Winter Tyres/Wheels.

Had the winter tyres/wheels put on this week.

Stand by for a winter heatwave.

Ian

Yes We Are Definitely One Of The Dirty Ones.

Checked on the VW emissions site to see if we are due a modification and we are.

VW Emission Database

This was confirmed by letter a couple of days ago so we shall just have to wait and see.

Ian

VW Recall

It appears from press reports that our Alltrack has one of the diesel engines due for a recall.

It will be interesting to see what VW actually propose to do to cure the rogue software problem.

Must admit I won't be too happy if it leads to reduced performance or less MPG.

Still there are worse things in life.

Ian

Towing.

Have just visited a site in the Yorkshire Dales pulling our caravan with the Passat.

Even though we had a 1.5tonne van on the back,a full roofbox,the luggage space filled to capacity,two adults and two young grandkids inside the Alltrack didn't even hiccup.

There were some pretty steep hills as well and more than once we had to stop half way up for traffic lights and hold ups.

The car pulled away effortlessly every time.

It really is a superb tow car,and I don't doubt the new model is just as good.

Ian

MDI Unit & SD Cards

I have mentioned previously about the MDI unit taking on occasions a while to start with it showing "Starting MDI" for a few minutes and at other times starting straight away.

When I spoke to the technician at the dealers he suggested an SD card might be a better way of loading music and he was right.

No waiting for loading or anything,just plays straight away.

It can take up to a 32GB SDHC card or a 2GB plain SD card but check your handbook first to make sure yours is the same.

Ian

Tyre Low Pressure Light

The tyre low pressure warning light came on again yesterday.

Might have a clue what it is as I altered the loading on the computer today to "fully loaded" and the O/S/R pressure sensor appeared not to be working,drove the car a few hundred yards and it clicked into life.

Will see how it goes before I get it looked at.

Ian

First Service

The first service passed off smoothly today.

One or two warranty items looked at:-

1.Rattly dashboard sorted out,hopefully.
2.O/S/F fog light surround replaced,stone chipped.
3.Air con refreshed.
4.New wiper blades all round
5.Tyre pressure low warning light came on once,tyres OK,investigated,nil found
6.Heated seats appear not to work on lowest setting,no problem found.
7.MDI unit shows "Starting MDI" for a while intermittently.

Lets hope that is it for another year.

Ian

All Painted.

Picked up the Alltrack today after being in the bodyshop at DM Keiths in Leeds ( nearest VW Approved Bodyshop ) for five days to have the collision damage sorted out.

Rear offside quarter resprayed and the rear grey valance and protective films replaced.

I have to say they appear to have done a good job.

Ian

A Couple of Things........................

Got the Alltrack booked in at the dealers in a week or two for a couple of warranty issues.

I just wondered if anyone else had them.

1.If heated front seats are fitted ( can't remember if they were standard or not ) the Number 1 setting doesn't seem to provide any heat at all.
It is as if Number 2 setting should be Number 1.

2. I have a memory stick containing music plugged into the MDI unit in the glove box
When I switch on "Media",sometimes it plays straight away but other times it says "Starting MDI" and takes about five minutes to start.
It seems to make no difference how long the unit has been switched off for.
I think there must be a fault as surely it should do the same thing every time.

Ian

New Alltrack

Here is a view of the new Alltrack which is about to hit the dealers.

In profile it doesn't look a great deal different to the old one :-

Ian

Oh Deary Me.................

Sad to report that SWMBO has managed to reverse the Alltrack into a parked car damaging the paintwork on the offside rear quarter.

Reversing sensors and a rear view camera at that.

Luckily there is no panel damage but even so I must admit I was a bit pissed off.

Anyway I have calmed down now and the insurance is sorting it out.

Ian

Autoglym Wheel Protector.

Tried some of the above on the Alltrack and it works very well.

Autoglym Wheel Protector

Alloys have remained clean for two weeks and are usually dirty within a week.

Autoglym say it should last for about six weeks before being reapplied and don't wash the wheels with anything except water or you will wash it off,I just gave them a light hose down but I don't think that was strictly necessary.

Can recommend.

Ian

"Summer" Wheels

Had the winter wheels taken off today and the original ones put back on.

Prepare for four feet of snow and plenty of ice.

Ian

Plastic Touch-Up Paint

I have one or two marks on the grey plastic protection pieces that cover the sills,wheel arches etc.and would like to put a dab or two of touch-up paint on them.

Checked with dealers and VW don't do one so I wondered if anyone had found a suitable match anywhere before I go down to Halfords.

Ian

Boot Buddy Bumper Guard

Have bought one of these to protect the bumper when loading/unloading :-

Boot Buddy De Luxe Bumper Guard

Seems like a decent piece of kit at a fairly reasonable price.

Came out well in an Auto Express review.

Ian

Battery Charging.

As I have done with most cars I have had,at this time of the year with shorter journeys and more power hungry accessories on the go,I like to give the battery ( or batteries as we have an auxiliary one as well ) a charge once a week or so.

The main battery takes about 5 hours to charge up so it must be a bit low.

I have read speculation about having to disconnect the battery to charge it in order to protect sensitive electronics.

Just to let the readership know I have successfully used my C-Tek charger on both the Alltracks batteries and there were no problems encountered.

I must emphasise that this is specifically with a C-Tek charger,not any old charger.

Although obviously it can't be proved our last car was on the original battery at 6 years so I must have been doing something right.

Ian