I had the engine warning light coming on and the car would not start but the problem was not mechanical. The car started perfectly with the spare key, because the computer chip in the original key was not communicating with the computer in the car. Cost me $110 and a lot of messing about to find out the key was the problem!

We had purchased an X-trail 2002 new; it has used a lot of oil too. It has taken two years for Nissan to listen to my complaints. We have had three 5000 oil testing coming in every 1000 to check oil usage. All the tests were done; they say they were but we are not there to see if it has. Each time more oil disappeared. Nissan then were telling us that they were all right.

Going away for a holiday we came home. Having to take the X-trail for a 70,000 service we checked the oil before taking it in. There was hardly enough oil on the tip of the dipstick. Nissan said this was o.k. I refused to take the car back rang Nissan Melba. They told Nissan to check for the problem. Surprise Surprise. The catalytic converter had broken down.

Nissan were told to put in new short end motor, new catalytic converter, etc They said it cost around $1,500. That was two days ago. We have taken the car back to Nissan. The service person had not tightened the bolts. Forgot to put bolts in loose bolts in the air filter box. We could have lost our motor.

This has not been our only problems. Collapsed wheel bearing, three new exhusts, four recalls, and paying for services that we feel have not been done properly. These problems would have been found if they had.

We have the 2004 Carnival and thus far we have a few complaints. The transmission seems to do its own thing most of the time. We have a hill that we access the main road from and you have to take your foot off the accelerator and just about stomp it through the floor to get the transmission to kick down.

We have taken it to the dealership many times without much result. It would seem that the only way to affect changes is to reset the computer but that only lasts long enough before it relearns its bad ways.

Also the power steering hose makes a god-awful noise at times.

The air con fan makes a clicking noise but it can't seem to be found when at the dealership.

My 2003 Commodore SS steering failed today, as in the steering column snapped. I would have thought that this is a very uncommon problem, and trying to get information out of my local Holden dealer was harder than extracting teeth.

So what I am asking is - if anyone has had this problem or has heard about it, any feed back would be great. Steve

Please let me know who at Kia has offered you a short motor and how I can get in contact with them, as I am in the same position with another failed engine with only 73,000 Kms in a 2000 Kia Carnival. Kia Australia have declined to even offer a short motor which I would consider as this would be a far better position than the current zero offer. Also I am interested in what progress or outcome you have had from your court hearing.

In reply to the post below. Only a couple of weeks ago I purchased a 05 Pulsar Auto. I'm also finding the squeak from 1st to 2nd gear. Going in for its second check Monday.

If the author of the complaint below has any updates or confirmation of the problem, could you please post it here. Was it the transmission solenoid? Many thanks, Neil.

I had a Falcon EF with dual fuel and the car dealer told me I didn't have to run petrol through it ever again and that I could just use LPG (WRONG!).

If you leave fuel in the fuel tank it will go off after 2-3 months and when you use it again, it will choke your fuel injectors thus giving you a really rough idle and drive.
I had to have my injectors thoroughly cleaned and the fuel tank had to be flushed out to remove all the sludge and **** in the fuel tank.

I recommend you go through one tank of fuel to every two tanks of LPG or just use your LPG for running around town and you're unleaded for highway trips ...Hope this has helped and best of luck.

Have just finished a long search for a similar problem in a 2002 Barina.

The fault was intermittent but had occurred at the same spot several times. It got to the point where my daughter would drive down that particular piece of road. The control unit on the side of the engine has been replaced ($1190 with labour). Hopefully that is the problem fixed.

I had a similar problem with a VN commodore years ago.

Very Happy with Luxury car.

Yep, had a bit of trouble with my 04 SR.

- Crook valve stems on the mags. 2 split making the tyres deflate on freeways. Split was opposite sense to if they had been hit by sticks. Ford wouldn't honour fault.

- Very noisy wiper blades ... wonder if was made by the same rubber company?

- Also had a front wheel bearing replaced - under warranty.

- Also ... went syd-melb-syd and the whole trip, had fuel starvation probs. Took it to Ford dealer service in Wyong and Melb, neither could fix it. Replaced the fuel filter and flushed it too. Said it may be the pump assembly. Did the same all the way back to Sydney. Funny hasn't done it since.

Car has now done 30k. But other than that, it's lovely to drive.

Hi Phil - You sound like you know what you're talking about. It's refreshing to hear, after reading all the other reports. I have been looking at an Astra TS CD 2002 & now am really worried about buying one as I have bought lemons in the past.

Realistically what do you think the ongoing costs for the car compares with other similar small cars?

Confused

The car is duel fuel and mostly runs on gas. Wouldn't start the other day and called RACV who stated the starter motor was faulty. Took it to an auto electrician who had it overnight. When he attempted to start it the next morning it was turning over but sounded like it had no compression. When it finally started it had a bad miss which eventually cleared.

