₦airaland Forum

Welcome my esteemed readers.

After 8 months of having renewed vehicle papers, we proceeded on a journey to Asaba. On our way, we were stopped by law enforcement officers. Papers were checked and we were allowed to go. As we made it to exit the Benin by-pass and head towards Agbor, we were stopped again. With confidence, we stopped and handed the papers as usual. We were expecting this guy to return the papers. Instead he was checking the papers word for word, digit for digit. We started being impatient. I asked, officer what is wrong? knowing well that he may want something. But alas!, his detailing worked. He found a "V" that was written as "U". This became a heated argument. unfortunately for me, the third eyes around are his colleagues. But truthfully, its neither a U nor a V. Something in-between. We had to negotiate our way out. Very painful for just an error and they know it.

Have you ever gone to any government agency to process a document? If you have, you will agree with me that it is a herculean task if you have to do it yourself. There are several bottlenecks in place to frustrate you. As a result, people without the luxury of time often get someone to have it done.

Now, here is the problem. These people are prone to mistakes as they rarely pay attention to detail. They only calculate how much money to make while helping you. Putting your trust in these guys might be costly as in our case. But we are not alone. There are a lot of us in this situation.

To avoid the exploitative situation, endeavour to check the particulars when given to you. Do a detailed word for word, digit for digit check. This way you are double sure.

We learnt our mistake. We hope you do not learn it the hard way just like we did

Source: http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/auto-license-mistakes-shine-your-eyes-be-vigilant/

For our survival, we take in oxygen from the air and take out carbon-dioxide. This is done via same vent; Nostrils. The body has a way of repairing and protecting itself from damage. This is needed for the smooth running of the body.

Following same analogy, the vehicle also breathes, takes in air and takes out carbon-dioxide. These are done from different vents. And the vehicle has no ability to repair itself. This is where we come in. With good knowledge, you can facilitate that.

How exactly does a vehicle breathe?

There is always an air inlet vent/manifold in a vehicle. Air is sucked in using suction pressure. Along this vent are filtration agents (Air Filter), just like the hairs in the nostrils trap dirt, the filter also traps dirt. After some time, this Air Filter gets dirty and blocked. If not replaced, could cause the engine to run roughly and even stall. Hence, it is necessary that we have the Air Filter checked after every service procedure is carried out.

The outlet where the vehicle lets out carbon-dioxide is the exhaust. Here, there are conversion agents like the catalytic converter aligned with the exhaust. Others are mufflers to reduce the gas exit noise. It is important that this pathway is clear.

A clear exit and entry of air/gas within the manifolds ensures that the vehicle breathes well. And this in-turn helps the engine to work efficiently.

We hope this has been informative and we'll like you check our other articles here [http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/blog/].

quote:"if you take care of your car, your car would take care of you."

Being a leader can sometimes lead to complacency. This time, my experience. I've always ensured that my vehicles are in top condition. However, small routines on the vehicles are often omitted. From time to time, I do this, even if I do not want to.

A few days earlier, I subjected my SUV to the usual Lagos rush hour traffic. The car performed without issues. The next day, I was about to go out. Reluctantly, I checked the fluid levels. The brake oil - OK, Engine oil - OK, radiator coolant level - NOK. In fact, there were no coolant in the radiator. Of course this is bad. As it could lead to overheating problems. I went ahead to check other fluid levels. Power Steering oil - OK, Transmission oil - OK.

Now, the troubleshooting begins. It is worthy of note that cooling system issues are one of the most difficult to trace in vehicles without the right tools.

I got the diagnostic/testing kit out. Filled the radiator with water (testing purpose) and applied pressure via the diagnostics tool. Pressure was dropping. This indicates a leak. Now, where was it leaking. With the pressure ON, a visual check revealed where. A small hose taking coolant into the engine block under the engine hood was bad. In order words, the coolant was leaking under the vehicle.

For every connecting hose, there is a clip. Over-time (years), this hose has become weak from under the constant pressure from the clip and hot coolant. Since we identified the location within 15 minutes, the hose was changed and a new clip installed. It was tested again and the pressure was stable.

Then Jokingly, I asked my technician, without this diagnostic kit, how long does he think it would have taken him to solve, he said Oga, "e for hard oh. but I go eventually get am"

In order words, It would have taken him, some expensive trial and errors before the issue is resolved. That is, if the over-heating issue does not get out of hand. Furthermore, the location of the hose and high temperature, would have made it extremely difficult for him to find, leading to highly dissatisfied customers.

