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Got round to this today, only a couple of months later. 😁 Tried but failed to get a decent photo of the misalignment of the cam locking tool when crank was pushed hard up against crank locking pin. But it was definitely off, no way the screw was going in. My best guess is that it was about a third of the (M6) screw diameter out, in the retarded cam direction as expected. I think that calculates out at about 4.5° which isn't far from what VCDS is saying. Engine was warm, but not at operating temp. So I think Easter weekend will see me attempt the re-alignment of the cam sprocket as mentioned a few posts above, amongst other jobs. Front right corner is making a squelchy noise recently, which I think may be the shock breathing its last few gasps. I have everything needed to swap that whole strut out, on a much lower mileage wheel bearing housing, so I may aim to get that done too.

Rear pads changed. I’d had Ferodo DS2500 front and rear but developed a squeal from the rear which I suspect is because I don’t brake hard enough to keep them clean. Heavy braking sessions would remove it but it would soon come back. Basically, unless you’re driving hard, the rear brakes are a very heathy size compared to the front so the theory is that moving back to standard rear pads will clear it. Pads are Brembo OE spec, VCDS used, tools bought, bled them after, hoping job’s a goodun.

Bought the Citigo for the Daughter. Taught her to drive in it, and she passed the driving test in a month. 😀 Had it 4 1/2 years now. Also bought an UP in 2023. ( they had stopped making the Citigo by then ) Plan to keep both. Yes, as above they are in a low insurance group, 1-2. But still not that cheap to insure once they have passed their driving test. Try some dummy insurance quotes. Thanks. AG Falco

Thanks. Had look online and it looks like these or the Mii are about the right price with the Mii being slightly cheaper so will take a closer look at some

Really good point. My DSG has clutches, no torque converter. I'm always in the gear that I want the car to be in. Quicker acceleration and gear changes. I have an auto only licence, but my first experience was driving a manual (Ford Anglia) on a farm. It came as a surprise and disappointment that I wouldn't be allowed to drive a manual on the roads. And back in the very early 1980's some of the auto's I owned had pretty dire gearboxes, making me dead envious of my mates in their manuals. But times have changed. Mrs Gaz is the same - won't go back to a manual. My Daughter passed her car driving test last year, in a manual. But her first car is an auto and she doesn't want a manual. This is despite her motorbike being a manual. I don't believe there isn't a demand for manual cars either. But I do think that demand is diminishing, and with some pretty impressive autos/DSG's out there, I can understand why. Gaz

I’d go with one of these from that list.. ( or just go straight to a furby.) I don’t know about the insurance but as a learner car they are ideal. Easy to drive, basic enough to really learn the art of driving as not many driving aids, not enough power to get in any real trouble, but will buzz along at motorway speeds too. Like learning how to drive race cars starting out in go-karts. Cheap to run. Cabin is roomy enough for the size of the car, just the boot isn’t very big. We bought missus Mac’s as an ex demo and kept it for 7yrs… Pass test, then upgrade to a furby.

Potential of fires. Good they have identified possible issues and design, manufacturing or specification issues. How many fires have there been would be 'Honesty is the best policy', as VW Group were coming away with when the Emissions Fix caught them out and no more 'Das Auto'.

I've gone from a 6 speed manual 1.4 Octavia to a 7 speed DSG 1.8 Octavia, The DSG is definitely more relaxing to drive both in town and on long journeys. Finding the 2 gear kickdown (even when not in S mode) has added fun to many roundabout exits. The biggest surprise is that the 1.8DSG actually gives a higher mpg (better economy)than the 1.4 manual.

Missus Mac is on her second DSG Arona. I’ve driven a bit, it’s not terrible, though the lag from stamping one’s foot to the box kicking down to pull away can be a tad long. But… knock it over into semi auto and prime it yourself to hold the revs where you want and it’s fine. My only gripe is my brain says if your accelerating you should be pulling the lever back to change up not pushing forward against the vehicles “g-force”. Other than that I’ve no issue with autos, May even get one next myself. Missus mac will never go back to a manual, in fact 6months after buying the first auto she was driving my car for the first time again and she pulled in after 2 miles, told me I could drive, she’d rather feel a bit car sick as a passenger than be arsed with remembering how to do gear changing. Horses for courses eh?

