Vu Plex

After watching a You Tube video, decided to purchase some of the above.

It is supposed to make the small scratches on the van windows much less visible.

It does not get rid of them.

Will try it out on our next trip and report back.

Not a sponsored review,bought from Amazon for £17 odd.

Ian

Accident repair

Just had the Alltrack back after the rear bumper and valance has been replaced after someone nudged the back and split the bumper.

Excellent and professional job by JCT 600 Sheffield which is more than can be said for Europcar who provided courtesy transport whils ours was off the road.

I will say no more than "nightmare" and leave it at that.


Whilst on the subject of nightmares,anyone who has received ,as I did,e mails from VW Ensurance encouraging you to use their services for "accident management",delete the e-mails and just forget it.

They virtually don't exist,no one knows what you are talking about when you ring their number and you just get passed from pillar to post,just stick to ringing your insurance company,in our case VW Insurance who werealso  excellent when I finally reached them.

Ian

Hope That's It !!

Well the Alltrack has today had:-

50K mile service
New cambelt and waterpump
Brake fluid replaced
Air Con serviced
Alternator belt replaced
New wipers all round.

I hope that is it for the year.

Ian

Tailgate Again

Finally had tailgate bolts replaced again.

Near side had sheared but they replaced both..

Lets see how long they remain this time.

Looking at the size of them they really aren't up to the job but as it was a warranty repair I supppose it was like for like.

Ian

Tailgate Contd.

Had car to local dealers on the 14th.,they can't fix it so it is now over to the bodyshop in Bradford who repaired it last time.

As an aside,looking at the bolts they are very small in size for the job they do so it is no wonder they break.

I read that the newer electric tailgates have motorised struts instead of this arrangement so someone has seen the light somewhere.

I am going to ask if the can drill the threads out and put bigger bolts in but I am not holding my breath as it is a warranty repair so probably like for like.

Failing that I think I will purchase a supply of bolts from the dealers,they are 89p for two so I read,and change them every year.

Ian

Tailgate Bolt Sheared.

Once again I have had a bolt shear off on the electric tailgate mechanism.

This is the second time this has happened,first both of them and now just the one.

This tailgate has been nothing but problems,bolts shearing,new struts and a new lock.

Glad I took out a five year warranty from new.

Anyway it is into the dealers on the 14th.of January so we shall see.

Ian

More Repairs

It's been "back to the dealer" time over the last few weeks,

First it was the tailgate latch which gave up the ghost cuasing the tailgate to refuse to lock,that had to be replaced.

Secondly it was the auxiliary water pump which caused the parking heater not to work,another replacement.

When I specified the parking heater I thought it was a bit of a nice luxury but it isn't half missed on these cold mornings brrrrrrr..........

Fortunately I took out a five year warranty when I purchased the Alltrac,glad I did now.

Hopefully all sorted.


Ian

 

Seatbelt

Had the drivers seatbelt replaced today for an odd problem

When the interior of the car got hot it wouldn't pull out without a great deal of persuasion.

When the interior was cool it was OK -strange.

Ian

Tailgate Struts & Dashcam

Had both tailgate struts replaced yesterday as the tailgate wasn't opening fully and repeatedly banging your head on it is not a humourous experience,especially after the fiftieth time.

Also had a NextBase 512GW Ultra dash cam fitted.

Ian

Post NOx Fix Update.

This is just a heads up for those who have had the NOx service action ( EA 189 ) done.

There have been some reports of problems with EGR valves subsequent to having the correction done.

Now this may be coincidental or a problem stemming from the upgrade,who knows.

If however you are suffering EGR,fuel injection or emission problems after the fix then within 24 months of having the work done and at less than 160,000 miles VW "would consider the complaint very carefully and if such a complaint was established to have arisen as a result  of the technical measures then VW will act responsibly and swiftly in line with its goodwill policy as supplemented in the annex (?) to respond to the consumers reasonable concerns."

All this is laid out in the letter that drivers will have received from VW,however my neighbour falls into this category and I had forgotten about it ( luckily we have had no problem as yet ).

He has booked his Golf into the dealers who seem aware of the problem so no grief as yet.

Ian 

Service & A Few More Things

Well today has been a bit of an expensive day.

Had the Alltrack in for a 40K service,had asked for the DSG oil to be changed and the Haldex oil ( incidentally it is a good idea to keep an eye on this as no reminders are issued that it should be changed,I think the "official" VW time interval is three years but no reminder was issued last year so had it done this year.There is a box to be ticked in the service book but no mention made of interval ),new wipers all around,new rear number plate as the original one was delaminating,three new tyres and an aircon refresh,also winter wheels removed and summer ones installed,at least they don't charge for this.

Oh I nearly forgot had one alloy repainted where I damaged it last year.

