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People are often questioning whether X or Y needs to be working to get through an MOT, and a lot of people give duff answers based on hearsay and old wives' tales. (e.g. "if it's fitted it must work") To find out what is and isn't actually part of the MOT test, you can look yourself here: MOT inspection manual: cars and passenger vehicles - Guidance - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) If you find it difficult to understand what's written in there, there's a forum you can look at which has lots of answers to many questions from actual MOT testers. If you can't find your answer there already, you can register, post a query, and in my experience get a prompt answer. Again, from guys/gals working in MOT bays. MOT Forum - The MOT Testing Forum for the UK MOT Testing Industry (motester.co.uk)

Most people don't know their engine code. That usually doesn't affect their lives too much, but when asking questions of a technical nature on a car forum it can be very a useful thing to be able to mention. Why? It gives a more specific, precise definition of the engine in question than any other description you might otherwise use. Why is that important? 1. Information in parts catalogues, particularly for anything even slightly engine related, is often different depending on which engine code is being looked for. 2. Information (relating to the engine at least) in factory wiring diagrams is split up into sections by engine code. If you don't know the engine code, there might be a number of different diagrams with significant differences which could lead you astray if you pick the wrong one. 3. Questions concerning diagnosis of a fault should often vary depending on the engine code. If you have a 1.2 litre 3-cylinder petrol engine for example, it might have an EGR valve if it has certain engine codes, and not if it has others. It is very likely to even have a different number of camshafts and valves depending on which code. EGR faults are very rare on cars that don't have one! 4. If you know your engine code, you can put it into ebay as a search term (e.g. "AZQ engine") and you will see listings of ones for sale. These can be very useful for finding things on the engine or working out how to get to them, as they often include good photos from several angles of engines on pallets, with varying numbers of ancillary items fitted. Much easier to see what's what than from more or less any angle while the engine is in the engine bay. How and where can I find this code? On cars up until about 2018, there tended to be a paper sticker on the boot floor, often near the spare wheel well. Duplicate could often found at the front of the service book. That includes a certain amount of info about the vehicle, including engine (and gearbox) codes, paint code, all sorts. Example (engine code in red square, gearbox code in blue): Many cars also have a barcode sticker on the upper cambelt cover, like this one: The engine code is the letters (in yellow box) just ahead of the engine number: See also Nige's reply below about finding the engine code on your V5c. Letters ahead of the engine number. Consider adding this engine code to any info you may have already put in your profile and or signature, and keep it updated if you change cars.

The French CT test: https://www.autosur.fr/reglementation-du-controle-technique You will need to open the PDF files linked to on the page, I dont know how to do a link direct to a PDF file. The first one is an example of the pass/fail certificate, then there is one for the 133 points that are checked, finally the 129 critical failures. Over here you can fail the CT on minor, some would say even major items but not have to submit the vehicle for a retest, it is taken on trust that you will do the repairs, a world of grief awaits you if you dont and are involved in a serious accident. The critical failures require you to resubmit the vehicle for a retest within 2 months, you can however drive for 2 months with a failed vehicle, in theory you could resubmit the wreck every 2 months to be failed again paying the fee each time and drive legally for ever and a day, same thing applys about an accident though. CT's are valid for 2 years and it is against the law to sell a car with less than 18 months CT remaining, that prevents people getting stitched up buying a second hand vehicle, if they do buy a pup they can legally drive it for 18 months. In practice the law is not enforced and people sell cars all the time with less than 18 months CT remaining, an advery with "CT OK" written means it was tested within the last 6 months, for someone to be prosecuted the buyer would have to make a formal complaint. The final point which makes this system a lot clearer is that you cannot register a car in your name unless it has a CT certificate valid for more than 18 months = was tested in the last 6 months, it does not have to have passed, the system is to protect buyers, you can buy and register a wreck, as long as you know what you have let yourself in for.

Spoke with Skoda today, my car was due build week 39, holiday, now confirmed build week 41 and should not change. They also said they were no longer building cars to go in the car park. Cars are now being built for delivery but slower due to chip shortage. Fingers crossed.

I went full fat - was a no-brainer for the additional £4. The first drive tomorrow will be to Ayr - small world!

I'm not sure, but I suggest you take a can of bull$h!t repellent the next time you visit the dealership, and spray liberally as soon as anyone mentions "$component N% worn".

Haven't done anything to the car besides fixing the earthing issue that was rearing its ugly head once again. This time, it led to a lot of screaming and swearing while I tried to move the damned thing around the Sainsbury's car park without any power steering. Additionally, the ABS light and other lights came on. Having seen this fault, I knew exactly how to repair it by taking the earth strap off of the front wing and clean the contacts. It's now running as sound as before! I hadn't been able to take any photos of the car due to the abysmal weather and today it has been sunny (but chilly) so I headed out to a local car park and got some snaps of the red nugget. I don't have anything especially nice bought/scavenged for the little thing yet but we'll see what the future holds as I've got some amazing (to me, at least) plans for this wee thing in the months (and hopefully years) to come. I also totted up the mileage I have covered since purchasing this car in March, I'm somewhere in the region of 3,000 miles in 6 months and that is steadily increasing every single day.

