Taxi Driver Online

Getting bored of it, they keep cleaning it out because a new merc one will cost them £150.

Its going in later this month for the RWS, they WILL be looking at this MAF as well.

The MAF sensor that kept activating the half power mode, was apparantly a blocked turbo pipe?

I'm still awaiting the parts for the RWS . .

Blocked Turbo pipe?, a split or leaking turbo vaccum pipe I can believe but a blocked pipe...Hmmmm (rubs chin)
Could you hear the turbo spooling up (whistling noise when accelerating)

Well I did wonder, but I'm not really in a position to question them as I don't know too much about engines.

I've had no noises as such, it just seems to go.

The mechanic that came out from Western motors whilst up in Edinburgh gave me a more plausible explanation, he reckons the breathable membrane fitted to the top of the 2.2 diesel engine is designed to breath, but its allowing oily residue to get through, hence some gets into the air intake and coats the thin wire on the maf activating half power.

He reckons he goes out to two in Edinburgh every week, and it's nearly always the 2.2 diesel as fitted to the 111 cdi model.

I'm waiting to see if the S&B fix works.

I'll see how the next 8 months go, but I don't know whether I'd keep it out of warranty.

An actuator for the rws system (the bit that keeps going) is £600 fitted!

A new electric step is another £600!

And if a door motor goes, in guessing the same.

The basic Nissan NV200 interests me even more. No RWS, manual doors and steps, and over 40 mpg.

The Pug E7 would have been a possibility, but it seems Allied for all their talk still refuse to take the PCO (TFL) to court.

Okay, that sound very feasible to me, essentially - All internal combustion engines (except 2 stroke engines) need to be vented in order to balance air pressure in the engine. So, the engine will generally have a breather pipe that comes from the bottom of the engine and it will go to the air filter box, (it goes here so that the vented fumes & air enter the engine rather than the environment)....are you with me so far?

Between the airfilter box and the engine inlet sits the Mafi (mass air fuel sensor) So to me it sounds like this may be your problem.

Now we need to talk about how to solve it. If it was my vehicle and it was out of warranty I would re-route the breather pipe taway from the airfilter box into a small platic bottle, you will need to vent the pipe into a bottle so that any condensed dirty air/oil sits in the bottle as opposed to just leaking into the engine bay / ground.

The question still remains as to why your engine is doing this and not all others, I can offer no real advice here right now. Maybe go onto a mercedesbenz forum and see if other vitos are suffering from the same problem, they may have a soloution there.

If you decide not to keep it then maybe the 3 year merc agility scheme is the way forward? I may be wrong but are mercedes now directly dealing with the rws issue? I think there is a notice on the cafe door @ the flyers to that effect?

Not long now until we have a vito owners club.....yet more sub fees & fragmentation of the trade

Like you, I am interested in the Nissan, tis about time the taxi market cartel was opened up for us drivers!

You know what, it may well have been the breather pipe they said was blocked, ive got turbo hose / pipe on the brain!

That lad down the airport has done wonders with merc, he deserves an award to get the top brass out.

Whilst a rws solution doesn't seem likely in the short term, at least they're talking about covering it beyond the 3 years and compensating some drivers like Tony Barbel who's paid out over a grand in the last year for actuators only to watch them fail within weeks.

I suspect Mercedes wouldn't invest in R&D for a 1000 units a year when the Vito probably sells a few hundred thousand as the standard van / viano.

Let's hope and pray that the Nissan lives up to our expectations, or Geeley turn the TX into a viable purchase.

Agreed, he has done well to get directly to merc top brass. I notice that the merc issue was mentioned in taxi mag last week, they were very mindful not to actually mention the rws problem....for obvious reasons.

Will merc invest in sorting out the acuators?...I dunno, but as you say investment will be limited in light of units sold, a few years ago Saab (subsid of GM) went to the wall and they were selling 50k units a year. And the very reason of limited unit sales makes me question why Geeley (who bought Volvo in 2010 for £1.5 billion and are currently running at a loss) would want to enter the taxi market?

If/when Nissan lauch the NV200 in the UK the market will also be limited BUT Nissan are launching the same taxi (petrol engine) in New York for starters, their business model may well be a world wide taxi market with the one vehicle.

IF this is their plan then a dam good plan it is imho.

Get an m8 m8 ! no rear steer much more reliable than a e7

Two lines

You're lucky you have the choice, until they dump this turning circle, well always be stuck with overpriced unreliable taxis in London.

I'd try an E7.

Ive had a bmc engine black cab in 1990,fx plus,early metro,later metro,tx1,tx2,and now an e7. which was the most reliable?;tx1.the most frugal( before I got the e7)l?;early tx2,the most robust?;bmc,the most comfortable?;e7,the most space?;e7.the most trouble?;the later metro.the most versatile?;e7(6 seats,good for bookings).
Lets face it guys a good cab is one that moves,a bad cab is one that does'nt!.

Too soft, nice to drive esp on motorways, quick fuel efficient but go through front roll bars, tyres and dual mass flywheels. wheel chair ramp is by far the best

You can now fit the single clutch system, and there is an anti roll bar kit also available

Not under warranty you can't and if your paying nearly 30 grand you shouldn't be paying to fix design faults!