DubDriver

Thanks Mirez and Richyrich for your prompt replies, I will have a closer look at the plug and wiring near to the sensor for fit/damage. That's if it stops snowing sometime soon!!!!!!

I apologise in advance for raising the subject of parking sensors yet again, but I do not seen to have found a solution to my problem in other posts that I have viewed. My particular problem is that when the sensors are operated i.e. reverse selected or button on dash pressed, there is a short beep followed by a much longer higher pitched beep from the control panel under the passenger seat accompanied by a flashing light on the dash. I have been fortunate that the control panel has not suffered from water ingress, therefore I have had my sons listening to the ticking noises from the sensors. We have determined that the front offside sensor nearest to the number plate is not making a sound. I took off the bumper trim and swopped the two offside sensors round which proved that the sensor is not faulty, so there seems to be something wrong with the wiring. The wiring connection to the sensor is tight with virtually no slack in the loom, however there does not appear to be any damage to the the cable. I would be grateful if anyone can give me any ideas where the loom exits the car at the front and if there are any connectors in the loom that may have got water in them or in fact any places where the cable may have got damaged. I would also like to know if I could take a feed from the adjacent working sensor to solve the problem?

I have had similar experiences to the last "postee" in terms of mileage out of Dunlops. One thing that nobody has mentioned so far is, "exactly how little pressure are you running your tyres at, to get 11k miles out of a set?" I would suspect, a lot less than is recommended. Every time I have been to the local tyre fitting shops they have never put enough air in and when i tell them what to put in, they look me as if I am from outer space. 3 bar is min. recommended for 16" fronts.

You are right Martin certainly on the diesel models and I would suggest on petrol models the fans should cut in when the air con is switched on. The very nature of how air conditioning works requires that air is constantly passed through the condenser (radiator) to convert the high temperature gas back into a liquid. I would also add that to see the fans running on a diesel engine because of temperature, you would have to be stood in a traffic jam with temperatures in excess of 25C. i am sorry that this does not answer your original question, but are you sure that the compressor is running. I have had similar problem with low gas. The sensor prevents the compressor and fans starting when the air-con swith is pressed although the orange light comes on as if it is working.

This is usually a funtion of vehicles with CC and as far as I am aware not standard AC. It is so that the warm moist air is not directed onto the windscreen when the car is first started which would cause the windscreen to mist up. VW have a sensor fitted somewhere close to the windscreen vents for this reason. However, to answer the original question in the post, yes is the answer. This is yet one more thing that irritates me about the car that the dealer has no clue how to resolve and from the work carried out so far by the dealer it is a problem that I would not want them to investigate. The dashboard rattles enough already!!!

SORRY VR6!!!! Being a lowly oil burning 'Plebeian' I consider myself well and truly told off!!!!

The VW program is called ELSA.

Having driven VW cars for over 25 years now. I have found that the original G11 or G12 is worth the cost. Once in the engine it lasts for life. You only need to change it if you have to replace the stat or other parts of the cooling system. Catch the coolant in a bucket by taking the bottom hose off and top up with a litre or so.

have just spent 202.00

I think from the description of the symptoms in the original post then the auxiliary heater is not connected to the problem, just a coincidence that Aux. heater produces a lot of smoke when they are faulty. This will only be when the coolant temp. is low as well as the ambient temp. As for the problem re. cam pulley slipping. Don't think this is likely, the problems were with older generation 1.9 TD engines. I had a Mk3 golf with the 'Umwelt' engine. The crank pulley came loose and lost power. Unfortunately the woodruf key on the pulley had worn the crank, so no amount of tightening would hold it firm. But NO smoke, if timing went that far out due to pulley the pistons would be hitting the valves. I would say turbo has had it.

My windows open themselves over time, but I suspect as previously mentioned it's not the handles. I suspect its the poor quality mechanism fitted just like the overall poor quality of the cars.

How do you adjust front wipers. They are the aero design which just slide over the peg on the arm? The rear one was an exact replacement. Oh I didn't mention that the auxiliary heater failed when the car was 20 months old (car kept disappearing in a cloud of grey smoke) this was replaced under warranty. Guess what, the car is one month out of VAG warrranty and it has failed again. VAG will not pay for repair because the part has already been replaced and that was fifteen months ago.

whats wrong with the wipers then??? The front ones make a terrible racket and are only a few months old and well the rear one, that wipes approx. one third of the area it should. Again this was a brand new Bosch replacement. I suppose I could always turn the radio up, but then again the kids in the back would still complain that they can't hear it. That reminds me, the rear speakers are rubbish as well.

