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Yesterday afternoon's sunset (suspect it won't be a great one today 🌬️☔)

@Ootoherebut it is well known that BMW drivers are entitled twats

The app has quite a bit of functionality, especially with models built more recently than mine, and AIUI, for the iV can manage charging times etc. There is a link to a shop through which additional features or services can be purchased. Auto headlight dip being one of them )assuming the vehicle supports it - which it should). Well worth having the app on your smartphone

You'll need to replace them... Normal LED headlights are handed for either LHD or RHD traffic. The option in the infotainment is only for short term use and just drops the beam height rather switches the pattern. This is why there are sperate part numbers for LHD and RHD LED headlights

How longs a piece of string? Ours failed at 250,000 ish but it was only the braided link between the solenoid and the motor- easy repair. New one greased up before fitting to stop corrosion on/in the braid.

Depends where you go. My local VW charge £275, Awesome GTI quote £169, and I've seen quotes from £160 upwards. I had a 2015 vRS before my current GTI. Think you might find it's a TSI, not a TFSI. EA888 Gen 3 engine. A good rummage around the Octavia 3 fora on here will give you pretty much all the answers you need. For me, and my car, two relevant areas were the door seals, and the front doors retaining water. And the Silica bag in the coolant header (expansion) tank - if the header tank says 'mit silikat' on it, chances are there's a bag in there, if it's not already been removed. These bags are known to rupture, and the contents block the heater matrix. Getting the bag out is relatively straightforward. Making sure you get hot air from all the air vents is a good check to do. Gaz

Around £200 maybe at an independent, maybe £250 plus at main dealers.

Loctite isn't required or specified. Either accept that it probably will be fine, or go elsewhere.

Unfortunately not... (Facepalm) The factory unit will synchronise the time via GPS but doesn't change between BST/GMT automatically. Each time zone change you need to go to the date/time settings and tick/untick the summer time option..

But mitigation doesn't mean avoidance... It can mean adaptation... Ie we accept but adapt to the new reality.

I'm not sure there's much to be gained by any further interaction with them, to be honest.

She's still going, hai! Edging ever so close to 97k, and hoping to have it well over 100k by summer. Quality. Got her back from paint a couple of weeks ago, looking miles better now. A good wash is in order ASAP.

@Kt1966 (1) should read more like "The cup holder doesn't fit my cup".

Hi again. I have dug out my notes from 2018. It has reminded me that the heating element differs between leather and non-leather seats. I will attempt to post the document, it's in MS Word format. Yeti heated seat replacement.docx

Saw some Cormorants as well. MAH01665.MP4

Trip to a water mill today. Dusted off my ten plus year old Sony DSC H300 bridge camera.

Read the guide below and watch the YouTube video which is extremely useful and shows you an update process in real time. Only perform this procedure if you are confident in doing so and it is at your own risk. Apparently, Skoda has stated this will be the last major software version update for the Skoda Octavia Mk4s, although I imagine the mid-Mk4 facelift models will get further updates. I applied the update to my Octavia Estate First Edition 2021 plate and all seems to have gone smoothly but it goes without saying manually update only if you are confident performing the procedure and it's at your own risk. FYI, I updated from version 1969. You will need an ExFat formatted USB-C type drive - oddly my Sandisk Micro SD Card with USB-C adapter wasn't detected by my Octavia so I switched to a 1TB USB-C Lacie hard drive I had lying around and that worked fine. You can tell if your drive is "compatible" and has mounted when you start the update process as, at one stage you will have to select either "USB1" or "USB2" - if a drive is mounted/detected one of these will be in bold. 1. Download the compressed package from one of the two links below: Octavia Infotainment Update Version 1985 - Google Drive https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZSh8xZ7iUQu9K1u4uwTGbHqtxFE7m0OFtV 2. Create a temporary folder on your PC or Tablet, for example, MU1985 3, Locate the downloaded compressed file package and then right-click on it or press and hold on it, so the menu appears and it should offer you the opportunity to Extract here or elsewhere, tell it to extract the files to the MU1985 folder and let it get on with it. When it has finished extracting the files you will have the following TWO folders (previously there has been a third file but not this time, just the two folders below): Data Meta 4, Copy the above two folders directly to the root of your ExFat formatted UB-C drive. These two folders need to be at the root / top level of the USB-C drive, not contained in any other folder and you don't want anything else on that drive THERE MUST BE NO OTHER FILES / FOLDERS THAN THIS. Once done you are ready to move to your car to start the update. 5, Insert your USB-C drive into one of the front USB ports and put your car in ignition mode, which you need to do to apply the update, just press the Start Stop button on its own, without depressing the Clutch / Brake which you would do if you were starting the engine I also switched off the climate control before proceeding although I imagine the Update process would disable its functioning anyway. At this point, you must have a full or very well-charged car battery so that the car doesn't shut down halfway through the process. The ignition needs to be ON, the Engine needs to be OFF (NOT RUNNING)! DO NOT START IT DURING THE PROCESS. 6. Hold the "Menu" button until the engineering menu appears. 7, Watch this video which essentially shows you in real-time the update process. It's in German but it's easy to follow and the video relates to software version 1941 but it's essentially the same process. https://youtu.be/4AsSbGd3caU Be warned, there are moments when the screen goes black, the system reboots and the CPU upgrade stage looks like it has frozen but it hasn't. Just be patient, let the system do its thing and you should get a successful update of your system. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES MUST THE PROCESS BE STOPPED ONCE IT HAS STARTED OTHERWISE YOU'LL MORE THAN LIKELY NEED A NEW INFOTAINMENT SYSTEM. Notes. After it has finished updating the system, give it a couple of minutes to ensure that all is well and like it shows on video press resume an wait for about 90s or so and the system will restart just, like in the video. DO NOT START THE CAR UNTIL THE SYSTEM HAS RESTARTED After the update the built-in manual is unlikely to be available for about 48hrs, it does come back! You will more than likely receive another OTA update, it's OK to accept it. Ultimately if you are at all worried about doing it, take it to a VW Independent or Skoda dealer and ask them to do it for you.

