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Parked opposite this little (literally) beauty, dwarfed by the Range Rover next to it. I really had forgotten how small the old minis were - and I, at 6’ 5”, drove one for 80k miles over five years.

i haven't washed Gandalf for almost 3 months now!! 😢 thank goodness i have color that hides the dirt well.

thanks for the info re key fobs ,have had a 2017 green fabia and now a green scala , both my keyfobs have gone through the same scenario , and as an electronic tech for many many years have some knowledge and found both keyfobs exhibiting indentical low battery warnings , what i found upon close scrutiny two marks on the underside of the battery case where the finger contacts connect very minimal signs of increased resistance which on clean up has resulted in ongoing reliability, if the fob failed away from home even removing the battery and repositioning it could achieve a result especially if holding the fob to the start button failed , hope this clarifies my previous post ps this is only my second post so i'm still learning

Hi folks! I was directed to this forum by a friend who has also been here for a while, it came highly recommended and I'm delighted to see the old forums do still exist on the internet. I've owned my 2013 Fabia since 2021, and I've decided that it really is about time I started learning how to do some of the basic upkeep myself - so expect to see a lot of me here as I encounter things that will almost certainly be incredibly easy for most of you! Thanks for reading and I'll see you around!

Think I might have ID the next motor. Merc C43 AMG Estate Fast without being pointlessly fast plus cheaper in every way than the C63.

Quick wash today so took the opportunity for some updated photos in the sunshine. More pics in the main picture thread.

After dropping a wodge on the Outback for a new battery only for the tailgate issues to immediately recur and funnily enough for a internet search to suddenly (wasn't before) flag that there is a persistent and long standing Subaru issue with a parasitic battery drain via the telematics module. Basically the car continually tries to phone home and drains the battery, the tailgate control module is acutely sensitive to voltage meaning that if the car has sat for more than a day (sometime less) the boot won't open without doing a full control module manual range reset (unlock by hand, open by hand, close by hand and jump up and down on it until the door engages fully). There is a fix and it's not hugely expensive (apparently) but I was going to move the car on anyway None of us love the car either so I stuck it on Motorway while it needs nothing major done. It's v low mileage and pretty much mint other than this known issue. But what next. I've no idea what to get even if money was no object. I'd like another estate. I'd like to it to be fast and decent to drive but also reasonably comfortable. If I had no kids I'd get a used M5 If Volvo did a decent non-hybrid motor I'd get a V90 M3 estate is a bit dear and I hate the interior (no likey flat panels much). I drove an E63s estate a while back and I think it was maybe too fast to enjoy. The ID3 has put us off VAG group I don't do many miles to fuel costs are not really an issue. Coupes are no use with the kids. I'm tempted by another RR as they were a great place to be and super practical but made from terror + Temu parts and tbh not the best to drive as it's a 3T 4x4 after all. I think I need a restomod Jenson Interceptor.

Since I had the car, every time I drove it, it has had what my wife called a rattling from the doors. I always characterised it as a creak. As the car is otherwise so quiet (especially when on battery at slow speed) it was quite noticable. After trying to narrow it down, I found a video on YouTube that described the issue exactly (but on a Lexus) - https://youtu.be/BoYCCckQdQs?si=Q549W00RwkRYLK9o The guy in the video recommended applying a product to each of the door seals and claimed it pretty much cured the issue. The product he recommended was about £15, so I opted for the cheaper version at £3.82 - https://amzn.eu/d/9bGPMFX It has worked brilliantly, and now my quiet car has become an almost silent car. If you have an annoying creak from your doors, give this stuff a try. I was very impressed.

I thought I would post about this issue where my car was holding onto third gear, initially on a random basis. I could move the lever to manual and change up as normal. There were no codes and when my mechanic tried reading live data, the car was changing normally. I tried posting on Facebook but all doom and gloom, mechatronics faulty, clutch gone, etc. My car is now 18 years old any of those repairs effectively mean scrapping the car. I had read somewhere that the gearbox takes a signal from a rear abs sensor and that these are prone to rust damage. At only £40, I tried this and fitted a new left hand rear hub complete with abs ring. Happy days, all is back to normal.

Thanks for all your suggestions and help! I'll be following up on all tomorrow. Cheers!

12V sounds low from your smart charger though, are you sure the new battery isn't borked? My new one was over 12.5V and I think on charge was North of that around 13V

My old 1.9tdi the filter and top came out no bother. My newer 12 plate 1.6tdi is a pain in the a?? you have to remove wiring and a stainless pipe to get the filter out. Thats progress for you Alasdair

Be sure to use oil to VW spec 507.00. I use Castrol Edge 5-30 LL.

