Service issues

[b16mak]

Hey Guys

1) I just wanted to know, took my car for a service at VW and was told 4 glow plugs shown up in the memory test run that they were faulty at some point and it is recommended these be changed. Is this anything to worry about costs about £150 to replace these 4 otherwise can have issues starting the car in the coming winter I was told...

2) Also they cannot source the reason for my coolant leaking. it needs topping up every 4-6 months and no obvious leakage anywhere and pressure test done twice before showed no loss of pressure there. They will do an overnight pressure test.
I was told they notice some very little pink fluid (antifreeze) leaking from a tube connected to the radiator and they suggested changing this union and will cost me £80 is this worth it?

Thanks!

[Matto]

First off...what model Golf do you have? Do you take it to TL Darby? I have had the impression at times that they do try to make money out of people. They kept telling me the drop link bushes were worn and needed replacing at a cost of £260. 20K later and 2 MOT's they are fine.

Would be best to get your car scanned independently (something I can do) and see what the fault codes are and if they clear/reappear. I've helped a mate change the glow plugs on his. We did find a couple that were dead but not all 4. Its not a bad job to do actually.

As for the coolant loss if yours is the 140bhp BKD, from memory the earlier engines suffered with porous heads so you could be losing coolant that way. Might be something else though.

[b16mak]

Thanks for that mate!
It's a 2007 Golf Mk5 1.9 TDi Match Manual done 90k miles

Basically I took it to VW Nottingham. Not that I particularly like doing so (or have the cash to throw away) but basically I took my car for it's last service in 2011 and they also changed the cam belt and water pump then. The car flashed coolant low the next day and they said that was normal and could be air in the system and told me to just top it up with some water. Which I did. This managed to continue for the next couple of months into early 2012. When I told them, they said bring it in for a pressure test, which showed nothing being lost. They then said they should do an overnight pressure test to see if anything is being lost overnight. I never got round to taking it back to them since early last year and this problem continued since early 2012. However, It was only flashing coolant low every 4-6 months so Since early 2012 and now I have probably topped it up with water maybe 3 or 4 times.

The car flashed for it's service so I thought take it back to them and seen as the price they quoted me wasn't too bad I thought I would take it back to them to do the service and this overnight pressure check as they were gonna do it anyway.....They did the service today and called me to say they no obvious leaking as they said 2 years ago and pressure test done twice today showed no loss of pressure. They will do an overnight pressure test as I have requested.

I was told they notice some very little pink fluid (antifreeze) leaking from a tube connected to the radiator and they suggested changing this union. Also they said that the 4 glow plugs had failed at some point/shown a fault in their check (I didn't really understand this very well- but basically a fault flagged up with these 4 glow plugs in the past) although I have never had issues starting the car, just noticed in winter over last 4/5 years my car does struggle to turn on but never actually didn't turn on.....

They said they found no fault with my cruise control (even though sometimes it just stops working when I am driving), and rear brake pads are not worn even though a guy I know in Kwik Fit said they were very low last week ( I also get a very loud screeching noise from the back when I am steering to the right with a little speed in sharp bends). They did also confirm the rear brake light bulb has gone as I have known over the last 12 months haha

Also, I have told them to do the pressure test overnight and service the car but leave everything else and I will have to try and find someone I trust to have a glance over it for me....

Sorry for the longness.....Much appreciated!