Leaderboard

I'm still on the middle of refreshing the suspension, but been trying to get some use out of the car while the weather is good. It looks ok from 10ft after throwing a bucket of water over it.

I've punted the RaRo after 2yr and 11k miles. Some big bills were coming up despite it being completely reliable over that 24 months and if I'm honest it was a lot of money to be locked up in a car that I appreciated but didn't really love. It's been swapped for... a 2016 Suzuki Jimny. Really. Dealer made a decent offer for the Raro which involves giving me a wodge of cash back, buyer already lined up. Jimny will just be for the winter weather and shooting days, cash back will go towards soemthing interesting, probably fast and german but maybe a bit more left field. Wee 4x4 was low mileage and mint condition. Being sold as approved used despite the age. Getting new disks and pads then it'll be swapped on this week. Get some knobblies on it soon.

Tested this morning, cold engine, ac on Low + blower on high -> fan kicked in immediatly. So it does seem to work as intended.

Done a few bits today. Replaced the colour coded front number plate plinth for a new genuine one. And replaced both mirror glasses as they had started to de laminate around the edges. Also took advantage of Halfords 50 percent off wiper blades and fitted some Bosch Aero Twin ones. Ohh and popped to AW tuning for a stage 1 map !

Well guys after a loveley holiday to cypruss i was back out to fit the new lock,it was a bit of a mare trying to understand where the lock rod was fitted but after several times fitting the door plate back and forth i sussed it in the end,i tested it several times before actually closing the door and it works great,i just need to order the door card plastic connectors before fitting thanks again guys on to the next job

That's a good shout!

As a positive, this means you didn't buy any snake oil yesterday. I agree with @roottoot and @PetrolDave about scanning with a better scanner, and then fix those faults only.

i fixed links in first post - VW have changed ..ROW.. filenames to previously used ..MRM..

Thanks everyone, just discovered how off-line maps works on Google maps. Very handy. Not to mention saving 3k to upgrade the sound system to have it included. My car is the facelift version so doesn't need the cable to screen mirror the phone which is pretty cool. First ever skoda still getting my head around all the features. Very cool and fun car

Hi there, Just wondering what peoples experiences have been with Maxton and Rieger (or any other brands) as I'm keen on the Maxton splitter and sideskirts and possibly the Rieger rear diffuser for a 2021 Octavia VRS combi? Reviews for both companies on Google, Trust Pilot and Facebook etc., are frankly quite concerning especially when I have to ship the goods half way around the world making any returns/problems troublesome. Any feedback would be appreciated as well as alternatives to these two companies, but particularly comments on longevity and fitment - pictures as always are appreciated!

GSF car parts

A Bitter?

Many thanks for the replies. I will swap the spare to the rear. The tyre place is 2 miles away from my house. I spent Thursday evening searching through all the threads regarding spare wheels and the different wheels as options. I had thought that it was because I had specifically asked the Skoda dealer to provide the 16inch full size spare as opposed to the 18inch space saver, but a quick check of tyre calculators shows they are exactly the same in diameter and circumference so it couldn't have been that. I now appreciate that modern spare wheels are of the get you to a tyre shop, whether the spare is full sized or a space saver. I never got anywhere near 50mph though, the car just wouldn't let me. What now intrigues me is if your normal front tyre is going flat, or you get the TPMS warning that it is going flat and so its rolling circumference reduces does it trigger all the symptoms I saw running the spare? Also, does the Skoda TPMS system allow you to set the individual tyre pressures for each corner? From what I saw, it basically just allows you to set the pressure on all the tyres based on what you have pumped them up to. My assumption then was it used the ABS speed sensor to monitor how fast the wheel was turning and hence alert you that the rolling diameter of the wheel/tyre had changed, in other words, going flat. As I also mentioned there is nothing in the handbook alerting you to swap wheels around to make sure the spare is on the rear. Thanks to all once more. Sandy

Jimney's are great little winter cars. They use them here for winter service with a little plough on the front and sand dispenser on the back. Ideal for clearing footpaths and drives. Lada Niva also popular for the same reason.

