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My octavia is held together with cable ties as the screws and clips they go into rusted away. I drilled some small holes in tray and where it joins other plastic. I just snip them off if I have to remove it and replace. In fact all my cars ended up like that at some point. Never given me any bother, Alasdair

has anyone got Thule roof bars on a saloon? Is there rubber on the bit that connects to the car inside/above the door? Brought some second hand bars, and there is no rubber, so I’m worried about metal rubbing against my paint and scratching it

Oh tell me about it 😣 maybe little by little I get them all replaced but yeah they surely aren't cheap 😭

Hi. I'm finding that if I want a new RS it's £40k + any options which puts in well inside the luxury car threshold so instead of paying ~£200 annually for "road tax" it would be a whopping £625! Also I'm thinking that whilst the RS is a lovely car to own & drive, it's now gone over the 3 year barrier and so is going to start needing much more expensive maintenance & services. I also have leg & knee issues so it's a comfort issue too. I don't need a large car like the Octavia anymore as I have no family Ive not tried any EV, but there's no Skoda that will give me the HP & zip of an RS other than an EV, I've had a look at an Elroq and whilst I'm not a fan of the driver cockpit, but I can live with it.

@TheWanderer , I'm curious about what is motivating you to consider a move to an EV from a 2023 Octavia RS? I have been giving the change some thought myself, but despite having several domestic factors in place (3 phase electricity, some solar panels but only generating about 2.5kw at best, off-road parking/garage, more clement winters than the UK) I can't quite justify the change at this time. The Elroq 85 is a two-tonne vehicle, no spare tyre, although not sure I like the idea of jacking up two tonnes by the roadside. Here in Adelaide, Australia the public charging infrastructure is pretty poor especially since (cheap) Chinese EV sales have gone through the roof and overwhelmed existing facilities where they are not affected by vandalism or poor maintenance. Things are probably better in the UK? EV is better around town but range is especially affected by cold and high speeds relative to an ICEV. What is the situation there regarding trained maintenance staff for EV when things go wrong (very poor here), EV depreciation and insurance costs. Also make sure the payload capacity of the car meets your needs (surprisingly low on many EV). I guess it depends on the majority of the type of driving you do (local or long distance) but even at the higher fuel costs currently hurting us it does not justify our making a change from our current (old) ICE vehicles. Have you test driven an Elroq and what was your experience relative to the RS?

I've just bought a 2026/7 Skoda sd card from E-Bay, everything works fine now.

@JR RS can confirm but I believe he said the ballasts can be swapped around for testing

I like - along with the oil filler and washer fluid filler cap etc. but then I see the price and am sad

Skomaz thanks v much for a very interesting response and no it's not a stupid question. I don't really have the kit to check what you mention. I just have a v v basic chinesium obd2 reader (basically i bought it to get rid of pesky eml lights). Tom

Yeah at the time the mapper kind of seemed to blame it on the car but since then I got turbo and injectors replaced to no avail, currently onto him to try sort it out. Just a shame as the mapper is probably one of the best in Ireland for diesels and this has really changed my outlook on that.

Yes I thought that initially, the first time I never mention service, just asked for the price of BFC, they quoted the £100, the second call I said I need to book 2nd service and the price was £69.19, then 3rd call to check my booking this week it went back up to £100.....who knows what they are playing at plucking figures from the sky comes to mind.

Sounds like a crap map - as a starting point take it back to the mapper and ask them to sort it?

Stupid question but have you checked for fault codes? If one is present the ECU often shuts down that particular function t avoid further damage. It may be that the controller was faulty and has been shutdown but that code is still present and hence the new one won't function either?

Hi all, when I got my Octavia MK2 RS back in November it had a map on it, dpf is gutted too. Bit of smoke on startup but no other issues. That was fine. I took it to a more reputable mapper then and after that she’s been idling rough 50% of the time, with a lot of smoke, whether cold or warm. I actually find it’s worse when warm. It’s perfect if I rev it to 1k, and there’s absolutely no power loss or chugging when driving it’s just the idle. Turbo and injectors have been done with new seals. Knowing the turbo limits these cars do you think that the mapper might have put on too much fuel pressure or something? I’m at the end of my tether here as I have no fault codes in relation to this.

While reversing over the kerb I managed to trash the under engine tray. A lot of the screw fixing plates have gone or no longer secure the screws. They are very difficult to get at to replace. Should I live without the tray or are there alternative ways of fixing the tray under the engine?

UPDATE Disappointment, I'm afraid. My brand new controller unit duly arrived and I've now fitted it but the problem remains the same. I have previously tested the wires (apart from the command wire from the ecu) and proved that the relevant power was correct at the different wires. The only wire I have not tested (and don't know how to) is the command wire which seems to me to be the only connection that can now be faulty (unless there is some sneaky fuse hidden away somewhere). Both fans do not rotate at all. The car quickly gets up to temperature and remains steadfastly on 90 degrees but of course I haven't been stuck in any traffic jams. Air con does not work and the fan (the smaller one) doesn't operate with the engine on and air con switched on. There is no engine management light on either. If any one can offer a solution I would be grateful........ perhaps identifying the command wire as it comes out of the ecu then I can test for continuity at the fan connector.. Car:- 1Z5 combi 2005 BKC 1.9tdi withe just short of 300,000 miles on it All help appreciated, thx. Regards Tom

I’m not convinced there is any advantage getting a heat pump over the normal system in the UK. It isn’t cold enough for the added cost and complexity to really pay off in my opinion. Winter weather will hit the range by about 25% in my experience, if you are able to get home charging you can mitigate this by preheating before you set off, likewise in the summer you can precool it with the aircon. Not sure on the packs, mine is out of the box SE L spec and I’m not missing anything. Apparently the matrix headlights are good.

Err... Ditto an EV... If you run the battery completely flat that can cause long term damage to it through chemical stress etc. Fortunately both systems have warning signs to avoid this... Limp mode for an EV and warning lights and bongs for ICE.

The privacy setting is pretty powerful. Turns off a lot of stuff including NAV.

It's in the manual Škoda Owner's Manuals - Kamiq

I'm investigating that but I think that the electrical board & input is at its limit.

Thanks, just about to order Febi steel control arms and the ball joints. Looking at the Febi parts catalogue, they also list the Blue Print ball joint parts, so I assume they manufacture them as well.

@Bryfly Nearly always the case that a 'During a service price' of a Brake Fluid change is less (Price Fixed) lower than just getting a Brake Fluid change. Is it during a Service price that they gave it @ £100? You decide if you want to follow the @2 year Service schedule or not. You know where and when you drive and weather conditions etc. If you think the Brake Fluid has absorbed H20 or not. It changed from @ 2 years to @ 3, then a few years back to @ 2 Years as a nice little earner for Dealerships after the VW Emissions Scandal and stuff. Money for old rope.

'Keep it simple stupid.' Or if you have to implement compulsory features do the R&D and have stuff fit for purpose. VW might for VW or Audi, and not for Skoda or SEAT.

@ Lee01 He meant keeping it simple....