He was told that sometimes if the oil is too thick the lifters won't operate properly until the oil warms up and thins out. We had the oil changed to thinner oil and thought the problem was fixed.

Hasn't missed a beat until we turned it back to fuel and the problem has returned.
We are now told that maybe, because the fuel in the tank is old, that maybe it has gone off and we should empty the tank and refill with fresh fuel.

Wondering if anyone else has had this problem.

I own a 1999 Magna Advance. I bought the car from Australian Fleet Sales in Chullora in 2003. Marina who I bought it off was nice and helpful but car came with some initial problems such as camshaft seals leaking and a torn belt. As I am not real car savvy had no real idea about cars I just asked them to fix it. I sent it off to their warranty team twice and they never fixed the problem they had no idea. Wasted 2 days of my time and work.

To my disgust they didn't even touch the car, I had another mechanic an independent finally fix the car. Was out of pocket $700. Dealership service was hopeless from Australian Fleet Sales.

Apart from that, I bought the car at 112,000kms. I have now done 394,000. The only thing I have done on the car is normal servicing (belts, liquids, seals) and 2 batteries. Apart from that it has never left me stranded and everything still works on the car!

I couldn't be happier with my car.

Thank you for making this site available! It has given me fair warning about some shortcomings in the BA that I recently purchased for my wife as I wanted her to have a reliable car.

My problem is with the keyless entry. Naturally when my wife takes it back to the dealer it functions perfectly but never works when her arms are full or she has a disabled client. Usually it works for me but a few times now it hasn’t and I know my wife would not tell me otherwise.

The dealer was helpful and supplied a new reprogrammed remote, which worked four times then stopped. I purchased a new one on eBay and reprogrammed both remotes as 1 & 2 as detailed in the owner manual. We then swapped remotes but were disappointed when the same problem occurred again with both the new units. There is no pattern to it either and ample RF output from the remotes.

This made me suspicious of the receiver unit. Does anyone know if this is a ‘module’ that can be exchanged or part of the ‘body control unit’ if Ford use such a device? It’s a simple but frustrating issue and naturally the dealer is hard to convince when it works fine for them.

Has anyone had similar issues or any technical information about the system?

Kind Regards Craig

Having taken my Ford Tradesman to Phil McCarrol service on three separate occasions for the exact same complaint (i.e. steering, chassis creaking), I have come to the conclusion that those people couldn't be trusted with a kid's pushbike.

First excuse: "we had to file off the burrs on the entrance to the steering rack"

Second excuse: "two of the bolts in the steering rack weren't long enough, so we've ordered in some longer bolts; that should fix the problem."

Third excuse: "we've tried shims and bushes, but this time, we just decided to replace the steering rack."

All that hard work, and the car still has exactly the same problem!

We bought a car from Suttons Holden Roseberry on a weekend. It was arranged to be ready on the following Tuesday as they will make sure everything is O.K. My husband picked up the car on late Tuesday afternoon.

The next day we drove to the shopping centre with the whole family on it and the car stopped in the middle of the road. We managed to get to the shopping centre. The next day my husband was picking up the kids when it overheated and managed to get home. He brought the car back to the dealer and wanted to return it but Suttons said No.

The car was left there for a week and when we went the next Saturday the salesman said it's 200% O.K and the mechanic was sacked because he didn't put water on it when it was serviced. He said test drive it and then comeback here so you can talk to the Manager who will provide us with a courtesy car and it will be picked from our place if it breaks again.

We went to a friend's place and our friend had a "horrifying" joy ride when in the middle of a busy Anzac Pde in Maroubra the car stopped and air conditioner didn't work and so frightening and traumatic experience when smoke came out of the hood. We were so embarrassed to the motorists and we held up traffic. Thank God, someone who lives nearby gave a hand in pushing the car aside to give way to traffic.

Rang the dealer but Manager had suddenly left at 5:30pm when the Salesman said he will be there up to 6pm earlier. They sent a tow truck and we're told to take a cab and they will pay but all lies. My husband went back with a letter saying that the car nearly cost our lives because it is faulty but they won't accept. Now the case is with the tribunal.

Hi, my wife also has told me the same thing has happened to her with her BA I recently purchased for her. Ours is a late 2003 with 90,000km. The dealer shrugged it off and said "it happens sometimes". I had to wonder if it could be dirt or fluff in the sensors that would detect:

a) is there a bum on the seat? Then,

b) if so, is the buckle engaged yes/no?

Pulling the dash out seems extreme to me to get to what? Have a careful look around and under the seats. Used vehicles may have had fleet management or radios installed under seats. Make sure the plugs are locked in and wiring loom is secure free from pinches & nicks. Don't separate the seat plugs, as it will generate an airbag warning.

