T2000

No need to pay if you have the option codes on the handbook sticker or sticker in boot, just bung those codes into this https://igorweb.org/equidec.aspx and it will tell you what they are, also if you need to find a VIN number from a reg plate there us still a way with https://chipex.co.uk/ put the car reg in and enter and the vin will be shown in the url at the top.

https://www.tyrespot.co.uk/services/hunter-4-wheel-alignment/

To be honest it will be the nut on the threaded bar of the inner rod on the balljoint end that will be seized as above and various ways of removing it, my preference would be remove track rod end nut and knock it out of hub and then undo inner rod, usually with mole grips or the like as the 'knuckle' has 2 flats on it or a hex shape, take off the whole rod with balljoint attached and assemble new rod and balljoint to the same length and refit, no special tools required. As you have a MK2 which is now a few years old it makes sense to do the whole lot as they may be some play on the inner anyway and for £37 odd for both TRE's and inner rods it isnt a bank breaker.

Not really a myth, I've had 2 VAG cars throw a glowplug light and both times it was the brake light switch on the pedal, replacing them cleared the light, they are a one shot fit, although it was a 2003 Passat and a 2004 Golf so maybe they redesigned the brake light switch?

I see you have an estate, check the rear high level brake light, it may have some failed LED's in the cluster throwing the dash light, mine did this, I just lived with it as it was a ball ache to change.

Yeah my new one was Bosch, I suggest taking it off and put it on a condition charger, 12.1 is low

Only reason I say is that I had similar issues as yourself throwing all sorts of comm errors and dash lights, as you I didn't use mine a huge amount due to WFH, I bought a new battery and fitted it which cured the slow starting but it still threw errors, I took the new battery off and put it on an intelligent charger for 24 hours, when I connected it the battery was 11.9 volts (should be around 12.5), must have been sitting on a shelf a while, anyway it hit full charge put it back on and clear all faults and it was fine then.

How old is the battery?

When you first mentioned smoke I thought of valve stem seals, a compression test would have possibly picked up the rings.

Do you have a sub under seat?

Yeah all LE wheels are 18's, mine were also, I just used that link to show who makes them and that there are different sizes and offsets so one would assume different bore sizes also hence the reason you have spigot rings on 2 of them, I would guess that the stamps on the back of the wheels non spigot vs spigot ones are different.

The LE wheels are made of chocolate so a lot got replaced due to bends and cracks, Team Dynamics made them I believe called Monza so you may have a couple of replacements on there with a slightly different centre bore http://www.kitcardirect.co.uk/team-dynamics-monza-r-wheel-7-x-17.html, incidentally I have a brand new centre cap for these sitting here if anyone needs it for free.

They would have had to knock the driveshaft through the hub with a soft mallet after removing the hub nut so could have disturbed something, I agree with the diagnosis, vibration on load and smoothing out on lift off points to inner joint/s.

Is it an L&K by any chance?

Got a brand new centre cap for these in a box if you need it.

Fancy seeing you here 😉

I was thinking it may have been brake light switch, that causes CC to stop working

Do your brake lights work?