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I was charging today and got talking to a couple with a Vauxhall Mokka Electric they got in March. They were / are so disappointed with the car and wish they had not made the error of getting it. I asked the lady what the issue was and it was lack of performance and range and chargers because they like going north on trips, around the North & North East of Scotland. I asked how she drives and she says in ECO all the time and i asked why. Well the Salesperson set it in ECO for her and she has never changed it and other settings were set by her son and she just drives. So i showed her that her car starts in D, Drive and unless she pressed the Switch to change to ECO she has never been in Eco. She has never used Sport, knows nothing about it, nothing about regen or going into B. Yet in her previous car she had 'Coasting' function and knew how to nip on and 'Coast' or drop a gear or 2 and slow down. I showed how the screens worked and quick steps like touch the touch screen with 3 fingers to bring up the different functions. This was while we were both on 7 kW chargers and she said they have a charger at home and how many hours they spend charging on trips. They were told not to use Rapid chargers, never been on a CCS, never pulled the cover off so that they knew what the CCS looked like. There must be many many being sent out with BEV,s and PHEV,s from dealerships with no knowledge of the vehicles they just got.

It's easy - this is TPI, which one can use to "force" dealership to upgrade firmware to 1941. You have TPI number which you can use, and all problems it's supposed to solve. So if you want upgrade done by dealership, call them, report one of the issues from TPI, give them TPI number and you should be set. Do you now know how it relates to latest firmware?

Well, yesterday was the replacement of my front shock absorbers from the DCC system (96000 km on the clock). Indeed, they were leaking, unfortunately quite a common problem on our Mk3s, €2,080 for the whole replacement package + front axle geometry adjustment. As I already had the water pump (+ timing belt at 65,000 km), I asked for a Skoda France support, even if at this mileage and 5.5 years old, I had no illusions. The workshop manager told me that it would be hard since I have no maintenance history in the Skoda network (yes, it's the a drawback of DIY maintenance... ). He nevertheless granted me a 15% discount on the total. Rather fair. I appreciate. So I got my car back with a completely different suspension comfort. The "Normal" mode is firmer and less as a "chewing gum. Same thing for the "comfort" mode, it remains a bit firm and no more as a "bicycle pump" or an old Cadillac from the 80s, which hates being "rushed". It's crazy how you get used to a slow drift in behavior. Hence, I think this should bring some braking efficiency back, even if I did not try to check it. For sure, I've bought my peace of mind for the next MOT by the end of this year. Last point, it seems that I have less "squeaks" when passing speed bumps. Strange, since this normally comes from silent blocks of the anti-roll bar and the squeaks happen mainly in cold and wet weather. I still have to get the geometry of the front axle set up, because the bench was unavailable by my local dealer. Appointment is already fixed in a few weeks. I'll have a look to the difference of front and rear tyres wear before this appointment to decide whether I swap my front and rear wheels to anticipate replacement of my front tyres and have an adjustment that will be made with future tyres (swapped from rear axle).

Yes it is a DIY job but you do need the right tools, including the 24mm splined socket for the central wheel bolt. That bolt is the type that is designed to stretch on first tightening so really you should procure a replacement bolt. I would recommend you spend the 8 euros or whatever it is these days, for an hour on ERWIN so that you can download the relevant maintenance manual section. As well as detailed instruction and giving the torque settings (very high for the central bolt!) it also carries warnings about not putting any load on the wheel until the central bolt is fully tight, otherwise you will damage the bearing before you have even driven it! It's a 2 person job as someone needs to press firmly on the brake pedal whilst this bolt is loosened and tightened. You absolutely cannot put the wheel on the ground to stop it turning whilst tightening the bolt. Oh and you might need an extractor to push the shaft out of the bearing, although when I did this on a rear wheel (4wd) it came off fairly easily without a special tool.