Have a careful look at where the buckle clicks into, drinks & food get spilt in cars and lodge in crevices corroding sensors, kids innocently stick things in holes & slots, try the vacuum cleaner on the buckle it may dislodge debris in it. Apart from that good luck, I'm still scratching my head. It's stopped chiming and has an issue with the remote.

Try this and see if it works.

1) Buckle the seatbelt

2) Turn the Ignition switch to the On position without starting the engine.

3) Press and hold the Hazard Switch

4) Whilst the Hazard Switch is depressed, Unbuckle, then rebuckle the Seatbelt

5) Release the Hazard light switch

6) Turn off the Ignition

By doing this you can turn the "Ding Ding Ding " Seatbelt warning off or on. Good luck

Thanks Sara,

I have had 30 years experience as a part time classic car and bike restorer and have always serviced my own cars but I now have a BA company car (not in the auto industry now) and although the boss picks up the service/repair bills I hate him being burned by the dealers.

I have had ALL of the problem noted, the bonnet lever was stuffed from the first time I tried to use it, I replaced the cable into the lever several times myself as when I needed to use it. I was not near a dealer but eventually had it replaced under warrantee. I had the shuddering brakes done twice under warrantee and it's showing signs the third time. I had the diff done just out of warrantee but had a fairly lengthy see-saw argument with Ford customer service but they eventually covered the cost. I have just had a 135k service and they wanted $450 to fix the steering line leak so I will be pulling the line and repairing it as suggested. The hand brake is as you described and the morons "suggested" an adjustment be made on the paperwork for the service. They didn't call me and ask if I wanted it done, just put it on my invoice, isn't that part of a service.

My boss uses an independent mechanic but I know he is shonky so I convinced him to use a Ford dealer but after this last joke of a service I will be doing it myself from now on.

Thanks for your comments. I will pass them on to my boss who has a half dozen of these Fords of which 3 of them have had the brake issue and 2 the diff issue.

Thanks Mark.

I'm wondering if any one else has had a front diff break. If so would like to know if you can put the diff out of the V6 model in it as mine is diesel and I've been told they're different but unsure what the difference is. Also Nissan says they won't cover it under warranty and ARB 4X4 tells me the diffs come from a Datsun 180B. What a joke putting a diff like that in a 2 tonne 4wd with 110klw of power.

Hi Dave,

I have a 7/2000 build running on dual fuel. It was converted when it was new and has done 112,000 ks now. The motor runs smooth on either fuel and it's hard to tell them apart especially at idle. The only exception to this is when climbing up steep hills like Greenmount, that's when the switch to petrol is noticeable but only slightly. If you have found a Patrol in a car yard and it is running rough on either fuel, there is a problem with it.

Regards Phil

I recently bought a 2006 X-trail manual and have the same problem that another post mentioned on this site (NISSAN X-TRAIL PROBLEM - fly by wire). As you change gears going up, the revs hold in for too long like you have your foot on the accelerator so you have to wait for the revs to come down before engaging the next gear. This is very annoying and not at all an economical way to drive a vehicle. The dealership I bought the vehicle from says this is normal. I've never owned a manual vehicle that has done this before. Can this problem be easily adjusted; any help on this would be appreciated.

The engine warning light comes on intermittently. I have had it checked out by Nissan service and they say a new computer will fix the problem. They also say that it is not an engine issue. Has anyone else had such an issue and what has been the solution.

I bought this Kia Carnival in Dec 2000 brand new at $42,000. In 2003, the engine was replaced due to a recall and with oil mixing up with water. The week I got it back, I've complaint to the Kia dealer service dept that the car is loosing coolant. They said give it time and just top it up. I've just done that and have been doing it until Dec 2006 when the engine overheated and lost power.

The end of the story is that the gasket has been replaced but the cylinder head (2) need replacing plus the valves and all piston rings. 5 months after, the car is back at the shop as another cylinder blew up -- the piston cracked and hit the cylinder head. When is this going to end?

I have a question if anyone can assist? My wife & I bought a 2003 BA Futura just over 12 months ago. It's just done 50,000 k's (2,500 k's by us) & was serviced recently. The last few days, we've noticed the Seat Belt Malfunction warning light has started to come on & off whilst driving (we only drive short distances & even then only 3 times per week max) Not sure if this is caused by a loose wire or something more severe (i.e.: more expensive).

Obviously Ford can't tell me how much it will cost without looking at it but if they have to remove the dash, it's approx $600 & above. I find that a little pricy for a relatively new car (we've paid for extra warranty & we're having issues with the documentation). Has anyone experienced this problem & if so, what caused it & how much did it cost? Cheers.