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Hi Janie,

On the parking sensor issue, it just seems to be a bit of a quirk with the Audi Q7 that to get the front sensors on when moving forwards, you have to press the parking sensor switch, although they do, as you point out, come on automatically when you select reverse. We’re not sure why this is, but it might be worth a visit to your dealer to see if there’s some finicky bit of software code that can be re-set to activate them automatically at low speeds.

As for the stop-start system, if could be a few things. Obviously, there may be a fault, in which case get the car booked into your dealer for a check-up. Or it could be that you’re doing a lot of low-mileage, short runs, which aren’t allowing the engine and other systems to get fully up to temperature. Stop-start isn’t a simple on/off system — it’s controlled by the engine management and that won’t let stop-start activate if it thinks that the engine hasn’t warmed up enough (stopping and starting a cold engine can be damaging) or if it has detected that you have a lot of high-energy drain systems (air conditioning, demisters etc) running. Try and analyse your driving the next time you go out and see if any of this fits. If not, head for your dealer. 

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Hi Bernadette,

Sounds to us like the Qashqai is not a good one and it is likely to keep costing you money. We'd advise you trade it in for another car.

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Hi Annelize,

I'm afraid that's too complicated to illustrate on this page and, actually, it's recommended that several special tools are used when changing this engine's timing belt. If you do not have those, we suggest you invest in a workshop manual for the car, pay to access a service such as Autodata or give the car to a good mechanic to do the work.

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Hi Gerard,

Theoretically yes, but the trade-in bonuses are not that straightforward. They’re not a blanket ‘we’ll give you an extra €4,000 on top of what your car is actually worth.’ Rather, they’re usually intended as a sweetener to get owners of older cars, who might not usually be shopping for a new model or with a main dealer, in through the door with the chance for a half-decent trade-in. I’d check the fine print of any deal on offer, and have a good chat with the dealer in question, before committing to anything. If you’re in negative equity with your car loan, I’d also sit down for a chat with either your own accountant (if you have one) or with a financial adviser at your bank before proceeding.

They may have some helpful advice.

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Hi John,

It’s not to do with wheel sizes, but engines and trim grades. The A 250 always comes with multilink rear suspension, while the A 180 d always gets a torsion beam. It’s the A 200 in the middle that has the variance – the Sport models have a torsion beam, the AMG Line cars gain the multilink set-up. We don’t know exactly what the A 180 petrol will do as yet, but we’d guess it will follow the A 200’s pattern, rather than the A 180 d’s formula.

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Hi Silvester,

We have got so many questions from readers about non-functioning stop-start systems (from all makes and models) that we put together this guide to help you get to the bottom of it:

Why won't my car's stop-start system work?

Expert answer

Hi Anthony,

That’s a big question, and it really comes down to how you drive your car and, just as importantly, where you drive it. If you’re someone who drives long-haul on motorways week-in, week-out, then diesel power is still the best option for you, as for longer journeys there’s nothing more frugal. Some hybrids are getting closer to diesel economy on longer runs, but they’re not quite at parity yet. If you’re mostly doing short hops, or driving around town most of the time, then either petrol or hybrid power is the right way to go. Those are generalisations though — a lot will depend on your specific needs and tastes, and what sort of car you want. 

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Hi Philip,

In very simple terms, the jack must be able to take at least half the car's weight. Actually, to be safe, you'd have to say a little more than half, just in case there is any variance between passenger and driver side. Every car has its own weight distribution and centre of gravity, but for the purposes of this, imagine a car with its weight perfectly distributed. Position the jack in the middle of the side of the car and jack it up. When viewed from the front or back, the centre of gravity moves to the side of the car not being jacked up, so as the car goes up, the jack is actually under less strain than when it started.

With all of these things, we would recommend building in a safety factor, of course, and use a fixed stand to hold the car up before you go underneath it.

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Hi Afeez,

I’m assuming that’s a 1.6 HDI diesel model? If so you need to watch for excessive black smoke from the exhaust, which could indicate a blown turbo. Check too to see if the diesel particulate filter is working properly — if it’s a low-mileage car (and that is quite low miles) then it may not have been driven regularly enough to keep the filter clean, and they’re expensive to fix and clean. If it has air conditioning then that needs specific servicing so check that has been done and, if you notice that the car pulls to the left at higher speed, then it might need new front tyres. Other than that check that all switches and buttons are working properly, and that the car has a full and complete service history.

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Hi Dermot,

It’s a tricky one to estimate, as the Defender doesn’t appear on Revenue’s ready-reckoner, and there aren’t many on the ground here in Ireland to get a solid idea of the current values. I’d take a guess that a 2007 or 2008 Defender will be worth at least €20,000 in the Irish market (values have been steadily rising since the Defender went out of production) and 36 per cent of that (the Defender’s CO₂ emissions are above the 225g/km limit) will be at least €7,200. That’s just a guesstimate though, and the final figure will depend hugely on the condition, history and spec of the specific vehicle.