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A couple from yesterday afternoon / evening. Spotted the first Bluebells of the year

A few from this evening (and a closer look at the Mandarin ducks). I was a little too late to catch the sunset 😕 Had a go at long exposure (10 seconds with the camera balanced on the dashboard) - works best with Lorries!

Hello, I've recently heard about this forum and as I've recently bought a bright green 2011 skoda fabia vrs as my first car, I thought I might be in need of some advice! Looking forward to the wisdom of this forum and any discussion :) About me: I'm a new driver, actually not had a lesson yet.. but bought the 2011 skoda fabia vrs after it met everything I was looking for in a first car and my family and much more experienced driver friends said it would be a good choice! (Yet to be seen, but I hope so!). Cheers, J

Welcome to the forum. I dread to think how much your insurance will be as a new driver but kudos on a courageous choice of first car! All the best 👍

I am getting the car showing 6-8 miles to the kWh at the moment. On Mid setting and high regen, and even AC on. 1.5 miles downhill and 1.5-2 miles back 3 or 4 times a day. Charging up it is working out as 5 or 6 miles a kWh. The sooner this roasting weather is over the better. In the 20,s is too much for me.

I think they will fit..

Long day for me today as I went up to Cannock Chase for a day out (424 mile round trip, left at 6:30am, got home at 7pm). My oh my, what a beautiful place. Full of vistas, babbling brooks, and the birds and birdsong were fabulous. I achieved my aim of going to say hello to the tree that inspired Tolkien's Treebeard: And went across the Stepping Stones: But it was just a perfect day, weather wise, and I had a brilliant time. T'was good for the soul! 😎 I'd thoroughly recommend a visit 👍 Gaz

Arrived today :-) Also with fake E sign ;-)

Fudge! :( This is on me, should have been more diligent with VAQ servicing, kinda hope its VAQ and not DSG, its a more cheaper fix. The axle was out and both inner and outer CV joint passed mechanics inspection. Said there is no play or anything pointing out to a failure (like torn boots or chunks of metal or dirt in the bearings) + it also doesn't "feel" like a CV failure when driving. I will be reporting as the situation unfolds. I have a date with DSG "specialist" on monday to see if he can guess what it might be. Thank you for responses, much appreciated.

My previous car (Octavia vRS 220 DSG) was running 300+bhp without any issues. One final thought - it's not driveshaft CV's giving up is it? with the sound transferring up the chain so as to speak. Stranger things and all that. Think you need to be sure what the problem is before you start spending money on replacing things. It's unlikely to be cheap, so worth investing some dosh in finding the actual fault first. If it does come to needing a replacement, it might be worth looking at the second hand market. As in there could be good ones about from rear ended cars. My 2018 GTI's a 230, but doesn't have the trick diff. that's on the 245 PP's, so there'll be other makes that share the same components. Good luck - it'll be interesting to know what the actual fault is - please report back. Gaz

The DQ250 handles power. The VAQ diff needs serviced properly and for performance type power @ 2 years / 20,000 miles is what is recommended by people that care. Not VW / Skoda obviously.

Nah prior to 2021 it shows 504/502 both as potential options. So what actually changed between these years? Was the change in reccomendation just to meet fuel efficiency?

Same here. Sounds more diff/final drive than DSG - to me anyway. Not a good sound though 😟 Gaz

Best ask them to get an Oil & Filter change approved with the Warranty work. Sounds like the start of Bingo Card Warranty actions. Throw parts at them. If as simple as that then great. More likely over fuelling when engine fires up and GPF / Catylitic heating up. Hopefully now there can be no 'Never heard of that before', & it will not be an opportunity to say 'They all do that'.

Thank you. I received 4 x VW Screen Cleaner Spray 2 in 1 Microfibre today. Ordered on ebay. Original VW part priced at 10 euros plus VAT each i believe at VW /Skoda. Elroq reviews mentioned this cleaner would be provided with the car but that does not seem to be the case..maybe just for press cars. Ebay price £3 when buying 4. Item number posted a few posts up. I also managed to finally get the Elroq speed limiter working perfectly today! The issue was i had not activated it fully.. now the car is driving as i had hoped ..just brilliant.I was clicking the button to activate it and thought i had but you have to pull adaptive cruise stalk towards you, then you see the Speed limiter actually illuminated with capped current speed.