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When the light appears you should get a message on the maxidot telling you which bulb it is. Often with the rear lights they appear to work to the human eye but the resistance is out of spec so the ECU flags them as faulty. I had it happen a few times on the old yeti I just changed the bulbs problem sorted.

You may well be right about the profit motive. What manufacturers don't get (and perhaps I need to say this quietly, is that I would pay more for a manual compared to a DSG, or perhaps put it another way, I would pay less for a DSG. Also prepared to pay more for a car with the luxury of a manual handbrake and wouldn't risk serious money on a car with a roof made of glass.

+3 for manual, did not like the DSG when I was shopping for current Octavia - quite liked the TC boxed Passat I drove in Ontario, especially when using in manual mode. If the DSG manual mode was reversed so that it was similar to sequential, perhaps.

This afternoon the Superb had it's third replacement windscreen, so on the fourth windscreen in total if you include the original. It's now 3 1/2 years old with 120k on it and it spends lots of time on the motorway, so anything that gets thrown up off the road in front generally hits fairly hard at motorway speeds. Apart from that it's running great, the fuel consumption is starting to get better with the warmer temperatures, oil consumption is negligible, also just filled up the Adblue with roughly 15 litres, enough for about the next 20k miles.

If replacing as standard it shouldn't be too criminal costwise. I've had ATE Ceramic pads on and they are incredible for low dust characteristics - the wheels just did not get dirty for so much longer than normal pads. Basically, if it hadn't have happened in front of my eyes I wouldn't have believed it.

Now that you've mentioned the electrical glitch, for it to have happened on the same day as these problems started, you'd have to think that they're connected. I've never experienced this issue you're having, but I did encounter a host of other issues when my battery ran flat. The main one was the airbag module, it registered a fault which I was able to clear but doing so wouldn't turn out the orange light it brought up. Turns out I needed to update the software on my airbag module, although it wasn't Skoda that told me this, they'd have charged me for a new module, thankfully I got some great advice from a fella on FB who'd encountered my issue before. So yeah, could be software, or electrical etc etc. From my experience though, I wouldn't really trust Skoda to help you get to the bottom of it, by all accounts they're they're much more focused on taking your money by any means rather than helping you out.

I need to do the discs and pads on mine. A job for after pay day!

Although no biggy for that price if they only last half the time. Aside from the degree in engineering and windtunnel facilities needed to change a headlight bulb.

A Citigo is a group 1 or 2 depending on trim out of 50 so about as cheap to insure as you can get apart from the electric one that is group 12.

The wife has a 1.4 TSI DSG Octavia FL and it's a great engine, more than quick enough when needed, but also economical when driven gently, often returning 50mpg+, I would have no hesitation in recommending this engine. I have no experience of the 1.8 TSI but have heard 2013 and older versions can consume lots of oil, later ones are better, hopefully someone a bit more knowledgeable than myself may be able to clarify the 1.8 strong/weak points.

My advice is don't leave the key in the car and shut the doors, I used to do it regularly, until it locked me out of the car one day and I had to find another way home to get my spare key to open it. I've heard of the same thing happening to others too.

Make that 67 albums 🤯

I'm loving the superbs hard drive, I'm an old school cd man and I've loaded 40 plus albums so far and still loads of space on the drive, loads of albums and none of the clutter, happy days.

It has not occured since that incident

At the risk of sounding patronising, there are some videos on YouTube with tips using visual cues to help with parallel parking. Maybe take a look & find a quiet car park to practice in?

I had Park Assist on my 2013 VW Touran, it would parallel park and reverse into a normal car park slot but there had to be cars in the slots either side. In both situations the driver controlled speed and chose forward or reverse according to on screen prompts the “car” did the steering. I used it 3 or 4 times if was very unsettling as I was forever thinking it would hit something. The best thing was I learnt that rapid steering at the last minute was the key parallel parking. It did get caught out when trying to park between two Smart cars which are much narrower and it ended up on the pavement as it lined up the drivers side with the roadside of the narrower Smart car. Karoq parking sensors and reversing camera work well together and the door mirrors give a very good view. Personally I wouldn’t have Park Assist but would always have the reversing camera and front/rear sensors. There are two versions of the Reversing Camera basic (which is fine) has straight guidelines and high level which has guidelines that curve that show if you the track.

