Worried I've bought a dud

[Gemsie]

Hey,

Sorry if this has been covered elsehwhere. I promise I searched first but maybe I missed what I need.

I've been driving my 2001 Golf for a little over a week now. After having the car 24 hours I had to book it in for the emissions light which decided to make an appearance. The garage said they couldn't find anything wrong with the car, but think the computer has stored some old faults which have been rectified. He has reset it, but has also given me a list of 4 or 5 of the fault codes so he knows where to look if it happens again.

Now my worn brake pads light has come on and everytime I start the car the red display tells me to check brake pads. The brakes "seem" ok, but it didn't half freak me out as I was on a long journey when the light came on. So I shall be back to the garage this week.  I'm sure the previous owner said it hadn't long had new brakes, and the MOT and service was about 8 weeks ago.

Do you think this is something my fella could rectify at home? I have no technical knowledge personally (although I think I'm gonna have to gen up having the Golf!), and I'm starting to worry that I may have bought a dud car  Is it quite usual for the lights to come on a lot? Having come from an old Fiesta all this car computer stuff is new to me and I don't know if perhaps either the car or myself is being oversensitive.

Sorry for the long post, just concerned I've bought a dud, which would be a real shame because I already absolutely love it.

Cheers all.

[Dalo Harkin]

get your fella to check the wires that connect to the pads, its not uncommon for the to snap off resulting in the code, you can see how much 'meat' is on them visually so if any are low get your fella to change them only takes an hour for all 4 with a caliper rewind took and a decent socket set

[dan2252]

If its had new brakes the guy who changed them will of broke the plug when he did the pads.

[opel]

i would say it just be the wires if he just replaced pads

[Nino]

Yip, I would also say the wire and been broken, its nothing major, Basically these are a very good bit of kit, it watches how much of the brake pads are left and when they are low, your car kindly tells you not many cars do this. However if the sensor has broken then it thinks your brake pads are low when they are not.

As for the emmisions I would advise that you buy this....
http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_storeId_10001_catalogId_10151_productId_869339_langId_-1_categoryId_255221

Yes it cost alot more than Redex, but I have personally seem a benifit from this and I will continue to use this from now on.
Use it with a full tank

[Gemsie]

Thanks everyone. Will get the old man to take a look at the weekend, I don't want to have to pay a garage unless absolutely necessary! 

I'll get some of that system cleaner too, anything to keep my Golf happy!

Now, best go order that Haynes manual...

[dan2252]

if you ask me you should put it on a computer and any faults in the system post up on here and let us lot on here give you some ideas, because alot of garages may have computers now but they still dont know what there doing with them, now im not sure what engine code your car is but if its a 1.8t you might wana go checking all your breather pipes, the go all under the inlet manifold too, lambda probes go down too, cats go wrong too, airflow meters go wrong every other day haha. coolant temp sensors are fairly common, secondary air pumps go wrong oftern too, do you ever get a werid noise on cold start ups? fairly common for boost leaks too just follow all your boost hoses till you see a hole or any signs of oil which normaly indicates you have a leak. diverter valves go wrong too, we had a 1.8t in at work that had engine managment light on and that was due to the standard diverter valve been faulty.
hope this will help you out mate let us know how you get on good luck!

[Spacekid2009]

Did you buy it from Sheffield by any chance?

[Gemsie]

Did you buy it from Sheffield by any chance?

No, Milton Keynes, and the car originally came from Reading way.

if you ask me you should put it on a computer and any faults in the system post up on here and let us lot on here give you some ideas, because alot of garages may have computers now but they still dont know what there doing with them, now im not sure what engine code your car is but if its a 1.8t you might wana go checking all your breather pipes, the go all under the inlet manifold too, lambda probes go down too, cats go wrong too, airflow meters go wrong every other day haha. coolant temp sensors are fairly common, secondary air pumps go wrong oftern too, do you ever get a werid noise on cold start ups? fairly common for boost leaks too just follow all your boost hoses till you see a hole or any signs of oil which normaly indicates you have a leak. diverter valves go wrong too, we had a 1.8t in at work that had engine managment light on and that was due to the standard diverter valve been faulty.
hope this will help you out mate let us know how you get on good luck!

I'll have to get the list of codes the mechanic gave me out of the car. But yes, I do get a weird noise on cold start ups! Mines a 2 litre rather than a 1.8.

Thanks guys :-)

[Gemsie]

Right, I've got the list of codes and other codes the mechanic has listed in brackets:

16518 (P0134)
16556 (P0172)
16684 (P0300)
16688 (P0304)

Oh, and the brakes did need doing!