oldstan

Bottom Hose Waterpump Drive belt Pulley bolts Mounting bolts Anti freeze Plus labour (which was £69) Plus VAT Total bill £279. Could have been worse and I trust the fella.

The car is in the garage as we speak so we'll know soon enough. He's awaiting one the items but can't remeber which ... he's changing the bottom hose too.

^^^^ Ah, right you are, ta .... but as mine is a chain - and he's only doing the Vee belt, then presumably a bit less???

Ah, chain cam. Right you are. And from what you say he's going to change the "poly vee" belt - which doesn't look to be hugely expensive. Ta.

It's a 2011 1.2 . 36,500 miles. It developed a coolant leak and the (trusted indie) has diagnosed a leaking pump and has ordered a new VW one plus he said he'll do the belt at the same time. Would that be the cam belt? I'm guessing that's gonna cost me a couple hunded quid? Not complaining but am bracing meself. Not had anything of note go wrong with it from new (apart from the DSG clutch pack and oil change and software update done under warranty).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V7NlFWh7Sz8

I'm disheartened to read read your comments. I suppose if we are to find a positive out of all this we should be grateful that they're only nicking catalytic converters from inanimate objects rather than mugging old ladies in the street on a daily basis. (But I've a suspicion you're gonna tell me they're doing that too ..... )

Ah, that's good to hear - ta for that. If / when the question of replacing the Yeti becomes more serious it would seem necessary to look to see where the cat is positioned on a prospective replacement. More and more new models are hybrid, and that's apparently what the thieves target (as well as early model Jazz and Auris). Not only do you have to park your car somewhere where they're less likely to nick the car, or its contents, you have to consider if they're gonna jack it up in broad daylight and take an angle grinder to the exhaust. Thanks again.

Rather than continue the topic of cats in the other current thread discussing what car to replace a Yeti with I thought it best to star a fresh topice asking where, on the exhaust system, the cat is? Primarily I'm concerned about a spate of local thefts and wondered if the Yeti is susceptible. I guess it's not as targettable as Jazz or Auris but there was a case of a Toyota Camry that was done in a very public place last week - and we're talking Newton Abbot not London (which, I gather, is the hotspot at the moment)

Are they stealing them to as a cat to sell as used replacement part or just for the precious metals inside? If the latter I can't see the security etching making much difference. Not really sure why the criminals are targeting hybrids anyway, do they have different cats? It is my understanding that both apply ... some go to scrap merchants who are happy to turn an, illegally, blind eye and who harvest the precious metals from them (which have rocketed in price recently) - and some go on Ebay to be sold to people that have that have theirs nicked. It is also my understanding that the next Dacia Duster is to be be a 7 seater based on something called a 'Bigster'. But all that could change. What a pity that Dacia didn't take the trouble to ensure the new Sandero achieved a better NCAP result. I acknowledge that, apparently, it is of sound construction and won't fold up in a crash like a Mini Metro used to and was marked down due to them not fitting the latest crash avoidance systems that are now expected to be fitted. But it still only has an Adult Occupancy rating of 70%, which, compared to some others, isn't great. It won't stop everyone buying one but those that take notice of NCAP figures won't like 3 stars when the norm is now at least four, and preferably five. Forgot to say that Hybrids apparently appeal because they get less clogged up or otherwise deteriorated due to the fact that an electric motor does some of the work that a non hybrid would do, thust keeping them in better nick. (intentional pun). But don't quote me as I know remarkably little, it's only what I read in the paper. Further edit ...... I also read that newr hybrid cars have the cat fitted in places that are harder to get to - plus I read that newer cats use less of the precious metals than they used to - but I can't offer a technical reason for that. I also gather that the CATLOC anti theft device that Toyota sell for a couple hundred pounds, is not the ultimate deterrent. See the forums for people that found out the hard way although there must be cases where it was a deterrent and the owners simply didn't know that they came close to losing their cat. There was one case quoted where the thieves saw the CATLOC and decided against attempting the proposed theft ... BUT ... out of spite they put the arm of their trolley jack under the cat and lowered the car and squashed the aforementioned cat thus causing as much (if not more) damage. It has been much publicized that (earlier model) Jazz , Prius and Auris models are hardest hit but, locally, an elderly Toyota Camry was recently attacked in the (vast) public car park of a major store near to me in broad daylight. And my mate's old Hyundai i800 people carrier was done in the CostCo carpark in north London in broad daylight.

