Alex's Infuriating/ Wonderful LCR

[ac123]

So I bought My 53 plate LCR about a month ago now. It had 96k Long MOT and Tax and FSH. Just what I was looking for apart from a tad high on the mileage- but they are few and far between in Cornwall!

Everything seemed to be looking good, had a good test drive and it pled nicely through all the gears, no knocks or bumps. Two new tyres and the callipers and alloys had been refurbished about 12 months ago- the guy had still managed to curb them a couple of times unfortunately but otherwise it was pretty smart.

The downsides were

1. I believe someone had used a mechanical polisher on the paintwork which had been a bit aggressive, leaving some swirling.
2. The interior was a bit rough- a few stains and a bit of mould (which possibly should have been a warning sign.) However, I knew with some elbow grease I could sort that out.
3. It needs a cam belt in around 20k but thats a good way away.
4. It'll need new fronts shortly- which isn't so bad because I want to put some better tyres on anyway.

So I pay my money and off I drive. Happy as Larry...

Two hours later- the EML comes on. Great. Thankfully it didn't seem to effect the car, so I used it for a further day having checked the oil ect. Then it went into limp mode.

So the next day me and my buddy plug it into his OBD and it has a couple of fault codes, one about the thermostat and another being a misfire on cylinder four.

My friend diagnosed this as the coil pack on four needing replacement. Unfortunately I needed the car so had to take it to the stealers instead of buying the coil packs online and getting my friend to help. So £80 later Im back on the road- it also gave me a chance to get a rear wiper blade for a tenner too.

So then, two hours later- guess what? The EML pops back up so I plug it in and its the thermostat fault code again- for some reason we had figured they were related originally. So here starts the trouble which I have now read so many pages about.

We decided to replace the thermostat- believing it was stuck open as the temperature gauge wasn't moving on the dash. We did this successfully, taking 2 hours over a job you smart cookies do in twenty minutes. Of course, breaking the dipstick tube whilst we were at it and wasting five litres of coolant! It's all a learning curve though, ey?

However, we did eventually finish and put the car back together, plugged it back into the OBD and she was running at about 80 degrees- which my friend said sounds about right. It also got the gauge moving, but it goes down to sixty as soon as the car is moving- so I wasn't so sure.

Anyway I gave it a few drives- Plymouth>Bristol>Plymouth and the next weekend Plymouth>Southampton>Bristol. Everything seemed fine but on the way to southampton... Guess what pops up- the EML! By this point I have been smart enough to have bought a cheap OBD2 Bluetooth plugin and checked and cleared the code on my phone, same thermostat issue of course.

Another one I forgot to mention is the drivers side door lock is broken, causing the alarm to go off whilst driving ect. A bit of a nuisance, I have read about fixing it and it looks way above my very basic understanding, so I got a few quotes and have booked the car in for this. Whilst its there its getting the bodged dipstick tube replaced and I have now decided to get the guys to finally figure out whats causing the temperature problem- believing it to be the temp sender. Obviously for this I won't be going to the stealers and I have found a garage with good reviews in Plymouth and they are VAG specialists.

So keep your fingers crossed, this time tomorrow all of my mechanical and electrical issues will be solved! Hurrah!

Then I have a few plans- once it stops breaking!

1. Replace door seals (Have a minor leak in the passenger side door) I know it could be the pollen filter too but the door seals are tatty anyway.
2. Forge 007p
3. New air filter (not sure which one)
4. Possible re-map but I have not decided. (Currently running the standard 225bhp)
5. NGK Iridium Spark Plugs

And maybe this will change as I read you guys' advice!

Some of the things I have managed cheaply however is to get the interior looking a lot better, one or two more go's with the interior and cloth stain remover I have been using and the seats will be top notch again (Wonder wheels I think) and I have also got the body work looking better. Although she's dirty at the moment, but I need to give it a full clean, polish and wax which I have not yet done then I think it'll come up pretty good!

Sorry for such a lengthy post but I hope its been interesting. Please note I am a complete rookie and really have no idea about engines ect. This is a massive learning curve for me, my previous car was a boring Ford Focus, yet hugely reliable requiring two new tyres and a new windscreen (insurance job) and thats its after 10,000 miles of service. Prior to that I had a Ford Puma which Im not afraid to say was a great car for an eighteen year old. Cheap to insure and pretty nippy with the 1.7!

