LCR warranty expires soon - need fault checklist!

[craig1410]

Hi,
My warranty expiry has sneaked up on me and I have only this weekend to find any faults (and pass an MOT) before the warranty expires on Monday. I've had a look through several pages of the MK1 forum but I can't find a thread regarding common faults which I should look for prior to warranty expiry.

Can anyone give me a list of things to check over the weekend which I can report to my SEAT dealer for warranty repair?

For reference, my car is a 2005 '54 plate LCR which is standard as far as I know. I have had the rain water leak issue fixed already under warranty. The only other complaints I have are sqeaky suspension going over speed bumps in the rain, a faint ratling noise coming from the back when going over slightly rough ground and a faint howling noise which I hear sometimes which I can't decide if it's a wheel bearing or just tyre roar. I have Falken FK452's on the front and P-Zero Rosso's on the rear.

Any tips would be very very much appreciated!
Thanks,
Craig.

 

[Gnollins]

1. Make sure your radiator fans always spin when the aircon is on. If they don't, and instead pulse on and off, they need fixed. The slow speed resistor burns out over time.

2. Check your rear wiper jet and make sure it doesn't follow the direction of the wiper blade. If it does, your boot will probably be wet soon...

There are lots of little niggly faults, but the 2 above are quite common.

HTH

 

[m0rk]

splitting outer CV joints

 

[craig1410]

Hi guys,
Thanks for the tips, those were faults I hadn't heard of before. I've got a VAG-COM cable so I'll get a fault code dump too.

I have an interior rattle which may be the boot trim. Can anyone confirm which piece of trim causes this rattle commonly? Is it the trim just inside the lip of the boot or is it the trim on the bootlid? If I tap the trim inside the lip of the boot it does rattle a bit. Also, do you know what part of the rear seat tends to rattle so that I can check it too?

Any problems with wheel bearings normally? The faint howling noise I mentioned seems to be most noticeable at around 40 or 50 MPH and doesn't seem to vary much when the car is gently swerved from side to side or if the brakes are gently depressed. It's been a while since I've had a wheel bearing problem but I seem to recall that the tone should change when swerving and should disappear when braking.

Thanks again,
Craig.

 

[Gnollins]

Hi,

Interior rattles are quite hard to solve.

However...

If it comes from the rear seats; people on this forum have suggested wrapping tape around the metal bars that the rear seats clip into.

If the rattle comes from the steering column, then re-seat the steering wheel and then re-lock it - hey presto - no steering noise for a while!!

 

[craig1410]

Hi again,

Been working on the car all day and have removed all 4 wheels and had a good look at all the mechanicals. I've also done a scan for fault codes using VAG-COM. Here are my findings:

1. RH Driveshaft has play in the outer CV joint. If I hold the shaft I can rotate the brake disc back and forwards a tiny bit. Would I be correct in saying that any play is too much here? This may be the source of my droning noise.

2. Back seat rattle - I noticed that one of the little "screw in" rubber stoppers had fallen out but even after refitting it the seat back can be pulled back and forwards making a loud clunking. It's as if the rubber stopper needs to be longer.

3. Boot trim rattle as described earlier.

4. LH side repeater has water in it.

5. All three "R" badges are corroded around the flags.

6. Cooling fans DO NOT come on when air con is switched on... I brought the car up to operating temperature with a 10 minute drive and then opened the bonnet and checked the fans. They were not spinning. I then put the air con into "Lo" mode and the fans still didn't spin until a few minutes had gone by. Eventually they started to come on for a few seconds and go off again. In case it is important, the exterior temperature was 6.5C - do the fans perhaps only come on above a certain ambient temp?

7. Both rear trailing arm bushes looked a bit weird. There is a black plastic washer/spacer thingy that seems to be out of alignment. This may be due to me jacking up one side of the car at a time and putting twist on the beam axle. Is it these bushes that creak when wet going over speed humps?

8. VAG-COM has thrown up a 01134 fault code which is "Alarm Horn (H12) Internal Supply Voltage". Is this a backup battery in the horn or something? Is it a warranty item?

Thanks again to all,
Craig.

 

[Gnollins]

I would certainly get them to check your radiator fans, see this thread for info:

http://www.seatcupra.net/forums/showthread.php?t=137571

 

[craig1410]

Hi guys,
Been in for my MOT and passed with no problems - even though I would say my rear brake pads are well below the level where at the very least an advisory should have been issued. Difficult to tell with the wheels on though I guess. In any event I'll be sorting this out in the next few weeks myself.

Got them to look at the list of things I mentioned in my last post with mixed outcomes. The good news is that I have a pair of cooling fans on order to be fitted on Wednesday so big thanks to Gnollins for that one!! Probably saved me a large amount of cash and associated agro...

The side repeater will be replaced under warranty but the "R" badges are not covered apparently. Rattles are also not covered outside the first 6 months.

No joy with the CV joint or rear bushes as the mechanic and service manager took the car out and couldn't hear anything wrong. It could still be just tyre noise so I guess time will tell.

I have mixed feelings really - I'm a little disappointed not to get the "R" badges and CV joint replaced but in fairness they are not that bad and on balance I'm just happy to have saved £400 on the cooling fans and to have a legal, MOT'd car again. If it had failed today it would have been a pain.

Thanks again - top job guys!!
Craig.

Edit: Forgot to mention, the fault code was cleared with no further action required. Apparently this is caused by the battery voltage being too low or the battery having been disconnected at some point.

 

[seatcupra]

I thought the badges were covered tbh...

If you still have the original exhaust i would check the brackets are not about to snap, i got a new one fitted just before my warranty ran out, parts alone for the "LC" were about £180 so yours will be more expensive probably

 

[stpete]

had loads of R badges replaced!!! having had two R's I've had them done about every 6 months for five years!!! Take no prisoners and demand yer R's is looked at!!!!