• Hi all and welcome to TheWoodHaven2 brought into the 21st Century, kicking and screaming! We all have Alasdair to thank for the vast bulk of the heavy lifting to get us here, no more so than me because he's taken away a huge burden of responsibility from my shoulders and brought us to this new shiny home, with all your previous content (hopefully) still intact! Please peruse and feed back. There is still plenty to do, like changing the colour scheme, adding the banner graphic, tweaking the odd setting here and there so I have added a new thread in the 'Technical Issues, Bugs and Feature Requests' forum for you to add any issues you find, any missing settings or just anything you'd like to see added/removed from the feature set that Xenforo offers. We will get to everything over the coming weeks so please be patient, but add anything at all to the thread I mention above and we promise to get to them over the next few days/weeks/months. In the meantime, please enjoy!

Disappointing car, great neighbours

Steve Maskery

Steve Maskery

Old Oak
Joined
Jul 27, 2014
Messages
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Location
87290 Laplagne, France
Summer 2024 I bought a Nissan Qashqai. Never know how to spell it. It's a Hybrid. It is great in many ways. Very comfortable, easy to drive, good mileage. A few niggles, the satnav output is excellent, the satnav input looks as if it was designed by a 14yo on work experience. Not a lot of storage space considering its size, but generally I've been very happy. It's the only time I've ever owned a brand new car.
I'm knocking the kitchen about at the mo, and yesterday I finished at about 3.30, a bit of a clean up and went to the supermarket. Shopped and loaded up. Then I tried to start the car.
Rien.
Nada.
Nowt.
"Put the key near to the Start button".
It was touching. Try again. "System failure"
So I rang SWMBO and asked her to bring the spare key. Fortunately she had her phone switched on, which is far from always being the case. No difference.
So I went back into the supermarket, where there is a Franco-American lady, who is properly bilingual. She was fantastic. She rang the insurance co for me. My face-to-face French is assez bien, but on the phone it is très difficile.
When we eventually got through, the call handler said that because my car is only 18 months old, this was a Nissan issue, but she would put us through. Which she did. More waiting. Then we spoke to a Human Being, and then the line dropped.
I was well aware that Sheila was outside in her car, with the outside temperature at -3C. So we abandoned my car, complete with trailer ,and went home.
I went to my neighbour, Bob, English, and has a towbar on his car. The dogs heard me, but he was in the shower, so I went to Jean-François et Martine. They are fantastic. They have just given away the car with the towball, but Jeff took me round to Patricia, the roly-poly, mini-skirt wearing, chain-smoking, 50-something-going-on-18 NDN, who, without missing a beat, grabbed her coat, shut the dog inside and we three piled into her car to retrieve the trailer.
Back home, we rang the insurance co again. Well, Jeff did. We got cut off several times, very frustrating, especially when you are listening to On-Hold music. Eventually we got through to The Right Person, who said that a recovery vehicle will be there in 45 mins. Thats' great, we are only 10 mins away.
Then I get a text. "Your vehicle will be recovered on Monday 5th January." Did I mention that this breakdown happened at 5pm on a Saturday?
So back on the phone to ask which is correct, the phone call or the text? The phone call.
So off we went back to the carpark, and very soon the truck arrived. Lots of sucking of teeth. It was very cold, I had a fleece, but I wish I'd worn my biggest coat as well. Fortunately is was not raining nor windy.
Mr Man said he though it was the battery. Not the big ones that power the wheels, but the little one that starts the ICE. His booster did nothing. So then he tries to get it onto the trailer. Now, vehicles like this have electric brakes, so when they are locked, they cannot be released and the wheels don't go round, they just lock. Lots of bad noises as he attached the winch. He made noises that are the same in English as they are in French. Eventually he had it on board and drove off. I've handed over my car to a complete stranger, with no paperwork whatsoever.
So it is sitting in a garage somewhere, I don't know where, but tomorrow I'm expecting it to be delivered to the Nissan dealership, whence it came, in Limoges.
But for now, I wait.
I am grateful for
1. The fact that it happened only 10 minutes away
2. The weather wasn't worse, and
3. I know some very, very fine people
S
 
