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Hello everyone, let me introduce James The Superb, our Superb Estate L&K 206/280, colour Raspberry Red. Ordered 08/2023 and delivered 12/2023. Immediately after the delivery I got it wrapped in Xpel PPF to protect the paint as well as underbody rust protected with Dinitrol. It also has a clear protective film applied on the windshield. I'd like to keep it long term so I decided to spend this additional money for the protection (already got a few nasty rocks hit the windshield on the motorway and so far it's holding). After the warranty expires I am looking into a few upgrades like ECU & TCU tune and Bilstein shocks.

A few from this evening, including a fluffy Robin 🙂

So after said quick bite, decided to do some more random things: This has been on the back burner for a while. I noticed this while perusing random things Skoda, and was genuinely interested to see if this thing fits: It looks a bit daft in its location on the Superb, but I'm sure looks less so on other cars. It's genuinely something I'm impressed with, the way the cap also acts as a funnel which will make filling up much less of a messy affair. It was £9.95 on eBay. These will end up on all the VW group cars. I'll need to reinstall the front wiper arms, but still noticed: The right washer nozzle is still looking like it is dribbling. Any ideas would be appreciated. If TADTS then I'll leave it at that. So for want of other things to do, got the replacement driveshaft bolts and attempted to tighten them up: It meant resorting to stabbing a screwdriver into one of the vents on the brake disc to act as a counterhold against the brake pad carrier. It worked though, and was enough to tighten to 200Nm. According the workshop manual: The bolts with the A suffix just need tightening an extra 90 degrees, so probably could have given it a go with the screwdriver holding it. I think I'll leave it once the wheels are on and its on the ground, as that'll feel a little easier in regards counterholding. Speaking of wheels: Couldn't see a reason why the rear wheels couldn't go on, so on they go. Used a small dab of copper grease on the wheel bolts, as they're pretty clean after the use of the tap and die. Used loads on the wheels and mating surfaces just in case. As the handbrake appears to be in place, was able to tighten the bolts to 120Nm. So I'll need to jack up the rear further in order to slide some ramps under, hopefully then lowering the wheels onto those ramps will then give me enough clearance to get under and do the last of the bolt tightening for the dampers. I think also the anti roll bars as well as I've forgotten those. There's very little left to do at least from a mechanical perspective. I'll pretend those errors aren't there for now and do some swotting up around those. Maintenance: £2293.89 Upgrades: £1332.92 (+£9.95) Miscellaneous: £697.20

More wildlife at the local reservoir......

So I’d been thinking about getting a pair of those flappy paddle extension shifter thingys fora while but tbh, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend a daft amount on them in case I don’t get on with them. I was screen shopping on Ali and I found these for the grand sum of £7.74! They dry fit perfectly and appear to be identical to these which are somewhat more expensive. Oh and I picked up a plastic battery cover too (yeah, I don’t know why either!) … for £4.44. They also had a deal for free postage over £8 so very happy!😃

Does any body else take too much on holiday? Whenever we go to the caravan I always pack 'site stuff', 'going out' stuff and 'evening wear' (clean jeans!). I then proceed to wear one pair of shorts all two weeks!!

Uh, sorry if I sounded condescending, was certainly not my intention. Allow me to expand ... I have no doubt that the smaller TSI does its job moving the car along. I've done myself around 200k km when I was consultant/representative and the company supplied Pug HDi cars only, first a 306 90hp then a 307 1.6 110hp and then finally a 308 136hp. All three more than adequate to keep up with traffic and provide reasonable progress. SWMBO jap hybrid is also okay for tagging along. And I am also okay with smaller/less performing vehicles (the abovementioned Micra runabout must be among the slowest vehicles on the road!). And I am lusting a 2cv so imagine ... 🤭 But If you are looking for make fast progress - and this does not mean drive like an a.. - there are some basics of power/weight ratio which make some vehicle configurations more adequate than others. It's all down to a (complicated) mix of wants, needs, and obviously haves. Like for like - at least for me, as I bought secondhand - the outlay for the more powerful TSI was not much more than a similar equipped AWD TDI, with a performance plus. I would have loved the Skoda PHEV offering to be with a different powerplant and full AWD, but it was not the case. And as you buy only once ... I also see a (dark) electric future in motoring, might as well try to enjoy it while it still lasts!

