hello matey,

right, cold starting issue. I have this intermittently 1st thing in the morning on my mk5 golf gt tdi and have done since new. Start in the very same way, sluggeshly fits low rpm them conks out. However on restart it sounds groggy then as the revs climb to 1000.

VAGCOM reports and has done from new, that I have malfunctioning glow plug and that will probably explain why cold starts on mine are sometimes odd. Possibly the same on yours??

As for the auto lights, check there is no dirt on the wind screen out the outside inline with the area where the rear view mirror fits - this is where the sensor lives to detect light. I know there have been some issues on here where peeps have had their windscreens changed and it's messed up the sensitivity of this sensor.

You can (i think) use VAGCOM to tweak the sensitivity so they don't come on so easy.

Auto lights on my Golf come on automatically when i go above 60mph regardless of the weather

Think its supposed to be a safety feature!

Your car will be under warranty wont it? 

Can't help with your car's cold starting problem. Does not sound normal to me.

Regarding your auto-lights. I think the system is based upon detecting a difference in UV light levels from the front and back of the rear view mirror (where the sensors are located). At dawn and dusk, when the sun level is low and there are large shadows, this does seem to trick the auto lights into coming on and staying on. I don't believe this is a fault - rather, it's just the way the system works.

Similarily, even though it might be quite cloudy, light levels may still be high enough to prevent the auto lights coming on.

Personally, I find the auto-lights work very well most of the time but sometimes I need to manually force them to come on.

Enjoy your new car,

Stuart
http://www.stuartdalby.co.uk/vwgolfmk5

golfgtdude:

right, cold starting issue. I have this intermittently 1st thing in the morning on my mk5 golf gt tdi and have done since new. Start in the very same way, sluggeshly fits low rpm them conks out. However on restart it sounds groggy then as the revs climb to 1000.

VAGCOM reports and has done from new, that I have malfunctioning glow plug and that will probably explain why cold starts on mine are sometimes odd. Possibly the same on yours??

Sounds like my problem!!

The car is only a year old so is still under warranty, will get it checked out.

gmac00

recently i've noticed mine becoming more regular now with higher mileage. starts okay when warm. only seems to be evident when it's been sitting overnight or for a long period.

I used had use of a another gt tdi prior to my current and it used to be exactly the same, used to crank over a coupe of times then conk out just as you though it would start.

Like you say, runs fine when it's on though.

I'll probably mention it at my next service but obviously can't tell them i've been checking it out with VAGCOM or they'll think i'm a fiddler!

I will wait for a week or so before taking it to the dealers to see if any other little problems pop up.

thanks for the advice.

gmac00

C7KWC:

Auto lights on my Golf come on automatically when i go above 60mph regardless of the weather

Think its supposed to be a safety feature!

Your car will be under warranty wont it? 

 

Mine come on round about 90mph ish (on a race track of course), must be a setting somewhere!

Next time I am on a "track" i will check

I have read somewhere that the headlights come on when you've gone over a certain speed and stay on and won't go off again until you've driven under a certain speed for a certain time.  This is certainly what happens with mine - they are often on during motorway journeys and remain on for the duration

I don't mind in the slightest - any excuse for the xenons

I've had a new windscreen, the lights behave the same as before including their sporadic behaviour at times! The wipers on the other hand are mental now!

Nobby:

C7KWC:

Auto lights on my Golf come on automatically when i go above 60mph regardless of the weather

Think its supposed to be a safety feature!

Your car will be under warranty wont it? 

 

Mine come on round about 90mph ish (on a race track of course), must be a setting somewhere!

Your probably right, 60, 90 same thing!!!  It annoys me because im sure people pull out on me because they think im flashing them out!

Lynsey:

I have read somewhere that the headlights come on when you've gone over a certain speed and stay on and won't go off again until you've driven under a certain speed for a certain time.  This is certainly what happens with mine - they are often on during motorway journeys and remain on for the duration

I don't mind in the slightest - any excuse for the xenons

I've had a new windscreen, the lights behave the same as before including their sporadic behaviour at times! The wipers on the other hand are mental now!

If i had xenons i would also keep them on!

As for the auto lights, they come on over about 140kph (87mph) automatically for a defined period and go off after about 64kph (40mph) again after a certain time (30 secs or so- can't remember). Don't 4 get, this isn't usually ur speedo as it's a golf so it'll be out by a bit. minr is out about 9%

Also, I've not found in VAG.COM that u can change the timing of these or the sensitivity.

Knowing how Lynsey drives, I don't think hers are set to 140kph!

Sean_Jaymo:

Knowing how Lynsey drives, I don't think hers are set to 140kph!

lol the bloody cheek!

 I agree with the posters  regarding auto-lights coming on at set speeds and then off again after a period of time at a lower speed. I also found that they did seem to have a mind of their own during daylight hours, with no definitive pattern as to when they would come on.

 Your cold start problem is the same as I had until recently. Booked it in with dealers Wayside and left it with them for a few days and it has started perfectly now every time since. They advised that there is a VW software upgrade to the ECU. It worked for me.