I bought an OP-COM unit from EBay to work with my netbook for the purposes of working with this car and reading all the onboard systems..it’s great. I plug it in, start the program and then I can interrogate all the ECU systems, test all the sensors, instruments etc, program keys, radios and so on…it’s by far the best thing I’ve bought for a car. Bugger paying £50 for a diagnostic session..this unit cost £30.
I can also use it to log the live data streams while driving for later analysis..which is handy for finding issues.
HOWEVER, If you don’t have one, you MAY be able to avoid a Vx diagnostic charge by trying the pedal test.
Turn the car off. Put your feet hard down on the brake and acellerator and keep them there. Turn the ignition on but DO NOT start the car. Now, watch the light shaped like a car wit a spanner through it. If it starts to flash, count the flashes. If it flashes 10 times, that’s equivalent to a 0. It will pause between each number code.
For instance, when I had the 0400 error, it would flash 10 times, pause, 4 times, pause then 10 times, another pause, another 10, then stop.
Note the codes, then go to topbuzz.co.uk and cross-reference them. It should tell you whats up. :)