My Cupra caused a huge traffic jam

[PraiseTheSun]

So, I just done the weekly shop with the mrs, we pull out of the store and turn onto a busy road during rush hour.

As I pull off the car goes into 2nd, then 3rd, but as it tries to go into 4th it starts kangaroo'ing.

The display that shows your gear "D1, D2" etc started flashing "D" with no number, then the battery light came on the dash, then a few moments later the engine died and I couldn't get it started again no matter what I tried.

This was right in front of a T-junction on a busy Norwich road during rush hour. I get a lot of angry honks from passers by and being the numpty that I am, I put it in Park as muscle memory leaving the car, so I thought it couldn't be moved.

I tried getting it in Neutral but I was so freaked out by the whole ordeal I forgot to even put the keys in. Lots of passers by offering to help move it, which was nice but I had to explain to them all it was stuck in park.. they laughed at me lol.

I phone my mechanic asking if he can come tow the car, but I get no answer. I thought maybe it was the battery so starting phoning friends for a jump start, but none of my friends are answering either! By this point I'm getting freaked out thinking how much this is gonna cost to fix, feeling like a tit causing this huge traffic jam, and wondering how the hell I'm getting the car home.

30 minutes later, my mechanic calls me back and he explains the keys need to be in the ignition to get it in neutral (duh). I put the keys in and the dash lights up as normal.. So I try turning the keys - the car starts and drive home perfectly fine with no problems.

Anyway, that's my story! Anyone have any idea what the hell happened to my girl? She's a 10 plate Cupra.

 

[RUM4MO]

Yes, bad do, it is easy for lots of people to come back and say "have you not read the handbook" - but until you get lots of practise sorting this issue out, it will always be brain out the window and acting on instinct.

Right, back to your initial problem, I'd hope that some fault codes have been logged and so you should get your mechanic to scan that car before it starts clearing some of these logged faults itself - and yes it can and will clear some fault codes, especially "low priority/level" ones.

Good Luck!

 

[Hawkers]

Any weird noises with the transmission when it changes gear etc?

 

[KXL]

it will always be brain out the window and acting on instinct.

I had a female friend, who has always driven manual cars, old school GTIs the like...when she rented a car, they gave her a free upgrade to a Mini Cooper D auto....

She had a panic attack on where the 3rd pedal was...she even called me and asked me how to I shift to Reverse and where is 1st gear etc...finally when she got moving, she asked me, what does M next to the D mean on the Gear (manual overide) and what are these square buttons behind steering with +/- (flappy paddles) are, and do they increase the volume of the stereo? I told her, don't touch those buttons and keep it in D .

 

[PraiseTheSun]

Any weird noises with the transmission when it changes gear etc?

Not really although once or twice the car has been a little "kangaroo-ish" when going from 2nd to 3rd.

The mechanic checked the error codes which were for piston misfiring.

He suspects either the spark plugs or coil pack, and we're going to start with the spark plugs.

 

[Sonofzelda]

I had a female friend, who has always driven manual cars, old school GTIs the like...when she rented a car, they gave her a free upgrade to a Mini Cooper D auto....

She had a panic attack on where the 3rd pedal was...she even called me and asked me how to I shift to Reverse and where is 1st gear etc...finally when she got moving, she asked me, what does M next to the D mean on the Gear (manual overide) and what are these square buttons behind steering with +/- (flappy paddles) are, and do they increase the volume of the stereo? I told her, don't touch those buttons and keep it in D .

Did you hear about the American who hired a car at Heathrow drove to St Ives and back and complained about the poor mileage. He'd spent the week in 1st gear.

 

[KXL]

Or the April Fools prank where a BMW owner called up customer service saying his car would not work at night, as in the day time, he put it into day mode (Drive) on the gear, at night, he put it in N mode (Neutral) and it doesn't move at night...so he wanted to return the car for a refund etc as it 'was not as advertised as such that it only worked in the day'

 

[Sonofzelda]

A BMW owner? You sure it was a prank?

