Ask The Guide

The length of the cargo area from the base of the back seat to the tailgate ion the Skoda is 756mm. The width of the cargo floor varies from 1445mm (at the back seats) to 1003mm (at the tailgate opening). With the rear seat in place, the Karoq has a cargo volume of 521 litres and, with the rear seat folded down, that jumps to 1630 litres.

The black panels you refer to are nothing more than a styling touch. The idea is to make the panels black so they look like they’re part of the rear window, therefore appearing to make the window wider and the whole car wider and lower. Does it work on a Captiva? Not really.

Bad news. That generation of X-Trail had a six-speed manual option on the base-model two-litre petrol, front-wheel-drive model and on the all-wheel-drive turbo-diesel. But if you wanted an X-Trail with an automatic gearbox, then it was a CVT or nothing.

A manual car that jumps out of gear is usually a case of a worn gearbox. As the internals and gear selectors wear over time, they become loose, allowing the vehicle to jump into neutral.

The first check would be to see that the external linkage to the gearbox (a cable in the Barina’s case) is correctly adjusted and not about to fall apart. If that’s the case, you might find that the selector is not fully engaging each gear, and that’s why it’s jumping out of that gear. But beyond that, the problem is likely to be caused by wear inside the mechanical bits of the transmission.

Ultimately, you may have to resort to a locksmith to have the key fob re-synced with the car. But before you do that, try this: Mitsubishis of this era often have a key fob with a lock and unlock button. While sitting in the car (or standing next to it) push both lock and unlock buttons down together. Hold them down until you see the fob’s LED flash three times. Then, push the unlock button for one flash of the LED. The LED should then flash another two times and you’re all set. The lock and unlock buttons should now work.

It may not work with all cars, but it’s definitely worth a try. If it doesn’t, you probably have a Mitsubishi model where syncing has to take place via the OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) plug which requires a bit more know-how and the correct plug tools. That’s where your friendly locksmith or auto electrician comes in.

It sounds like there’s not much left to change in terms of belts and pulleys on your vehicle. But did you change the relevant tensioners at the same time? Tensioners run on bearings which can start to seize up over time and kilometres, often contributing a squealing noise that is easily confused with belt-squeal. Also, simply changing the pulley on, say the alternator or the air-con compressor, will not cure the noise if it’s being caused by the alternator or compressor itself.

Other things to check include the correct belt tension and the alignment of the belt (is it running truly between the pulleys, or attempting to run slightly sideways?) Don’t rule out a coolant leak that is getting on to the rubber belt and causing it to squeal.

It all depends on what you mean by faulty. If the rack has wear in it and isn’t as tight or responsive as it should be, then it will continue to wear out further (and eventually fail) but shouldn’t affect the car beyond that. If, however, you mean the rack is dangerously loose or about to break or come apart at some crucial point, you stand to destroy the car in a crash and perhaps injure yourself or someone else. Or worse.

Fundamentally, there’s no margin for error with a car’s steering. If it’s not right, the car should not be driven at all and should be fixed properly before it hits the road again. Provided you can find a second-hand steering rack with no wear and in perfect condition, then it should be fine to use. But again, don’t take chances with any of this. And make doubly sure there’s no damage to the rack and its fittings such as from a previous crash. Ask yourself why the original car donated this second-hand steering rack in the first place.

The light-bulb symbol is trying to tell you that you have a globe that has blown. But if that’s the case, the symbol should be lit the whole time, not just when you apply the brakes. I’d suspect a short-circuit of some kind, but I’d start with checking all the car’s earths. A bad earth can cause all sorts of random electrical mayhem to occur, including false alarms of the warning lights. That said, if the car has a blown head-light, try changing that to see if the warning symbol goes away for good.

An auto electrician might be your best bet if the problem continues. Chances are, a good auto sparkie will have seen this very problem many times before.

The absolute best thing you can do now is get the car to an automatic transmission specialist. The shuddering could be caused by wear in the bands and clutches that control the gears or from damage or wear in some other part of the transmission or even somewhere in the rest of the driveline. It might even be a problem with the torque converter.

The fact that the level of fluid had dropped suggests a leak somewhere in the system that also needs to be fixed. But continuing to drive the vehicle in this state is likely to cause further damage.

There are literally dozens of reasons the check-engine light might illuminate in a car like the Pajero. Fundamentally, the car is trying to tell you something is not right with one or more of its systems, and that it needs attention. Those systems could include (but are not limited to) the ignition, fuel, emissions, exhaust, mechanical and cooling systems.

Simply replacing random parts is a quick way to burn up a lot of money and still not fix the problem. I’m curious as to why you’ve assumed the problem is with the EGR system. And even if you’re right and the EGR system is causing the problem, you might find the fault is with the actual EGR valve or its coolant system, rather than the electronics that control and monitor it.

Take the car to a workshop and have it electronically scanned to try to narrow down the cause of the check-engine light. The fault codes will have been logged by the on-board computer and are usually the only way to zero in on the actual problem. Even once that’s done and the problem fixed, there’s probably a separate procedure for switching the engine light off.