Maintenance + Other Qs

[shyne112]

Just a question about general maintenance of my scirocco.

First of all, I am a complete noob when it comes to cars but I absolutely love my scirocco. Take real care of it keeping it clean not driving like a maniac especially to avoid potholes etc.

But in terms of general maintenance, like checking engine oil, coolant level, brake fluid level would I be warned of all these things by the warning light?? So no need to check all these myself.

I found it difficult to read me coolant level under the bonnet seems as tho its half full and cannot find the min level. Should I have anything to worry about since no warning light has came on?? Also the dipstick for the engine oil seems as tho its locked in, any ideas of getting it out??

Also anything else in regards to general maintenance would be of help.

One other thing, I need a window seal of mine replaced as it is slightly damaged. Where would I get one from and is there like a part code for certain window seals??

Any help with any of these questions would of tremendous help!!

Many Thanks.

[Sootchucker]

I would certainly never advocate waiting for a warning light to come on as a replacment for weekly checks.

It only takes a few minutes to check Oil, Water, Tyre Pressures etc. so why not just do them. After all, surely the Roc deserves it ? Furthermore, wouldn't you want to know if some level is dropping (like Oil, Water or Brake fluid) BEFORE it acually gets dangerously low and a light comes on, to enable you to investiagte before it becomes a major problem ?

The dipstick is probably just stiff, AFAIK, VW don't use a locking mechanism on any of their dipsticks ?

The coolant bottle minimum level should only be an inch or two below the max line.

Finally, as the Rocco's use frameless windows, if I needed a new seal, it would be dealer purchased for me. Don't know of anyone esle doing pattern part window seals ?

[maisbitt]

The Roc will give you an amber warning for low coolant (below min) and oil (if it's below the end of the dipstick), before you would get a "stop now" kind of red warning for either being dangerously low. If you do your weekly checks though, it should never come to getting an amber warning unless something potentially catastrophic has happened.

It only takes 5 mins once a week to check.

[Scott_mac]

Agree with the above, never wait for the car to tell you - make checking each of them part of a regular routine!

[skyblues11]

for the tyre pressure, just get one of those key rings from Halfords or ebay and you can then check the pressure whenever you want.

speaking of oil, i am on the Lifelong programme. should i change the oil anyway? it has just under 12k miles and over 1 yr of ownership. No hard driving, mainly commutes.

[ZephyR]

@shyne112 - any warning lights are really only there to warn you when things get critical. By the time one of these lights come on it usually means you need to be pulling in to a garage forecourt NOW!
Driving any distance with a warning light on is also likely to cause damage to your car or be very unsafe. Do try to make the recommended checks yourself on a regular basis.

@skyblues11 - I'm not sure what you mean by the lifelong programme - is that he extended servicing interval. If so then that does depend upon the type of driving you do and needs frequent fairly long runs to get the best out of it. You say "mainly commutes" but if that's like mine - a slog in town traffic for 4 miles each way then that's no good for an extended service interval. You need decent runs on open roads / motorways each day.
Does your MF computer not tell you how long is left until your next service ? Mine does but I'm on a fixed service interval.

[skyblues11]

I know what you mean, ZephyR. The program was set from the dealer and i not had a chance to see the readout on the MF computer. I was more referring to, is it good to change the oil annually anyway? I do do some motorway driving, but not daily. i am in the thinking of an interim oil change before the main service comes, kind of wellbeing thing. I think the oil is long life too, so apart from occasional topping up, i have not done anything.

[shyne112]

Thanks for all the replies guys. This was all really coz the engine coolant was rather low, so I thought get it checked. I went to the vw garage they carried out a full visual check and said the engine coolant level was low and topped it up, apart from that everything was fine. And also said in future to just top it up with water? Also asked if I wanted them to wash the car as well... I politely refused.

In addition, they said if I ever wanted a top up of oil to just pop in and they'll do it! Talk about VW customer service...!!