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Had a similar experience a couple of months ago though non of the language difficulties.
I’ve had an electric van for 12 months now & despite my initial reservations I’m well & truly delighted with it that was until I did a little job at a customers first thing one morning, the van had got me there with no issues but on trying to start it after completing the job everything was dead. No dash lights, ignition, nothing the van came with 5 years RAC cover so after a short phone call & a 25 minute wait Mr RAC person turned up.
I still can’t believe it but after driving the van for over 10 months it turned out the battery terminal had never been tightened correctly, the repair was simply tightening the battery lead up, everything was working as before.
I honestly can’t believe the van ran for so long with a loose terminal, that said I was well happy it was such an easy fix as was Mr RAC man, just shows it’s the simple things that can bugger everything up.
 
Stepdauters car was perpetually returned to dealer with intermittent electrical blackouts
After six months it was the apprentice that found the loose earth strap
 
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That’s not at all good for a new car. I thought all manufacturers these days provide breakdown assistance as part for the new car guarantee. Certainly the case with Hyundai here and VW.
 
Yes, it was the Nissan breakdown system that was invoked.
They use something called Roole. There is an App. Unfortunately, when I tried to download it, it simply said, "Thiss App is not avalable in your language". So it simply doesn't install.
S
 
I'm a big fan of simple cars. Cars without loads of sensors, and little black boxes controlling everything. Unfortunately, that means I have to drive around in really old vehicles.
 
Totally agree with Mike, so called driver aids are too me a distraction. Warning beeps that can not always be turned off all in the name of NCAP safety ratings are annoying. I have, however, taken a different approach.
I thought that I had better get used to the technology, which has been around for 10 years or more now, before I was too old to learn and adapt to it.
Recently bought a small Hyundai i10 with far too many gadgets and driver assistance aids which are now all fitted as standard to even the most basic models.
Buying 15 year old “simple” cars and expecting them to last another 15 years is a risk I was not prepared to take make.
 
We often hire cars when back in the uk, and as Pam needs an Automatic it’s often a Hybrid, we had arranged to leave the car (another Quashkay, ) at the hotel for collection, came out in the morning and just like yours Steve completely dead. Managed to open the tailgate to get our suitcases out and rang the hire co. The silly beggars took 3 days of toing and froing to establish that it wasn’t our fault, they wanted to charge more rental.
Three days the car sat outside the hotel. Same as yours it was the ordinary battery.
The last Hybrid we had 10 days ago was without doubt the most annoying vehicle I’ve ever driven in more than half a century.
Peugeot 3008? So many pings and bleeps, not a clue what they were for, the indicator was an electronic version of ping pong and Loud! just about drove us nuts, and if it wasn’t strictly necessary it wasn’t used. The lane assist was so difficult to turn off and it was absolutely dangerous, very nearly pulling the wheel (square) out of my grip. The gear selector was a masterpiece of something designed by a non driver.
You no doubt get the point!
 
That sounds like a right pain Steve.

Probably a coincidence, but my dad had a similar issue with his Suzuki Vitara recently. He thinks he has narrowed it down to the trailer. Something in the trailer electrics caused a fuse to blow which knocked out the immobiliser and keyless start.

It might be irrelevant, but don't ignore the possibility of the trailer causing a problem if you had it plugged into the car.
 
Blackswanwood said:
I wonder if forums had existed many years ago we’d have found people lamenting the lack of a starting handle when they’d had a problem with a starter motor … 😉
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First car. i ever bought was a 2CV6. A lot easier to bump start the car, which could even be done on a slight up slope, than try and use the wrist breaking starting handle.

See that Range Rover…watched a repeat of the Top Gear Bolivia special last night.:)
 
Cabinetman said:
The last Hybrid we had 10 days ago was without doubt the most annoying vehicle I’ve ever driven in more than half a century.
Peugeot 3008? So many pings and bleeps, not a clue what they were for, the indicator was an electronic version of ping pong and Loud! just about drove us nuts, and if it wasn’t strictly necessary it wasn’t used. The lane assist was so difficult to turn off and it was absolutely dangerous, very nearly pulling the wheel (square) out of my grip. The gear selector was a masterpiece of something designed by a non driver.
You no doubt get the point!
Click to expand...

