nta16

Apologises to the Dealership for coil comment but the rest stands. I hope it's all sorted when you collect it on the 4th and its the end of it.

Well is this strange, even without doing a full diagnostics they found two wiring faults one before the coil they that (probably?) didn't need to be replaced. Surely all they've done there is what they should have done first time - they will say they couldn't because you cleared the codes and didn't leave the car with them for days for the light to come back on - but I'd put a bet if we'd put my neighbour's scan tool on with three unqualified and untrained people just using that scan tool we could have probably come to the same conclusion, on the coil at least. I'm sure I suggested as much previously for the coil at least and mentioned plugs/connectors/wires (which can show communication error codes sometimes (on the higher level(?)) scan tools). Perhaps this time they actually plugged in the correct level of scan tool - I'd love to see what these Dealerships actually use, they're fast enough to send a free video of a free health check where they find lots of potential work on the vehicle yet seem unable to send a video of a Technician using one of the high level Dealership grade scan tools, why would that be? You'd think they'd be boastful about using these expensive machines on customers vehicles.

Look out for other signs or strange goings-on too and note them and the circumstances when they happen as they might, or might not, be significant, don't just rely on lights and codes, you as a human can be more sensitive than the computer programs. These VW computer programs are over-complicated and intertwined so what may seem unrelated may be related to the computer programs and of course those programs can errors within them and have glitches which throw up false actions / reactions/ readings or the other way have wide parameters that don't throw up a code or light but you notice it. But don't get paranoid, as I put my wife's Fabia has all sorts of noises from the engine bay but seems to be running fine, if you look too hard you can find things that are not really there. Good luck.

D.FYLAKTOS do bear in mind with America that it is an entirely different country and have different practices to other places in the world and they have different requirements for their vehicles and (many) different ways of doing things. Some of them at least often change the engine oil at every 3,000 miles, they have "shops" that specialise in quick and cheap oil changes (and then look for other work on the car) imagine what they would think of once a year or 20,000 miles or even 12,000 miles oil changes. Oil is very cheap and very wide ranging to them, a small engine is 2 litres. And in your link has - "Your automobile cooling system should have a concentration of 50% to 70% antifreeze to water at all times for good protection." IIRC Europe has different antifreezes to America, in the same way that different blends of oil are available to different geographical areas to suit the local requirements (or marketing).

My wife's Fabia had misfires show up on the scan tool when my I had the battery coded but I'd never seen any lights on for it and the only time it was running rough was at cold starts but fine when pulling off, I find the engine bay has all sorts of strange noises at various times, I ignore it as the computers working their 'magic'. P030000 - Random/Multiple Cylinder, Misfire Detected, Intermittent, P030300 - Cyl.3, Misfire Detected, Intermittent, P030400 - Cyl.4, Misfire Detected, Intermittent Mike I think the Dealership have set out their conditions and are going to make a Technician available so if you are going to them you might as well reconnect the battery monitor and not delete any error codes and probably best just to drive as normal using 95 at least until this is sorted. Let us know how you get on.

Well, perhaps the engine is more updated than expected - Coolant regulator housing opening start: approx. 88°C opening end: approx. 103°C Thermoswitch for radiator fan or for both fans (a/c) switching temperatures: Stage 1: on: 91 through 97°C off: 84 through 91°C Stage 2: on: 99 through 105°C off: 91 through 98°C

Perhaps those with a Mk2 could comment (they look fine to me).

My wife had that on her previous car, every 2 years IIRC, and the keyfob became intermittent, shortly after a service, so I was given the job of sorting it. For whatever reason when I opened the fob the battery wasn't fully seated but it was a new battery so I just cleaned it and pushed it fully home and gave the keyfob back to my wife to try and it worked fine from then on, make of that what you will.

Just thought - do you have an oil cooler and if so does it have an oil thermostat to it?

