I would really appreciate some advice please ?

[kimseren]

Two weeks ago I sent my X reg Passat (1.8 SE estate, 115,00 miles but I have had it for 5 problem free years and kept it serviced and in good repair ) in for a routine service at our local garage (not VW specialist but normally reliable).

A couple of days later, I was driving along a, thankfully, quiet country road when the large plastic cover from under the engine fell off into the road (50mph), to my shock. It had never been loose before and I could see that some of the retaining bolts were missing and one completely sheared off. A strip of metal was hanging down from under the engine and grinding along the road as I tried to return to the garage so I immediately stopped and called both the RAC and the garage. The mechanic from the garage beat the RAC to reach me and he bent the piece of metal ( I assume from the damaged plastic cover) up into the engine to allow me to drive back for him to fix the car. He admitted that one of his staff had not fitted the cover back onto the car properly and after an hour returned the car to me.

I noticed he had fixed the cover back onto my car with a combination of the original fixings and plastic cable ties where the original fixings were missing/ broken. I was not impressed and decided to book the car in for inspection at VW ASAP (which I have not yet done as it is quite far away).

Last night my car told me to STOP, as in was too low in coolant to continue. It was pouring with rain and my husband had to walk to the nearest garage for some bottled water. We filled up with about a litre of water and managed to get home. I have noticed that the coolant level is slowly falling (although I have only driven a couple of miles this weekend to test it) and will have to return to the garage for advice before going to work tomorrow.

My questions to you are: Do you think the first repair job is acceptable ?
Do you think the sudden leakage of coolant may be related to the cover coming from under my engine at 50 mph ?

Would really appreciate advice before my garage visit tomorrow, thank you.:1zhelp:

[hongkongstuey]

the garage i take mine to says the screws that hold them on are rubbish and tend to use cable ties instead, mine fell off when i had just picked the car up and has sat in the back garden ever since, when it gets warmer i'll refit it, screws are about 80p each, i got some but then decided to snaffle some cable ties from work for when i refit it.

what did the car go in for in the first place? what was involved in the routine service? unless they have replaced coolant with something that isnt the right spec then i'd look at the water pipes once its warmed up and see which ones are hot/if any are cold and if any are leaking, look for crusty deposits around pipes etc, vw's use a specific coolant relevant to the engine type and putting water in will only weaken the coolant and should only be put in in an emergency to get you home (i think?)

[grhdylan]

To be honist, i can't see how the sudden leakage of coolant may be related to the undertray. I do think the undertray should have been properly secured & any damage caused by the undertray coming off or damage to the undertray should be met by the garage.
I once took mine to a back street garage & they said the plastic dowells which hold the undertray inplace had snapped & they used cable ties as a replacement. I personaly prefer cable ties as there is no chance of them working loose like the dowells !;)

[cazyp]

I suppose the only way it can be related is if the cover caught and split a coolant pipe or radiator.

[kimseren]

Thank you very much for your replies. I will go to the garage tomorrow with more knowledge and ask more relevant questions, I hope. The worrying thing is that my husband checked his Passat 1.9 TDI 130bhp (only 4 years old) which has also been recently serviced at the same garage. It too had a very loose tray under the engine, which they fixed for free. I think the moral of this story is to find another garage.:Blush:

[kimseren]

Took the car back to the garage who tested the cooling system for leaks. They say a significant leak has developed (in the past week) at the bottom of the radiator, have put some temporary sealant in the system and quoted £250 to replace it. They say we will have to prove it was anything to do with their original mistake if we think that it was .We are booking it into VW to have the radiator repaired as they are not much more expensive and intend to have it examined for signs of damage. Either a coincidence or a costly mistake ? We are keeping an open mind.

[cazyp]

Lol, I know what I think! And I also know what I think about them gunking up your engine with sealant :aargh4:.

Make sure VW know it has liquid sealant in so they can flush.
FYI Main dealer in Norwich quotes £270 inc' to fit a new rad in a 1.9TDi PD 130.

[kimseren]

Thanks for your advice. Had a similar quote from my VW dealer but I think it's worth the few extra pounds. Should have stuck to them in the first place as they are excellent but in a very inconvenient place so difficult to get to work, even if I could get a courtesy car. My husband volunteered to take holidays to sort this one out for me.

[SKINNYSEAND]

Sealant is not really good to use in your cooling system. You definitely need to find another garage