How many Brits? Fancy a cuppa?

[PerNash]

Hi xtrailman,

Our salesman did say that you can turn off istop permanently if you really don't like it. I think he said press the istop button and hold for 3 seconds.

I love the idea of the smart key, just need to find the time to set it up and test it a few times.

I've already planned an break in plan, for the next 100 mile I'll drive it as smoothly as possible, then gradually increase.

I'm going to go with ALA, they've had a few good reviews from places such as Which, Honest John and Defaqto.

I've already heard my daughter banging the door sills getting in and out of the car, the OEM sill protects only protect half the sill, hence the film that I'll install DIY. Thats a good idea, did you use hammerrite underneath?

I was going to go for the 4wd as I'm used to 4wd on my Audi TT but for this car I couldn't really think of many situations where I'd need this ability, well maybe on the one or two days we get 'real' snow How do you find the extra traction?

 

[xtrailman]

I haven't really had chance to test the 4wd in snow, and only once on a wet field towing a caravan off, the front wheels slipped before the rears helped out, and pulled the caravan off, so it worked but not as efficiently as the xtrails 4wd system, I never had spin with the xt.

Underneath I used carplan black smooth about three tins, Hammerite can be used but sometimes it reacts with the original paint, and I've found it also chips easily, but I do give the towbar a couple of coats with Hammerite before having it fitted.

I believe the istop will reset itself everytime the car is turned off?

 

[Chris Roberts]

Thanks for the summary PerNash, great that you are happy with the pickup and your new CX.

Those ins quotes sound reasonable to me, I guess you went on compare the meercat but look in the rear section of Top Gear too.

 

[Perusal]

Concerning the windscreen misting issue...... I have been using an award winning (Auto Express) product from Comma called Fog Gard which basically is a compound which coats the screen preventing moisture from settling on the screen. Works quite well for a period of time but then needs reapplying. I'm not sure if it's still available however.

Nonetheless the main reason for posting was because I too was getting sick of waiting for the screen to clear, once the Fog Gard had worn off. I solved it by running the AC on re circulation I.e. To dry the air inside the car. Left it on the recirc setting for a 20 mile trip and then when I got in this morning no mist at all. Might be worth a try.

 

[xtrailman]

On the sport if you hit the front demist button it puts the car in recirculate and the aircon on, mine clears very quickly even when I've got a boot full of soaking wet fishing gear.

 

[Applauso]

I'm now wondering if rain is getting in. I park on a hill facing upwards so the water if it is getting in will naturally "flow" back to where it seems to be building up. I've now found it in the back too. It's p!ssing me off so much. Just over a year old and they aint cheap motors! Looks like a complaint to Mazda and a life in the dealers!

 

[alex1706]

On the sport if you hit the front demist button it puts the car in recirculate and the aircon on, mine clears very quickly even when I've got a boot full of soaking wet fishing gear.

Agreed mine does the same, straight into recirc mode when set to demist screen mode, in fact will default to screen setting on damp days in start-up; this is the first car I've owned to actually do such a thing.

In my case wet golf gear rather than fishing equipment doesn't help, but I find this car is pretty good at screen clearing. I used to have a Mondeo which of course had a heated front screen and to date nothing since has been so effective, but to be fair to Mazda the system seems to work.

Alex

 

[Perusal]

Nothing beats a heated windscreen and it's the one thing I miss most at this time of the year from my prior Jaguar. (The heated steering wheel runs it a pretty close second though. . )

In the SE-L model, when I checked, there is no default to recirc when the screen demist is used. However my key point is that whilst the screen clears in anything from 30 seconds to 3 minutes in demist mode depending upon how much moisture is in the air, (I have actually had water droplets running down the inside of the screen), running the climate control in recirc mode for an extended period beyond the demist period does seem to "dry" the interior out such that having done this then the next day there was no mist on the screen despite there being heavy ice outside.

