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Such a lot of money...

Just back from a quick repair for a customer and the L&K Superb is getting close.

When braking from about 65mph the car starting shaking and over a couple of weeks, it got worse. Below about 40mph it was fine. So I booked in to have it checked, and I took the car round for about 8:30 am, describing what was happening. Less than 2 hour later, I got a phone call from the workshop. I was dreading the worst - a big bill was probably looming. BUT - the call was to say the car was ready and there was no charge! I had had new discs and pads in January this year at 105,000 miles and there was 12 month warranty. (Current mileage about 117,000 miles) So new discs and pads were fitted and the old ones were being sent back for examination and a hopefully a refund. The new pads and discs are fine. So a big round of applause for Discount VW/Audi of Hoylake.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/63761678e90e0728475ed4fd/CCS1022065440-001_SECURE_HMT_Autumn_Statement_November_2022_BOOK.pdf

But then Skoda couldn't charge you for fixing it.

I've just ordered one of these. I will update on the state of my battery this evening. Good old Amazon same day delivery

Likewise, keen to hear how people get on with this change. I'm on ~78k miles atm, looking to do in the next year or so, though experiencing no issues with it as yet (*touches wood 🪵). One thing I'm interested in doing next time I get it serviced is perhaps some poly inserts into the linkage (not short-shift), improving the feel. It's still fairly slick for a 9.5yr old car, but always chasing the niceties 😉

Batterys do die. Typically, 7-8 years on an original Skoda battery is fairly good going. I hope a 096 AFM rated at 70Ah battery will fix things for you. Don't forget to code in the battery!

The UK Autumn Statement 2022 given by Jeremy Hunt announced the removal of the free VED (Vehicle Excise Duty) Band A for cars registered between March 2001 and April 2017, and the end of the VED exemption for electric vehicles. These changes came into effect on 1 April 2025.

My Mrs. and I both think the world of our Yeti, and 15 years is a long time on a forum. I've never kept a car so long. Bought it new from Marlborough Skoda in West London in April 2011. It was worth the journey from Devon at the time. They have long since gone. In that time quite a few members have (obviously enough) come and gone and people have been incredibly helpful and amicable. It's one of the good forums. But, nothing stays the same and we get older and the aging process brings it's ups and downs. Actually it's my Mrs. who has mainly prompted this diatribe, so blame her, not me 🙂 It's starting to look like I will have to part ways with the Yeti and go for something else. The good lady has, in fairly recent months, been told she has something called Lumbar Canal Central Stenosis. Or thereabouts. In her case, one of the problems caused is, when entering the car, being unable to lift her leg high enough to clear the passenger door sill (which, incidentally, is 420mm from the ground). It's becoming a problem. The raised height of the Yeti has been a wonderful thing all this time - and remains so for me - but no longer for her. I have trawled through the sill height of practically every new car in the UK. It needs to be something like 365 or 370mm from the ground rather than the Yeti's 420mm and not many reasonable sized hatchbacks or estates have a door sill that low. Most new cars nowadays seem to be SUV type configuration and are higher than the traditional saloon or hatch used to be. I might finish up part exchanging it against the new car or using 'We Buy Any Car' or something similar. Maybe Autotrader. Or might offer it here to see if it gets any interest. I'm reluctant to advertise it for sale privately on something like Autotrader due to the preponderance of tyre kickers and time wasters and in 2003 I was 'car-jacked' when selling a car privately and swore I'd never put myself in that position again. It's currently got my 16 inch steel wheels on it with four almost new 215/60/16 Goodyear All Season tyres fitted but to sell it I'll put the OEM 17 inch Dolomite alloys back on it and will likely sell the steelies independantly from the car sale with the 4 Goodyears on them. I pinned a possible replacement down to a Seat Leon hatch or estate or a Toyota Corolla hatch or estate. The Kia Ceed is OK but they just stopped selling them. A Golf hatch comes close (ish) re. sill height but I'm leaning towards a bigger boot and there's no new Golf Estate. A Jazz comes close re. sill height but it's a bit small (but it does have those handy Magic rear seats). I want another automatic and would, ideally, like a spare wheel. An EV is tricky due to severe difficulty in running cable to a wallbox. A petrol ICE or Hybrid is OK. Max length roughly between 3.4 and 3.7 metres. Max width to get it in the garage is 1800mm or a fraction more .... 1850 is too wide. Yes, I agree, I'm fussy. If anyone can think of any alternatives to my possible choices ot Seat Leon Estate or Toyota Corolla Estate then speak now or foreverhold your peace .... but remember the door sill height has to be 370mm or less from the ground. Lastly I would seek advice from anyone with any knowledge of selling a car that has private plates on it (which mine does). Does it look suspicious to a prospective purchaser to sell a car that has just had a new reg. number put on the car prior to sale? Or is it perfectly acceptable? When new the car was registered with my own personal plates on it therefore there isn't an "original" number issued by the DVLA to be put back on the car (which is the scenario quoted by the DVLA advice on their website when applying to put the plate back on retention). Obviously I have every scrap of paper ever issued regarding purchase of the car and subsequent servicing etc. If the car goes to 'We Buy Any Car' do they arrange to have the private plate put on retention and a new number issued and put on the car. Clearly if part exchanging at a main dealer when buying the replacement new car they would deal with it. At least I assume they do?? Sorry for long post. Oh, I mean't to ask .... if I were to have a private person come round to my house to view the car it's fairly obvious they will say they want to drive it. Given my experience in 2003 when a "prospective purchaser" visited and finished up driving off with the car and with me on the ground with various injuries ..... I'm somewhat hesitant. Furthermore there's the question of a stranger driving the car without me knowing they are genuinely insured. In fact they wouldn't drive the car without proof of insurance. What do others do?? Ta.

