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Technical Little oddity

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Technical Little oddity

Wee Smurf

Wee Smurf

Yellow is the way to go!
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My Panda is getting on a bit in age - it'll be 13 in May and has over 135K on the clock.

It has developed a new quirk. When I'm driving along in the rain with front wipers only on, when I brake or sometimes just indicate, the rear wiper decides to kick in although it's switched off. Any ideas of cause?

I'm starting to concern myself about the longevity of my car TBH. It has several other issues such as the radio turning itself on in the garage in warm weather, heat to passenger side but little to driver side, the paint cracking on the bonnet and the paint fading everywhere rear of the front section, a rust spot on the rear wheel arch, the exhaust is a lump of rust, a suspected wheel bearing issue which rears its head when someone sits in the front passenger seat (quiet at other times), the smoking previously reported seems to have dropped off, but so too has the mpg (used to get 480 miles per tank and now it's just 400. All this has brought a feeling of doubt over me (especially the last one). Don't know how much to tackle given the dropping mpg.
 
Wee Smurf said:
All this has brought a feeling of doubt over me (especially the last one). Don't know how much to tackle given the dropping mpg.
Click to expand...

There's certainly a point where it can cost you more to keep running an older car than it would cost you to ditch it and buy a new (or newer) one.

The trick is to know you've reached that point before spending a shedload of money on the old one.

In your position, I'd be wary of doing much more work on it, or you could end up keeping an old, unreliable and uneconomical car longer that you want, just to try to recover some of what you've recently spent on it. That's not a good place to be.

Obviously, a person's ability to fund a replacement is also significant when making decisions like this.
 
Last edited:
At 13 years old, everyday you get is a bonus!

I can't for the life of me see any major issue with the oddities your car's developed, not for it's age.

A bit of faded paint and a scab here and there are part of the life of a car.

Heater shouldn't be an issue unless it dies altogether.
Hot air still comes out of it and you can demist the screen.

Radio could flatted the battery, but it could be easily dealt with by unplugging it and singing to yourself!

Wheel bearing might need attention if you're going to run it as long as possible.

The wiper issue could be dealt with by either unplugging the motor or just ignoring it, it has a mind of it's own, so what!
It may be the stalk as Fiat have had problems with them before.

400 miles from 35 litres (7.7 uk gallons) is still nearly 52 mpg, that isn't too shabby for winter when mpg usually takes a dip anyway.

With scrappage deals all the rage if might seem like a good idea to trade it in, but you can often get similar discounts without as the "allowance" is usually built in to the price.

It's also a good time to buy, sales grind to a halt this time of year and they're looking at freeing up space for the March trade ins as well, so if you see anything you fancy it worth a look and getting really cheeky.
 
Wee Smurf said:
My Panda is getting on a bit in age - it'll be 13 in May and has over 135K on the clock.

It has developed a new quirk. When I'm driving along in the rain with front wipers only on, when I brake or sometimes just indicate, the rear wiper decides to kick in although it's switched off. Any ideas of cause?

I'm starting to concern myself about the longevity of my car TBH. It has several other issues such as the radio turning itself on in the garage in warm weather, heat to passenger side but little to driver side, the paint cracking on the bonnet and the paint fading everywhere rear of the front section, a rust spot on the rear wheel arch, the exhaust is a lump of rust, a suspected wheel bearing issue which rears its head when someone sits in the front passenger seat (quiet at other times), the smoking previously reported seems to have dropped off, but so too has the mpg (used to get 480 miles per tank and now it's just 400. All this has brought a feeling of doubt over me (especially the last one). Don't know how much to tackle given the dropping mpg.
Click to expand...

Reminds me of a comedy car I had. Every time a stopped it would do a quick flip of tbe wipers or go over a bump would flash the headlights.


My money would be on the stalk. You can normally tell by gently tapping the end of it.
 
A3jeroen said:
Could be an earthingproblem in your left rearlightcluster. When you brake the brakelight earths through the reverselight which makes the bodycomputer think you are reversing and switch on the rearwiper.

gr J
Click to expand...

That's a good shout.

Also, check the scuttle drains, the duckbills that allow water to drain from the scuttle under the windscreen. If it is full of water, that water gets into the car, and can get onto/into the body computer.

For heater not blowing both sides, get the covers off at the footwells, and check for blockages. Might have ingested something.
 
A3jeroen said:
Could be an earthingproblem in your left rearlightcluster. When you brake the brakelight earths through the reverselight which makes the bodycomputer think you are reversing and switch on the rearwiper.

gr J
Click to expand...

