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The rust seems to be outside of the swept area on both left and right discs as far as I can tell. Thanks, I'll remove the drums and do an inspection tomorrow.

Thanks, you were in fact quite clear, but since the drums in the rear were so obviously rusty I wanted clarification. Also since I was not sure if those flakes on the front brakes were rust or just crud. Since I had put the wheels on again I could not check easily. Also I thought that the friction area where the pad meets the disc was the most critical and if there was a bit of surface rust/crud on the edge of the disc it did not matter much. I mean since the edges don't touch the pads, a little rust would be ok? Since the pads are not worn too bad, do you think I could wait with the discs until spring? About the rear brakes... Is it OK for the outside of the drum to be that rusty? Since no one mentioned this I figured that it is OK, but just to be sure I'd like to ask again... sorry again for asking about the same thing twice, just in need of clarification! Thanks, should I remove the drums to inspect them? Or should I inspect them through the inspection hole mentioned in the maintenance pdf ? Then I would need a brake fluid tester. Heard something about the pen types being unreliable. What kind of tester would you recommend?

Are you refering to the front disc brakes or the drum brakes?

Perhaps I'll wait with the rust then... and move on. I took some photos of the brakes. Do they look OK? Brake pad is 7-8 mm thick on the right side. About the same on the left side. Pic 1-2 Front Right Pic 3-4 Front Left Pic 5 Rear Left Pic 6 Rear Right

This is the wishbone on the front left side. The rust seems a bit worse then on the right side but still only surface rust.... Perhaps I should brush of the worst flakes with a metal brush and spray some hammerite over it to slow the rust down. Any other suggestions?

Good point. Also a good point. Thanks!

I have the front right tire off now, and have tried to check if anti roll bar link is loose. As you may recall from my post above the MOT test said there was a gap in link connection on both sides of the car) I have tried to feel this supposed gap by pulling and pushing the link with my hand... I do not feel like there is any gap, the only thing that happens is car rocks a bit back and forth. But when driving the car I do feel that there is a lot of noise when going over a speed bump for example. But that could be the strut top mounts? What part is more likley to make noise, mount or link? Should I change out these links or just leave them be?

Wishbone right side

It's probably surface rust since it is in the "Good to know" section, but yes it would be good to see for myself... I should have made him show me when I was at the MOT. How do you guys do when you want to get a view under the car? Do you have ramps or do you use jack stands? I have som jack stands that are 54 cm high... so could perhaps use those, but I only have the jack that came with the car, don't think it will lift high enough to get the stands under the car. Thanks for the tip! I'll check them out! Could I ask a, perhaps stupid, question...out of curiosity, are drop links and anti roll bars necessary for the saftey of the car? Or could I in theory just remove the whole anti roll bar and it's components? Or would the MOT guy fail me for that?

Great point... for example the book might not mention changing fuel filter at all because if you run the car long enough ALL parts of the car would need replacing at some point. The MOT in Sweden is very good at pointing out things that might become safety issues. So my thinking is that if they don't say anything about the breaks, suspension, steering, lights etc, then all is well. I had a MOT shortly after buying the car so may this year. Headlights did not pass, had to polish them, then they passed. They MOT tests in Sweden also have a portion where they mention stuff that is "Good to know" about the car. In my case it was: 1. Rust, Front axel beam (Swedish= framaxelbalk, not sure about the correct translation here) 2. Front, anti roll bar links, both sides, gap in connection (Swedish = Krängningshämmare, stag) 3. Whishbones, front, both sides, rust (Swedish = Länkarm) I'm planning to change to winter tires tomorrow. So then perhaps I can get a peak at the anti roll bar links, and also measure them so I know what part to get if I need to replace them. I'm not sure what else to check, but I hear something about bushings?

It seems that fuel filter change is only applicable to diesel engines as sepulchrave mentions above... also the "Inspection and maintenance" manual only mentions fuel filter change when referring to diesel engines, which seems to prove sepulchraves point. Where did you read about fuel filter change interval?

