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Okay... so what's changed since I last done a write-up? Not too much, just had the engine management light coming on a few times for that damned P0171 code which I'm no further forward with. MOT is a week today, we will see how the fate of this car is determined, as if I won't spend a substantial amount on keeping this ungrateful little s***e going. So yes, stay tuned, dear reader, or something. And, a wonderful photo taken by the co-pilot of today's adventures...

I did an expermint today, it was inspired by @J.R. doing some rough calculations on putting back the charge into the battery. Car had been left for a few days, measured Voltage on meter was 12.3V at the terminals (60% State of Charge.) So got in the car and fired up VCDS logging, and set about an experiment. Alternator = 180Amp, temperature was 8°C, no additional load was added (lights/heated seat/rear or front window) just the climate control and infotainment was running (no volume) In the logs, with ignition on, it dropped down to 12.0V to be expected as the climate control will be on, and a fair few control modules/fuel pump etc are being prepared. Cranked engine, and it drops to 10.0V momentarily, before settling higher. You can see smart charging doing it's thing here in the steps, and this is all done at idle rpm. It took less than 3 minutes to replace the power it used initially, and raise the SOC. Had I been driving the car, this time would probably been shorter, but not that long at all.

Now i the right scenario for Scout :))

The first~ a Boys’ Brigade publicity photo taken at the Raleigh factory when I was 16 (my usual mount was a Norton 350 Model 50) The 2nd pic was a couple of weeks ago aboard a Kawasaki Z400 on holiday in Gran Canaria.

The kph/mph fix is not directly related to infotainment system version 1896. Mine was fixed September 2021 whilst on a much lower version (can’t remember which at the mo). Chase the dealer for all updates etc and don’t give up! yep, what @varooom said.

It took nine months to get mine sorted! It was in and out of the dealer and I was writing long letters to Skoda UK. Eventually it went in for a whole day and the system was reset to read in miles. The whole VAG group have has similar problems and many others relating to software. The director in change of VAG software has been sacked. The next round of models will have quite different controls, returning to knobs for many things like the air con. Your are not allowed to sue a phone when driving but you do have to take your eyes off the road to poke through several screen to do things.

The summer/winter formulation theory is interesting and something I haven't thought about. Summertime travel is easier here as well, noticeably less traffic about on my commute. Commute has been the same every day/week/month/year. Apart from an occasional trip to the supermarket it's 2 x 50 motorway miles Mon-Fri, 1 x 65 motorway on Saturday & 1 x 65 motorway on Sunday. No winter tyres and fill up once a week at same Tesco station.

Tremendous sky (and full 'Snow' Moon) last night - colour changing minute by minute.........

Hey folks, Needless to say, somewhere in the world a 2012 MK2 FL with 50k miles on the clock half way towards a service interval did 145Mph for about 20 seconds twice. Oil temp got to 119c. The owner would like to know if they've likely screwed their engine. Seems to sound the same as it did before the whoosh as they decided to give it the "beans" Not looking for my dad to reply and tell me or said friend off, just looking for advice.

Thank you varooom!

Were you monitoring something else to know when the SOC was raised above what it was before the engine start? Terminal 30 voltage? Or do you know from experience that when it drops to 400 watts that it is a maintenance charge? Editted, you said you were monitoring the voltage, 400 watts = 33 amps, more than a maintenance charge, you can tell that I dont work with these units often! Interesting to see that it was charging at 75 amps on a battery at 60% SOC, there is a lot of headroom with a 180 amp alternator.

Likely the previous owner was constantly towing heavy loads, that the springs have literally lost their ”spring in their step”!!!

Well, the Superb didn’t last long! It had engine issues and went back to the selling dealer. ☹️👍 now the dust has settled and I have daily driven a half restored basket case clio sport 182 for a couple of months I’ve finally found a worthy replacement, so hello again from a 2019 Octavia VRS tdi 4x4 owner. Let’s hope this one is a bit more long term…😂

Aaa the Mericans shot it down. http://autodaily.com.au/interview-new-skoda-ceo-klaus-zellmer

No problem munchy I know the superb III has about 100 litres more load space with the seats down so you should be fine. If you're not filling the car to the brim like i do, that holdall will fit in no problem with no intrusion. Tight lines 🎣

If it helps, my superb II estate fits 2 peoples fishing gear in easily and this is full carp gear for long france trips, including a 6ft holdall that fits on top of the load close to the roof, only just sticks in between the front 2 seats when pushed back to the boot. Lower down or at an angle it would fit easy

Sounds like you need a dash software update when it goes back?

