Advice sought:

 

Ive had the car from new (ex co car) and its only had 1 dealer service at 16000miles, I think the next service was due at 36k or 2 years but left the Co and took the car with me just before that, which I then gave to the missus who just pootles around in it. I'm fairly handy with the spanners so have been doing the servicing myself since, its now on 42k. I do the oil and all filters every 2 years, recently did the brake fluid, checked all the brakes/pads, thinking of replacing coolant, apart from battery and tyres have had no problems.

I'm thinking of booking it in to the dealers but dont really want to pay money for what I can do myself, so apart from a diagnostic and any software updates can anyone advise what else I should be getting done by the dealer.

 

Cheers

Is it manual or DSG?  If DSG - the DSG oil needs changing at around 40-45k - and it gets funny if it doesn't get changed - theyve been known to go bang if the oil isn't changed on time.

Its manual

Ive read about issues with the cam chain tensioner on this model which appears to have been updated a few times and that any potential issue can be picked up on a diagnostic

1 hour ago, brickers911 said:

Ive read about issues with the cam chain tensioner on this model which appears to have been updated a few times and that any potential issue can be picked up on a diagnostic

 

I think they had revised the tensioner by 2010, certainly my old 2010 did 70K without any attention to it. I'm not an expert but I can't see how a diagnostic would detect a problem with it. As far as I know its an entirely mechanical thing.

 

You might want to watch out for the inlet manifold getting gummed up with carbon deposits leading to a warning light coming on. The diagnostic says something about flaps at improbable angles.  The dealer would probably want to replace the manifold (£500ish) but I think you can just reset the fault a few times at least.      

I believe the camshaft sensor would show up a degree of lag if the chain were loose which would show up on diagnostics but its not an exact science

2 hours ago, brickers911 said:

Ive read about issues with the cam chain tensioner on this model which appears to have been updated a few times and that any potential issue can be picked up on a diagnostic

The latest revised tensioner was around the beginning of 2012. My car is a late 2011 and a couple of years ago, although I did not have a problem at the time, I had the latest tensioner and chains fitted, just in case. There have been too many reports of catastrophic failure with the older tensioners in the past. I thought like numerous other owners, preventative maintenance is better than a possible blown engine. Cost from my local independant garage, just over £600. I love the car, so I did not mind some extra expense.

From the first signs of chain starting problems is to light up the crank shaft sensors as it will understand differences.

Also there should be the characteristic rattle noise in engine's start-ups.

I bit the bullet and had the tensioner replaced for peace of mind, I'm glad I did as I asked them to keep the old tensioner for me to look at. As you can see from the pictures when I took it apart, the teeth on one park of the ratchet are fine, but there are teeth missing and wear on the other part....phew. At least I can sleep a little easier now