J.R.

Are you having a laugh? Your posts add enough irrelevance to a thread without grooming the OP. Please dont ask him to take a photograph of the oil from his dipstick on a kleenex like you have done before.

Pedantry aside I think you have completely misunderstood the request of the OP.

How did you manage to get the engine to rev beyond the 2500 rpm standstill rev limit for any amount of time let alone 15 minutes? That you were able to do so makes me suspect that the mapping of your ECU has been played with which if the case would be the first thing to suspect regarding emissions outside of limits. Did I misunderstand and you drove in a low gear at 4500 rpm on the motorway for 15 minutes? If so that is not an Italian tune up, you need to thrash it through the gears repeatedly accelerating and braking to within an inch of its life, drive it like a joyrider in a stolen car, it makes me feel sick doing so but can be effective.

Exactly what I would do.

Engine and transmission type please.

I thought that you were sticking your neck out saying that at the time but credit where it is due 👍 I am surprised it would start and run with 2 out of 3 cylinders that low.

The level being at the minimum would not have starved the clutch of fluid, also the clutch would have had to be leaking, I would say you have the increasingly common problem of air ingress into the two part plastic concentric slave cylinder.

I think there is air in the system, bleeding will bring temporary relief but its likely to recur and become more frequent, in the end I was having to bleed mine at the side of the road every 5 miles in urban driving before I bit the bullet. A garage will likely change the master cylinder first as it it easier and cheaper but the air ingress is likely to be from the slave cylinder. However if you have a fluid leak from the brake system that lowered the reservoir level allowing air into the clutch that is a good thing as long as that is repaired as an absolute priority, in that case bleeding the clutch will likely be a permanent fix.

System voltage (as opposed to battery resting voltage) will be at 13.7v plus within two seconds of starting the engine, only the electric power steering pump current is capable of dropping that voltage and then only if the battery is flat and in conjunction with heated rear screen, lights, heater fan etc etc.

First of all the low fluid level could well be a brake system leak so do not disregard it. When the level falls the feed pipe for the clutch is starved of fluid well before the brakes giving you early warning, it sounds like the low fluid warning is not working but the fluid levels should be something you check regularly (weekly) anyway. The clutch master cylinder will likely have drawn in air before you topped up the reservoir, pumping the pedal will not have removed it, air in the upper part of the clutch circuit will make its way up into the reservoir overnight with the pedal in the upper position unlike traditional master cylinders (its a very simple basic design) but air from the slave cylinder is trapped by design in the void beneath the bleed nipple. Like may posters you have given no information on your engine or transmission type, if you have a 6 speed gearbox then air is likely to be being drawn in to the concentric slave cylinder without any fluid leak hence the warning to check the brake system, it could be that the level was always low anyway if you have never checked it, where was the level compared to the fill markings?

Measure them then!

It will only show generic OBD codes, primarily emissions and safety systems, it cannot communicate with the individual modules. I second your diagnosis of immobiliser but cannot suggest why, when you say will not start do you mean will not crank? If so then carry on down the battery path. I believe if the immobiliser does not recognise the key chip (and your spare may well be lacking it) then the engine will fire but stop immediately, that is assuming you have the battery power to crank the engine. Did you check the battery voltage after charging?

Misaligned subframe. I suffered the same, self inflicted when I replaced the clutch, I have no 4 wheel alignment readouts but I do have string, straight edges, tape measures a couple of laser spirit levels and the knowledge and experience to use them. Before the car drove in a straight line without any steering pull, steering wheel straight ahead, after clutch it pulled severely to the left and needed a constant counter steering force to maintain a straight trajectory with the steering wheel 5-10° off centre. I did the measurements from lasers shone from front and back wheels against a target on the B post, front axle misaligned by a lot, rear by a smaller amount, without a ramp I could not get enough force on the breaker bar to release the rear subframe bolts so had to accept that misalignment and make the front parallel to it, I could not quite pull the front subframe far enough so resorted to pre-loading it with a ratchet strap to the rear axle before tightening the bolts, if I had managed to correct the rear first this would not have been necessary. The car now drives correctly without any pull and with centralised steering, I know that it must have a tiny degree of crabbing but nobody would know, I dont hve any figures to quote and I had to check the tracking in a similar manner, my Dunlop guages being across the channel at the time, I have driven 50K miles on tyres that were already part worn when I got the car so the overall alignment must be pretty good, had I not done the corrective moving of the subframe I would have scrubbed them out very quickly.

