MY08 GTI having a few issues

[GoGTI]

Hi all,
I'm new here and would really appreciate some help and advice.

I've go a MY08 GTI, it's done about 73,000K. First, for the past 2 months In the cold mornings i've had the "check coolant" light come up on the MFC. I've checked it and the levels are where they should be and temps are always the same at 90C. I've decided to wait for my next service at 75K to get that checked out. Does anyone think this is a major issue?

However last week I noticed a high pitched noise coming from the car while driving to work. It's intermittent but audible. Yesterday while driving I heard it more, and now seems to happen every time I drive. When I put the key in the ignition and turn on the electrics but not the motor, I hear a high pitched noise that goes away after a minute. When I turn it over, the same noise is heard. When I stop the engine, I continue to hear the noise and a hiss of air that last about a minute.

Reading online it sounds like the PCV but i'm no expert. Does anyone know what this could be?

Being out of warranty I'm worried about getting screwed over by dealerships. What's the typical cost to replace a PCV at a service centre and most importantly is it safe to continue driving with this issue?

Thanks!

[phaeton]

Welcome to the forum GoGTI

If you don't like Dealership costs try a aftermarket VW specialist, they will be able to diagnose and quote all the symptoms.

The first one could be a coolant sensor issue.
I'm not a technician, so not even going to say what the second issue is.

[grtuned]

Possibly could be the coolant reservoir. The sensor inside sometimes don't work causing the low coolant warning to come on even though level is ok. Also second issue should be looked at by someone in the know. Cheers.

[Lucas_R]

Both issues sound like faults which commonly occur on these cars.

As mentioned above, the low coolant warning will be caused by a malfunctioning sensor in the coolant overflow bottle. A new sensor will fix this.

The high pitched whistleing noise you hear is likely to be the stock PCV which has failed. There are several symptoms to diagnose the faulty PCV, such as, air leaking sound after engine has been turned off, high pitched noise while driving, very hard to open the oil cap with the engine running and rough/variable idle. The PCV failed on my friends 2007 GTI a few months ago, and had these symptoms as well as an error code. I swapped the PCV over from my car onto his, and the symptoms went away - which proved it was a faulty PCV in his case.

You can buy a new PCV from VW parts, or buy an aftermarket BSH or EuroJet branded "PCV-delete" like the one from DubAddiction.com. My friend bought one of the Eurojet ones and it works fine.

[GoGTI]

Yep was the pcv. Got it replaced and all good on that end. Still have the coolant warning issue but will get that fixed on my next service in about a months time. Thanks everyone for advice!