Maybe have lower priced Skoda & Seat models with more KISS stuff & keep the Style over Function for VW & Audi.

Yeah well, when you can't sort your software go back to old school manual tech that people want and is intuitive.

Vorsprung durch technik. Hopefully VW are finally getting them selves sorted out and going for safety.

Not strictly EVs but it's a growing (problem?) in modern cars - touchscreens, bigger screens, more and more screens.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0_UpIgmjZk

1.4 tsi is the better unit (IMO) we've owned both. The 1.5 even with the supposed "fix" from the dealer was difficult in traffic and suffered with hesitation etc but your mileage may vary.

The bushes were replaced when the discs and pads were replaced in January. The steering was significantly sharpened up. So the brakes were the prime suspect.

Three bolts and Lower Suspension arm is out with mine. Details I found were:- ''VW 504 is a FS LL 5W 30 C3 oil and is better at reducing engine wear with a HT/HS viscosity of 3.5 cP than a C5 oil. VW 508, VW 509 is a FS LL 0W 20 C5 oil has a HT/HS viscosity of 2.6- 2.9 cP. They can improve fuel economy by 1%. Engines using this oil will suffer more engine wear than one using a C3 oil. 5W oil is still a flowing liquid at -30°C. 0W oil is still a flowing liquid at -35°C. ACEA C3 ''Stable, stay-in-grade oil intended for use as catalyst compatible oil in vehicles with DPF and TWC in high performance car and light van diesel and petrol engines, with a minimum HTHS viscosity of 3.5mPa.s. These oils will increase the DPF and TWC life.'' As apposed to C5 :- ACEA C5 ''ACEA C5 oils are high performance, lower SAPS lubricants. The primary goal of ACEA C5 oils is increased fuel economy in high performance petrol and diesel engines in passenger cars where advanced after-treatment systems such as Diesel Particulate Filters and Three Way Catalysts are used. HTHS viscosity must be in the range 2.6 to 2.9mPa.s (i.e. low) - typically SAE 0W-20 or 5W-20 and made with Group III base oils.'' HT/HS Viscosity Ranges for Low-SAPS Lubricants HT/HS is the abbreviation for High Temperature/High Shear. It represents the viscosity of multi-grade engine oils at 150°C. According to the ACEA European Oil Sequences 2016, for classes C1 and C2, HT/ HS viscosity values need to be higher than 2.9 mPas. C3 and C4 oils have higher HT/ HS viscosity values (3.6 mPas), C5 engine oils have the lowest HT/ HS viscosity of at least 2.6 mPas. Unsurprisingly, thicker engine oils with higher HT / HS viscosity provide the engine with better anti-wear features. On the other hand, low HT/ HS viscosity enhances fuel economy but has lower protective features.'' Thanks. AG Falco

Good result! 👍 I have a BMW E38 740 Sport as a hobby car and when that happens, it's time to check the front track control arm bushes. Great big rubber bushes the size of your fist attached to cast steel curved arms and quite expensive (!!).

