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A couple from Biddulph Grange today........

Very good and informative video from Harry's Garage.

1997, white. Two donor cars in its history, a yellow one so probably a fun and a red one, which I think was a 4 door. It's been sitting in an industrial unit for 12 year, one owner from new, some welding evident to rear turrets and 'most of the flatbed' Needs welding on the front upper wing supports and to the windscreen frame. I'm wondering if the weld in panels from a mk1 caddy would be a close enough match because they can still be got. The most exciting thing is that the windscreen is entirely absent, so a new one will need to be sourced, yay. It's a 1.3MPI petrol, which we got running today after getting the plugs out and some oil down the bores, making sure it had fluids where they should be. we bottle fed it for a bit down the throttle body hoping it would pull some fresh fuel from the tank. It was only later one when we emptied the pickup bed to repack it (all the stripped parts of the interior from 3 cars was in there along with a set of wheels that we found the fuel pump was unplugged. it struggled for a good while on gummy injectors, and we couldn't get it to fire, but we bottle fed it again till it cleared up. no smoke, ~50K miles it's practically NEW. The brake pedal was going to the floor but has firmed up since it's run so hopefully they're ok enough for yard driving, it's not charging to the alternator needs looked at. The main showstopper right now is that it won't go into gear either running or when switched off, which is weird. I cannot WAIT to get this thing sorted enough to get an MOT on it, but.... a bunch of work to do before that can happen

Made what turned out to be an inspired decision to stop off at East Midlands airport on the way home today and were treated to seeing both a Supermarine Spitfire and a P51 Mustang in the air 👌

You are correct however whilst Europe is focussing on emission reduction by any means the Uk is mad set on making everything zero emission full stop

What will be the big issue will be 2nd Hand / Used EV,s on the market in the UK and their loss of value to who owns them which is the Financial Institutions manly other than were there is a Owner that bought with their own money. If the Manufacturers / Importers have to unload enough EV,s to meet the 22% Zero Emission target this year then there will be an affect on used sales. An issue for the Government and everyone's works Pensions with whatever Fund Managers probably. The Budget Announcement will be important and any othef announcement from the Chancellor or the Secretary of State for Transport, Energy or whoever.

Here is the pic @Gizmo with thanks.

I do like the car wizard

@Twunkle for me wins ‘hands down’ luv yours. Mine is very much main stream, and so ‘2021’…! appreciate this may not be the place to say it, but my hybrid so far fails to impress, my former, a Golf estate 2018 2.0 DSG a better car in so so many ways. To name 3, suspension, paint work, hardwearing seats. This Skoda poor here...

Steering lock, parking brake lock, wheel clamp. Or a hidden cut out switch. If someone wants a 7 year old Fabia that is parked up they might just pick it up with a crane arm and onto a flat bed to take and part out. Nobody is going Joy Riding or Ram Raiding in one are they.

Follow up; As I suspected the connector probably had broken too while changing the brakes. (which made this a bit hard to troubleshoot) but I now cut the cable "above" the connector and did the very same hardwiring there in stead, warning gone. Phew, that was a tough one! Thanks for all the support. Vol

...for me it just looks like a bog standard Octavia now rather than a VRS. Still on the personal taste theme, the psychology is quite interesting. If I were the OP I'd be tempted to remove the vRS badge too 😜 . But I respect that the OP isn't me! In my younger days I went to considerable lengths to transform my performance cars into innocent looking 'sleepers', way more fun and it surprises more people than advertising what you're driving! Became quite a cult thing at one time, I suspect it still is...

Yes, each to their own and as long as you like them that’s the main thing. But for me it just looks like a bog standard Octavia now rather than a VRS.

Spotted a few Woodpeckers today (& some late Ducklings).........

Bad news I'm afraid, garage noticed it smoking starting cold (haven't seen that myself but hey), diagnosed oil getting into the cylinders and being burned along with the oil. Verdict - an economic write-off. Sending a letter via recorded delivery to the dealer on Monday detailing that the car was not of "sufficient quality" as per the CAB's instructions. Dealer is assumed to have known about any such issue at point of sale otherwise the duty is on them to prove otherwise (which they can't). Mechanic's opinion was that the MOT emissions test was fudged as there was no way it would have got through it legally. Gutted because I very much liked the car and it's an invisible issue, the car still drives, the engine still picks up. But in reality it's a goner. If I get a full refund, it will include miles driven since purchase being taken off the final repayment, quite irritatingly somewhat greater than the 400 or so that I'd clocked up the first time I took it into a garage and they obsessed about the steering wheel coding and didn't look at the issue with the engine itself. But then again, you're supposed to live and learn. I just seem to learn! Thank you for all your help on here, it's been incredibly helpful and I appreciate it massively. I'm just absolutely gutted.

