Valeo: New references for Volvo car applications
Published: 11 October, 2017
Since February 2017, 24 new references for the most popular Volvo applications have been launched by Valeo Service. References cover the Volvo S60 and XC60 ranges, the Volvo V70 and XC70 ranges, as well as the Volvo XC90. 30% of these offer the Dynamic Bending Lighting (DBL) feature. In comparison with Fixed Beam Lighting (FBL), DBL provides better visibility and security by increasing the range of light when travelling round bends. These references enlarge Volvo coverage from Valeo Lighting Systems, meaning it now reaches 40% of the Volvo car parc
in Europe.
www.valeo-techassist.com
- Comline: New braking references
Comline has strengthened its portfolio by adding a number of new references to its braking line-up. The latest list of newcomers includes twenty-four brake pad references. Catering for a variety of makes and models, the list includes notable introductions serving some of the aftermarket’s most popular vehicles. CBP02361 is a set of front brake pads servicing the Ford KA (2016 onwards), while CBP02368 are front and CBP02369 rear brake pads for the Ford Fiesta (2017 onwards). Meanwhile, CBP02367 front and CPB02380 brake pads cater for the Vauxhall Crossland (2017-onwards).
www.comline.uk.com
- Scrappage to scupper post-lockdown prospects for garages?
Independent garages expecting a surge in customer demand resulting from motorists being unwilling or unable to buy a new car in the wake of COVID-19 and post-lockdown uncertainty could soon have to contend with a scrappage scheme.
- Lowest since 1952: May new car sales 89% down
COVID-19 continued to bite into new car sales in May, with registrations 89% down, according to the latest figures released today (Thursday 4 June) by the SMMT, making it the lowest May for car sales since 1952.
- Feeling the pressure
Issues with tyre pressure monitoring systems will become much more prominent and regular in the majority of workshops all over the UK. Since 2014, every car sold new in the European Union was required has to have a form of TPMS. There is no way of escaping it. As a technician you can try and hide from it if you like, but it will find you and it will make your brain engage when that little warning light ‘pings' on the dashboard.
The thing that a lot of techs don't know is that the first form of TPMS was first put into practice in the late 1980s, so it is not as if it’s a new idea. Back then, it was mainly for high-end luxury cars. Now a very high percentage of low-priced to mid-range priced vehicles are fitted with a TPMS system. You can even buy a retro-fit system and put it onto your motorcycle if you wanted to!
Types
There are two different types of monitoring systems. The first is a direct system in which the sensors are held within the wheels. These send a radio signal to the car and this is converted into a real-time display on the dashboard for the driver to keep a close eye on all of the pressures individually. The second is the indirect system. This one cannot show you a real-time value as there aren’t any TPMS sensors to send a radio signal back to the car. Instead this works via the cars wheel speed sensors/ABS sensors, to put it simply- it counts the rotations of each wheel and recognizes a fault if one wheel turns quicker than the other three. Clever or what? Well, not really, if all four tyres lose pressure.
Prod and cons
When it comes to TPMS pros and cons, my personal thoughts are that these systems, particularly the direct system will make for safer roads and therefore save lives. Not only that, the fact is that it is going to save your tyres, and by keeping the optimum pressure in them, saving your tyres will save you money, and if you save your money you will then be able to afford to buy new sensors if (when) they break... and they do break, whether it’s the core (due to bad practice when fitting tyres and not replacing something as simple as the core and the valve cap) ,a leak from the base of the stem or simply the battery going flat inside a sensor... (majority not interchangeable).
The simple fact is they do go wrong sometimes. Besides the main disadvantage of the indirect system that I mentioned earlier, if they do go wrong and it is obvious that the TPMS system isn’t working correctly, come MOT time the car will get a major fail. However, if the car is registered before January 2012, this doesn’t matter, which probably wasn’t the best decision ever made. I think any car equipped with a TPMS system from the factory should have it working. Simple as that, but that’s just my opinion.
Optimum
If one or more pressures are low and the tyres look ‘obviously Under Inflated’ then that induces a pass with a minor defect. The facts is that thousands of accidents and hundreds of deaths occur every year due to under inflated tyres resulting in tread separation and ultimately failure of the tyre.
In short, tell your customers if they want better fuel efficiency, better handling and optimum braking, they might want to check their pressures, even when the MOT is not looming.
- New car sales crash by 97.3% in April as Coronavirus shuts showrooms
UK new car registrations fell by a whopping 97.3% in April, the lowest point since 1946, according to figures published today (Tuesday 5 May) by the SMMT. Just 4,321 new cars were registered in the month, some 156,743 fewer than in April 2019. The last time sales were so low was in February 1946, when 4,044 new cars were sold.
