Ivor_E_Tower

When you say "press the remote", do you see the little red LED in the key flash each time, or does it take 5 or 6 presses before the LED flashes for the first time?

The car accessory shop in Frimley High Street, next to the HSBC bank; used to be called Frimley Motors IIRC, but now under new-ish younger management. I think the 2 old boys who used to work there sold up and retired.

Nope - I usually don't have any passengers !

Could be the ice warning bleep? Is the external temperature 4 deg C or lower when the bleep occurs? If so, it's probably this, especially if it has only started in the recent cold snap.

FWIW my local halfords has just started to stock the new Castrol Edge oil suitable for the PD engine; it's approx

if the CD changer is the rear-mounted unit, just take it out and unplug the multi-plug connector. Wait 2 minutes then re-fit. If it still doesn't work, there is a small hole into which you can place the end of a bent paper-clip to release the CDs stuck inside - similar to computer CD drives. HTH

4-year service will be the minor one. Basically an oil change and if you're lucky they will do the pollen filter too (they should change it). If you want to go away from the main dealer find an independent VW specialist. Personally I use Nationwide Autocentres (formerly Lex) although I get the impression that they are now trying to tout for extra work by pointing out things that don't really need doing. At the last major service they did on mine, they even told me that 2 of the wheels were out of balance. They don't change the pollen filter but they do a better job than the main dealer and I know that at least they take all the wheels off. Your dealer should check all tyres for condition and pressure as part of the service.

There is a clue to the type of advice if you look hard enough. There are mechanical differences to the top end of the 115 and 130 versions. You cannot increase the power via a "VW" software code.

How do you know ? :huh:

Same pressure for summer and winter tyres. Only if you get stuck on ice/snow drifts should you drop the pressures, then once you're on the move, re-inflate them again.

:D

The 115, 130 and 150PS diesels all have identical "official" rated torque outputs, so I'm not sure why it is only offered on the 115. As an aside, the Alhambra is shortly to be offered with VW's "new" 2.0 PD TDI engine, which is offered with the DSG gearbox in many other VW group cars. Wonder if the Alhambra (and maybe the Sharan) will be offered with this engine-gearbox combination ?

Unplug the changer again, wait 5 minutes then re-connect; make sure ignition is swithced OFF all this time.

Is this just my perverted sense of humour or did anyone else envisage the engine crane being used to winch the wife into the car ? :unsure:

Yes - I've used a truck pump before. No problems from the cashier, but probably best to make sure you're not holding up a large artic that's in a hurry. Mind you, the time they take to fill up with several hundred litres - it's not much of a delay for them to wait for the occasional car to fill up.

If you're after a speedy fill, pull up at a truck pump; they seem to run at about 3 times the speed of normal car pumps !

No, a record is a black piece of plastic with a small hole in the middle, and a long spiral groove on each side leading from the outside to the centre. It preceded these new-fangled CDs that some people seem so keen to play in their cars.

IIRC the Ford dealer prices are not that much more expensive than some of the after-market ones, and of course the genuine ones are tailored to fit and come with all the necessary fixings.

Major work will be needed - new fuel system including the tank, engine electronics etc etc. Can be done, but will be very costly unless you know a good scrappie or two

From memory, I think we covered this before and the answer was that the brochure is wrong, the cup holders are no longer illuminated.

According to the fuel computer, my mpg has dropped in this cold weather too, from around 39 to 36 on my normal commute.

Sony own Aiwa, that's why

Sorry - nowhere near N Wales and I don't have VAG-com, but don't worry too much about the heater - it can be very temperamental. A couple of weeks ago, coming back from daughter and friends trip to cinema, 7-up, the aux heater cut in after about 10 miles when the coolant was well hot. Yesterday at +1 deg C, it didn't cut in until I'd driven a few hundred yards, this morning at -3 deg C, it cut in immediately on engine start, with a big cloud of grey smoke ! I have previously had it operate at ambient temp of +10 deg C, and not operate at +6.

On Surrey-Hants borders, diesel is still around 95p per litre and I've only seen 2 garages where UL is under 90p per litre.

All I can think of is something that was mentioned before - the heater has several settings, and on some of them, yours is over-fuelling. I do not know how the unit works out when to reduce its output and switch to a lower setting; maybe it works from ambient temperature, water temperature or a mixture of both - anyone else know ?