I saw the 33% and guessed it might be 40% in the book, personally I would go with 40% as that gives a good margin for error from 33% too. I am not sure how much if at all this will make a difference to your cold start but as you have put you do not need 50% so why not reduce it to 40% and see how it goes, you could always dilute it further to 33% if you really must later. As I remember it the anti-corrosion additives diminish before the antifreeze properties so you are better to renew the coolant sooner than later. I have just looked it up (and to be clear I personally do not recommend its use) Evans Waterless Coolant has a boiling point of 375f (190c) not that much higher than the maximum of some over coolants. - https://www.evanscoolant.com/how-it-works/benefits/

Sorry I'm getting confused I think we drove across Dartmoor on the way to Exmoor. I do remember we stopped at a pub for a drink and parked on the street and someone said I'd get the alloy wheels nicked and I explained they were only cheap ones and he replied that'd not stop 'em. Nice I thought, but it's usually the better pubs that serve the better ale so I didn't worry at this stop at least. I'm pretty certain we'd have done the B3212 but as it was only the once I don't remember it, though I can remember having the lights on and it being a bit misty in places, I think that was Dartmoor.

So engine oil & filter change, a look at some other stuff, (MoT) ask you about brake fluid change and the dreaded cambelt, previous year engine oil & filter change, possibly sparkplugs and pollen filter and ask about air-con service and DSG oil change. Hopefully if they changed the spark plugs last year they hopefully changed the air filter at the same time if not it's down as a change at 6 years or 60K-miles which I find amazing, perhaps I'm being too fussy but 6 years or 60k-miles seems a lot to me, I used to change paper filters at every 6 months on the old cars and they sounded glad of it (no garage sit outside). Not been Exmoor since 1998 when a brand new British car collected that day started leaking petrol because as it turned out the fuel hose used wasn't petrol resistant and the metal fuel filter wasn't crimped fully - but that's another of my very many car stories. If suitable conditions, how about the B3212 Yelverton to Moretonhampstead road? Remember it's more about revs than speed, plenty of ups and downs, make the computers work for all the hassle they give.

Depending on the mileage and types of journeys go the whole hog and leave it in sport for two tankfuls. Fair enough, Bear in mind a constant 70 won't be as good as, where safe to do so, sometimes slowing down and accelerating hard - but not in 1st gear or low speed 2nd gear. If you were previously always using Tesco Momentum99 then the engine and exhaust might be a little bit cleaner than with just Tesco 95 but as I put before the air filter, quality and condition of engine oil and filter, spark plugs, injectors, etc. also contribute to the overall effect. I think the last time I drove my wife's Fabia just on a small A-road 8 mile journey a few weeks back the oil temperature showed IIRC as 93-96, never went above 60 and mainly in 30s and 40s - but that's a different car, engine, sensor and gauge. Coolant gauge rock steady on 90. 😄 Digital speedo overreads by 2mph AFAIK, we never bother with the computer readouts of MPG, 🤣 I just remind my wife, every time, it's 4.546 litres to the gallon.

Bear in mind I'm not suggesting you have the car screaming for miles on end in 2nd or 3rd gear at 5,000 rpm. An empty dual or motorway where you can safely maintain say 60 or 70mph and if possible with a long steep hill. No need for an additive the higher octane petrols already have greater cleaning additives in them and anyway you don't really know what if anything need additional cleaning this is just a general blow-out to balance out all the short journeys. It is not something to cure the problem with your car as we don't know what that is this is to generally help with general running but if don't properly it won't do any harm and might help generally.

There's no set time, might be best if you're not used to this this just put it in sport and drive as normal and following what rootoot has put, though done properly with all else I've put including the caveats I deliberately put it's not messing about. Though I was thinking of drag race starts in first and forgot there might be sports settings on the box.

No, drive it in gear do not put it in neutral. The higher revs need to be sustained to blow the crap out, not a few seconds busts. As Bruce has put use any sports setting you have on the gearbox - but I was never suggesting racing off in first, sorry I should have made that clear, the tyres and traction and ABS and computers wouldn't like it anyway. I wasn't suggesting driving like a hooligan and destroying your gearbox but using what is available and giving a little extra work where safe to do so, that includes for the vehicle too.

