Car appreciation... the aesthetics, the engineering, etc

Spotted this while taking the lad to cricket this morning. Unsure weather to post here or the pron thread.

On here?

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https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/359223/

Wasn't aware VAG was responsible for the tyres integrity?

Engine warning light? Well, that's just normal in VW Audi Skoda etc.

But seriously, hopefully nothing serious.

Wasn't aware VAG was responsible for the tyres integrity?

Maybe...but they are responsible for what they fit from the factory. Which appear to be made of cheese - verified by another 2020 owner on the same street who has been through three tyres in 15k miles. You might think it's something to do with my street or where I drive, but the first incident was at my old gaff in a completely different bit of town.

Well, that's just normal in VW Audi Skoda etc.

Turbo has gone, stop start system conked out. Nothing in the log or in the display, just a permanent engine warning light and the inability to overtake a lorry on the M11.

I guess my question is... is this motor a friday afternoon job or is this representative of modern car ownership?

AA dude says it's solenoid valve and it's a days work to sort it.

Not sure what engine u have but my old turbo diesel audi went into limp mode and disabled the turbo due to clogged particle filter.

Garage had to remap and thrash it to clear. Bout 5 years go mind.

Basically they need to be run for at least 30mins over 50mph every couple weeks to prevent filter build up.

VAG sound so reliable.

I guess my question is... is this motor a friday afternoon job or is this representative of modern car ownership?

40,000 miles in 4 years split evenly across two new Seat Leon's. No major issues whatsoever so far, OEM tyres have been fine (Continental Sport Contact 6), not the absolute best out there but perfectly fine and certainly not made of cheese. Only light I've had come on is the TPMS a few times which is a known minor issue, ultra sensitive.

My 2015 Audi with the 2 litre turbo petrol engine has been faultless. But if they do give issues it's normally around all the emissions gear. Exhaust gas recirculation valves or sensors. Then you have split vacuum lines or plastic intakes on the pressure side that split. Then you have the common water pump unit failure. Generally these are after 5 years though.

If yours is diesel, then most likely particular filter related. Without knowing your driving habits diesels love a long highway journey, not short little trips.

Random question - does the cruise control work? If not, This could be the EGR system. CC won’t stay on. Car won’t speed up - like limp mode but sometimes it will go as normal - when cold for a short time.

Engine light comes on our 2.0 TDI Touran if we do a long motorway journey at a more economical 60mph or slower in 6th. Blast it for a couple of mins at 3.5k rpm in a low gear and it clears. Mechanic said they just hate being driven at low revs for too long or pootling around town and benefit from a "good Italian tune up"

Similarly, our previous Golf TDI went into limp mode after a very long and tedious stop/crawl session on the M25 - turned out to just be a dirty sensor.

Of the back of mystery check engine lights coming on, I'd say an OBDII reader is a must-have for any car owner. Can take a lot of guesswork out of these things!

Petrol. I drive it Cambridge and back a couple of times a week. For everything else, there's the cargo bike.

Believe me, it has no excuses for this, unless just sitting around a for a couple of days a week is enough to break it.

Cost of tyres, just under a grand.

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VAG: the dealer will sort you out with a courtesy car

Dealer: no we fucking won't

VAG: yes you will

Dealer: no we fucking won't, get the bus home you pleb

Kill me

That sucks. The car is under warranty I assume? Find a different dealer, they get paid by VAG anyway. A courtesy car should be a given.

To give you hope, should it get bad. I had Audi cover an engine rebuild in my old 2010 A3. It was 4 years out of warranty but had an up to date service history. I had to make noise but Audi Australia overuled the unwilling dealer service dept. And made them fix it.

The car is under warranty I assume?

Yep. 2020

FWIW, this kind of 'fuck you, you pleb' attitude seems baked in to almost every consumer interaction I have at the moment, other than the classic 'can I exchange these beer tokens for that thing you have', where they are more than happy to take my money.

Update: £25 collection and delivery charge

Will VAG pay it? Will they fuck

Seriously, that's shit. Warranty issues should be at zero cost to you. Is there another dealer close by you can call?

Update / still looking for suggestions on 1.8 MX5 Westfield overheating issue.

Replaced rad, thermostat and both temp sensors.

Reading the housing, stat opens at 88 degrees, fan kicks in at 97 and off again around 90.

Temp gauge reads zero when unplugged, but rises off the scale when the housing that the sensor is into is around 80 degrees as measured with IR thermometer.

So basically I don't think it's overheating, if it was the fan would be on permanently.

Could it be the gauge in the dash or a bad earth?

Ok, you are changing parts with no logic.

Did you replace the rad with the upgraded one that nurse recommended. What brand of stat and sensor?

There was logic, the rad was leaking, coinciding with the original reading hot on the dial. Thought that was the issue, so swapped the rad for a replacement part. Did the stat at the same time as preventative maintainance.

Then it didn't improve, so changed the sensors both sensors were genuine Mazda parts.

I have seen (only in passing) mods for cooling hoses for the MX5 to improve water circulation. Lots of results for "MX5 cooling reroute" - including full kits. If you have already seen that then apologies.

Edit: Ignore that. Only just saw that it seems more electrical.

Sorry didn't remember that the rad was leaking.

Can't see the point of replacing a thermostat, unless you test them properly (not just dropping them in hot water) but heating water so you see the stat open and then cool so the stat closes. Have recently found brand new stats failing and not opening at the right temperature or not fully opening.

As for temp sensors, am in the wonderful world of how can something either work correctly or fail completely. Seems rarely to do that, so the idea is to check the resistance of the sender at ambient then at operating temp. If you have the resistance range should be able to give you an idea of the faulty part.

If it makes you feel better, currently trying to source an OEM temp sender but the OEM manufacturer no longer supplies the auto manufacturer. So trying workout with other auto manufacturer still use them.

Let me chat to some MX5 nerd friends and see what they say.

Just to check, you're using the MX5 dash, so it's the stock MX5 gauge, stock MX5 sender?

Correct, stock dash, stock sensor. 1995 1.8 MX5.