I have taken to removing my golf gear from the car too to try and reduce the amount of moisture contained within the car overnight.......Talking of which the sun is shining , for a change, so I think it might be time for 18 (soggy) holes.

 

[Perusal]

On the sport if you hit the front demist button it puts the car in recirculate and the aircon on, mine clears very quickly even when I've got a boot full of soaking wet fishing gear.

See my post about this not being the case in my SE-L........but having just checked the manual, which is for all variants, it appears this shouldn't be happening in your car either since it states...."press the windscreen defroster switch. In this position the outside air position is automatically selected and the air conditioner is automatically switched on". (Section 5-12 )

Then again the manual also advises that you shouldn't drive for extended periods in cold and rainy weather with the recirc setting on because it could cause the windows to fog up!!!!!! How? The whole point of AC is that it is air CONDITIONING (not cooling) and should always dehumidify the air. It certainly doesn't fog up my car,......

Words fail me .......

 

[Buzzx6r]

My car too suffers from misting up, despite being in the garage. No issue with the M3 parked alongside, no misting at all. Also my car has rust underneath on several suspension components despite being 4 months old and with only 1,500 miles. Never driven in snow or on salty roads. Pretty shoddy IMO. Have also loaded latest GPS signal updates and still too slow to react to where my vehicle is. Still suggest incorrect routes on many journeys. And TomTom want me to pay 75 each year to receive map updates and live services........piece of s*** sat nav.

 

[Applauso]

My car too suffers from misting up, despite being in the garage. No issue with the M3 parked alongside, no misting at all. Also my car has rust underneath on several suspension components despite being 4 months old and with only 1,500 miles. Never driven in snow or on salty roads. Pretty shoddy IMO. Have also loaded latest GPS signal updates and still too slow to react to where my vehicle is. Still suggest incorrect routes on many journeys. And TomTom want me to pay 75 each year to receive map updates and live services........piece of s*** sat nav.

Check your carpets front and rear. remove any mats first. Are they damp? I'm in the process of drying mine out and will then test parked on a hill again and switch the aircon back on. Hopefully the damp wont return but if it does I'll know what's causing it. If it comes back I'm seriously considering getting rid for the new Nissan Qashqai. I had one before the CX 5. NO Major issues with it, just niggles.

 

[xtrailman]

I spent 3 days under my car painting the metal work I could get to easily.
I have to say it was on a par with Nissan, in fact the last Xtrail did have some rust on the bottom of the front struts, not a problem really as it was cast iron type, It was store in a field as underneath was a collection of grass.

Your car could have been one of the outside cars on the ship, and might have got some sea spray underneath.?

With the crap TT you could use a faster card, someone on the whirlpool forum claims he speeded his up this way, I considered the same but the cards are expensive, and I find mine acceptable.
I was caught out myself with the nav when I ordered the car, I didn't read anywhere that the traffic was subscription, my Xtrail nav just worked and was a much better system.

My car too suffers from misting up, despite being in the garage. No issue with the M3 parked alongside, no misting at all. Also my car has rust underneath on several suspension components despite being 4 months old and with only 1,500 miles. Never driven in snow or on salty roads. Pretty shoddy IMO. Have also loaded latest GPS signal updates and still too slow to react to where my vehicle is. Still suggest incorrect routes on many journeys. And TomTom want me to pay 75 each year to receive map updates and live services........piece of s*** sat nav.

 

[xtrailman]

Cashcow came out top in a recent group test, but none of the engines come close to the outputs Mazda offer, power or torque.
Which doesn't bode well for the next Xtrail if those outputs are the only ones on offer, but I tow so my considerations are probably different to yours.

Check your carpets front and rear. remove any mats first. Are they damp? I'm in the process of drying mine out and will then test parked on a hill again and switch the aircon back on. Hopefully the damp wont return but if it does I'll know what's causing it. If it comes back I'm seriously considering getting rid for the new Nissan Qashqai. I had one before the CX 5. NO Major issues with it, just niggles.

