Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Yeah, I know... 💸💸💸

Drool.....

$4.50 for a chicken wing in Sydney, but back in London petrol is $2.70 per liter, so some you win and some you lose

Anybody in london fancy a spot of greenlaning this evening, suitable for really any 4x4.

The most boring new car day this forum has seen. A complete lemon but my first car so no doubt I will fall in love with it over time. Sort of want to use this as a way of learning to maintain a car, any tips/things to look out for? Its on about 95k which isnt too bad for a ~20 year old car

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Cant tonite but would do in the future!

Not tonight but potentially at some point in the future

Sorry to ruin the sexy car chat with a boring q about a boring car but i’m Stumped. 62 plate Qashqai 1.6 petrol, manual, suddenly started to misbehave on the motorway today. Started to vibrate, like driving over a bad section of road and it felt like it was losing power or being affected by friction, almost like the handbrake had come on, the vibration built to a judder and I was stuggling to keep it going. Dipping the clutch or putting it into neutral didn’t result in rapid deceleration but neither did it alleviate the vibration. When in neutral the engine seems to rev freely and normally. The vibration is a constant drone that seems unaffected by whatever the engine is doing. Putting back in gear just resumed the sensation of lost power and struggling to maintain momentum. Very weird. Happened four or five times, each for a minute or two then just seemed fine.

Thought misfire but the engine seems to rev fine when not under load. Detected a whiff of clutch so though that maybe but doesn’t explain why vibration continues is neutral right?

Called out green flag and the mechanic ran a few tests and said it might be the alternator?

Any ideas?

Did the vibrations increase or change when you increased speed?

No. Really weird. Seemed constant regardless of speed or revs.

Although possibly got more pronounced as I was flooring it trying to keep speed up going uphill.

bit short ruddy notice. where were you planing on going?

forum countryside alliance tally-ho jolly hockeysticks barbour and hunter wellies hoo ra soon?

Last clue is that with possible electrical issue in mind, I turned off the aircon for the last hour of the drive home and the fault never recurred.

Did the Check Engine Light come on, or flicker?

First thing I’d look at is MAF, if I didn’t have a code reader- code readers are cheap btw and a good thing to have in order to see what the car thinks is wrong.

Dual mass flywheel?

No engine lights. Nothing definitive from the mechanic’s code reader but he said the alternator was giving odd readings

Speaking of code readers, can you recommend one? I've tried to get a friends obd reader talk to my mazda but they didn't get aling

Take it to the local Nissan garage and say “make fix”?

No idea about the flywheel, sorry. No engine lights came on. Nothing on the mechanic’s code reader. He said the alternator was giving weird readings tho

Oh I will. Just thought the car thread hive mind might know what was up

perfect first car I reckon dude. just enjoy it and wait for it to let you know when you need to get your hands dirty

Just a random thought, it could be a belt issue. The belt which drives the alternator may drive the power steering and the air con. The issue may lie there. A mechanic should be able to sort it. I’d doubt its a DIY fix.
Best of luck with it.

My merc was much older than yours, but when it had a sudden loss of power, bit like a hickup, it was the ignition coil. My mechanic thought it was the MAF sensor so got a new one for £400 but no difference. The ignition coils were cheap but placed under the inlet manifold so would apparently cost a lot to swap as it would take a long time. I sold the car instead.

Gonna go to tykeswater (radlett) just to get ready and get an idea for condition because I've been out of the country all year then probably head a bit further NE into herts.

I'll keep you, @malandro and @sacredhart in the loop when we head out next time.

Perfect first car, you gonna do any mods of keep it sensible and maintained?