The only things that don't irritate me are the fuel economy, mid forties, and the space inside. Since buying the car two and half years ago It has needed the following. New Clutch & Flywheel (Three times) - Reason cannot get first gear at slow speeds without crunch and biting point of clutch very near the floor. New Gearbox - Reason as above but I assume the dealer needed a bit more warranty work. Anti Roll Bar Drop Links - Replaced twice under warranty. Air Con Compressor Fitted - Reason, noisy when switched on. Wish I hadn't had it done now because the air con does not work (no cold air) now 10 months later. New plenum chamber cover - "Techician" broke the original when changing pollen filter. New Battery - Reason - Fault code found on service - I'm not convinced. In fitting battery the "Technician" disconnected my continuous live supply to towing electrics which wasted my time checking before I found the reason. Throttle Valve & egr solenoid - Car stumbles when cold and "chirps" like a minor bird. Result - Still does. Excessive Tyre Wear, Wipers rubbish, Heater Ineffective, Spare Wheel carrier what a joke! In conclusion, the cars are poorly designed and made using parts not up to the job.

Which manufacturers recommend rotating tyre? Not the car manufacturers! VW manual expressly suggests that tyres are not rotated i.e. turned so that when re-fitted rotate in an opposite direction. The only form of rotation is to move the nearside front to nearside rear and similar with the offside. As for loosening the studs, standing on the bar to crack it does the trick. 30 years of experience proves it, make sure that the bar/socket is square first.

Having read the posts on this topic there seems to have been some conflicting replies and misinformation. Seatkid suggests - Water flowing into the expansion tank is not normal, means its over heating and suggests its the pump failed. This is quite normal. Water is drawn from the bottom of the expansion tank and circulates back in at the top. Masked Marauder suggests - Sounds like a fully open stat or missing altogether. A fully open stat would if anything make the engine run cooler.

Glad you found it. I mentioned this site in one of my earlier posts. Have been using it for years Tim

had same problem on '98 model TDI Passat. Changed nearly all same parts that you have. Symptons were loss of coolant caused by engine pressurising cooling system blowing coolant passed expansion tank cap. Stripped engine down and replaced head gasket, problem solved. The problem was caused by changing faulty temp. sender unit and the resulting loss of coolant. I did not (expensive lesson learned) bleed the cooling system which caused an air lock. See forums at www.tdiclub.com, these engines are very sensitive to localised 'hot spots' caused by air locks which result in head gasket failure.

Thanks Tim - Spam Think I have got a problem following all the dismantling. Wife has just come and asked what all the smoke is coming from under the car? It is coming from the aux. heater. Is this a usual fault? Hasn't done it in the last 18 mths, or has the stealer scr***d up? Can't wait to ring them tomorrow with this and mention that the g/box swap has made the gearchange worse and not solved the original problem!

Since acquiring my VW Sharan 1.9 TDI 6 speed in Sept. 2003 when the car was six months old, I have had difficulty engaging first gear at junctions and changing to second in a hurry without baulking / crunching. I am aware that this gearbox has something of a reputation for not being the smoothest of changes but the problem seems to be that the clutch is not clearing properly. There is a lot of free play in the pedal and the biting point is very close to the floor. I returned the car to the dealer who bled the hydraulic system and adjusted the gearchange linkage. Problem seemed to be solved but after a few months returned. Having lived with the problem for almost a year I decided to return the car to another dealer closer to home. They diagnosed that the clutch and flywheel were faulty. These were changed under warranty but upon collecting the car I was told that they were having problems bleeding the air out of the clutch and would have to keep the car for a further day. The car was subsequently delivered back to us but the free play in the pedal was worse and the biting point even closer to the floor. I complained to the dealer who collected the car and then diagnosed that a new gearbox was required. I have just collected the car from the dealer and guess what, it is no different. I am absolutely disgusted that the dealer can waste so much money and time and still not resolve the problem. Can anyone tell me what their experiences have been with a similar problem? Has anyone had similar problems with their Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambras? Where typically is the biting point on Galaxy/Sharan/Alhambras? Having had 11 VW's prior to the Sharan this is definitely the worst car for niggly faullts, A/C not up to job, rear windows gradually opening themselves, hesitancy at junctions when cold, 'minor bird' chirping sounds from under the bonnet on acceleration/deceleration when cold, clunking from front anti-roll bar ( fixed under warranty), just to name a few which the dealer cannot resolve, anti-roll bar excepted. Sorry for rambling on but I hope that somebody can shed some light on the problem.

I have a Sharan with Dunlop 2020 215/55 16 tyres. The pressures for 3 persons are the same as you quote for the Galaxy but for fully loaded are 44 front 45 rear. I have just changed one at the front and also changed over the spare. The were still legal but barely and had done 18500 miles mostly motorway driving. The one which I bought cost

I fitted a Witter towbar to my Sharan 2003 with reversing sensors. The towbar and electrics cost me about