Brand new turbo, very sick engine...
Picked up my new meteor TT yesterday (photos follow soon when the weather improves). Was driving home via a scenic twisty road when the engine suddenly died. At the time I was coasting to a stop and MAY have accidentally had the car in gear, hence stalling it. Not sure about that. Anyway I tried to restart, but no action from the starter motor. Then noticed a message on the computer to depress the clutch - I hadn't been aware this was necessary, but once the clutch pedal was depressed the engine started immediately.
Straight away I noticed that I had almost no power and the engine was running really rough, almost like half the spark plug leads had been pulled. I headed straight back to the dealer, a slow and very disconcerting trip, where profuse apologies were offered by the service guys. After having previously read that this sort of thing can happen when an intercooler hose comes adrift, I suggested they check that first. The car then spent 15 minutes in the bowels of the service department, before being returned to me in perfect running order.
Their diagnosis was that the car had been running on just 2 cylinders, and somehow I'd fouled the plugs! The fix was to give it a decent rev for a few moments which apparently cleaned up the plugs to proper working condition.
How did it happen? They felt that I may have hit the gas when the car failed to start, which possibly flooded the engine and consequently fouled the plugs. I don't remember hitting the gas but it's certainly possible, however I would have thought that in these days of fly by wire controls and computers, it is pretty unlikely.
Since this little hiccup I've done about 250 miles with absolutely no repeat of the problem. The dealer advised "drive it like you stole it" right from the showroom, and my manual makes no mention of running in rev limits so I took them at their word. Although I drove fairly sedately most of those 250 miles, on a couple of occasions (well, maybe ten), I did some passing where I ran the revs momentarily up to a good 5,500. The car is amazing!!! It was raining, and I felt I was pretty close to the limits of adhesion as the car launched itself and I just held on, but I'm still wearing the grin 12 hours later! What an adrenalin rush!
Now I know that the 10 month wait, the crazy money (especially here in Australia), the moments of doubt, the distraction and debate over possible supercar alternatives, have all been worth it. I'm about to indulge my passion for fast cars like never before! Reality has exceeded expectation and I wholly recommend this amazing machine to anyone considering taking the plunge.
Straight away I noticed that I had almost no power and the engine was running really rough, almost like half the spark plug leads had been pulled. I headed straight back to the dealer, a slow and very disconcerting trip, where profuse apologies were offered by the service guys. After having previously read that this sort of thing can happen when an intercooler hose comes adrift, I suggested they check that first. The car then spent 15 minutes in the bowels of the service department, before being returned to me in perfect running order.
Their diagnosis was that the car had been running on just 2 cylinders, and somehow I'd fouled the plugs! The fix was to give it a decent rev for a few moments which apparently cleaned up the plugs to proper working condition.
How did it happen? They felt that I may have hit the gas when the car failed to start, which possibly flooded the engine and consequently fouled the plugs. I don't remember hitting the gas but it's certainly possible, however I would have thought that in these days of fly by wire controls and computers, it is pretty unlikely.
Since this little hiccup I've done about 250 miles with absolutely no repeat of the problem. The dealer advised "drive it like you stole it" right from the showroom, and my manual makes no mention of running in rev limits so I took them at their word. Although I drove fairly sedately most of those 250 miles, on a couple of occasions (well, maybe ten), I did some passing where I ran the revs momentarily up to a good 5,500. The car is amazing!!! It was raining, and I felt I was pretty close to the limits of adhesion as the car launched itself and I just held on, but I'm still wearing the grin 12 hours later! What an adrenalin rush!
Now I know that the 10 month wait, the crazy money (especially here in Australia), the moments of doubt, the distraction and debate over possible supercar alternatives, have all been worth it. I'm about to indulge my passion for fast cars like never before! Reality has exceeded expectation and I wholly recommend this amazing machine to anyone considering taking the plunge.
enjoy