Well, I know you're speaking with tongue in cheek but I keep seeing that we're advised to get the cat(alytic converter) etched or marked in some way (I believe some garages do it free, maybe as part of some sort of theft prevention scheme) .... but I ask myself if the scumbags who have identified your car - then jacked it up - and psych'd themselves up for a quick removal job - are gonna say to themselves ... " oh, I won't nick this one as it's got a fancy number stamped on it". And something tells me it's gonna get sawn off no matter.

But we now have to live in fear of some scrote jacking it up and cutting the cat off coz hybrids are in favour with those who deal in such things. And we're not talking of a couple of hundred quid to fix it either. I live in a relatively crime free area but my local rag tells us the cats are getting nicked in broad daylight in carparks that are both isolated AND full of people going about their business. And, indeed, who is gonna approach two or three thugs who are brazen enough to jack a car up, cut the cat off with a grinder and drive off with it? They're gonna be hyped (or even drugged) up and equipped with tools of their trade. I don't think I would .... I've already been car jacked once, and that was bad enough.

Have ordered one of these from a company in the UK that does solar charging equipment. They're called MSC and they do two booster boxes, one called Overland and one called Overland Plus. I've ordered the Plus one and it's on back order (two or three weeks apparently). I believe Auto Express favoured them if I recall correctly. They can charge phones and stuff and you can get a flexi LED light for them (which I did) and you can plug in a 12 volt ciggie lighter socket. Only got one as a "get me out of trouble" measure. Have managed without one for the past fifty odd years but there have been times when one would have been useful. Have already got a newish smart type charger (A £20 Maypole one which seems to work fine) and my car's battery (s) are newish. It's possible I'll go to my grave without ever using it, but, hey ho. Spent quite a while looking online and by far the majority of information comes from USA. Everything is made in China and the main make that seems vaguely available over the counter in the UK is the NoCo range in Halfords. They've crept up in price in recent months and the one that seems the most dependable (GB70) is £200 plus the hard case if you want one (for £200 I would have thought they'd given you the case). And NoCo don't seem exempt from people complaining they're overpriced and prone to failure after a few months and that their customer service (which doesn't exist in the UK) is poor. On the other hand, they seem the most popular and frequently referred to brand available here and, on the face of it, would seem the one to get - but I still went with the MSC as they have a UK supplier who is actually available on the phone and seemed helpful when we spoke. Would be interested to know if anyone has had experience with these things.

As it happens the neighbour in question has never made a secret of the fact and, in the past, there was often a marked patrol car parked outside - but, I take your point.

Got to be honest, if someone knocked at my door, out of the blue, in those circumstances (even outwith the current Covid situation) I would be wary. I wouldn't let them in the house and not sure I'd want to have anything more than a very cursory exchange with them. Clearly I've been watching too much Netflix drama and reading about too many tales of woe - but the last time I had an unannounced knock at the door (a couple of weeks ago) there was some dodgy looking scrote telling my wife he'd locked himself out and needed to get home and wanting us to give him cash. I directed him to the house opposite where a police officer lives and for some reason he declined to knock there, instead he met up with two other scrotes down to road, presumably to plan their next attempt to deceive. Strangely enough the same thing happened at my previous house many years ago, and I did give him cash as he promised to pop back and return it - and strangely enough I never saw him again. I have also been the victim of a car jacking and lost the car in question as well as receiving physical injuries. So, if a stranger knocks at my door now it has to be for a good, verifiable, reason and I don't think the one outlined above would be enough for me.

The procedure needed to 'reset' is in the topic shown here. I did the reset and it didn't seem to have much effect. I have to admit that I did nothing further but the heater seems better now. It's now winter and it does warm the cabin satisfactorily - which is good enough for me. Maybe, at the time, it simply wasn't cold enough to get the heater to get particularly hot.

