I'm trying to get my blasted engine management light to go off - I've had it read and it throws up a P1296 code. The garage turned the light off, but it came back on a day later.

They said I should change the coolant temp sensor, which I've just done, to no avail. The light is still on (the guy at Skoda said if that was the problem, it would turn off automatically).

So, I'm not willing to start changing other things to weed out the issue by trial and error. I'll let a garage sort it.

Should I use a dealer, which should give me the best shot at finding the fault, or an independant garage, which will be cheaper? I would use an indie VW/ Skoda/ Audi place but there aren't any close enough to where I work.

What would people recommend in this situation?

Thanks very much for any advice...

The light will only go out immediately if the codes are cleared. If the problem is fixed and the code is not cleared, the light should eventually go out after a certain number of driving cycles, though the code will still be stored as an intermittent fault.

Why not use the car for a few days to see if the light will go out?

Right, cheers. I was under the impression it would turn off straight away. But I'll try driving it for a few days, as you suggest, and keep my fingers crossed. Thanks for the suggestion.

Do you know roughly how long it should take to turn off - and if it does disappear, is that the end of it or will I need to get the fault cleared, or something like that?

And any idea what that fault code could refer to if it isn't the coolant sensor?

Thanks again...

Maybe think about changing thermostat aswell as mine threw similar code up when it dropped cold last year but i had already noticed it wasn't getting warm as fast as it was,

Changed thermostat and cleared codes and its been fine since,

btw if yours is a 1.8t then the thermostat is abit of a pain to change due to access issues

Do you have vagcom? Because it would Probs be easier to get that and clear the codes yourself and use garages to fix the problem. Diagnostics can get pricey.

Yeah, thanks.

I've changed the coolant temp sensor (it was a green one, so think it's already had at least one replacement). However, now the temp gauge is more erratic.

It used to permanently sit at 80 degrees. Now the needle hovers between 70 and 80 and swings up to 90 when idling, in town traffic or after some enthusiastic driving. Not sure what the correct running temp is - I haven't had the car long.

I wonder if it is the thermostat sticking - I believe it would be covered by the P1296 fault code too, so I'll look into that.

Just out of interest, what are the symptoms of water pump failure?

That code can be a sign of water pump failure but with water pump failure you would see very high temperatures as the coolant is not being circulated properly. It would be running close to 100 degrees and would probably start to overheat, the header tank would be starting to bubble.

The correct running temp on the dial is an indicated 90 although the real temperature (if measured with VCDS) will be fluctuating a lot around that. If the temperature is an indicated 70-80 that usually means the thermostats stuck open and the coolant is going straight through to the radiator. In that case it will get up to 90 in traffic but will go down again when the radiator fans kick in. You'll find you're also getting worse fuel economy as with the engine cooler it injects more fuel.

Think that could be it then, cheers. I was watching the needle on the drive home and it was sitting much lower than 90 - more like 70-75, although it was a cold motorway journey.

Having not had the car long, I don't know what sort of fuel economy to expect, but I tend to get 35-39mpg on the motorway, slightly less on country roads. (The car isn't modified.)

I'm assuming a P1296 fault code could indicate a faulty thermostat... and it sounds like the other evidence would back that up.

That's my Saturday afternoon planned for me, then!

Thanks to everyone who chipped in with advice - I'm always chuffed at how good the responses are on this site.