Dealership Sales Executives driving BEV Demonstrators home to a charger or no charger and back to work and plugging them in at work has been the issue for years now. Maybe not Tesla Sales People. but other manufacturers sales staff that do not have the cars for personal / family use / trips. Clueless to charging / charging networks and public charging, and even to the cars equipment and features. This applies to Service Staff as well in many instances. They do not know the products, just as has been the case with ICE vehicles for long enough, they do usually know the difference with a diesel or a petrol but as far as manuals vs auto,s / semi-auto,s not so much.

I've just done the thermostat module and water pump on my EA888 Gen 3 golf R. And if it makes you feel any better, I reckon £1k is pretty fair. It used to be independents were about £800 and dealers £1000 to £1200, but recent part cost hikes and labour creeping up, that sounds about right and independents are probably where dealers were 2 years ago.. A 75k mile, 6.5 years old car, I did the job myself, used INA thermostat module, they are the OEM, plus gaskets, union, throttle body gasket, even after market that is around £400 plus parts. I spent about 2 days on it! it's rated as a 5 or 6 hour job for a professional workshop. But not on the drive. It's not super easy job without lifts to get under car. I couldn't walk that well for a week! Nothing is inherently super complicated but access is tight everywhere and anywhere and getting underneath and back up from under the car, on the drive, is really wearing. Without the intake manifold removed you have limited view for repositioning everything as well, especially the module positioning lugs and the oil cooler union that has to be lined up and kept in position while bolting the module up to the block!!

Do not like this type of review. Give me Bjorn Nyland everytime, even Toyota listen to him rather than this lightweight review above.

Have a look at the wiring near the starter motor,same happened to mine and I thought it had lost it’s gas,but when the aircon man connected his kit to the car it started working. It was corroded wiring next to/ below the starter motor.I simply bypassed the connector block and soldered them together.Worst bit is you have to remove the under-tray to access the wiring connectors.

One of the cheapest options is 12GB / 12 month PAYG data SIM from three. Currently £24.98 from MyMemory (other sellers are available). I use one for my Google maps view on my MIB2 High, and also Audi’s Connect traffic (while it was still free). Never got close to using 1GB a month. The only disadvantage is you have to buy a new one every 12 months (or move to their PAYG rates which aren’t nearly as cost effective).

After parking this afternoon the person who drove in behind me asked if the red car was mine. She said there's something hanging down. When I looked it was a panel roughly under the read left side footwell with one corner adrift. Oh drat (or words to that effect) why does this happen when I have a longish trip tomorrow? Anyway at about 16:00 phoned local Skoda dealer. Very polite but apologetic: "it needs to go on a ramp and we're booked up for the next 5 weeks!" Then drove to a local VW-Audi independent - Inde Tech - who said "give me the key and we'll have a look". 15 minutes later it was fixed with no charge - just a fastener had come adrift. I've used Inde Tech before and always thought their customer srvice was good. I'll be back.

I suspect he may be on 1900 and had that last poxy update which has upset everything that was working perfectly until it got installed

A wise check on a mk1 Fabia is to see if the battery symbol illuminates when you switch the ignition on and various warning lights self-test. It should come on and stay on until you start the engine. A very common wire breakage results in it not doing this, and charging problems that may not be obvious. I would expect your alternator to be 90 Amp rated, maximum; but that will replenish the energy used in starting the engine very rapidly. A full charge from empty will obviously take longer through idling or driving, but as long as you don't leave the car unused for lots of time all should return to normal without external chargers, as long as no wires are broken, or a parasitic drain is causing energy loss.

So, the thing about recharging the battery by either letting the engine run with the car stationary or running her up and down the motorway ...... the RAC guy said this was something like trying to fill a bottle with a firehose. Some water will go in, but it's too vigorous. The advantage of a mains charger is that it is a slower, steadier trickle of charge and will recharge the battery as fully as it's willing to be. Please don't criticize the metaphor, I'm paraphrasing and going for gist rather than one-to-one detail with it. I don't have enough background to evaluate the merits and demerits of these two charging methods. It wasn't about the alternator (which is fine), it was about battery state and health (and ability to re-take charge) after the car sat undriven for three months. I've taken her for a long drive this evening. She starts fine, she runs fine. I put music on but not the a/c. If I can find a friend w a charger, I'll give it a go. Else I might just invest in my own. Cheaper than a whole new battery. Thanks for reading and considering, appreciated.

