BigJakk

I did consider giving the dealers at Monte Darlo a ring, just to see if they could get it done a bit quicker, might give them a buzz. I agree with the Warranty sentiment - I usually like having a crack at stuff myself - but when the warranty is technically included as part of the purchase price of the car, seems daft not to use it I generally have nothing to do with main dealers - I've got a back street fella does servicing stuff, while Vasstech are pretty good locally for any specialist jobs - although they are quite keen at "finding issues" when you take it in for other things and did quote me £400 for front discs and pads only on my last one which I had a good chuckle at.

One of the many mods I did on my MKI VRS (loved that car) was to fit R32 Aero Wiper arms. As above, I wouldn't be hitting anything with a mallet/hammer or using spanners or screwdrivers as levers given the proximity to the windscreen, especially the rear wiper spindle. Penetrating fluid (proper stuff, not WD-40) applied copiously and left to sit overnight is your friend. In that case I had to use a wiper puller to get the old arms off, the one I used was from Laser tools and had "claws" that gripped the backside of the wiper. https://www.lasertools.co.uk/Product/4751/Wiper-Arm-Puller It was crap - It ended up gouging and making a bit of a mess of the metal of the wiper arms - wasn't a concern to me at the time as they were being replaced, but if I were putting them back onto the car I would have been narked, Based on that experience, I would suggest trying to get a tool that has a flat duckbill/crowsfoot design - similar to a ball joint separator - to spread the pressure on the wiper arm. I would also suggest trying to get something between the tool and the wiper arm (bit of card or a microfibre or something) to protect the wiper arm. Not so much for this case, as it seems the wiper spindle is integrated into the motor, but another tip I've seen for taking wipers on and off is to reattach the nut so that it sits just proud on the spindle, so that the thread on the spindle doesn't get mushroomed by and force applied to it during removal. Best of luck 👍

Appreciate the heads up -- im definitely gonna replace it one way or another, I've read a few bits from people now who've 'refurbed' them but it hasn't lasted long as per KD's post. Hopefully I can just get it done under Warranty next month - im hoping it deteriorates and becomes a more persistent fault by then, as we all know what dealers are like with their "diagnosis" of faults -- if its intermittent, they'll claim they cant find anything wrong and ill get stung for it. Hope you get sorted out with Autodoc 🤞

Cheers -- hadn't even thought to look on there 👍

Will keep my eyes peeled for you KD 🧐 Rodders, out of interest whereabouts did you source a replacement unit from and roughly how much are they? I've seen all sorts on ebay ranging from 40 quid up to about 200. My issue is very much an intermittent issue at the moment and I did baulk a bit when the dealership said if they cant find an issue, or they do but it isn't covered by warranty then its £140 quid for the "diagnosis" alone -- pfffffft! I don't have much faith in dealerships - I've got a good few weeks before the appointment but if it doesn't deteriorate any further and become more of a persistent problem before then I might just source a replacement myself as I don't trust th4e dealer to say they couldn't find anything wrong when they looked at it and biff me for the 'diagnostic' charge.

Nice to see someone else from Stockton on here! Yeah, that's what the issue will be - the washer fluid is coming out with a slight rust tinge to it. I've seen the same thing on Audi's in particular - its why so many of them drive around with the rear wiper pointing to twelve o'clock. It seems a bit of a naff design. I've still got approved used warranty cover on the car, so was just gonna leave it to that, but Derek Slack over at the 'Boro cant get it booked in until May to look at it! I was tossing up just getting a new one from TPS and just replacing it myself, but the one at Portrack doesn't serve non-trade anymore and by the looks of it the motor isn't that cheap of a part. I might look at refurbing it myself then, out of interest what did you use for re-greasing it and whereabouts? I'm guessing white grease or similar around the spindle and on the 'rotor'? Cheers

Hello Folks, Rear wiper on my VRS hatch is intermittently 'pausing' mid sweep for a second or two, before then completing the remainder of the sweep and returning to the parked position. I've only had the car three weeks and found the issue a few days after bringing it home - I've changed the wiper blade as the old one was a bit mangled and i thought it may be catching, but no. Doesn't do it on every time but say every third or fourth sweep of the wiper. I'm guessing this is the wiper motor starting to die off but just wanted to check before sourcing a replacement as they're not particularly cheap! Cheers

Mine started showing signs of water ingress again (damp drivers footwell carpet) and chased it back up to the headliner again. Interestingly the Mk3 VRS Buyers Guide on PistonHeads refers to the fact that not all panoramic roofs fitted to these cars turned out to actually be water proof -- they aren't wrong 😞 I'm afraid I don't have the energy to keep fighting with this issue every few years, so I resolved the issue permanently... by buying a different car with a tin top (the fairly lacklustre performance of the TDi VRS was also a contributing factor) I appreciate that probably isn't helpful to anyone suffering with this but hope the earlier comments in this thread and my other one have helped others. Sun roof - never again!

