help !!!

[thelanen17]

Hi,
I'm new to this site as i have only been the owner of a galaxy for just over a week.

we  i was towing my caravan home after a relaxing weekend and was on the M25 just 15 miles from home when the car started to have a severe lack of power. on any sort of incline i was having to change down into 3rd to reach a speed of 40mph but had no pick up at all. bearing in mind that before this i was towing the caravan at 60 mph and not having to come out of 6th gear. also accompanying this lack of power was , what i can only describe as a grinding noise from the vicinity of the n/s front wheel.
i pulled onto the hard shoulder, checked what i could ie the brakes werent binding on car or caravan, all wheel nuts were tight etc.
called the nice man from the RAC who towed the caravan off the motorway as i nursed the galaxy as far as the next exit. even without the caravan i struggled to get it anywhere near 50mph and still had the same grinding noise accompanied by a bit of black smoke from the exhaust.
the RAC man seemed to feel it could be either gear box, or clutch ( but there was no problems getting it into any gear ) then said it may be some dodgy ecu or something ( not sure how that would make a grinding noise ??)
obviously as it is only a week old and bought from a dealer then i am expecting them to sort it out. but given that the dealers is 60 odd miles away they have asked me to get it assessed. i have a feeling that i may struggle with the dealers and it may become a prolonged argument but still need to get the motor assessed and don't want this to be a lengthy business as the hours could mount up and i'm gonna have to pay and then get the money back or get the vehicle back to the dealers and let them deal with it either way is gonna be a bit of a bind.
any ideas on where to start looking for the problem, are there any common faults on a galaxy which may shed light on the subject or am i just gonna have to splash out whatever cash is needed to let the mechanics spend ages going through all the different possibilities.
also i have heard mention of a vag-com ?? when searching on google it says for vw,skoda, audi but no mention of a galaxy am i missing something here and if so would it be worth me investing in one.

hope someone can help

Mart

[Chrispb]

Hello and 

The grinding noise you speak of do you get this only with the vehicle moving or is it engine speed related.

No power and black smoke could certainly be turbo related or could simply be a split hose.

Does power return after an engine restart if so this would indicate a boost problem, Vagcom or VCDS lite could confirm under or overboost.

Get your own lead of ebay then download the free software from ross tech then you can scan your own car for fault codes which should give a clue as to what's wrong.

You can look in our reference library for help on installing using VCDS lite


Some useful links

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/USB-cable-KKL-VAG-COM-For-409-1-VW-AUDI-OBD2-OBD-USB-VAG-COM-409-/300786163615?pt=UK_Diagnostic_Tools_Equipment&hash=item4608409f9f#ht_3155wt_1397

http://www.ross-tech.com/vcds-lite/download/index.html

The electrics on the car are VW and will compare to the VW Sharan

[thelanen17]

Hi  chrispb
the grinding noise is only when vehicle is moving and is the same after restart .
i understand the vag-com thing now and will be investigating in one .
thanks
Mart

[thelanen17]

i meant investing lol

[Mirez]

lol

Grinding noises are never good but I have seen a Touran which suffered a cracked brake pad cause similar. They had done the brakes basically on the cheap and it was a china import thing. The pad surface came away from the plate and lodged between wheel and hub causing a loud grinding noise and a loss of power as essentially the brake was on. Did it feel like it wanted to pull to either side?

When you did the checks did you raise the car and rotate the wheel? If you did was the noise only present on one side or both?

[thelanen17]

checks were made on the side of the M25 so just visual checks possible and no heat from wheel or brakes.
no pulling to one side what so ever .
just been reading a post regarding failed drive shaft and was wondering if that may be the problem.
oh well time to let a mechanic have a look and see what they think. just got to get it sorted fairly quickly as if its gonna be an arm and a leg job i realy have to get on to the dealers where i bought it and find out where i stand with it. cos after all a vehicle that costs 5.5k  shouldn't go this wrong in the matter of a week. i don't want to start shouting the odds with him as i would prefer to get it sorted amicably and quickly rather than have a huge battle on my hands . so am treading gently at the moment lol

[Mirez]

Don't blame you, the trouble with car's is that sometimes things break that nobody could have predicted so yes - tread carefully but its still up to the dealer to sort the issue regardless as the vehicle is currently not fit for purpose.

Driveshafts generally have a very noticeable notchy/clunky feel when the inner joint fails or a rhythmic ticking noise when the outside one fails. In both cases its unlikely to cause a lack of power, much more a complete loss of power. It could be that the wheel bearing has broken down and the shaft is contacting the inside of the break disc.

Report back when you know though, always nice to see the cause/resolution.

[thelanen17]

thanks Mirez just hope my friendly mechanic can sort this out

[Mirez]

I hope so too! Not the best entry to the world of Galaxy ownership!!!!

[thelanen17]

ok so much for the rac mechanic and his grinding noise !!
didn't drive it after being towed off the motorway yesterday.
my friendly mechanic came over tonight and we took it for a very quick run, the grinding noise is infact a whooshing noise caused by a split intercooler hose. hence the lack of power and bit of smoke.
much better outcome than i was anticipating., so very happy that its a relatively simple problem but still couldn't believe how pricey a foot long piece of hose can be cheapest i have found so far is on ebay and that is Ã,£72 for a new one but they wont post so need to source something a bit nearer . god knows how much it will be from a ford stockist local to me. shouldn't complain really as the rac chp had me expecting serious money for either clutch or gearbox.
so once i can source one locally i can get the old car and caravan pitched up by a nice lake, have a couple of beers and catch a few fish. now thats gonna relax me much better than stressing over a poorly motor.

[gregers]

well as you say,its a lot better then you 1st thought,

dont forget to ring up vw/audi skoda seat to get prices.

[thelanen17]

Gregors,
managed to source one from quickco ltd Ã,£69 inc vat so wasn't so bad.
fitted it this evening and the car is better now than when i bought it.
quieter,better pick up etc.
my mate who is a mechanic helped me fix it in the dark this evening and both of us were of the same thought that considering the vast improvement maybe the hose had started to deteriorate before i took ownership and pulling my caravan this weekend was the final straw.
ive been in contact with the dealer today who has told me to send him the bill and he would refund me the costs along with Ã,£50 for my mates  time too so am now a happy chappy.

[Mirez]

Now that's impressive as there aren't many dealers that would do that for you! Sounds like a decent garage so hopefully you'll now have some happy years with Galaxy ownership

BTW, where abouts was the pipe?

[gregers]

thats very good news,
why not give the dealer a shout out on here for there(in your eyes)great service.

[thelanen17]

actually the company are called Master cars and based in tempsford bedfordshire on the A1 bought my caravan from them at the same time and must be honest both sides car and caravan salesmen have been very helpful.
as for the pipe its the intercooler to turbo connecting hose on the inlet side basically positioned at the rear of the engine slightly towards the near side awkward to get at but i let my mate do that bit lol