AndyR

Hi all, As we all know, the start of September was the roll out of the new E10 petrol. Now according to the DVLA website, ALL Vauxhall models can use the new E10, excluding models with the 2.2 litre direct injection petrol engine, code Z22YH, Vectra, Signum, Zafira. Which should use the E5. My Astra is a 1.6 16v petrol, and 19 years old. It was running ok to start with, but in the last week it has been quite gutless, and economy fell through the floor. Wife went out on Monday and put in £30 of E5, and it now is running sweet again, and fuel economy is back to where it used to be, which is good. Has anyone else found this with their vehicles? And have any owners of the afore mentioned models had any issues? Regards Andy.

Hi Maurice, You will need to remove the cover underneath the glovebox, and then look up at the underneath of the heater motor. You should see some wires and a screw holding it in place towards the centre of the dash. It is a fiddly job, as I had the same problem on my Astra. Hope you get it sorted. Regards Andy.

Hi Maurice, so far I've had no problems with using the e10 in my Astra. The only thing i have found, is that a local garage has put quite a price increase on it at the pump. I got caught out, so had to use them, but not again. 142.9 a litre. Whereas the garages in town are only selling it at 136.9. I do think there should be a set price for ALL retailers nationwide. I will stick with it for now. Regards Andy

Hi grb27, welcome to the forum. A 1983 Carlton, sounds nice, feel free to post some pictures. I drove an 'A' reg Carlton saloon as a taxi back in the early 90's. A lovely car to drive, what colour is yours? my one was black, and I think it might have been a 2.2l. It did fly along fairly. Regards Andy.

Hi Dave, welcome to the site. The Insignia seems to be a popular car on here. So if you have any questions, there is someone who would most probably have an idea. Regards Andy.

Right you are. My vauxhall is a bit old for that technology. I was looking on a vauxhall website on Google. Thought it might have been helpful.

Hi there, and welcome . I have been looking through google to try to find out about your warning light. What i have found is that it is something to do with a sensor that keeps check on the distance between you and the vehicle in front. Have you got forward facing parking sensors on your combo? Might be worth seeing if they are damaged in any way. Hope this helps, and keep us all posted on the outcome. Regards Andy R.

Cheers Trevor, I did notice that it is 10w-40 that I put in, and it certainly seems to have improved. At 218500 miles on the clock, I'm keen to keep on top of maintenance. Andy.

Hi Trevor. Thanks for the input. I did notice that where I'd put in the fully synthetic 5w-30, it did blow a little out when rolling in slow traffic. But it hasn't done it since I put 10w-30 in. Next oil change I might try the heavier 10w-40. I didn't know if there was an additive I could use with the oil. Regards Andy

I forgot to add that she is running on 19 inch alloys too. It's amazing how much difference that 3 inches makes. Andy.

Hi Teg2400, I personally would suggest getting a 19 inch steel wheel to have as a spare, if there is room in the spare wheel basin. My sister-in-law has a 2017 Astra 5-door. The space saver is a 16 inch wheel, it was needed a few weeks back, and the whole response of the car was totally altered because it was sitting so low on the rear corner. She is looking around to replace it with a wheel nearer to the size she is running with. I know the space savers are only supposed to be used to get you out of trouble, but they do make for a whole different drive, I can understand why there is a speed restriction on them. This probably hasn't answered your question, but it may give you an option of which to choose. Regards Andy.

Hi there, I am looking to find what the best oil would be to use in my Astra. I am using 10W-30 semi-synthetic at the moment, as that is what has been used prior to me purchasing the car. I've noticed recently that once she's up to running temperature, there is a bit of a tapping sound coming from the engine. Now after reading into the different types of oil, and how they are used, I was wondering if a denser viscosity would be better for her now that we're sitting at 218,500 miles. I don't want to cause damage by using the wrong oil, but would like to stop the tapping when hot. Any help with this would be much appreciated. Regards Andy.

Hi there, and welcome aboard. Is your Astra the mk4 or 5? I am running the mk4 Astra Club auto. Yes they are a great car to drive. Regards Andy R.

Hi Scott, according to the internet, the port is underneath what looks like the coin holder, just below the cigar lighter. Or it could be just below the radio, which looks like the ashtray. It has shown me pictures of both, so hope this helps. Regards Andy R.

Good to hear you've got it sorted, and at no cost. I wonder if this is on all Vauxhalls.

Hi there, have you pulled the switch to see if its got power to it. Wondering if maybe a connection has either broken or come loose. Regards Andy R.

Hi Andy, and welcome to the forum. Feel free to ask any questions regarding Vauxhall cars, I'm sure someone will have ideas to share. Andy R.

Hi David, that's quite an unusual problem. You would have to contact the DVLA and request a replacement. They will probably require proof of vehicle, also you should find that the vin number is stamped into the floor pan just inside drivers footwell. There should be a plastic strip in the carpet, if you lift this there should be a vin number for the car. Hope this is helpful. Regards Andy.

Good to hear it has gone to a good home.

***UPDATE*** I have found out that the Astra G mk4/5, doesn't actually have a separate switch/sender for the electric cooling fan in the radiator. It is however integrated in with the sensor for the temperature gauge, and apparently the ECU senses the spike in temperature and tells the fan to kick in. But as mine isn't doing this because my gauge is not reading correctly, the ECU isn't sensing the engine temperature properly, hence why I've had some over heating issues. So this morning I have ordered a new temp sensor, and will be replacing the old one. I'm going to leave the fan hard wired for a bit just to make sure things are working as they should. Sorted in time for the lovely hot spell. 🌡

Hi Nev, and welcome to the forum. Have you tried replacing the battery in the key fob? I had the same problem with my key fob and central locking system. When I replaced the battery it worked fine, but then the key got dropped, and the battery carrier in the key broke away from the circuit board. So at the moment I'm doing it the old fashioned way with the key in the lock. Also if the battery is ok, then you may need the key re programming back to the car. Hope this is of help. Regards Andy.

Thanks for the correct description Trevor, now I know what to look for.

This is the item I am wondering about.

Well i had a play with the electric cooling fan today. Putting a direct live feed to it, and it worked fine. But it doesn't kick in when engine gets hot in traffic. I have no Thermo switches on the radiator itself, but there is what looks similar to the heater blower resistor on the fan . Could it be this at fault?. Also checking the fuse box, and found that the fuse which I think relates to electric fan is missing. So brother in law is going to do a circuit test tomorrow to see if there is any power to the fan. Will then replace fuse and see what happens.

I did give egr a clean out with carb cleaner, but I think the new one will be a vast improvement. Here's hoping for some nice weather over half term so I can give it a good run up the coast.