Hello, im Owen!


I own a Stilo Active Sport 1.6 16v 2004 which i acquired for £800! Bargain?
Approaching 70k

Ive had it for 8 months now.

I had the car for three weeks and my front springs snapped. £120.

Two tyres got punctures. £160

New exhaust and engine mount after Halfords Autocentres broke the engine mount while replacing my exhaust. £alot

Here's some stuff I'm convinced is wrong...

I have to fill it with oil every 6 weeks... (Someone told me they do use a lot of oil but not this much surely?)

It does about 350 miles on £70 worth of petrol. Average 33mpg at end of tank.

It bounces slightly when i lift up my clutch, and sometimes when I have to escape a situation on a roundabout it will rev up to about 4000 revs and doesn't move even with clutch fully engaged.

If i take a roundabout at nice speed the oil pressure warning light appears but then disappears.

Every now and then i will have an engine fault light but will disappear after 24 hours.

When I go over any bumps or terrible road conditions i can hear a knocking from what i think is the front drivers side, yet I've had the wheel off and jacked her up and cannot see anything loose!!

Sometimes i cant get it into first gear and have to put it into second and then straight up to first without engaging clutch.

Occasionally when i switch it on when cold my temperature gauge shoots to top, i get an high coolant temperature error and then it shoots back down to cold.

Hope you all find this thread fun..
Can anyone shed any light on these?

welcome mate, great post!


ok, jeeeez, where do we start?! First off, 1.6 Stilo is prone to ECU faults.


OIL, NO WAY do they use a lot of oil, whoever told you that is wrong. If its using oil, its because there is an issue - you need to make notes on the smoke that comes out the exhaust, what colour, what smell, and at what points in driving (hard acceleration, startup, all the time etc etc)


If you have had an engine mount replaced, then I suggest checking over your fuse box, connections, cables and battery. Check the fuse box is clean and dry, that all fuses are dry and complete and that your battery clamps and cables are good and your battery is fully charged.


If you are struggling with gears, have you had the clutch tested? Have you had the gearbox oil changed? Any noises from the gearbox such as whining when accelerating?


Have you had the engine codes read? you really need to get that done, doesn't matter if the light goes out, codes are stored and are invaluable in the diagnosis of a car like this.


Knocking noises could be the suspension mount - you wont be able to tell by jacking it up, not easily anyway. If its not the mounts, then it could be the rear bushes (sound travels oddly), or it could be track rod ends and/or drop links. After that you have to check the wishbones and driveshafts and so on.


it sounds to be that at the very least, you have some bad connections somewhere and my first stop would be checking all the engine bay electricals - unplug stuff, clean stuff, change fuses and so on.


best of luck with it, im sure you will get to the bottom of it!

I'm going for wishbones for the knocking noise - their a common fault so most likely. It shouldn't be consuming much oil at all so. All engines do over time but these days its minuscule compared to the old days of the 50's when you had to put half a pint in every 1000 miles. Maybe a worn valve guide seal

My 1.6 gobbles oil but since I don't have to pay for it I just slop it in. Oil pressure light is coming on due to low oil level, you can use it as an indication of when it needs a top up if you're brave!

First of all, thanks a lot for the reply guys

Oil - I never notice any smoke coming out the exhaust when i look back except for starting it up on cold mornings, it isnt dark and doesnt really smell if im stood at the boot loading in bags or whatever. Never see any black plumes even at hard acceleration.

I recently had to have the battery removed completely to get to my lights to change a bulb... (Pain in the bottom). I had problems before this so i know its not because i disconnected the battery. Everything looked hunky dorey.
Am i right in thinking the other fuse box is under the stearing wheel to the right? I cba to look outside, its 8pm. Would that be wet?!

The gears arent even all the time but I've had multiple experienced drivers in there, dad, mum, partners dad... all drive lorries.. Ive raised this issue and none have notices anything bad..

Someone told me i had a leak in my gearbox fluid but Im unsure as of how to top this up? I don't hear whining but then again, im not sure what im listening for? ha

I want to get the engine codes read.. I should do this. *Slap on the wrist*

I had the mount replaced by Halfords AFTER they passed its MOT.. not going there again... so i hope it isnt that

On a warm day i shall get under bonnet and clean bits, it isnt all that bad under there anyway... any tips on what to clean using and anything i should avoid... knowing my luck, ill unplug something to clean, plug it back in and then it'll just fail altogether.



I know someone with some wishbones for me so shall have em changed, i was told this was a common problem when i first had issues with my springs. suspected wishbones, jacked up and my spring exploded out!