Couldn't tell you much about installation really, ours was part of the build spec. But really an ASHP needs to be the core of a building design, you decide that for a heating system THEN you build the house around that. Houses need to be ultra insulated and very draft proof which contradicts directly with clean air regulations from planning. So we have lovely thick double gazing with bloody great holes in them for air. ASHP needs to be coupled with a mechanical heat recovery system to allow the air to circulate without loosing energy. I'm currently trying to figure out how to storm proof bathroom extractors for winter. We had the pump serviced recently which might help efficiency, the engineer spotted that the flow rates on the manifold did not match specification. He's corrected that. Also spotted that the system doesn't have enough antifreeze in it. Brilliently these systems use a non-toxic antifreeze which is about 4x the price of glycol and they need about 170l of it. We'll need to put in another 40-70l to get it up to spec (£300). Ther service itself was £200 +£100 for the tuning work. In teh summer it's actually been cheap to run with the heatig off, it produces hot water very efficiently, We get a tank (150l) for about £1.50. But genuinely when my fix deal goes our winter bills will be terrifying, we could easily see £1000 a month. I'll be buying more wood for the log burner soon. What will really help is decoupling the electricity price from gas. We are a renewable only customer but see no benefit from that. ASHP will always seem stupid until the price of electricity starts to match gas, the the efficiencies in the sysem might actually start to make sense for people.

Welcome Sam, congrats on getting the car to the Moon, I am sure it will make it back at least part way.

Have a look here

On the same 17" Gigaro rims. 205/40 R 17 XL. Off the car the Pirelli Zero Nero with the stonger sidewalls that disguised the pulling to the left that dealers never managed to fix so Skoda Approved the tyres changed under warranty. On the car the OEM Dunlop Sport Maxx that gave good grip in the warm and ok in the wet unlike the Pirelli Ditch finders. Lovely secure feeling on the road with the Dunlops. the Pirelli needed steering assistance reduced to not feel skittery or light even if you reduced the tyre pressures.. On the front a 215/40 17 Goodride tyre & next to it the Pirelli in 205/40 R 17. Same rims.

I don't think you'd be able to a 'light' setting to the menu. In theory, you should be able to change the assistance for one mode though. A while back some folk were able to extract the data from parameter files but I've no idea if they went far enough to create custom versions: https://skodapilot.com/2016/09/25/harakteristiki-rulevogo-upravleniya-chast-3-mqb/

Welcome 🤗

I think the popcorn is finished by now, but I have found the time to work in the car. The pump ran on a 12v supply. But sounded a bit weird so ordered a new pump. Load testing of the wires showed there was nothing wrong with the wiring. (thank God) Installed the new pump. Put the car on without motor running: Pump did not work. After starting the engine: Only the rear window washer worked..... After closing the bootlid also the front washer worked. So top tip: Start the car and close the bootlid before testing. Thank you all for your help!

Thanks for all the advise spoke to friend who has the same model but with 120k on it, he got the egr done for 400 bargain and had an injector go, he was in leeds, found a large independent who showed him a container of failed ones and a draw of very good third party ones he has bought in bulk at lower cost. like he saw about 80 in stock, he said at least 40% of his business seems to be vag 1.6 tdi, less so 2.0 tdi injector failures, he charged about 250 per injector and did the one that had failed rather than all of them but said see you soon for the other 3. ive had the major parts done so touch wood should be good for another 4-5 years when i will consider a change to petrol. my guy said go ford petrol eco boost, cheap to fix and get good third party parts. But ive also read horror stories on ecoboost engines as well. he said vw petrols at least double the cost to fix vs fords, and less options for third party good parts. he runs and audi himself but said if he was a punter would not touch them. thats all his opinion of course, but hes a good egg. Ill use additives once every few months and swap diesel suppliers every 3rd tank. touch wood should do ok. it was doing 63mpg on a 60mph run yesterday. so thats about 13mpg more than previously, i do buy the other post they were not up to scratch to start with. it really is night and day sound and response, the mechanic was shocked as he been servicing it since i had to 4-5 years ago. brummie 10

Quick test would be to use VCDS to engage all the needle sweep output tests, that will rule out something broken in cluster. Odds are that you have a broken wire, and hopefully VCDS can locate a fault stored, then onto finding the critter.