The financial road tax penalty of buying a car with invoice price >40k is something I wouldn’t live with. You end up paying an extra £410 a year for the first five years, so that’s £600 per year minimum - EVEN IF YOU BUY IT SECOND HAND within those 5 years. I simply refuse to be ripped off by the government that much!

Hey dude! Sorry only just saw this Mine was a genuine Westfalia towbar with the wiring harness so it was very much plug and play, and the mounting holes in the chassis were already there Not sure about non-genuine I'm afraid! My Octavia also had the towbar/trailer prep from factory so I didn't have to worry about wiring in the loom from the fuse box etc. Essentially, all I did was jack it up, pull off the tail lights and bumper, fit the towbar, plug the harness in and then bolt the bumper back on 😄 didn't need any special tools although a bumper removal kit is handy!

Thanks all. I’ve decided to go for a 2.0Tdi instead. 6-speed DSG and still only £35 VED. I’ve put a deposit on one this afternoon. Probably pick it up a week on Saturday.

No no worries thanks for your help honestly and know I realised there was a 7.5 fuse in the reverse light one but that’s only for manual and I have auto and know the stabilisation light has gone off just the tmps know and I just checked all my tires there is one 215/40 17 and the other 3 are 205/40 17 so I’m going to get that one changed and see if that light goes off but again thank you so much for your help I’ve been trying everything for weeks !!

I did go in to the Dacia dealer recently and there was a new Duster there. I had a decent look round. The sales staff were presumably all busy so I wasn't troubled by a young man with pointy shoes and all was fine . The only thing I wasn't keen on was the drivers seat didn't suit me as well as the Mini or the Karoq or the Puma but Id need to return to check that out. Not sure if lumbar support is available on some models. It did tick most boxes and felt nicely put together and it can have an extended warranty which I liked.

Only if the Q4 driver has it set that the charger is not locked in even after charging has finished if the car is locked. One regularly blocked the only working Rapid charger local to me and would leave the car a whole day or overnight and til late on in the day.

I’ve just been to check the water pump area and everything looks brand new down there!! Another check on the cambelts and I cannot see any evidence of cracking or deterioration. Has anyone else done mega mileage or many extra years between cambelt changes?

It depends on the size of the rubber adapter how well if fits and seals, if it's not big enough you could wrap it with something like Gorilla/gaffa/duck tape it's just important to get the seal so the fumes go through the hole in the centre and up to the fluid. I've no idea about chemistry but I'd guess the kit wants the fumes.

Only if the driver allows them to be removed while their car is locked. Different cars different ways. Most Merc, Jag, BMW, Porsche, Tesla or Audi that seem to think parked and no longer charging are locked in. Kia Niro has a button near the door to choose locked in or not at the end of charging. PS. Golfers seem to like to leave cars charging while having a 5 mile walk and maybe something to eat and not just get the cable out or usd a AC tethered charger.

Be careful what you wish for. After being so dogmatic with them, questioning their honesty (I'm sure you are correct) they may well not use their traditional Loctite when replacing the bolt because you are a customer who wants things done by the book and coincidentally their torque wrench may malfunction when they tighten the new bolt. Having seen the catastrophic results of incorrectly tightened crankshaft pulley bolts too many times I would not wish that on you, I wholeheartedly agree with Petes preceeding posting.

Yeah will get it sorted currently stuck in a storms path 😒 so will get back to when I can thanks you for your help

The ACC on my car is active right down to 0 mph and will follow the car in front at a safe distance. It will drive off automatically when the car in front moves forward, even when the engine has stopped due to start/stop, I unlike my 2020 Mk1 Kodiaq which needed a slight press on the accelerator to kick it back into life. As far as I can see, the only difference between ACC and Travel assist is the TA steers to follow curves in the road. It will do it on any road but can get caught out on minor roads. Motorways and dual carriageways it works fine.

