thedinger

Evening, all, Just wondering if anyone else on here is still waiting for the recall for the re-programming since the defeat devices were first detected? I have had a couple of letters in the last few months thanking me for my custom, but still waiting for the actual recall. 62 plate 170 Elegance, nearly 4 years old now with 54k miles, only two minor faults both sorted under warranty, sunroof rotary switch & driver's seat heater element. Always starts first time whatever the season, heated front screen a real bonus in the winter. Mean fuel cons since new is 43 mpg, not at all bad considering the roads where we are, Scottish Borders, 50 miles from any motorway, so mostly rural A & B roads + lots of yellows. Did have some noise from the big velux, but thanks to some suggestions from other members, sorted with the application of a rubber lubricant (no, not that sort!) Otherwise, no creaks or groans, nowt has fallen off, still a very comfortable place to be whatever the conditions outside. Cheers the noo, thedinger.

Not a bad looker, but imagine this with all black paint, blacked out brightwork? A real "Q" car. Shame about the grille, looks too much like an old Yank-Tank, but maybe that will change before production, we can but hope. When they come on the market, how long before the constabulary have assessed it & added to their fleet? Plenty of room for all the stuff they cart around, I'm sure.

Yep, had one changed early last year, heated at that. Autoglass came to the house & did it at the side of the garage under the awning rolled out from the side of the van. No problems at all & the technician said it wasn't the first heated one he'd done either. Not sure who made the replacement, but under some light conditions, I can see the heater elements, which I couldn't do with the original. Took over 4 hours, but a fair bit of that was either removing the old epoxy or waiting for the new stuff to cure. Apart from that, a perfect job & great care was taken not to scratch any of the trim bits, of which there are quite a few to remove & replace. Cheers, thedinger.

All round workhorse, family, trips to the skip with garden junk, used regularly for special stage rally radio marshalling duties & there's not much to dislike. Biggest bugbear for me is the B-pillar design, it restricts over-the-shoulder visibility, design over function, but after a total of 5 years Yeti ownership, something I've learnt to live with. Economy keeps on getting better, 170 bhp CR, now 46k miles clocked up & overall consumption sitting at 45.5 mpg. One of the best aspects, comfort. I was up in Inverness a fortnight ago for the Snowman Rally (really lived up to it's name) left Contin, about 20 miles nw of Inverness just before 6 in the evening, snowed all the way down the A9 to Pitlochry, then turned wet. Got home bang on 10 so that was 225 miles non-stop in a touch over 4 hours, got out & didn't even creak, benefits of having the "bun toaster" on all the way. Supremely comfortable & easy to drive, bad weather conditions not a major issue with good quality winter tyres (Nokian W2G2 on 16 inch steel rims) & I was easily slipping past other 4x4s on the snowy bits without any drama. Decision time coming soon, do I move it on & look for a good deal on a new one, but the 170 not available any more, or keep it until it starts costing? Definitely go for another unless there's an equally good alternative with all the same attributes.Difficult to get my head around the various offerings from Renault, Nissan etc. but I believe the Mazda CX-3 thingy has a very good rep, anyone experience of these? Cheers. thedinger.

Aldi for me, £1.99 for 5 litres & it still hasn't frozen. We had -12 deg last week overnight here in the frozen north & it was still liquid. An old trick I had many moons ago when rallying Minis, the originals, not today's modern pastiche, was to use a much larger bottle inside the car with a big pump & then run the supply to small bore pipes ty-rapped to the wiper arms with the pipe ends sealed off, loads of 1mm holes drilled so they would aim the washer fluid directly onto the screen, but en route, wrap the pipe 5 or 6 times around the radiator top hose & voila, hot water directly onto the screen. Not sure if that's possible any more, difficult to find the washer pump & pipes to front & rear screens, let alone find & re-route lengths of small bore pipe. Cheers.

I've got the steel rims with winter tyres on the Yeti now, still a few weeks before I consider putting the alloys back, so time for some spit & polish before doing so. Has anyone any suggestions for a good alloy wheel cleaner or any to avoid? Initial cleaning will be with a pressure washer, just need to do the final detailing & a shine up with a good quality product at a reasonable cost. Thanks, look forward to receiving your suggestions. thedinger

Valeo every time for me, Bosch were rubbish, lasted no more than 5k miles & that includes having a heated front screen with a very quick defrost before even considering putting on the wipers, which are normally on the "auto" setting, except when it's been a wee bit nippy overnight.

Wow, have I got news for you guys. 99% of Yeti owners DO NOT HAVE BLUE BADGES. Also, even with a space saver spare, I regularly carry a collapsible wheelchair for an elderly relative without any problems. Please check your facts & one of the main reasons many of us have a Yeti is because we like the versatility & space of the rear seat configuration. OK, it might look like a van with windows to some eyes, but a stylish & practical van at that, but if you don't like it, go buy something else. Rant over.

By the age of 44, I thought you might be able to communicate in proper English.

Evening, all, Just a thought concerning the emissions problems affecting the VAG group diesels (so far, only those, but who knows?) If the official figures have been so skewed to pass the tests & we've been paying road tax here in the UK based on the official figures, if they're proven to be false, will we be liable to pay more from now on? If so, when will that apply? Another thought, as we've been paying tax based on false figures, will we be asked to pay the difference between the declared figures & the real numbers for the time we've owned the cars? Any more ideas on that anyone? Cheers the noo, Starting to snow in the Scottish Borders, time to fit the winter boots I think. thedinger

Since when are DISCS called ROTORS in this country?

Thanks for your suggestions, but as far as I'm aware, all "rubber" seals & other bits are totally synthetic these days, so petroleum based lubes won't affect them. I'll try the "infamous" Gummi Pflege, on order already. Cheers.

I know this has been covered before, but I can't find the thread. What can be done to stop the big velux creaking constantly, even on relatively smooth roads? 2012 my, 170 Elegance, 38k miles. Only fault to date has been replacement of the roof rotary switch & couple of new front tyres. 1st MOT due in couple of months, let you know how we get on. Cheers, thedinger.

Have the original set of Pirellis on 17" alloys & a set of Nokian winter tyres on 16" Superb steel rims, total mileage on both is 31k, about 6k on the Nokians. Pirellis still have 3 mm at front & barely measurable wear at the rear. I have both sets marked with tyraps on the spokes of the front tyres, make sure I put them back in the right place. Cheaper to only replace 2 fronts at a time instead of all 4 at the same time. No excessive wear to inner or outer shoulders seen on either sets, but I did have the tracking & all geometry checked & re-set not long after getting the car, it was about 1mm too much toe-in at the front but not had to touch it since. I also had both sets filled with pure Nitrogen soon after getting them (2 1/2 years ago) & not had to top up any of them since doing that. (Topic has been discussed here before). Cheers.

Nearly 2 years old, 23k miles & the rotary switch for the roof now feels like a bag of gravel. Opening & closing the blind is ok, open to tilt is ok, but turning 1 click to slide & then it jams up. I don't want to force it in case it won't close again & I have to resort to the emergency closing. Has anyone else experienced similar? I've been quoted "around £50" plus the dreaded VAT no doubt, so not a major expense, but not something I would expect to fail so soon considering the number of times it has been used, or am I just unlucky & got a bad'un ?