'They' can have BBC Watch Dog running articles on programmes on Oil Users and they still deny there are issues while in other World Regions cars are recalled, people are compensated etc. They have crap Software running in vehicles and sort out VW / Audi first and eventually might get around to Skoda / Seat. If the matter is not resolved so that the car is safe for you and passengers and the other road users, public. Send your evidence or anecdotal evidence to the Department for Transport /DVSA, & VW HQ UK.

I’m going to mention it up front, but print some stuff out to start waving in their face when they inevitably start saying there is nothing wrong with the car. I’d rather have evidence from others that the issue exists outside of myself, rather than say nothing on it.

Had my Kamiq Monte Carlo 1.5 TSI manual 3 weeks, when moving slowly (turning right across approaching traffic,) I've had it stop and leave me stranded across a junction with a wagon incoming. I'm in 1st gear slipping the clutch and after driving and riding motorbikes for 40+ years I've got lots of experience in how vehicle's behave and this is very odd. I've gone to the Skoda dealership literally 10 min after this incident occurred insisted on a diagnostic check to be told no errors seen. Now it's either me or a software issue iny opinion, the car has had a download from the factory and I will keep you posted.

After 3 years of ownership - this weekend coming will be the first fully loaded holiday. 5 adults and a boot full of luggage driving down to Isle of Wight for the weekend. Should be a fun trip!

And remember to check which part the driveshafts are singing!

Zoe ZE50 got 229 miles in the test below, best of all small cars, and that was without Matt Watson of Carwow really trying to be conservative, with a small "c". Bjorn, I have seen, done loads of test. He carries a Ecoflow max, with additional battery so he has about 3 kwh he can charge from these batteries in the boot to give him another 10 or 15 kms via his granny cable he carries. I have tried this with my Allpower S2000 Pro, which can also run at 2400 watts, but the Zoe is very fussy about the quality of earthing during charging so it has not started a charge via the S2000, don't think I can get extra side battery for the S2000. Have got a Bluettti EB180 which has a 1.8 kwh battery but can only output at 1 kw so not a great support for the S2000 but the S2000 will through charge I think ie power the 2.4 kW granny charger and accept 500 W in via the 8 mm barrel plus uo to 600 W via the XT60 as well, bit of a faff so looking to get a monster R4000, when the price is right, which can be charged from EV charging stations apparently ! Honda was worse, perhaps they should ahve given buyers a discounted Honda generator ?

Are you sure your engine has a belt, not chain - what is your engine code? Depending on the circumstances when the chain or belt let go, you most likely will get away with a top end rebuild provided the piston tops have not been too badly damaged.

Yep had this o our as noted above. Two new struts sorted it (although it was a bugger to close for a while afterwards... It's a five minute job to replace them.

No, that’s complete nonsense .

Edinburgh Airport park and ride rapid public charges never back on since the floods last Autumn. 22 kW are but on 4, and then the 7,kW,s are busy.

Erm WOW! That's it, that's all I have, I'm drained just reading through it all. That there is an artist at work. All I'm hoping for is a rear view camera, data usb in the armrest and perhaps a heated steering wheel!

I'd ask again about that - as the vast majority of them CAN be set up to record and log vehicle numbers and speeds - I know that for a fact as I've used data from them in the past and have also been involved in specifying them for projects. It should therefore be a relatively simple task for the LHA to tweak them and download the data at regular intervals and get traffic flow volumes as well as things like average, maximum and 85%ile speeds.

