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If you change your cambelt every 5 years, you are taking a risk that someone will fit a poor quality cambelt, or mess up the engine by doing the job incorrectly. So even the cautious approach isn't risk free.

Thanks to the helpful tips above - today I managed to remove the 3 piece switch panel. Using trim tool No. 4 shown in the pic below, it was easy to remove the whole black trim piece. Lifted No.3 up and over the gear shifter. From underneath, pushed up switch panels No.1. Then using trim tool No.4, pulled up trim piece No.5. Didn't need to use much force. Removed the button and cleaned it with alcohol wipes, and a gave it a nice clean with an air gun. Will c how the switch behaves now. Saved myself $470 AUD that the dealer refused to fix whilst under warranty and then wanted to charge me after warranty finished. Interestingly, after plugging it back, there was fault with the Parking Brake Switch. Had to start the car, disengage the park brake, then engage the park brake before it stopped complaining. Cleared all the codes after using OBDEleven, just to b sure. It's all good now.

Not so much what I've done to my Superb rather what it's done for me. I've driven over 2,000km through France and the car has done everything asked of it. I tried to think of something that it could have done better and couldn't think of much. It'd benefit from Bilstein B6s and self levelling shocks at the back would be nice but other than that it's been great. 5.63 l/100km or 50mpg measured brim to brim fully loaded on premium diesel. The weather has been favourable so it looks reasonably clean considering.

After some 3k posts, I figured I best make a very late hello. As a child I was always pulling things to pieces! If it had electricity inside it, I had the tools out pulling it apart, I was deeply fascinated by how they worked. I put some broken things back together and they worked, but not always successful! At school, we had very limited exposure to PC's, we had to look almost and not touch the things... it was awful for someone that likes to know what makes things tick. They were I think 486 processors, but I do remember they had 25MHz clock speed and one of those turbo buttons, that I think would boost them to 33MHz! I had to have one, so I saved up some money and brought an 8086 CPU PC that was the old school library machine, it had green screen that gave you "pink eye" when you looked away from it, turning everything pink 😬 I then self-taught myself everying I could about the MS-DOS 6.22 OS and command line was king back then, I loaded Windows 3.11 and spent time tweaking and wiping it several times learning. So then naturally progressed to working in the IT field for a few years, building/repairing/networking. I was in heaven doing this as my daily job. Circumstances change as they do in life, so I ended up working as a Taxi driver for many years also, and unlike most that thought maintenance was a dirty word, I kept my car pristine and in good working order. It was again, going back to my childhood, how I wanted to know how things worked that I started to learn as much as I could about features of the car, so getting workshop manuals/wiring diagrams etc... nothing changes! I did then a short stint in a garage environment, but was never allowed to do much work on the motors, though I was often called up to assist with things during engine rebuilds or other such tasks. I am now a carer for my wife, so I no longer working, which is why I am available here to assist. Given the cost of living crisis going on, I try to help people out where I can with assistance where possible on their cars, so it could be firmware files for infotainment or snippets of the workshop manuals to help out with repair information. So I am not a mechanic, but I have pulled apart and done many DIY things over the years, so fairly confident to tackle tasks.

Here.

I’ve had confirmation from Skoda UK that the TDI (the 1.6 at least) has a belt change interval of 140,000 miles with no time limit, only mileage.

Nope they are not the Damptronic because I'm an idiot and I didn't realise I had DCC at all 😞 Looks like I'll have to return and order the Damptronics. At least the springs will fit Cheers

So looking like it is nearer 210,000km (about 130,000 miles) No specific time interval, but supposed to be inspected at major services for wear which will guide, and estimates seem to be 10-15 years, so let's use about 12 years as prediction Slightly over double the old suggestion of 5 years or 60,000 miles Which suggests realistically only really need to start worrying about the replacement cost at >8 years or >90,000 miles

Partly, but I'd also say it comes from experience/knowledge that cheap electric things with digital displays aren't always superior to simpler tech.

I thought Crasher ( local independant VAG specialist ) quoted the official information from erWin earlier , at least for the 1.5 ACT petrol engine, together with his recommendation

Any way to get a set-in-stone confirmation of the new cambelt interval periods for each TDI and TSI engine? I’m on a Karoq group on FB and someone went through the Skoda live chat to find out what the new interval is for the 1.5 TSI ACT and in the end the rep had to call the Technical team and got an official answer of “15 Years or 180,000 miles”. It would be interesting to see what the new intervals are for the other engines (1.0 TSI, 1.6 TDI and 2.0 TDI) and to finally put this whole mystery to bed.

Another footpumper here. 👍 Plus a calibrated (when new) gauge.

