Warranty

I have a 2017 Golf GTI 7.5 DSG transmission. Quite often at very low speed there is a noticeable hesitation when trying to accelerate, which I have found to be quite dangerous on several occasions. Is this normal?

Please explain the different types of automatic transmissions, i.e., "conventional", continuously variable, DSG etc. What are the differences in driving and reliability of each?

Ford has had problems with some of its (DSG type I think), VW also, and as I recall Nissan had problems some years ago with its CVT.

The transmission in my 2010 Holden Cruze is faulting again. Holden replaced it under warranty three years ago. Since then it has only done 40,000 km. I've taken it to a dealer and they advised me that it would need to be replaced and would cost $5800. Holden declined my request for assistance. I escalated this and they asked that I complete a full diagnostic on the transmission at my expense (10 hours labour). Is this fair? They are looking for signs of manufacturing defects. Presumably if they don't find any, would that be case closed?

There is a company promoting the advantages of fitting a Catch Can to motors that are common-rail diesels. Could you please advise if this is a worthwhile fitment and what are the advantages that can be gained from such fitment? The advertised price of these is around $295.00.

After the last service of my daughter's 2013 Mitsubishi Mirage manual, she expressed concern about a rattle she'd noticed in the gearbox. I couldn't detect it but Mitsubishi replaced the gearbox while the local dealer explained that it was a known manufacturing problem. I understand a different manufacturer supplied the gearbox. Do you know if these replacement gearboxes will last the distance? Should the new one have more than 12 months warranty? Should it have five years, as was the case when the car was new?

The 'Megatronics' unit in my 2012 Audi Q3 Quattro recently died and needed replacing at a cost of nearly $6000. I've phoned Audi Australia to discuss my options of which after first conversations aren't very helpful. Can you advise my rights in this situation? It just seems crazy that a premium car with such low km could have such an expensive hardware failure. Surely there's a consumer expectation or statutory warranty given the low km and expensive car?

I have a 2014 Holden Trax LTZ. After 18 months I found the roof paint was peeling. I went to Holden and showed it to them; they said it was because of bird poo and it was not covered by warranty. Lucky I paid extra and the insurance for paint and rust protector fixed it. After a year again I have another problem with the paint fading on top of the back door and it was fixed by the insurance again. After three years I notice the carpet inside the car is soaking wet and found a pool of water had eaten the back of my car which was fixed by the Holden dealer after they found the leak that caused the water inside my car. They didn’t change the carpet; they only dried it, which I’m not happy about. Now, after nearly four years I’m starting to have problems with the steering locking and dead ignition. I have had it serviced twice already, but they didn’t fix the problem. They blame the rain protector draining, but now they pull out the rust protector as they say it is faulty. Today, the car played up again and when I parked the car and turned off the ignition both front and back wiper just move and got stuck. Turned on ignition and it was dead again. I tried to turn it on for five times but nothing happened until I rested it for maybe 2-3 mins and it turned on again. I really am worried and feel unsafe with this car. Can you help me with this and is it normal for a brand new car to have problems like this for only three years and a few months?

I am looking to buy a new Toyota Hilux, but there is growing negative feedback regarding DPF issues etc. Given the poor new car 3-year warranty offered by Toyota could you recommend another more reliable vehicle please.

Toyota markets the Hilux as "Unbreakable". If it is then why is the warranty so poor and not like the Koreans, or even Holden?

The cruise control in my 2012 Subaru Tribeca will now only operate when the lights are off. I just replaced a stop/tail light bulb. Is there a simple remedy?