Derv

Have you removed the 2 screws holding the bumper to the wing? You have to reach in from the front of the wheel-arch, with the arch liner moved out of the way.

I think here is your first mistake. DS2500s need bedding in hard.Find a safe place where you can get up to a good speed, and hit the brakes as hard as you can, but not to a stop. Continue driving to let them cool for a bit, then repeat several times. You should then feel them bite really hard. I find after many miles of cruising around they loose their bite and I need to repeat the bedding in process. HTH

I go every year, since the days when it was held at Bent-waters (WTF is up with the swear filter?), Suffolk. I even ran the Lupo up the 1/4 mile strip last year. Which seemed to get plenty of laughs.

If wheel spin is detected by an ABS sensor on the front axle, the EDL system puts the brake on the spinning wheel, therefore transferring torque to the wheel that has more grip. So in theory it could help for pulling away on snow or ice, as long as one of the driven wheels has some grip.

The Lupo is excellent in the snow. Ground clearance is the only limiting factor, but winter tyres are a massive help. EDL - Electronic Differential Lock.

This happened to me in the middle of a massive thunderstorm in Sweden. Luckily it was pretty cheap to buy a new operating rod from VW to fix it. 6X1 955 326 A should sort it. It may be possible to pop the old joint together, but it may pop back out.

Thanks for the advice guys. Pipe lagging and tie-downs it is then. I have the VW/Votex roof bars, P/N 6X0 071 126. FYI the TPS surfboard holders are just under £45, and it's difficult to see any advantage with them TBH. Also, it is possible to get 2 adults and a 7'6" surfboard in a Lupo, but at 21½" wide and in a bag there's not a lot of elbow room. Also you feel like a taxi driver with your passenger in the back. I wish I had the skills to ride a shortboard. Thanks for the Autobahn speed tests too. I don't normally get too near 100mph on the back roads to the beach, so it should be ok.

It's normally written in the manual.

I’ve just recently bought some VW roof bars for the Lupo, and I’m looking for options for carrying a Surfboard or two on them. It seems VW’s own Votex option, P/N 445 071 127, have been obsolete for a few years now. Instead I’ve been offered this from TPS, P/N LBT009007. Has anyone got any details/photos of these in use? Are they any good? Or has anyone got any other ideas or experiences of surfboards on roof bars, like pipe lagging and tie-down straps? Trips to the beach over the Christmas break was expensive business taking the surfboards in my daily hack, it would be nice to be able take the Lupo and ¼ the fuel bill!

I'm not sure about Lupos, but from my Audi experience this sounds like the tell-tail sign of alarm siren battery failure.

If it's anything like mine there is a small plastic panel underneath the bumper, in front of the right hand front wheel. Undo the two screws in the bottom of the wheel arch liner and the panel drops down. Then there are four Torx screws in the bottom of the airbox. Undo those and the lid comes off to reveal the air filter.

I believe 3Ls had magnesium tailgates until the end of MY01. The high level brake light is mounted behind the glass in the tailgate, rather than in the tailgate frame. I find that the easiest way to spot them. I read somewhere that the bare magnesium/aluminium tailgate weighs 2.7kg, a saving of 4.5kg according to VW.

Also known as a marten protection system. IIRC it is some sort of ultrasonic deterrent that sits under the engine bay. It is supposed to save your wiring, hoses and so on from getting nibbled.

The wishbone part number is 6N0 407 151 A. Same both sides, same for all Lupos, apart from the 3L and FSI of course. I'm pretty sure they come with bushes too.

Take the bumper off and it's a pretty easy job.

That will most probably be RAB. I hope he doesn't mind me posting. It seems Lupo 3Ls are not that rare in the UK. Another Red 3L was spotted here.

Back on topic. Here's confirmation - if you need it - that models with power steering don't have the stop/start feature. I would guess that the electric motor would draw a lot of current when it is working. So moving the steering while stopped could drain the battery quickly. Normally alternator load must not exceed 55% for the stop/start to work, amongst many other things of course.

This maybe more useful. Let us know if you find something.