Yeah I've tried that with silicone grease previously but its didn't really seem to fix the issue, just make it occur a bit less frequently. Cutting the wings or lugs off the pinion/shaft has done the trick as a temporary fix - the flap can be opened whether the car is locked or unlocked and whether the solenoid has actuated or not, so at least I shouldn't end up in a position where im out of fuel and unable to get access to the filler, until I get around to replacing it with a new one. Cheers

Hello Folks, I know the fuel cap lock sticking is a fairly common problem and that the locking solution is hideously over engineered. Mine started playing up last year - fortunately a bit of pressure on the flap and some cycling of the lock/unlock button got me out of trouble on a few occasions at the pump. I had intended to replace the solenoid but forgot once the warmer months came around. Now its cold again its started playing up again last night and i had a bit of a battle with it. As a short term measure so i dont get stuck unable to open it and out of fuel over the next few days, I was considering either pulling the electrical connector to the solenoid (once its an unlocked state of course), however this looks like it might require the arch liner or boot trim removing, which is a bit of a faff. Alternatively, given the way the mechanism works, i wondered if anyone had simply snipped off the two plastic lugs/wings from the plastic pinion/shaft, as it looks like these form the locking element by rotating through 90 degrees into the plastic 'latch' molded inside of the flap door. Just wondered if anyone had any experience and whether the "pop out" function for then opening the flap will still work okay? I know i'll lose the locking functionality, but lets be right, non-return valves in the filler necks not withstanding, anyone determined to get fuel out of the car isn't going to be put off by a little flimsy plastic lock and causing a bit of damage to open the flap. Cheers

Just by way of an update; Dropped it back at the garage today, turns out when the battery replacement was done the ODBII tool they had on hand wouldn't let them update the ECU with the new battery info (interestingly, when looking at it over the weekend I had been able to check the battery registration with my OBD2 reader and had seen that it was still set to the old battery, however my tool also refused to update the battery info). They tried an alternative OBD2 tool today and that allowed them to delete the old battery info and write the new battery. Touch wood, fingers crossed etc. that seems to have fixed the issue. I picked it up this afternoon and upon returning home put the multi meter across the battery which was showing 12.6v at idle. With the engine started and some of the electrical systems turned on this jumped up to 14.5v, so the battery seems to be getting charge from the alternator (when testing it beforehand over the weekend all that was happening when a load was put on the battery was that the voltage was dropping, suggesting to me that the battery was doing it all on its own). I'll keep an eye on it over the next few days and report back if there are any more issues. Cheers

The plastic two way connector is definitely plugged in. Purely coincidental that I happened to take a screen grab just as his hand was on the threaded connector without realising the significance of what it was.... From the top of the engine bay i cant make out at all whether that is or isn't connected up - might have to get underneath it tomorrow and have a look. Cheers for the help Pete

Hello Pete, From what I can see online and elsewhere there looks to be only one connection to the alternator (the attached image isn't from mine, its from a youtube video) which is to the right side of the alternator as you look on the engine bay, within the plastic section (im guessing that's the voltage regulator). Fortunately I can confirm that's connected.

Just as an addendum, checked the battery registration with the OBD2 scanner as well and it looks like this hasn't been updated to the new battery, as its still showing a 68Ah where the new battery is 70Ah. Tried to amend it but the Foxwell couldnt make the adaptation for some reason. I cant see that being the issue though as there is no charging of the battery happening at all, wheras if the battery registration was the issue i would expect it to still be charging, but just under/over charging. Just for future reference for anyone wanting to know where the main fuse bar is, I've attached a couple of images. Its a combination of 10mm and 8mm sockets required to undo the captive nuts (one is a bolt) and its a good idea to note which cable leads to which terminal as though they are labelled, some of them are duplicated (there are two "K" cables, one red and one black). Cheers

Spent a few hours under the bonnet today, Battery was showing 11.5v and when started this dropped lower, suggesting that the battery is powering everything with no charge being passed through from the alternator. Hooked up a Foxwell OBDII scanner to the car and did some live data on the battery voltage which confirmed the above. Also logged some of the "Generator" (read Alternator) data. With the ignition turned on it initially read as zero for a few seconds before jumping up to 308,000+ Watts at 30% utilisation which clearly isn't right. Located the main busbar style fuse/relay that you referred to Pete. With the engine off this was also giving 11.5v as per the battery level. Ended up taking it out and checked it with the multi-meter, putting one lead on the main metal bar and then the other on each of the terminals of the fuse (125A/400A/B+/80A/80A/50A) and each one showed good continuity, so im afraid its not that (which is a shame as it looks a fairly straight forward and cheap thing to swap). The alternator is clearly brand spanking new and shiny and the belt is intact and seems to have decent tension on it. I couldn't really get to the alternator itself as its buried stupidly deep and out the way (the fact there are coolant lines running right over the top of it seems a bit of a silly design idea too!) to check connections. There is only one connection visible/accessible at the top right side of the alternator, which seems to be properly connected, however this looks to be of too thin a thin gauge to be one of the main electrical connections. The battery eventually died and is on a trickle charger now to try and get some life back into to it.