[brsince78]

Appalled by the cost of flights to the Algarve this summer I have taken the plunge and persuaded wife and son that we can turn our week's villa break into a grand tour by road from the UK.

Total mileage is about 3,000. Ferry:- Plymouth - Roscoff. Three and a half days put aside for the ferry and driving.

Any tips and advice for prepping my 2.0 TDI for the journey?

 

[FSJ Guy]

Wow. No responses. I just saw this post myself.

As far as prep, just do the usual stuff. Check all fluids and do any maintenance that you might have been putting off. Need an oil change? Do it now. Brake fluid a little long in the tooth? Have it flushed. Otherwise, have fun and get some wind in your hair and sun on your face!

 

[brsince78]

Thanks for the response. I've got a set of filters:- oil, cabin and air ready to fit when the weather warms up a bit and will do the oil change myself. At what mileage interval should brake fluid be flushed?

 

[scratchedeos]

I usually get my changed every 2 years. Where I get my car serviced they have a device that checks the water content in the brake fluid.

 

[123-slowman]

tour

hi there
the service book recommends the break fluid change at the three year service
and I would assume every three after that.
note it is not part of the service it is' recommended 'and up to the owner but the stealer staff generally ask.

 

[FSJ Guy]

I think it's a 3 year thing, too. It's a PM (preventative maintenance) thing. If you don't do it, in theory your fluid can have too much water. Brake fluid attracts water. Water boils at 212F (100C) and can cause brake failure. Also, water can rust your lines over time. It's not super expensive to flush, either.

That said, I've NEVER had a brake line rust out on me, and I've owned several old Jeeps that I know never had their fluid flushed.

 

[brsince78]

I've never flushed brake fluid and never had any problems with many cars over the years. I'll add it to the list of things the next time I have to send it to the garage.

 

[123-slowman]

apologies

Hi there
Sorry had to cut my previous post short.
Meant to say I am a fair bit jealous as I had fancied a longish swan around Europe top down for a while.
We had a holiday in Lake Garda last year by air and once I had seen the roads I suggested a trip overland one year but the other half was not impressed.
Please keep us up to date with your impressions and if you would recommend.

 

[voxmagna]

Find out how to disable the motion sensing alarm for ferries - it's in the driver manual. I've seen drivers arrive cursing their batteries hadn't held up, because their alarms were going off all the time on the car deck.

 

[silvershadow]

Find out how to disable the motion sensing alarm for ferries - it's in the driver manual. I've seen drivers arrive cursing their batteries hadn't held up, because their alarms were going off all the time on the car deck.

Very important and relevant advice - however I would expect the ferry crew would quickly put out calls for the owner of the car to make themselves known to the crew to be taken to the car deck to disable the alarm. The car deck crews would not want the vehicle unloading at the destination disrupted by an immobile vehicle.

 

[voxmagna]

however I would expect the ferry crew would quickly put out calls for the owner of the car to make themselves known to the crew to be taken to the car deck to disable the alarm.

Your ferries must be different to our cross channel ferries? You drive your car on into lanes martialled by a couple of crew with walkie talkies, they then remember to close the bow doors. All the car passengers leave the car decks and cannot return until docking. There are so few crew they have either buzzed off to do other things, or are hitting the sack before the force 9 storm arrives. I had a crafty peek into a car deck on the short Cherbourg service and the sight of all the cars rising up and down on their suspensions with a dozen alarms blaring was really freakish.

Whilst at sea, most car decks are only monitored with cameras and fire sensors. They don't bother about the racket, I don't think they get sound. They do have systems to tow your non starting car off the boat and up to the top of the ramp to await Green Flag!

 

[brsince78]

Find out how to disable the motion sensing alarm for ferries - it's in the driver manual. I've seen drivers arrive cursing their batteries hadn't held up, because their alarms were going off all the time on the car deck.

Good post..... I think there is an isolate(?) button on the driver's door pillar (near the bottom?) for the alarm. Will this do the trick?

 

[scratchedeos]

I think the button on the driver's door pillar(post) is for the ultrasonic movement detector inside the car - not for car movement.

 

[voxmagna]

Switching off the alarm using the button disables the interior monitor and the 'anti-tow' alarm. Anti-tow is VW speak for motion sensing.

Press the button until it lights yellow. Lock the car. Anti theft is enabled the next time you lock the car (no light on button). Some people use this if they leave a dog (kids?) in the car and need to lock it for a short time. Not sure about kids, is it better to leave them in a locked or unlocked car?