With simple routine checks, and the patronage of the Auto companies with the right tools, averts an otherwise expensive repairs.

I have just been "Standisk AutoTech-ED" How about you? For more articles [url][/http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/when-was-the-last-time-you-checked-the-fiuld-level/]

Feel free to navigate this blog for more insightful messages on your vehicle.

how is this universal? one cap fits all?

Ekugbeh:
Ogun state why art thou....
Isiala ngwa has been there frm AD. Hvn't been there b4 buh ppl always tell me of that location, and how they also eat their fellow humans. If they notice u havin fever, they wuld jez lure u 2 d bush and carry out their heinous act. Somone tild me o....
Havn't confirmed it o....

I hope it isn't true. hmmmm.

I guess sharing this would be worthwhile for our own safety.

The Nigerian police has advised all to avoid the following places as they have been identified as hot spots for Ritual Killings:

1. Ota, Ogun State

2. Lambe, Ogun State

3. Ikorodu,Lagos State

4. Mowe, Ogun State

5. The Bridge linking Abiola Garden with Otedola Estate, Lagos.

6. Isheri Olowo-Ira under Bridge, Lagos

7. Toyota Bus Stop on Apapa/Oshodi Expressway, Lagos (Clifford Oji's former location)

8. Waterfront River Niger area Of Onitsha, Anambra State

9. Isiala-Ngwa, Abia state

10, Igwurita, Muruokoro, Port Harcourt, Rivers state

11. Ilorin-Oro Road, Kwara state

12. Lokoja-Abuja Expressway, Kogi state

13. Kaduna Eastern By-Pass, Kaduna state

14. The Bank of River Kaduna, Kaduna state

15. Kaduna/Abuja Expressway, Kaduna state

16. Abuja Motor Park,Kaduna

17. Kawo Motor Park, Kaduna

18. The Railway tracks, Kaduna

These are police emergency numbers in Lagos, please:

POLICE CONTROL ROOM 1 - 07055350249 and 07035068242.

RRS CONTROL ROOM 2, Alausa - 08065154338 and 07055462708

CONTROL ROOM 3 SHQ; - 08079279349 and 08063299264 and 767 toll free line.

If you by mistake fall victim quickly send an sms/pre-text message to all or any of these numbers.

Make sure you drive at the middle of express road at all times. If anyone tells you that your car is sparking or there is fire or smoke coming out from your car bonnet, please do not listen just drive on. That is their new tactics.

For more [url][http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/are-your-vehicle-particulars-genuine/]

Let us discuss a problem most of us face using our cars. We start with an illustration with Mr Tunde’s experience.

Mr Tunde was invited for an interview in Victoria Island, Lagos for 11am next day. Having prepared well enough for this interview, he woke up early and he thought to himself, "with the traffic situation, I should get the venue latest 10am if I left home 6am". He got prepared, got into his car, opened the bonnet and checked the water level. It was lower than usual. He quickly tops it up with water. Cranks his car and off he went.

While on his way, it rained. He wound up and turned on his A/C. Now with the rain, the traffic buildup was high. Soon, the temperature gauge started rising. He didn’t notice. He kept thinking on how to beat the time. As he drove, the car stalled and stopped. He tried to crank it up. No way. The gauge was indicating the temperature was way too high. He pulled his umbrella and opened the bonnet, a hissing sound from the radiator was heard. He barely opened the radiator cap with a cloth because of the heat and he was greeted with a blistering white smoke. This happened on third mainland bridge.

You can imagine Tunde’s frustration. What was his mistake? Lack of knowledge.


Several factors could have caused the car to overheat. Let us consider the major parts of a cooling system and their function.

(a) Radiator/Radiator cap: a reservoir that holds the liquid required to cool the engine.

(b) Hose: Rubber pipes used to circulate the liquid from the radiator to the engine.

(c) Fan: Heat is dissipated from the radiator when hot liquid flows through it.

(d) Thermostat: Ensures the engine operating temperature is maintained.

(e) pump: referred to as water-pump is required to force coolant round the engine

(f) Sensor: This monitors the temperature of the coolant

Having known these major parts, damage to any component can cause the engine to overheat. When this happens, the almost obvious thing your technician would tell you is, “remove your thermostat”, if that doesn’t work, you hear “change your radiator to double cell”, same issue, “change your radiator cap” not working, “change your gasket”. Before you finish this routing from the motor technicians, you must have spent a fortune.

