Our most recent road trip up through the Wairarapa to Woodville, over the new major road from Woodville to near Ashhurst and home again, added 300 KMS to the van and took us up to 5000 kilometers and Robin’s first service.
\nWe raised a couple of issues as we handed the keys over, firstly the air con makes a horrible noise as it starts up, and secondly it looks like a bracket (for a spare wheel) has been removed from the chassis just behind the dead axle at the rear of the van. We asked first r this to be looked at and a plan for remaining the damaged rust proofing on the chassis to be repaired.
\nWhen we picked it up, the diagnosis for the air con was a broken bracket,and a new one has been ordered and will be fitted when it arrives. In addition the handbrake was adjusted, and the transmission fluid has been changed. I was not expecting this at 5000kms, but given that the vehicle was built nearly 3 years ago, I have no problem with it. The total cost of the service was about $200, a bit more than we were used to with Squirrel, but we can live with that every couple of years.
\nHowever, the technician looked at the chassis, and decided that because all LDVs look like that underneath, it was not a warranty issue. Not the best logic I gave come across lately, and I think the service management team might agree with that too. The good news is that the van is now booked in for a job to repair the damaged under seal, but it will take a week or so for it to be done. We are looking forward to seeing the damage repaired, and enjoying the van for a long time without too much rust on the chassis.
\nThe van sounds much nicer after the service, which I can only think is because of the transmission fluid, which is a little bit concerning.
\nWe got 236kms of range on a long cold day on our last road trip, which we are quite pleased with, our normal range us usually between 220 and 240, on a good day we can get up to 270kms.
\nI 3d printed a tactile cap to fit over the Eco button on the dash, which is low down and difficult to see,cans is right next to the button that switches off the traction control and a bunch of other acronyms. The new button cap lets me find the button without having to look for it (much safer), and also guides me into the Regen button underneath it. As these are the two controls I use most other than the pedals and the steering wheel erc, I am quite pleased with the result and myself!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Our most recent road trip up through the Wairarapa to Woodville, over the new major road from Woodville to near Ashhurst and home again, added 300 KMS to the van and took us up to 5000 kilometers and Robin’s first …<\/p>\n