Would be described as quirky by French car enthusiasts, not the description I used for the Renault Trafic I had for a couple of years. I was so relieved to get rid and go back to a VW Transporter.

We bought a Nissan Juke for my wife in 2014, new from the factory, top of the range and it was a disaster. Apart from the annoying and inconvenient trips back to the dealer because bits kept dropping off the body and interior the main media head unit crashed after only a month, no speedo, instruments, sat nav, radio, nothing at all so undriveable. Despite being a brand new car it took Nissan, only 7 miles from the dealership where the car sat, 2 weeks to inspect the car and another month to approve replacement. Though she had a loaner, my wife was without the car for 2 1/2 months so we got rid shortly after and vowed never to buy another Nissan.
It was bright yellow, I hated it and refused to drive it except in the dark. :ROFLMAO:
 
akirk said:
My most reliable car…
nearly 32 years old, almost no electronics to go wrong… armchair comfort to drive and will go anywhere/ carry 1/2 tonne in the back and tow 3.5 tonnes..,
Click to expand...

Far better than the later versions, a great shame Eover took it's eye off the ball and lost it's heritage.
 
Ah yes, the Nissan Joke...I had a hire of one from an airport. Couldn't get the bloody thing out of the parking bay! Brakes frozen on..🙄 the rep said "drive it, we've just washed it" 😲. Well, I did, and it sounded like grinding girders and it took 6 "emergency stops" to free off the ice, THEN all that Bob reported came to pass...🤬. Nissan Joke Ladies and Gentiles (Freddie Frinton).
 
We bought a Kia sportage last spring and initially were annoyed with the bells and whistles, but have got used to them now. I even like the lane assist!
Deep in the instruction manual it describes how to get into a dead car (there’s actually a hidden key hole to open it conventionally) . I bet most owners don’t know it’s there.
Somehow, I bet there’s a way of getting past the electrical handbrake too.
 
Doug said:
With Marina door handles what’s not to like about old discos :love:
Click to expand...
One of my tea stops when I was on the beat was the one-man engineering workshop who made the pattern for the injection mould for the plastic part of those BL door handles.
 
Interesting comments about the Juke; my experience with one was very different. I bought a new one, a fairly basic model, in 2011. I ran it for 2 years, doing about 100 000 km or thereabouts. I do remember that the heating system struggled to keep the windows clear in cold weather, but I don't recall any other issues. I changed it because our needs changed, not because of any dissatisfaction with the car.

Of course the Juke may have changed since I had mine, which was an early model.
 
Lurker said:
We bought a Kia sportage last spring and initially were annoyed with the bells and whistles, but have got used to them now. I even like the lane assist!
Deep in the instruction manual it describes how to get into a dead car (there’s actually a hidden key hole to open it conventionally) . I bet most owners don’t know it’s there.
Somehow, I bet there’s a way of getting past the electrical handbrake too.
Click to expand...
The problem with the lane assist I find is the slightest deviation over the white lines on either side of the road just to avoid a pot hole or dead animal when there is no oncoming traffic, and hence little point in indicating, solicits a tug on the steering wheel .
 
Horn wiring old and new (slightly embellished):

Old: Switched wire to horn.

New: Power is sent from the Body Control Module to the Horn Control Module (HCM; £300), which also receives a CANBUS connection that likes to rub itself on the edge of a poorly-grommeted hole. Horn sounding is suppressed by the HCM when certain conditions are not met, or if it has a fault code because the battery went a bit flat three weeks ago.
…
Access to the HCM requires complete dismantling of the car until all you have left is the HCM. A dealer-level scan tool is needed to code the new HCM to the car, for absolutely no good reason.

Yes, I think modern cars could do with a bit of ‘Occam’.
 