Thanks @varooom

The country is full of Mk3 Fabia 1.0MPI's from the Military, everyone and their sister trader is offering them for sale for 2 much money. A Mk3 1.2 TSI is a better bet though. Cambelts due a change at 5 years though if you go by Skoda / VW advice.

I was thinking of treating myself to a newer superb TDI estate, My Current sportline tdi is non Ad Blu, Euro 6 engine and only £20 a year to tax, I cannot see the point in spending a huge amount of money for a newer one that seems to have been beset by problems with the introduction of this Ad Blu, plus a new sportline is now £40k which mewans its £500 a year road tax to drive on our ever deteriorating road system here in UK. Do they seem to have ironed out the problem , or at least know how to fix them when they occur ??? any technical updates for these vehicles to solve the problem ??

Thanks for this. Skoda state it is a software issue and they have no release date for the update. I have returned the car under The Consumer Regulations Act 2015 and the dealer refunded me the purchase price. Mind you they did initially try to charge me a quid for each mile I had driven until I quoted the Act.

I probably misread the post on this thread. The owner did have a clue. the car was stock and fairly clean. He said he did most of the services himself. When i got there he hadn't started/warmed the car but i never bothered after i had a look underneath.

Yeah it was that code! What does that represent then? Finding at good one at a reasonable price is becoming a mission! I may have to give up and settle on getting a Fiesta St!

Probably did it some good to give it a good thrashing... Often referred to as an "Itallian tune up"

Just as an update to this, it was the exhaust clamp as hoped. I'm surprised it wasn't louder haha. Spot the issue... Easy fix This is the part if anyone else has the same issue: https://www.eurocarparts.com/p/klarius-exhaust-clamp-712440201

Hi there! Maybe it helps

Just resurrecting this topic...! I finally fitted the Focal IS 165 VW speakers at the weekend. My notes, from my attempt to fit: - The Focal speakers use a 4-pin connector, which I didn't have. Fortunately I had some small spade connectors which I could just use to attach the speaker wires directly to the terminals on the speakers. - The original Skoda Octavia Mk3 (Estate, if that makes any difference) has two pairs of wires in the loom(s) in the door - one to the tweeter and one to the woofer. The Focal IS 165 VW woofer seems to take one connector, which then has a pair of wires which go up to the tweeter. So I disconnected the original tweeter cable, knotted it round itself and tethered it safely against the door skin, in case it was needed in future, and wired the Focal tweeter in parallel with the woofer. - I removed the Skoda 2-pin connector from the woofer wires so I had two bare ends. I removed the Focal spade connectors from one end of the paired tweeter wires. Each wire pair had one with a black stripe, so it was easy to make sure polarity (positive and negative) was kept the same throughout. And the Focal speaker has a - and a + on the plastic moulding, so it's easy to see what should connect where. - I tested and experimented with the wires - it seems the four terminals on the Focal connector are two -ve, two +ve, in pairs next to each other. In other words, the two terminals near the "-" symbol are connected in parallel, and so are the two terminals nearest the "+" symbol on the speaker. - I twisted and soldered the Skoda loom feed wire and the Focal tweeter wire together and connected them to a spade connector, then covered them up with heatshrink. They gripped the speaker terminals well. - Drilling out the plastic clips that held the original speaker in was fine. HOWEVER the rivet / screw holes in the door panel are around 8mm diameter, so the nice Focal rivets that come with the speakers didn't work - they expanded and popped, but hadn't expanded wide enough to hold the speaker in, they just rattled out! I run a bicycle shop, so I used bottle cage rivnuts. They were a bit of a faff to fit, but meant I had tidy nuts held in place, so I could use M5 bolts and washers, with Loctite 243, to really hold the speakers securely in place. - the tweeters were actually way less hassle than I expected. The Focal tweeters come with a removable ring; once that's removed, the diameter of the tweeter is the same size as the original. To remove the original tweeter, you just need to cut the three pins off the plastic housing with a sharp knife, then pull the tweeter away. I then cleaned up the cylinder in the door housing so the new tweeter fitted neatly onto it. I then used a hot glue gun and plenty of glue to glue the new tweeter in place, making sure the wires fitted neatly through the retaining clip. - the original rubber ring to fit between the woofer and the door panel _doesn't_ fit the Focal speakers. But it's very close - so, again with the sharp knife, I trimmed off the small plastic moulding lumps around the outside of the ring and made it as close to a uniform circle as I could, then offered it up against the Focal woofer... it fitted around outside the moving parts of the speaker, so I held it in place and wrapped some PVC insulating tape around it a couple of times (pull it slightly and it stretches, to hold the ring firmly in place) then fitted the door panel, checking that it hadn't been dislodged and it wasn't fouling the actual speaker. ...I think that's it! With a completely flat EQ profile on the OEM sound system, the new speakers sound clear, the range is great, the definition is superb and I'm very happy with them so far. (I just wish I'd taken photos!)