You have been an enormous asset to the forum, I have only just read your posting of 8th February explaining your background and (then) current position which was a real eye opener and made me appreciate you all the more. Then to read on to todays announcement was a real shock, I am guessing that it relates to your wifes condition and can only offer you both my support and best wishes, dont hesitate to look back in if you need support or to talk.

All the best dude. 😁

The lower emissions are not supposed to mean lower costs for the owner, just better for the environment. And one thing is very clear we're all having to pay higher costs (purchase, running, etc.) to reduce our impact on the environment.

I carry / use a £20 Cycle Track Pump with a gauge on it to inflate car tyres as well as cycles and other things with Schrader or Presta valves. Non digital, dead reliable. Easy for a person with one leg to use and quick. (People never consider a leg amputee and using a foot pump or pedal bin.) I have even put some air into tyres of 4x4,s and commercials, that is harder work.

Happy to report that 1804 update to 1941 is successful. took about 25min as well. gave the car a deep sleep for 2 hours. tested all, all is good. thanks @varooom for his time, advice and support!

Careful now, you'll be accused of being a newbie and not knowing what you are talking about.....

I know it's not relevant to this forum but I just want to introduce you to the newcomer. For the record, Superb remains in the family anyway...

Hi There, I drive a Skoda Karoq(1.5 TSI ACT), purchased in June 2018. I recently got a email/message from my dealership that I was due a cambelt change after 5 years. I have been quoted 1000 £ for this. I was just trying to get a couple of other quotes from Skoda authorized service centers. And one of them has come back saying there has been an advisory update/change from Skoda (only today!!!) that the cambelt change is not necessary every 5 years anymore. Their email is as below. Good afternoon, Further to our conversation earlier today, I can confirm that Škoda is removing the recommendation to replace the cambelt every five years. This means that there is no service interval at all. Many thanks My dealership say there are not aware of any such advisory change/update from Skoda and still recommend me to change the cambelt as its been 5 years. I am more than happy not to change the cambelt if its not necessary as this is a big expense. But wondering if anyone had any thoughts and advice me on this? Thank you, Sid

It's a different design, although same technology. Superb 3 has an L-shaped DRL Octavia 3 has a single line DRL

110, 140 and 170 PS in the pre-facelift and early facelift cars. The later facelift Euro 6 cars were 110 and 150 PS.

I've seen this recently with the fault code being AFS inoperative or somesuch guff, it was on a VW, and was caused by a coding error IIRC.

Maybe it could be if someone tried activating something the car never came with. Maybe just the regular bad connection at the DRL / Sidelight unit. @UrbanPanzermight be able to help.

@Phoenixboy Simples. because you have to move stuff to do the work and then replace and supply with parts and people talking 6 hours plus and book in for 2 days that gets you where you are price wise. Easy to quote £500 when you are on a service desk and know nothing about which TSI you are talimg about. But they are learning eventually like now that a 2 hour job is not the same as a 4 hour plus job. Service centres have a displayed price using the parts they usually use, and then a different price with OEM parts. eg. PCSAutocentre that is up in a post. *ASK THEM!*

Not like it's submerged in oil, costing mega money to change it. The Skoda dealer I used for some servicing work last year quoted me just over £500 to change the belt, although no idea if their prices had gone up, too. I'd certainly shop around no matter what, anyway.

My renewals in, up from £335 to £624! We had a Freelander until early April, trading it in for our Karoq Sportline. At the time we paid a minimal amount upon transfer so I assumed the change in the vehicles wouldn’t greatly affect the premium upon renewal. Clearly wrong. So went on line to run the usual searches and not much joy, no significant decreases anywhere. We have a linked buildings/contents policy which I hoped might afford me some bargaining power. Called insurer who without little effort dropped the car premium down from £624 to £484! Home policy dropped from £205 to £189. Still a few weeks to renewal so holding off payment, may call again nearer the time to see if they really are their final figures 🤞 It seems that premiums have gone up across the board yet the insurers can still reduce the renewal at the drop of a hat. Must be recovering the saving I’ve been offered from some gullible punter who simply pays what’s asked 🤔

1889 was stable. I had it. Except bluetooth pairing and syncing contacts with car, no other issues.

I have a 2016 MK3 estate SE-L Executive 190 DSG just about to turn 179k. I've had it 4 years now bought at 134k. Apart from the ad-blue pipe and injector replaced due to a leak at the joint, and the flywheel wobbling. I've had no major problems. At work I'm in the process over refitting a 2011 MK2 manual Elegance 4x4 estate. That's on just over 166k. Because we're changing the primary use of the vehicle, cam belt, g/box flush, prop shaft bearing and diff flushes have been done. I've had to repair the wiring loom to the tailgate and drivers front door, plus repair the rear washer hose. All wear and tear items so I'm not too worried about it. We have a number of 2015 Seat Toledo 1.6Tdi's left on fleet with over 210k without any major work being done. Only one out of the 6 left has had a new engine. As long as it's been looked after, a high mileage vehicle shouldn't be a worry. As long as you don't pay over the odds, which is hard in the present climate.