Mode - and then there's the Standard Deviations (sampled and population), quartiles, semi-interquartile mean...

Hey! Finally my upload meter did a reset and i can upload few new pics to this forum Follow my instagram: @vrsmk4 https://instagram.com/vrsmk4

Now I am happy, last software update went with few hiccups but now when reinstalled - its just perfect. Screen is fast, no random sensor alerts so far.. Enjoying my car now

Maybe check if a bios update can help?

I've been reviewing pics from our trip to the Western USA in 2019, this afternoon. I could do with getting out of the car into the desert blast furnace heat again, sometime soon.

I was taken with the colours in this ripening chilli pepper

15mm front, 20mm rear. However, I'm unsure if the rear is too much do have ordered another pair of 15mm's to try

Sorry about the delay, I completely forgot to update the thread. As I expected after changing practically everything else, it was the front near side bearing. I went for an investigative test drive with a master tech and he said straight away 99% that was the issue, he just couldn’t be certain it was front right or left as the drive shaft is hollow and the sound can sometimes travel and appear elsewhere. So with that, Skoda changed the bearing and released me of £500 🤮 that included £100 invest fee, £150 parts, £59 4 wheel alignment and the rest must have been labour. if I had a similar noise again I wouldn’t hesitate in changing it myself. However I’m happy that the noise is gone and the car is running as it should for the first time since I’ve owned it 👍🏻

Its pretty annoying that the mk1 has a locking fuel door but the mk2 doesnt. Bit of a pain having to unlock the fuel cap every fill but I find its a good reminder beforr you set off to make sure its on and locked.

Agreed.

To me that shows its not the gearbox but a dmf issue. Others may be better placed to comment though...

Of course. I love a car that doesn't scream powerful - especially since I've only got 64 ponies to play with anyway!

People who use fuelly.com, spritmonitor.de or other similar sites that may exist; or who just keep good records of every litres to brim-full against trip meter readings are the only ones whose info on changes E5-E10 will be worth really trusting. Even then probably not until a year has gone by, to allow for seasonal variations. (Probably) Nobody here knows what changes might be made to the non-ethanol part of what we're buying now, nor how much ethanol actually is in any given batch of E10, given that it's one of those 'may contain up to 10% ethanol' type things isn't it? Not 'will always contain 10%"?

A man after my own heart! I've got a set lurking in my eBay basket, actually.

Looking decent. A set of wheel nut caps would finish off your wheel department just nicely.

I agree with J.R. Perhaps the problem is not being understood. I suggest you email the video direct to the “dealer principal” of the company where you bought it. Or present the car at the dealer’s and take the service manager for a ride to show the problem?

I knew that I didn't have it right, I said it was a hazy recollection and something like...................... I just retain the important basics, if I want to design something to accomodate the maximum amount of people (or whatever) using +/- 1 standard deviation from the arithmetic mean value will cover 95% of the population/sample group without requiring a lot of adjustment/compromise but to get that to 99% (ish, as I can't recall the exact figure) means a lot more adjustment to cater for very few individuals, Airline seat width & pitch etc are calculated in this manner, over the decades the size & weight of the upper 95th percentile limit has risen significantly.

Back on Steelies for a bit, Wheels taken off in order for me to do a bit of a refurb on the rims. The spyders will be going onto the Monte for Winter so naturally i'll use that thread to detail whats happening to them.

Get OSRAM Nightbreakers. You'll get more useful light on the road compared to standard halogen, without blinding everyone else on the road.

Does it even have fluid? I'd think it will be electromechanical, motor on rack?

And here we are on std shocks with 12 months' of MOT Looks similar to on the adjustable ones so ride height must be standard (maybe up a little, due to being partially stripped out). And here are the old adjustable ones that I can get refurbed, or replaced for not much more. Thanks all.

Tailgate sorted today great to have it back !

In the depths of my memory I think I recall that +/- 1 standard deviation covers 95% of the sample size hence the phrase 95th percentile & that +/- 2 standard deviations is 99 or 99.5%, something like that, its all very hazy. It was not from school but technical college. I used it a couple of times in my career, I can also recall using anthropomorphic (spelling?) data when designing car interiors, it was before CAD and we had these 2D scale model jointed plastic body templates for tracing the outlines of upper & lower 95th percentile man & womans head & feet on the controls or against the headlining with the drivers seat at the limits of its adjustment. When I see Richard Hammond peering over the steering wheel of a supercar I often think of the sight lines that we used to draw across the steering wheel, bonnet, instrument binnacle etc, the closest that he could see the ground ahead of him would be on the horizon! That said from looking at all the same in car cameras of various presenters steering wheel heights have got much much higher in modern vehicles.