As if this little lot wasn't going to be a financial hit they found the two front suspension bushes were split and the front discs were badly corroded so these had to be changed along with new pads and the bushes.

Fortunately the dealers managed to lop a bit off the bill but it still caused a sharp intake of breath but it's all done now,well until next year.

Ian

Haldex Problems

Had the Alltrack at the dealers for four days and guess what,they couldn't throw up a fault with the Haldex.

Evidently the computer memory deletes all information after about twenty starts so the original fault the dealers found is long gone.

As it is a warranty repair there are many hoops to jump through to prove the fault and it was't playing.

Ironically it threw up a fault on VW Connect last Monday when it was icy but nothing since.

They tried spinning the wheels on a slippery surface but even that refused to make it fault,all four spun as they should do.

They did some software uogrades that were pending including one for the gearbox whether that has any effect we shall have to see.

Incidentally,a bit of information,the Haldex oil should be changed after three years as it turns out,the Tech checked on the VW computer.

In the service book there is a box to tick for Haldex oil change but no mention of when it should be done,rather silly I think,dealer price is about £85.

It's due for a service in March so will have it done then.

Ian

Trouble At t'Mill

Had the car out with a VW technician yesterday to try and diagnose a fault which causes a brief hiccup and vibration when on the motorway.

Naturally during my trawl down the MI and back it behaved itself perfectly,however on our return to the dealership the tech put it on the computer to see if it threw anything up.

Well it did,the Haldex pump ( I think that is what it is ) is malfunctioning/not working so in short the four wheel drive has got the hump.

Whether this is causing the hiccuping I don't know we will have to see,the dealership want if for four days in January to rectify it ( first time a courtesy car is available ).

Having a trawl around the internet about it it appears that it is not an unknown problem which is compounded by the fact that there is not a warning light to inform of any problems therefore it may not have been working for a while.

A little while ago I pulled away from a junction on a damp road and the front wheels scrabbled a bit and I recall thinking it shouldn't do that.

Noticed that VW Connect has thrown up the fault as well.

Glad I purchased an extended warranty when I bought it as it has all the hallmarks of being a potentially expensive experience.

No 4x4 and what is forecast,snow.

Ian

VW Connect

As in most things I am probably late to the party with this but I recently discovered VW Connect.

VW Connect

It is a gizmo that fits into the data socket of the car ( 2008 onwards ),pairs with your smartphone and displays various parameters,maps of where the car is parked etc. and a lot more.

The best bit is that it is free from your dealer,or it is free for now I suppose there may be a charge in future who knows.

I found it a bit more fiddly to fit than the VW videos say.

Had to visit the dealer who were as nonplussed as me at first then it was discoverd that you have to pair it to your phones Bluetooth,something the instructions say you shouldn't do,anyway it is all up and running now.

Ian

Oh Dear

Managed to ruin to NSR tyre and scrape the alloy on a gate post.

Had to have tyre promptly replaced by JCT600 our local dealer,luckily I have tyre insurance,they aren't cheap.

Ian

Third Service

Had the Alltrack into the dealers yesterday for its third service,aircon servicing,wipers,summer wheels putting back on.

Asked them to have look at the folding mirrors which don't always fold out,couldn't find anything wrong with them again,I hope they don't completely pack up when the warranty expires.

Other than that all tickety boo.

Ian

Repair & NOx

Had the washer hose repair done a couple of days ago under warranty and all appears OK.

Whilst it was at the dealers they said they would do the NOx recall work which they did.

If anyone is concerned that it may alter things then,certainly in my case,it is impossible to tell the difference.

My neighbour who has a Golf with the same engine also says he notices nothing different.

Just to reassure anyone who is concerned re the recall.

Ian

Leaking Washer Hose

Today I noticed that the hose that provides washer fluid to the front screen had split nearly in two at the clip just in front of the left side of the windscreen.

Got it booked in for a warranty repair next week.

The tech. said they they are always splitting so it may be one to keep and eye on.

Ian

Done at Last.

Finally picked the car up yesterday after the electric tailgate repair.

They seem to have done a good job,I was told that taking off a tailgate and replacing it was a bit of a pig of a job and that they would not get it aligned correctly but all seems to be fine.

Pity it took a week of buggering and pratting about to achieve it.

Ian

Tailgate,Oh Dear

I am being given the right royal runaround from the bodyshop at JCT 600 Bradford regarding repairing the electric tailgate.

Booked in for last Wednesday ( a week ago ) to collect the same day,promised every day since.

Not been touched till today ( Tuesday ) now they find they are having difficulty doing it.

In other words they don't know how.

There will be a phone call to the bodyshop manager in the morning.

Not happy at all,SWMBO is doing her nut.

Ian