car issues....

twain":28eyo75o said:
since then its developed new issues after breaking the 100K mileage mark. (suspension making noises, engine juddering blah blah blah)

I assume its the Mk2 version? Great cars!

If the suspension noise is coming from the back end (sounds like something is rattling in the boot) its probably the rear link arms as they are known for going on the Mk2's. Front end probably some bushes or something, but ours never had a problem on the front end in 120000 miles on the rough Hudds roads.
 
yeah its a mark 2 (K11 facelift type). the mrs had one previously before she wrote it off...:S this one is good, except for the throttle body problems (very common in post 2000 models).
think its due a major service of sorts! i dont have the time to do it all myself, but dont have the cashola to keep it serviced as regularly as i'd like......
but it certainly does make for a cracking little car - if only it were a smidge bigger, i'd not hesitate to get another one if we weren't extending our family further! can't think of another car that'd serve as well as these, too many computers onboard modern cars these days!
 
Italian Service? Unburnt fuel? What a load of rubbish.

If the car is only used for short slow speed journeys, then you can certainly build up too much moisture in the engine and exhausts (which is why the back box goes on so many cars), as the condensation that can form, never gets fully boiled off.

Take the car for a nice 60 or 70mph run up and down the nearest motorway or dual carriageway. Don't overheat or thrash the poor thing, but give it a decent run a good fast road speeds and it will 'blow the cobwebs out'.

As for high mileage. I have no idea why we think 100,000 miles is a big deal. In Europe people regularly run their cars to double that.

I did 110,000 in 18 months with one of my company cars, it was on a 3 year / 100,000 mile lease, so the leasing company were not too impressed!

I've only driven a Micra once, I didn't care for it much as it didn't accommodate my 6'1" too well. However, my wifes Peugeot 107 is a super little car and I comfortably drove the last one from Nth Somerset to Halifax and back for a job interview (the company car had a tracker fitted, and I was joining a rival company!).
 
NeilM":22rsokgf said:
Italian Service? Unburnt fuel? What a load of rubbish.

If the car is only used for short slow speed journeys, then you can certainly build up too much moisture in the engine and exhausts (which is why the back box goes on so many cars), as the condensation that can form, never gets fully boiled off.

Take the car for a nice 60 or 70mph run up and down the nearest motorway or dual carriageway. Don't overheat or thrash the poor thing, but give it a decent run a good fast road speeds and it will 'blow the cobwebs out'.

As for high mileage. I have no idea why we think 100,000 miles is a big deal. In Europe people regularly run their cars to double that.

I did 110,000 in 18 months with one of my company cars, it was on a 3 year / 100,000 mile lease, so the leasing company were not too impressed!

I've only driven a Micra once, I didn't care for it much as it didn't accommodate my 6'1" too well. However, my wifes Peugeot 107 is a super little car and I comfortably drove the last one from Nth Somerset to Halifax and back for a job interview (the company car had a tracker fitted, and I was joining a rival company!).

i did get the feeling the chap was the type to talk alot, but say very little.....had me collared for a good half hour talking about all manner of things.....
anyways, i gave it a good fast run this morning, with a bit of low gear high rev 20mph stretch toward the end, and the Mrs is saying its behaving better.....
got myself some Redex fuel system cleaner to possibly help clean it out a bit. we generally use cheap Asda petrol, but i am unsure if these 'dirty cheap petrol' stories hold much weight.....
 
twain":oqzpmapf said:
i am unsure if these 'dirty cheap petrol' stories hold much weight.....

Another myth.

A friend of the family used to sell fuel oil for PetroFina and he said that you can go the the refinery / distribution centres and see a line of tankers from all different companies, all filling up from the same hoses.

As for longer runs; we have a shogun 4 x 4 which is used a couple of times a week as a sort of mobile tack store as we have a couple of horses. Every few months my wife uses it to go to work, which gives it a good 25 minute run each way and gets everything nicely up to proper working temperature.
 
there are differences between fuel from different companies - its well documented

but that is an entirely different story - as for the micra, check all the leads, check plugs and sockets, check coils and connectors - its just about the only thing you can do. As for 'too many computers in cars these days' they have been around since the late 70's!

Failing mass air flow sensors can cause a juddery feel in both petrol and diesels and can be hard to diagnose without experience, a quick google screams 'throttle bodies' for your micra so start there?
 
yeah i've read the whole story behind the throttle bodies on micras.
pre-2000 they had issues with the mass air flow sensor (solder joints would dry out and cause the stuttery/stalling when idle issues). so they replaced it with a Bosch throttle body to resolve this issue, only to find they had the same issue. MAF sensor would fail randomly.
garages quote to replace the whole throttle body (£400-£500) but replacing just the sensor (£30) solves the issue.

i've replaced it but this issue is different.
the car hesitates when you first press the accelarator then the engine picks back up. then at speed (more noticable at lower speeds) when you let go of the accelarator, the car judders....
it could be the MAF sensor again, but unplugging it doesnt stop it either - it still hesitates and has trouble recovering after revving and releasing the throttle.

i'll take a look at the plugs (these were replaced 20,000miles ago or so) and see if there are any signs there....
 
i had a drive about in it last night and it seems to have cleared up...
i took it to work that morning, gave it a 5-6mile run to warm it all up nicely, then gave it a few hundred yards of 30mph in low gear.....
it was still a bit twitchy after that, but when the mrs had it later that day, it was fine.
i had it to drive home from work and its still as smooth as the day we bought it.

it seems that what ever i did has cleared it up.
it still has the EML light on, but booking that in for a service this week so hopefully that can be sorted out in the process.
 
twain":8iwb0ki0 said:
i had a drive about in it last night and it seems to have cleared up...
i took it to work that morning, gave it a 5-6mile run to warm it all up nicely, then gave it a few hundred yards of 30mph in low gear.....
it was still a bit twitchy after that, but when the mrs had it later that day, it was fine.
i had it to drive home from work and its still as smooth as the day we bought it.

it seems that what ever i did has cleared it up.
it still has the EML light on, but booking that in for a service this week so hopefully that can be sorted out in the process.

Ah, the good old "Italian Tune Up"
 
i must say, despite their rather lax attitude in general life, this is the kind of fix i like for cars. you can get sucked right in to spending too much time/money fixing every bloody thing that goes wrong/wears out with a car.
i just wish a good ragging was the answer to all the other problems i think i'm in for.....
 
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