Yes they do - look at this: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233409015194 Plugs into your ODBC port when you aren't using the car.

I hear mixed reviews on the economy. The other half has a Polo TSI, the economy has been around 5% less on E10 fuel whereas others claim they have seen an increase. I don't mind though as her car is now getting the same MPG as my diesel 😂

Yeah I used to know about averages, mean, medium, but I forget now can't even remember the third one there, and you make other good points about drivers and location. We got the car with 10k-miles on it and no real idea of it's real history and use, since owning it for the last 5 years my wife is just about the only driver and she literally goes out of her way to avoid roads with speed humps and looks out for potholes. But of course living in a second world nation with local multi-millionaires from surface-dressing contracts the roads can be a bit rough round here and some potholes make you wince as you hit them. My wife doesn't drive over speed humps at speed but I'd go even slower as I'm used to driving a car with a track that is narrower than the speed restrictions humps so I'm used to going very slow over them, I even went up a tyre size (155/80) on my car to to give a bit more tyre 'rubber' to the suspension, despite having robust local sports dampers fitted, to spread the shocks and vibrations from the road surface, or lack of it. With this thread I was more wondering if 2015 was a bad year for Fabia Mk3 front dampers for any reason and more importantly if replacement dampers fitted in 2021 will be as (potentially) short lived, I've no idea how old stock of dampers would be and there production dates. Coming from the world of very ****-poor and crap classic car parts I wonder how much of this abysmal manufacturing attitude had made it through to modern car parts manufacture.

Thanks, I will try that

An update. The issue was covered under warranty and although they stated no obvious faults were found they did reset the computer and surprisingly, all now works fine. We did report some damper rust, boot on the lower arms but because the dampers were not leaking they would not carry out a repair under warranty. We have lodged a complaint. The dealers, even with our other Skoda cars appear reluctant to resolve repairs under warranty often seeking a payment to do the work? All done for now. Thanks

Yeah, like that. Ride height is bang on too 👍🏼

Please have a look at that post:

Be v.careful @Noman9Vrs - if a selling dealer says they have serviced the car, but they haven't reset the service interval on the car, then essentially, this is why the car is showing service due. However, because it is a TDI - it might be a situation that the car is running in a different way and there maybe crud that had built up that is now been released and the oil is now needing a change (again). I would recommend that if you can afford it, you go with genuine service Oil (VAG Longlife FEIII - 0W30) and a genuine oil filter too. As Mr @e-Roottoot (or Sir as I like to call him) correctly states 😜, look at the mouse-mat graphic showing what is due for servicing. Basically, extended scope service plus brake fluid change. Be prepared for a cambelt change in the next 20k miles - a general inspection of the belt to see if it is cracking will give you an indicator if it needs changing sooner rather than later. Generally rule is thus: change the oil and filter every 10k miles - car will see you right for a further 400k miles!!!! (google Miles the High Mileage Octavia)

My Lowda Supairb

There are a few other possibilities; does the battery light illuminate when you switch the engine on, before you start it? If not, then there is probably a failure in the alternator control wires, and any competent mechanic should have spotted this!

When I placed my order for the sportline 80 (I'm also replacing a Superb 280 4x4), I was told that the lead time for the 80x was 12 weeks, the 80 was 20 weeks and the 60 was 30 weeks. While I'd love the the 80x, £3k extra for 60 odd bhp is a bit too rich for me. Also, the enyaq interior is much nicer than the id4 ( the non gtx id4 interior is really horrible. A brown dashboard with stitching to make it look nothing like leather. Mmmmmmmm), so I don't blame you for sticking with the Skoda.

It could be average if some last 2 years and some last 12 years. Averages are just that But the oldest Mk3's are 7 years old so how can we know yet. ? Have you had the car from new and are the only driver? or know how the car is driven when you are not in it? Plenty Mk2 Fabia from 2008 will be on original dampers and Mk3's with higher miles. Location, location, locations as in Speed Bumps and are there many and does the driver slow for them.

I fitted an amundsen first which was great and was plug and play, but later updated to a colmumbus unit I got at the right price as it was also DAB. I have messed with endless settings for the sound and for me I think the Amundsen sounded far better in the Fabia to the point I am thinking of going back.

It's next on my list, I still need to finish the Fabia list! List updated on front page.

Steering right at speed rolls extra weight to the left - to me the extra noise doing this indicates left wheel bearing. When my son had a tyre hum issue on his 2016 mkIII turning left/right didn't really affect it.

It is locked. The reason it keeps opening is because you have your key with you.

Enjoyed my first full week of ownership, 300 miles down and few thousand more to go!! just waiting for the 26gb map update to finish downloading, then that’s a job for tomorrow. No regrets from moving from Audi so far

Finally some wash time!