Hi, my heater is not blowing hot air even if it set to 30c. Not sure if maybe heater tap problems. Cheers John.

What the **** is Nissan thinking? A new clutch at 10,000Km's as the old one failed and now again at 32,000Km's and they say it's my fault as it's general wear and tear? Also they hit me with my tail shaft is damaged and that'll be another $3000? I need as many people with these issues to please email me as I am putting together a case for the ombudsman who is very very keen to see what sort of quality is being produced by Nissan.

My petrol D40 dual cab 4wd has lost tail lights along with headlight height adjust and heater control back lights only, all other electrical working in and out. Anybody any ideas? Can’t find a fuse to state these uses under the bonnet. I thought the truck was great until reading the forum for the first time tonight. By the way 36000km, new tyres, new rotors, new pads, new springs, new struts new bushes but... no new clutch! Just got a sticking tappet/valve in cold weather this morning, maybe it's all starting.

P.S like you'd never drink the house wine - never go to the dealer! The changes have made it ride and brake sweet. All aftermarket.

Just replying to comment on Mahindra Pik-up dealer experience. I had exactly the same kind of experience as I’m sure that we had the same salesman. It’s a pity that such a good vehicle is let down by one person. It took weeks for my vehicle to be delivered to me as I live on the mid north coast.

When vehicle came off car carrier at nine o’clock at night I’m glad that it was delivered to me at petrol station as I only had 12 lb of pressure in tyres and I had a drive of sixty kilos to get home. Also vehicle came with tow bar but no tow bar tongue, also only 1 set of keys, no handbook or service books but I did get a full tank of diesel but to my shock on my first fill - up I find surface rust inside filler cap area.

I had no end of problems with salesman promising to fix problems so I eventually contacted Mahindra Australia and then things were corrected very fast. It’s a bad situation that such an excellent vehicle is let down by a salesman with such a bad track record.

I now have 16000km on my Mahindra and the engine is just starting to free up. I am very happy that I bought a Mahindrea pik-up. I live not far from a small area that has a lot of Indians and sheikhs and every comment that they say to me about my Mahindra is very positive.

Regards

Very interesting regarding the Toyota Grande. This is a vehicle I wanted to swap for my 2007 RAV4. RAV4 slips when on a hill when you change gear then it clunks like the problem someone else complained about. Very disappointed with fuel consumption, cruise control can vary by 15kms, brakes do not stop if you are on gravel.

I have complained about all of them and they are sick of me. No one is interested. I had traded my 2004 Petrol Prado for this vehicle and would like to go back to one. I wanted a diesel Grande but your reports aren't good on that one either.

There is a strong possibility that this is down to lubrication and associated electrical conductivity issues with the brakes and sensors. Since we have moved house, I've had to try out a different garage for servicing - they used a copper based lube on the brakes. 2-300 hundred miles later, the 3 ABS/TC/HDC warning lights came on as I stopped at some traffic lights. I turned the engine off and restarted, but the ABS light was still on. A few minutes later the others also came back on.

Fortuitously I wasn't far away from where I used to get the car serviced, the mechanic took one look at the brakes through the rims, saw the copper and said that they were now using aluminium based grease. They cleaned the brakes up, regreased them, reset the diagnostics and I've had no trouble since.

Apparently the copper based lube can cause minor blips which get flagged as problems by the diagnostic system and when these exceed given level it switches the warning lights on.

My XR6 has had a problem at low-speed acceleration since I bought it as an ex-demonstrator with 11,000km on it. After coming to nearly a complete stop, when accelerating away, the revs come up but no diff engagement happens for a second. When it engages, it does so with a loud clunk and the car lurches forward.

My Ford dealership have not been able to diagnose the problem and have done things like rebalance the drive shaft and tried different oils with absolutely no effect. The dealership has assured me this is not a problem encountered before. However another XR6 owner I know has had the same problem, with the same lack of fix by his dealership.
Any ideas from anyone?

I'm surprised to hear that you had sufficient confidence in your 1999 Kia Carnival to drive it from Melbourne to Brisbane. Many others attempting to drive such distances never made it.