No worries mate cheers

Yeh we been working through the guide and are up to the step where we need to pull the mount out vertically whilst pulling the engine as much to the radiator as possible yet still don’t have clearance

Nope - but soon to tell. I only had the issue twice before over months keep in mind.

Volts good as well

Charge dropped to 93% on the new battery so went for a drive and its back up to 96%. So alternator is defo sound.

The demand for road tax for my 2016 1.6 DSG diesel estate arrived today. It has always been £0.00 but it has now gone up to £20.00. Clearly Rachel from Accounts slipped that in when I wasn't looking.

I only paid £20 on my 2016 Octavia 1.4TSI estate, it should have been more as it had 17" wheels which would have moved it into the next emissions group but the supplying dealer "forgot".

Thank you a lot

I'm off work for the rest of year starting from...now! So I'll definitely get a crack on with tidying up the garage. There are bits for cars that are LONG gone!

I added another link above after you posted, they show the p/n as RVC-SUPERB-3V-G. Try this too, they have the kit cheaper https://www.carsystems.eu/superb-3v-facelift-rvc-kits-parts,c484.html

I did our last VRS tdi 2009)at about 120k and then again at about 200k miles. Sold a few weeks ago nudging 280k miles and the box had no issues. (drain and refill plugs were obvious). @BrandonW ...... I'm in the same position as you with our new VRS (2017 , 99k miles), bought the oil and will change it very soon so keen to hear more replies ! Wish I'd priced the oil first.....I'll maybe get it from Opie next time ?!

A main dealer told you that? They're talking rubbish. The main dealer I bought my '72 Superb Estate with a power tailgate offered to fit one but they were miles from me so got these to do it at home https://www.autologics.co.uk/Skoda-Retrofit-Specialist/Skoda-Reverse-Camera/%C5%A0koda-Superb-Estate-Reversing There's independent places in Yorkshire where you can take it to, such as https://eastyorkshireretrofits.co.uk/ https://www.yorkshirevwagretrofits.co.uk/ If you want to do it yourself you can get the kit here https://www.carcommunications.co.uk/genuine-skoda-superb-iii-3v0-reversing-rear-view-camera-kit

I have had mine simply re-gassed twice in 13 years. It has never got to the point where the pressure has dropped below the threshold for operation to be inhibited, but always seems to produce colder air after being done. Not too much to pay for a year round essential item. Nobody wants to go back to the bad old days of winter motoring with damp interiors and misty windscreens. I wouldn't bother with getting the "air" side of things deodorised etc.

I will counter that argument. I've had Octavia's with manual boxes and a fluid change makes a massive difference - I've done mine at about 40k miles; mainly for the gear changes and knowing that any dirt and metal will be removed from the gearbox.

Arh - the drain pipe has either split/broken or has come off its connector. Try removing the panel off the A-Pillar and see if you can find anything there (do it on the side where the water ingess is)

While you may be right about the inflation, equally it's true that for most people their pay was either frozen, or any pay increase was kept extremely low, well below the actual inflation figure, which actually meant that they had a year-on-year pay cut and were effectively paying their bosses for the privilege of keeping their jobs and seeing their living standards fall every year. I remember during that period being on reduced salary but expected to work longer hours, while the factory workers were on a 4-day week. During that period my bosses purchased a million £+ mansion and grounds and also bought a new factory unit and went on extended expensive holiday cruises. Millions were on what is called zero-hour contracts and just 6 or so guaranteed hours-a-week contracts, such as Sports Direct: 90% of staff on zero-hour contracts | Frasers Group | The Guardian This was just one such business, and similar practices are still happening even today. I have 2 sons in their 40s working for the same company but in different sections of it and still on minimum wage and another son working in the retail sector, where many shops are operating something like 6- or 12-hour contracts and yet nothing seems to be done to ban such practices.