DSG is a type of automatic, just a VAG type, different, more complicated more computer involved than say a traditional British/American automatic, those would have a kickdown setting anyway. Try it, get it warmed by oil temperature, keep the oil temperature setting on display and you can then see how long it takes to register and get to the normal band say 80-95 this time of year. If I'm doing an oil change I like to see treble digits.

A term and generalisation - driving like 'the Italians' do, as detailed in those posts, get your foot down hold the gears (well the computers will do that for you if they're in a good mood) revs up, not necessarily high speed. Slow at the bottom of a long steep hill and where safe to do so floor it, if you gain too much speed and the gear changes and revs drop lift off the accelerator even brake a little if safe to do so and floor it again, get it breathing heavy, sucking as much clean air and cleaner fuel through as possible. Before it opened at the M1 end I used to do carb setting test runs on the A14, I once went 5 miles before seeing another vehicle in either direction. Unless you're worried about cost and MPG you don't need worry about E5 (up to 5%) or E10 (up to 10%) or E5 (0%) the computers sort all that (and possibly the VW computer sorts MPG anyway). 😉

Well the DSG is just another level of computer control and distancing the driver from actually taking charge of the car but if after the car is fully warmed, as in my posts 22 and 3 hours ago to Bruce, and you get your foot right down if the computers are in a good mood they will get the message and go for it. Obviously don't drive hard if you have any warning lights showing unless really you're sure it won't cause harm. Turbo I'm not sure, car's not that old but carbon generally may be. As with computer GIGO (garbage in, garbage out) think of SISO (not as bad as with diesel but still) clean in and cleaner out will mean cleaner in between, the engine, air filter, engine oil and filter, spark plugs, perhaps clean the MAF and even perhaps throttle body, CICO. And here's one many don't like or agree with, put in a couple of tankfuls of cleaner petrol (the 97, 98. and 99 octane) and do the Italian tune-ups with them. Even if it doesn't shift the carbon or other muck already there at least it should add less to the accumulation. Of course this may not overcome any stroppy computers in a mood and won't deal with any poor wiring or wiring connections but done properly it won't do any harm and might do some good.

You can have error codes that don't light up a display and codes that lower level machines might not see live or recorded, depends on the machine but things can get very complicated or distracted because of the over-complicated computer programs VW wanted employed for whatever reasons so that without a high level scanner it can be a very scattered approach. But the basics remain, better fuelling, servicing, maintenance and use will help prevent some things or at least prolong better running. And with the correct level scan tool diagnostics should be easier if only that you can test items in isolation, unless the fault only occurs with a combination of items in a chain or particular circumstances. With labour rates as they are it can sometimes be less expensive and convenient for garage and customer to fire off the parts cannon and if required repeated garage visits than to take the time or tools to really diagnosis some problems. And to be fair IIRC you didn't want to leave the car with the Dealership to see if the problem could be replicated, which would depend on how they were going to charge on this. My concern when I see particularly problems with 5 and 6 year old 1.2 TSI is that my wife's car does lots of very short journeys regularly and gets not much more than the annual services, the very few times I'm able I will try to give the engine and turbo at least a bit of a blow out as my wife is not one for much use of the manual gears.

I am not sure where you have got your figures from with this, do you mean 200-240F or just that the coolant will not boil off before the engine goes, 120c would be pressure cap letting out. Is your concern that at 30% you will have less flow of coolant, if so would that matter as you do not want to have much cooling if the engine is already cold. Also if the manufacturer recommends a minimum of 33% that would be it. IIRC I was told on here lowest weather temperature was -10c, if so you would also need to allow for wind chill factor as you drive the car through the air and margins for accuracy of dilution and effectiveness of coolant as it diminishes. What is the suggested dilution in the Driver's Handbook?

rootoot gave a good idea, have a spare battery in the car - and I'd always say check the Owner's Manual for instructions of what to do with changing the battery as it may involve one or more steps you'd not expect. Be careful where you buy your batteries from, I've seen a couple of posts mention Duracell not just cliff-edge stopping but also not last well or long, perhaps these were just bad batch or perhaps out of shelf life? (no idea about that) or simply counterfeit? (what isn't nowadays). For keys and keyfobs I suggest alternating the use of both sets, how you alternate is up to what's best for you. If you alternate use then you are a lot less likely to loose the "spare" key and the wear on the batteries, and dare I suggest wear on physical metal key blades and physical locks (I'm so old fashion), will be more even and predicable. Some might get more life out of the batteries by using them when they are close to the vehicle rather than half a carpark away (as I remind my wife, she ignores me though). And as someone else suggested, sorry forget who now, if the batteries are a problem perhaps best to change them every year as a preventative measure.

