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Hello there folks, 71-year old newbie here from Bristol in the UK. Confessions first; I currently drive a 2016 Mercedes E-class - no don't shoot me yet - but am looking to change that for a Skoda Superb in the very near future. I'm not much of a petrol head and look upon cars as a means of transport for me and the wife, who is disabled. I bought the E-class a few years ago as it has the biggest boot of any estates available in the UK and is able to swallow the wife's mobility scooter whilst leaving the rear seats up and useable. TBH, it has been a lovely car to drive, comfortable with good performance but just about the most unreliable car I've ever owned and I've finally decided it's time for a change, hence my membership here. The Superb has a boot that is just marginally smaller than the E-class and that (along with the excellent reviews it gets) is my over-arching reason for choosing it. Having said that, I'm hoping I will come to love the Superb as a reliable, comfortable car so that we can continue to enjoy European holidays without the worry about whether we will we make it home again 🙂 My interests are photography, mostly wildlife but I am also a photographer and web site manager for Green Street Racing Club - a group of real enthusiasts that attend track days and support Mission Motorsport (the armed forces motor sport charity). The support for MM is important to me as I'm an ex-Army veteran with 29 years of service. When not clicking a camera shutter I also enjoy road cycling.

Could be a defective new caliper (not common but not impossible) although might be pads that are tight in the carrier. Have had some that were slightly too large and were very stiff. Slight file of the edges and sorted it. Make sure area the pads sit in on carrier is clean and free from rust etc and check pads arent too tight. Also check the rear wheel bearing for roughness and play as well and make sure the discs are running true and not binding at some point. If the bearing or disc isnt running true it can cause disc to bind and heat up/wear pads Alasdair

Spotting the Kingfisher is (almost) becoming a daily occurrence!

UPDATE: took off drivers side wheel and arch liner. Saw the latch cable in the gap behind the headlight. Fished it out and gave it a good yank and it popped the bonnet/hood. The junction box of cables had come apart. Closed it in place and it seems to be working now.

Lovely light just before sunset this evening And a clear sky now

Apparent low numbers of EV fires occurring in the UK from the couple of million plus registered in the UK. We are where we are. No word of a scrappage scheme yet and banning them from the roads.

Galano has a TCU tune specifically for FWD, which uses Boost-by-Gear to get the power down. It does a pretty good job at it. I was getting more axle tramps back in the days with my APR Stage 1 !!! This Galano setup does an amazing job, despite pushing way way more power through the front wheels now.

And the winner was the older car, for the simple reason, the other one was sold before I could make my mind up. I just need to sell my 2014 Focus Zetec diesel, anyone interested? Thanks for all your input.

Couple of shots from today. Revisited a railway bridge previously snapped and went up to the firth of fourth.

That was no passengers - only a full boot and roofbox. This is the empty height.

Good choice as you can't beat an old school PD engine as with annual oil changes they run forever, I got rid of my PD140 at 200k and it was still running strong.

Thanks for the welcome. I'm sure I will have lots of questions in the next few weeks. It's a close run thing between the Superb and the E-class for boot space. They actually have the same 660ltr capacity but the Merc is slightly wider between the wheel arches and when looking for a car to accommodate my wife's mobility scooter every mm counts 😁

Welcome to the forum. I thought the Superb was actually biggest in class for rear space.

I'm guessing that the new calliper when fitted along with new pads, was free to rotate when everything was "buttoned up". If necessary fully retract the calliper, I know that recon'd callipers come with the instruction that they have been already correctly retracted and so don't do anything to them - but I've always redone the "fully retract" just in case and not had any issues.

Not standard on VRS in UK unless you option the leather seats.

I would say my feed and return pipes were leaking relatively badly, so I suspect it will be improved but I’ll report back. The engine was rocking back and forward on the mounts in time with the hunting so there was a link between the hunting and the rocking / odd noise

I’ve checked the handbrake several times it’s in the right position when released and engaged. I’ve also had the handbrake cables disconnected and gone for drives, and had the same results very hot OSR brake.

Superb did a great job being loaded up for camping. However I am thinking the rear springs and shocks could do with a refresh as it was looking very low whilst loaded up.

Welcome to the forum. How did you determine that the handbrake isn't causing the OSR brake to drag?

Door cards are different and manual window winder mounting is as well (different location) so check there are mountings in your door for electric motor etc. Sons is a mk1 55 plate with electric front windows and central locking. It may be easier/cheaper to swap doors? Alasdair

I haven't had much experience of the earlier, CAN-based set-up, but I can try to help. Not sure if manual window cars will have the CAN wiring pair going to each car-side A-pillar connector, presence/absence of the pins may be visible by phone camera if not by eye. I'm on the road today, but may have some time to look at wiring info later, or you could download it yourself from the available list here: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/files/file/76-mk1-fabia-workshop-manuals/

Yeah they’re the brackets I got that didn’t fit! It’s not claiming to be an OEM copy. It’s very much an aftermarket universal kit. But I bought OEM brackets in the hope of using them as a mounting point for the aftermarket sensors so I could drill into the plastic of the bracket rather than the metal of the car. Managed to drill out the bracket from the kit to mount on one of the studs on the car so no drilling of car required.

Ours did a spurious alarm recently, that we think was actually probably a genuine trigger of the internal monitoring system by one of the roof blinds 'opening itself'. If yours have a tendency to not always stay shut, the same event may have caused yours. Steeply sloping driveway might increase chances of a blind overcoming the little magnetic latches? To disable alarm, I believe the best way may be to remove it from the 'installation list' of modules fitted, using VCDS. No physical changes would then be required. Haven't tried this myself though.