:yeahthat:

Is exactly what I was thinking.

Might be worth getting someone to check behind the car when you replicate the issue to see if the rear lights are operating correctly or not.
 
A3jeroen said:
Could be an earthingproblem in your left rearlightcluster. When you brake the brakelight earths through the reverselight which makes the bodycomputer think you are reversing and switch on the rearwiper.

gr J
Click to expand...

That would be quite plausible. It's been a couple of years since the connection was last cleaned when the lights were disco-ing a bit. Probably needs done again.
 
koalar said:
Reminds me of a comedy car I had. Every time a stopped it would do a quick flip of tbe wipers or go over a bump would flash the headlights.


My money would be on the stalk. You can normally tell by gently tapping the end of it.
Click to expand...

I'm doubting that it's the stalk. Most of the issues with stalks have been light-related.
 
Goudrons said:
At 13 years old, everyday you get is a bonus!

I can't for the life of me see any major issue with the oddities your car's developed, not for it's age.

A bit of faded paint and a scab here and there are part of the life of a car.

Heater shouldn't be an issue unless it dies altogether.
Hot air still comes out of it and you can demist the screen.

Radio could flatted the battery, but it could be easily dealt with by unplugging it and singing to yourself!

Wheel bearing might need attention if you're going to run it as long as possible.

The wiper issue could be dealt with by either unplugging the motor or just ignoring it, it has a mind of it's own, so what!
It may be the stalk as Fiat have had problems with them before.

400 miles from 35 litres (7.7 uk gallons) is still nearly 52 mpg, that isn't too shabby for winter when mpg usually takes a dip anyway.

With scrappage deals all the rage if might seem like a good idea to trade it in, but you can often get similar discounts without as the "allowance" is usually built in to the price.

It's also a good time to buy, sales grind to a halt this time of year and they're looking at freeing up space for the March trade ins as well, so if you see anything you fancy it worth a look and getting really cheeky.
Click to expand...

Oh I know, I keep my cars way too long TBH. End up with the problems of geriatric car. Most of the small things don't bother me that much. Two cars in 23.5 years is probably an unusual record to hold. A Panda is for life not just for Christmas and all that...

I'm working MPG out at 57 as I usually fill up around 32 litres. Still - could be better for a diesel. Husband's theory is that the age of the exhaust might be catching up on me and that it's probably now clogged from within. Having been a member on here for as long as I have, I would only go with another Fiat one so probably not the cheapest option if his theory proved incorrect.

I would like to have a final petrol car before they start hunting down Euro 3 diesels and I am forced to go electric when those rules come in. I'm thinking this will be my first and last diesel as now everyone hates diesels again. If I was to change car, the only thing that interests me at the minute would be a Twinair Cross Panda (in yellow of course), but they're not cheap so I'd be needing to use all my negotiation skills... My husband thinks that I should go and spend more on Dez and keep him running on.
 
I'll probably get some stick for writing this, but you might want to use your head rather than heart!

You obviously like to keep your cars a good while, so it might be worth considering something with a longer warranty than the usual 3 years offered by most manufacturers.

It's clear fuel economy is up there in your thoughts too and everyone likes a bit of reliability.

Kia's come with 7 year warranties.
Hyundai's 5 years as do Toyota's.

For economy, particularly urban type trips, Hybrids make better sense than diesels.

You might want to think about a Toyota Yaris Hybrid.

A year old one will have lost a large slice of depreciation yet still have 4 years warranty.

They are pretty much bomb proof, the drive train on them are the same as the last generation Prius and mini cabbers have been flogging them to 400,000+ miles with little trouble as the petrol engine nor the electric motor never really get taxed due to how they work.

On similar trips, they'll match if not beat most small diesel cars for mpg yet without all the fussy and expensive emission devices or any special or expensive servicing requirements.

I was looking at them recently.
Initially they appeared a bit expensive for a small city hatchback, but line one up against a similar diesel powered car and there's nowt really between them.

Also there are deals to be done and it really is the time of year to hammer a good one.
 
For me, the problem with especially Toyotas is that although they're relatively bulletproof, they're a bit dull and boring. When I last went car shopping back in 2004, I thought that a Yaris would fit the bill for me, but test-driving one, it never brought any joy or thrill at all and I left that showroom feeling somewhat deflated. Things might have changed since then but I still have that memory.