There are professional ways of checking the integrity of the cooling system. If you notice that you have to top off your radiator coolant every now and then, it means there is a problem. The cooling system is designed to work with pressurized liquid. Any drop in pressure decreases the efficiency of the cooling system. Thereby bringing about the over heating issue.

With a combination of cooling system pressure tester, visual inspection, digital testing meter, diagnostics tool, and a competent AutoTech personnel, it is almost certain that location of the leak would be known. And the damaged part replaced. This saves a lot of money that would have otherwise been spent on trial and error. How is this done? we shall cover this in part 2 of this post.

[url][http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/that-annoying-car-overheating-problem-part-1/]

yomingr:
I agree with you quite frankly on your pin points and more should be done in educating many of our "uneducated" mechanics and sadly ignorant end users.
Allow me to chip in a few tips on how to manage and solve overheating issues in vehicles. Please bear in mind that I am NOT an auto mechanic in practice but I do take my time to read car care tips online and as I follow these processes I became better with maintaining my car over the years.
Once you notice your car overheating be patient enough to allow the engine cool off then follow the below process.
1. Check your water reservoir. It's most likely empty. Some reservoirs are easily removable like in toyota cars. Remove it and empty water content. Get a good radiator coolant and pour in content to the required fill level. Also refill your radiator with clean water. Please be sure that the water reservoir is not broken or punctured in any place as this will cause quick evaporation of the liquid content in your radiator there by causing it to overheat frequently. It's very important that you replace it if it's leaking.
2. Check the radiator cap. (small but mighty).
Yes small but Mighty indeed. As small and almost irrelevant as it looks, a bad radiator cap can/will cause your radiator to loose liquid content rapidly there by causing overheat. Quite unnoticeable, the radiator cap has a small rubber seal beneath it which holds in water and ensures the radiator is air tight. If you notice this rubber is not there or you are not sure if it is or NOT please get another one. Be sure you replace it with specified one. You should find a number on the old cap you removed. Use it as a guide when getting a replacement.
With your thermostat in good functional condition your overheating problems should be over. Endeavour to pour in frequently required radiator coolant in the water reservoir. This helps prevents rusts and corrosion in the radiator which causes the damage on the radiator eventually leading to overheating.

I agree with you. Furthermore, the cooling system is a closed loop and should not lose pressure. In order words, the coolant should not drop. However, frequent top-up is a way to manage it. For a permanent solution, engage your Diagnostics company to use a coolant system diagnostic tool to check where any leak might be and get it fixed.

It has almost become a norm for most mechanics to advise you to remove your thermostat once you buy your new "Tokunbo" vehicle. Not only that, you are requested to buy double-cell radiator.

The question is, do you need it in this climate of ours?

The detailed answer can be read here.[url][http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/that-thermostat-do-you-have-yours-intact/]

Are you a regular customer that visits that oil seller? Do you check your oil level everytime and notice it is low? Do you want to know why this is happening? visit here[http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/are-you-short-of-engine-oil-all-the-time/] to get more insightful information on this topic. http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/are-you-short-of-engine-oil-all-the-time/

The equivalent of 5,000km in mileage is 3,106 miles. Hence, if your car is in mileage, service your car every 3,100 miles or 3 months. Whichever comes first.

Sometimes, I wonder how a ten(10) year old imported used car in good condition goes bad in less than 18 months? the obvious reason being that these cars are not maintained as required. Do we really know what schedule is required to service our cars? find out more; http://www.fixyourcarng1.com/do-you-know-when-to-service-your-vehicle/

[quote][/does he need all this plenty grammar to choose between yeye kia and better honda?]

Can you tell how yeye Kia is, and how better honda is, without plenty grammar? stereotyping. smh

I'd suggest you ask what you require in a car. This would give you an idea of what your choice would be. Though It would have been better to compare cars of same segment.

KIA RIO (Whatever year)
This is a B segment subcompact car. It has its uses and advantages.
It's fuel economy is fantastic. This is obvious since the engine capacity is 1400cc (ideal for pocket friendliness)
It is easy to maintain as parts for this model (2006) are easier to get now at popular spare-parts markets.
The car is built to specification and as such can travel anywhere in this country without hassles.
overall, for a pocket friendly car coupled with good performance, go for the Kia.

