Bobbster

Kuhmo and Falken are both great and don't break the bank. If you can get them, General Altimax Sport are worth it, they are Continental tread pattern. I used them for 8 years on my last TDI VRS.

He does to a point, but the thermostat was under warranty and the other jobs were all about £80 so not breaking the bank or making me think he's out to rip me off. No leak from the rad

The car wasn't throwing any fault codes initially. Just the temp gauge sweeping up and down. The coolant header tank was the first port of call as the circuit can fail. One temp sender did later show a fault a couple of weeks later . Both were replaced because the additional cost was £8. The thermostat tripped the EML and was definitely failing. The mechanic is a good guy, been in business for 30 years, used him for several years without trouble. But if it's not rectified this time it'll be Plan B, local auto electrician.

I'm having this same issue with a 2016 VRS Over the last few months I've had a new coolant header tank, radiator and engine coolant temp sensor switches and a new thermostat and water pump. The Thermostat was definitely at fault in some way as it threw a fault EML during a trip (fortunately warranty covered that part although I had to pay for the water pump). The problem persists. An OBD11 scan shows fault code P255600, Intermittent Engine Coolant Temp sensor switch....the car goes back to the garage Tomorrow so I'm hoping that sensor IS faulty or that there is a wiring/connection issue that is easy to fix. Live data on a drove earlier didn't show a coolant spike but the temp gauge did sweep upwards twice during the drive.

So after buying an OBD11 reader, the scan came up straight away with fault code P255600, Engine Coolant Level Sensor/Switch. I cleared the code and went for a 15 min drive with live data for the coolant. The temp gauge didn't sweep during the (short) run out, which was a mix of 30-National Speed limit roads near me. The coolant generally seemed to sit between 103-108 at a steady speed, with it reducing to 95ish when accelerating in third from 30-60, then moving up to 103+ when back to cruising. Oil temp reached 106, which has always seemed to the where it sits unless it's hot outside. I'm still digging into the menus and options, there is one to run live data between the engine and radiator sensors, which I'll do tomorrow - I briefly checked it at the end of the drive and it showed 3 Deg difference, which I suspect is fairly normal given their different positions in the engine bay etc. I did have both of these sensors replaced within the last couple of months so hopefully it's one them that's at faulty. I'll update after the car goes in to the garage this week.

I thought it was likely to be a wiring fault more than anything else, given what's been replaced. It seems highly unlikely that the issue would persist for so long and that so many elements would be faulty. A damaged wire seems plausible

Ok thanks. It's interesting. Both sensors were replaced less than 6 months ago. Along with a new coolant tank,water pump and thermostat. Basically a whole new system and still the gauge Fluctuates. 😵‍💫

To log these live temps, what type of reader would I need? I'm assuming that I would need to go for a drive and be able to record them review all that data across the drive to really know. It's genuinely incredibly frustrating, I've never had this issue on any car before.

Roger that.

That's very informative, thanks for that. The new parts are official VW parts rather than aftermarket FWIW, but you're right, parts do fail. I've got it booked back in next week, the mechanic says it may be an ECU issue but I'll mention this message and see what his take on it it. I'm guessing this type of fault doesn't trip the EML, it's down to a bit of experience and guess work 🤷🏻

It seems to happen after the car has warmed up, I've never had it happen immediately on start up. As mentioned in my question, the water pump was changed at the same time as the thermostat. Why would the shroud stick? Does it mean changing the water pump as it's faulty? Seems unusual for a brand new part? Thanks for the reply.

It's had a new thermostat and water pump 🤷🏻

Thanks for the reply. The short answer is that I don't know and there's nothing immediately obvious wiring wise that I can see. I'll be phoning the garage tomorrow to get it booked back in, as he did say it may need a software update after the various parts that have been changed. I do sort of understand that may be the case as so many modern cars need some sort of re-coding after a repair. Plus, if I go unplugging things myself after a recent fix, without really being an expert on possible results, that could cause further issues.

Hello all. I have a manual 2016 220bhp petrol VRS. Over the last year the temp gauge on the dash has been behaving erratically, getting up to operating temp within a few minutes as expected, but then during the drive, it will suddenly swing up to the red and then sweep back to 90. It can do this often, or every few days. Totally random. My local mechanic ran a diagnostic which didn't come back with anything but said that a possible issue is the coolant header tank wiring may have gone, so changed that. Didn't cure it. Next diagnostic was run "live" with the car up to operating temp, and the data showed the car to Not be overheating but the temp sender sensors showed a difference of several degrees - you'd expect one to be slightly higher given they are front and rear of the engine, but the difference was several degrees, so both were replaced as the cost difference was a few quid. The car was then fine for a short time, until a few weeks later when the gauge went skitzzy again, shooting up to the red and back down, this time with a EML flashing up. No signs of overheating. A further diagnostic was run and this time showed the Thermostat at fault. Fortunately I have a warranty which covered the Thermostat replacement and labour. The water pump was changed at the same time, both parts OEM from Vag Group, with new coolant etc. (I had to pay for the water pump). The mechanic said that this engine (EA888) is a real pain to bleed. It did require a bit of a top up after about a week, with a high coolant temp light on the dash one day which seemed to disappear once a top up until a split pipe was discovered, which does explain the level drop to a large degree (the pipe was fixed). It has subsequently done the same thing , resulting in a trip back to the garage for another bleed and here I am now, with the same issue. I could scream. The oil temp seemed to be relatively steady at 107, occasionally it goes up a touch, but that seems to be a normal oil temp for this engine. He said that if it does it again, it may need a software update from Skoda - does this seem plausible? Anyone else had a similar issue? Is it more likely to be a faulty thermostat? Any help or advice is gratefully received. Roberto

My petrol mark 3 vrs (220bhp manual) seems to sit at around 105 degrees. On a longer motorway drive it will drop a bit to around 102 and around town up to about 110. When it was really hot last month, it crept to 111. All quite normal I think. I thought this seemed a bit high but I believe modern engines heat up quicker using thinner oil for emissions reasons, and it runs fine. It does use a little oil but we'll within tolerance according to the handbook (8k miles, topped up about 1.5 litres). No smoke from exhaust or leaks on the drive so I can only assume that the thinner oil is used up during normal combustion more that a thicker blend would be. I had a mark 2 diesel vrs before and that never used oil between services, and I have no idea what the operating oil temperature was as there wasn't a readout for it. It regenned reasonably frequently but never really went wrong in 7 Years and 80000+ miles.

My longer term average is bang on 40mpg. The lowest figure I've had was 36mpg for a full tank ( which coincided with a month of shorter journeys and my wife taking it for a drive with her heavy right foot). The highest tank to tank I've personally done was 44mpg. The highest single trip was 50mpg. If you drive sensibly on mainly A and M roads, the economy on the Petrol VRS is pretty decent - comparable to my previous mark 2 CR TDI which over the 7 years I had it, averaged 46mpg and rarely went much over 50mpg (but was ace to drive and I used to thrash it far more than my current petrol version).