skomaz

Predictable as ever... 🤣

Sounds like you need to reject the car then as not as ordered and they need to get you a correctly specified replacement

Good shout but no banana

Ok it's hire car time again... UK based for work, ordered a small crossover (juke sized) for another trip down south to Ipswich via Enterprise...

Good stuff. The smell will wear off soon enough.

Ooh lucky bugger. Weve been a few times but seems to miss the puffins. Last time we wentbtere had been and Albatross around for a few days and that morning but it'd left about an hour before we got there.

Ah that makes me feel better then as our Kodiaq was the newer R1234YF.

That's a good price! Think ours was £100 for our Kodiaq at a local place

Our mkii fan gave up similarly. I was able to extract it from the passenger footwell without too much issue (one connector a couple of screws and then fiddling) and did the same with some lubricant on the bearing. It freed up nicely and lasted a few more years until we traded it in for the Kodiaq. I'd imagine you can do the same for yours.

If your going that far... Leaf blower??

Bempton cliffs is amazing isn't it... I e never seen so many birds in one place. Was there any sign of the Albatross?

For the interior you can get 'long fibre' microfibre cloths that when wet do a great job of lifting dust and dirt, even out of books and crannies.

We used to get the woodpeckers in our garden at the old house and did occasionally see a few here at the current one, until they built a 70 bed care home on the greenspace just up from us - which wiped out the majority of the local wildlife (bats, birds, badgers, foxes etc.)

It's all just a bit soul less though isn't it...

Giti is the trademark of GT Radial tyres as I understand it - Singapore based and manufactured but German / European design and tech. They supply OE to VAG and Stellantis. Mid range brand but usually with better than mid-range reviews. Which version are they?

Oops... Hadn't realised it was that old 🤣

Looks like they are a Singapore based tyre manufacturer... Which would tally with the car being made in Thailand.

Can I suggest the OP checks that they don't have other issues like dragging brakes - as my understanding from friends with a 1,0 TSI in a Kamiq is that it's more than capable of lifting it's skirts and getting a wriggle on.

What did you wash it with to get it like that? Looks like something very abrasive wa used

My understanding is that it should be possible to replace it in-situ without removing the propshaft. Space is tight but I've seen comments that there is enough movement in the parts available to allow the coupling to be removed and refitted.

I'd still suggest it's the flexible rubber joints / donuts in the propshaft that are failing. They can look fine but the outer ring can come loose and unbalanced and the rubber will be affected by temperature and could 'soften' slightly after a drive which might tie in with your observations that things change after a short drive, or on a cold start. They are available separately from the propshaft at about £100 so would have probably been cheaper to try than everything else you've doe so far.

I'd suggest it's the Merc's fault for not looking but, it being a private car park, where 'normal' rules don't apply I'd expect their insurance to push for 50/50. This is based on previous experience where someone on a petrol station forecourt did something similar to us many many years ago trying to queue jump to a different pump that had just been vacated.

When the metal / rubber coupling goes it's generally a loud low droning noise coming from the rear of the car that increases with load and is louder in higher gears - so under load at just over 70mph and 2300 RPM or thereabouts in top seems to be when it is at its worst. I think some have also experienced the metal 'ring' coming oose from the rest and moving that could be a more metallic grating type sound.

Cat N... Avoid IMHO. It's an economic write off so repaired and may be fine but will probably suffer from increased insurance costs and is it worth the risk?

Interestingly when I started work a LONG time ago at Dowty in Cheltenham I was put up in a B&B at John and Betty Cleeveley's house... John being the founder of Cleevely Motors and who's sons took over the business and subsequently also started Cleeveley EV's.