Car advice

[Arthur daley]

55 minutes ago, Aladdin said:

Whenever the weather hits over 20℃ my seatbelt (of course the driver's) sticks and basically can't be used.  Happened during the first heat wave in July, eased off for a bit and then has returned with a vengeance this week.

A search online throws up a few hits for the same issue on forums for a variety of manufacturers - I suspect a sensor in the inertia mechanism has failed and, for some reason, is now affected by the heat but it seems bizarre.

Anyone ever had anything similar.  A full replacement of the mechanism will probably set me back a few hundred quid 

Have you tried taking any of the plastic trim off to get into see the mechanism and see if you can fire any grease or wd40 in it ,also if it was retracting a good clean of the whole seatbelt could help (and if it’s an older vehicle you can sometimes find the seat belts frayed on the edge ) as you would be surprised the amount of dirt that can come off one .

[invergowrie arab]

I'm waiting on a new VC5 but it's been delayed and I'm meant to be selling car tomorrow. 

Can I use the old VC5 - it's old address, or will the new one coming through f**k it?

[Shandon Par]

3 hours ago, Aladdin said:

Whenever the weather hits over 20℃ my seatbelt (of course the driver's) sticks and basically can't be used.  Happened during the first heat wave in July, eased off for a bit and then has returned with a vengeance this week.

A search online throws up a few hits for the same issue on forums for a variety of manufacturers - I suspect a sensor in the inertia mechanism has failed and, for some reason, is now affected by the heat but it seems bizarre.

Anyone ever had anything similar.  A full replacement of the mechanism will probably set me back a few hundred quid 

Maybe get one of those reflective windscreen shades? Could help keep the cabin temperature down a wee bit. 

[CountyFan]

5 hours ago, Left Back said:

Got the MoT done at kwik-fit.  Is this a bad idea?

If you've a) not noticed such severe damage whilst driving (seriously unlikely) and b) kwik fit havent tried to flog the same work to you (a fucking impossibility!) then the dealer are 100% at it. 

 

[Arthur daley]

39 minutes ago, invergowrie arab said:

I'm waiting on a new VC5 but it's been delayed and I'm meant to be selling car tomorrow. 

Can I use the old VC5 - it's old address, or will the new one coming through f**k it?

You can still sell a vehicle without a logbook, if ur trading it in I would just use the old logbook and if questioned about the different address from your driver’s license say Uve just moved  . 

[beefybake]

9 hours ago, Left Back said:

He's phoned back and said the pads are worn and split and that's why its dangerous.  He also said the brake pads don't get checked during an MoT.

Either the MoT people have fucked it or the dealer is at it.  Think I'll pick the car up and get a second (third) opinion.  Not handing over cash to the dealer again to replace pads and discs that have done sod all miles.

 

Someone sounds like they're at it.  Disc and pads just don't wear out at a handful of thousand miles.

Also, changing discs and pads is usually a very straightforward job.  Pads, in  particular, are an easy DIY job.

 

For example, on my rolling project, a Mk1 MX5, a specialist did a special offer of fitting new discs and pads all round...

£89 for the parts, and free fitting. The offer was so good that I made a day out of it, drove the 96 miles there, and back. 

 

Last summer, I bought a 2006 Yaris as a daily runaround. There'd been an advisory on the most recent MOT that the

front discs were getting worn. As they had done 98000 miles, I decided to change them.  On eBay, pair of good brand

front discs ( Delphi ).. , plus some good pads ( EBC )... total £96.

On that occasion, rather than swelter under a hot sun to fit them,  I got my local garage to do the job.

£80 at around £60 an hour. 

 

Lexus might be a premium brand, but their discs aren't any different to other Toyotas.  You don't mention which model,

but for example, on eBay,the cheapest I could find for an SC430 was £104.29 inc P&P for full set all round discs and pads.

Even for a set of the notoriously expensive Textar brand , they would be £304.99.

 

 

 

 

Edited August 26, 2021 by beefybake

[101]

5 hours ago, Aladdin said:

Whenever the weather hits over 20℃ my seatbelt (of course the driver's) sticks and basically can't be used.  Happened during the first heat wave in July, eased off for a bit and then has returned with a vengeance this week.

