Intermittent Limp Mode 100 Sportrider 1.4. Coils, Spark Plugs & Lambda all changed.

[alcaponeuk]

Hello peeps, my first post on here and unfortunately its a negative one! Recently got back on the road after finishing uni and tracked down a sweet 1.4Sportrider Ibiza, bought it off a trade seller so thankfully it has 3 months mechanical warranty.

On the test drive the car drove perfect albeit the engine management light was on but static. The dealer assured me it had already been diagnosed as the lambda sensor and would be off after the service when i drive it away. So i take his word for it (like a muggle) and come back to pick it up on thursday with the lambda replaced.

Shock the engine light comes back on half way home, this time flashing and car goes into limp mode, (lacking power between 0-4k revs, really struggles to get the revs down, unstable idle and near to stalling when engine breaking).

So i take it back in, dealers have the car for a week and they hand it over to a 'VW specialist'. Who changed the spark plugs and the ignition coil packs, so i ring up asking them when its ready to collect and they say its finished, so i go meet the guy in birmingham and pick up the motor.

Shock, half way home after fuelling up (now the car is up to temp and ignition been turned over) the light is now back on again, flashing and in limp mode every time the car gets up to temp.

Unfortunately i dont have any diagnostic information for you guys as ive been back and fourth on the phone being told "the light went off and the computer readings were fine" every time they give it back to me.

From what ive read so far theres still the potential for it to be the O2 sensor, something relative to the fuel line or potentially a faulty catalytic converter? Or perhaps a faulty job replacing the original lambda ?

What course of action would you guys advise me to take next? Besides the limp mode, the car drives superb, im already attached to it and love the motor i just want it sorted! Do I persist with the dealer or do i bite the bullet and fork out my own pocket to have it done once and for all by SEAT.

Ive read and heard far too many horror stories of mechanics simply resetting the light and sending the car on its way again after sending the invoice, only to find out later that its gonna be a £500+ fix by an official seat mechanic. Im also in a position where i can get my money back and go buy another car, but thats not something i want to think about!

 

[Arkaig]

Don't sink money into fixing it yourself unless the warranty has expired. If you must do something, pick up a cheap OBDII reader on ebay and check what the error codes are. This way you might have a bit more insight and therefore leverage if the same code keeps reappearing after they claim to have fixed something.

Personally I'd get my money back, or dump the car with them and tell them not to hand it back until it's been fixed and properly road tested up to temperature. But sadly some dealers find ways to string these problems out for ages until the warranty runs out, especially if they know about an elusive or expensive problem.

There are plenty of other sportriders about and generally they are good cars, the 1.4 is a reliable lump

 

[RUM4MO]

As above, request a paper copy of the fault codes logged at every repair from now forward. One thing that has been said lots of times on these forums, only ever replace a factory fitted Lambda probe with another VAG or same thing NTK part, the fitting of aftermarket parts, and brands like Bosch etc are aftermarket and not OEM!

Somebody is missing something probably simple here so far, or they are been driven by the selling garage to cheaply guess their way round things, that is not the way to treat a customer - I wonder if they are willing to pay you for your wasted time?

A few questions, what is the age of this car and what the mileage and is there much signs of it having had a full service record?

Edit:- any print outs of engine fault scans made by a "VW specialist" should be routinely accompanied by that cars VIN etc - to avoid any monkey business a proper scan tool will automatically record the VIN of the car it has been connected to.