Car Servicing
The transmission in my 2004 Holden Vectra slips into neutral not long after taking off and wont move out of neutral until car is turned off? How do I check if the sprocket has snapped and or synchro is stretched?
About a month ago a very loud high-pitched noise began in my 2008 Volvo V50 turbo petrol. My local mechanic who has always looked after the car diagnosed faulty pcv valve. He informed me he had seen it a few times at early mileage and that overseas, and he specifically mentioned North America, the warranty was extended to 10 years. I rang Volvo who were very courteous, but claimed to know nothing about the problem. I asked my mechanic to repair it thinking it would cost $200-$300, but he rang back to tell that the part in Australia would cost $900 while the same part from USA was landed for $420. I rang Volvo again and emailed them but they refused to acknowledge me until I mentioned the Dept. of Fair Trading when they then began a succession of emails. The end result was that my car would have had to be transported 200 km to the nearest dealer and I would have to pay for diagnostics before they would look at it. Obviously, now the problem is fixed and I have suggested they receive the faulty part to have a look at but no way. Had I have taken it to a dealer and not been recompensed it would have cost me about $2000 instead of $820 with my local mechanic. I feel I have been dudded when this part is under extended warranty in other parts of the world.
Like many Focus/Fiesta owners I experience the shuddering and transmission issues with my 2012 Ford Focus. Recently, the car stopped completely on a major highway whilst traveling at high speed. The dealership is saying this was caused by the TCM update recall they did a few days prior to the incident. As this has now become a safety issue when I was nearly read ended where do I stand? I have contacted Ford Australia but yet to hear anything from them.
I bought a brand new Hyundai Elantra in April 2015. I was very happy with it until the cold weather when it was difficult to start and it would shake and blow black smoke from the exhaust and fumes would enter in the car. It was very frightening. My car has been back into the dealer, but they don't know how to fix this problem. I am dreading this coming winter. Could you please help me to fix this problem?
Recently, after parking my 2012 Hyundai i40 in my driveway and turning off the engine I heard a loud bang. I thought something had landed on the car only to see that the rear glass had exploded. I have not heard of this happening before, especially given that the ambient temperature was 15 degrees C. Hyundai was not helpful, they claim the glass is not a warranty item. The dealerships were equally unhelpful and would not give me priority when taking the car in to have it repaired and I had to wait a week. My children could have been hurt if they were in the car when the glass shattered. Should I pursue the warranty further or take up the matter with the Ombudsman?
I am in the same situation that you have described with the automatic transmission requiring replacement in my 2010 Holden Cruze. I am fed up with Holden as they missed this problem and a small transmission leak, and apart from one service it has been always been done by them. I had it towed to a nearby mechanic so can I still go to Holden and ask them to contribute towards the cost of the transmission?
The ignition barrel on my 2012 VW Amarok either fully rotates or turns to ignition position and locks. Jiggling the key in and out, and also using a brand new spare key eventually hits right spot to start. What’s the go?
My 2012 Ford Fiesta with 55,000km is another one with dual-clutch gearbox problems. I’ve ostensibly had the recall issue fixed, only to have the car returned worse than when I handed it over. It is not quite four years old and it sounds as if there are rocks in the transmission. I bought this little Fiesta as a second vehicle for my wife to run kids around and for them to learn to drive in and take on as it was to be a cheap little car to run. I’ve made more than 20 phone calls to my dealer and Ford Australia customer service. I’m sick of the run-around. Ford knows there are massive issues with the Fiesta and Focus so why are they sticking their heads in the sand?
After lots of research I bought a new Subaru Forester to serve me in my job as a sales rep and it has now done 306,000km trouble-free except for a slow oil leak in the head gasket, first detected at 220,000km and which I was advised could be monitored before anything was done about it. I am now told the gasket needs to be replaced but seeing my car has an aluminium block there is a 50:50 chance that removing the bolts will strip the thread. If all goes well it will cost me $2000, but if I need a new engine it will cost at least $6500, which is quite silly to spend on a car with so many kilometres. The problem is I will be 68 this year and will retire within the next two or three years so will lose my car allowance, which has paid for the car to date. Should I take the chance and spend $2000, hoping all will be OK, or bite the bullet and replace the car? If I knew that I will work for five more years I would happily buy another new Forester or perhaps a Kia Sportage.
Our Honda Civic has done 42,000 km, but at the last service by our Honda dealer we were in formed that the brake pads and rotors needed replacing at a cost of $1000. When we complained that this cost would re-occur every two years or so they said this was standard. We are not happy customers.