I hope its been interesting and i'll post some photos when I get some gooduns'

Thanks!

 

[akko]

And that is why i was unsure for going for a high milage LCR!

Leaky door seals is probably what has caused some mould on your interior and is a common problem on these cars so i would get them sorted asap imo.
Forge 008 is the revised version of the 007, i've ran it for 9 months and its perfect, but my mate has a 007 and also has had no problems, we can't tell the difference.
Jetex cone filter is a good one, bigger than a k and n.
Watch out getting a remap with a car on such high miles, there is a higher chance of it throwing a rod out of the bottom, make sure you take it to a legit company if your going to get it mapped as you need a custom map to your car with noooo boost spikes!

Hope that helps and i hope you enjoy a trouble free car future! They are one of the best cars around for the price.

 

[ac123]

Absolutely, it was well priced too. I think the issue was the guy was not an enthusiast. He loved the car but maybe didn't have the dollar a car of such age and mileage requires to keep it perfect. I also want to chuck it in for a good service. It has full history so far but the las tone is the only one that wasn't by a seat dealership. Im not fussy with it not being a seat dealership but I'd like it done by a VAG specialist.

When it comes to the map i'd be thinking either Revo or APR, so I'm pretty sure those guys are good at what they do looking at the threads.

I'm currently on a low budget myself, however within six months my wage increase 300% as I qualify. So as you can imagine, some of these things are more of a long term project! The dump valve ect I will go by whats a good deal at the time. From what it sounds like I can rely on the 007 or 008 and I do still want to maintain the reliability.

Also If I get it mapped, I think new wishbones and to get her poly-bushed sounds like a good idea!

 

[akko]

Unless the wishbones are in really bad condition, you might not need to replace them. Just helped a friend polybush his wishbones, his is on 90k miles and his wishbones were fine after we cleaned them up a bit, he did notice a small difference after fitting the bushes though.

If your on a low budget, have a look at getting the wellycooler before the map, its around £200 for all the parts, and its hugeee. I couldn't justify paying triple for a forge one as it does the job perfectly.

 

[ac123]

Ah ok, thanks for the advice. Thankfully the particularly limiting budget is short term. But i'll have a look!

 

[L14M H]

Hope it all gets sorted mate. Mine is having a few issues at the moment. Keeps us on our toes though. Oh the joys of car ownership!

 

[ac123]

Ha, its not car ownership. It's Cupra ownership! To be honest, none of my problems have actually kept it off the road so it could be much worse! Thanks anyway. Off to get the door lock done today and hopefully to find the temp issue!

 

[L14M H]

Ha, its not car ownership. It's Cupra ownership! To be honest, none of my problems have actually kept it off the road so it could be much worse! Thanks anyway. Off to get the door lock done today and hopefully to find the temp issue!

Ha, good point. Yeah not had this many issues with any car before.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[ac123]

So, I went to the garage today and happy days! The car is running a beaut, tempreture is right and the door lock is fixed. I went to Volks City in Plymouth and for a small outfit they were very good. Not extremely cheap but I believe they are honest and fair and a good bunch of guys.

Unfortunately they tell me my battery is low on juice, so thats next on the list but all thing considered could be worse!

It was nice to drive away and feel like everything was pretty much working. To be honest I don't know if it's a bit of a placebo or not but I felt like I had more power than previously. Temperature stayed bang on 90 degrees all the way home.

 

[L14M H]

Happy days indeed. What did they do to fix the temp issue?

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

 

[ac123]

Just replaced one of the four sensors. I knew it was a sensor, didn't know it had four of them. They had the proper fault finding tools ect. They had to check the temp in individual pipes and such to figure it out.

 

[ac123]

So just a quick update , had all my problems fixed or so I thought. The guy at the garage I took it too did a battery check, as he says he does it as standard. Anyway, I had a feeling the battery was on its way out as the car sometimes takes a couple of turns before it will start, always first time just not immediate. Anyway, turns out the battery is pretty much done for.

So I get paid on Monday and to be fair would be prefer to get it down quick snap. Can anyone suggest which battery I should put in and how much I should expect to spend?? Much appreciated if you can help!


The guy at the garage said he would do it for between £35-45 fitted, depending on which battery it needed.. Fair?

 

[ac123]

Finally had a nice day for a wash and polish, what do we think?

 

[ac123]