mrhappy

For the benefit of other people: The 'long pedal' (1) was purely a symptom of a badly unevenly worn disk on the inside drivers side. It was overlooked (by myself) because all other front disk surfaces and pad thicknesses looked fine. Initial thoughts were that the caliper sliders were seized or binding, but as I replaced the calipers two years ago these turned out to be very free and smooth, so the uneven wear was probably just unfortunate dirt etc. trapped between disk and pad. The dangerous ABS behaviour (2) was down to two brakes lines on the pump unit being incorrectly fitted when it was replaced a few year ago. The right and left lines were plumbed into the opposite ports. The effect of this is that when the ABS detects one wheel locking it will modulate pressure to the wrong wheel, thus causing an error loop that keeps both wheels locked until speed = 0. The mechanic/garage that fitted it is no longer trading so this was rectified by another at some expense, which is rather annoying. It took me this long to notice because I haven't had the need to emergency brake, fortunately. I have new front brakes and properly behaving ABS now, so all is well. It's just a shame the clutch slave cylinder has failed on my T5.1 now 😭

@AVHreplica I've scanned using Carista and there are no related faults. When getting into a hard lock stop, there is NO ABS light, ESP light or other visual indication of anything happening - it's like the car doesn't know about it

Thanks for your replies. @MicMac, I'm well aware of the severity of the potentially consequences. The issues have only properly come to light today, so I will get it sorted ASAP. I just like to be informed. @J.R. I had the infamous G201 brake pressure sensor fault a few years ago, and replaced the ABS module with a second hand unit. I suspect the 'new' module is at fault. The brakes work fine under normal driving, but the not releasing is very scary indeed. I've checked for external fluid leaks and can't see any sign, but the effect of the G201 problem is an internal leak in the ABS, as I understand it.

Two worrying problems have recently materialised with my brakes, which would have disastrous consequences if I wasn't now expecting them and I don't get it sorted soon. 1) One two occasions in the last few weeks on long motorway drives I have had no braking at all. This happens after a fair length of time travelling at motorway speeds, not needing to use the brakes and it's been raining persistently. The pedal goes right down to the floor with almost no braking effort. Pedal feel will come back only after pumping the brakes quite hard, It will deteriorate again if I continue cruising at speed. Under normal urban and rural driving the brakes are fine. At idle, the pedal is firm but gradually sinks. With the engine off, the pedal is rock solid, so I'm certain there isn't a hydraulic fluid leak. 2) When I perform a hard emergency brake, the wheels will lock up and the ABS keeps them locked until the car is brought to a dead stop. I cannot stop braking and drive out of this situation, the engine fights the brakes but the brakes win, permanently. There is NO ABS action when this happens - the wheels lock up firm. There is not sign of ABS or ESP kicking in on the dash - and no faults registered on the car. This has happened to me once unexpectedly, but I have tested this out safely since and it is repeatable. Does anyone have any ideas what might cause either of these too malfunctions, or whether they can be related? Many thanks in advance.

No it originally didn't have Maxidot, and the option was available through VCDS. I have retrofitted a facelift Maxidot, but because of the previous generation CECM it doesn't show many of the options would would normally see on a FL car with BCM.

So I fitted the 034 insert yesterday. I'm happy to report it has exceeded my expectarions. The Powerflex (red) insert transmitted an unbearable.about of noise and vibration into the cabin, particularly on starting, idle, low revs and reverse. By comparison, the 034 is honestly barely noticeable. It doesn't plug the voids in the stock mount, thus allowing it to isolate the vibration of the engine, but it does limit the allowable movement or slop of the mount during heavy engine torque. This results in reduced engine rocking, lift and therefore better traction, response and gear change feel, without loads of noise. Under heavy load you can definitely feel vibration feedback from the engine, but it's very much damped and doesn't reverberate like the PU inserts do. This is on a diesel (so would be even better on a petrol), and I caveat that I did also fit a fresh new stock mount. It feels great, I'd highly recommend for about 90 quid. Note, that he upper part is optional an purported to increase NVH, but if it does at all it's minimal and entirely bearable.

I have both leaving home/coming home lights in my 2008 prefacelift. I believe I can set them to use either dipped beam or fog lights.

It can be done on prefacelift, I think. The pFL has a CECM not a BCM, so I'm not sure you can 'upgrade' to a BCM

Aftermarket mount or insert makes gear shifts feel super precise and positive and eliminates engine rock and reduces front end lift. They feel great, but all tend to transmit more noise and vibration to the cabin, if you can live with that. I've just removed my Powerflex insert as it was too harsh. Attempted to fit a new stock mount yesterday, and failed after snapping one of the bolts on the subframe...

Cheers. Think I found them: 30lbf for the front two and 74lbf +90° for the rear one There'll be far less NVH on your petrol compared to a diesel... I'm really hoping the 034 insert isn't as bad as the Powerflex one

Is your car a diesel? Im planning to replace the original mount on mine this weekend, and fit the 034 insert 🤞 Does anyone know the torque settings for all three dogbone/pendulum/torque arm mount bolts?

Is it really that nasty to do? I'm planning to do mine this weekend, in-situ without removing the subframe. Once the old one is removed, it doesn't look so tight that the new one can't be drifted back in, based on the videos I've seen. @NCR1, this is my original pendulum mount/torque arm/dogbone mount bush and you can see the cracking in the rubber (after 200k miles)

There are revised camber and toe.settings from VW/Skoda to alleviate the saw toothing issue, I believe. Knackered lower arm (toe) inner bushes and camber control arm bushes will contribute towards accelerated wear. It seems the inner lower arm bushes degrade the most. The eccentric bolts through these bushes tend to seize within the bush and often need cutting to drop the arm. Don't worry about applying heat - the rubber bush is sh*gged anyway. They're pressed into the arm, so a new arm is the easiest way to replace the bush. Unless you go down the polybush route; the old bushes can be removed from the original arm and polybushes easily inserted. New eccentric bolts are required. Once done, the back end will feel a whole lot better 👍

I'm not sure how it would bend, being clamped to the mount and with no space to move with the dogbone and within the subframe, but we'll see. We can write up comparative notes then, because I ordered the 034 one last Friday.

I have a new stock mount to replace my knackered one. I've just replaced all suspension and control arms bushes and had wheel alignment done, therefore I don't want to be removing the subframe if possible. Can the mount be replaced in-situ? I'm thinking I can use the old mount with a cut in it to drift in the new upper part from below, as it doesn't look to take much persuasion to press in from the videos I've watched. Then drift the lower part in afterwards. Thanks.