SEPARATED AT BIRTH
I couldn’t help notice that the Kia Stinger and Hyundai Genesis G70 share striking resemblances. Could these South Korean manufacturers be sharing platforms? I have never been much of a Kia fan but I hold a lot of respect for Hyundai since their launch in Australia, as they have come a long way over the years with some accolades along the way. I’ve never met anyone who has not been entirely satisfied after purchasing a Hyundai and I think it may even be possible that a G70 turns out to be a fantastic alternative for an up-spec Commodore or Falcon with Hyundai’s now proven reliability in Australia and value for money.
David Bruggink, email
The cars share the same mechanical platform, differentiated for the two brands, as Hyundai and Kia are the same company.
NO ROOM FOR ERROR
Judging by the strange things that happen to phones, computers, tablets, cars and other high-end computerised devices, I look forward to the day of autonomous driving.
My previous vehicle was a 2004 Hyundai Tucson V6 and it had a habit of occasionally dropping out of cruise control for no apparent reason.
Easily fixed with the right foot and right hand. My current ride is a 2012 diesel Kia Sportage which sometimes refuses to pick up the previously-set cruise speed, and will only do the right thing if it has been switched right off for a while. So I have no great faith that any manufacturer will build a fault-free computer in the foreseeable future.
Where do we go with this? It is a bit like the assurance on the bottle of disinfectant that it “kills 99.9 per cent of germs”, but what about the 0.01 per cent germ? Charlie Peters, email
Fans of autonomy expect it to happen immediately but car company chiefs are talking at least 10 years, without worrying about your germs.
BELOW PAR GOLF
I purchased a new 2014 Volkswagen Golf 118 TSI Comfortline seven-speed wagon from Brighton Volkswagen in 2014 and all servicing since has been carried out by them. Prior to the warranty expiring in March I reported a developing issue with the gearbox intermittently thumping when changing gear. I was told that the issue was within tolerance but this slowly got worse and the issue was reported to them on another two or three documented occasions. Also, selecting forward or reverse resulted in no gear at all. I left the car at the dealership in August and they explained the issue required a software upgrade and that Volkswagen had refused to cover the cost as the vehicle was still drivable. A cost of approximately $380 was involved and the dealership offered to go halves, but later offered to carry the entire cost based on my customer loyalty.
Ken Ellaway, email
Good news from Volkswagen Australia spokesman Paul Pottinger: “The transmission’s mechatronics unit was replaced under warranty and the customer has incurred no costs for this, or a water pump that was replaced last month”.
COLD COMFORT
Further to Gary Bryant’s email about replacing a battery in his Ford, our BF Falcon started going into limp mode for no apparent reason. While the battery voltage readings were okay, our local Ford dealer found the Cold Cranking Amps (CCA) reading to be low and recommended replacing the battery. With a new battery the problem disappeared. Lindsay Cooper, email
This looks like a potential solution for a number of owners.
GIVEN THE BOOT
I recently purchased a 2013 Toyota VX Prado and all was fine until I got a flat battery. After recharging it I now have a satnav-radio unit that appears to be stuck in a permanent bootup phase.
Craig Prentice, email
Good news as Toyota spokesman, Orlando Rodriguez, reports: “An investigation by Stuart Toyota did find a faulty unit. It is booked in for replacement.”
BROUGHT TO A HEAD
I know it is a year on from when you were looking into an issue with Toyota Prado head units but I was wondering if you got an official response from Toyota? I see it is as a fairly serious safety concern which is annoying me since my car is six months out of its new-car warranty and I see from a forum that Toyota wants about $2000 to replace the unit. Clint Hesford, WA
Orlando Rodrigues says: “There were some known
issues with some head units of that era Prado. These issues were resolved a few years ago with a software update that can be installed quite easily by any Toyota service department. However, if the issues are more like that found by Mr Prentice a replacement unit may need to be installed”.
KEEP IT CLEAN
It is my understanding that premium 95 unleaded has an injector and fuel system cleaner in the fuel. Premium 98 also has this cleaner but in a greater concentration. The cheaper fuels don’t have this cleaner and could lead to injector/fuel system problems down the track. Of course there are cleaner additives you can add to the tank but is this worth the trouble? I would be interested in readers experiences.
Ash Gillen, email
Premium fuels do have cleaning additives and it is a good idea to treat your car to the top-shelf stuff once in a while.