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P.S. with a diesel it is not about 0.5 seconds quicker to 60, who cares about that? its the 50-100 where tuned diesels come in to their own!

Hi Rhys...welcome to the Forum I would start by placing the car in reverse with the ignition on (engine off). Ensure the handbrake is on fully and go to the back of the car. At this stage, the reverse lights should be on and if you place you ear very close to each reverse sensor, then you should hear a faint clicking noise if it is working correctly. No clicking = sensor has failed. Let us know how you get on with it Cheers Trevor

As Brad-B5 has mentioned....it is dropping into Limp Home running mode. This is normally when the Turbo variable vanes are gummed up with carbon and moving freely when on boost. The usual method is to clean them with chemicals....there are plenty of posts on this forum relating to cleaning turbo's. I would try that first and save a fortune if it does work

without going through all the pages it looks like there's not really a downside, same i got from reading elsewhere. other than re-lining your car of course! if its cheap enough i shall get it done!

Hi, thanks for the reply. I bought the car and had it delivered to my friend at Tamworth Vehicle Services. He's very experienced with VAG motors and told me the box is normal. The fob was taken apart and cleaned and now works, the door and window issue was that the loom had been disconnected for some reason. When my friend picked me up in the car the gear change was barely perceptible. When driving myself I usually am only aware of gear change due to auditory cues. It runs like new now I'm very happy with it. Main issue for me now is the strong cig and doggy odour which wasn't apparent when I tested it as it had just come from valet! Plus there are other niggles I need to address. I spent 6 hours cleaning it today so the smell is improved a little.

Not sure I agree with your first paragraph Gareth. Moaning and complaining is a source of pleasure to me, now that the more salacious aspects of life are behind me. Clifford.

Hello Rich, I feel I'm not going to answer your question very well, but I would have thought that if the aerial just has two wires coming out of it , without any signs of being modified, then it's possible that only two wires there were originally. Is it possible that the feed wire only receives power (via the radio) when the radio is switched on? It may be worth messaging Mark from Cardiff, who joined here a few weeks ago, since he has a nice Cabriolet. He is pretty handy to say the least ( don't tell him I said!) Nice chap and helpful. Good luck with it. Kind regards, Gareth.

Thanks Clifford. That's very reassuring and dispels the myth that at my age, I should be just sitting in the corner, slippers on and complaining about absolutely everything! The first two, I refuse to do, the last one I always feel it worth passing an opinion if you think things could be better than they are. Come back "tidy" (as we say in these parts) dipsticks as you say Clifford. Who on earth at VAG came up with a brown background on which to gauge an oil level? You rightly say black oil level is difficult, but I now find that changing the oil every year it doesn't get that black - making it even worse to read! Still, we have a dipstick (engineered by a dipstick?). I guess better than not having one at all, which seems to be getting popular now. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jay, Wow. Obviously we don't know what is small in your "small part......" or indeed where on the tread this is. It may be of no significance, but any separation of any part of the tread on a tyre must be looked at by a reputable tyre company to assure yourself that this is safe. Of course, you might have done so, and apologise if you have. If you haven't then please please do so. If there is a recommendation to get this replaced then near new or not - spend, beg, borrow or steal to best safeguard your and other road users safety. Sorry Jay, this may be a bit harsh, jumping the gun, and indeed you may have had it looked at by your reputable tyre company, but gluing bits of tread on tyres ...! Anyway, good luck in getting this sorted safely. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Jay, An interesting question, and full marks in my book for clearing up some myths. Now, washing a car with a bucket and sponge (which is what I guess you do) is the only way to wash a car. Time consuming yes. Worth the bother when our friends from east of the Thames estuary will do it for you with their pressure washer lances for a few pounds? Most certainly, and I'm not saying they are all the same, but I have seen several nice cars with milky patches in the lacquer caused by the regular enthusiastic use of these pressure washers. The chemical cleaner often used, will take the skin off your hands in its undiluted form and how accurate is the dilution?? Anyway, enough of that and back to your much better method of doing it yourself - not using a pressure washer! Soap in the water is a new one on me, and I have always used a good quality wax car shampoo. I'm currently using Simoniz and have used it for a couple or three years now and find it very good (there are others) and less likely to leave water marks after washing it off. I never chamois my cars, since I find there is a greater risk of scratches and streaks. I wash mine on a dull day and ideally just before it's going to rain - no problem in this part of the country. No need to dry it off then. Polish and taking a layer of paint (lacquer) off:- my view is that if you use a good quality wax polish ( minimum cutting agents) then you can forget about such issues. Just compare the constant abrasive conditions the car is subjected to as it passes at speed through the air along our roads. Don't worry about taking paint off by polishing with a good polish. Good polish? I've used Auto Glym resin wax polish since the time I had hair. I've tried others, and I certainly not saying there arn't better brands, but I've always come back to it for right or wrong. As I say there are others which are probably equally as good/ better. It's a bit like your favourite beer! How often to polish? I would say three times a year should be about it, and you will notice when it's due to be done again when the degree of the beading effect (globules or whatever you want to call it) deminishes. Good luck with it Jay, and I'm sure you will be pleased with the outcome. Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Where is Paa?

Good question Paul, and one which I cannot answer in terms of the legal position re. refusing the "update", but if it were mine then refuse it I would. What I would say is that the car is out of warranty - so no adverse implications there. It's your car, and it could be argued that it's up to you what you do with it - not VAG. All in all, this would at least seem to be a reasonable approach. Legal implications of that decision?? Perhaps it's me, by I'm not sure I fully understand the full logic of VAG actions on this, but am I right in believing that they "adjusted" the car's emission's system so that the car would satisfy the agreed requirements, and indeed a conventional MOT test? - and that is an important consideration. If I have a 3 year old or older car, and the car has not been actioned on the recall, can it take it it will pass because the "original fiddle arrangement " is still in place? If I present it for the recall, then is it more likely?? to satisfy the emissions requirements with the adjustment carried out and the "fiddle" removed? Main question:- If I don't take it for the recall, will it still satisfy the requirements in its original "fiddled" form - or will VOSA be amending the emission requirements and it will fail if not presented for the recall? No doubt others on here will have the necessary knowledge and experience to answer these queries. I guess it boils down to all owners will be happy to take their cars in for a free recall, if the original performance and economy can be guaranteed. If it cannot, then obviously owners are going to be reluctant to have them recalled. Needs quite a few coats of thinking about! Kind regards, Gareth. p.s. Trevor and/or others:- can I suggest that this important topic is not well placed on the forum ( tucked at the bottom of the list). Not being critical of the good works, but just feel this should be near the top of the heading selection. Any possibility Trevor?

Worth checking they are clean and then listen to each one carefully to hear a faint clicking noise which means they are working okay.