pearce_jj

Why bother? Do you have a problem with rear brakes fading?

Yes the initial fast idle, it looks a bit more that 1100rpm to me. The idle speed once warmed up is 700rpm according to the ODBII data.

Incidentally the software make no difference to the stuttery fast idle.

It's an incredible feat of VWs marketing department that no one has noticed, until recently, the noise, smell, and very high used maintenance costs of diesel. Ultimately they seem likely be banned in many places, for good reason based on a lot of what has been written recently. Residuals may then also be a problem; it's almost cringeworthy to see Skoda launching their new models with Diesel still at the heart of the range. VW in the UK currently have nearly £7k off the Golf GTD, I guess we can draw our own conclusions from that.

I think it must be just out as the car was there only last week.

Just to note the above, I had an update applied today that apparently resolves the misfires on cold start for CTHE VRS.

What surface, that high grip european tarmac by chance? Avoiding TC seems to be the key, I suspect shortshifting to 2nd at 6k and 3rd at 6.5k might be slightly quicker that the red line, if only because triggering a manual shift, at least with mine, makes more of a bang shift where the auto rides the clutch a bit.

Get it checked I would suggest, ASAP. You do not want the chain to slip (end of engine). I took extended warranty when I purchased the car and it was covered. I don't know how much it would have cost but it seemed to take quite a while to do and need a lot of parts.

Problem with the MC is no DSG. It's so perfect with the 1.2 that for me that was always a deal breaker.

Seems quite well documented for pre 2010 motors. I can't believe mine can be unique.

Look at the curves. the 85 basically runs out of puff at 4k, the 105 at 5k ish. The 110 seems to pull flat almost to the red line. IMO the 105 is fine for long journeys, the DSG gives you near instant power if you want it by dropping from 7th to 4th or so, its one reason I like the 'box so much.

Well my 1.4 chain wore out by 33k miles so I'm not sure that makes it any better!

1.2 with DSG is worth a look. The short low gears and full-throttle shifts make it feel quite nippy, I had one from new and it could hit 60 well under the 10s quoted.

Sorry I was mistaken. It was delivered with fixed servicing intervals configured, but with 504, and later changed to variable by the garage.

Mine wasn't related to the tensioner, rather wear on the chain (presumably more specifically the chain link pins) themselves. but, the engine was switched to long life oil last year, something that I personally suspect is not coincidental.

Update: the timing chain, runners, hydronic tensioner, sprockets and some other bits were changed and it's running very well again. The spark plugs were still fine. checking the chain is seemingly easy with the right tool - cylinder 1 to TDC then a locking tool should be able to be inserted into one of the cams. Perhaps someone on here with access to the tools might want to check theirs and report back (George?).

Try the other end - take it off to clean and remake perhaps.

Bad main earth maybe?

The mk.i is well known for eating turbos and EGR valves - so neither is a panacea of reliability.

Flashing climatronic display is low gas I think. Of course that would have been checked anyway, how much did the replacement cost out of interest?

Or use the known history to get the garage to throw in a decent independent warranty.

On the plus side the straight 1.4 is a simple engine. Where is it with regard to service schedule? It might just need new spark plugs or leads/coils, or it could be something else like oxygen sensor or manifold pressure sensor. But a good service covering all the basics like spark plugs, air and fuel filters, and of course oil and filter would be a good place to start if not all recently done and running some fuel system cleaner through with your next tank of petrol may also help. After that it will be a case of getting it to someone with diagnostic equipment to look at the sensors etc.

Oil is a complex subject these days, my question would be simply why deviate? It just seems that the engine manufacturer, in this case one with a $bn research and development budget, would surely have come to the best conclusion already, especially given the topic of this thread that has given them so much problem.

Petrol or diesel? Do you know what size the engine is, and whether it has a turbo?

Yes, the chain and associated parts are being replaced. The ECU was reporting a mismatch between cam shaft(s) and crank shaft positions, I.e. Retarded valve timing. Still going perfectly well though (the noted problem aside).