired, but since then I've had to top up the coolant twice in four weeks. Given its age and the possibility of a more serious problem I'm looking to replace it. I'd like to stick with another Golf, or even a Polo, but how do you pick a "safe" one given VW's recent track record? Are some years better or worse? Can you
suggest an alternative option?

I bought a 2007 Kia Cerato a few months ago. It has two things that most of the engineers I have consulted could not solve. One is an engine miss. The spark plugs were changed and a tune-up done. It was ok for two days and then it started to miss again. Then I changed the extension wire ignition coil and one ignition coil that was not firing, but it did not solve the problem. The second problem is the speedometer stops working after driving about 7-8 km. If you stop the car for two hours and start driving again it stops working in another 4-5 km. I have showed these problems to the Kia engineers, but they haven't been able to help. Could you advice me?

I have a warranty dispute with a Mitsubishi dealer over a 2011 Triton I bought just before Christmas. It developed a major clutch fault that made it undrivable and it needed towing. The assessment from my local mechanic shows it requires a full new clutch kit and machining of the flywheel. Mitsubishi says this is not covered under the three-month warranty as it is a "wear and tear item". I feel that this should be covered — I think that a vehicle costing nearly $20,000 that develops a major fault within a month and can't be driven is not quite right. What are your thoughts and do I have a case?

I bought a Holden Cruze Equipe on April 3, 2014. I have driven the car only 3586km but could not start the car in my garage so I rang Holden roadside service. They sent out an RACV van. The service driver could not start the car and said I would have to buy a new battery as it only had a 12-month warranty and that it would cost $225. Holden customer service said the battery was only covered for 12 months, yet the new one was covered for two years, why? I have been driving for 70 years, have bought many cars and never had a battery fail in such a short time.

My husband and I bought a 2015 Kia Sorento Platinum in June. At about 60km/h and 80km/h the engine is misfiring, shunting, surging. The dealership has yet to find a solution. It occurs when you ease your foot off the accelerator and then gently increase the speed. It happens often when driving but is more prevalent when the engine is cold. We initially thought it was the engine then changed our minds that it was the transmission. As it appears this is an issue with more than just our car it would be appreciated if you could advise if you have a solution as to how this can be fixed.