Some photos are already on my other thread but I may as well introduce the car in the main Picture thread. 2024 2.0TSi DSG L&K in petrol blue with a few options including 19" Vega Aero alloys, Massage Seats and Towbar.

IMO it looks far too copper-y to be anything else - oxidisation from the liner, blah blah, would at the best bet be dark brown, whereas that stuff looks metallic orange. Whether or not that’s indicative of your problem, or is a separate issue, is another story however!

Neither, about what you'd expect. Side bolsters of the seats are clean. Wheel and gear stick leather also in expected condition.

Build date of current engine is the only relevant one. If the currently fitted Mann filter has given no trouble, then just buy another with same PN.

I'd put money on it being some sort of coolant additive (K-Seal). It could be rust from somewhere in the system, but given there's apparently issues with the heater matrix my guess is that. 'Permanently seals leaks in the head, head gasket, block, radiator, heater matrix and water pump.'

Agree with @Carlston You're maybe thinking of the common Mk3/3.5 move from 225/40R18 to 235/35R19 - in which case, yes, a drop in profile is needed. In order to drop down to a 35 profile, you'd want to be moving to a 255 or even 265 section. Similarly, to go up to a 45 profile, you'd be wanting a 200 tyre - it's quite a big difference! 235 is the maximum tyre that can fit on a 7.5J rim. It is recommended to have a 215/225. You don't want to be doing maximums or minimums for anything tyre related. On a 7.5J, a 205 will be stretched which will cause issues. 235 on a 7.5J is approaching instability territory IMO - the sidewall of the tyre is having to do more work. For a 235/245 section tyre, you're better off with an 8.5" wheel IMO. Some cars (Karoq, etc) have 19x8" wheels, but AFAIK the Octavia is a 19x7.5". Lot's of people put 235s on a 7.5J wheel - be it on a Cupra, GTI, R, S3 or whatever, but that doesn't mean it's right. There's a reason VW ships the cars with 225. You won't notice the difference going from 225 to 235. Go from 225 on a 7.5J to 245 on an 8.5J and yes, there'll be a change - and not always a good one. TLDR - absolutely increase tyre width if you want better grip, but you'll need to increase the wheel width to suit. @OP I would stick with 225/40R19. You aren't going to get anything that offers any benefit - stick some nice PS5s on it instead.

As my firm is the largest mover of finished vehicles in the world it will be interesting to see how many cars delivered to the US, but not customs cleared, might simply reloaded and delivered to another country. Somebody to get some very good car deals. Sadly Left Hand driver cars of course. Many need a tweak to change to new country's spec of course which should be able to be done at port reception centre. To much to do and might have to go back to country of origin. At Portbury docks, where I was one of the Customs Officers, we had space for 35k cars but there is only so much space available. Electric Viking video below on this....

Definitely seemed to be 15C with my Renaults to get max out of the batteries. If I go for the LFP battery Renault 5 will be interesting to see how that performs in lower temperatures. Batteries pack may well include cheap Sodium ion batteries at some point mixed with cheap LFP which will have much better cold temperature performance but even Lithium NMC and Lithium Fe PH4 are getting better cold performance with better internal manufacturing process I gather.

