Seat Leon gear box error and engine dead

First thing to check would be engine oil and coolant level . Then check battery voltage and charge , jumpstart , replace as needed. If it starts , check for any air / vac hoses leaking , and coolant tank not leaking through cap

hi, thanks for your suggestion. I had breakdown come in and they have provided a report with issues with gear box and clutch. Battery is also running down and is dead. The coolant and fluids were all okay in the report. I will look around for garages who do DSG repair. Seems it will be a big bill. I am disappointed that this suddenly happened when the car has been driving so well since I bought it in 2016 and no warning light appeared. Serviced yearly.

Called a couple of garages based on the breakdown report. It seems a mechatronic unit fault and have got an estimate of around £2k. Is it worth getting this unit repaired or just install a new one?

If no problems with the gearbox before , first thing I would do is replace the battery or fully charge , start the car and see if no improvement . When battery is faulty it plays havoc with the electrics on cars nowadays .. It might not make a difference but the battery needs replaced / charged anyway so nothing to lose . There are people who specialise in repairing the mechatronic units but I cannot vouch for them one way or another but they are a fraction of the cost . May be some near you if you check . here is an example
http://www.blueengines.co.uk/mechatronics.html

hi, RAC did recharge the battery but same gearbox issue showed up. And then the battery has drained again. One garage said they do not repair the unit. I am awaiting another one CCM in Cranleigh to get back as they do repairs. Thanks for the link, they are bit far away from me in Manchester.

The link was merely as an example of what is available . You can charge a battery all day and night but if it has a dud cell it will not hold a charge and will just drain away .

hi, would like to update. The garage suggested that the hydraulics in the mecatronic unit is an issue and the mecatronic unit will need to be changed as they cannot find anyone who can repair this, for 1.2 litre Petrol engine. They quoted me £2200 for getting this done. Any advise?

If you do a bit of searching , there ARE companies that will repair at substantially cheaper prices

https://www.ecutesting.com/product-catalogue/seat/leon/ecu-dsg-gearbox/dsg325025-e/

hi, thanks for the link to ECU testing. Amazing place and charging 1/3rd for repair of DSG unit with lifetime warranty than a new mechatronic unit. However my garage is acting funny and saying that they will not accept a repair part without Seat original parts, something they failed to get done. I am considering options of moving the car to another garage or then just getting it done at a higher price as they have now tied me in and it will cost me to move the car and they will charge me for diagnosis, anyways.

Course they wont , they will lose a lot of profit / money

You are correct. They are telling me the part price is a pass on and costs £1400+VAT. The labour is 5 hours @ £96 per hour whereas the other garage said the labour was £150. I am in a dilemma of getting a new mechatronics or moving it to another garage and getting a repair and saving £500 as I have now additional costs of towing it to the new garage and paying for diagnostics that this garage has done. Lessons learned, I may just go for the new unit to save the hassle and intend to keep the car for another 2 years.
Frankly it seems these VW group cars start giving trouble pretty early on, my mileage is only 42k and 2014 model. Not like Japanese cars which I feel are better in terms of breakdowns and part/repair costs.

You are caught between a rock and a hard place on this , only you can decide the best course of action . Whatever you decide , let's know how you get on .

P.s
Check the warranty cover given also

The garage is giving 2 years warranty on the new original part. ECU testing was giving life time warranty on the repair, if car is with same owner-Amazing commitment.

hi,
Had a question about cam belt. The manufacturer i.e Seat Leon/VW suggest the cam belt and timer needs to be changed every 5 years irrespective of mileage, is this a must? Seems it does not give a warning and if it snaps it would damage the engine. Another shocker, like they make parts to last a certain fixed time.

Ignore at your peril . Ford is usually a lot better

Ford Model
Cambelt Change Intervals
Ford B-Max Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford C-Max Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Ecosport Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Edge Cambelt Change Every 125,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Edge Vignale Cambelt Change Every 125,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Explorer Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 12 years
Ford Fiesta Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Fiesta Vignale Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Focus Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Focus RS Cambelt Change Every 125,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Focus Vignale Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford KA+ Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Kuga Cambelt Change Every 125,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Kuga Vignale Cambelt Change Every 120,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Mondeo Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Mondeo Vignale Cambelt Change Every 125,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Mustang Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 15 years
Ford Puma Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Ranger Cambelt Change Every 160,000 miles or 10 years
Ford S-Max Cambelt Change Every 144,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Transit Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years
Ford Transit Custom Cambelt Change Every 150,000 miles or 10 years

hi, just wanted to update, I got the car back with a new mechantronic unit. I did not need to change the battery which another garage was suggesting @ cost of £370. I also asked the garage to take the faulty unit with me, perhaps I can get some salvage value for it.

I now need to get the cam belt replaced which I am quoted for £380. Is this a reasonable price, was told it takes 3 hours of labour?

I would suggest CCM garage and ECU testing for anyone who has DSG gearbox issue and you looking to get it repaired rather than a brand new one.

Thanks whittingehame for your advice.

" another garage was suggesting @ cost of £370. " that is a totally crazy price !!!!. You really need to phone about for prices as it seems you are getting ripped off .

What I meant was £370 for battery as they suggested first they would need to replace battery even though diagnostics was saying gearbox issue, so I would have additional costs for battery apart from the mechatronic. I understand the battery is expensive due to the start stop feature on these cars. I found a garage doing cam belt for £325 and have booked an appointment.

hi, an update on the Seat Leon 2014, 42.5k miles cam belt replacement. I got this done in a local garage and asked for the old part to be given to me. On examination, I feel it was in pretty okay condition though the mechanic was showing some cracks in the rubber. I had no frame of reference of what is good. Seat recommends this to be changed every 5 years irrespective of mileage. I feel manufacturers need to do some more research and make better parts and need to be more sure of when a part should be changed. As it causes a lot of wastage of resources- labour, money and parts and it is very convenient for them to say 5 years. I know a user cannot take a call, even the garage is not willing to take a call and suggest to follow manufacturers' recommendation. All in all it was very expensive repairs for me. I will be looking to sell this car soon, as I don't think they are like Japanese cars which last a long long time and even Korean.

Your opinion . One of my friends has a year old Hyundai and like many others , it is in the shop awaiting a new transmission . I could give you more examples of your Japanese / Korean preferences or virtually any manufacturer

Yes it is an opinion based on experience. I know Korean manufacturers give 7 years warranty on new cars which was disruptive service level when launched. Worth trying something different.

You may get a surprise with how good the " seven year warranty " really is .