gregozedobe

If the coolant is leaking slowly onto something hot it might be all evaporating rather than dripping onto the ground (and seeing blasts of steam might be more evidence that is what is happening). In any case, if your coolant level is consistently dropping then your coolant must be going somewhere, so I'd be investigating & fixing it before it gets too much worse and ends up cooking your engine.

Sounds like your battery is unable accept a proper charge, if it was charging normally from a low charge level it should take a lot longer than that (eg at 50% charge a 70Ah battery will take 7+ hours to charge up with a 5A charger). Alternatively the charger is defective (not likely, but it does happen). Time to check the battery with a load tester (preferably somewhere more knowledgeable than that Halfrauds you went to earlier) Also you may want to start rehearsing your "discussion" about a warranty claim for a new battery with your VW dealer (or else budgeting for the new battery I mentioned earlier). If you have the option I would pay extra for a decent AGM battery if you intend to keep your car for a while.

It's all about car manufacturers meeting the "official" emissions targets, not about reducing actual pollution. The fact that the manufacturers and suppliers and installers of replacement batteries all get to make increased profits while polluting the world more than would otherwise be necessary is just a "happy coincidence" (he said through gritted teeth). And on top of that some will try to charge you a disposal fee for the old battery that they sell to a metal recycler for the lead content.

I'm with jrw, use AGM mode (but not Recond). Most of the AGM batteries I've looked at need a slightly higher charging voltage than regular wet cell batteries (including EFB). If you want to be absolutely certain have a look at the tech specs for charging for the particular battery you have in your car (you may have to ask for it from the manufacturer if they don't make it available on-line).

Your "local VW specialist" has given you bad advice. The filter on my Haldex pump was quite gungy at only 16,000km (10,000 miles), and my experience isn't uncommon. I'd bet money that you have a Haldex issue (it is almost always the reason for excessive spinning wheels on an R). Unless you have someone outside watching if your rear wheels are spinning as well it can be hard to be sure if they are or not.

Yep, no need to disconnect the battery from the car when using any (decent) modern battery charger, as they won't have any voltage spikes which could damage the car's electronics (and the battery would soak up and dampen any anyway). A longish drive once a week/fortnight is good for your engine (soften seals and also burns off combustion byproducts in the oil once the engine oil gets up to proper operating temp, which doesn't happen on short drives).

I doubt that method would work here in Oz, so many people have solar panels on their roofs they could charge up their cars from their own panels (and more and more are getting batteries, and that trend will accelerate when battery prices drop like solar panels have). But govts WILL have their money, one way or another ....

Have you looked for any leaks (eg pipe/clamp become dislodged) ?

And possibly even the 6th cyl as well ? Certainly the sound of the exhaust of a well-driven R32 is way better than any 4 cyl Golf R .....

Might be worth checking that the Haldex AWD system is working properly - easiest way is to do a hard takeoff from stopped on a wet road, if it simply grips'n'goes then it is OK, if only the front wheels spin then something is wrong. Coolant leaks around the thermostat/waterpump area are a bit too common. Don't be surprised if the Auto stop/start annoys you. But remember to enjoy your R 👍

I've heard of "Furry Muff" (orright you lot, get your minds out of the gutter, it means "Fair enough" or OK)

I've read that some (not all) 17" wheels will fit (as rogerc41 said caliper clearance can be an issue, depending on ET/Offset). Obviously you'd need to look for a higher profile tyre to get the correct rolling radius/diameter so your speedo, odometer etc aren't too inaccurate. Most people seem to go for 18".

Hint 1: Read the User Guide that comes with your NOCO charger. Hint 2: That big "EFB" on the +ve panel on the battery means your car has an Enhanced Flooded Battery, so just use a normal "12V" charging mode on your NOCO charger (not the "12V AGM" mode). See page 4 of your NOCO User Guide. Hint 3: If your car has been sitting un-driven for a while the "12V Repair" mode may help de-stratify the electrolyte in the battery (safe for an EFB battery, but definitely do NOT use this mode on an AGM battery). Hint 4: Connect the +ve lead from the charger direct to the +ve terminal on the battery, but connect the -ve lead from the charger to the special -ve terminal on the firewall (not direct to the battery -ve terminal which is under the small cover with the green tick)

It's dead simple to replace key fob battery, pop the cover off, note which way the old battery is oriented, replace with a new CR2025 battery, put the cover back on, check the red LED lights up when you press a button; and you are good to go. Buy two batteries and do your spare key fob at the same time (it will probably also be near dead, they usually both go around the same time)

I was assuming (and hoping ? ) that if they could get it (Stage 2 ECU tune with stock DP) to work properly on GPF cars they could also get it working on non-GPF cars as well. I guess time will tell .....