Recently - shortly after having the alternator replaced (Genuine Ford part, diagnosed and fitted by Ford dealer) the glowplug light started flashing, and once started it continues until the engine has been switched off and restarted. When it happens there is a loss of power.

I have looked at various forums on line, and while it seems like a common problem, there doesn't seem to be any consensus on the most likely cause. I get the impression that I would spend £60 or so on diagnostic tests that will not get to the root cause.... Read more

Hello there

I have a 2006 T5 2.5l TDi 130bhp (145k miles). The engine ceased a few
months ago, shortly after putting petrol in instead of diesel (duh). I ended up having the engine completely remanufactured for the princely sum of £3,700 (they also replaced the flywheel and clutch kit). When I got the van back it started to shudder very badly - usually around 1600-2000 rpm. Took it back and was told the air mass meter had failed, so I replaced that. Shudder continued. Took it back, they replaced all the engine mounts and fitted another new flywheel and clutch to be safe.

The shudder didn't go away. They did notice a little bit of excess play in the drive shaft (a few mm), but basically the mechanics are at a complete loss as to what is causing the shudder. Their current theory is that it is likely to be the gearbox. What they think might have happened is as follows. They reckon that when the engine ceased, the forces involved might have had a major impact on the drive shaft (hence the excess play) and subsequently b*****ed up the internals of the gearbox to some degree.

The shudder appears to kick in in all gears, but is very noticeable around 1500-2000 RPM in 3rd gear and up. Particularly when going up hill or when putting my foot down for quick acceleration. The mechanics have basically suggested to monitor it for a while to see if it gets worse, as that might help pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. Whilst this makes some sense, I am very worried everytime I accelerate the van. The van should have heaps of power but because of the shudder it performs sub-optimally.

In addition, the van has been starting very badly and failed to start completely today - however, this is probably to do with the starter motor, so hopefully that's a relatively quick fix and probably unrelated to the shuddering?

Could anyone shed some light on what might be wrong and what to do next? Also, if it is the gearbox - what sort of cost am I looking at and should I replace it asap or wait for matters to deteriorate?

Any views and advice much appreciated! This episode has already cost more than £4k and still isn't right - am I very worried...

Bjorn Read more

I stopped at my papershop yesterday lunchtime, after a two mile drive, got back in the car, pulled out onto a main road, put my foot down and - nothing much, just a siren like noise and minimal forward movement.

I limped it back home carefully, any push of the accelerator met with this loud whining noise.... Read more

i think i have bought the worse 7 speed dsg gearbox ever made, my vw caddy van was new in june 2011 and as soon as i got in it i found that this was not brilliant made better. if i put the van in drive on a hill from a stop the van will get upto 4700 rpm before it will change, if i dont give it the beans it will not change, the only way is to do it in manual, also if on a hill if i am creeping forward in slow moving traffic upto 5mph the gearbox will disengage and roll back after about 3 seconds, and there is a horrible delay from hitting the throtle to engine responce, vw say this is a charectaristic of the gear box, i said i will see them in court.......has anybody has similar faults with there 7 speed dsg. Read more

Hi I have just passed my driving test so my husband bought me a lovely little Fabia. The car got through its Mot without any issues and we collected it only recently. When we were looking under the bonnet it appears to have a cam belt situated to the left of the engine block. Looking through the full service history it does not appear to have ever been changed (it has now done approx 74k) I called the previous owner to ask her if she ever had it replaced and she advised that it did not have a cam belt and that isone of the reasons why she bought it. Can any one one of you much more experienced Skoda owners confirm this please. If it does have a cam belt, will it be easy to diy? would anyone also be able to recommend a service manual worth buying for this car as it did not come with one. Many thanks. Read more