All current Edition models have front & rear sensors & a rear camera. If you want the car to park itself you need the Parking Package Plus. No idea how many used vehicles are likely to have this option.

Possible attempt to lower window when frosted up? That might pull enough current to pop the fuse .

Dont think they make any real difference. Probably only 2or3 hp. I suppose it depends how often the bonnet is open so people can see it. If its a show car then yes if its a daily driver then I wouldn't bother. Alasdair

Oh dear, now VW are recalling loads of their EVs over faulty modules on the electrics that could cause the cars to overheat and catch fire – just another in a long line of car manufacturers to do so. So what happens to the Ford models which are based on the VW's, will Ford now also issue a recall or will they just try and wing it? Ford Explorer EV: A compact SUV launched in 2024, produced at Ford's Cologne plant, sharing its core underpinnings with the Volkswagen ID.4. Ford Capri EV: A "coupe-crossover" sibling to the Explorer, which also uses the VW MEB platform and is produced in Germany. Volkswagen and Cupra battery fire recall affects 93k EVs, 2k in the UK | Auto Express

Hit an exciting milestone in the Superb last night - 20,000 miles! Only 15,000 are mine though - bought it with 5k already on the clock. So the 15,000 I’ve added to that have been from 31st May 2024 onwards.

Very helpful thanks

Last night's Moon..........

We factory specced a 2023 manual 1.5 TSi SE-L but traded it in after 27 months / 38k miles owing to 'driveability' issues and constant problems with 'creeking' suspension. A considerable discount was available for a new 1.5 TSi DSG Sportline Edition so we made the switch and part ex'd. Unfortunately after a few months we found the general ride and comfort extremely poor on the newer car (just about acceptable with the variable dampers set to comfort) and very quickly realised the DSG gearbox was not suited to our needs, as whilst it was very slick on the move it was hesitant at low speed. I considered switching the 19" wheels for 18" (from an SE-L) but as that would not have resolved our relationship with the DSG gearbox again opted to sell the car. I was quite fortunate in this regard as I was able to sell the car for only a relatively small proportion less than it had cost six months and 10,000 Miles earlier - it was clearly a good deal when purchased new! Both our Karoq's had the heated windscreen which was excellent. In the 2023 car this was specced as an extra (Winter pack+) whereas this was standard on the newer car. The 2023 car had the film type heated windscreen whereas I was surprised when the newer car was delivered with the wire type heated windscreen. Both worked equally as well although the wires are quite pronounced and I would have preferred the film type from the older car in the newer car.

Time has passed and after many repairs of the struts I decided to save some time and order new struts from china (Aliexpress). They work well even in rough nordic conditions with heavy snow and rain. So worth to consider these cheap 100€/each struts, rather downgrading them to normal gas struts.

https://www.youtube.com/@DevirSaati Try this link.

It is usually felt in 6th gear when accelerating at 2000+- rpm at the highway entrance on my daily commute to work so tomorrow I will give an update. I also have a 1993 Skoda Favorit (carbureted) and its rubber vacuum lines are so easy to deal with, I hate new stuff 😒.

Ask for the service and maintenance history (service is literally the service, everything else like haldex/dsg etc is maintenance). On DCC don’t worry about misting, worry about leaking. One of mine went at 28k and 3 years old so they’re a bit of a ticking timebomb. Good time to upgrade to something like Bilstein B6s though. Yes to DSG at 40k. Bonkers that Skoda changed it to 80k on the dq381 but I’m sure there’s a myriad of reasons some of which we know or suspect and others not. Either way, you’re right to get it done if not in the history. Sparks you can do yourself if you’ve done them before. Special technique to get the electronic connectors off the coils (fingers behind, pull towards you, push up clip with thumbs). If you have a decent independent near you with a decent reputation you trust, I wouldn’t bother with the warranty. Haldex is every 2 years so that should have been once and second this year. Make sure they clean the gauze, not just change the oil. Brake fluid I think is 3 years so should have been done. Air con service is every couple I think so same as haldex. Don’t quote me on that. The good thing is the engine is seriously good. The continental (as in tyres) turbo on the high power is good for a reliable 450bhp. The hardware is the same as the Mk8 R, 8Y S3, TTS etc etc. the different outputs are down to mapping so you can remap with what must be the best bang for buck. It’s a DNFE engine which is EA888 gen4. Not gen3. That CJXA and DNUA on the pre-facelift and any supposedly knowledgeable websites don’t realise the difference. Good luck viewing!