That

No, he was just mis-remembering seeing the battery light go out before engine fires up. He's saying they both do the same as what we are saying they should do.

Indeed - but if you had read my post closely you would see I was responding to KaroqyBalboa, and not the OP.

Personally I would always put the space saver on the rear.

@Zinc i understand that as i drive EV's. But heating a parked up cars battery using the battery before driving when not plugged in is saving nothing, but it does heat the cabin if you want that. When like me you have a small battery you actually know how to hypermile them. Pre Heating a battery while parked to just then go on a charger to get a quicker charge with a pre heated battery is just stupid, but then anyone can do as they wish. Turning on the Car and clearing the Ice or starting it melting is simply clever, then starting the car before driving off does work. Then you will be wanting to be putting that power back in and a heated battery when you reach the charger might make a difference. But then the chargers can be putting out a pathetic power. That is real world use. Lovely when you get plugged in, the heating up full and seat heating and the windows cracked open.

The climate control uses servo motor controlled flaps for air temperature and distribution, these are all under the dash. These can get stuck due to problems with either the gear mechanism (which is what I had happen) or the actual flap. The one you need to look at is the one that controls the amount of airflow to the front vents. You'll probably need a section of the repair manual to locate exactly where that is. BTW VCDS can run an output test which tries to exercise all the climate control motors and is worth running even if only to hear where the noise comes from when it tries to exercise this flap.

OK, so recently had a new steering rack fitted under warranty, and wanted to drive the car and make sure of the results for a bit before I reported them. Had a slight click from the rack, which was only noticeable from outside the car and not heard at all from inside with the door closed. Shaking the wheel from about the 10 o’clock position to the 2 o’clock position produced the click. steering itself felt fine while driving and showed no real signs of having an issue. Anyway, and to the real outcome that surprised me. The rack has a noticeable difference for the better now while steering and feels much more precise in its input. But the main difference, is that the rack has completely transformed my suspension. It has gone from the horrendously crashy uncontrolled nonsense that I see reported all the time, to what you would swear under oath was a completely new setup. It is smooth all the time, and covers most road conditions with control and comfort. Gone are the brutal knocks and bangs over even the slightest deviation in the road. I couldn’t have even considered selecting sport mode before, and now it rides perfectly but with the usual change to travel and roll. In conclusion, the only reasoning can be, that the rack issue was having a knock on effect on the suspension settings. Possibly locking it out to a certain level, but without registering an issue and throwing codes or any sign of faults. It’s basically a suspension limp mode. thought it was worth mentioning due to others having reported severe suspension knocks and poor control issues with DCC as well.

Correction inline, bold.

pre-ME3 setting departure time in app/infotainment when offgrid heats both battery and interior. If car is ongrid (connected to a charger) it won't heat battery, just interior. This behaviour is confirmed by several users who logged data overnight using OBD.

Absolutely use cruise control with the van 👍

Had to pull over to snap the sunset this evening.........

@brummie10 No special Additives for any extra paid in Regular Diesel from the major brands over that the supermarkets / multi nationals are buying in. Premium Diesel might well have but then no higher cetane. More than half the diesel cars in the UK will have their tanks filled at supermarket diesel pumps. VW Group say not to use Fuel Additives. VW Group sells Fuel Additives for Petrol & Diesels.

Yes I'll manually lap all new valves before installing them with this valve tool

Yes, you are right, it makes sense. So it pulls air instead exhaust Thats why, while i solve the case i put this

I've got the same "feature". Really annoying. Fill the tank only half full and the fuel gauge shows "full bar". Only after awhile it adjusts itself. I hope there is some setting to get the fuel gauge to show a representation of the actual amount of fuel in the tank instead of a delayed estimate based on the way you've recently been driving. Sadly haven't found that setting yet. There's already a digital feature which shows a numeric estimate of the remaining driving distance so I don't understand the point of making the fuel gauge act on an estimate as well.

There is the tank and the tank capacity, then there is fuel up the tube, then there can be fuel up the tube till you see it, so brimmed. The fuel in the tank is what can be measured, more up the tube can not, or when brimmed.