I know of cars older than 2015 still being used on the same rough 3rd-world roads we have in the UK (since having to bail wealth bankers out) with almost no replacement suspension parts but they are Japanese and Korean built so perhaps superior to VW quality, though one at least was a lower retail cost to buy new than a Fabia. IIRC I first notice noises from the underside when my wife's Fabia was 4 or 5 years old which is why I was hoping the new dampers would perhaps sort things, but no. The various different noises from the engine bay as perhaps the computer systems do their stuff annoy me too and I've always found VW 4-cylinder engines to sound a bit rough, no wonder some many went for diesels, you might as well for the difference in noise. Must say when I drove a VW 3-cylinder 1.0 TSI (110) engine I was surprised it wasn't noisier but it was quite new and I've no idea about if there was any additional noise insulation, the engine perform well enough for our two-person use with no luggage, luckily it had a manual gearbox and I could ignore its incorrect gear recommendations and myself driver for better power use and greater mpg. Matty your car is lower annual mileage so if you are doing motorway mileage then perhaps shorter periods of it being parked up, more regular and frequent use, might keep things running smoother (or it might just wear some items more). Good luck.

A Sandero is not that cheap now, and a Sandero Stepway is not. I have been looking at Petrol Automatics, new or nearly new,. They are better in and out for me than a Clio. It is a car to replace the Suzuki SX4 i want. Reliable petrol automatic, economic. It might be a Suzuki Swift i get.

Hmm, I'm not so sure about that. I think you will find that ICE cars will be on sale at least up to 2040 now following reports that the EU are just about to announce this groundbreaking news. This will put immense pressure on the UK to follow suit as well. Net zero is beginning to look a bit dubious after all, fancy that. Many key players were absent from COP29, which failed to issue any new rules, and was also accused of being massively anti-green in itself. Remember when this is confirmed where you heard it first, right here. As to the VAG group's poor attempts at EVs, with ID3 and ID4 being the ones you mentioned, you are aware, I hope, that Ford's range of EVs are largely VAG products, I hope?

It cost me £60 for 350 miles using public charging these past few days. Still £45 pending from BP Pulse for the £22 it coat me at Edinburgh Airport 36 hours ago. 61 pence a kWh. Other tariffs 65 & 70 pence a kWh. Running a Diesel can be much cheaper. 350 miles & 50 mpg, 7 gallons. x £6.60 = £46.20

Installed new battery today - pretty much like for like.... Exide EL700 Not the easiest battery to install. The Kodiaq has a very annoying bracket you need some form of hook to move. All good now . Will let you know if the horn / acc issue ever returns!

Yes but that is only part of it, they are not pushing EV mandate to remove NOX, it is only a tiny fraction of what it was in the 60s and 70s and is constantly going down all the time with new technology being built into ICE cars all the time. It is CO2 that is behind the EV drive and Net Zero. Also as has been pointed out already, not everyone is in your priveliged position, many can only afford bangers for transportation, so an ICE would be their car of choice.

All of that is true, but is still far less emissions than making a new car just to drive primarily a couple of miles a day to work. A EV has to do thousands of miles before it can claim that its clean.

You really do have no idea whatsoever how many people live do you... You are clearly well off and typify the well off socialist... One without a clue, but with a lot to say about stuff they have no experience of...

Update. I seem unable to upload photos ("Sorry, an unknown server error occurred when uploading this file. Error code: -200") so they are here: https://bigjohnd.org.uk/Octavia1/ I bought the assembly off eBay. It was pretty grubby, and it had been rather crudely removed with all the wires just cut, so I removed the tails and plugs for the mainboard sockets. I had hoped to remove the entire existing assembly and replace it with the"new" one but that's not really how it's done. Not least because the wiring sockets cannot be accessed that way. The smaller fascia panels can be removed while sitting in the car - they are designed to removed easily by flipping out the rear facing edge/side first. There are 2 screws to be removed as well to get full access to the main circuit board. However, during my experimenting I had to hit the fascia panel with the lenses in fairly hard to get it back in place, and Lo and Behold, the courtesy light system started working! So, 🤞, it's OK at the moment. PS: The W5W LEDs are a big improvement.

I refer to my original posting re heated mirrors. I'm pleased to report I've solved the issue. I normaly drive in Eco mode, so I tried to apply a bit of Czech logic. Eco is about saving, so why not battery saving. The mirror heaters don't work when in Eco mode - they do work perfectly in all other modes - Doh !!!

