Hi there
I'm desperately keen to get some advice on whether I can proceed with my planned Christmas journeys.
My 2003 VW Passat Estate (2L petrol, ~80000 miles) seems to have suffered with the cold weather; I have a strong suspicion that the coolant wasn't concentrated enough and that the extreme temperatures have caused some freezing.
The car has been fine until yesterday; it hasn't had any issues or known faults.
Yesterday, as I left work, the car instructed me to stop, as the coolant level was too low. I added about a litre of antifreeze plus about 250ml of water. I'm not sure if the antifreeze I added was of the same sort as was already in the system. The car was fine after this, and gave me no more warnings.
This morning, when I started the car I noticed the electric radiator fan came on (almost immediately). It was still on after about 10 minutes driving, but had stopped by the time I got to work about half-an-hour later. This was one of three symptoms that lead me to believe I have a problem with the cooling sytem:
1. The electric radiator fan comes on just after ingnition
2. The engine temperature gauge has ceased to function
3. The interior air blower isn't able to muster much heat, even with the control set to the highest temperature.
On my journey home, these symptoms remained and were joined by another: the emissions warning light is now on constantly. The coolant level had dropped a little since yesterday, I added about half a litre of top-up coolant.
I'm going to try to get my car to a garage tomorrow, but I'm not too hopeful that anyone will be able to take it.
So, can anyone advise me:
1. What is the chance of breaking down (I've got an 80 mile journey tomorrow and a 120 mile journey planned for Monday)
2. What risk I have of damaging my car
3. What I can do to keep it going
Many thanks.
Sandy
I'm desperately keen to get some advice on whether I can proceed with my planned Christmas journeys.
My 2003 VW Passat Estate (2L petrol, ~80000 miles) seems to have suffered with the cold weather; I have a strong suspicion that the coolant wasn't concentrated enough and that the extreme temperatures have caused some freezing.
The car has been fine until yesterday; it hasn't had any issues or known faults.
Yesterday, as I left work, the car instructed me to stop, as the coolant level was too low. I added about a litre of antifreeze plus about 250ml of water. I'm not sure if the antifreeze I added was of the same sort as was already in the system. The car was fine after this, and gave me no more warnings.
This morning, when I started the car I noticed the electric radiator fan came on (almost immediately). It was still on after about 10 minutes driving, but had stopped by the time I got to work about half-an-hour later. This was one of three symptoms that lead me to believe I have a problem with the cooling sytem:
1. The electric radiator fan comes on just after ingnition
2. The engine temperature gauge has ceased to function
3. The interior air blower isn't able to muster much heat, even with the control set to the highest temperature.
On my journey home, these symptoms remained and were joined by another: the emissions warning light is now on constantly. The coolant level had dropped a little since yesterday, I added about half a litre of top-up coolant.
I'm going to try to get my car to a garage tomorrow, but I'm not too hopeful that anyone will be able to take it.
So, can anyone advise me:
1. What is the chance of breaking down (I've got an 80 mile journey tomorrow and a 120 mile journey planned for Monday)
2. What risk I have of damaging my car
3. What I can do to keep it going
Many thanks.
Sandy