Well something is a miss. It could unfortunately be anything. It is however likely to be some kind of fueling problem as it (be elimination) a diesel?

Do you have the engine code? Also, what is the mileage/history fo the car and when were the last major bits serviced?

If i was in your posiiton, the first thing I would do besides a visual check is disconnect the battery for at least 30 minutes. This would clear any of the 'learned' settings in the ECU.

Follwoing that, you might want to give it full service (including fuel filter, air filter, oil etc) before doing any other diagnosis.

Once you have done this, the kinds of things you would look for are:

Perished vaccum pipes, dirty EGR valve, leaking boost pies, cracked manifolds etc.

Once you rule out the above, you need to start chaning things. That can be hit and miss, so the best advice would be to take it to a reputable engine tuner who actually knows how to use the diagnostic systems.

Depending on your engine model, it could be somehtign really serious, but until you do the above ou will never know (and I don;t want to freak you out!)

Either way, these things can always be resolved one way or the other.

Failing all the above and youhave money to throw at it), take it to VW and they will guarantee find the fault - but at a cost

 

Josh

Plenty to consider, your thoughts are appreciated. Had a service about 5k ago but for the cost I'm inclined to change the fuel and air filters. Intend undertaking some further investigation this weekend, I'll let you know the outcome should we resolve this one.

Dusty

 

Update your signature to reflect your car and where you are based.

According to Haynes manual, hot starting problems for this car are due to:

Air filter element dirty or clogged

Fuel injection system fault

Low cylinder compression.

First one is an easy fix and takes 10 minutes (though check the pipes for splits)

Low cylinder compression is easy to check with the right gauge (or pay a garage £20 to do this. the pressures don't need to be book values, just consistent across all cylinders. I would do this ASAP. If this reads OK, you don't have an expensive problem on your hands!

Fuel injection system fault. There are only a finite number of sensors that could be at fault (assuming you have no fault codes)

Coolant temp sensor, outside air temp sensor (near the intercooler), MAF (which has air temperature sensor built into the unit) or the ECU itself.

 

Well, it looks as if we have a solution to the hot start problems. It is fortunate that the ECU did it's stuff otherwise I would be spending much more. The outcome would appear to be as follows. The timing belt (done about 45-50k miles and 40 months) was loose (now replaced)and the water pump was on it's way. It is a miracle that the engine hasn't cooked and for this I am so grateful that cars can think for themselves. Because the problems were of a mechanical nature, nothing has been registering under diagnostic test. Whilst my wife has been condemning the car, I have been more philosophical (mainly because I wasn't the one hanging around until the engine cooled), placing all my trust in the VW marque. So, when the dashboard instructs you to check coolant and stop, it may well be the real thing and not a dodgy sensor.

Thanks to all you guys who have offered assistance.

Dusty