I’ve had my 280 for just short of 4 weeks now and she is sat outside a chalet in the Vendee’ while we take a 2 week break. Never missed a beat and has returned over 35mpg while loaded to the parcel shelf.

Nah what it was I just bought one yesterday... 19 plate with 33k on it. Full skoda history - 1.5tsi dsg. Drove it back from Glastonbury to Glasgow...400 miles approx and it ran at 58mpg. I was well impressed. I had seen somewhere about the 5yr thing being scrapped. I phoned my local dealership (hamilton) and they advised 5yr or 140k. Phoned Glasgow and they said fitted for life but said their recommendation would be change about 100-120k. When you say the waterpump doesn't need done? Does it not run off the same system on this engine?

Even if you use the use the keyblade to open the door in an "emergency" the bloody silly (or not if you're not stealing your own car) car alarm will go off as soon as you open the door. I was on the same lines as Ootohere, a visible deterrent rather that computer stuff would probably be more effective. Only saying today (for those old enough to know what I mean) having a choke on a car is enough to stop most from stealing it, a sign saying the Tw*tNav is out of action is probably enough now. I'm from a time when the Škoda badge was enough of a deterrent, no need to even lock the car. 😄 (yet quality dropped when VW first took over, as now(?))

But there are many Plug in Hybrid cars on the market because this is Europe. & the Government made them cheap for Business users regardless of if they run on electric. So location location location matters. But then in the UK a £40,000 limit or over makes a difference to many. The Car Manufacturers caused their own problem by keeping pumping out big fat fuel guzzlers that make profits and then electrifying them for the Tax Reasons and not just getting on with sensible cars at sensible prices that go as far as they are supposed to according to Fake Testing, WLTP / RDE2. Diesel Hybrids can work, but VW / BMW / Daimler Benz were caught cheating.

You don't need the indicator plug unless you are determined to connect via the cigarette lighter instead of the terminals under the bonnet. And if so, the cig lighter socket has to remain live indefinitely. It is live when first entering the car, with ignition still off, but I don't know whether it may shut down after some time. Someone who has powered a dash cam from it will know. But it's easier to forget about the indicator plug.

I've just been out to the garage to check, and this is the exact model (CT5 start/stop) that I've got. Whilst Ctek chargers are expensive, their service is pretty good. I hadn't had the charger for long, and was charging up my wife's B-max when one of the crocodile clip covers flicked off and disappeared deep into the engine bay; I feared that I would have to take the engine out in order to find it. I wrote to Ctek, and they very kindly supplied me (FoC) with a replacement. I don't know about the CTX indicator plug, I don't have one.

Nope, you have the latest firmware.

Hi. If you wanted to PM me your details I'd be happy to take another look at your quotation to see if there is anything more I can do. Regards, Dan.

If you were topping up with 500ml and getting 1000 miles before adding another 500ml and another 1000 miles that’s likely 1l per 1000 miles or 1600km. Not ideal but not catastrophic yet. There have been issues with rings on the 2l diesels as there was with the 2l petrols in the mk2. Do some searching. Some people swear by an engine flush, but leaving it to late in engines life can create more problems. If you can use a slightly higher viscosity oil still meeting vw standard that may also help a little. Do rule out under hidden tray leaks as well.

The standby consumption after the settling down period would normally be between 15 and 25 ma, if the battery is good that would give you more than enough autonomy. That is not taking into account accessories like dashcams etc or chargers left plugged in, trackers etc etc. My cars autonomy is reduced by 40% because of the towing relay, it is activated when car locked up because one might have left the vehicle and trailer with the parking lights on for safety, it takes far less than previous generations but is still significant enough that I cant be sure my battery would start the car after a month, I have fitted a switch to disable it for that purpose which I seem to knock on a regular basis loading stuff disabling the towing lights.

@Bryfly Well the other option is to do nothing, as I pointed out our Karoq, now with a 6 year old battery, starts immediately even when been left for nearly 2 months

I highlighted the shallowness of the jack's 'groove' in this other thread. https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/525354-jacking-pads-for-fabia-scissor-jack/#comment-5871417

Spot on, I recall explaining the same thing on a thread where someone was complaining to Bosch about brake pads bought from ECP, he was convinced that they actually made them and expected far better of them, in the end he realised that all his conversations with ECP and Bosch were with bots!!!

I think so yes.

