J.R.

It probably will not fail as the braking performance of the handbrake only needs to be something like 25% and for the rear brakes another very low figure. However change them ASAP regardless of what an MOT inspection might say, your ultimate braking performance is compromised, you may not notice it in normal driving or even an emergency stop as the fronts do most of the work but the braking distance will be increased and when you really need it perhaps with passengers and a load the difference could be critical. I am suspicious seeing the cop out in the MOT testers handbook about being worn beyond limits is not on its own reason for a fail, the thickness of that disc is almost certainly within limits and the rusting and missing steel is not actually wear. My Yeti brakes were worse than that, big time worse, I had the new discs and pads on order, I had it MOT'dto take it to France and it was my long term pal who did it, I knew he would turn a blind eye and equally he knew that I would replace them ASAP but he said they passed the brake test.

I have sadly, if you dig deep down in the small print of I would say most if not all policies they say that cover is void if the item/risk is covered by another insurance policy. Nice work if you can get it 🙄 but immoral.

So it is not the speed of cranking or how long the engine turns before firing but how long it takes your coolant and fuel guage needles to reach their position. If you were to just put the key in and start the engine you would not be aware of the anomoly, I appreciate that everyone has their own methods but I really dont think you have anything to be concerned about. I really dont think there is such a thing as "ignition speed" as you describe it for 99.99% of drivers of petrol engines, for a diesel with glowplugs it does exist.

On the contrary, unless I have misunderstood what you wrote it suggests to me that the problem is definitely the RFID chip of the key you are using not being recognised. It could be that the other key is even worse and will never start the vehicle, that does not mean its another fault, I believe the RFID coil around the ignition switch is misplaced or has a weak field, the original worn key would have become problematic, the spare behaving better, as always these problems get worse over time.

So are you saying that you have 2 warranties that should both cover this fault but neither will accept the claim because it is covered under another policy? And that you paid an extra premium to be shafted by them? Did they promote this extra warranty to you? It's exactly what insurance companies do so I should not be surprised that the warranty providers are onto the same scam.

First world problem, my wheels and balance weights are the exact same brake dust colour!

They are probably feeding you a red herring if its the same garage that did the head work, first port of call would be the cam timing, specifically the Torsion Value using something like VCDS.

The tunnel will be the first if it happens, they have had 2 massive fires and the enclosed vehicle double decker carriage had to be retrofitted with fire barrier doors between each compartment reducing the capacity. They dont allow jerrycans of fuel or gas cylinders and special measures are taken for gas powered vehicles or campervans with gas cylinders. When the first EV fire happens it will may cause casualties given the confined space and how quick they meltdown, it will be a tough call banning them given they will gradually become the majority of vehicles, they could travel in the open truck carriages but the thought of an EV firebomb spreading to the freight and the flames being fanned by the airflow does not bear thinking about.

The fact that its using large quantities of oil and water without any visible leaks bears that out, the only common factor I could think of is head gasket failure but surely the exhaust gases and inside of the tailpipe would be indicative. I agree with both T07 and the Client, you need someone with the gear and more than no idea, a useless mechanic with a Snap On scanner is still a useless one, maybe even more so.

I have never given a flying Four-X what shade of oxidisation and brake dust my brake calipers are, its how well they function that matters to me.

The latter gets harder with age! I have no vision from the left eye so cycling on the right of French roads is a particular challenge, I rely on my hearing but the faster I cycle the more wind noise there is the less I can hear. The other night I could hear a vehicle waiting behind me to pass, it was the main A road to Bordeaux so there was enough width but he was respecting Le Code de la Route requiring him to leave at least 1m space, when he passed I gestured to thank him moving my right arms to the left and giving a thumbs up, he then pulled in sharply in front of me and brake violently to a halt, I have SPD pedals and had to brake so quickly I could not release my feet to stop, I passed on his inside and he pulled away and tried to squeeze me into the ditch, this carried on with him also trying to push me into oncoming traffic, I dismounted but he drove off when confronted. Once I had calmed down I realised he had not seen my thumb but a bent arm and clenched fist being raised, the French bras d'honneur 😯 hence his reaction, I now only signal with my left hand, but for the SPD pedals I could have kicked out my left foot to signify thanks as motorcyclists do which is often misinterpreted as an act of aggression by UK drivers.

