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Just another perspective….. I have Octavia 1.5TSI Octavia Estate First Edition, so one of the early Mk4’s. When I got it a year ago the whole Infotainment system and connected modules made for a very unstable system. However, after updates to relevant modules and Infotainment system it is now rock solid - no hardware replacements were required. Literally gone from almost unusable to completely reliable.

Skoda Kamiq (Well somebody nicked my i30 guess) Hyundai i30 😁

I use Brodit (vehicle specific) and Proclip (device specific) pairings to avoid that issue - though I did have to remove and ditch the dashboard cup holder from my Forester before I discovered them.

I have activated Smartlink/Android Auto and use Waze. Waze is useful for giving notice of cars stopped on the roadside, especially on motorways with no hardshoulder. Waze routing can be unusual, to say the least. This house isn't Apple friendly either, having had too many negative experiences.

Seemingly, the operative word being Independent - I don't recall any postings where enfranchised Skoda service centres do this.

Not quite what you asked but at my last service at the independent VAG specialist I use the Haldex was due for an oil change so I specifically asked whether they will be cleaning the Haldex filter when they changed the oil. They said they always do because they've seen what happens if the filter gets fully clogged up & left for too long. Now, whether they actually did clean the filter is another matter! TBF I've been using the same company for many years with my old Audi A6 TDi, MK2 Superb CR170, my wife's Karoq 4 x 4 for the short time we had it & now my MK3 Superb & they've done a good job with all of them so I have no reason to doubt them.