Thanks for the advice, I do have a multimeter so I will check the readings and get back to you

Unless you have lots of sacks of cement (or equivalent) in the boot, then that is far too low. Something is wrong with the suspension. I think you might need new springs, but you will need to get it checked

The sensors (2nd pic) r two long strips that r placed inside the rear diffuser, as shown in the 1st pic.

My 2017 1.4 TSI estate just started doing this. Pressing the opening switch in the tailgate does nothing. If I press and hold down the middle button (boot unlock/open) on the key, it releases the boot latch so that I can open it. It seems to occasionally work, but most of the time it does not. So I suspect the connector on the back might have come a bit loose after years of opening and closing the boot. Although it is a very low mileage car. So maybe it's just age on the switch. I may try to replace the switch; or at least re-insert the connector if I can get the inner part of the tailgate panel to get to the switch from the inside.

@Warrior193 Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for me, truly it is appreciated. Given the Superb is somewhat longer, this gives me hope that the rod holdalls will indeed fit. I have given up on the fold flat option as the only cars that do have this option are reputedly unreliable (Rifter, Berlingo, Combo Life), or gas guzzlers Vauxhall Insignia et al, and as things have now changed a little with requirements, the Superb is looking like the vehicle to go for. Yes, the seats do not fold flat, nor does it have a level boot. But I can overcome the non level boot ( build a removeable boot floor), and make adjustments to loading for the fishing gear making sure I use top quality waterproof covers. Since I posted my first enquiry we have gone and planned a 34 day tour of Europe... 3200+ miles from Leeds to the South of Italy, Croatia, Slovenia, Czech Republic, back through Germany to good old Blighty. Oh, the San Bernardino Pass is on the route without the fishing gear I hasten to add! The plan is to get a Superb (should all the gear fit), keep it for "Best" and fishing outings, keep the Meriva, get it sorted out and use that for the daily mucky work jobs.

Looks like it could be for turning the glovebox light on when it’s opened.

I'd just take the money hit and buy a bottle of premixed G12evo from any VW Group dealership, as said it will be what has been loaded into that car at the factory. Most people that mix G13 and G12evo will just be people with G13 in their from factory and now needing to top it up. Having a coolant level midway between Max and Min when cold is okay, on some cars filling the Max when cold will end up with some coolant being discharged from the reservoir when the coolant has expanded when hot. I don't think that G13 will be known as the best coolant additive ever produced.

Had it a few weeks now and it desperately needed a wash. Fitted my winter wheels and tyres. Also stuck some mud flaps on.

No problem received_749401699976182.mp4

I'd drive it flat out again for about another 5 miles or so, just to be sure.....😆

So no real worries about the engine crapping its self then? I dont wanna talk about it, my balls were left somewhere up the M5 also.

So more like a true 137 which is probably about the claimed top speed for the car anyway. 119 deg C oil temperature is well within the temperature range for a modern fully synthetic oil. Would you like to talk about feeling guilty, now...? 🤔

Was that 145 mph on the speedo or on a GPS...? 😆

Go for B6 instead. Same valving but stock height. Works well with moderate lowering (prokit etc). B6/8 is definitely firmer but not hard. With the stiffer rate of lowering springs the ride is noticeably firmer. The control of the suspension is amazing though. Definitely worth it. I lived with it (B6 + prokit) for 2 years with wife and kids too. No complaints.

A final summary of the Scala to close this thread off: After nearly two months I have driven 1000 miles in it with no problems and a lot of pleasure. I’ve even found out how to turn the wretched Lane Assist off from the steering wheel. To be honest I find it useful when using a multilane road but it is annoying on our A and B roads, however easily turned off and on when required. I checked the engine oil level, fluid levels and tyre pressures when new (cold and hot) and rechecked them after the 1000 miles and didn’t spot any differences, so that’s good. Because the car stood for a week or more in the very cold weather I did float charge the battery once or twice but it wasn’t really necessary and the Start/Stop has always worked. E10 petrol consumption has ranged from 28mpg for the 2 mile trip to the local supermarket, 56mpg for a 40 mile trip on single lane A roads and a spectacular 62mpg for a 150 mile return trip along motorways. During this last trip I drove mainly at 70 mph when I could, in quite busy traffic, and didn’t use the cruise control, just old fashioned right foot driving. Nothing bad to report, it’s annoying that the front passenger seat does not fold down and the front headrest’s do not (officially) come out. Roof bars will solve the space issue and a thump to the back of the seat, in the right place, the headrest annoyance, although I haven’t tried it. Oh and I’ve got a stone chip on the windscreen, which will be repaired next week! Finally I had a chap walking past my house stop and look at the Scala, he asked me what car it was. “It’s a Skoda init” “I know that from the badge, it’s not an Octavia is it?” “Nope, a smaller version, the Scala” “It’s lovely!” In my 50 odd years of driving no one has ever said that my car was lovely before!

