Recent content by P2B

You will be pleased to know the Internet in general does not have access to your local hard drive ;)

Jack of all trades, master of none comes to mind.

I run dedicated winter (not snow) tires because temperatures where I live are consistently below 7C (45F) in winter. Summer tires have considerably reduced grip at those temperatures, and I prefer to switch rather than run a compromise tire year round.

My MK4 runs 15" in winter and 17" in summer. I haven't measured any difference in fuel economy, but that could be because smaller tires are compensating for winter blend fuel.

Not necessarily, the tuner can fiddle with the readiness parameters to compensate.

The ECU sets a number of "readiness monitors" if the emissions system parameters are within specifications. If any of the monitors listed on the report had been "not ready" the car would likely have failed inspection. BTW this is something you could check for yourself prior to taking it in if...

You're suggesting a bad throwout bearing makes a noise when it's stationary (clutch not pressed) which goes away when it's spinning (clutch pressed) ? Sounds backwards to me.

VCDS VIN limit and ECU immobilizer are related like chalk and cheese 😳 VCDS cannot delete the immobilizer, if that's what you are trying to ask. You need a tuner for that.

Smarter than my cat :cool: Maybe the ECU was swapped as well and the VIN limit was reached.

I disagree. Even if you don't do your own work, it's very useful for customizing the car to your liking and as a dealership BS detector. If the OP can read his own codes he can post them here and get knowledgeable and honest opinions as to the likely issue, putting him in a better position to...

Took it on a road trip, 850km, mostly two lane twisties. I forgot how much fun they are compared to the boring divided highways I mostly drive.

Some tires are directional (designed to turn in one direction) so would need to be removed from their rims to rotate them diagonally. Directional tires have a Rotation arrow on the sidewall.

I label them in the spring and fall when I change tires and put them on the other end the following year. Both sets are directional.

I have all 4 legs shorted together on my '03, otherwise it throws a CEL every time the engine is started warm (but never when cold or at full operating temperature). I check the plugs each fall when the winter tires go on.

Strut bearings?