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Been busy trying to finish our project and get it signed off nearly there. Mot been out much with the camera, a quick trip to Glasgow for a model railway exhibition and a few local outings.

So as not to be mistaken as a vegan, green, EV evangelist i went and bought a dirty diesel. It will see me sorted for a few years hopefull. Noisy at tick over and very comfortable and smooth driving. Well equipped.

If you look at the top of the negative battery terminal post, you can see the numbers 50 and 18. I believe that dates it to week 50 of 2018, so it looks like the original battery. They do seem to last quite well. I replaced my original battery last year at ten years old.

@lol-lol Eon Next Power-up again tomorrow but from 1pm-3pm. 30 pence being credited per extra kWh used. Today was 2pm-4pm. I see Plunge pricing with Osprey again but only 15%.

Gas price for huge commercial greenhouses in the UK is a real issue now. Just as well there are ones using solar & offpeak electric storage.

Thanks for that snippet of information, @daveo138 , not seen it said anywhere before. When I worked in a garage we always would scribe the mm/yy on a new battery both for information and in case of warranty. If this is ww/yy then mine is still on the original battery at 06/15, which is probably why stop-start is an occasional event these days. Still starting and running fine with no unexplained glitches, so will do a while longer.

I agree with the others, I suspect you'll have a challenge getting it to anything other than 50/50. In reality, of course, it's completely the fault of the SLK, and I expect you were looking for a space. That being said, you did drive behind a vehicle that already had the reversing lights on and, technically, you could have stopped. In reality it of course wasn't your fault, but I suspect it'll be 50/50 as there were steps you should/could have taken to avoid.

No, I didn't try it at all, I put it back under the radar. I gave up on the project. Thanks for the advice and help.

Forced reboot done?7

One year later, I finally have an update! Got busy with life so didn't reinstall the SW until now. The issue was extremely simple; I took screenshots of the current coding of the steering wheel under Address 16 with the old steering wheel, and just ensured that after the new wheel was installed I entered exactly the same coding. Went for a short drive after installation and the issue disappeared! Hopefully this can help someone who's being as dense as I was. Big thanks to @zacko_O for all of his help!

Well hopefully others will watch it as he describes in pretty terms exactly how type operates and their advantages and disadvantages. Also goes on to explain if choosing one for its green credentials people could be doing precisely the opposite without knowing the full facts. It is, and especially so if relying on the sales persons advice, a minefield.

I posted that as what I thought was genuine helpful consumer advice for anyone, it was not targeted at anyone specifically. I did already know that you had a dirty diesel, nothing at all wrong with that, I've had them for years and never regretted it once. 👍

My understanding is that it should be possible to replace it in-situ without removing the propshaft. Space is tight but I've seen comments that there is enough movement in the parts available to allow the coupling to be removed and refitted.

If the car is not remembering the seat setting, it will require a reset. Here's how to turn the memory seat on: 1) Pull the seat all the way forward 2) Tilt the seat all the way forward 3) Tilt the seatback all the way forward This should reset and then you will be able to set the memory.

Another preventative measure tackled over the weekend - replacing the failure prone plastic coolant vent union adaptor. The factory plastic adaptor, given it's location right next to the hot turbo, is prone to crack and failure eventually, resulting in coolant leaks or loss. After 8 yrs, turns out the plastic adaptor on Gandalf was still in good condition, including the O-ring. Replacement part is made of aluminium. I got an 034 Motorsport version, but there r plenty of other options. Whilst I was at it, I also changed the rubber hose pipe that attaches to it. Changing it is easier by removing the coilpack harness out of the way so u can easily access the vent union adaptor. That said, it is still a very tight spot being in the "valley"!! Also, have a 1L bottle of coolant ready as u'll loose a lot of coolant in the process - hence u need to top up. In my case, G12Evo (G12E050A2) Part Numbers:- Vent Coolant Union Adaptor - 034-102-Z048. Replaces factory part number 06K 121 143 Coolant Union Adaptor Hose - 06K121051M Spring Clamps - N90686701 Replacement bits.... Comparison.... Factory one removed.... Aluminium replacement in place....

Sound advice for anyone thinking about buying a hybrid. Yes, I know that he is talking about Australia, but the same principles apply anywhere. The term 'hybrid' can mean many variants and complexities, and choosing the wrong one would be bad. Warning, the video is long, but the topic is a complex one and is one that many are confused about or have the wrong impression about, so it is worth a watch in my view.

I'd still suggest it's the flexible rubber joints / donuts in the propshaft that are failing. They can look fine but the outer ring can come loose and unbalanced and the rubber will be affected by temperature and could 'soften' slightly after a drive which might tie in with your observations that things change after a short drive, or on a cold start. They are available separately from the propshaft at about £100 so would have probably been cheaper to try than everything else you've doe so far.

Have a look at the front and rear sub frames as they take the brunt of road salt. Also if possible drop out the inner arch liners at the front as you tend to get muck collect on the rear edge under the guard and corrode the front edge of the sill. Those errors are likely due to low voltage sitting at the dealer. I would ask for a new battery to be fitted. Probably overkill but might save you £200 further down the line.

