By Paul Gover.
Q: I am in the market for a secondhand medium-sized SUV around the $20,000 mark.
I was wondering if you knew much about the Nissan X-Trail and Holden Equinox?
I’ve recently been looking at these cars and they have both popped up a lot.
Sean W
A: Do not buy the Equinox. It’s an ok car, but not as good as the X-Trail. More importantly, Holden is on a huge downslide – perhaps fatal for the brand – and that means resale value will be terrible.
Q: My 2014 Toyota Corolla has a problem with surging, put down to the CVT transmission.
The car has always been like that from day one and has always been serviced by Toyota. All my life I have driven manual cars and when I mentioned that I don’t like the way it drives, the answer was “You are driving completely different car”.
If this part is a factory fault, should I pay for the labour to have it replaced and not Toyota?
Dimi D
A: If the car is out of warranty it is normal procedure for the owner to have to pay the labour costs. Not just Toyota, but all brands.
Q: I am considering a 2016 HiLux with 60,000 kilometres but I’m concerned about the latest issues with Diesel Particulate Filters.
From your knowledge of the situation is the defect as serious as stated?
Should I continue with the purchase or move on?
David C
A: Toyota says it has a solution in place to prevent the reported blockages. In any case, it depends how the HiLux is driven.
If you do lots of short trips, and the car does not get hot enough for the ‘burn-off’ phase on the filter, it’s a drama. If you get to highway speeds at least once a week, it should be fine.
Q: I have a new Honda Jazz and apparently the turn indicator system is a new innovation which I have found faulty.
Intermittently the turn indicator fails to turn off either manually or automatically, instead flicking between left and right indication until it finds the off position.
Manually trying to turn it off does not work and I have learned when it happens to wait without intervention until it stops.
Honda have not been able to replicate the fault, so have you heard of this occurring in Honda models?
Jennifer M
A: It’s not a fault, just that all new cars have a one-touch system, to meet European rules, for lane changes. You touch it once and it blinks three times, which is easier for signalling of a lane change, not an upcoming turn. It’s something you need to learn, like adjusting to wide-view rear-vision mirrors.
Q: I am looking to buy a Honda Civic VTI-LX in the next few weeks.
The current shape/generation has been the same since 2016 and the Honda salesperson could not confirm if a new shape is due to be released anytime soon.
Are you able to offer and more insight on this? Is there a new generation due to be released in the next 1-2 years?
Afroditi C
A: So far as I am aware there is no full body change in the mid-range future for the Civic.
Q: We have just purchased a Kia Sportage GT Line with the 2.4 litre engine and some research regarding the engine says that there have been significant issues and recalls.
Also fires with this engine in the past, and suggestions that this has not been completely addressed by Hyundai-Kia.
Obviously this is a concern to us now we have purchased, so is there any information you can provide and or any suggestions as to servicing or maintenance that may be of benefit in reducing the likely chance of a problem?
Les & Jenny M
A: Surely you should do research before you buy. In any case, you can find a fault with any car if you look long enough on the interwebs and there is no known drama in Australia.
If you have a question for the Car Doctor, send an email to [email protected]