I feel like part of a community already D

very odd.


ok, with regards the gears, is it a clutch issue? What I mean is, does the clutch depress correctly, if you get chance shine a bright torch up at the mechanism for a look - its hydraulic, so well worth checking the fluid also.


as said, you shouldn't be having to fill up the oil that much, even an RX8 doesn't need oil maintenance that often! I would be getting that issue looked ta but if its driving ok, no smoke etc perhaps that can go to the back of your list.


As for electrical demons, check the ground cables - remove and clean up, just to be sire they are ok. Ensure your cable form battery negative to starter motor is tight - im sure it is, but as there has been activity round there id need to know it was all secure.


The other fuse box is by your right knee, and no it shouldn't get wet, but its worth checking the fuses, and make sure they are all firmly attached.


I would also make sure the D1 is firm, clean and secure, though I think on the 1.6 its in an odd place, someone should be able to confirm..im sure i read it was under the battery or something like that....


before I forget, the "revs to 4000 and goes knowhere" thing bothers me...can you expand on that a bit? is that JUST round a roundabout, or is it indicating a slipping clutch.....

Shall borrow a service lamp from work... Working at Maplin Electronics has its advantages Will get a look at the mechanism, is this possible from the inside. Sorry i'm a complete novice.

With the revs... if i have to get moving.. most of the time to avoid something bad happening like a crash, it will just rev high, move very slowly. I have to completely press in the clutch and then lift back up again slowly for it to engage. I can feel it engage and then i'm off!!! Wooosh....

My next day off is saturday, was planning on putting some new alloys on but may have to take the opportunity to get it sorted.

Anyone recommend specific oil? I'm positive i'm using the correct stuff. 10w40 off the top of my head fully synthetic?

It actually at the minute may have 5w40 full synth.

I think you need to test your clutch before doing anything else.


take the car to a flat, open and safe place. Put the handbrake on. Put the car into 4th and with the engine running, drop the clutch/give it some fuel - it should stall more or less immediately. Don't do this too much, just once is enough.


Another way is to take the car for a drive up a hill, try accelerate using 3rd or 4th gear, floor it, if the revs rise out of sync with the speed, then settles, your clutch is slipping - a clutch will slip worse under heavy load (like putting your foot down to accelerate fast).


You can inspect the pedal from inside, though there is a panel that runs along over the top of the pedals, you might have to remove that. Check the mechanism, you should see the fork that goes up into the clutch assembly, ensure that's all ok, then inspect the clutch slave cylinder which is inline with the pedal in the engine bay, check the fluid is ok. All this will take you about 10 mins.

Oil every 6 weeks doesn't tell us anything. How many miles is that and how much oil are you topping it up with? Upto about a litre every 2-3000 is within acceptable tolerances, Expecially if you're speeding up wear allowing the oil level to drop low enough to cause a drop in oil pressure around corners.

Re the knocking, might be front drop links needing replacing

My car flies up hills. Sometimes makes me giggle it pulls that well.

Must just be me being dodgy with set offs..

Will definitely try the 4th gear stall thing. Thinking tesco carpark. ha

Pardon the late reply... The Walking Dead took priority

I do about 1000 miles a month, sometimes more.

I often check the oil level, knowing there's a usage issue and sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's bad.

Let's say from no oil to optimum amount, how much would you need to fill? Just curious.

itsowenhowarth said:

I do about 1000 miles a month, sometimes more.

I often check the oil level, knowing there's a usage issue and sometimes it's okay, sometimes it's bad.

Let's say from no oil to optimum amount, how much would you need to fill? Just curious.

Click to expand...

Min to max is normally a litre at most.

That in 1500-200 miles isn't unreasonable, especially if driven enthusiastically.

Our 1.4 does about 900ml oil to 3000 miles with a lot of enthusiastic driving and this isn't unacceptable

This saturday is the day... Gonna pick up some bits and get it done

For future reference you can change the headlamp bulbs from underneath in less time than it takes to remove the battery.

I eventually planked the battery back in and really really struggled with a bulb balanced between 2 fingers. Took me around an hour!!!

as Maggers says, you can change the bulbs quite easily form underneath or by removing the wheel arch liners. Its still a pain - I had to do a side light on the drivers side the other night, 20 mins! Its an easy job if you do it the proper way, but the proper way is a ball ache.

I've done the bulbs, they shouldn't need touching for a while. Fingers crossed.

itsowenhowarth said:

I've done the bulbs, they shouldn't need touching for a while. Fingers crossed.

Click to expand...

Give it 6 months, you will need to do it again. I recommend removing the wheel arch and then there is some bracket in the way which also needs out of the way.
That is the battery side.
Or take it to Halfords, they will quote you a few quid, accept it and let them battle with it

I was told about Halfords after id already bought the damn bulbs last time. Anyone else's lights Dim? I bought extra bright ones within the legal limit! Xx