I know it’s my fault...I let the battery run flat over the Winter and had to have a new one put in yesterday. The car has been unused for 3 months. All is now well except for the fact that the boot won’t open.

Any ideas?

I know, I know, it’s my own fault!

 

Do you have the tool to manually lower and raise it? Maybe it will reboot? There is a video on U-tube.

 

He said boot (trunk) not roof, he is from the UK.

 

Dear Onehundred80,

Well spotted! I am from the UK and I have a boot. All solved now.

My crossfire is also and aero blue. What a beauty. This colour is quite rare in England. I hope you are enjoying good weather in Ontario. The Spring here in England is a joy to behold.

 

Gorgeous car. Glad your springtime in England is "a joy to behold". In Texas, we'll have a few nice spring days (dodging thunderstorms) before the brutal heat arrives!

A few questions for you just because I'm curious about the differences in the UK cars:

1. What was your solution to your locked "boot"? That happens on occasion and some people have to manipulate the locking system through the license plate light opening. (Or, I guess as you Brits say, the "number plate". Is that right?!)

2. I noticed in your photograph, with your "right-hand-drive", you have a slightly different headlight switch than what I've seen here. It appears that you have a separate fog-light switch. We have to switch our lights on and pull the switch out, to switch on our fog lights. Is that fog-light switch common over there?

3. Do you have a two-position fog light that switches on a rear fog light? I think that's common in Europe. We can pull our fog-light switch out to two clicks but the second click doesn't do anything on my car.

4. It looks like you have the two-position parking light switch just like we do. If you turn the switch counter-clockwise (I guess y'all say "anti-clockwise") you get parking lights that illuminate one side at a time. Our first position illuminates the right-side (our passenger-side) parking lights and the second position illuminates the left side. Is yours the opposite of that? Just curious.

5. Your center console looks the same as ours. But, I'm sure they have reversed the wiring for the window switches so the driver's side window switch is closest to the driver. Is that correct? But, they didn't reverse the cigarette lighter....so I guess your passenger has to reach across the gear shift in order to "light-up" while in the car.

6. Do you have a British owner's manual and service manual that has the words translated?! That might be a collector's item. Boot for trunk. Bonnet for hood. Demister for defroster. Gear lever for gear shift. Indicator for turn signal. Jump lead for jumper cable. Milometer for odometer. Petrol for gasoline. Reversing lights for backup lights. Silencer for muffler. Windscreen for windshield. Wing for fender. Or do you have to translate on your own, our American English to your English?!

Thanks for sharing the photographs. I like to see the interiors of our cars as much as the exterior. Enjoy your springtime driving!

 

 

Dear Keith,



Thank you for your response! It’s always nice to hear from drivers of the Crossfire, wherever they are. You are certainly very curious about British Crossfires! I hope my answers won’t disappoint you. With regard to the boot, I am afraid it was down to me being very stupid, although the manual does not make it clear that a second press of the unlock button is needed to undo the boot. My garage mechanic showed me what to do, although he did say it was because he had previously owned an SLK Mercedes so it was the same procedure.



I took the car for my first drive yesterday. It has been standing on my driveway since November when I had it delivered to my new house into which I moved last November. I am still getting used to it and am not very familiar with it yet. I would love to go for a long drive but that’s not really acceptable in the current lockdown.



The manual is in American English. The only changes made are the pictorial representations. They did not make much effort! But that is a small inconvenience to have to put up with considering what a beautifully American-styled car it is. I love the touch or Art Deco the shape has. I think the combination of American style bodywork and German engineering is a winner. What a shame the two companies fell out of love!



Smoking is not allowed in my car! That makes me a bit of a hypocrite because I stopped smoking last year when COVID kicked in. I decided it was no longer worth the risk.



I will answer your other questions about the car once I have become more familiar with it. Give me a month. Meanwhile, I will attach some more photos for you.



Enjoy the Spring before the heat comes.



Keep safe!

 

There are two options when opening the doors and trunk. You can select if you want all coots etc to unlock or just the drivers door. If you select just the drivers door you have to press twice to get the other doors etc to unlock.

The fuel filler cap unlocks after one push on the unlock button when the car is totally locked and locks only when the car is locked from the outside by one push on the button, it is unlocked between.

 

Keith...you caught all of those small details about the light switches. But you missed a big one...the parking break leaver is still on the "passenger's side" seat....

 

If I remember correctly, at least on German cars, the fog lights (if equipped) only can be on when the lights are on low beam. Switching to high beam turns off the fog lights. But I don't remember if the fog lights can be on w/o the low beams. On our USA cars, the fog lights can be on independent of the headlights. Are the Canadian cars the same?

 

That's because all Crossfire drivers in the UK are left-handed!!

OBTW - Nice looking Crossfire Coupe!!

 

Also wondering if the small cargo netting located on the side of the passenger footwell is on the LH side since it's on the RH side of our cars.

 

Good for you on both points! Eating inside my car isn't allowed either. I will allow the MRS to have a bottled water, but nothing else to drink.

 

Are those parking sensors on the rear bumper? Was that stock from the factory?
No magic cup holder.

 

The parking sensors are an accessory that was available from the dealer. I have a new kit sitting on my shelf.

 

Strangely, though, it seems to be a better position! I wouldn’t want it the other way around.

 

Yes, parking sensors. They were on the car when I bought it. I presume the first owner had them fitted as an extra.

I did my homework before buying the car and had come across the infamous cup holder problem. I made a note to find a car without one. Many cars have had the cup holder replaced by something useful. I really don’t know how that got past the designers in the first place! It’s quite shocking...

 

Take a look at the left side wiper shaft. Do you see a sealing grommet ? I thought not, as they accepted all the parts
from the supplier even though the hole is out of place and the grommet wouldn't fit, or perhaps the vendor followed
the provided specifications exactly and would not replace them as it wasn't their fault.

 

Reaching over a cupholder with a cup in it to get to the handbrake would be a bit tricky.