As a partially sighted cyclist whose cruising speed is 20-25 km/h and where most of my local lanes are not wide enough for a vehicle to pass without a signal from me I can confirm that EV's make just as much noise as petrol or diesel powered vehicles when they are approaching behind, the bigger the vehicle and tyres the noisier it is, EV's tend to be the noisiest.

I found it! https://www.ctcarsltd.co.uk/?utm_source=GMBlisting&utm_medium=organic

Yes, the place that did my remap, a VAG independant who are a dealer for Celtic Tuning. You will have to allow me a day for the memory cells to function and recall the name of the village, I no longer have UK maps to hand, it might be quicker for you to use the interweb and search for CT's agent garages. They had really good Google reviews

I know I should not laugh but I did, any fine powder will explosively combust in the right conditions, time for me to admit one of my childhood conneries except I was no longer a child, I had a driving license! My parents had a caravan on the South Coast, my father kept it for a couple of years after my mother died and then passed it on to someone else. The last year he had it I went with my equally idiot mate for a weeks holiday consisting of drinking and chasing girls without success. As young ados do we were play fighting and I picked up the dry powder fire extinguisher as a threat prop and it went off, it was powered by a soda siphon cartridge, what all the druggies inhale these days, so it did not stop but blanketed everything inside the caravan including us in dust. We spent the remaining days cleaning the caravan of all traces of the powder and I then set about putting the extinguisher back in service, the propellant charge was easy, soda siphons were all the rage in the 70's but what powder should I use and where to find it? Then I had the brainwave of using talcum powder..............................😒 A couple of years later my father told me the caravan was no more, the gas fire had caught fire and then exploded taking out the windows and doors and the eybrows of the new owner, trying not to let my nervousness show in my voice I asked did they not use the fire extinguisher? and he said they were trying to put out the fire with it when the explosion happened 😯

It matches with the "leaning" on acceleration and decelleration which I took to mean "pitching" or "porpoising" mine were as dry as a bone every time I checked them which was frequently but during my many removal journies towing a large overloaded trailer I noticed it pitching and the oscillations were not damped, the shockers had leaked and were no longer functioning. To my great surprise while driving normally without a trailer attached the lack of damping was not really noticeable even when cornering due to the anti-roll bars, had I been driving it aggressively throwing it into corners I would have noticed the change in transient behaviour, across normal road bumps the lack of damping was not noticeable. On a softly sprung and heavier vehicle like the Superb I expect any damping deficiency to be more noticeable.

I thought you worked in the Motor Trade in some capacity so was surprised to hear you have to grovel on your back like most of the rest of us Plebs!

Indeed you could and what you will see happens is precisely nothing, its a hall sensor with built in magnet triggered by a reluctor ring if thats the right word, the segments diminish the magnetic field being seen by the hall sensor creating a pulsed waveform, it is designed to operate in the hashest environment, it will have experienced the equivalent of a Karcher each time you drive through standing water. They are very well sealed if the connector was pushed home correctly and is undamaged, nonetheless I would never dreal of pressure washing one any more than I would think of pressure washing the main ECU. There is also the danger of water ingress to the CV joint and wheel bearing.

@Breezy_Pete may be your saviour! Otherwise sites like 7zap.com

I'm sure the OP and most readers would realise but I would add the caveat "driving in a straight line"

Well thought through Pete and a very plausible proposition 👍 5th and 6th gears are very close and are the only ones used in the upper speed ranges.

Sounds like a very moody garage, are you sure they have not stolen your DSG gearbox and replaced it with another given all the other parts you believe are not your originals? Regarding the seat squabs I find it really hard to see from the photos which all blend into one and dont have the image numbers which you referred to to make it clearer. Editted, having looked again I think you are referring to what looks like the filler piece between the seat back and bolster, I'm surprised the zips are not at the rear but perhaps its to do with the Isofix connections? Yes it looks like one is too small for the foam contained and the other too large assuming the foam has not been cut on the one that zips up. I would be tempted to cut the other foam piece to be able to do up the two zips.

Sounds like you have been completely taken in by VAG spin to avoid their warranty obligations. "Misting" is leaking, make no mistake, and it isn't "misting" at all which their BS spin would have us believe is damping oil vaporised from the heat generated, its boiling point at a minimum is over 300°c, it is a fluid leak which as it continues will eventually result in a gradual then complete loss of damping. If a mantra is trotted out consistently and regularly it becomes accepted.

So the petrol EA88 has a TMU, thermal management unit? Servo motors and PCB, just when you thought it would not be possible to further overcomplicate what used to be the simplest component of a motor vehicle 😒