 

[KXL]

Here it is...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S3mzAzOl6o

I forgot to add, he also complained that Race mode doesn't work...when he put it into R, instead of racing...it hit the car behind him but going backwards...

 

[Sonofzelda]

Oh god my tummy hurts!

 

[PraiseTheSun]

For anyone who had a similar issue, replacing the spark plugs seems to have fixed things; no more misfiring codes.

 

[RUM4MO]

For anyone who had a similar issue, replacing the spark plugs seems to have fixed things; no more misfiring codes.

You do know that the twin charger engines need more care than SEAT consider, also its a pity that you did not get shown the old plugs along with which cylinder they came out from, as that might have told you if you are now due for some very bad news in the near future. Type/make of "best" plugs might have changed since SEAT marketed that engine, was it a SEAT dealer that you took that car to?

Edit:- if you are in any way concerned, I think that this forum has threads that cover most issues that can affect that type of engine, use "search" function, I have no experience of that twin charger but have noticed too much possible bad news while checking for new postings on other issues relevant to my cars/engine.

Another Edit:- ah, I've just noticed that you have made yourself aware of potential issues, so that is good, good luck with that car!

 

[PraiseTheSun]

He's not a SEAT mechanic no, but I've been using him a long time and I trust him.
He's happy for me to hover over his shoulder and explain everything, but this time I had just cooked dinner so left him to get on with it!

After he changed the plugs, the odd "tapping" from the engine disappeared, and left it to idle for 10 mins with no error codes.

I got it a year ago with 40k on the clock and a full SEAT service history, as I knew going in this wasn't VWs most reliable engine ever, but it's one of the few cars that meets both my needs of being quick, and my girlfriends need of being cheap to insure and tax.

I usually drive like an old man, only really pushing it hard when merging on a motorway or when some chump in his Audi challenges me lol.

 

[Sonofzelda]

... and my girlfriends need of being cheap to insure and tax..

Has she got a sister?

 

[RUM4MO]

Well not me then in the Audi normally, as I seem to aim to drive my Audi S4 with economy in mind when we are not in a hurry!

A few Audi drivers give us "other" Audi drivers a very bad name, which is backed by the TV as my wife knows that when you see a black Audi involved, you know something bad is about to happen.

Strange that?

That twin charger engine must be a bit of a beast, though it is shocking that VW did not make sure it was also very reliable, really same could be said about the similar aged 1.2TSI engines, though without the "beast" potential.

My last car which replaced a VX Cav GSI 2000 16v 4X4 - yes all that was on the boot (great car and engine), was a 2000 B5 VW Passat 4Motion 2.8V6 30v - which was just a rehashed B5 Audi A4 so very reliable, ie it had an "Audi only" engine in it, current car is a 2011 Audi S4 3.0V6 24v Supercharged and hopefully it will also be reliable as it has an "Audi only" engine in it, well maybe a few Porches use that engine. My point I am trying to make is, I have friends that have been buying Audis for years, but with VW general usage 2.0TDI engines, and they keep failing, my advise to them seem to get ignored, ie if you want a VW buy a VW if you want an Audi make sure you buy one with an "Audi only" engine in it, then it might not fail so often.

Anyway, these small turbo charged and twin charged engines were meant to be where the future was for petrol engines, VW need to sort out twin charging and get it back!

 

[PraiseTheSun]

Well my last car was an Alfa Romeo so I'm moving in the right direction at least!

 

[Drewman]

Did you hear about the American who hired a car at Heathrow drove to St Ives and back and complained about the poor mileage. He'd spent the week in 1st gear.

haha, what a horrendous noise that would have been

 

[Sonofzelda]

Click on KXL's utube link - gold-plated!

 

[Drewman]

I didn't click cos I'd heard it but I have now watched again and forgot how funny it was

I think it's her response which really makes it good