I think you're over thinking it... Just change the battery, clock will reset the time from GPS... You will have no issues. Providing an additional power supply whilst the battery is disconnected through the OBD or 12v line will only introduce the possibility to cause problem as suggested above with fuses etc

I've have an 08 and a 12 plate octavia which yes I have had problems but mainly wear and tear and age related like bushes/ball joints brakes shocks etc. Electricly had one dash fault two rear wiper motors and a couple of ABS sensors which were due to failing bearings and wouldn't come out. Apart from that generally trouble free. Skoda fabia mk1 06 the same, bearing bushes ball joints and clutch. Seat Altea xl the same again, mechanicly good but electrics not so with age. I find the paintwork/rust is the main problem on the Ocatvias around sills and front wings but they are getting old and we get a lot of salt in winter. The Fabia is so far pretty rust free. Dealers are expensive and seem to find more to repair than is required. I service and repair myself and generally not too bad to work on. You need a few random extra special tools etc but most other makes of car do as well. Alasdair

So in this context - mitigation = coping with the effects of climate change, and avoidance = trying to prevent climate change?

For F***s Sake!

I just want it replacing really, I'm worried if I take it somewhere else to be done and I have issues down the line or the bolt snaps then they will want to wash their hands of it

Some do, some got 256mm; it's a strange one.

I checked which caliper was fitted and it was the FSlll so from the above comments it’s fitted with the 256mm disks if it has the FSlll caliper.

Even if the whole Thwaites glacier goes over the next couple of centuries it would only equate to a 65cm sea level rise...

I got 3 no. 3m lengths of overflow pipe in my estate yesterday, through the ski hatch, into the passenger footwell and there was around 200mm of "slack" to the end of the boot.

The heat exchanger has a constant supply of water straight front the cylinder head. This speeds up the heat to the cabin from a cold engine as you are not waiting for all the coolant to warm up. The valves were a crude design which also gave problems with leaking / sticking. It is the air flow that is changed now. A small leak of air does no harm. So the air can get directed from, all through the heat exchanger, to none through the heat exchanger. Car's are too complex these days. Thanks. AG Falco

Did read on here somewhere similar problems with a 1.4. They also had split servo hose but the car still kept cutting out after replacement. I think they replaced engine ecu temperature sensor as the car seemed to be stuck in cold start mode as plugs were very sooty. The other suggestions were blocked breather hose and to check exhaust (pre lamda) for leaks. Tunned out to be the ECU engine temp sensor Took a few trips for the ECU to learn They had no stored fault codes either At least you are with the AA Alasdair

All good. The one on their website isn't ours but the one on the official Skoda website is. I sent them the reservation confirmation email to proff I reserved it first and the manager agreed its fair so the car is ours 🎉

My car is going in next week and is booked for the whole week. last year two flat batteries, and now 10 instances since 9/12 of the 12v battery warning.

They are Satin, maybe it's just how I took the photo, they're easier to repair if I kerb it. Diamond Cut is great and looks good, but, if kerbed they can be difficult to repair. Deprnding on the severity of the damage.

That was an easy fix. Just switched infotainment on.LOL.

If it didn't feel right then I'd walk away, plenty more used motors to choose from. As you say, had the egr valve fairly recently done, juddery from a standing start. I have the same type of dsg box with the 1.5tsi engine fitted to my car, now covered 70k, always smooth on take off.

Just to update on my original post and the update post above. Ive replaced the alternator pulley, that's that sorted. I did the revive turbo cleaner. Worked well. I've not had the overboost fault return and it's been a good 3 to 4 months and 4'000 miles. Lumpy idle has also gone. I still get black smoke on full acceleration although maybe a little less. Turbo still make sure noise although not as bad. Passed recent MOT so smoke not bad enough to fail but is mostly noticeable at night in headlights of the car behind. Service is now due so plan to give it a full service and another revive clean and see how it goes from there.

Juddery from standstill is subjective thing and also depends on how you use the pedals and even how the car has been driven lately. So not easy to say. Perhaps go test drive another octavia with same configuration and see how it feels. There can be good and bad reasons to sell a car, you never know and can not assume anything because someone got rid of it.

I did read your earlier email and others. There are different types and I was told yesterday by the local dealer that there was no need for any adjustment BUT due to my previous experiences, I had a "chat" with Skoda UK who were not sure but confirmed they were not Matrix but did have "cornering"! They said they THOUGHT they did not need any adjustments but suggested I consulted Skoda direct where I sent details. Their phone number is in Germany which seemed strange so I assume its VAG. I await a definative answer and will post for info here when I get it. As an ex-tech author I think a manual for all possible variations is confusing unless it is complete which it does not seem to be in my (and others) case! Thanks