Mechanic who looked after our 2004 Disco swore blind that he'd never buy a car older than 2004 as that was when all the eelctronics started to be included. I think he has a point.

My bête noire with run-of-the-mill modern cars is the quality of the manufacturer fitted tyres. We had a secondhand Q3 Quattro with adequate tyres. Replaced with the brilliant Michelin Cross-Climate. Always got us up the steep hill in snow.

Then we bought a Mazda CX-3 4WD....4 years old ..only 4000 miles on the clock and so fitted with manufacturers offering. They were TOYO GP's. The GP stands for 'gripless'. First hint of snow and had to abandon it at the bottom of the hill. Still got probably 10,000 miles + tread left but last week I bit the bullet and ordered Cross-Climate 3's. Downside is that not in until end if the month.
 
Lurker said:
We bought a Kia sportage last spring and initially were annoyed with the bells and whistles, but have got used to them now. I even like the lane assist!
Deep in the instruction manual it describes how to get into a dead car (there’s actually a hidden key hole to open it conventionally) . I bet most owners don’t know it’s there.
Somehow, I bet there’s a way of getting past the electrical handbrake too.
Click to expand...

All the keyless / comfort entry cars like ours (which just means easier to steal) have a key you can pull out of the fob however I can count on one hand the number of people I know personally who have even looked at tthe instruction manual. Most these days are digital on the car info system, useless if the car is dead and just a few basics in a booklet.

If you haven't read the manual, don't know about the key and the booklet is in the car glovebox my bet it would be call the AA time. :ROFLMAO:
 
I helped a colleague find the "hidden" keyhole on a Skoda recently when his "fob" went native. "Manual" keying didn't work 😖. Complicated issue (SISO* key programming), resolved only by a VERY expensive/newly programmed new key.
When I consider EPROMs etc from the dark ages of computing (1983) and their present-day succesdors, relative cost nowadays is about 6,000% what it once was.
Software has become the new snake oil, Folks.

*SISO? Dung in (from mentally-challenged "programmer") dung out (from poor and inefficient program)
 
fuse said:
I've still got the Austin A35 that I learned to drive in at 13
Click to expand...
That must be the two door sports version with the flared arches .

Guineafowl21 said:
A dealer-level scan tool is needed to code the new HCM to the car, for absolutely no good reason.
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That is because it links to the OEM's server to verify that everything is above board and the vehicle is not stolen, it registers the download to that main dealer. These body control modules are also found on Peugeots and what I find wrong is that the basic functions like stop lamps and hazzard warning should function independant of the module. We had a module playing up that produced random faults like the speedo would just drop out or you could not turn the engine off and lights would just come on without anyone in the vehicle. Whilst all this is going on you really want the hazzard lights to work and break lights to let others know you are slowing down with problems.
 
The kia actually uses a key in the ignition ( I’m aware from that point on it’s as digital as most) so that was a positive selling point for me as I assume it’s a bit less nickable than those proximity things.
 
Lurker said:
The kia actually uses a key in the ignition ( I’m aware from that point on it’s as digital as most) so that was a positive selling point for me as I assume it’s a bit less nickable than those proximity things.
Click to expand...

I agree with you. I'd pay extra to **not** have keyless ignition. A solution looking for a problem if you ask me.
 
Lurker said:
The kia actually uses a key in the ignition ( I’m aware from that point on it’s as digital as most) so that was a positive selling point for me as I assume it’s a bit less nickable than those proximity things.
Click to expand...
As does the aforementioned Hyundai i10. I’m hoping to find a nearly new VW Touran shortly which is likely to have keyless sadly but with the spec we want there is no choice.
 
fuse said:
I've still got the Austin A35 that I learned to drive in at 13
No electric windows not even manual winders just a counterbalanced pull down.
Click to expand...
Snap. My first car was a 1958 A35 which came into my ownership in 1971.
April 1972 023 ODR 712 on the quay at Ardrossan after non stop run 4 up from Plymouth.jpg

Brilliant little car which made multiple trips to the Scottish Highlands from Plymouth when I was a geology student. Pictured here on the quay at Ardrossan before crossing over to Arran after an overnight run from Plymouth with 4 on board plus all our kit for a field trip and the start of term in London afterwards.