Not sure that would help. The problem seems to occur when the engine rpm drops below some threshold ( 700rpm? ), either by slowing in high gear or possibly moving away from stationary on low throttle. Under these conditions, since the engine is still rotating, one would expect the anti-stall to kick in and restart the engine once the clutch is depressed. This seems to be ineffective on the 1.5tsi and the engine control system just seems to 'put its hands in the air' and give up!. On the DSG version, it seems this can't happen, as the DSG will either change down or disenage the clutch to circumvent the rpm dropping below the limit.

Not sure if you're already sorted but I can recommend Ultimate Towbars based in Sheffield (but fitting across various counties including the Sherwood Forest area). They were very competitive with their quote, when I spoke to them in advance they gave me confidence they knew their stuff, I was pleased with the result and I've had no issues thus far.

Well collection day today and yes I do have a GTW figure so an aftermarket towbar can be fitted. Talking to the service manager he more or less stated the obvious, ensure the dedicated wiring is plugs and sockets only and no cable splicing of existing looms. If any defect occurred that was the fault of the towbar it would be at my cost. I didn't get into a deep debate around the extra cooling mods included in the towbar prep, I've seen this discussed on many VAG forums across the main four brands and even Porsche. It gets really messy very quickly but legally as long as your are not exceeded the four plated weights then the manufacturer cannot void the warranty. How that would ever be proven I don't know but this has been a topic for VAG cars for decades.

Not today, but Monday night I got to use the Smart Light Assist on my recently purchased L&K. Very clever bit of kit, but I just hope that they never pack up. I bet they are a frightening price!

Just a small point. There is no date that you must buy a new electric car. Nobody can be made to have to buy a car. Just say no! There is a date when you will not be able to first register ICE cars. InstaVolt can just be paid with a Credit or Debit card tap the card and pay for the charge & electricity used only. Including the VAT. He is using his payment choice and not paying the way many do. They are expensive chargers, but no need to have £15 held for any time. He never answers when asked in the comments if his is a Business Use Car and he claims the 20 % VAT back. Is that maybe why the G/F does not let him charge and maybe take 40 pence a kWh instead of the 85 pence @ Instavolt... When there is £15 held & per kWh it is 85 pence the £15 is used up anyway in less than 17 kWh, so like under 20 minutes on a 50 kW charger. Damn expensive eats and drinks are really really a personal choice. Not part of running an EV.

No hidden steps, just regular replacement. No need for VDCS or the like.

Were you never one yourself? I try not to forget what I once was especially when I was having an exchange with the abruti on the unregistered uninsured unsilenced Motocross bike who had been buzzing our commune every evening stopping by most houses to rev up his engine then screech off to do the same 40m further on (the width of most plots) time and time again for hours on end. He had a very unfortunate accident colliding with my wheelbarrow that was accidentally propelled across the single track road , as I explained to him it is a zone 30, pedestrians have priority, I am blind in my left eye and when I heard him bearing down on me I panicked and ran backwards throwing my hands up in fear which propelled the wheelbarrow forwards, very unfortunate for him that I should have chosen that exact moment to cross the road after waiting patiently so long 😁

If you just search for RA Auto, near Silvermines, you'll find him. He is difficult to get a hold of if you ring him, but if you text him, he will get back to you. His name is Richard, and he's good at what he does. Try raauto.ie.

Yes that's the market in flow data. It's how HereMaps get their analysis data on any roads sneaking up by putting the mobile track data over them. Problem with that they get builders roads so when crowd sourcing sees what appear to be new roads on housing estates which are in fact temporary builders roads they pass validation since they look at the mobile phone track data. The bulldozer drivers mobile phone in their pockets, the delivery driver to the temporary store area. They should look at the builders published plans and local authority planning maps but don't. That's how builders roads get in. Then it's a devil of a job to get rid of them. New estates where this silliness occurs. It also gets into Google Maps and TomTom. Then all the map providers copy each other by digital analytic of each others products, flagging up areas to investigate. A failure of validation in one gets replicated, if each fails to remove the dross.