Now you'll get me in trouble for thread drift - early 1980s, IIRC I had to go to Long Eaton, Nottingham way, and waiting at a bus stop this coach pulled up, bit younger than the one in your photo, I thought how posh for a bus service as I was used to "green" and "red" buses like the ones in your photos and didn't seem younger than those but I think they were driver only by then. Ah, the wisdom of age, when you were younger at work you'd have carried on and if you broke it blamed it on something else or the apprentice, unless you were the apprentice at the time and then the buck stopped. 😄

I will save you the effort, of doing it Graham, don't want to break the connector if you are unsure. Effects of signal failure In the event of a signal failure of the battery sensor, the operating condition of the battery can no longer be accurately determined and monitored. An entry is made in the fault memory of the data bus diagnostic interface (Gateway) J533. The START-STOP system is deactivated. So a break in the wire that you was mentioning won't stop the car from starting.

Lovely example, To bad I have one already ! 😁

Well the Oil & Filter will come up because of when last done & if on Fixed or Variable Servicing. So was that 1 year , 9,400 miles or 2 years, 18,000 -20,000 miles ago. **Servicing should be Servicing & Maintenance / Preventative Maintenance, Pre Winter, and should include Body Inspections for the Corrosion Warranty.** Not just Engine OIl & Filter Changes. That is an OIl Service. *** Haldex oil change and cleaning is important.*** Servicing will be depending on what has been done before and what is due or recommended. That will be Inspections and reports if you just get a Service. You have Haldex so that is due each 3 years / 30,000 miles for a Service. Pollen / Cabin Filter each 2 years. Brake Fluid was @ 3 years then each 2, so when was that changed or checked. Air Filter each 6 years, it should be checked each year and changed when needed. So location location location and how used and how much checking you do yourself. Bottom Menu was how Dealerships were up to 2020 on Interim & Major Servicing, 2021 Skoda UK changed to the Oil & Inspection Services & Extended Scope. You only get extra stuff done like Haldex, Water Pump / Cam Belt, Brake Fluid. Fuel Filter, Pollen or Air Filter by paying for that. *Get brales Serviced.* Dealer Servicing might not have the wheels off for many years.

In an unfortunate event (that was also the end of my Megane GT - some smart guy making a U-turn in front of me on an expressway) I found out what Renault did to keep the noise from the wheel arch away from the cabin. Inside the empty volume that is delimited by the front fender on the outside, the engine compartment on the inside and the wheel arch on the bottom, those guys added a plastic bag that was filled with foam bubbles/flakes. I can tell you that it did a pretty good job - there was no noise coming from the wheel/road contact/friction. If there was any, it was covered by the noise coming from the A-pillar and/or side-view mirrors. And yes, what U see in the picture is a broken plastic front fender - Renault was using that since Megane 2; it's designed to shatter into pieces on impact and thus dissipate as much energy as possible...

Hmm, sound like that's a difference between the facelift and pre facelift models. Mine has no sill rubber bungs. There is a small drain channel at the front and rear of each sill ie at the bottom of all that rubbish!! I got the Dinitrol flowing - probably a little too much and didn't wait long enough as some flowed out as I set off. The reason I first checked is I walked past a very early mkII (2008?) a while ago that had rusting sills at the front - and I've got a bit more time on my hands these days!! A friend of mine has a Golf (circa 2010?) that had the same design issue but even worse - VW put in extra foam bits around the wheelarch I think are for extra soundproofing which were soaked through with water(Rust will love that!). PS - I don't recommend bitumen spray on its own. I found things can rust underneath the bitumen and track along - almost makes it worse! - and you can't see it until it's too late. I did have success with Waxoyl underseal if pre painted with clean engine oil the day before (at least) - and yes it does cover but makes a right royal mess - but it works. A few years ago I re visited a Morris 1000 I'd restored in 1988 and the oil/Waxoyl underseal was still tacky and made your hands mucky if you touched it. Not bad for over 3 decades ago. I'd also blatted a mix of hot clean oil/Waxoyl into cavities. All was rust free except for the bottom of the boot lid - which had been perfect at the time of restoration(should have rustproofed at the time!). Again I found Waxoyl on its own kind of sat on top of layered rust, ok if metal in good condition - mixed with oil it soaks in nicely. Dinitrol seems to soak in /protect straight out of the tin - so these days that's what I use internally and obviously Owatrol Oil if exposed to the elements - which that part you've photographed is. It's a design flaw in that everything from the plenum above drains through that area and any solid-ish bits are trapped.

