Ivor_E_Tower

Is it wearing out evenly or just the inside or outside edge?

Well, the fault is there, so straight back to the garage for a refund for unnecessary work. Could be an earthing problem from the front screen heater as this is the only thing that seems to make your warning light illumnate.

"sluggishness" - drive-by-wire; could be the throttle sensor potentiometer (new accelerator pedal assembly required). I don't have VAG-COM so do not know if you can take "real-time" readings from the sensors; I would have thought that is was possible though.

Welcome back, Porker, and sorry to hear that you are still having problems. I take it that you have now used SEAT dealers in Camberley and Farnham? Not sure if there are any VW TDI independents around here; The VW dealer in Guildford is apparently a bit hit-and-miss, and the one in Camberley is expensive (not sure if they are any good). I would have thought that it might be worth your while to trade your Alhambra in against another one, or buy another one with accident damage and start swapping bits over (assuming you have room to store another car off the public highway).

It's getting a bit much when your local garage can change the plugs and leads (possibly including all parts costs) for less than the price of just the diagnostic check at the Fraud dealer. :lol:

I wouldn't get too hung up about this; there is also air resistance, tyre drag/friction, mechanical friction etc etc to consider ....... :o :lol: :o

Yes, and it will be much cheaper too.

Aero drag is proportional to the square of the speed. Doubling your speed quadruples the drag (ie 2 squared is 4) so the faster you go, the much higher the drag forced become.

How are WE supposed to know the answer to that (unless you suspect that one of us is having an affair with her) ??? :lol:

Fitting the rails has been covered before at least twice, with a few photos too. IIRC you only need to drill holes sufficiently large to clear the securing bolts. Don't over-do it or you increase the chances of leaks. You need to strip off the headlining, which involves loosening or removing most of the interior bodyshell trim.. It is not very difficult, just time-consuming.

Seems a little heavy on juice, but not too bad really - don't forget that the Galaxy has a large frontal are - loads of air to push aside, and therefor also loads of drag, especially at speed. The difference in fuel consumption between 56 and 70 mph is much greater than the "official" government figures would have you believe. The 2 4-cylinder petrol Galaxies that I had use of, before buying a diesel, averaged 22 to 25mpg on the motorways and urban driving.

Just get her to hold one of those exercise balls in her lap when she sits in the front passenger seat. The proper passenger airbag needs to be correctly fitted so that the crash sensor and safing senosr (plus any others that are fitted) give the correct signals at the correct time to fire the bag. It is not a simple retro-fit job.

Get Hometune, Tune-up or similar round to your house or place of work; they should be able to tell you what is wrong for less than the dealer !

Current thinking is that you shouldn't have blasts of air at all, the air should be diffused into the cabin and be the same temperature everywhere. So no warm feel, cold face any more. Shame :P

Yes - go to your local VW dealer or independent VW specialist. VW have apparently never really given Ford dealers full accesss to all the info they need to keep the VR6 and its auto box in full working order (should it suffer a problem or two).

If you leave the seelctor in "auto" then yes. Otherwise it will change on its own to protect the engine from over-revving or over-stressing the engine.

Mark 1 or 2 ? Have you checked the relevant fuse and reverse light switch/connection? Have you looked under the rear bumper to check for loose wires etc?

It's a VW engine as fitted to the Passat and Golf. Sorry to hear of your news; engine deaths are always unwelcome

I'd be tempted to phone your VW dealer and say that you have bought all the parts, where are the connectors hidden?

Drive-by-wire; if the computer thinks you are braking because of a faulty brake light switch, it limits the fuel supply (and hence power that the engine can produce).

On the occasions when it does engage normally, if you get a continuous whining sound, then the ring gear is almost certainly undamaged - the engine needs to turn over more than one revolution to "catch" so any missing or damaged teeth will cause the starter to make "odd" noises as it passes the damaged area.

How did they check the turbo boost and get a figure of 1 bar boost pressure? If all else fails, remember that this is a VW engine and you may have better luck from a VW dealer (or independent specialist). IIRC the solenoid should operate the deflector plate (for the variable geometry turbo) but the boost iteslf should be limited by a preset spring value on the wastegate. I stand to be corrected and will bow to the greater knowledge of any TDI specialists out there .......

..I meant the air intake, not the blades ! We're all Galaxy Geeks, we'd notice most of the unusual upgrades etc to different model years (twin chromed exhaust pipes, solid/A-framed headrests, lower part of rear bumper in body colour or unpainted black etc)

IIRC the flat-blade wipers require new wiper arms to fit (since the attachment method is different), and the "improved air intake grille" will require you to also fit new bits to the rear edge of the bonnet; quite a lot of money to pay for basically something that nobody else but you will notice !

Starter solenoid not engaging drive with the toothed ring on the flywheel. Not sure if you can get the bits you needseparately or if you will ned a complete new motor. May be worth trying to find an auto electrician (although this may work out more expensive, will need to be checked).