I've got a Golf Mk5 1.9TDI (2004 - 125K) and for the last 4months I've been having some really odd issues with the coolant/level.

From time to time the coolant level light comes on, and when you look at the coolant, it is around 2-3cm below the min. level. However, when you undo the expansion cap, there's a big whoosh of pressure and the level rises back to normal. And this has gone on and on, with no apparent signs of coolant loss - just the level sucking down when the engine is run, plus loads more pressure than you would expect, in the expansion tank.

If you open the tank cap immediately after the engine has been running for 30mins plus, as you undo the cap air bubbles and coolant start coming out of the overflow pipe section join - surely this should be sealed? Plus the coolant is really foaming inside the tank.

The coolant system has been bled several times to try and remove any air, the heaters are working fine and there's no film of oil/smell of fumes in the expansion tank and no signs of coolant in the oil.

I'm at a loss and would appreciate any suggestions! Read more

Hi all,

Newbie alert i'm afraid, but i'm hoping someone can help me as my Vectra is doing my head in! I bought my 53 (2004) plate Vectra 1.8 SRI in April (2012) and all seemed to be ok until i started to notice that when i try and pull away from a busy junction there is a slight hesitation until you get to approx 2-3k revs and then it takes off. i took the car to VXL who did a diagnostics test and it showed a error "Fuel Trim Misfire Bank 1", they said that it could be a number of things (being MAF Sensor, Coil Pack, Air leak, Injectors etc) but said to try cleaning the throttle body 1st and see what happens, so i buy some Wynn's Carb cleaner and gave it a good clean up, no change so bought a new MAF Sensor, again no change so decided i could live with the problem for now as i try not to boot it unless i have to - now after about 2-3wks after changing the MAF the car is running really rough at idle and when driving at a set speed the car randomly slows up and the shoots forward (feels really strange!) and basically here i am, i have know idea where i should be going from here and need some advice, how can you check for air leaks and are there particular pipes that are more prone to leaks than others? I do have some Redex Advance but don't know whether that will make any difference or not? Having trawled through many forum sites looking for a solution i've decided to give it a go myself, i'm no expert mechanic (although i do try and do most repairs myself) so go easy lol. I Hope that someone can help, thanks guy's Read more

I purchased a Seat Ibiza Eocmotive with 33,000 miles on the clock back in march and I've allready added another 8,000 to it.

Due to work I will be driving around 33,000 per annum, mostly motorway, and I was just wondering, if such a question can be answered, how long should a diesel engine last?... Read more

I returned to my car this afternoon and found a good old ticket from apcoa. When i arrived at the car park this morning i went to pay at the machine to find that yet again, it was not working and looks to have crashed while processing someone else's payment. I pressed cancel a fe times to no effect so had to leave as my train was in sight.

Now i have the ticket, for circumstances that i dont really feel were my fault - their ticket machines are notoriously unreliable or slow so i imagine this happens fairly often?... Read more

When stationary there is a smell of petrol coming through the air vents. The car was recently serviced by main dealer and they couldn't find anything.

Typical. The fault wouldn't occur when it was in garage but a day after I got it back it's started again! When you lift the bonnet the smell is quite strong.... Read more