That's it. Doors, trunk and rear seat done. As promised, here are some pictures of the front door. Overview Crash clip 1, screw type. Crash clip 2, releases by lifting the door card. Anchor on door card for crash clip 2. Door control module. The connector on the right side (brown/green) was sliding back and forth and rattling. Another potential source of rattle. Pressure sensor for the airbag system. This should be left connected and untouched. Door card finished. Didn't put any material close to the LED projector as it has a heatsink that needs some air around it.

So, to update this, i’ve had it lowered for about 12 months on Eibach springs and Bilstein shocks, i’ve fitted bonnet struts, front strut brace, wheel spacers front and rear, wind deflectors, colour coded badges, changed the chrome lettering and front grille surround for black and fitted the front Maxton splitter. I’ve got some new front fog lights on the way and keep toying with Eibach front and rear arbs and also a remap. I said this was staying standard when i bought it. 🤦🏻‍♂️😆

Hi All, Below you will find a solution to the handle snapping off from the ski hatch (common Skoda bullpoop for Octavias and Superbs). Mine was quoted 280 GBP for repairs as my 2017 superb was out of warranty. Should take 20-60 mins depending on your DIY experience and . I will post my thought process after the solution to not bore you. Just please, after you have unlocked the ski hatch, instead of pulling on the handle with all your might, push on the arm rest instead to pull the lid away from the seats ! It's a Wonky DIY fix ! SOLUTION - Make your own piston (fixing on a spring): I engineered a piston to pop out into the hole on a spring , securing the handle. I had a bracket intact on the right side, so was just the case of pulling it out to hold the handle there (after lots of messing about) Tools (basic): I had all of my tools in my toolbox (too lazy to go find my cordless drill), scavanged resources as I went: Nail of approx 50-60mm length, strong nail with a small head. Screwdriver , 2 screws approx 50mm long, 1 narrow and 1 wider core (to match or be wider than the nail) OR a drill with a narrow drill bit to accomodate the nail Small (or any really) wallplug which will tightly fit the nail (stop) old or any ballpoint pen spring (worth the sacrifice) tool to cut the spring any tool or screw to pull an existing right fixing (if it is intact, otherwise figure a static fixing yourself) Steps: See video or text below 1. Pull the right handle fixing out of the ski hatch frame with a screwdriver or any other way (hook screw for me). * If you have that broken off, just assess the situation and think which side of the handle you want the spring piston to be attached to. create a static fixing like a screw on the opposite side 2. Drill or screw 3 holes through the left* side of the handle (if your right side is sorted). TRY to align the holes in parallel to the handle face, as I had mine at an angle. Had to mangle a massive hole in the ski hatch frame. 3. Take a spring out of a ballpoint pen and cut it to approx 2-3 cm length. Can always adjust later. 4. Place it on your nail and slide the nail through the holes to see if it pops out after you push it in 5. cut a wall plug with any tool to have approx a 1cm section which will tightly fit the screw 6, place the plug in the large section of the handle and hammer the nail through it to create a brake for the nail, so that it doesnt fly out of the handle (ski hatch has a hollow frame) 7. check if your nail pops out but stays within all 3 holes for stability 8. expand the left hole of the ski hatch with a screwdriver or other tools to fit the head of the nail when it pops out 9. place the handle back into the ski hatch, first matching the right side, then the top ridge, then push the nail into the handle to contract the spring, and finally push the whole handle in 10. check that the nail has popped into the expanded hole, and if it didnt, make the hole bigger 11. Test a couple times if it all works, and enjoy your ski hatch again ! ============== P.S. ======== Sorry if you don't like the track on the video You probably understand my though process now. I thought that it would be nice to have some sort of a springed fixing (piston?) to attach to the handle , then inspected the handle, found a ballpoint pen in my toolbox, thought about a spring , found a nail, spring fit, had an idea. Tried it, worked. You are all welcome! and hope it lasts ! Love my Superb, although disappointed with Skoda for classing this as a Wear and Tear damage on a 4 year old car 😞 GOOD LUCK !