freemansteve

Sorry to hear.... I reckon you'll get a better response if you list which parts need replacing! Some are the same, some are different....

Cobalt-free batteries are coming. Prices will plummet. Sadly I'm not an early adopter....

Summing up: There are markets where fuel is often less than 91RON... There are places where fuel is supposed to be 91/95 etc but isn't, maybe even the UK.... Ups/Citigos etc sold in S. America, S. Asia etc may well have a map that is set or scaled for lower fuel ratings... The difference between the 60PS engine and 75PS engine in Europe is just the map. The higher power unit has a map that allows more fuelling and more timing advance - everything else is the same as far as I know. My point was that ignition timing is alterable via the ECU. If you have a 60PS, it should be fairly easy to turn it into a 75PS for reasonbale money! Knock-sensors will retard timing, but only up to a point, depending on the ECU's map. The 'map' is a set of linked look-up tables forming a multidimensional matrix, but sometimes look-up values are 'off the map' and defaults are used. It's a basic programming thing. I used to handle similar stuff when I wrote serious code back in the day.... With a vehicle not owned from new, you have no idea of its provenance, which may include poor attempts to change the map.... And to the original point.... If a pinking problem occurs (and we have no real data on whether the OP had actual pinking as perceived, or if it was something else) it could be problems with fuelling, air leaks, or ignition timing. If a problem has occurred recently and suddenly, the first question should always be "what has changed?" (i.e. a service maybe done badly, a different fuel station, general fiddling under the bonnet ). I'd check for any sensor errors using an OBD dongle first. But my first bet is on an air leak, if it really is pinking, putting bad fuel aside for now. Meaning that the engine is sucking in a bit more air than has been measured by the MAP (i.e the thing like a MAF, not the map in the ECU) so it runs lean, possibly beyond the point where knock sensors are able to retard ignition via the ECU. Possibly loose injector or spark plug, leak in inlet manifold, dirty MAP etc. If not that, then it may be insufficient fuelling compared with air coming in. Possibly dirty injector(s), weak fuel pump (unlikely as this throws a definite error code on OBD). Some injectors (usually DI - I don't know about MPi injectors like on these cars) are often coded to to the ECU, owing to slight tolerance differences. If you change them, you have to recode them on many vehicles, to match their specific flow characteristics (stamped on the injectors), but that is high pressure stuff. And you also need a decent spark, so plugs/coils should be checked. The alternative is to spend a while looking for the non-existent distributor, and clean the cap. And clean and reset the the points, and check the little vacuum-driven weight is working to advance/retard the ignition. Just kidding. #

I believe ignition is setable via ECU access. Obviously there are not points anymore! This is how they adjust for various local markets where fuel quality may be less than 95 or 91 RON, and it's how you remap a car - I don't think rely entirely on knock sensors As I went on to say in the bit you missed, it could be an electrical issue (including faulty sensors or plugs/coils) or a fuelling problem!

I thought the poster lived abroad, but I may be wrong. I believe there have been a few cases where fuel is adulterated to save costs, almost certainly with something combustible that saves costs, like ethanol or paraffin. The UK is well regulated and inspected, or at least used to before everything got cut, but I wouldn't assume it is entirely fraud-free!

It may be you have been using fuel that is under spec for 95 ron....

Tried both on mine (but I have only 2700 miles on the clock). Can't tell a difference... These cars are supposedly set for 95 RON, so if you are pinking, your ignition timing is a tad too advanced, which can normally be fixed on a service. But having said that, all modern cars have knock sensors that should automatically retard ignition to match the fuel, so you may have spark or fuelling issues. Either way, get it checked, it's not good. Many people assume that higher octane fuel will automatically give more power, but while that may well apply to many engines, it is not always the case - the point is that an ECU can and must limit the amount of ignition advance or retard (and fuelling) to be with certain limits, so 95 RON may be as good as you can get on a Citigo. The reason for this is to limit max cylinder temperatures, which in turn will limit NOx emissions for legal or longevity reasons. It really is a lot more complicated than the average punter realizes! I used to have a couple of people working for me on my team (hi-tech global product development in hardware and software) who had previously worked in the development shops for car engine makers, and this stuff is worked on by PhD level engineers and chemists - so 99% of everything you see on the internet is totally uniformed guesswork and anecdotes. Anecdotes are not the same as data, and the guy down the garage who tells you things, is, at the the end of the day, a parts fitter, not an engineer.

On the subject of assisted braking, don't forget that with IC engines, it's only petrol engines with throttle bodies that have vacuum driven servos for the brakes. Diesels, for example, don't create a vacuum (comparatively) so they have a vacuum pump driven from (almost always) a belt on the engine. I imagine - but have not checked - that an electric car has a similar system, or an electrically assisted mechanism to amplify brake force. As an interesting aside, certain big caravans - US 5th wheels, in the main - that relied on the towing vehicle providing air pressure for air brakes (like a lorry, but that's quite the opposite concept to a vacuum servo on cars) became illegal unless the towing vehicle's mechanism for providing air pressure was mechanically connected to the engine. As fifth wheels were generally towed by pick-up trucks, this forced a change onto the type of trailer braking system, as there are no pick-ups that provide mechanically linked air pressure, hence a change to electric or hydraulic-electric independent systems on the caravan (i.e. it still works if you get a break-way separation). So in a roundabout way, it's quite interesting to learn where an electric Citigo (et al) gets its brake assist from and what happens to the brakes should there be an electrical failure. You see, if the motor is still spinning owing to the car still moving, a mechanical linkage can still work a servo, like on a diesel. Does anyone know (with facts, not guessing) how this is taken care of?

I just dragged an MP3 file onto a reply box, using Firefox on a PC, just as a test. The reply box says "Drag files here to attach, or choose files..." Can you access and play the file? If so, that's your method. test.mp3

No. They gradually age irrespective of mileage. They obviously also age and usage-wear faster if they get driven in conditions where you pick up lots of road dirt, grit, dust, salt, oil-waste, tar spatter etc etc. That will vary around the country. Whatever the completely conflicting advice is out there I'll consider a change at 5 years pending inspections, or 50-60K miles anyway.