IIRC which is usually in doubt, you get the A crossed through symbol on the dash showing the start/stop is unavailable - and who knows with the newer models connected to the intrawebthigy a message is recorded on VW's computer so that in the future if the gearbox fails they can blame it on this disconnection of the start/stop system, whilst they go through your music lists and photos. 😄

Mikerp, I'm going against rum4mo's advice and here's why, the car has been to Skoda and another garage and the garage took the easy route of swapping out coil at No.4 as that was the error code, I can't remember if they swapped the coil round to confirm if the fault showed at that point. If it requires the start/stop to be disconnected to make the car drivable then the garage has to accept that. IF(?) they use a decent scan tool and know what they're doing it should make no/little odds to them or their diagnostics as they can record the errors and info and interrogate before, if required wiping, and reconnecting start/stop. I'd love to see what scan tool and technicians are used in these cases as seeing some of the posts on here I wonder if some Dealerships/garages perhaps have only one appropriate scan tool and trained Technician and perhaps either or both aren't available when theses cars go in. The cheap scan tools that many owners seem to have seem to be no more than lower level error code readers which is fair enough for the price but the codes given, or not seen, can lead to confusion or over simplification, which perhaps some Dealerships/garages take advantage of. With a proper scan tool, which you'd hope a dealership should have, the fault(s) should zoned in on and diagnostics made easier. I'd have thought something like say a bad plug connection should show up by checking or testing the points before and after the error code point and with bi-lateral you can sometimes/often test items at point or before and and after. If you was nearer we could put my neighbour's scan tool on and list all the codes, perhaps run live and look at freeze frames if only to prewarn you of what is actually showing before the garage says there isn't anything.

Brucemagoose511, if your journey is 25 miles, say it takes about 5-7 miles to get the engine fully warmed, depending on weather conditions that leaves 18 miles, take of say 3 miles for cool down, 15 miles to exercise the turbo and engine. These turbo engines, especially with the direct injections, and possibly cat, are not best suited to short journey and town driving, same as the diesels now with DPF the race for ever lower fuel consumption and emissions tested on new cars under certain conditions hasn't gone so well with longer term real world use. Throw in VW's very invasive start/stop computer program and more care and attention is needed with running and maintaining these cars than a number of years back, whether buyers are made aware or know this is a different matter. Really the turbos are pushing these small engines in what formerly wouldn't have been considered small and light cars so you're right in not hammering the engine and turbo if you want either to last a reasonable time. However as you've found the engine and turbo are designed for use and despite the dash gear selection advice they do want and need higher revs, on occasions at least. 3,000 revs in any gear is a good power point but not for fuel economy in many instances. The occasional pushes from 3,000 to 5,000 rpm gives the engine a bit of a blowout but does wear the engine so best not always done. Never skimp on servicing as previously the low mileage and town use would have been classed as serve conditions with more frequent servicing, good quality engine oil and filter changed in a timely fashion is even more important. The lack of more regular air filter changing surprises me but as always that can depend on where the car is parked and what types of journeys it makes, I think the filter should at least be inspected each year but unless you have a new clean filter to compare against it can be difficult to see how dirty the existing filter might actually be. Another very important item to take care of, particularly because of the very invasive and intertwined VW computer programs is the car battery, if it's allowed to go too low the computers don't like it and will play up in all sorts of ways. Even if the car still starts, the lights seem bright enough and there are no warnings on the dash the battery might still be too low for the computers. A suitable battery trickle charger would be a good idea for longer periods of non-use or all short journeys.