Kia Coupe Range

A ticking noise from the engine of a modern car is often the first signs of a build-up of sludge inside the engine. The hydraulic lash adjusters (which control the amount of clearance in the valve-train) operate on the same oil that lubricates the entire engine. If sludge has begun to build up in the engine, these lash adjusters are often the first components to be damaged.

What causes this build-up? Most commonly, the cause is poor servicing over the years. If a previous owner has stretched the oil-change intervals beyond the factory recommendation, the oil becomes contaminated and dirty and that leads directly to sludge. Does your car have a written record of its past maintenance? If not, I’d be very suspicious of its service history.

You may be lucky, however, and simply have a single lash adjuster that has failed for no good reason. If that’s the case, it can be replaced (I’d replace all 16 of them while I was at it). Perhaps in the first instance, the wise move would be to have somebody who knows these engines have a listen to see if the cause is something else. Modern aluminium engines can often be a bit noisy, and your problem could be related to an injector or fuel pump or perhaps something even deeper inside the engine.

If you’re happy with the Kia, Marissa, then I’d say you might be wise to stick with the brand you know. As you would know, your 2017 model Cerato still has at least three or maybe even four years of factory warranty to run. That’s great peace of mind and one of the reasons people keep buying Kias. You’re also a chance to do a better deal as a repeat buyer at your local dealership.

While not wishing to suggest that being 60 years of age makes somebody an `older person’ these days, the one design feature you might want to consider going forward is the option of a vehicle with a slightly higher ride height. That makes getting in and out of the car easier and the whole day-to-day experience just that little bit nicer. With that in mind, take a look at the

. It’s not the newest of designs, but it does represent a solid, reliable platform. On the bass that your mother does mainly suburban driving, the pick would be the Si front-wheel-drive version with the petrol engine and six-speed automatic transmission.

I assume it’s with AM reception. It’s usually put down to the antenna. The most likely reason they’re ignoring it is that there is little they can do about it. You could take it to a car radio specialist and see what they might be able to do about the problem.