My son's X-reg 1.9 turbo-diesel Leon has, for some time, been slow to start but otherwise has been performing well. Then, a few days ago, it refused to start, after standing in a car park for a couple of hours. He says the starter motor turned the engine but there was no sign of ignition. Green Flag attended and their man reckoned it was a fault with the fuel lift pump but was unable to fix it. It was relayed to a local independent garage and they say it does not have a lift pump and that they got it going by replacing the fuel cut-off switch.
My son got the car back today and has found that, although the engine runs smoothly, it is now very seriously down on power. He rang a Seat garage, who told him his car does have a fuel lift pump and that the power loss could be caused by turbo failure.
He has also found the fuel gauge is not working. He is sure that it was working when he was trying to start the car and he thinks the Green Flag man may have disturbed something in his efforts to get it going. It is going back to the independent garage on Friday for the gauge problem to be looked at.
I can't pretend to know about the electronics in modern cars but I can't see a link between turbo failure and refusal to start. I can, however, see that a weak lift pump could cause slow starting and, if it has now become very weak, lack of power. Also, I think I have read somewhere that some lift pumps are wired via one of the gauges.
He is not mechanically minded and could easily be hoodwinked by garages, and as he lives 200 miles away I can't be there to assist him.
I would appreciate all helpful suggestions that I can pass on to him.