Hello I just became an owner of a spanking new Octavia vRS mk 4.5 and I'd like to share my first impressions but before that a bit of a background story. Last year I was looking for a new car to replace my Ford Mondeo Titanium S from 2009. It served me well but it was time for something newer. I guess my criteria mostly were that the car had to be practical but also a bit sportier than the previous one. Initially I was looking at Cupra Leon Sportstourers (also estate) but I was eventually mesmerised by a velvet red Octavia RS mk4 liftback. I thought I got a pretty nice deal on it as it was just barely used (~3000 km), so no new car tax to pay for me anymore, and it had ton of extra equipment as well. I was super happy with it. Then in February the facelift was announced and I admit that I didn't think much of the RS facelift at that moment. I was definitely thinking that the front lights were cooler on my current RS, I mean the fog-lights were a separate unit and the front bumper was also much more aggressive and edgier. Also nothing really bothered me too much about the infotainment system. But....as time passed the design of the facelift had started growing on me and in addition some of the improvements here and there (a bit more power, newer infotainment system). And by July I managed to convince myself that I want the facelift RS, so I ordered one! It arrived at the end of September. However, by that time I still hadn't found a new owner for my mk4. I had some offers but nothing good enough yet so I asked the dealership to wait a bit and give me more time to sell my mk4. Then I finally found a buyer and told the dealership as well that I'm now ready to receive the new car. But I guess I jumped the gun there a bit as the deal to sell the old car hasn't been quite finalised yet. So that means that I'm in a unique position where I currently own a mk4 Octavia vRS and a brand new mk4.5 Octavia vRS and they are both velvet red! But it's a good opportunity to compare them. So finally, here are my thoughts on the differences: The specs Both of my cars have a ton of extra equipment but there are slight differences (just some quality of life extras really). I really liked the extra features on the old car so I mostly copied them when speccing the new car as well. But most notable ones: Both cars are liftbacks Both are velvet red mk4.5 has 20 extra horse power but cannot test it yet if I can actually feel the difference (still break-in period) Both have DCC, Adaptive Lane Assist Both have Suedia (leather) seats (as part of Challenge Plus package on the old mk4, separate option on mk4.5) Both have 19" wheels (Altair on mk4, Elias on mk4.5) Both have a Heads Up display Navigation was a separate option on mk4 but I think it's part of the base RS spec now. I couldn't spec preheating for mk4.5 in my region (wasn't available in the spec sheet and still isn't in the configurator) I added Canton sound system on the mk4.5 (yet to review it properly) Exterior The biggest difference between mk4 and mk4.5 is the front part of the car (as you've probably seen from pictures yourself). As I also mentioned above, it took some time for the new design to grow on me but I really like it now. The rear lights are also a bit different (the shape/light bar of the turning signal is now horistinal and straight, see picture). Also the stripes/trails within the rear lights seem to be illuminated (more). The design of the 19" wheels is different. I don't like the aero cover (or however you call it). I think the Elias wheels look much better without it so I removed the covers. However, beware that if you decide to remove the covers you need to purchase a set of centre caps and lug nut covers. Otherwise it's a bit ugly still. the vRS logo is different, I think the new one is better in the sense that you can actually understand that it says vRS (I remember one of my friends asking what VIRS means and the old logo can absolutely be misinterpreted that way) Door sill protectors have "Octavia" written on the, not vRS. Interior Interior design is mostly the same but there are more and less noticeable differences: The biggest difference (literally) is the size of the infotainment screen. It's 13" on the new one vs 10" on the old one. However, the larger screen size is in any way disturbing. The upper edge is still below the dashboard and isn't blocking the view in any way. Coupled with the upgraded infotainment system it's a really nice upgrade. Some of grey coloured pieces (door handle, the plastic around the gear shifter, rotating knobs on the steering wheel) is dull/matte whereis it was shiny on mk4. The design of the wireless charging pad/compartment has changed a bit and it feels like it's holding the phone a bit better in place. The icons on the physical buttons have changed a bit. Infotainment system/Virtual cockpit That's the big change on the inside and in short, the improvement is huge. The infotainment system is very responsive. The new style feels a bit more modern The digital instrument cluster is a more customisable as well (The right arrow on the steering wheel now switches between different display modes eg map, trip info, gear info (D, S, M), while the left one chooses between display style (with tacho and speedometer or without) No custom vRS animation on the instrument cluster when entering the car anymore, it's mostly black with SKODA fading in. 😞 The gear information (D, S1-S7 etc) can now be displayed with a huge font between the tacho and speedometer (vs being displayed in the bottom left corner on mk4). That's super awesome now. The normal gearbox mode (D) will still display only D and not D1-D7. The Adaptive Lane Assist button is now gone from the steering wheel but the option to switch to it from ACC is now hidden in the same menu (left upper button on the right side of the steering wheel). When I first saw that the button is missing I thought that they forgot to install it and actually had to double check that it's there. There's now always an indicator bar visible in the speedometer dial that shows how much range you have left to go, so now you can select something else to display in your speedometer dial. The physical button for selecting your driving modes now toggles through driving modes, that's nice! There's a ton of customisable shortcuts at the top and at the bottom of the screen (eg can set shortcuts for car, assists, lane assist, heated front windshield at the top; media, phone, navigation, android auto/carplay shortcuts at the bottom) The widgets on the infotainment screen are slightly less customisable but that doesn't really bother me: there's a couple of templates that you select from when creating pages/screens, previously you had more freedom here. I wish the HOME button was slightly bigger though. It was easier to press it on mk4 infotainment screen as it was actually a separate "button" on the left of the screen in mk4. Now it's an icon on the screen. The style of the integrated navigation system feels more modern but haven't used it that much as I'm more of an Android Auto user. Audio As mentioned, my new mk4.5 has Canton sound system. My initial reaction is that's it's not much of an improvement (still), let's see if I can figure out some good settings for it. I did have to check whether the subwoofer (squeezed into the spare wheel compartment) actually worked. Yeah, you can feel and here the vibration when you open the boot but not that much in the driver's seat. I do hope that the only result of the subwoofer won't be the body panels falling off in the back and that I can at least feel the bass when that's happening. There is an extra setting to adjust the subwoofer in the Sound menu. So in short, default settings seem a bit lacklustre but I still need to play around with settings before drawing a final conclusion. Some missing features/changes I've encountered some inconveniences on the new mk4.5 (not a deal breaker though) I think the biggest feature that's missing on the mk4.5 and that I found quite useful as well is the lack keyless lock/unlock on the rear doors. In other words, when you previously could unlock the car by just pulling the read door handles and it would unlock (and could also lock it using rear doors) then that's now gone. You have to take an extra step to touch the front door handle. Another annoyance that I found is that the speed limit warning is turned on each time you switch on the ignition. Unfortunately that's done so to comply with legislations (manual says so). However, Skoda did add a shortcut to disable it quickly (same button and place where you can disable Lane Assist). However, not all has been perfect! When I logged in with my Skoda account into the car and added myself as the main user, it wanted to load some settings which I assume were from the mk4. It did load my seat position but also a lot of icons appeared in the infotainment menu that were just loading (had the loading animation). Perhaps there's a more clever way to solve the issues but I eventually deleted and recreated my Skoda account. I took the car for a first proper drive over the weekend and had a yellow/amber "Emission control system fault" icon appear in the instrument cluster. No errors/warnings in the infotainment menu (status is fine there) as well and car drives fine as well. I plugged in my bluetooth OBD scanner to see what it comes up with and it reported fault codes P2080 (P2080 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Sensor 1) and P2084 (P2080 Exhaust Gas Temperature Sensor Circuit Range/Performance Bank 1 Sensor 2). So now I'm taking it back to the dealership. I hope it's just an improperly installed sensor (as per repair manual it seems that both sensors are wired into the same connector) but let's see. That's it for now. Feel free to ask questions and I'll try to answer them. And some pictures as well:

This is where it's a bit of a lucky dip. I would say that the majority of cars are perfectly fine. Others start fine but go wobbly, but correct themselves after some dealer TLC. And then there are the others need some hardware & software updates (usually very early ones with low software revisions).

I would say the trim choice is yours entirely. I'd suggest the mileage suggests petrol is the engine to go for.

Here's my attempt at doing that:

I'll try to remove my own first, to try to make sure the rest is ok. The car cant be used anyway🙁

Hi I have Skoda Fabia MK1 1.2 HTP in my steed

Hello, I too have owned my car since new. However, as mine is petrol I am not the best person to respond so whilst waiting for an expert's reply here are my thoughts. Youtube. Having watched a few video's it does not seem to be a difficult job. Just use the right tools. If it were me I'd order a set of long nose pliers such as these:- https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/405058831352 Have a look. This youtube video shows glow plug replacement on an engine without a sensor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCAHksR-3sA Now if you watch this video where there is a glow plug sensor:- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIWgWoYzWz8 It can be seen that upon removing the glow plug "caps" by peering down into the socket that the glow plug with a sensor is different from the other three. As I have recently found out if you use the VIN number of your vehicle on Autodoc's parts website it will give you the part numbers relevant to your vehicle. Other members on here may also offer that service if you post the VIN number. Hope the above helps for now. Kev.

3008 or C5

@Viffer800 Thanks. I managed without replacing the rear one on the previous car. We'll see how this one goes...

2.3

Stretched i30 Limo 😁

You’re going to need those Bosch wipers……

Also it does prevent becoming landfill and thus polluting the ground and it makes sense to leveridge power generation from the resultant heat so we are preventing one form of pollution and getting almost free energy so almost a perfect win-win, especially if the exhaust gases are scrubbed before being released to the atmosphere.

For a tiny amount more they could put in stainless steel cables, but it's all about cost cutting. I've added lubricant to the second replacement since the spool always gets water inside it.

mine better not be, it wont be big enough, and i booked it as an estate/suv

well i just booked a "Tucson or similar" with Thrifty in Tenerife next month.. i wonder what ill get...

Different rules in England Private hire can register anywhere and work anywhere. Wolverhampton has the highest number of registered PHV per head of population they have 85 for every 1,000 people but loads work elsewhere. https://www.prodrivermags.com/news/new-data-reveals-how-wolverhampton-dominates-uk-private-hire-licensing/ Greater Manchester is home to over 11,000 private hire drivers licensed by Wolverhampton Council, with 1,749 of these based in Bolton, according to recent data from the City of Wolverhampton Council.

That will be much older than your online connected services one. Above after I'd asked for a bright spark to crack the files one came forward: For the technically minded and with a bit of SQL skills. Basically the mib3 files rolled out through Vag portals but not via connected services keep to the six month release. June / November but signed off six months before. Then the connected services are monthly. Always uptodate with Here Maps material. On top of that the Vag six monthly files can be out of date and not what they seem. Hence the code above to peak at them.

We have PHEVs (mostly Toyota P(r)ious) in Glasgow. That said they are mostly UBERs, and most of the ones I have seen parked outside a likely keeper's property are on a public highway, not on the keeper's non-existent drive.