A search online throws up a few hits for the same issue on forums for a variety of manufacturers - I suspect a sensor in the inertia mechanism has failed and, for some reason, is now affected by the heat but it seems bizarre.

Anyone ever had anything similar.  A full replacement of the mechanism will probably set me back a few hundred quid 

Go to your local scrappies and get the buckle of a seat belt and plug it in like taxi drivers do.

No seatbelt warning alarm and no fannying about with the jammed seat belt.

[Zetterlund]

I'll add my voice to those saying main dealers are a bunch of crooks. They also don't seem to be interested in doing anything other than plugging a laptop into the car and giving it "computer says no" when trying to find a fault. Get your hands dirty ffs.

[Left Back]

17 minutes ago, beefybake said:

 

Someone sounds like they're at it.  Disc and pads just don't wear out at a handful of thousand miles.

Also, changing discs and pads is usually a very straightforward job.  Pads, in  particular, are an easy DIY job.

 

For example, on my rolling project, a Mk1 MX5, a specialist did a special offer of fitting new discs and pads all round...

£89 for the parts, and free fitting. The offer was so good that I made a day out of it, drove the 96 miles there, and back. 

 

Last summer, I bought a 2006 Yaris as a daily runaround. There'd been an advisory on the most recent MOT that the

front discs were getting worn. As they had done 98000 miles, I decided to change them.  On eBay, pair of good brand

front discs ( Delphi ).. , plus some good pads ( EBC )... total £96.

On that occasion, rather than swelter under a hot sun to fit them,  I got my local garage to do the job.

£80 at around £60 an hour. 

 

Lexus might be a premium brand, but their discs aren't any different to other Toyotas.  You don't mention which model,

but for example, on eBay,the cheapest I could find for an SC430 was £104.29 inc P&P for full set all round discs and pads.

Even for a set of the notoriously expensive Textar brand , they would be £304.99.

 

 

 

 

I have no idea what make of parts they use (it's an IS300H) and I know absolutely nothing about cars except how to drive them.  Wouldn't dream of fiddling with the brakes of all things.

I have friends that do their own cars and have offered but I wouldn't put upon them. One of them told me tonight his Mini garage told him his brakes were shot when he asked them to fix a foglight.  He told them to bolt as he had the parts at home to upgrade his brakes anyway and he was sorting that the next day.  He couldn't see any issue with his brakes when he took them apart btw.

The quote has a breakdown

Rear Discs £154.64 parts, £66.00 labour

Front discs £127.88 parts, £66.00 labour

Front pads £90.65 parts, £99.00 labour

Rear pads £47.62 parts, £99.00 labour

All the above is ex VAT

Along with the other paperwork that shows the estimate of time involved (3 hours) the only thing I can deduce is that they charge £110 per hour for labour and £418 for the parts then obviously the VAT on top.

I always knew you paid more at a dealer.  It never hit home until today how much they really are ripping you off.  Interesting you say the pads are straightforward to fit and they're charging more labour for pads than discs.

[killiepiemuncher]

Go to your local scrappies and get the buckle of a seat belt and plug it in like taxi drivers do.
No seatbelt warning alarm and no fannying about with the jammed seat belt.

And nothing to stop you flying through the windscreen in an accident.

[RandomGuy.]

10 hours ago, Left Back said:

He's phoned back and said the pads are worn and split and that's why its dangerous.  He also said the brake pads don't get checked during an MoT.

Either the MoT people have fucked it or the dealer is at it.

Potentially neither are in the wrong.

The MOT tester checks the pads for wear visually, without removing them, by looking through the wheel at them with a torch. The service mechanic checks them by removing them completely and putting them on a bench. Its more than possible for a cracked pad to pass an MOT, as its performance won't be affected and the cracked part won't be visible, but also be deemed dangerous due to the risk of it completely breaking apart and failing.

MOT tests aren't flawless.

[welshbairn]

5 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

MOT tests aren't flawless.

Yeah, I was grateful to a tester once who passed a van I was thinking about buying, but left a comment saying that he couldn't examine the rust on the sill that it had previously had advisories for because it had been covered up with gaffer tape and paint. 

[Left Back]

17 minutes ago, RandomGuy. said:

Potentially neither are in the wrong.

