Category: Cars

At MotorAid your specialist Volkswagen and Audi independent specialist in Basildon & Hainault, Essex we pride ourselves on understanding the needs of your car. Cambelt and water pump replacements need to be done timely. In fact, it is imperative and let me inform you why.

The cambelt, or timing belt, is a vital part in your car’s engine. It is normally a rubber belt that drives the timing of your engine to make it run perfectly. Without the timing, your mpg will increase, and the car will not run correctly, misfire and eventually if it snaps, your engine will fail catastrophically. The tell tail signs are normally from wear including cracking of the rubber timing belt itself. The result as discussed, will be a replacement engine, or if you are lucky a major overhaul costing thousands of pounds. Time maintenance really is essential when it comes to these components. 

Cambelt or timing belts need to be looked at by a case-by-case situation, so when calling for a service its prudent to ask the service advisors to check to see if your cambelt or timing belt has been replaced. 

If your car was registered pre-September 2009, then every 4 years or 60,000 miles or every 5 years or 80,000 miles if your car was registered after September 2009. This is an overview and will need to be confirmed by our service advisors at the time of booking.

All Volkswagen and Audi cars are susceptible to leaking water pumps once they have been removed when undertaking the cambelt timing kit replacement. There may not be an issue with the water pump before separation, but guaranteed once the job has been completed and the water pump disturbed, you are almost certain to suffer with a water pump leak shortly afterwards. As the water pump is not costly and it is replaced at the same time as the cam belt time chain, then it is prudent to replace it as you will not incur the cost again to strip it in labour down the line.

Many of the modern Vw and Audi diesel cars suffer with EGR (exhaust gas recycling) valve issues.

The issue doesn’t always bring on your (EML) engine management light, so it is difficult to find before your coolant light comes on. At this stage it is important not to drive your car without topping it up with the relevant coolant. That coolant needs to be the right colour, red or blue normally. Drive your car without the correct levels of coolant is likely to have a negative impact on the engine performance, and at the worse the engine can seize and the repair bills are likely to be in the thousands.

So, what are the causes of this issue to so many of the VW and Audi models I hear you ask. The answers can we found here, so please read on. The first notable signs maybe a slight smell of burnt coolant coming from the exhaust pipe, mixed with diesel fumes it can be difficult to diagnose with your nose alone. Keep checking your coolant level every week, every month depending on your usage, even if the coolant low level warning light isn’t showing.

Make sure the car is parked up safe, If you take the engine cover off, it’s simple normally by taking off 4 prominent bolts, this will unearth the engine itself. If you look central you will see the valley of the engine it’s self, the deepest external part. It’s here where all the fun starts.

These engines suffer from oil cooler seals degrading quicker than they should, VW and Audi do not have a warranty recall for this, this is where MotorAid can help. Get a long screwdriver, wrap a piece of kitchen towel on the end of it, sellotaped ideally, run it along the bottom of the engine valley to see if you pick up any coolant. If you’re not familiar with coolant smell, then open your coolant reservoir up where you’ve topped it up, you’ll soon become familiar with the smell. Smell the paper towel to see if the smell is the same. If it is, then you will have a leak of the seals that will need replacing.

As you see, this is a laborious job resulting in many hours of stripping to get the the engine valley floor in order to change the seals. The cost is not in the seals, they’re rubber but in the labour to do it. We have repaired literally hundreds of these VW and Audi diesel models with coolant seal issues over the last 7-8 years.

We always say that every car model has its own inherent problems, just familiarise yourself with the model you want to buy and call us so that we can give you guidance on what to look out for. MotorAid also offers pre purchase inspections, and if any dealer pushes back on offering you this opportunity, then walk away. 

So, what makes us different from your back street garage. At MotorAid we are an independent German car brand specialist, we see every model of German car day in day out, it’s our business. We work on the same brands every day, not every brand some of the days. So, our knowledge is second to none when it comes to understanding the issues, high-quality, low-cost repairs is what it’s about, and we’re award winning for it!

You can call us on Basildon 01268-591558 or Hainault 0208-172-0192 to book or go online at www.motoraid.com to chat online to one of our trained team.

Mercedes Benz petrol & diesel vehicles with NOX sensors can cause engine management lights (EML) to come on, or AdBlue &/or AdBlue countdown until a non-start
situation occurs. 

The sensors are prone to failure & have been superseded to newer design to rectify the fault. The Engine Control Unit (ECU) will also require software calibration number coding (SCN coding) using the Mercedes STAR / Xentry diagnostics machine of which MotorAid have their own genuine Mercedes Benz diagnostics
machines with direct factory link to Mercedes Benz in Milton Keynes for all coding issues to be rectified. 

There is an ongoing issue of supply of NOX sensors, the situation is starting to abate however, and we are finding genuine NOX sensors being dispatched outside the dealer network now. O.E sensors are also once again available.

The Mercedes GLA-Class is a luxury subcompact crossover SUV first introduced in 2014. It shares a platform with the A-Class and CLA-Class models, offering versatility in a compact package. With a sleek, athletic design, the GLA-Class is available with a range of powerful engines and advanced features including all-wheel drive, a panoramic moonroof, and Mercedes-Benz’s COMAND infotainment system. Overall, the GLA-Class is a stylish and capable vehicle that offers great performance and versatility.