Caractacus Potts
Member
I have a 2002 1.6 FSI which I have owned since 2005. I have done around 30,000 miles in that time and it has been the perfect car - in short, I absolutely love it! I have had no problems whatsoever with it until just recently when it just lost power. There was really not much there at all, then the ECU and the Engine Management lights came on. I took it to the dealer who said that the throttle pedal sensor had gone and that it needed to be replaced. I was advised to have the cam belt changed while they were working on the car so the total bill was £1500, including the belt. Once replaced, I collected the car, drove away and on came the lights again. It was returned to the workshop where it was discovered that the fault lie with a cable. The faulty cable was blamed for 'blowing' the first computer (but strangely did not do the same to the second.) The cable was replaced and I collected the car. Although there was more power when I accelerated, the car now shuddered when ticking over and would not start first or, sometimes, second time. I returned the car to the workshop where it was discovered that a coolant sensor needed to be replaced and that no:3 cylinder had less compression than the rest and the valves were sticking. I had the coolant sensor replaced but an estimation of anywhere between £800-£3000 for putting the cylinder problem right resulted in my hasty collection of my beloved car and epic trawling of the internet.
I am more than a little miffed by the whole business. Does it seem right that a faulty cable,
that managed to 'blow' one computer, would not do the same when connected to a new computer? Does it also seem a little odd that the cylinder problem arose between my taking the car to the workshop and collecting it? Maybe it's just an unhappy coincidence - any ideas?
I am more than a little miffed by the whole business. Does it seem right that a faulty cable,
that managed to 'blow' one computer, would not do the same when connected to a new computer? Does it also seem a little odd that the cylinder problem arose between my taking the car to the workshop and collecting it? Maybe it's just an unhappy coincidence - any ideas?