Alasdair1

Not sure re mass sensor but mine had failed glow plugs. Only spluttered/juddered on cold days but my mechanic mate did say that a failed glow plug can put EML on. Probably similar as it was a 1.9tdi pd. Before you change them he suggested some penetrating oil/engine oil around the plug for a few days and let it soak in while drivin and then remove them when engine is hot. I would replace glow plugs and reset codes and test drive. Hopefully you wont need to replace sensor. Alasdair

I assumed it was petrol. Not sure if you can disconnect aux air intake or perhaps splice it in. I once had a vw campervan with air cooled engine that I repaced carb, oilbath air filter etc with a twin choke webber and similar air filter. I think the carb made a huge difference but not the air filter but it looked pretty smart. Before it struggled to get to 50mph. Got stopped doing 80 when testing it out. Policeman was very interested as he had one as well but couldn't work out why mine was doing 80 plus. It was in the good old days and I got off with a warning after showing him what he needed to do to his. Alasdair

Think its an auxiliary air intake fan. Not sure either what its for. Something to do with cold starting. Alassdair

Just wondering if window reg is stiff near bottom and controller is switching from auto to manual as it thinks its jammed. I did my sons fabia and the controller/motor worked out where top and bottom was. I would doubt if you need for coding.

Get a bit of garden hose or similar and put one end to your ear and move the other end around engine bay. When the noise gets louder you have narrowed it down to a certain area. I had a weird rattle but it was the bearing in the aternator had gone and the fins were hitting the casing. Only happend when I revved it as the belt was pulling alt out of alignment. Alasdair

If its done 90k then I would replace waterpump anyway as it hasn't had much service history and could probably do with a new chain and coolant change. Not sure on the 1.4 but does it have chain driven oil pump balance shaft like the 1.2 ? I have read they are prone to wear and can cause rattling noise. Alasdair

When my son got his MK1 it had much bigger tyres that just fitted and no more. It handled terribly. Speedo was way out and was like trying to drive a space hopper. Scared the hell out of me so fitted standard tyres ASAP. Alasdair

I would ask who ever reconditioned engine to check it over. Check the intercooler plus pipes as well. Mine started using oil but no leaks or smoke from exhaust when driving or oil in coolant but intercooler pipes were full. Turbo seals were failing and dumping it there. Only smoked slightly after idling for a while then cleared when driving.

I agree a decent body shop would be able to straighten it out as long as theres no chassis damage. Get a second hand bumper etc and repair it. Might be worth getting a few quotes to see how much including second hand bumper and paint etc. Alasdair

Normally hire cars are full when you get them. Garage may assume that you didn't fill it up. Did you mention it was half full when you picked up car or is it noted on the hire agreement? Think they hold 45 litres full. Alasdair

Could be the battery. Check the voltage etc and put it on charge for a while and see if it improves. If its low on voltage it could be affecting motor and electronic controller. Alasdair

On my Octavia the wiper won't work if the boot is open. I assume theres a switch in the boot lock mechanism. Caught me out before including the front. Alasdair

The only time I removed and blanked rear wiper was for MOT as it had failed. Replaced it within a few days as the build up of dirt on rear window was really bad. I doubt it would show up any error codes. Mine is at moment disconnected while waiting for a new one again!! and no probs apart from not being able to see out the back. I'm used to driving vans so tend to use side mirrors a lot more. Alasdair

Hopefully you get a decent amount for it if they right it off. Same thing happened to my folks Fabia. Postie hit it side on and bent door pillar. Saying that I was surprised how much they got for it. Insurance guy said that they tend to hold their value quite well and even he was surprised. Alasdair

Not at all. If the temp is rising I would want to know as if it gets to the point an alarm or light comes on and you can't find a safe place to stop its not good. The old Toyota lucida I had had the temp sensor at front of engine but rear was always hotter so if it overheated they were prone to cracking cylinder heads between the valves. I also had an extra alarm that told me if the temp was rising quickly as the guage tended to show a lower temp than it was and was very slow to react. Never had a car without one. Alasdair

Not sure about INA . I always fit Gates and haave never had a problem on any of my cars going back 35 years. I am old school and still change them at 50,000 or 5 years. I know a lot of folk say longer but I like to be on the safe side. I also change any belt on any car I buy as soon as I can. (obviously not new cars) Have found a few cheap makes fitted in the past. Some I have never heard of. Last one I found was storm or sunny? Alasdair

I got one from ebay years ago for an old toyota that the guage had failed. Only fitted it as the 3CTE engine was prone to overheating. Looked a bit like this one. Not sure of the diameter of pipe on yours and where to fit it. eBay52mm Water Temperature Gauge 40-120℃ W/ 40mm Adaptor Join...High sensitivity and easy operation. 1 x Water Temperature Gauge. Sensor Mounting Thread: NPT 1 / 8 ". 1 x Sensor. Numbers and pointing clearly show the water temperature. Unit: Celsius Degree. Blu...You can also get a cylinder head temp sensor as well. Alasdair

Try Autodoc. They list OEM part numbers for aftermarket subframes. You might be able to cross ref part numbers etc.

If you are having to top up coolant then it must be leaking somewhere. Check oil for emulsification plus coolant tank for oil contamination and any coolant pipes unions plus rad. Another point would be coolant reservoir cap. If its failed it may be dumping coolant out of expansion hose as the engine coolant isn't getting pressurised properly. Check for bubbles in tank as well. (cylinder head gasket) Not sure why it would keep throwing a 1296 code as its normally sensor or thermostat related unless theres two sensors on yours? It could also be on a long shot an airlock if the system has been drained and refilled or the head gasket has gone. Keep squeezing top rad hose with engine running to see if you get any bubbles in expansion tank. Alasdair

Can you trace them back to see where they go. The small one may be a breather pipe. Not sure of the mid sized one. Alasdair

They are worse than mine and they were bad. I seem to go through them quite a lot. Check the bushes in anti roll bar as well. Mine looked ok but decided to change them anyway as I still had a small knock sound. They were pretty poor once I removed them. Alasdair

He fixed my sons. Excellent service. Hope yours wasn't stuck down like his. Alasdair

Does the pasenger side work? The drivers side motor is also a controler for the pasenger side. Alasdair

Had another thought. My Go to Mot garage has a fairly high tech ramp that causes vibration/wobble etc to see if there is any wear in suspension etc. Might be worth seeing if anyone local has similar set up that could check yours over. MOT is about £50 so not the end of the world if they don't find anything but it might just pinpoint the problem. Alasdair

The service light may be due to it being on a yearly service not mileage. If its only done 6500 since last one I would take a note of mileage and date and reset it. The fact it still drives with a wobble may be related to rear suspension. I have changed everything in the front and still have a wobble on mine but still have to tackle the rear. Check the tyres as well, I jacked my old Seat altea up as it had a weird wobble and lowered onto flat boards till they were just touching the tyres and rotated wheels. One had become misshapen slightly which was causing a wobble you felt through seat, You couldn't see any bulge etc with no cracking but it had become distorted and was slightly out of round. Tyre service said they get a lot of tyres like that especially Michelin As for value try we buy any car or similar and see what they come up with. If its got a years MOT then its got to be worth something. Alasdair