Thanks, i'll download the latest maps. Let you know!

Yes, that's the annoying point. There was a time when the manufacturer/designer gave you what they (often an individual) decided was good for you, then there was an era where manufacturers realised that giving customers choice was good for sales. Choice is being taken away from buyers again, other people know what is good for us. Then of course when we buy the thing or use the service we have been given little option but to buy this is being interpreted as a real consumer choice demand. Think smart products, DSGs, internet banking, EVs sure you can add to the list .... OK this might be about more than Octavias at this point

Hi all. Been driving various Euro manuals for fifty years (Renaults, Peugeots,Alfas, Skodas -even a Lancia) Loved them all. Then I needed a new estate.Guess what ? No manuals in Australia. I bought a Peugeot 508. Asin eight speed slushbox.Thought I would get used to it. No way, box was whiny and unintuitive. Steering was computer game light and feelless. Put up with it for two years and traded it in on a 2022 VRS. Bliss.I drive it exclusively in manual mode and with the DCC I can fine tune the suspension to just the way I like It. I would love a manual but down here car choices are limited.

Check the connector contacts from the cabin loom and the pins they go onto on the rear light clusters. You're looking for corrosion on one or more pins, most likely the earth which will be a brown wire usually.

Updated MIB unit to the latest software following this guide: Only visible change is the Canton logo on the startup screen. Pretty straightforward once I had found the right software to download and all done in about 40 mins.

Thank you very much for your comments. Yes, Autotrader could be an option, but I like my car, and I don't see the point of selling it just now:). When it comes to getting the right part number for the VC with anti-theft 5A, how to find it out? Just to go for the certain production dates or there is another way?

Maybe just the car industry's way of preparing/converting drivers to what might be coming along next, that EV thing. I still think that I am a "manual gearbox" person, but there again I've never driven an DSG or EV.

My vRS is my 2nd automatic after the Cupra Ateca I had before it. These are my first automatic cars and I wouldn't go back to a manual now and lots of people say the same. There might be still a demand for manual gearboxes but it's certainly decreased.

All of those errors are, as you say, linked to a fault in the ABS system. If it doesn't clear, you will probably have to read or have the codes read and go from there.

Hello, welcome to the forum. Any random faults caused by battery disconnection and reconnection should clear themselves after taking the vehicle for a short drive. Did you carry out the battery adaptation (coding) after fitting the new battery?

No sorry I forgot to take photos. it’s relatively straight forward for RHD. A bit more complex for LHD. Remove end panel from dash passenger side. Remove glovebox. 4 t20 screws across the top and one each corner. Lower it down and rest on a small bucket or box. If not you have to disconnect the wires so it’s not hanging on them. Remove ac hose from glovebox for access. Just behind the ac hose on the side of the heater box (left hand side of the central dash vents) you can see a blue plug plugged into the actuator. Remove 2 t10 screws on opposite corners. Once these are removed the actuator slides off a locating peg. You can then manually operate the white wheel that controls the flaps. Try to position it with the flat edge of the shaft in about the right position to match the actuator. With ignition off, plug in the actuator. You have a few degrees of twist available to slot it onto the shaft and then make sure it’s located on the mounting peg. Refit screws. Ignition on and run calibration on the ac. You can watch the actuator moving the flaps and arms. Check it all works then refit the bits you have removed. It’s only a 5 min job to remove glove box so if I get a chance in daylight over the next few days I’ll take some pics.

Try https://www.tayna.co.uk/ There pretty reasonable price wise and quick delivery. You would need to get battery coded though but may be cheaper. Alasdair