Ah, So the game of Tetris begins. 🤔 I have fond memories of packing my car up for 2 week camping trips to France (including tents, tables etc). Just when you think you've shoehorned everything in & onto the roof, my wife produces two more bags of something that need to go in. I found clothes in bin liners were much easier to squash into a roof box than suitcases.

Thanks again for all this Advice Ed, ultimately I have decided to change the car. I wrote a list of stuff needing done (or I would like to do) and it was fairly long and certainly more than the value of the car! Cheers!

I've got the same with my Yeti, same model and a few months newer. It's been picked up at the last three MOT's (including a couple of days ago) and the mechanics' advice has been it is minimal, it will be expensive to start investigating and as I'm not having to top up the oil between services and there is no oil staining on the drive - don't worry about it. I'm sure "don't worry about it" will be anathema to those that love a weekend ctawling around with an oily rag and handful of spanners but in this case my inhenernt laziness and a reluctance to spend money means i'm going to follow the professional advice. It may be a case of don't fix it when it ain't broke.

A vRS 230 is a 2.0 TSI (Petrol)

If it's a vrs230 as a responder investigation indicates the main timing chains and balance shafts and oil pump are all chains. The only belt AFAIK is the waterpump drive. The gen 3 is far improved but not totally immune from timing chain stretch and very rarely compared to gen 2, tensioner failure can happen. Usually they warn by way of a correlation fault first and still run and there is no damage. If the engine has stopped and let go all of a sudden that is another matter. It does sound like the mechanic investigating and advising the op is either being misinterpreted or is not familiar with the engine and has not got very far into proper diagnosis.

72db is how loud a washing machine or dish washer runs 😁 So I very much doubt your running a legal exhaust 😆

It shouldn't reboot when it's in maintenance mode. When I did 1941 and it was doing random reboots in 1900 software, once I activated the maintenance mode with the software/ firmware screen the reboots stopped and I was able to do the update without any problem. However by doing the update yourself, you always run the risk of it going wrong and you "bricking" your system. Something that the forum cannot be held responsible for. Ultimately you have choices 1. Do it yourself (at your own risk) 2. Take it to the dealership (£££, but safe) 3. Wait for the OTA update (free and safe) The choice is yours.

Got any photos for us? I too am intrigued to see what belt has frayed and jumped a tooth? Seen as the 2.0 petrol vrs engine is chain driven as far as I’m aware.

Which sat nav unit do you have?

Seems like a dangerous choice to make. If it reboots during the update then the unit will be totally bricked. Have you contacted Skoda?

Could be the drive shaft CV seals in gearbox. Clean up the arias as best you can where the driveshafts enter the gearbox, , then check it again in two days. Also check gearbox oil level. Failing that, it could be rear engine main oil seal. But clean up first.

It took a fair bit of searching - but the information I found suggests that the 2017 vRS 230 has a cam chain, not belt.

@MikeTheThinker amazing job - thats awesome - pulled off the triim and its exactly where that says. Thanks for your help.

Good though, as others.

Haldex is not very similar in any way, shape or form to a VAQ differential. Definitely the wrong use of terminology. Probably an incompetent ticking the wrong box and then a competent BS'er denying the mistake.

Aliexpress = single order including delivery cost totalling less than £135 should not attract uk customs interest / vat / import duty / handling fee There is another thread on here with install details including removing the mirror glass etc.

Sorry - didn't get image linking working on the last post: This is a standard console bush - see all the holes which while reducing noise/vibration they rip really easily across these holes as so much more movement is allowed: [img]https://i.imgur.com/AkNErK5m.jpg[/img] This is a Meyle HD bush, similar to an S3 I believe: [img]https://i.imgur.com/G7rLQLkl.jpg[/img] This is the old lower engine mount bush: [img]https://i.imgur.com/lL2J3H9l.jpg[/img] (note that there are two different styles of the bush, you will want to make sure that you get the TDi version as its stiffer than the petrol version, I think this was the one off my Golf GTi) This is the whole subframe built up with alloy wishbones ready to jack back up into place: http://[img]https://i.imgur.com/lARb9Iel.jpg[/img]

