voluptua

I shall fill in a claim form and send it off to see what happens. But I'm inclined to think I won't get anywhere. Perhaps I was the first to come across the hazard. With all the people stopping after me and no-one already waiting where I was. Tyres are consumables - at least I didn't dent anything.

I saw the drain cover sticking up before I hit it. But I still ran over it. So it was no surprise when the ride became a bit rough. Both nearside tyres were flat, so I called out the RAC. While I was waiting a Ford Focus parked just beyond me and changed a wheel. Then a white car drove past with an obvious flat. Then another car stopped and had a good look round – and carried on – he was OK. While the RAC man was valiantly trying to plug the holes and keep air in the tyres another chap stopped. “I’ve just fitted my spare. There are another six back there! You'll be busy." I limped to the nearest tyre dealer, with a stop half way for the RAC man to get a bit more air in. At the dealer I met the woman from the white car, who had driven there on her flat one. Of course the dealer didn’t have any tyres I would want, so I had to buy a couple of cheapies. A small comfort to know I’m not the worst driver in the world.

Mine came up as I drove it off the forecourt when I bought it. So circuit of roundabout and straight back in.

My offside front is out as well. I'm not sure I like the look of some LED bulbs. I've seen them with mini-projector systems that will squirt most of the light out of the top of the bulb - just the area of the normal one that has no light output at all - so this must disrupt the beam pattern. So I'm interested to hear of any experiences, too.

Going back to the original question, let me start by saying that I don't know the answer. But I can feed in some thoughts that might help get us there. In the case of a rear wheel drive car, where the speed sensor for the cruise control is on the front wheels, you can understand how the problem arises. As the car starts to aquaplane, the front wheels slow down. So the cruise control applies more power to restore speed. In the yeti, I suppose (others may know?) the speed is also sensed off the front wheels, but in this case they are driven - so the feedback disconnection that occurs in a rear-drive car is not present.

I came accross a curious procedure when driving abroad. If a car was waiting to turn off a main road, across the oncoming traffic, it would have it's indicators on. A second car, approaching from behind, would also indicate, not because he wanted to turn, but to pass on the signal from the first car. Each car joining the queue would indicate. When the first car performed his manourvre, everone else would stop signalling, and carry straight on.

"Creeping" - moving without any pedals being pressed is an inevitable and undesirable consequence of the design of the older type of automatic gearboxes. Because it was inevitable, it got dressed up as a "feature". With the electrically controlled clutches in the DSG design, the creep could have been removed. I had an automatic with electric clutch and no creep and I liked it a lot. The delicacy of control was wonderful. Alas, I suspect that the "feature" has become so ingrained in the habits of automatic drivers, that VW decided to engineer it into their DSG design. That said, it doesn't seem to have been too badly done. It's not as strong a drive forward as I have encountered in older automatics. Although I find it hard when trying to move gently, as there seems to be a delay between releasing the footbrake, and the creep engaging.

I was told that kneeling on them is not good for the elements.

Everyone knows that chequered stripes make a car go faster.

Thank you for these replies: I'm now armed with the information I need.

My Yeti is the first four wheel drive car in a long time. And the others have been centre-diff land rovers rather than Haldex type. Are there any special cautions to be aware of when booking a UK MOT test? I'm wondering if the standard one-axle roller text of the brakes is OK.

Stop at each set of traffic lights - get out - try and figure out which colour is showing. Wait for green - get back in and proceed.

So far these are the faults that I've not had on the Yeti ( that I've had on other (new) cars): Wiring failure causing unexpected rear wipes Pedal assembly dropped off (!) Rear suspension mount broke Steering wheel leather peeled off Body trim flies off on motorway Synchromesh failed on gearbox Premature clutch failure So far on Yeti - no problems

I have this on my other car. Where it's related to fatigue failure of the wiring to the tailgate. For which my dealer wants £600 to fix. Bugger him - I can live with it.

Sorry. Missed that angle.

P.S. I found the programme dull.. Really dull. Dull, Dull, Dull. I have to say dull lots of times. Just like James had to say "body in white" lots of times. That's what holds the viewers' attention. Repetition. Lots of repetition. Repetition. Dull.

Not sure I understand that one. £5,000 no strings attached is not attractive. But £5,000 with lots of conditions is going to make a difference?

It seems a shame that the recall is not mandatory. If they found a spike on the front that might kill someone, it would be a safety recall. But it's OK to spew poisons out of the back.

I don't know what it's made of, but I gave mine a poke with a cable tie, and it cleared enough for me to flush it through.

Perhaps it works better on cars with auto-hold? ..which is a feature I wished I had until my son's Passat had a £1500 bill when the callipers seized.

Yes, but why would you want to drive in the dark in a tunnel - or in the rain?

I see the Cross Climates come in 225/50 17 98V or 225/45 17 94W So it's a compromise choice between matching the target 50 height, or matching the target 94W speed/load rating. The 45s are cheaper! The Michelin web-site comes up with the 225/50 17 98V if I feed in my Yeti details Oh - and thanks for posing the photos!

A question for those who have fitted these, please: Have the Michelin CCs got enough "belly" to protect the wheel against kerbs? I ask because I changed tyres on my other car, for supposedly the same size (and brand) but the new ones just weren't as fat so the wheels are more vulnerable. My Yeti is on 17".

Next model out will announce "MIND THE GAP!" every time you open the door, and "DOOR CLOSING!" as you shut it.

Thank you. That makes sense.