Thanks that's very good to know. Then I'll leave the filter be.

How do I know if the fuel filter needs changing or not? I noticed that the car needs more gas in reverse gear, and motor more easily shuts down.

I have some knowledge and tools since I have a 1979 VW bus that I'm working on, rebuilding the engine myself. I don't think changing oil and air filter will be a problem... also I like fixing things myself.

I'm not sure how to read the odometer correctly (see picture) Is it 172131 km or 17213,1 km?

Ok! Thanks, I thought this was the timing belt... where is the chain located then?

6Y2 Hatchback Compis 47kW 1.2 L Petrol engine. Timing belt. Manual transmission. Engine code: AZQ Transmission code: GSB I'll see if I can add this to my signature

Hi! I bought a 2004 MKI in may, and need some advice. My plan so far: 1. Find out what service needs to be done 2. Service the car 3. Establish a service routine At the most basic I need to change the oil filter and air filter, this I know. However I'm not sure if there is anything else that needs to be done or needs checking? Do I need to change the fuel filter also? Is there a set interval when the fuel filter needs replacing? Thanks for any advice!

Thanks for the video! And thank you all for your answers! I’m always amazed how much easier it is to solve problems like this when you have access to forums like these with helpful and experienced people. Thanks again everyone! 🙏 😊

I have one question... how would I remove the lid entirely if I was to fix the remaining small gap and wanted to lay the lid on the ground as you propose. I'm thinking about the electrical wiring between the back of the car and the lid. I would have to disconnect this wire harness somehow. Does anyone know where I can do that? Is there a connection somwhere in the lid or is it in the roof of the car. What do I need to remove to get there?

I managed to fix it so I can shut the lid properly, there is still a small gap on the left side but nothing that you notice immediatley. Opening the lid and closing works like it should now, so I'm happy. This comment made me think that perhaps I can bend the lid in place... I had a short wood plank laying in the trunk, so I grabbed it and used it for leverage, putting force on the horizontal plane. At the same time I tried to push down on the left side while prying with the wood plank on the left side rightwards if that makes sense. You can see in the picture below how I placed the wood plank. As you can see in the other pics it looks a lot better! There is still a small difference between left and right and the left side should go down a bit more, but I'm considering leaving it this way, as long as the lid can be closed I'm happy! Rain hasn't been an issue even when the gap was larger... the car has stood outside in rain without problem. The water simply drips down on the inner metal piece between the edge and the rubber gasket and never finds its way inside the storage area.

The gas struts did not work properly when I bought the car. The lid could fall down when the wind was blowing. So I put a hard plastic thing under the left hinge to stop the lid from falling down. I know I should have bought new gas struts instead, lesson learned. Anyway I was visiting my brother and while unloading the trunk it started to rain a bit. My brother saw the open lid while I was unloading in the house and decided to help me close it. Since the plastic door stop was under the hinge the whole door got misaligned. How did you fix it?

Hi! I think I need to replace the hinges on the trunk lid. As you can see in the pictures below: The left side of the lid is more disaligned then the right. I'm hoping that only the hinges are bent so I can just replace them. I have two replacement hinges. If the car metal on the car body itself has bent it becomes more complicated because then I'll have to bend it back somehow. Has anyone here done this before ? I'm not sure if I have to remove the lid entirely? I'm hoping I can just open the lid and let the gas struts do the lifting. Have a few friends stabalize the lid so it doesn't flip over and crush my head. Then start removing the left hinge and replacing it. Then try to close the lid. If it doesn't align properly I'll continue and change out the right hinge too. Not sure if I should start with the one 13mm nut on the back inside the roof or the two XZN screws facing outwards. Any Ideas? Or would you advice me to detach the entire lid first and change hinges on the ground, then reassemble? If I do it this way I need to find a way to detach the cable going from the boot to the boot lid (on the left side of the boot/lid). Thanks for any advice!