Driving the car makes no difference to leaving it running! Modern alternators are capable of putting out a high charge rate at idle, you dont need to blast anything

I had problems when I first got my Karoq. I found I was inadvertently touching the front of the handle (the locking bit) when I was putting my fingers on it to unlock it. tom

Best get that price from a Main Dealer as long as their Service Desk person understands exactly what your car / engine is. Have you had the VAQ diff serviced? That is / was due at 3 years / 30,000 miles or sooner. ............................................................... Examples of how prices can vary. Main Dealers might well be participating dealers on Fixed Prices for cars 3 - 10 year old, or maybe not anymore as prices / quotes are all over the place now.

I would like to say thank you for doing a great job in helping us resolve the update issues. Thank you very much indeed.

Yes as I am sure you have seen now in the thread, an update to 0308, then to 0324

Now sold.

Load the new 1941, and pull the suprised Pikachu face when they query where it came from. "Must have loaded from OTA..."

Lol where do I start...?

For me 1941 is flawless, no comparison towards old release

More blithering verbose nonsense, the alternator will give the battery a full charge just like the other 1.4 billion vehicles on the worlds roads. The OP should be thankfull that you are in Northampton.

If the CEL is on there will be a fault code stored. The change in fuel brand will absolutely NOT be related, no causal connection is possible.

Hi Im suffering from water loss on my 184hp VRS at 120k miles. A good way of knowing if its the charge cooler is to fit clear pipes to the metal pipes fill up with water block one and use air to pressure the other. If you can see the level dropping you have found your fault. I think im going to have to change mine. Will it come out from behind the pump on the drivers side that's driven by the cam belt ? it looks like there's holes in the bracket for a tool to fit in. Its A CUNA engine code. Cheers for any input.

Further to my last post, my local dealer updated my SW to 1941 this morning and I will now test. I waited while it was done, it took about 45mins from walking in to walking out. Hoping this is the end of this... 🙂

I am rather aged and I do not have a modern mobile phone or any other music source but I do have a useless (musically) new car and I have a mile high heap of CDs so. Can I connect a personal CD player to the USB ports in the centre consul and expect music to come from the speakers?

MST2_EU_SK_ZR_P0480T is the current 04xx version. Have a good day

Yes it was the battery. It was only holding 10 volts.

With 40% still in the car, why wait at Rugby for a charger? They could have gone up the road to the next set of chargers (e.g. Hilton Park) Didn't charge overnight at their stay. People still thinking in petrol station 'fill-ups' terms, even when they have an EV. Also with the coffees etc. it seems like they don't go very far normally and come across as nervous drivers / travellers. Found myself rolling my eyes a few times.

@22 minutes 'cost'. Personally i am not a 'Starbucks' for 2 people having Regular Drinks & a Pastry & £15 a throw. I did pay out last week a couple of times that crazy prices. Usually i have Cold drinks and munchies or hot drinks and even more munchies with me as no point bothering about the cost of a charge and blowing crazy money. But i am tight and buy 100 gram jars of coffee that cost me less than £1. & bags of 5 doughnuts at about the same.

That is the air outlet pipe from the turbo charger into the throttle body, with a blow off valve added in for "good" effect. You should be able to get a charge pipe assembly and new O-rings easily enough - possibly new from a main dealer as I'd doubt if scrappy's will split bits off engines, but if you don't ask you will not find out. You could save your money and just start wearing a cap on back to front, though there will still be the issue of the blow off valve noises. Edit:- my older daughter's partner bought a Lotus Espirit GT3 many years ago, but buying it clashed with house rebuilding, so he is only now getting round to removing its aftermarket BOV, "much too fat person's" quick release steering wheel and racing seats, next is the blue silicon piping - he had read on Lotus forums that when used on coolant systems, these blue silicon pipes tend to leak at the clips. Apart from the stereotype of typical buyer of these silicon pipes, I thought that they should last longer and perform just as well than the originals, but maybe I'm wrong. Maybe look for the part number in here :- IFI :: Free services (ifinterface.com)