@logicleeThanks for that information. So what pressure do you run with ? @OotohereSo there is a dipstick, and what's more the oil level is correct! Coolant and brake fluid levels also correct. There's no engine cover on this one though. ISTR they were removed a year or so ago. Checked tyre pressures again now properly cold and all spot on 2.5😀 Now just need to see if by any chance Skoda have started to use decent wiper blades ? Failing that I'll replace them with the Bosch ones I retrieved before the old car went back

I got fed up with things falling off the dashboard, glass etc. Happy with the built in systems since 2016. The demise of Trafficmaster over the air but the mod to shift it to Inrix on Vag equipment works fine 👌. User POI import programs can turn mib1 and 2 inbuilt systems into fully fledged satnavs of old. Mib3 you can't do that. I imported my old user destinations into the car... all 200 of them building them up. So you can get the older systems running as if a GPS system. Was an old Vag user trick. Depends alot on what roads you drive on whether you need real time re-routing which is more Google side or more relaxed traffic information more Inrix. That one tells you what the problem is together with re-routing. Map updates are still available for mib2 and there is a mib1, one to 2023 which isn't bad. Mib1 and mib2 high inrix solution of changing the parameter with a coding device. Mib2 standard for inrix two year older maps. It's all on the thread. Life in the built in systems yet. Apple products are banned from this household 🤣.

I think it's worth having a close look with a torch along any of loom you can get at for any chafing. You might have to get it up on stands. Check especially around gearbox and steering rack. Have a (long!) read of this thread from the VCDS forum. It's about a Sharan but both the scan and the symptoms are very similar to yours. I must admit I wouldn't power it up too many times until the fault is found just in case you cause a direct short to earth on one of the larger cables which might create a fire risk. A day or two off and a fresh look and I'm sure you will find it Good luck with it. 🙂 Below is a VW forum picture posted by a VW Master Tech. It shows the sort of thing pronged chafing can cause. This one was simply a non-start but when these larger high current wires break or short across to another they usually cause the major problems you have. This one looks like it has been shorting and overheating.

I got a good deal on a set of Goodyear UG Perf 3 on 225/55-17 and this is what I will use. Hope to gather also relevant feeling about how the 280 performs with a 'downsized' from the summer 19s, which are at the end, so I will think what to do for next year, whether to downgrade to say 18s rims or to keep the 19s.

Turn on the ignition, press and hold both the AC and Front Vent buttons until both lights start to flash then you'll hear the flaps calibrating and the lights will stop flashing after 10-20 seconds.

I got a pretty good deal on 'fresh' Goodyear UG Perf 3 and that is what I will use.

@PetrolDave I bought a new one, not for park assist as you suggested. My car does not have park assist. It worked well. All error messages disappeared. Thanks a lot.

Please remember differences with England / Wales & Scotland, and Taxi Licencesand Private hire / Uber. Differences between London and other Cities or Councils. Much the same but sometimes quite different rules and regs. But a cars a car, but not all suitable, 4 passenger min and 4 doors and sometimes no window tints, and sometimes Executive Transport with total privacy glass, and stretched limos. Then Motorbike Taxis, transporters but they appear to be having Insurance issues with paying customers. But then we have Trikes doing Tourist / Visitor trips into the countryside in the 4 countries of the UK. ................ On the radio this morning was a discussion over very large Pick Up trucks being imported to the EU and UK on an industrial scale. Not EU Type Approved vehicles brought in under the IVA which is intended for Individual specialist vehicles, Agricultural, Emergency services, Custom, Modified, Kit builds etc. There are authorities or organisations concerned about the loop hole allowing vehicles in that will not meet EU / UK emission tests, safety tests etc. Radio 5, Wake up to money. @46 minutes. http://bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0023xrn

So rather than outright banning them why not concentrate efforts on somehow "filtering" the emissions to reduce them? Gets rid of waste whilst producing power. Burning rubbish now UK’s dirtiest form of power https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cp3wxgje5pwo

Sorry for the delay, I wrote a reply on Saturday but it disappeared into the ether! Many thanks for all the replies, very helpful. I don't need to cover lots of miles, so I'll probably get a petrol car. I was really interested to see that the Mk3 doesn't have the boot/hatch split - to me that was one of the key features of the Superb. Being an FNG, I fell for the marketing blurb - on the Skoda Used Approved site, this 2017 hatch has the following in the description: Electrically opening and closing tailgate/trunk lid (Tailgate/trunk lid electrically operated wo. Virtual pedal) Notchback Enough to fool a stupid person into reading this as the split boot/hatch 🫢 Anyway, I'll keep looking. Much as the earlier cars have a lot of merit, for simplicity I'll probably go for one of the newer cars. Thanks again for the responses, much appreciated.

Anyone happen to go to the dealer with the proof they're doing a **** job? What happened?