Your comments on the cooling system may confuse some unfortunate owners of Kia Carnivals. Yes, we all accept that when the temperature of coolant increases there will be a commensurate increase in volume which in turn will be released under pressure into the radiator neck to the overflow hose and into the coolant reservoir bottle. This procedure will reverse as the coolant cools down and coolant will be returned to the radiator.

We also acknowledge that the cooling system is checked by removal of the radiator cap when the engine is cold.

Failure of coolant to return to the radiator can be readily observed by the collapse of the major coolant/radiator hoses which is quite distinct. Additionally, low coolant levels will register as elevated temperature on the temperature gauge which on a KV6 Kia engine means stop immediately.

It is most unusual for the process of overflow or return of coolant to the radiator be impeded in a regularly serviced engine unless some type of 'stop leak' additive has been added to the coolant. These additives can interfere with the operation of the radiator cap and prevent coolant returning from the overflow bottle to the radiator.

Have you considered that you could well be a victim of a 'quick fix' solution, albeit temporary when you purchased the vehicle at auction. A number of sealant compounds are readily available to cover up the well known engine failure of oil entering the coolant or coolant entering the cylinders at the head gasket interface.

Good luck with your new/reconditioned engine.

Kerry Tunbridge
Alfords Point, Sydney

Heys guys, got an 89 EA Falcon and while driving the battery light comes on and engine **** out. Starts again no worries but same thing keeps happening. Had a mechanic come out and replace the dizzy and changed the idle switch up 5 degrees but same **** keeps happening. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Don’t know much about cars and feel like I’m being taken for a ride by auto mechanic.

I fitted a Clutch Industries conversion with solid Flywheel to my D40, and what they call a 4 Terrain Clutch. They told me this was a performance clutch and would dissipate heat better than any other after market clutch. I have done almost 40 thousand klms and the clutch has performed really well in some very harsh environment. Well worth a try.

Vehicle is now a month old and has almost 4000km on its clock.

Fuel economy is even better as engine loosens up and its seems to make more power.

Still as tight as a drum, no squeaks, rattles or any issues at all.

I'm still not happy with the dealer.

This is to advise all that my Prado (Mar 2001) with 1kzte engine has had to have head replaced. The head number cracked behind No 4 cylinder pre combustion chamber. This cannot be repaired. Had head replaced in Darwin.

Car has been excellent except for this! Was towing a 2.0 Tonne van at 80kph when failure occurred. It is an auto and was in Overdrive off mode.

I have same issue with a 05 Ghia, water leaking in. Mines caused by the windscreen coming away from the channel. Yes the windscreen is falling out of it, a 60 grand ****, I will Never buy another Ford. And the **** at dealers have no idea, they’ve had their heads up their **** so long they wouldn’t even qualify as a lube operator these days.

I found a helpful mechanic and cylinder head service in Darwin. If you need a good mechanic, contact David Cooper. He replaced head on Prado and did and excellent job. If you need cylinder head help, contact McIver Cylinder heads, very helpful and they didn't **** us off. Both in Berrimah area.

I booked a car (Lavida) from the sales agency of Volkswagen, China on May 25, 2009. According to the contract, the delivery date shall be before Jun. 26, 2009. But unfortunately, I haven't got the car that I booked because it hasn't been listed in the manufacturing plan of Volkswagen Manufacture, China.

I complained to the service center of Volkwagen, China, but I haven't got a satisfying feedback. They cannot provide the assured delivery date. And the sales agency of Volkswagen is cannot promise the delivery date is before August. I bought a license tag from Shanghai Government. The license tag will be canceled if I haven't got a new car to let the license tag on in August. If like that, I will lose 30,000 RMB-license tag fee. Urgently.

Hi Haydn. Most likely the torque converter splines have stripped out. Will require removing the transmission to repair.

I am having the same problem with my Holden Viva (Manual). It keeps stalling. It's going in for the 4th time in 4 months next week. Warranty ran out last week, back to Holden.

My display LED in the dash is breaking up to the point I can no longer read the time etc... Can any one point me to a dealer/wrecker etc who has one in full working order?

A very happy owner of an Astra convertible limited edition 2004.