Downloading the first four photos, enlarging to 200% and brightening the images I saw nothing from the rocker (valve) cover area - but my eyes and brain aren't the best. As I know you will worry about this I suggest you clean the areas, add dye to your oil and see where there might be a very small leak. You could check the torque on the spark plug(s) to easy your mind there. Really not changing the rocker cover gasket and is a bit of a misstep but I assume there was a reason you didn't supply a new gasket. Sealant on a new gasket on an old car maybe but on an old gasket possibly not so much but it seems to have lasted. ETA: it used to be said of old English engines that if oil wasn't leaking then it had run out of oil, a little bit unfair and certainly applied more to old American engines that held huge amounts of oil and drop it to the ground, more puddles than drops.

Having talked about it now and again for a while, I had these fitted 3 weeks ago to my MY2019 Karoq 1.0 DSG SE Tech. Results - well probably just about worth the £900 (£600 from Koni, £300 to fit), but maybe just a bit disappointed. They are better on sharp ridges, broken roads etc., but still firm over these and I continue to be much aware of such road surfaces. They are definitely better over speed bumps - but that's not a standard Karoq strong point. Less thumping over broken surfaces and a bit less low frequency road noise on coarse gravel finished tarmac. Possibly a bit firmer over some middle frequency road surfaces unfortunately, but more controlled over a big but smooth depression in one road near me. But they've definitely not turned my Karoq into a Citroen CX like ride - so I probably should look into a DCC equipped car sometime. Actually Koni indicate the same replacement shockers for the SEAT Ateca which may indicate something. Regarding road noise, there's one further modification I made a year ago in the boot - thumping on the spare wheel there previously would produce a sort of boom, indicating some sort of car panel vibration down there. So I placed 4 firmish foam pads between an appropriate part of the wheel underside and the boot floor and tightened the big central plastic wheel nut fastener so that the foam pads pressed firmly against the boot floor - thumping the tyre then produced a much queter and damped sounding noise and I found it was worth further experimenting with the tightness - slackening off a little led to the quietest noise and this all resulted in less road noise once on the move. The only other slight improvement in ride and road noise now likely in this car is replacing the current Hankook AW tyres this time next year when they wear out. Current thinking is Pirelli AW tyres, but I'll see if anything else interesting emerges this Autumn. As an aside, the garage who fitted the shocks noted a rattle from the brake calipers when carrying out the final road test. Nothing wrong with the pads themselves with plenty of wear left after 45,000 miles. They said certain makes do tend to do this but there are some pad makes that don't seem to rattle - he did give a couple of examples but i forgot to note these down. I do notice the caliper rattle when driving with the front windows open, but not when shut - the Karoq does very effectively isolate the interior from outside noises. While they were at it, I got the garage to do one final swap over of front and rear wheels , just to even out tyre wear. One final observation - before the works were done I used to get a vibrating noise under the dashboard over certain road surfaces, but this has now gone - maybe it's something to do with a recent change in temperature or maybe the new dampers are reducing vibration transmitted to the car.

This shows five different gearbox codes used with AWY or BMD (1.2 40kW) engines through mk1 production years. Any of them should be suited to your car, I believe. Searching ebay (or asking a scrappie) for e.g. "GSH gearbox" should provide hits, though I haven't tried that specific search as yet.

This is the ashtray in a Felicia (not mine, photo by Google) and since i don't smoke inside the car and strictly forbid the passengers to smoke (even the rear door ashtrays are sealed) i had in the past the thought to use it for other purpose. This is how it look inside when you pull it out. In the beginning i attached a parallelogram-shaped gauge (in-out temperature, voltage) and you can see how the central console was modified back then. I wasn't completely happy but those days i didn't had the money and the time to do something more but after few years i have changed the console design and modified the astray completely. I will show you the whole project step by step.

Those small led lights are ON only for a while, few seconds only. The amber for a set of extra warning light (while parking), the green for the rear camera (ON while the car is in reverse) and the blue for those extra bulbs on the front lights (that \ / shape small beam that i have discribed in the past for very dark one way roads) which are ON only for 2-3 minutes. At daylight all of them are in OFF mode.

I've moved this to the Insurance and Legal issues for larger community engagement @BionicJohn as it's not strictly a model issue. One of our insurance partner companies will also have a better chance of seeing it and may offer advice. Link to here left in the Octavia forum.

Totally the Merc at fault. Reversing out without checking what's there.

Judge Judy decided on a repeat yesterday in exact same situation the Merc driver. In your case i would say the same.

Here is how it looks since 2021: In low light and dark:

A few from yesterday afternoon at Clumber Park - they had 13😳

A good carpet of Bluebells this evening.........

You’d have been flat out then 😂. What a small world indeed.

What he said. You can also get it from Skoda but that will probably cost you an arm and a leg. Speaking from experience (as both a detailer and someone that's had water ingress issues) this detailer seems like a great guy. There are a few things I'd suggest also doing. Firstly, I'd get a couple of those reuseable dehumidifier bags. I keep three or so dotted around my car and it keeps moisture at bay. You'll want to do this to avoid any mould/damp issues (coolant aside, I presume you'll have used water to top it up). Secondly, I would ask the detailer if he could, pretty please, lift the carpets one morning and then come back the following day. You'll have to pay him a bit more, but it would be very good for everything to air out. At this point, I'd also get some APC or IPA on a cloth and just wipe down what you can. These steps are probably overkill, and feel free to ignore them - but, from my experience, once you get mould or damp in a car, that's pretty much it. You don't want that to happen here!