There's a school of thought that suggests that "humane" traps aren't very humane insofar as (a) if they're in the trap for anything more than a short time they will drive themselves mad trying to escape and suffer considerably and may well die an unpleasant death in there, and (b) if they haven't injured themselves in the cage by the time you get there - and you then transport them to another place, then they (apparently) find themselves in an unknown place and either can't find food and die slowly or they fall prey to a fox/owl/cat (and die a bit quicker). We're told they're territorial and become familiar with their patch and are at a bit of a loss if removed from it. I hasten to add these aren't my theories, they're just what I've read (quite a few times). If you go to Plan B, a snap trap, then try to get one powerful enough to do the job efficiently. Plan C is poison/bait and apparently that's not a nice way to go. Drowning isn't particularly nice either. My neighbour bought a £600 air rifle in an attempt to get rid of the rats in his garden. He shot one dead but was too upset to pick it up and dispose of it so he called me round to do it. On another occasion his next door neighbour found a half dead one on the grass and, again, I was called to finish it off with a lump hammer - this also caused some upset. In summary, I don't have the complete and final solution but agreee rats and mice are a nuisance and you have to deal with them by whatever means you think is best. EDIT - I should have added ... if you go down the poison or the trap route PLEASE be careful where you site the poison or the trap so as not to catch or poison hedgehogs or birds or anything else that unwittingly passes by. Traps left out in the open are best covered in some sort of tunnel (they like tunnels) and ditto poison. The stronger type of rat traps (Fenn Traps) are required by law to be sited in some sort of enclosure for the reasons stated above. AND FINALLY DON'T EVER USE GLUE TRAPS. THEY ARE HORRENDOUS THINGS. Animals caught on a glue pad will chew they're own feet off in order to escape. Not nice.

I'd be interested to know which sort of "sad" brijo had in mind when reacting to my post, above. sad, as in "I'm sad for your loss and empathise with your unfortunate act of misjudgement". sad, as in "you'e a sad old b*gger.... where's your sense of adventure?" I think I can guess which one.

This thread takes me back to the mid nineties. I approached a substantial body of water in Essex known locally as the Good Easter ford. Suffice to say I needed an old ex-army tow truck to retrieve my diesel Clio from the middle of the ford. He wouldn't take me home though so it needed a different company to finish the rest of the 28 mile journey. My Mrs. and I and the tow truck driver all got wet legs up to the knee and the interior of the car got even wetter. The engine hydro-locked. I recall the bill was around £2,000 So when I read about you blokes wanting to negotiate water that's way deeper than the manufacturer ever intended I'm reminded of my own caper. I can assure you that my own particular lesson was comprehensively learned. If I did want to drive through another lake (which is what I was stupid enough to try and do) I'd buy something intended for the the job .... maybe a boat for example, or at least something like a Defender, which seems better able to manage that sort of thing. A Yeti is a couple of inches higher than a standard hatchback and they advise us not to allow water over the sills. Can't imagine why you'd risk flooding it. Like I say, I was daft enough to do it once (and the Mrs. told me not to do it , but I insisted) ... won't be doing that again.

It's being so happy keeps you going innit.

^^^^ Perhaps give them a mention here? If they're in decent nick I'd think they could find a home.

According to everything I've read about the correct plastic wheel trims for the Yeti (or, at least the earlier Yetis ... not sure about later ones) the wheel trims on the Czeckozlovakian site are different ... they're not RIFs. And for me the oempc.com site won't display as it's blocked by Malwarebytes.

They're called RIF wheel trims on the Yeti. And it looks like they're anything up to £100 for a set. As has been said, most of the aftermarket ones look horrible. I did get a half decent looking set from a wholesaler - which ceased trading ages ago so I can't help you.

^^^^^ Thank you. That's a thought.

Thanks for al the above replies. Having seen the advice I've decided not to change the bulbs given that they might not have much effect, they might trigger unwanted warning lights on the dash (and I can probably spend £30 on something more useful) . I won't fit a fog light on the back either - if it was a Land Rover Defender I might have done but not on a Yeti. There are PIR lights in place, as was mentioned earlier, but I might review them to see if they can be improved on. All sorted, thanks.