SuperbTWM

Was this because of the Silica bag?

Yea, not quite sure I understand the logic behind that, I'm sure somebody much smarter than me decided there was a good reason for it though. Cost me £250 from VAG to replace the Valeo starter with a Bosch one!!

The minimum cranking speed issue was a HOT start issue, the fact that this is a cold start issue rules that out completely regardless of anything else.

Something very very wrong with your diesel if you can notice the difference at all between a journey with a regen and without. The amount of diesel a regen consumes is a lot less than the normal variables of driving e.g wind/wet road surface/temperature etc.

If you didn't like the diesel before, you are still going to find them noisy if you get another. They have got a bit more refined but at the end of the day there is more noise and vibration from a diesel than a petrol, especially if you are used to a petrol engine which you can barely tell is running most of the time. For most of us that are used to diesels it's not an issue but on the extremely rare occation I get in a modern petrol I can appreciate how quiet it is at standstill. Driving around you will still hear the same road noise whichever way you go as modern cars are very well insulated from the sounds in the engine bay.

I think I understand now, basically you still have and use ACC, ACC cannot be turned off into dumb cruise control to many people’s disappointment ( when they don’t like ACC) what you have done is turn off some other features that use traffic sign recognition for example which enhances the ACC experience by changing the speed setpoint. ACC in its basic form will never ever change the speed setpoint initially input on the dash but to call that normal cruise control isn’t quite right.

If it slows itself down which is the whole point of ACC then why do you think your car is somehow only using normal cruise control?

That post is a little misleading & the website is also crap because you have to go on to read what changes were made. After 2021 Licenses issued from 1 Jan 1997 can tow the following due to getting B+E Category: What changed on 16 December 2021 If you passed your car driving test from 1 January 1997, you’re now allowed to tow trailers up to 3,500kg MAM. Check your car’s handbook to find out its gross train weight (GTW). This is the total allowable weight of the car plus the trailer plus the load. DVLA will update your driving licence record to show that you’re allowed to tow trailers. You do not need to contact DVLA for this to happen. It will be done automatically. You’ll get category BE added to your driving licence when you next apply to get a new driving licence. If you passed your car driving test before 1 January 1997, you are not affected by the change

Have a look under the seat, if there are mounting holes/threads there may well be a bracket available. I retrofitted the bracket to my old B5.5 Passat but I reckon the Mk1 Octavia is a generation too old for isofix.

Are the lights OEM?

Good luck on your warranty quest, if they can replicate the fault easily I think you are golden, hopefully the issue comes back straight away when you plug the pump back in again.

Brown plug between the cam pulley and fuel pump pulley

It is getting genuinely hot. If the sleeve is only sticking intermittently you can unplug the connector so the water pump operates unobstructed all the time and won't overheat. This will take the car take longer to get to temperature. Sometimes the sleeve will stick partially covering the impellor and may not return fully to its resting position so unplugging the connnector on the pump will make no difference, there is no way of knowing without removing the pump. Its a good idea to unplug it for a week ot 2 and see if the problem goes away, then if you reconnect and the problem comes back you know 100% that the water pump is the problem and not something else.

What is the actual year/model?

I often wonder about people's driving styles, I'm on 82K with original front discs and pads and I reckon they will see 100K hopefully. You don't have to drive it like you stole it to keep the brakes in good order, just regular use is the key and not letting the car sit about.