Came across this company when looking for carpet. They do underlay 1.5m wide per metre. Another option would be scrapyard. https://www.carcarpets.co.uk/ Alasdair

The two gauges are installed and i have changed the switches with a pair in square shape. Is this the final stage? No... 😉

Lucky enough to get close to a Heron this afternoon........ Bluebells were out in force........ And bunnies everywhere!

Hi noms, fitted a K and N a couple of weeks ago. Don’t really notice any difference to be honest with you but there again reading quite a few comments I wasn’t expecting any !!!!! It’ll out last my ownership tho’ !!! Cheers

Just bought a type C to USB converter for £1.20. From the well known auction site! Works fine . Thank you

Stage 2 really needs you to start upgrading hardware and using Super Unleaded.

Are you using OEM Plugs and Ignition coils, and what octane petrol? What have you used as an air filter? What gearbox has the car? Maybe look in the Fabia Mk3 section & the tuning thread. Has the person that does your remap not have advice to give you?

How confident are you in doing some of the repairs yoursef or do you have a competent friend who could help? Front Exhaust has a major leak of exhaust gases (6.1.2 (a)) - Does not say where the leak is but probably needs at least a new section. Better left to an exhaust place. Nearside Power steering pipe/hose excessively damaged leaking (2.1.5 (g) (i)) - Only appears to need a new piece of pipe that should be available as a pattern part, in my opinion, and not a new rack. Nearside Rear Position lamp not working (4.2.1 (a) (ii)) - Could be just a new bulb needed that you could replace Windscreen washer not working (3.5 (a)) - Needs investigation. Is the washer reservoir empty, blown fuse (does the back washer work?), a pipe come off or the nozzles blocked? Nearside Headlamp lens seriously defective (4.1.1 (b) (ii)) - If the lenses are cloudy, it does not say what is wrong with them, then polishing them externally with a mild abrasive (DIY kits are available) may be sufficient for it to pass the MOT Offside Headlamp lens seriously defective (4.1.1 (b) (ii)) - See above Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b)) - Unless you are competent this is best left to the garage to replace. Offside Front Inner Suspension arm pin or bush excessively worn Front (5.3.4 (a) (i)) - As above Parking brake lever has excessive movement indicating incorrect adjustment (1.1.6 (c)) - Could just need the cable adjusting which is a DIY fix if you are competent. Parking brake efficiency below requirements (1.4.2 (a) (i)) - Should be fixed by adjusting the cable. Emissions unable to be completed exhaust leak (8.2.1.2 (d)) - Hopefully it will pass the emmisions check when the exhaust leak is fixed. If you can do the "easy" fixes then I would ask the garage to itemise the costs of the other ones and then shop around. As regards whether you should save or scrap the car it is your decision. You would need to do some research as to what you can get for your money and the size/type of car that you need. Buying a second hand car, especially within your budget, has some risks and it is always better to take someone else with you when buying a car if only to distract the salesperson whilst you inspect it properly.

Quite misty at Rufford Park tonight and came across a lovely Frog!

Lovely (full) Moon this evening....

A few from this morning. The Robin joined us at our table!

A few from today. Thought the Great Tit was being optimistic!

Christmas card shot that one

I use a set of small jewellers screwdrivers to unlock the latches on each pin.

Couple from a very soggy Attenborough Nature reserve earlier. We were lucky enough to spot what we think is a Kestrel?

Just wanted to reach out and say I’ve created an account just to say thank you for this. Your guide was the most complete and helped with what was not a massively straight forward job. To anyone else looking for the solution this is it. Couple of things to add, on point 7 “a very small ratchet is highly recommended” I just want to reinforce that you will need to find the smallest depth right angle T20 you can for this as it is really fiddly. Als the initial trim removal requires a bit of grip and rip as the back tabs are really difficult to get out. Thanks again @TimoB

There's a seller on ebay that can supply the car's build codes for 3 Euros (about £2.60). Search "skoda vin decoder" on ebay to find the listing. skoda vin decoder https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/226517872578

Hi all, I have an 07 vrs and fitted the powerfold mirrors from a newer fl mk2. The job is as simple as it gets. Remove the door card and sail panel trim. Access the 3 bolts to remove the mirrors and unplug the electrical plug, then refit the powerfold mirrors. Then remove the door module/window motor. Replace with the new door module/motor. Then plug all the connectors into the module including the extended one from the new mirrors. At this point double check the window mechanism works correctly as it will reverse the opening/closing if on the wrong side (a mistake i made). Also check the operation of the mirrors folding smoothly. Then reassemble the door. While I was at it I fitted dynamic indicators and carbon mirror caps. Once done sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labours. You will also aquire puddle lights which I also replaced with led units. I'll try and get part numbers for everything required. And share on this post.