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Hello Ashley, You first need to find yourself a recommended local mechanic. If this were mine, I would be doing two things in this order: - Get the coolant system pressure checked. If reasonably acceptable then on the basis of simple things first, renew the thermostat, but only renew with a genuine VAG one. If you find this to be too expensive ( even with buying at discount) and you feel inclined not to buy once and wisely, then only buy one of the top aftermarket brands. Whatever you buy, I would be testing the new thermostat to ensure it opens at the correct temperature before fitting. You will probably experience opposition to that from most mechanics, but it will reap benefits. If anyone considers dunking it in boiling water to be an adequate test, then find another mechanic, or test it yourself - I can tell you how, if you are serious in going to this length. If a new thermostat doesn’t sort out the problem - and it may not - then you will be in for more testing, but just let us know. Petrol or diesel by the way? Kind regards, Gareth.

Ashley. While the engine overheating and the lack of cabin heat may be related, it is also possible they are two distinct and separate faults. Clearly the high engine temperature is the more important so I suggest you get the engine compression tested as a first step. That should tell whether the head or its gasket is damaged. If it is then you are facing an expensive repair and the cabin heater problem becomes insignificant.

Hello Gareth, Any such noise must be considered serious, either in terms of the current cause, or the potential for catastrophic failure of another component . If this were mine, I would be getting the auxiliary belt removed as a matter of urgency, to see if this influences or eliminated the noise. Further, I would not be using this until this issue is sorted. Kind regards, Gareth.

Hello Ashley, I can’t claim this is the the cause of your issue, but ‘bulb out’ warnings usually activate by monitoring resistance in the circuit, so it associates an abnormal resistance by indicating the bulb isn’t working. Now LED bulbs may ( and probably do) have a different operating current/ resistance from the normal original non LED bulbs, so it assumes it’s a ‘bulb out’ issue, and throws up that warning. Test:- fit new standard bulbs and see if it resolves your issue. Perhaps you could let us know how you get on. Kind regards, Gareth.