It was an actual recall and all about possible condensation in the battery compartment.

Someone may correct me but electronic suspension is DCC. Maybe the garage you went to has never fitted aftermarket shocks to a DCC setup?

Same here too - albeit I do also have 12v pumps in the cars just in case. I wonder if the manual pump preference thing is age related? 🤣

Hi everyone, I learned many things from briskoda in the past few years, finally I registered also for some help and talk 🙂 Attached my old and new one together

That's exactly how it was yesterday. £1 for 5 minutes. I thought I had won the lottery when the machine was still running from the previous customer but it ran out after I did the first wheel. Then yes, tap the debit card. I checked the tyres this morning and they are holding air so I guess it was just a long time since they have been checked and the pressure had slowly dropped. So I have time to save up for pump now. 😊

erWin Skoda will have the info in maintenance manuals for any given Skoda but these will be engine-specific, so not easy to generalise. You can download info from there for a small fee.

I will be taking leave of the forum for an indefinite time period. I wish you all the best, and I am happy to have helped a lot of people.

I had a Michelin digital one with preset which I used for 19 years on anything from a Citroen C1 to a Mercedes Sprinter 416 (twin rear wheels). When it failed after 19 years I was happy to replace it with the newer version.

Looking more into them, I like the ones you can preset a required pressure. Especially as these seem to take a few minutes to inflate from low pressure I'd like to be able to not have to keep watching it. Of course a double check of the pressure when it's done. I've highlighted a few on my Amazon and will place an order today.

This is interesting and correlates with something mentioned on here about a Skoda Dealership saying the same, see post by andymod: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/52122-timing-belt-change-interval/page/4/#elControls_5769794_menu

I am based in india. Anyway i can get parts or kit for repair?

Paid £500 for my cambelt on 1.4SE-L late last year. Cannot believe the 1.5 is so much more expensive. The 1.4 doesn’t include the water pump as that the other end.

You can only have one user at the moment for the app - you have to use the same username and password on both phones.

I use the 10 BAR compressor at work. Although this wont fit in the back of any of my cars. I have a small 12 volt compressor at home which is fine to just pump the tyres up. Don't rely on the pressure gauge on the compressor though. Thanks. AG Falco

Why would they be even the slightest bit interested in a fault on a 7 year old vehicle?

Coming right up

My Skoda essentials was an older app and not needed with the new one. Very useful to check if car is locked, what the state of charge is whilst charging, range as long as you know about the bug when car is offline. The range when offline often has to be multiplied by 1.6 to be correct. This is a server fault incorrectly converting true range in miles thinking it is kilometres and dividing by 1.6! Best use of the app is to be able to turn the aircon or heating on a little before you leave so car is cool in hot weather, or defrosted in cold. If still plugged in to a home charger it does this without draining battery at all.

Thanks for the info, Mines a DG381. Has anyone been successful in getting money refunded for the repair when Skoda have been unable to resolve the problem under warranty? I try to be as open minded when dealing with these companies as I know they have all these processes they have to follow, which unfortunately causes Skoda to have really poor after sales service. I provided the dealership with the TPI’s for the other models with the same fault, and when they stated it was a characteristic of the car, after spending £1400 trying to diagnose the fault I was so convinced it was the gearbox mount (thanks to everyone on the site) that I offered to pay for the dealership to replace the gearbox mount and if this fixed the problem I suggested Skoda could cover it under the warranty and if it didn’t fix the faultI would cover the cost. I was amazed by the response. In that even if it fixed the fault they wouldn’t be able to cover it under the warranty as they hadn’t diagnosed the cause of the fault. And this was coming from the servicing manager. I COULDN’T BELIEVE MY EARS!! I’ve offered to take my car back to RRG Bolton so the master tech, who stated it was a characteristic of the car, can listen to what the car should sound like. Anyway, following getting no help from SKODA UK during the 4 and a bit weeks, I’m now awaiting a freedom of information request before I take it to the ombudsman, and should that fail I’m going to take the dealership to the small claims court, but in incremental segments so that the dealership has to go through the pain of either losing at court or having to send costly solicitors. The joys of being retired

just wanted to update this. I replaced the sensor as the above suggestion and so far the light has gone out and stayed out! If this worked this has literally saved me around £900 and an unnecessary whole inlet manifold replacement. thank you @evilsid

I don't understand why so many posters seem to think VAG use cambelts that run in oil. Ford ecoboost yes, Skoda no. Here I try to explain why VAG think their EA211 cambelts are, in their words, maintenance free This covers EA211 1.0tsi, 1.2tsi, 1.4tsi and 1.5tsi