PS. Note that the new filter element is marked "TOP" and is fitted the right way. Torque the cover to 20 or 25 Newton Metres when refitted. Hope this has been some help. Good Luck ! Expect it to be a messy job - wear gloves !

and again.

more pics

As Alasdair1 said. Oil Filter is a cartridge type (not the spin on metal canister you may be accustomed to on petrol engines). It is accessed from the top on this model and you will need a 32mm hex socket (not the 12 point version supplied in many socket sets as these can round off the plastic "nut" on the top of the housing.) and an extension bar on your wrench to reach it (the one I use is about 10 inches long). If I remember correctly you may need to dismount a bracket above the filter in order to get a clear space to insert the filter straight and vertical. There is an oil temperature and level detector mounted on the bottom of the sump. An oil pressure swich is mounted on the cylinder head (probably need to remove inlet air pipe to get at it.) There is a Haynes manual for this model - plenty of the "paperback" version available on eBay, or "premium" version (hardback and better quality paper and pictures) for twice the price from Haynes themselves. I will now attempt to attach some pics from the manual which may help you.

just completed a 600 mile round trip to Wales and the towing system was impeccable.. .. no alarms, no problems and car recognise it is towing and adjusts speed limid warning down by 10mph on national roads honestly can't fault it

Wait i send in View minutes a Long Code

Well I'm a week in and went for the goodyears. Everything feels a bit better. I got the tracking done on all 4 wheels too as they were all out. Much quieter though. Now I can hear all the wind noise from those panel gaps 😂

Oil filter on my 1.6tdi octavia CAYC is a cartridge type and location is at front of engine. There should be a round plastic domed housing with a large plastic moulded nut on top.

Buys 'magnetic' brown. Complains when things are attracted to it 😄

You're absolutely right. I've just bought some rubber care so I will be testing it this weekend. I'll let you know how it goes.

Turns out magnetic brown isn't quite as good. A house down the street is getting a load of building work done and they managed to cover all the cars on the road with a load of dust.

I only have one as well but the one you have fitted should be brighter. Suspect an earth fault.

White isn’t too bad so long as it’s not been too dusty. The worst is when it’s dusty and a bit wet and you get streaks above from windows from the airflow over the car.

The Octavia MK2 parts catalogue shows that build codes 2UA/L07 is a 1K0411105AQ front spring marked with either 1 violet, 1 orange, 1 blue or 1 grey, 4 blue. So the colour that looks like pink is actually violet...at least according to the Octavia MK2 parts catalogue. kilen 25061 matches 1K0411105AQ and is available for under £30 each on ebay.

@Carlston can maybe help. The Hatch and Estate rears are different.

Just an update, this is going to be resolved via Skoda as part of Warranty claim they have done. It was the motor for the flap which is stuck

Now the decrhome project is complete I thought it about time I took some more photos.

And timing chain and cam bearing issues. Just out of interest I could insure an AM Rapide S for £900. They really don't want any LR on their books do they

Hello, I just became a proud owner yesterday of a 2021 Škoda Karoq 1.5 tsi dsg sportline in velvet red. I’ve only done 50miles in it so far but absolutely love it. There is a few firsts for this car, first car to auto gearbox, first car in approx 20 years to not be a diesel and my first Škoda or VAG car.

Hi, So I am going on a long 1000mile journey so just wanted to make sure everything was up to date. I have updated the maps via sd card. I went onto the infotainment settings and tried to do a update but it says invalid licence which seemed odd as I have everything in date both subs available and everything else seems to work so thinks i have tried delete main user factory reset delete from app and started again nothing seems to have worked I can update maps with no issue well it just doesnt show anythign as everything was updated via sd and it was from skoda itself so nothing non legit. Is this somthing I am overlooking. it does say look in service management but everthing is fine there and its not on private mode ( like I said everthing else is working) thanks in advance

bigade1 Thanks again for your hard work

Thanks once again to all involved in producing and distributing this database.

@BigAde Thanks again!

thanks bigade1

Latest Updated Speedcams - April, 2026. Here goes - Happy Easter lol. Once again here's the latest update of my customised version of EUR Speedcams ( April, 2026 ). They consist of the full EUROPE speed cameras which I've split up into four consolidated poi categories i.e. Redlight Speedcams, Fixed Speedcams , Average Speedcams ( which also include European tunnel speedcams ) and Variable Speedcams. They come supplied with my own preferred personal choice of icons, shown below, to match each of the speedcam categories. Remember to Install them as I explained in the first post in this thread i.e. after extracting the zip file remember to open the newly extracted folder and place only the PersonalPOI folder and metainfo2.txt file onto your sd card ( Please Note: a usb stick will not work! ). Also, please remember to select/tick the relevant newly added poi categories and the poi audible warning alert in your infotainment map menu settings after performing the update or they will not display on your map or audibly alert you. Hope you all enjoy them! EUR Speedcams - April, 2026.zip * Once again credit goes to jungblume2005 from Gpsurl for sharing his files which I borrowed and then converted in order to make this compilation.

As Novascape said . . .

Been called by dealer for OEM towbar activation today. Car is 10/2025. After 6 hours fiddling they say that Skoda did not provide activation codes for it. I am not mad, I am furious.