Fans of the A35 might enjoy this.

 
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We both like the comfort access on our cars but I made a metal lined cupboard specifically for keys, a normal steel jobbie works just as well so happy no one can clone overnight though it doiesn't stop anyone while we're walki ng around the shops.

My son on a business trip to Manchester a number of years ago had his key cloned by a couple of Eastern Europeans seen on the car park CCTV. He lost £4000 worth of camera equipment from the boot as well as some personal items and 500 USD cash within minutes of leaving the car, he was only gone 15 minutes. Only got £1000 back from the insurance company
 
Our car heater stopped blowing hot air recently. A trip to the garage that does our servicing and MoT had a look and said electrical problem you need an auto electrician. Electronics check found the problem but electronic check up cost £99. The problem was with a resistor causing the blower to trip out. Cost to repair: blower motor £244, resistor £185! , pollen filter £38, labour 3 hours £207 I.e. overall over £800.😡
 
I get where everyone is coming from (and thanks for making me feel stupid for my buying choice...) but the fact is that we can't fight against technology for ever. It does a lot of good. When it works. I don't like the Lane Assist (it's turned off permanently) and there are other gadgets I've never got to grips with. But 70+ mpg on a run and even 56 about town is not something I've ever experienced before. And it is nice to drive (when it is actually driveable). And I couldn't manage without the SatNav. And I can listen to Radio4.
I rang the dealership today at 4.45, navigated the menu (in French), only to be told that no-one was available.
Merci, au revoir.
S
 
I think some of it is tech for tech’s sake, or to keep up with the Joneses, ie other car makers.

They haven’t (yet) given us braking-by-wire, but just imagine the consequences…
 
Over the years I've had a number of cars, old cars which came with issues... like most did back then. 1st was a VW beetle - shouldn't have passed the MOT it had on it as the chassis was rusted to &*%k... Got it exchanged for an old Hillman Imp estate (small estate) which was very useful. After a couple of years I sold it but then found out - when the new owner did a service on it - it had had a load of sawdust put in it!

Apart from that, that motor put me on to estate cars instead of saloons - apart from a Triump Spitfire 1.5... lovely drive - but kept getting battery problems as one of the terminals would continually work loose.

Nicest motor I got was a Mitsubishi Shogun Sport 2.5 Tdi, (traded and old RR and another estate in PX) until the head blew and the garage fixing it couldn't/didn't do the head skim properly after trying four times. I later found out the estate had been 'squashed' in some accident and then 'fixed' - i should have had a clue eith the garage I bought it from was called "Car Medics"!

I traded the Mitsi in for a new motor in September 2015. Brand new Dacia Logan MCV Laureate with all sorts of whistles and bangs... tyre warning light, AC (never worked but I didn't check it out while under warranty), anti skid auto wheel stuff... I should have gone for the Duster model but, at the time, we'd an old (big) dog that had trouble getting up into the back of the Mitsi so the lower Logan was more suitable... at that time.

In the 10 years I've had it, it's been fairly trouble free... main PITA being it flooded a couple of times in the front passenger side. How? Why? A design fault where the screen wash bottle is sighted - and the small drain hole to allow rain water to drain away getting blocked by dirt and debris like tree seeds and such. Also the screen wash container *fixing screws* don't stop it covering the drain hole...

After having to, the first time, get the garage to unblock it - and charge for doing so - the mechanic told me what needed to be done to keep the drain hole clear: remove wipers, remove grill, remove screen wash container, unblock then refit everything. 2nd time it happened I had to use the pond vacuum to suck all the water out and use dehumidifiers - I'd not realised it had blocked and we had a storm and hefty downpour of rain.

While doing the clean out, removing wipers, grill etc., I realised the main cause of this - as said above the SWC resting on top of the drain hole. Obviously needed raising to stop it happening again (🙏🤞)... Found a couple of SS nuts, mixed a bit of epoxy, stuck them in place... so far not more flooded passenger well... 🤞
 
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