 

[BluSmoke]

"press the windscreen defroster switch. In this position the outside air position is automatically selected and the air conditioner is automatically switched on". (Section 5-12 )

This is what happens on my test this morning. It clears a small patch in the middle bottom area of the window very quickly, then seems to achieve nothing for the next 2 minutes.
I'm gonna have a good go with some glass cleaner and see if that helps.

I felt around for damp patches in car etc. but cant find any moisture sources.

 

[xtrailman]

Yes perusal is correct, I made a point of checking my front defrost this afternoon, I can only think it was my Xtrail that selected recirculate?

At anyrate mine works ok for me, I do remember some owners complaining about the Xtrail demist as well.

 

[Applauso]

Front carpet now fully dry. Rear nearly there, just getting a few blots on kitchen roll when applying pressure. Once dry will start with the parked on a hill test watching when it rains and then moving onto switching the Aircon back on. Will keep you informed.

 

[Applauso]

WET CARPETS UPDATE:::::: Ok So I managed to get my carpets completely dry. Last night it rained and the carpets are wet again. Today I got in the car while my wife sprayed it down with a hose and I couldn't see any water getting in anywhere. I felt all around and couldn't feel any water getting in anywhere but after spraying with hose the carpets were even wetter. No puddles of water but wet to touch. If you press down on the carpet with kitchen roll the roll just absorbs loads of water. At my wits end. It's going to dealers on Monday where no doubt they will hose it down and see nothing. The car is 16 months old and done 7000 miles. what do you think they will do?

 

[Chris Roberts]

16 months old, is it still under warranty? Or does that 70K mileage take it outside the warranty period?

I assume that you have checked all the rubber seals for twists and tears? Sounds like water is running inside the body panels maybe? Is the boot wet also? Water collecting in the spare wheel well?

 

[jack526]

WET CARPETS UPDATE:::::: Ok So I managed to get my carpets completely dry. Last night it rained and the carpets are wet again. Today I got in the car while my wife sprayed it down with a hose and I couldn't see any water getting in anywhere. I felt all around and couldn't feel any water getting in anywhere but after spraying with hose the carpets were even wetter. No puddles of water but wet to touch. If you press down on the carpet with kitchen roll the roll just absorbs loads of water. At my wits end. It's going to dealers on Monday where no doubt they will hose it down and see nothing. The car is 16 months old and done 70000 miles. what do you think they will do?

My experience is probably of no use to you, but I had the exact same problem with a VW Touran. I cleaned out the leaf debris which was blocking the drainage holes in the bodywork under the bonnet - it did nothing. I took it into a VW Specialist (I didn't trust the main dealer).
The problem turned out to be the factory applied sealant to one of the bodywork joints around a wheel arch had failed. This was fixed and that cured it.

I then dried it out by repeatedly pressing down hard on the carpet with large microfibre cloths and wringing them out. I then wedged up the carpet as much as possible with 6" lengths of wood to expose the underfelt and floor and dried this as much as I could with the cloths. With it still wedged up I ran an extension lead to a household dehumidifier on the front seat, or if I was driving I had the aircon on max. directed to the footwells. Even then it took about 2 weeks to completely dry and for the musty smell to disappear.

 

[xtrailman]

WET CARPETS UPDATE:::::: Ok So I managed to get my carpets completely dry. Last night it rained and the carpets are wet again. Today I got in the car while my wife sprayed it down with a hose and I couldn't see any water getting in anywhere. I felt all around and couldn't feel any water getting in anywhere but after spraying with hose the carpets were even wetter. No puddles of water but wet to touch. If you press down on the carpet with kitchen roll the roll just absorbs loads of water. At my wits end. It's going to dealers on Monday where no doubt they will hose it down and see nothing. The car is 16 months old and done 70000 miles. what do you think they will do?

70K around 1K a week, is that mileage correct?

Usual place for these sort of leaks are the windscreen and bulkhead area.