That sounds like worth a try, provided you can get the old barrel out. One problem will be that you will have different keys for door and ignition. I think the immobiliser coils will be the same, they simply read the chip in the key fob.

Another moon lit shot.. Eyemouth Harbour

Thanks! I'll try to record a cold start for both cars at the same mic angle (I did record cold starts for both but I think my microphone was a bit off on one). But my subjective opinion is that the exhaust does sound better on mk4.5 (more purr or fruitiness to it). The idle noise measured by the vehicle/transport authorities says that for mk4.5 it is 90 dB(A) at 3750 rpm and 83 dB(A) for mk4, so the new should be louder according to that as well. However, as it's still the break-in period I'm rather gentle on the throttle.

forgot this -

I'm happily retired now but I worked for a garage for ten years on leaving school then did 36 years as a mobile mechanic so I know how you feel when someone else has been there before you and mangled something or aftermarket parts don't fit. I was always working around rain too. And I worked on my own so it was always down to me if anything went awry. I did know a few garages who I used to help out wherever I could so I could always borrow a king sized spring compressor, weird spanner or any cam setting tools I didn't already have. I must say, I don't miss it though, 46 years was enough! 😄

The cold start small noises, yes, my wife's August 2015 Polo with 51,000 miles has that - but I think that is just "the way it is" before the oil pressure is up to normal level. They have a timing belt - but a long life timing belt. In general I find this 1.2TSI 110PS engine to be a good choice for this size/weight of car, powerful enough not to make driving a chore and economic enough to be cheap to run, only one issue that I have using a car with an engine that gets lots of miles out of a gallon, and that is, it completely destroys my liking to drive my other car in a spirited manner! Going back to the cruise control retrofit thing, there are at least a couple of companies that provide cabling and if necessary hardware (not that you probably need the hardware) to retrofit cruise control, one being Kufatec and the other being Carsystems, I have not checked if either supply cabling for your car though, I have bought cabling from Kufatec via what was their UK agent for another task on my 2011 Audi S4.

Had confirmation that build week is 47. Looking like collection in the first week of January.

Hi all, Just to add to this thread. I changed the window regulator on my driver side Fabia mk3 (1.4 tdi 2015) today. I do not feel the earlier comments are overly clear. But as suggested, to remove the window, there are plastic grommets either side that are circular. There are two pieces to each grommet. You use a screw and put it into the inner piece and pull out. I would apply some silicone grease beforehand though. Once this is out, the outter grommet comes out rather easily Reinstalling is the same but the process is in reverse. For reinstalling the grommets, I'd advise gentle tapping the inner piece into the outter piece with a tool (I used a small hammer and tiny metal tubing). All of this will save you time and aggravation. I've attached pics to assist. Once you've removed the grommets, push your window up all the way by hand and gaffa tape the edges so it stays in place. As this then gives your plenty of room to remove the old regulator and install the new one. Additionally, the part number for the driver side (front) window regulator is 6v0 837 462 c. It is easier to ring any local main dealer as opposed to looking online (I know from experience). I rang dealers in England and Wales who all had the parts in stock and price matched a new regulator at £80. Considering the aftermarket parts range from £60+ as do 2nd hand parts, I consider this a bargain. Hope this helps. Martin.

It's on the page you posted, "Service Update button" and a USB stick. I will send you some instruction and links. They have an emergency menu for recovery.. so you would have to have a defective unit for issues. Lots of updates done, and only 2 broke as they had internal problems.

This topic has come up so often I should cut and paste my reply. I had a set of 16" steels for winter use. After 4 years the 18" never went back on and in fact i should sell the,. I was replacing two 18" tyres one year and four the next, not counting two more that were written off by a pot hole and one complete rim and the L&K wheels were not cheap (now have six of them) I found breaking distance /grip to be very slightly worse but comfort, fuel economy, tyre and wheel economy, noise all substantially improved. Oh and aesthetics took a dive too. I would consider another superb in the future but certainly would remove the 19" wheels immediately and replace with 16" again.

It’s plastic and it’s easy enough to remove by competent windscreen fitters and the new one just bonds down using the same sealant used to bond in a windscreen. It is a pretty easy job really, it’s just a plastic surround. I have pics of one removed. Guys car was parked near someone that was welding and he got spot welds all over his car. Entire repaint and every glass and sunroof replaced.

It was your gratuitous and totally uncalled for rudeness and sarcasm aimed at a new contributor.