there's a filter mesh in there that really ought to be changed / cleaned at the same time as the haldex oil changes. Personally, mine feels (at 110k miles / 172k km) that it needs brakes looking at - the rears really are close to the limits - and the cambelt is due. Haldex oil will be changed (again) at the next service. Cambelt is being done a tick ahead of time (suggested is 180k kms for this specific model). Might also get around to doing the B6s and an ARB to tighten things up, there are probably some bushings that are dodgy, but I can't really feel it. Having said that, I know on the A2 it didn't feel bad per se, but it was a hell of a lot nicer to drive after messing with certain bushings and other suspension components. I've seen some cars with monster mileages here on the market - right I can find 2 2019 cars with over 300000 kms on the clock. And they still cost €10k... TÜV seems to say springs and then batteries, along with brakes. Fits with mine - it's already had a spring replaced and the brakes too. . Bret

I finally received my VRS hybrid on Friday 16th June. Amazing car and really happy with it. Ordered in Septermber 2021 with various build dates getting knocked back. Was given a build date of August 23 before it moved forward to actually getting built in May 23. Things are moving, I'm glad I waited as got a fantastic car for a great price in today's economy.

I am going to be writing a guide and uploading it to the forum on sunday about how to clean and repair the steering controls to fix this issue if you wanted to wait till then?

Had a really annoying intermittent buzzing/vibration coming from the rear of mine, which I thought was inside the car but turned out to be the rear exhaust heatshield rattling due to corroded fixing holes. Decided to bin it as it's not really needed on a food-mixer powered 1.4 MPI.

Under “Select control module” press the “Select” button Press the button “5F Information Electr.” Press the button “Adaptation - 10” In the “search” box type “TMC” From the drop down select entry “IDE05111 fee based traffic information TMC” Enter the required new value, check the “reboot” checkbox at the bottom of the window, click save and confirm with OK.

Visited my dealer today to say about the issue and gave them the firmware number and TPI number and they've confirmed that it is outstanding against my car and will be done FOC as it's under warranty, also a couple of other things need to be done, so I'll let them do it because if they screw it up they've got to sort it.

Toyota ramping up their EV plan ..... 4 years later ..... 1 passenger vehicle with really bad efficiency and range, poor software. Good build quality though. "Look at solid state batteries, it's coming soon™. Let's keep waiting and buy our cars where 100% of its energy comes from fossil fuel"

I haven't heard this word used for quite a while and I don't think I've ever seen it written down before. It's a good word, I'm not sure why it stopped being used.

Fairly sure that the bearing/hub assembly bolts in on these, so yeah, as long as you've got the right sockets and a decent impact gun, it should be fairly straightforward.

The idea is setting yourself up as a brand new user to Skoda Connect i.e. it has no excuse to reject you.

Not sure on physical location, probably close to where one of the driveshafts emerges. Circuit diagrams say it is wired with a yellow and a white wire from the automatic gearbox control unit J217. It is an automatic transmission car, right?

Absolutely loved my Dolomite (alas an 1850, not a Sprint). Some how I managed to buy it when I was 18yo; and with about 18 months driving experience it led to an interesting conversation with the insurance broker - resulting in the premium being about the same as what I paid for the car. Taught me to check insurance premiums before buying a car!

Dolomite Sprint in Tesco car park. Tesco's seems to be a good place for interesting and unusual cars (for me at least!): Gaz

You mean the computer has USB A and the car has USB C? 😉

Never ever attempt to use a glass cutter on tempered glass, it will shatter. As for just lifting the glass out, well maybe with a vacuum cleaner if you havn't blinded yourself when the glass shattered. I can tell that you have never cut glass in your life. Safest way is to use a self adhesive film to hold the pieces together when you break it. Yes a flawed theory, they are motorised gear driven deadlocks, when they are locked they are locked, removal of the power changes nothing, they require power to lock and power to unlock.