The MOT tester checks the pads for wear visually, without removing them, by looking through the wheel at them with a torch. The service mechanic checks them by removing them completely and putting them on a bench. Its more than possible for a cracked pad to pass an MOT, as its performance won't be affected and the cracked part won't be visible, but also be deemed dangerous due to the risk of it completely breaking apart and failing.

MOT tests aren't flawless.

That seems a fair point and I’ll take your word for it.  Would that make the car unroadworthy though?

Still not adding up to me that the brakes can be so bad after so little driving in the last two years.

They confirmed they replaced the rear stuff 4000 miles ago and it now needs replaced again.

they said they didn’t touch the front brakes two years ago even though they “failed” the pads and I told them to crack on and do what needed to be done.  I can’t remember the details of that conversation, all I have to go on is the paperwork I’ve found from the service.  I may have some more kicking about detailing the work they actually did but I haven’t found it yet.  I know I’ll have it somewhere though.

[RandomGuy.]

7 hours ago, Left Back said:

That seems a fair point and I’ll take your word for it.  Would that make the car unroadworthy though?

If the pads strength is reduced and a mechanic spots that, then they have to advise you to change them incase they fail.

Dealers are strict, they can't afford any comeback/lawsuits, so if they advise you to keep using the car with cracked pads, the brakes fail and you crash, it's them who are fucked. You'd likely find an Independent garage you're friendly with would be more likely to advise you that you can keep using it, but probably also would suggest you change them at some point in the next year or so.

I wouldn't overthink the mileage/length of time. It's not wear so it doesn't matter really. Pads can crack with something as simple as you driving through a puddle when they're red hot. I've seen someone need disks every year for their MOT and be furious about it, only to find they would hammer their car about to "clean it out", then wash it, before bringing it in. Spraying water on the red hot disk was warping them.

[Aladdin]

13 hours ago, Arthur daley said:

Have you tried taking any of the plastic trim off to get into see the mechanism and see if you can fire any grease or wd40 in it ,also if it was retracting a good clean of the whole seatbelt could help (and if it’s an older vehicle you can sometimes find the seat belts frayed on the edge ) as you would be surprised the amount of dirt that can come off one .

Had taken the first bit of the trim off to make sure there wasnt a bit of the belt I could see twisted but it all looks fine.  The car is only 5 years old and had relatively light use.

I'll try firing some WD40 into it, I just would expect if it was dirt etc that it would be unaffected by the temperature but who knows.  It was fine first thing this morning when the temperature had dropped.

Windows closed, air con on full blast was my first attempt at a solution which sadly did not work.

[101]

8 hours ago, killiepiemuncher said:

And nothing to stop you flying through the windscreen in an accident.

Worth it to save a couple of hundred quid. Who actually crashes anyway? And you have the air bag to soften your impact.

[Arthur daley]

14 minutes ago, Aladdin said:

Had taken the first bit of the trim off to make sure there wasnt a bit of the belt I could see twisted but it all looks fine.  The car is only 5 years old and had relatively light use.

I'll try firing some WD40 into it, I just would expect if it was dirt etc that it would be unaffected by the temperature but who knows.  It was fine first thing this morning when the temperature had dropped.

Windows closed, air con on full blast was my first attempt at a solution which sadly did not work.

If your going to need to replace it anyway I would pull the belt out and give it a spray  with a needle extension can’t hurt ,had only seen them sticking abit in old motors and vans with mega miles on it and the seat belt is usually dirty as,but problay not in ur case with light use and five year old,although it has been said in jest about putting a spare clip in the seatbelt to stop the warning light and alert the easier way is to clip the seatbelt in when ur out the car if it’s working just now  ,and just slip the  chest strap over u so it looks like your wearing a belt to passing police until you get it fixed ,obviously still dangerous but will stop getting a pull off the police then having to explain your car does not have a working seatbelt lol . 

[Sergeant Wilson]

10 hours ago, killiepiemuncher said:

And nothing to stop you flying through the windscreen in an accident.

Never thought of that.

[killiepiemuncher]

Never thought of that.

There you go I’ve just saved your life.

[Sergeant Wilson]

2 minutes ago, killiepiemuncher said:

There you go I’ve just saved your life.

Do you have a pamphlet you could send me?