Lithium batteries love the temp over 15C. Took 55% of my battery getting up to Liverpool from Worcester in my small battery 60 kWh Scenic, starting temp 0C. To get home only used 41% when the temp was 17C. 4% battery when got home. 5 hours charge last night so back up to 60% and showing 170 miles. Will not charge it again unless I know I have a journey to do next day. Clearly EVs getting so cheap, and I think the 87 kWh, 370 mile Scenic has outsold my 60 kWh model so well that I see Renault have dropped my 60 kWh model from their Scenic range so it is just in the Megane etech now. Paired with that Renault have dropped the price of the Scenic and Megane by thousands. Probably in large part due to the price of the LG Chem batteries become far cheaper month on month. Think I was getting about 3.5 miles per kWh in the cold morning and around 4.7 miles per kWh on the return from Liverpool back to Worcester. Much hotter and I might have needed the aircon but the heat pump works in hot as well as cool conditions. It is just the battery chemistry that does not work lowish temperatures. When charging up I just wish the software also heated the battery a bit. If I had 3 phase then probably charging AC at 22 kWs would do much more warming than 7.2 kW or so. Will look at a 22 kW 3 phase inventor power by home DC batteries at some point.

You should be able to get one but it would have to come from Skoda dealer. Not sure how much but it will cost and probably be a special order. Other option is as you mentioned a used one/aftermarket and have two keys.Either way the transponder chip in ignition key would have to be swapped or new key coded. Alasdair

Ah, just found the primer. Oh well, it's well stuck down without it!

How far can you drive with £20 dino-juice? For £20 a month, Octopus now have Intelligent Drive pack, allowing “unlimited” (fair usage says no more than 700 kWh per month for 2 months out of 6 months rolling) charging. Most economical living: 100 miles daily commute, 5 days a week, £20 per month for energy, Zoe 40 for £7k. https://octopus.energy/smart/intelligent-drive-pack/

Perfect weather today to fit this. Bought from Kopacek but like @yesman I had to cut back the 3 prongs on the back to fit as they were too long

I had the Canton in my previous karoq - and if you have this you lose that nice storage area on the dash board - you know i dont really notice any difference - my current sportline doesnt have it - and i dont miss it. The storage is much more useful

The car has done 118 000km (~73 000 miles) DSG has been serviced (oil and filter) at 60 000km (~37 000 miles) and than again last year at 100 000km (~62 000 miles). VAQ was serviced once at the the same time the first DSG service was made. I was about to service it this season again. I know I'm a bit late, but considering most mileage the car does is highway, and absolutely 0 track time or launches i thought i was OK. The car is ruining 300bhp for the last ~70000 km + TCU tune to handle the torque (the clutches never slipped and there was never an issue with shifting). My thoughts as well, but I was hoping (rather foolishly) that it might be something else :(. I was always under the impression that given proper servicing and tune, the DQ250 and VAQ can handle much more power and torque than I'm currently running. This still might be true, it could just be my unlucky ass... Is the diff/final drive a serviceable item at all? Or should I start looking at replacement units?

Nail on head. Under Real World testing, not in real world driving conditions.

My copy of the manual only says after MY 2021 508. Made a mistake when i said 2020 Mine is a mk3 from 2021

Not a clue. Has the VAQ been serviced every 30,000 miles / 3 years & the DQ250 every 40,000 miles? How many miles / km has it done?

Various dealers in many different countries can act differently regarding the same issue as proven by many cases on various Skoda forums in multiple languages. Some will say the DCC is faulty, some will say they are like this from factory, some will swap shock absorbers without mountings, some with mountings, others deny the claim multiple times and you're out of luck. The issue with oil sensor is not popular (yet) and not all dealers know about it. It could be only a certain faulty batch of sensor that could pop up in different markets, nobody knows yet. There is no official statement or service plan for this yet so any dealer can try to work it in his own way.

You can easily check the oil level at the dealer with the service bayonet. This issue was reported in different markets and the sensor was faulty. Pretty much there was no issue regarding oil levels in TSI engines in last year's and they do not leak fuel into oil so it cannot suddenly materialize if the amount was correct from the start or when service was done.

Well now I'm confused 🤣 It's a 2012 2.0L 170 tdi vrs with the CEGA CR engine. So this would be a mk2 with a dpf I guess?

They removed oil. Because oil level too high. Now they need to do an Oil & Filter replacement and a measured quantity of oil put in. They can then drain it & weigh it. 857 grams a litre at 15*oC. Then put the oil back in. When it is checked next time they can drain the oil and weigh it. That is the check for engines using too much oil, but equally as useful for engines being OVER FUELLED. Usually diesels but in this case a TSI.