Having done a test-drive in the end of at least one of all the car brands that did a small-ish hatch, the Panda came out top above a Skoda Fabia VRS and a Mazda 2. I did at least one test-drive each weekend for about 3 months before making up my mind.

I can't say that I fault my car. It's just getting old. A number of the issues I've encountered over the years weren't ever the car's fault - more other people's fault. The paintwork would have been evenly faded had I not been stoned by some youths one Friday night. The respray maintained the original colour better but somehow cracked on the bonnet. The timing chain issue where the guides failed was in my opinion just bad workmanship on behalf of the mechanic I used (given that the brakes which he also had supposedly checked failed a month later as well). I've replaced a lot I suppose. I'll not add the list but Trigger's broom only had a few heads and then again a few handles lol.

I'm just pausing to think for a while to decide what the best course of action will be. I would be sad if Dez aka The yellow peril was to go, but he won't be replaced by the common car colours either - no black, gray, white or silver for me. I'm in no rush. I'll ponder things over another while.
 
Wee Smurf said:
For me, the problem with especially Toyotas is that although they're relatively bulletproof, they're a bit dull and boring. When I last went car shopping back in 2004, I thought that a Yaris would fit the bill for me, but test-driving one, it never brought any joy or thrill at all and I left that showroom feeling somewhat deflated. Things might have changed since then but I still have that memory.



Having done a test-drive in the end of at least one of all the car brands that did a small-ish hatch, the Panda came out top above a Skoda Fabia VRS and a Mazda 2. I did at least one test-drive each weekend for about 3 months before making up my mind.



I can't say that I fault my car. It's just getting old. A number of the issues I've encountered over the years weren't ever the car's fault - more other people's fault. The paintwork would have been evenly faded had I not been stoned by some youths one Friday night. The respray maintained the original colour better but somehow cracked on the bonnet. The timing chain issue where the guides failed was in my opinion just bad workmanship on behalf of the mechanic I used (given that the brakes which he also had supposedly checked failed a month later as well). I've replaced a lot I suppose. I'll not add the list but Trigger's broom only had a few heads and then again a few handles lol.



I'm just pausing to think for a while to decide what the best course of action will be. I would be sad if Dez aka The yellow peril was to go, but he won't be replaced by the common car colours either - no black, gray, white or silver for me. I'm in no rush. I'll ponder things over another while.
Click to expand...



Honda Jazz. The power of dreams [emoji6] If I don’t settle for a new Panda when the time comes.. I will not settle for any other euro trash car at the price of a robust Japanese one! Lol (personal opinion of course)


But in your case, why not another Panda? The Cross model is available in brighter yellow!

I romantically like to think I’ll replace my Panda with a silver new shape Pop when the time comes to be honest! The simple things in life, you know?
 
Wee Smurf said:
For me, the problem with especially Toyota's is that although they're relatively bulletproof, they're a bit dull and boring.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean, I recently went out and repeatedly looked at them myself, I even joined Enterprise Car Club as they have models dotted about locally to me to hire by the hour and spent a bit of time in them.

One of the Yaris Hybrid models would have been perfect for me, what with it qualifying for the congestion charge discount.

My heart won out in the end, but I know I'll soon regret it!

Sure there's not much passion or flair with them but they've traded all that for something else, engineering and build quality.

They way they've gone about setting up and linking the petrol engine, electric motors and battery to the planetary gearbox is a feat in it's self, the gearbox has only 20 moving parts to it and the engine runs on a simulated Atkinson cycle so it's super efficient.

They aren't totally joyless to drive, though it's more a feeling of contentment, it's all seamlessly smooth and relaxing and quite comfortable too.

They go about the normal daily business almost effortlessly, the only murmur is when you try anything "sporty", they just don't do the traffic light Grand Prix, the engine and gearbox tends to howl a bit if you try, but that's not what they are about.

I've a few colleagues with them, they bought theirs for the same reason and they swear by them.
They all run like Swiss watches, return staggering mpg figures and are totally fuss free.

But like I wrote, it's what you need rather than what you actually want!
 
Wee Smurf said:
For me, the problem with especially Toyotas is that although they're relatively bulletproof, they're a bit dull and boring.
Click to expand...

Test drive a Toyota Hybrid - completely different driving experience.

I've now gone full EV with a Kia Soul EV, but loved every minute of the 3.5 years and 60k miles I done in my Prius Plug-in.

I had a standard Petrol Auris for a day as a courtesy car for one of the services about 18months back - boring and dull as hell, nothing on it's Hybrid siblings!
 
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