I would guess 18" which is what I think the SE has, but they'd look awful on the RS (vRS). If you go non-Skoda, check with the warranty and your insurance company. I'm in the Southern UK where we no longer have Winter, so hopefully somebody from eg. Scandinavia will have a proper solution for you. Have you asked you local dealer? Some should be happy to store your "other" wheels for you.

I like that garage.... a total mess!!! I am ahead of you - I've got a thin line where you can cross from one end to another ... some sort of 'Maginot Line' surrounded by ... minefields of junk 😁 I have started efforts to clean up, though - I have the ambitious plan to make the area usable for a car again, enter a small EV there and be able to charge it on home electricity.... someday! By then perhaps we will be already on hydrogen 🤣

It was like a Christmas special episode. Nice find and glad it helps the garage look more cluttered 🤣 Merry Christmas to you too.

So: spoke to the garage today. Long story short, it’s still being ‘looked into’ by Skoda UK. Interestingly though, they said that they had no record on their systems of anybody reporting a similar problem before. I pointed out that I had found a number of people via Online Forums with the same problem. SO: if anyone has made an official complaint/warranty claim attempt regarding cracks along the top of their headlight(s) (and not just condensation/water vapour inside the units) then please can they let me know? Any official reference numbers, dates of correspondence etc. would assist, you can PM details to me if not comfortable posting in public. Many thanks!

Can't report much on the battery on the vRS as we've only just collected it however we handed back our Tesla M3 after 4 years and 70k miles and it had only lost 30 miles in range. Our new vRS is giving roughly 3.1 miles/KWh but the car is still learning our driving style. We charged it up last night and a full charge is showing as giving 329miles. WRT to quality, the interior on the vRS is lovely. Lots of alcantara and the seats are super comfy. Ride quality is excellent however when the car is initially turned on it starts in ECO mode which makes the throttle not so responsive and the suspension quite wallowy. We have now set Individual mode to Sport on the suspension, Sport on the drive train and normal on the steering and this makes the car sublime to drive. To compare electric to petrol to diesel depends on where you charge it. If you charge at home the cost is significantly cheaper than dinosaur juice. Out and about is another matter with some energy suppliers charging an extortionate amount to charge up. If it's a company car then who cares? Just expense the costs and you'll brag to your mates in the pub that the car only costs you £20 a month BIK. We love the car. It's our first Skoda and I can say I'm very impressed by the build quality and functionality (we have 3 other cars in our household, Hyundai, Kia and Porsche). The Skoda app isn't quite as good as Tesla's but they are pretty much in a league of their own but the Skoda has old skool buttons that are great. The ADAS systems are a PITA but there is a shortcut physical button that takes you to the ADAS page and you untick 2 boxes and the systems are off. Hope it helps a little.

I found a good and reliable LED bulb to replace the incandescent DRL bulbs that doesn’t upset the VW computer program and doesn’t get as hot. The right (offside / driver’s side) bulb holder was marking up and incandescent bulb failing (left side is just bulb marking up but not as bad).. I got the LED bulbs from a good reliable source of information and products that I’ve been using and recommending to others, who had same successes, for a few years now. I’m only a satisfied customer and no more. These LED bulbs have been fitted and tested on my wife’s 2015 Fabia and no more amber-triangle-of-doom when the DRL are activated. The DRL are not required for this year of car but my wife likes to use them. Information and bulbs supplied by Classic Car LEDs Ltd – they obviously sell some for modern cars too. – https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk The LED bulbs I fitted - 12V BA15S WHITE 21W LED 4014 SMD BULB CLASSIC / CANBUS P21W GLB382 - Negative Earth - £20.03 the set of two including P&P and VAT as at today. – https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/12v-ba15s-21w-led-4014-smd-bulb-classic-vehicle-p21w-glb382 Also available in ‘warm white’ (classic incandescent appearance). - https://www.classiccarleds.co.uk/products/12v-ba15s-warm-white-21w-led-4014-smd-bulb-classic-vehicle-p21w-glb382 These are already bright but they also sell a stronger DRL bulb but as it gets as hot as the 21W incandescent bulb we both thought it not suitable perhaps for the fragile VW fittings plus the bulb I fitted is also regularly sold by Classic Car LEDs Ltd and fitted to VW Transporters so has a good proven track record of working by themselves. Instructions on how to change the bulbs are in the car’s ‘Owner’s Manual’. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models HTH.