Recently I created my own custom diffuser for the Scala. Main reason for this is that I bought the Maxton Design rear Valance to fit to the stock lower bumper panel, and it didn't fit flush and had an overall cheap feeling to it. Sure enough after only a week it cracked, as I had put it under so much stress trying to fit it as flush as possible. Instead of spending another 100+ on a new one I decided to approach skoda for the lower rear bumper and to my amazement the whole section was only 65GBP. So decided I would rather purchase that and the materials and have a go at making a custom one. Here is my journey. I don't have pictures of the early stages but essentially I measured out the mid section of the bumper panel between the exhaust dummy ports, I then divided this up for where I wanted the diffuser fins to be, used a depth gauge to get a profile shape onto cardboard and then cut that into shape as a template. The rest is as follows Cut fin shapes out of ABS 12mm plastic using jigsaw, then use a rasp/file/80p sandpaper to refine. The 2 center and 2 outer fins were the same shape. Using masking tape to check fitment I then pre-drilled holes for standard VAG hex screws using small spring clamps, cleaned the area with isopropanol and lined the joint with Gorilla Epoxy glue and mounted the fins into position Fin mounted using screws and epoxy All fins mounted on and panel sanded down with 180P sandpaper, waiting for a small strip of ABS to arrive to extend the bumper 3mm ABS strip arrived was cut to shape and placed to extend the bumper (purpose of this is to hide underglow LED strips as bulbs were previously visible when mounted) Using U-pol Plast-X filler to fill holes, and refine the shape. This stuff stinks! Immediately took it outside. Initial pass with filler, definitely put too much on, but learning as we go. After a lot of sanding, using 80p, 180p, 340p and 420p sandpaper Excuse the dark dots, it was raining as I got it in the car to take for priming/painting. For the final stage, I got the good fold at Berkhamsted Bodyshop to use a builder primer, do a final sand pass ready for painting and the paint it in gloss piano black. Here are the results It is not perfect, and there are things I would do better second time around of course. But it is hand done, by me, fully custom one of a kind. I love it, think it looks way better than the Maxton one. Hope you all enjoy seeing the process. Oh and I am a 3D artist in his late 30s with an interest in DIY, I am by no means skilled at this type of thing, just watched some youtube tips and tried my best. If you have the time, don't be afraid to give things a go.

I agree, think it looks like a slightly stretched out A3, which is funny really as it shares the same base as the A1 and a Polo. You really do get a whole lot more for your money with the Scala. I went for the 1.0 115PS TSI with 6G Manual. My decision was primarily made based on early reviews on youtube from carwow and the such like stating that you didn't get much more punch for the extra buck with the 1.5 TSI. Pleased I listened to the advice as the 1.0 TSI is a fantastic little engine, it revs well, pulls well, drives well, and is efficient. Most of the time I am driving the family around town, wife to work, eldest to school and youngest to nursery etc, so no more than an 8 mile loop and I still get 42mpg. On the couple of occasions this year where we have been allowed to travel and see people, I have taken it on a long journey down to Somerset, and an even further journey to Durham (I am in Leighton Buzzard, Beds) and on those drives I got 58 and 54mpg respectively. Thats with the whole family in the car and luggage too. Very responsive, fun and efficient engine with a smooth gearbox to sum it up really. Previous car was a 1.6 (Petrol) 125PS Ford Focus MK3.5 and honestly the Scala blows the Focus away! Key comparison is weight to performance, Focus always felt heavy like it was dragging its butt, and you really had to get it to 3.5k revs to get it to move and even then it was sluggish. It was also noticeable when having a full tank compared to a quarter tank, I never liked to fill it over half as it just felt too heavy. And if you had the family in it you wouldn't get up a hill in 3rd! The Scala, admittedly a newer car and newer engine tech, is just leaps and bounds better. It is light yet feels stuck to the road, it doesn't roll or dip and dive with weight, a quarter tank or full tank, just me or fully laden, it feels and responds no differently.