MarkyG82

This was a problem on the old 1.9 and less common on the newer cars. The issue on the 1.9 was to do with the coding of the fuel pump that requires the engine to turn over at a minimum speed. If the starter is a bit worn (took very little on my car) then it requires a double turn of the key to "wake" it up. I had a new battery, all earth points checked, starter cleaned out (this helped the most). All those didn't fix the issue. The only thing I did that 100% solved it was a remap. Unintentional side effect. Ran the car 3 years with the map and never had to double crank it.

The cambelt stuff has been discussed a few times recently. The time in the UK has been dropped in line with may other markets. The mileage has also been increase though the information on this is more woolly. Two of the figures batted abut are 120k and 140k (miles). This is across the VAG group engines of both fuel type.

On my GTE there is a very short delay from starting to insert the plug into the car until it tries to lock the connector in place. If you are too slow then the lock engages but the plug handshake fails and it wont charge. A clean and swift insert of the plug is required to ensure it works. Maybe a bit of practice is required. I certainly replug sometimes to ensure it's working. This is especially true if using the fat cable we use on the EV rather than the cable I normally use.

I think there is something wrong with the coding in your car. Has the software in EVERY module been checked? I also wonder if it's related to your cold temps? But then it should be warming up a bit?

As you plan to do, definitely get the shock seated correctly. When was the brake fluid last done? Maybe worth doing and could help with the brake performance. Lower arms are actually quite easy to replace and worth doing at the same time as the shock seating, depending on cost of course. The bushes can be replaced but often it's more economical to have the whole arm replaced. Especially as it sounds like front and rear bushes are going. Maybe get the garage to clean down the suspension parts to allow you to monitor the misting?

The diesel cutoff is higher for many. The fuel costs more, the car costs more, the engine is noisy, it's more polluting. Many are discounting diesel straight away due to the pollution bit. You don't say how much power you would like. The 1.6 TDI is a full engine but can produce some very good MPG if driven right. Pretty much all the petrol engines are nice and smooth with gradually increasing power outputs. Even low trim superbs are well specced. Go find a few you like the look of and test them is probably the easiest way. Just bear in mind the dsg of 2.0 engines is different types of wet clutch and the smaller ones are dry clutch. Dry is listed as not serviceable. Wet is either 40k or 80k service depending on version. They are sensitive to needing it so make sure it's been done. Clearly manual boxes don't have the same issue.

I think reducing the charging rate will compound the issue of battery charge as it wont be able to top up. But that statement is based on my experience of the car taking the power form the battery and needing topped up. Maybe it's a generation thing as my passat is the first GTE with 10kw battery. The Superb and current passat both are on the same platform with 13kw battery. I had assumed the systems functioned the same. It's interesting that yours will take form the mains even after the charging slot has ended. There still seems to be a strange situation where your car fails to preheat if the battery drops to below 100%. On the rare occasion that I have experienced no charge or similar it is usually down to forgetting to set the timer or not inserting the cable correctly. The timer thing is rare as I usually charge every night the just leave it set. The cable thing is annoyingly more common. The locking plunger activates quite soon after the plug starts to enter the hole. If it's not fully home before the pin activates then the charge will fail. It took me ages to realise this so I sometimes replug just to be sure. It's entirely possible that preheat fails are related but I've not been able to find a pattern. The only time I can think of is when I charge as soon as I get home to make use of solar. This means I have turned off the timer via the button by the cable and it requires a replug to engage the timer.

To be honest I'd not thought of that and is a very good point. An outlier situation though. Could be more common than I give credit maybe.

@pab567 should be able to help with part numbers or even supplying the bits. As a rough guide you cannot simply swap an MIB1 screen. You'll need a glovebox unit too as that is the head unit. MIB2 screens are interchangeable (mostly) within their type. There's little point spending the money on upgrading the screen size without upgrading to MIB2. This will then allow you to get carplay/android auto too. Cost wise things may have changed but you'll need a screen, main unit and maybe a USB port. £200, £400 and £xx roughly in that order. Prices go up for bigger, better systems. You'll also need component protection removal by a dealer and also coding by someone like Pab. These cost roughly £150-200 each. Pab however, can often supply a plug and play solution so worth asking him for advice.

This is true yes. But it's mentally more straightforward to set them the same (or front/back) to ensure they are a good known value. Although the system will work with them at different values it doesn't make sense from a user point of view.

Yes it could be related to what @Rooted suggests. Have you checked the pressures are all equal? If no brake rubbing and no issues with pressures, maybe there is an issue with an ABS sensor as that is what supplies the data for TPMS (unless direct).

A few comments/questions from me: The conditioning runs for a while after the departure time so I have my time set to be about 20 mins before I actually leave. This enables the battery to catch up. On the subject of battery, when do you have the charge period set for? Mine is set to start in line with cheap rate but finish after the departure time. This opens the battery up to be fully topped up while providing the energy for the car conditioning system. It's worth noting that the car takes the power for the AC from the onboard system rather than the mains (assuming 12v via transformer from 400v). This then needs topping up. I think it's clear you have an issue with the coding that requires the 100% SOC which is odd as mine will happily drain the main battery if not plugged in.

This discussion comes up every few months when new members join. There are a large number of people out there who think an annual service covers everything a car needs.

DSG on a 1.0 is the dry clutch variant (dq200) with no official service requirements. They can be serviced but you will need to find somewhere that knows about it. If you've been told it's a 40k service by a garage, don't take it there as they clearly don't know the car.

@HappySam "I think you'd only change tyres if you live somewhere that gets a lot of snow" Winter rated tyres are not just for snow. You absolutely get the benefit in all of the UK. It's even a legal requirement in some parts of Europe. I am an advocate for the right tyres at the right time and will encourage others to use all seasons, or have a second set, if they can afford it. The need for economy targets has led to new cars coming fitted with potentially unsafe tyres.