Nearly missed it, scrabbling to get my phone out in time - it was very pretty: Not totally sure what it was - NSU maybe? Gaz

Arbroath car is in Dundee garage

There was another possibility to the mind boggling, its not relevant now you have found the fault but it may help for a future enigma. It was a normally closed circuit like most safety circuits, its one that is at risk of someone disabling it in exactly the same way as you had, to prevent this the manufacturer could have fitted an end if line resistor EOL in the brake pad instead of the (zero resistance) loop of wire, the controller would be looking for a volt drop commensurate with the say 2.2k ohm resistor to decide the system is normal, the warning light would be illuminated for either of 2 conditions, if it goes open circuit through pad wear or closed circuit through it being shunted as you have. Airbags etc usually have this type of security. It is/was also common on Fire Alarm and Burglar Alarm systems.

At the beginning of the first lockdown, I wasn't able to use the Karoq, so bought a CTEK charger; it proved very effective. Fortunately, I was able to park in front of my garage and bring the power lead out under the door, I recall that a member had written on these pages about a Karoq being left for a period on an airport car park and, on return, had found the battery as flat as a pancake. The AA (?) chap arrived and gained access to the battery by tugging the release lever until it was sufficiently distorted to flip the bonnet. As a fore-warned is fore-armed sort of bloke, I tested this for myself on the drive and, indeed, it worked; not ideal, though! Best wishes for a successful cataract procedure.

Just to throw something else into the mix.... Brembo friction material (pads and discs) are SHOCKING quality - so many complaints of noisy brakes, ive personally had one with metal imbeded in the friction material out the box! People see the name and think they are quality parts..... Brembo hydraulic components like calipers are wonderful quality, but there is a reason youll see a manufacturer use brembo calipers but wont throw brembo pads in them.... And for those that require proof - The pads/discs that eurocarparts sell and label as 'brembo' are not made by brembo exactly but the name is licensed out to a company in china - https://www.brembo.com/en/company/news/brembo-gold-phoenix-leading-friction-technology

1. In my experience dry windscreen does indeed make the wipers move slower. What you have shown is comparable to how it is on my car, when the windscreen is dry. I do agree that the wiper blades generally move slower than on cars from some other brands. 2. Wouldn't worry about it.

It’s seriously worth shopping around the specialist insurers. Greenlight wanted nearly £800 for me with all mods declared (Map, springs, Intake hose, Turbo Elbow, Hardwired Dashcam, Debadged). I ended up paying less than £600 with Chris Knott which included Legal cover and the wife as a named driver. They were really helpful. Greenlight were even more if I wanted to add the wife.

I too would have recommended a CTEK charger to maintain the battery, but if mains power is an issue then have you considered a solar trickle charger for example ProPlus Solar trickle charger 12V 1,5W | Euro Car Parts there are plenty of other makes around. The option to remove the battery and put it on a trickle charge in doors is probably not a good ide given modern cars dont like not having a battery connected. Another option is to buy a battery boost pack which can be charged up elsewhere and used to top the battery up periodically without needing a mains power lead. Must be so disappointing to have a new Karoq sitting there and unable to use it. The advice to have the bonnet left open, being ultra cautious myself I would leave it unlocked with a window partially open bit only if your garage is secure.

This sounds like uncompetitive behaviour by preventing other companies from selling a product. Fortunately, there are plenty of alternatives such as Jurid if you don't want one of the biggest brands such as ATE and TRW. Jurid might even supply some of the brake pads on VAG cars including Skoda as original equipment, ie. OE. Information about Jurid Jurid is a German brand of premium brake systems and one of the world leaders, both in the field of original equipment and after-sales service, which belongs to the famous American corporation Federal Mogul, now part of the global company Tenneco (USA).

As a precaution, store it locked but with the bonnet popped (able to open but not lifted). Then if there is an issue you can easily get to the battery terminals without having use the emergency lock to get into the car and force the bonnet release leaver if you can’t get the passenger door unlocked and open. My car’s sitting like that at the mo as prob won’t be using it for a good while.

Not unmodded, but proper decent, lovely even, IMO: Gaz

Which is the exact reason why I reported the fact that they were not selling the full range of pads, to TMD Friction UK ie probably the sales office of Mintex, back in maybe 2008 when I needed to buy new Pagid rear pads for my 2000 VW Passat 4Motion, the only Pagid offering from ECP had no anti-squeal "bits", which was almost okay as long as the sunroof was closed, and their only TMD Friction offering for the front brakes, Textar was listed on the TMD Friction webcat as being only for use in Japan! That resulted in me being sent out (by TMD Friction UK), the correct pads for both ends FOC, which was good. Edit:- possibly similar iffyness concerning ECP and Sachs products, I bought a pair of rear dampers for my wife's 2015 VW Polo 1.2TSI SEL, only when back home did I check the Sachs part number of the supplied parts - they were for a different rear damper PR code, so I contacted ECP online and they supplied me with the correct ECP stock number, which I went in to buy, but, initially, as I was buying from my online ECP account and that car was the default car selected while buying them, they kept disappearing as ECP was not listing them for that model/version of car, so I had to remove that car's details and so I don't know which marque and model of car ECP had them listed against, just something else to watch out for when ordering from ECP, I normally go for collection with all my facts "to hand" - but this time I failed! Return time for unused or faulty parts is now only 60 days with ECP which is fair enough, in the past it used to be 365 days I think, just something else to be aware of, which is the same for Halford for parts supplied to them by ECP.