I did mine before fitting, it was more convenient. But, the ideal way is on the car, with positive direct to battery terminal, and negative has to go to the designated spot on the car body (mine was just above the neg terminal, user manual, or take a pic) Inside the home, it took over 12hrs, so that's why I chose that over doing it on the car. Most top ups afterwards are about 3-5hrs roughly on car. I do this once per month roughly to keep it in good shape. 11.7V = 0% SOC (State of charge) Every 0.1V added to the 11.7 =+10% SOC 12.7V = 100% SOC I leave my car for a whole week before it get's a run, and it sits at 12.3V, so it's 60% which drops from a roughly normal 80% SOC (12.5V)

Points to under testing of the electric version when it was launched which was always going to be an issue with the e-corsa being an adaption of the ICE corsa and just putting in say 20% stiffer coils is not enough. When I was Dept Transport I recall reading one report which said that the damage to both car and road rose by the power of 4 ie not squared or cubed by the fourth power. I oft wonder, and I know there were probably several reasons why you chose the e-corsa over say the Zoe that I got, but I have followed your frustration with both charging and dealership and wonder how different it might have been if you got the Zoe, which has probably the leader in the B segment electric vehicles back when you got your EV ? Many do not like the Zoe styling, even I think it is a bit Mehh, but that range and just plain sorted out over a decade of development of the Renault Zoe through the 22 kwh and 30 kwh to the 52 kwh Zoe has led to quite a sorted car, EURONCAP issue a part of course, IMO.

It's probably worth having a couple of refresher lessons just to get a feel for it again if it's been that long. At the same time bit of saddle time on the learner bike will give you a bit of an idea of what you want in your own bike. Also, I've only ridden one Zero, and it was pretty bonkers 🤣 If you're not bothered about going "fast fast", there's plenty of good stuff about in A2 format. You mentioned getting up into the peaks with it. If you're think crap roads rather than full on green Laning, something like the Honda CB500X might be worth a look. Don't get hung up on what everyone says is the "best brand", just go with what feels right to you. Personally, I like Honda's. Bit boring, but they're set out in a way that works for me, and they're reliable. I'd say unless you fall in love with something else in particular, start your search with Japanese stuff. Sensibly priced, reliable, not finicky or expensive when you need to do some work. If that doesn't appeal, Royal Enfield are doing some really nice stuff in A2 with a rough road focus.

I must admit to have been checking my fuel consumption regularly over the last 30 years ( not when I had a company car & fuel card though), and as you mentioned I never noticed much of a difference when driving a petrol car only diesel.

Pic of my car, picked up last monday but forgot to post.

Motorbikes are so much better today. All registered in the last few years have ABC. Tyres are massively better. Forty years ago we were putting 100 hp through 4 and half inch tyres. My 70 hp Tracer 700 now use a tyre over 6 inches at the rear and the compound is so much better. About three quarters of bike accidents are cars pulling out from the minor road in to the path of the bike on the main road. Always assume car, van, truck might pull out. Bikes are so much fun. I think the Tracer can be A2 restricted and then derestricted. My Yamaha R3 was also a gas. Thinking of adding an Enfield Hunter. Less than £4k, 100 mpg and the essential of motorcycling.

… and there’s that. a tin box does provide some crash protection. maybe it’s more a romantic connection to the freedom, or immersion in the environment. Feeling every flying insect. maybe I’ll watch some rider cam videos and scare myself out of it.

I did my CBT in the 90's, my intention was to get a bike with paniers for rapid response service calls to my maintenance contract customers in London as it was taking me hours sitting in traffic jams otherwise. 2 things happened which changed my mind and I never did the part 2 or whatever it was to gain the bike licence. The first was I impatiently changed lanes in a traffic queue which would have gained me maybe a couple of car lengths only to lose them a minute later, I had checked my mirrors but clearly not well enough through my impatience, I vey nearly wiped out a motorcyclist doing exactly what I wanted to ride a bike for, my young ego considered myself to be the best driver in the world, if I could make a mistake like that then every other driver on the road could do the same to me. The 2nd thing which really shook me was my instructor who was the safest and most sensible biker I had ever known (hence why he was a trainer) was killed outright on a test ride from an open day of a local motorcycle dealer, the accident was not his fault, he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time, maybe going too fast who knows but he would not have been reckless.