Hi all,
A bit of a longer post to explain a difficult problem I am experiencing with my Altea.
Last month I bought a used Altea 1.6TDI DSG Auto, 2011, 61k miles from a reputable dealer with full Seat service history. The car came with pre-sale checks and a new MOT.
After around 2 weeks of driving (around 600miles - mainly on the motorway), the car suddenly broke down on the motorway. The glow plug warning light came flashing on and the car lost all power and came to a standstill. I restarted the motor and the warning light disappeared and the car drove again for another 3 miles before the same warning light came flashing and I lost all power again. Restarting the motor allowed me to move again and I was luckily close to home and didn't experience any further issues.
I contacted the dealer who told me to take it to Halfords for a diagnostics test which I did. The mechanic did a cold read which indicated that there was a fault with the EGR valve. However, since he didn't have any capacity to check if there was any problem with the EGR valve (as it was a big job) he told me to try another Halford branch for an earlier appointment. In the meantime, he reset the ECU.
When I took it to the other Halfords, I was told that their diagnostics did not pick up any error (even after they drove it around for 10 miles) and that it might just have been a sensor error. They then told me that I should drive it around and take it back to them if the error occurred again. I did another 60 miles or so (again mostly on the motorway) and everything seemed to work fine. The next day, I took the car to the shops and when I started it again it went into limp mode, doing maximum 20 mph and jerking heavily back and forth when I hit the accelerator. I also noticed that the Exhaust Control Light (check engine light?) came on. Restarting didn't help either and the problem stayed.
I brought it back to Halfords who this time told me that the diagnostics indicated a Gear Box fault (gearbox not engaging gears 1 and 3). They then told me that they don't deal with gear boxes and I would have to take it to a Gearbox specialist. They then reset the ECU and gave me the diagnostic report. The dealer authorised me to take it to an auto gearbox specialist for a 1h diagnostics. However, the specialist couldn't find any error codes, even after driving it around for a while. Again I was told to drive the car around and bring it back when the error occurred again (being the third time now!).
The specialist told me that the diagnostic checks would unlikely have shown that gears 1 and 3 weren't engaging if it was a sensor problem. He told me that the problem was likely to occur again and he was surprised that the car was still driving at all. Anyway, that was last week and I have done around 80 miles (mostly motorway) since then and haven't had any issues to date. However, I cant use the car much as I am avoiding longer trips with it, in case it breaks down.
Have any of you had similar problems with your Seat? Any ideas what it could be (I am suprised about the gear 1 and 3 fault, since the first breakdown occurred while I was in gear 7)? And do you recommend returning the car at this point?
Thanks in advance.
A bit of a longer post to explain a difficult problem I am experiencing with my Altea.
Last month I bought a used Altea 1.6TDI DSG Auto, 2011, 61k miles from a reputable dealer with full Seat service history. The car came with pre-sale checks and a new MOT.
After around 2 weeks of driving (around 600miles - mainly on the motorway), the car suddenly broke down on the motorway. The glow plug warning light came flashing on and the car lost all power and came to a standstill. I restarted the motor and the warning light disappeared and the car drove again for another 3 miles before the same warning light came flashing and I lost all power again. Restarting the motor allowed me to move again and I was luckily close to home and didn't experience any further issues.
I contacted the dealer who told me to take it to Halfords for a diagnostics test which I did. The mechanic did a cold read which indicated that there was a fault with the EGR valve. However, since he didn't have any capacity to check if there was any problem with the EGR valve (as it was a big job) he told me to try another Halford branch for an earlier appointment. In the meantime, he reset the ECU.
When I took it to the other Halfords, I was told that their diagnostics did not pick up any error (even after they drove it around for 10 miles) and that it might just have been a sensor error. They then told me that I should drive it around and take it back to them if the error occurred again. I did another 60 miles or so (again mostly on the motorway) and everything seemed to work fine. The next day, I took the car to the shops and when I started it again it went into limp mode, doing maximum 20 mph and jerking heavily back and forth when I hit the accelerator. I also noticed that the Exhaust Control Light (check engine light?) came on. Restarting didn't help either and the problem stayed.
I brought it back to Halfords who this time told me that the diagnostics indicated a Gear Box fault (gearbox not engaging gears 1 and 3). They then told me that they don't deal with gear boxes and I would have to take it to a Gearbox specialist. They then reset the ECU and gave me the diagnostic report. The dealer authorised me to take it to an auto gearbox specialist for a 1h diagnostics. However, the specialist couldn't find any error codes, even after driving it around for a while. Again I was told to drive the car around and bring it back when the error occurred again (being the third time now!).
The specialist told me that the diagnostic checks would unlikely have shown that gears 1 and 3 weren't engaging if it was a sensor problem. He told me that the problem was likely to occur again and he was surprised that the car was still driving at all. Anyway, that was last week and I have done around 80 miles (mostly motorway) since then and haven't had any issues to date. However, I cant use the car much as I am avoiding longer trips with it, in case it breaks down.
Have any of you had similar problems with your Seat? Any ideas what it could be (I am suprised about the gear 1 and 3 fault, since the first breakdown occurred while I was in gear 7)? And do you recommend returning the car at this point?
Thanks in advance.