Renault have made their two larger EVs more affordable, less tax liable and more useful to save drivers money. Renault have addressed the silly situation where you can get thousands of pounds discount but then get whacked for the Expensive car supplement VED charge and more tax as the BIK goes up each year on EVs. Also these, like their smaller sibling have V2L and can save owners money on paying for expensive day time electricity as they now also have V2L...... The IndependentRenault discounts its EV range to avoid tax hikesRenault Scenic and Renault Megane ranges revamped with price drops and more techRenault has reacted to recent changes to Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) with price drops and more kit across its Scenic and Megane range. With the government’s Expensive Car Supplement hitting cars priced above £40,000, the Renault Scenic Techno Long Range model that was priced at £40,995 now costs £37,195, while the new Techno Esprit Alpine Long Range model with sportier styling also comes in under £40,000 at £39,930,........ In addition to the new line-up, there are a host of other upgrades across both models that include full one-pedal driving that enables the cars to come to a complete stop smoothly when the driver lifts off the accelerator. Renault says that it delivers a smoother overall driving experience and maximises energy being recuperated through braking, while also reducing brake pad wear. Both the Megane and the Scenic will also come with a vehicle-to-load (V2L) adaptor that lets you plug anything with a three-pin plug into the car, while Renault’s Plug & Charge tech has also become standard on all new Scenic and Megane models. Plug & Charge enables a seamless digital handshake between car and selected public chargers to automatically authorise payment and start charging without the need to use an app or payment cards.

Note, it is possible that when the coolant level falls to a point where the expansion bottle is completely empty, air pockets can become trapped in the coolant passages of the engine - if this is the case, it may take some time for the trapped air to be purged from the system, the coolant level will drop as this air gets purged, mimicking a leak.

The Technician must know exactly what is happening if the engine can produce Engine Oil so that it is too full. Fuel is diluting the Engine Oil. Really, asking the Factory. Ask to see in writing what they got as a reply.

My used Fabia was bought from Derek Slack and I had a similar experience, really great from start to finish!

@Alasdair1 We're both sort of wrong according to @cr8his metadata. Their car is a 1.6 petrol, which is neither a diesel nor has a secondary air pump (1.8t only). I was right to say that a cone filter is a waste of money and will only make more noise on that engine.

I’d say your gut is telling you something and always best to listen to it. If they can’t prove it did indeed come from a valet or open window then yeah get your money back

? Are the batteries or the cells from batteries actually all without effective charge? Can they not be damaged battery packs with some cells discharged or faulty. Were batteries being fired into the air or was it cells? Was the plant back in operation having gained a licence again or were there batteries or cells being stored ready to be recycled?

I’d def avoid runflats just because I’ve never heard anyone ever say anything good about them. Otherwise, you’re likely to get a mix of opinions across pretty much every brand. There’s the old adage: “Quick, Cheap, Good - pick 2.” Probably a bit like that but with: grippy, economical, quiet. (Removing price from the equation). Speed rating can also effect structure like load rating having a knock-on effect on sound and price.

sonax extreme + paint brush = insanely clean wheels.Ready for storage

It's a 20x10 Apex Deluxe from Lidget Compton.

its brilliant on a steady cruise on the motorway (sticking to the limits) but still pretty poor everywhere else, non motorway use is usually around 30mpg or under.

Thanks Warrior193, So it does appear to be true - Just didn't want to take the one Skoda main dealers word for it - I could have rung plenty more main dealers - but thought there is more value in getting fellow Skoda drivers view - So thanks for confirming. Jakk.

Hello Jakk, if this is a 1.4 TSI you are referring to - that is correct. Previously, Skoda UK dealers were stating 5 years or (I think 60K miles) - whereas, IIRC, VAG (exactly same engine) was saying something like double that. I had mine changed at 6 years (recommendation was still 5 years at time) with only about 23K miles, my old belt and tensioner still looked new! - I believe the recommendation has now changed to inspections only until newly specified (significantly increased) period and mileage.