Well... for anyone interested, the hose seems to have been improperly replaced at some point. The lower part (towards the front of the car) was coming loose as the metal ring had been put in backwards (so the metal teeth were not sitting in their grooves as they were pointing the wrong way) and was not securing the hose. Ring in place properly now and the hose is tight and as there is no movement during driving, it has stopped rubbing the brake fluid wiring and is no longer wearing through (plus the small oil leak from the improperly fitted end has stopped).

So I think its time to talk more coding.... Lets start with DCC - remember this is everything I did and may not cover all cars exactly. Ill quote from an earlier post first which covers all the gateway dataset parts After this the following was needed: 19 - Gateway coding change was needed as follows: FPA_Funktion_DR set to 1 (DR stands for damper regulation). This allows the gateway to output a signal to DCC modules to decide on their mode. 19 - Gateway installation list: Add module 14 - elect. suspension 03 - ABS coding: Enable Byte 27 bit 7 (Electronic suspension fitted) 4B - Multi function control module coding: LWR sensors: 1 sensor to 2 sensors 4B - Multi function control module coding: Source height value: BCM to DCC 5F - Infotaiment adaptation: Chassis_Control_0x57: active 5F - Infotaiment adaptation: menu_chassis_control: active 17 - Instrument cluster coding: Adaptive chassis control: set to 1 09 - BCM adaptation: Leucteweitenregulierung-sensor_headlight_range_control_installed: Not fitted This covers all the coding required - not a huge amount really, and the DCC module has no coding. The DCC module software needs updating to 5Q0907376C_0130 which supports the 14 stage DCC slider, opposed to the 3 stage comfort/sport/normal We then applied a DCC dataset to match the vehicle type - closest 2 options were Passat or Arteon, I went for passat. The final stage is the calibration of the DCC system. If using ODIS it runs you through the process but it is incredibly simple - raise all 4 wheels off the ground and allow them to hang on their own at their most extended travel. After this run the calibration with ODIS or VCDS and it will store these as the most extreme values and you are done. DCC fitted and fully working.

https://www.lister.com/available-models/lfp

I would make sure they are checking the wiring and signals from the ECU before replacing. A lot of the time maf codes can be plausibility and be down to something else like air leaks, egr valves and O2 sensors etc.

and if they did, it would cost nowhere near £2000. Manufacturers have decided that digital dash's are easier for them, they can use the same part across a wide range of vehicle. They then get them produced as cheap as possible and then have the gall to try and charge £2000 when it goes wrong. Maybe they should be brought to book and made to produce this stuff to a reasonable quality not 'down to a price'

Thank you all very much. I’ll let you know how I get on. Brilliant website!! Found and bought! Thanks again

The Kwik-Fit website fails to recognise my 2024-registered Fabi Mk 4, but I experimented by providing the registration numbers of my 2009 Skoda Roomster and of my (now departed) 2021 Hyundai i20. In both cases the car's were accurately identified, but the Kwik-Fit inflation-pressure recommendations for the tyres fitted to those vehicles failed to match the Skoda or Hyundai advice on the cars' tyre 'stickers'. For 'normal' loading Skoda advises for my 2009 Roomster 32psi (front) and 30psi (rear) while Kwik-Fit recommends 32psi (front and rear). For 'normal' loading Hyundai advises for a 2021 i20 34psi (front) and 31psi (rear) whereas Kwik-Fit again recommends 32psi (front and rear). I don't know where Kwik-Fit gets its information from, but the Hyundai i20 Owner Manual includes a LOT of tyre/wheel data (as shown below) It's improbable that someone at Kwik-Fit is tasked to delve deeply into car Owner Manuals or check what is on inflation-pressure 'stickers' affixed to cars - it's much more likely that the inflation-pressure values quoted on the Kwik-Fit website are generic for a particular tyre-size and that the same value is then given for both axles. (i hesitate to say this, but why would a car owner bother with Kwik-Fit's recommendations, or take note of a Kwit-Fit fitter's opinion, when the manufacturer of their car provides a visible 'sticker' carrying inflation-pressure advice?)

Took delivery this week, quartz grey petrol, manual. Polished and waxed today.

Here's a picture of mine. Needs a wash already.