HONDA ACCORD (Whatever year)
This is a D segment midsize family car. It also has its uses and advantages
Its fuel economy cannot be compared to that of a kia rio. This is evident of the engine capacity between 2000cc - 3500cc
It is ideal for family comfort.
It also has spare-parts available at popular markets, hence easy to maintain
It has a better handling experience in the driving seat
It also can travel anywhere in Nigeria
Due to the high number of similar car, it is a good target for vandals
overall, for fairly pocket friendly car with better performance, go for Honda.

Choice is yours!

I did mine in Abuja recently. These are the procedures I followed for renewal.

1. go to https://www.nigeriadriverslicence.org/index.php
2. click on the DL renewal link, fill the form and follow any other instruction there.
3. Print the form and take to the capture centre you must have filled in the form. You also need to take along the old DL
4. Go to the Licensing office. (in my case VIO Office)
5. Pass the road traffic sign test with the VIO desk officer.
6. pass the eye test (heard this was introduced after I got mine)
7. Move to the computer section where you'd be advised to pay 6,800 at the bank or pay 7,000 cash.
8. move to biometric capture centre. all finger prints are taken as well as a picture of you.
9. A temporary DL is issued to you. (mine was two months)
10. Come after two months and collect the original.

All these within 2 hours.

I encountered them between OWO and Okene about a year ago. I stepped on it full throttle. I almost ran over one of them. Although, I was attacked with two logs of wood filled with nails. Thank God for tubeless, I just ran over the nails and continued my journey to Abuja. Furthermore, there is a law banning them from setting up road blocks when recovering local govts levy. So next time you see them, cripple them. the more you cripple the better.

You have to apply wisdom in whatever you do. I have been there. being the 1st and catering for 4 siblings and parent. If you continue this way, you would get to your break point quickly. I'd like to ask a few questions.

1. What are your siblings doing to assist the family?
2. If you die today, will your family not survive?
3. Do you actually spend all of your income on issues like you claimed?

The truth is that, no matter how much you spend on your family, they will one day rebel against you when you decide not to spend again. This is the truth.

Be a leader and not a cash cow.

Here are a few tips,

1. Handle only basic necessities of the family. Any one that desires more will source for income on their own. (This teaches them to be independent)
2. Keep some percentage of your income for medical emergencies
3. Keep a percentage of your income as savings. (Strictly do this)
4. If the demand of the family becomes huge, spread it through several months income. (This shows your assertiveness. Instead of waiting months for you, they will source for money else where)
5. Be a source of encouragement to all. and advise when necessary.

These are just a few tip. Or else, you would attain 45 and still be complaining.

You have a life ahead. Being a first is not a reason to waste it.

175km/h kia rio 2008 Benin - Asaba express way.

Self centered, afraid of responsibility and a complete square peg in a round hole.

I would not advise you get a car from Cotonou. I got my first car Nissan Sunny (1993) model in 2005. Besides the fact that the age of the car has exceeded the age allowed in the country, no car imports is allowed in this country except through the sea port (Lagos).

First I had issues with the Police for about 6 months, thereafter i had to get series of police report on how I lost the the customs papers. I could not travel with the car out of Lagos for fear of the customs. A friend of mine that bought same type of car with me was seized by customs the week I summoned courage to travel with mine.

After Almost 2 years of constant fear of customs, I decided to sell the car and bought one that was Lagos cleared. I have since been travelling with my car around the states in this country. The customs have stopped me and I showed them the papers and they confirmed it was all right.

Yes, you get some savings from bringing your car from cotonou, but is it worth it if you have to be in constant fear of customs?

A word is enough for the wise, so they say.

Its about time. in fact, they should be auctioned asap.

Driving a manual car gives you all the control and excitement you need. Also best to use on long distance journeys.

They open their mouth because that part of the brain that controls the mouth tissues completely shuts down.   . Abeg, make una leave the babes joo. Afterall they come out looking (or not looking) better.

@bashy_demy: nice 1. keep it up.

ha ha ha, ! this una words of war na im funny pass the joke sef. ha ha ha. make una keep am up.

You can call the Etisalat customer care on 200 from an etisalat line (free) or you can call 08090000200 from any other network (network charges apply)

I hear you.

empty threats. This goes a long way to tell us how she and her husband has been ruling this country. She is finally showing her true colours.

Controversial Nigeria's most corrupt attorney general and minister of justice, Michael Aondoakaa has been removed from office with immediate effect. More to come,

http://www.saharareporters.com/real-news/sr-headlines/5119-aondoakaa-removed.html

ika is igbo. Cool

Ika is not, has never been and will never be IGBO.

Ika is IKA. Please take note.

At least someone is standing up for her rights.