The V6 engine used in the Kia Carnival is common to a number of other vehicles where the overheating problem does not occur. One very likely problem in all modern vehicles is the displacement system that allows non-technical persons to check the cooling system water level from a plastic container rather than risk serious burns by removing the radiator cap. The system allows water, expanding with heat, to be saved to the plastic reservoir and returned to the radiator as the temperature and volume decreases in the radiator. This system provides a safe alternative for the average vehicle user.

The problem is that to work there must be an air-tight seal from the radiator to the plastic reservoir. If due to a worn connecting hose, damaged reservoir, wrong or faulty radiator cap, water is not returned to the radiator then eventually the radiator will run out of water, the engine will overheat and the head gasket will fail.

I bought a Kia Carnival for my daughter and experienced that exact fault.

Danger, the only time you should check your radiator water level is when the engine is totally cold. The best time is in the morning. With over 40 years experience in the motor trade primarily building performance engines I have seen this problem occur many many times.

By the way, it seems that Kia entered the people mover business by building, certainly the early Carnival, from parts sourced from other manufacturers around the world. The result being a cost effective vehicle for not much money. Not everything then works in concert as we might like but, having bought my daughter’s car from an auction in Melbourne, it managed 726 kilometers from 1 tank on its way to Brisbane. Not bad for something weighing 1.8 tonne.

It now has a DVD/CD/TV with a 10 inch monitor. The best accessory ever invented if you take a bunch of kids on any kind of trip.

Other problems to investigate are front end alignment, seized handbrake cables and door sliders. With all its faults it still remains a bargain.

Hi Mark, I have a copy of the manual you are looking for. Reply to my email address and I will give you the details on where to download it. If you are not a mechanic and can't find one who knows what they are doing with Jackaroo Diesels I suggest you contact Andrew at Dieseltec in Lilydale. He's got a pretty good handle on the history and problems associated with the 4JX1 engine. Cheers Wiffco.

Mercedes Benz and BMW are at the forefront of technology! What drugs are you on?
I work on these cars day in day out. Benz, VW, Audi, Volvo, all ****. I would put these cars in the same category as the Kia Carnival. Endless window regs, coolant temp sensors, throttle bodys, coils, air flow meters, and don’t forget the **** house automatics. You must do 3 autos a week.

I agree with most of what you said, but no way are they at the forefront of technology. They’re trying to be, but failing. How many Toyota, Honda, Subaru’s, need brake disc and pads replaced at 60,000? Or autos rebuilt with a $5000-$9000 bill. My 89 model Camry is still on the original auto, air flow meter and discs. My 05 model Corolla might not handle as well as a BMW or VW Golf, but with 40,000 on the clock, never seen the dealer again and never had any problems as above. Also my auto shifts a heap better than any of the above vehicles.

Don’t forget the Audi Dash boards. Had an 06 model in on Thursday that needs replacing. 43,000km. $1800 for a dash. I could go on for ever.

This sums it up. I'd have a Holden or a Ford any day. Also Japs have it in the bag.

Can someone help me? When I lock my car the horn chirps rapidly five times. All the doors are closed, and I can't work out why it does this.

Windscreen wipers stopped working one day. Indicators stopped working 2 days ago but hazards still do work. The car died yesterday while driving then turned itself back on, radio went off then back on again. Also stalls if I change gears too slowly but idles fine. Every time we take car out we need to give it water at least 1- 2litres each time. Noticed it is using a lot of oil too! Any ideas?

Bradley

Reply back & I can forward you some info that could assist.

You have left too many gaps in your story which makes it so difficult to offer advice or assistance. How are we to know to help you?

e.g.: Bought a used KIA in April 2009 that is still under a dealers used car warranty?
The dealer is stalling?
The dealer is not going to fix it?
Perth Dealer / Bunbury dealer?
I have lodged a complaint with fair trading?
The vehicle has now traveled? KM's

The dealer has to fix it in a timely manner under WA used vehicle warranty rules. If he stalls lodge a complaint with Fair Trading, why are you letting him waste your time. When will you draw a line in the sand at 6 weeks? 10 weeks? 12 weeks?

Sorry to be so short but as you can see there is a lot you can do to move things along.

Dale

The problem is with your auto transmission computer, it is located under the heater box on the trans tunnel. The capacitors leak onto the circuit board, very very very common. Can pick one up at the wreckers for about 100 bucks.