I guess you need to assess how long you want to keep the car, of if having invested in a refresh you may be likely to accept keeping it a bit longer to get the benefit out of it. I can say that doing all the stuff to our Tiguan it really feels new again. I really would encourage you to not just keep slapping cheap tyres on just to cover up the problem - the car will feel SO much better when it sorted and on some half decent rubber. Your main cost with all of this is going to be labour - I did all the front end with my brother helping me so but still looked to minimise the number of times we pulled parts apart due to VW's stupid 'use once' bolt policy. Getting the wishbones changed shouldn't be a hugely expensive cost - you can buy complete units all built up with ball joint and rear console bush for not a lot really. The new wishbone will also have a fresh front bush in it but this one isn't renound for waring. Personally though I really would look to get the S3 or Meyle HD rear console bush as something a little more durable. This is a standard console bush - see all the holes which while reducing noise/vibration they rip really easily across these holes as so much more movement is allowed: [img]https://i.imgur.com/AkNErK5m.jpg[/img] This is a Meyle HD bush, similar to an S3 I believe: [img]https://i.imgur.com/G7rLQLkm.jpg[/img] The clunking noise I would take a guess at being the lower engine mount that's pushed into the subframe - these ware and allow fore-aft travel of the engine around the lover engine mount / dog-bone bar that bolts back to the chassis. Its the round rubber 2-part bush that has a white nylon outer ring. In itself its not desperately expensive but as above its the labour. This usually means subframe off, however there is a tool by Laser that allows the job to be done in situ. I got the tool (several hundred as I had at least 2 cars to do immediately) and still did the job with the subframe off the car. This is the lower engine mount bush: [img]https://i.imgur.com/AkNErK5m.jpg[/img] This is the whole subframe built up with alloy wishbones ready to jack back up into place: [img]https://i.imgur.com/lARb9Iel.jpg[/img] IF I was going to do this all again I would look to get a set of used aluminium Passat wishbones off ebay, clean them up, pop out the front little bushes drilling the rubber out and replace with a PSB poly bush and then get the Meyle HD rear console bush and a generic balljoint. NB - the Passat and S3 balljoint isnt right for the cast hub that is standard on the Superb so don't be tempted to use the one that comes with it. They aren't big money, get a fresh one. Then get your favourit local garage to put it all on for you, get it tracked and see how you go. As said, that clonking may not be too cheap to get sorted yourself and will likely be a subframe off job. Maybe try to hunt around for an independent VAG specialist, they may be more used to doing some of these jobs and be quicker and have better advisory capabilities. I know of a good one in the Gloucester area and one in the Warwick area, they are about ... Happy to keep discsussing this here OR PM me to discuss offline.

Thanks for a great guide! I have had problems with my right navigation wheel for a long time and opened the wheel up a couple of days ago and cleaned it. In my case it wasn't enough, one/some of the six solder points had come loose so I had to re-solder them so now it works again almost completely without problems, at least much better than before!

I paid for a car with integrated satnav because it featured RDS-TMC, easy to update maps from the web etc etc. I didn't feel the need to enable SmartLink for £100-£150 to use Android Auto on my Skoda I was happy with what I paid for, I don't even have data on my phone! I use Android Auto on my wife's Toyota with offline Google maps and the number of times it looses the "blue" navigation line and needs a complete reinstall makes me realise what I had up to the start of March 2023 worked very well. If Skoda won't get it working again will they enable SmartLink for free? I am not a luddite but an ex IT security consultant who developed many Corporate WI-FI based systems over the years.

Tracking, simple as that. See all that stuff I snipped off your link? ( ?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=EJ14dzGjR4q&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=bu6sTJ0sTPi&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY ), that's ebay's way of tracking you and anyone else that clicks on the link. Anyone clicking on that link is giving away their data for free.

Spot on. That Skoda icon takes you to a page showing both options. Thank you, I’d never have pressed that!