That surprises me, have you tried testing it after 5 minutes or so after going through the correct locking procedure, ignition off, door open, door closed then locked from remote then wait for alarm to activate? All VAG vehicles have had deadlocking for close to 30 years now. That said I have a recollection that on my MK1 Octavia if I slept inside with the alarm sensor disabled (button on B post) and the doors locked I could open the drivers door only from the inside handle but if ot was locked from the outside it was 100% definitely deadlocked, the MK2 and Yeti do not behave the same, I once locked myself in the Yeti!

Combined with the following it definitely is: But the fan could be the aircon, I am rarely aware of the AC fan running but usually aware of the high speed fan running during a regen, the giveaway of course is the fan running after engine shut down. I do agree with the high idle after a cold start with heavy electrical load. And just to confuse things all the more: The AC will not work below a certain temperature, 3 or 4° C I seem to recall.

There absolutely is, you are perhaps confusing yourself with where the grooves are no longer visible, once they have gone over the whole width of the friction material the plate is properly bedded in and capable of transmitting the maximum torque, the wear limit is when the friction material wears down close to flush with the rivet heads, going beyond that would score the pressure plate which would be replaced anyway but also possibly the flywheel which is to be avoided. In any case if you pay someone to remove the gearbox you might as well replace the clutch unless you know it is very young or can inspect it yourself. The control loading is a cam ended plunger and spring forming part of the clutch pedal assembly, its neutral position os mid stroke, either side of that it will either assist the pedal downwards or upwards, it is that which holds the pedal against the floor when there is air in the system.

For VAG 25 years ago was the pinnacle, stellar mechanical reliability, superb rustproofing and paintwork, electrical issues were not even a consideration yet Canbus had already crept in but in a very positive way behind the scenes. I am speaking of the MK1 Octavia but it could equally have been one many other VAG vehicles of the time on the same platform. The MK2 was to me terrible by comparison, sure it had some new toys and features, the body corrosion resistance wasn't bad but the seamsealing nowhere near as good as the MK1but anything underneath bolted to the bodyshell subframes, suspension arms, brake disc backplates etc had as much protection as a disposable tissue, there was masses of flaky emissions control equipment and Canbus control modules everywhere sitting in between the switches and the item controlled by the switch be it headlights, fuel filler flap, door locks, pretty much everything now was at the mercy of what had become a very flaky system that would go tits up if the battery voltage fell slightly, the problem threshoild was much higher than the voltage needed to start the vehicle so a normal start up or use of the now current hungry electric power steering (another backwards step) after start up would cause no end of error codes and MIL lights. In 32500 miles my MK1 never once showed a MIL light, the MK2 was fault code city with the dashboard looking like an xmas tree on a regular basis, oh and I forgot the constant airbag warning indicators which had cost the previous owner £2500 in repairs to acheive nothing and was the reason it was finally PX'd, made its way through the trade being bounced back by several buyers before I got it cheap and fixed the fault for nothing more than patience and head scratching. The Yeti being on the same platform has all the above weaknesses but to a (so far) lesser degree.

Very satisfied customer here, remap through one of their agents and an emissions rollback done at their premises. My advice to you is general, when someone tells you something like that aside from politely explaining that nobody tells me/you what to do is to ask them to be specific, give reasons that they can back up. Nobody aside from a fortune teller can tell you if there will be any issues down the line.

That is what I would have understood but for the question marks. You need to be more and more a mind reader on this forum these days. I can see now that the question preceeds the comma. My answer is no.

VAG were using it over a decade before that, my 2001 MK1 Octavia had it and I was blissfully unaware. The reliability and absence of electronic shenanigans was indeed bliss compared to the later vehicles I have owned.

4 question marks so the statement must be a question, but what? I am guessing that you are asking "will the corrosion affect the function of the braking system?" If so then the answer is no it will not.

Everybody with steel calipers unless they keep their car in a dehumidified garage and never drive it. Its like asking if anybody has had a rusted exhaust system, at least the cosmetic surface rust on a brake caliper is never going to affect its function, you wont see it once the road grime and brake dust have taken a hold by which time you will have corroded and scored brake discs to contemplate.

DPF regeneration.

I presume you mean insulting not insinuating, why do you believe £450 is an insult, it sounds reasonable to me given the risks involved with an unknown gearbox and other problems that may come to light with an unknown auction purchase vehicle. It is not unreasonable for a garage to want shot of a vehicle taking up space if they are not going to be working on it. Compare the £450 for all the work and risk involved compared to the £150 for a recovery and do you still think the garage is taking the mick? Have they raised a bill for the work they have done thus far, storage etc?

That looks like a door, what does that have to do with ADAS and why are you asking for it to be "covered" by which I am assuming you mean recalibrated. £375 for a small ding like that sounds like more than a bodyshop would charge but maybe I am out of date, it looks to me like a PDR and polish job, the world has gone crazy.