My alarm sounded one afternoon and I unlocked and locked the car. As a precaution I used a vacuum cleaner and used the brush tool and sucked the vents near the interior light switches. Might have sucked out an insect as no more alarm sounding since

Not an old debate but industry data coming out all the time. Data from a few weeks combining several large studies of car fires, first webpage below .... Simple summary is that EV fires are far less common, by a factor of as much as 80 but when they do go, if not checked by the standard fire fighting tech for EVs ie fire blanket, then consequences can be bad. EV fire blankets are now big business ie multi million pound business in many countries and supported by numerous industry big firms. One of our multi million pound UK firms is Fire Cloak of Sheffield. Link and demo of use below the EV fire risk data webpage... Energy Saving TrustAre electric vehicles a fire risk?Current research indicates that the chance of an electric vehicle catching fire is considerably lower than petrol or diesel vehicles.Fire Cloak™Fire Cloak™ – EV Fire Blanket – Contain Lithium Battery F...Protect against EV fires with Fire Cloak™, the electrical vehicle fire blanket that deploys in seconds, contains lithium battery fires, and safeguards people, vehicles and property.

Same here with a Seat Mib2 high running on the Seat FeC this time.... so Xmas comes early.

I had two scraped Karoq alloy wheels, one of which had been previously repaired and repainted, and the surface was beginning to have whitre blemishes. I had them repaired for £144 each, however it did take 2 days. They look fine!

Yesterday I drove 80 miles and so far so good. All dry around the expansion tank, coolant level dropped a bit but id expect that for the first few days. I am hoping this has resolved the issues. So to summarise issues, Hunting and canting engine Coolant loss Lots of "soot" out the exhaust Occasional whisps of white smoke from the exhuast No loss of performance was noted No error codes I started with the EGR cooler as I didnt have coolant escaping from the reservoir, this was tested for leaks and confirmed to be bad so it was replaced. This made coolant spill out of the reservoir. We spent some time looking at heating / cooling elements like radiator and confirmed a bad thermostat and a possible charge air cooler leak, the latter was suspected as it was quite wet in the cooler. As we were taking the cooler off to replace the thermostat we also replaced the charge cooler. None of this resolved the complaint so we did and sniff test and confirmed combustion gasses in the cooling system, the earlier test did not show this as a concern. I suspect the EGR cooler was releasing pressure and gasses into the exhaust. We chose to bypass the EGR cooler to test if it was a new bad part but the issues remained. So we pulled the head and confirmed there was spots where it was likely that the HG had failed, head tested and confirmed to be okay. Car rebuilt, all conditions, hunting engine and canting is resolved, smoother drive and generally a nicer place to be. So, what does all of this mean, how do you know if its HG failure? I would say the easiest way is if you are getting a hunting / canting from the engine and or an subtle but odd "cracking" type noise that cycles with the canting / hunting of the engine. This points to head lift and gasses escaping into the coolant. The big issue here is that other components could have failed hiding the biggest issue so ultimately a process of detailed diagnosis needs to be undertaken. If you are reading this and want any advice please reach out as I am happy to help as this has been quite an experience and I now feel like I know quite a bit about these engines! So for now that closes out this diag and fix thread. Thanks.

I had to get my MK3 280 4x4 L&K wheel alignment checked after I noticed some really bad rear tyre wear soon after I got the car at 2.5 years old. The inner tyre shoulder was down to the canvas on on both rears. However, there was still 3-4mm of tread depth on the outer shoulder & majority of the tyre tread. Very difficult to see the inside tread wear from outside the car unless you get the car up on a ramp or get under it. I took mine to a local alignment specialist with a 4 wheel Hunter setup. Apparently it's a well known issue with many VAG group cars that use the same back end suspension & the factory isn't that precise on how they set up the camber at the rear. Mine was out by quite a few degrees. Not had any rear tyre wear issues since (6 years & counting).

New MHI2 P470 (2027) maps were released by VW. The content.pkg contains the following FECs/FSCs: 02300040 (Audi), 09300002 (VW), 08300002 (Skoda), 07300040 (Seat), 06300040 (Porsche), 03300040 (Bentley). This also means they'll run on Skoda no problem, as per usual. Link to the maps on the VW servers: https://navigation-maps.volkswagen.com/vw-maps/Update_25_26/P470_N60S5MIBH3_EU.7z

Comparison shots of Gandalf evolving over the years - from brand new to now.

Comparison shots of Gandalf evolving over the years - from brand new to now.

Here's what I got with a plate of welders mask glass taped to my Pixel 9a

Yeah replacing the sensor resolved all the issues. Think the one I got was from Euro Car Parts.

The Kamiq alloy rims from the standard Skoda parts catalogue are very expensive...perhaps 2.5 times the price of the same wheels (except for the OEM part number) from the Skoda alloy rim accessory catalogue. However, not all factory alloy rims are matched in this accessory catalogue...but it's worth checking. Skoda alloy rims with OEM part number format xxx601xxx are from the standard parts catalogue, whereas Skoda alloy rims with OEM part number format xxx701xxx are from the accessory catalogue. These can be ordered from any VAG parts department by quoting the relevant OEM part number. Alloy rims from the accessory catalogue and standard parts catalogue (Kamiq) https://www.skoda-parts.com/catalog/kamiq/spare-parts/accessories/wheels-steel-aluminium/aluminium-wheel-578.html

To help understand what ADAS is, the below information was found using AI...However, I doubt replacing or repairing a damaged alloy wheel would require ADAS (if any is fitted) to be recalibrated. In VAG (Volkswagen Group) cars, ADAS stands for Advanced Driver Assistance Systems. It is a collection of electronic safety and comfort features—utilizing front cameras, radar units, and ultrasonic sensors—designed to monitor the vehicle's surroundings, warn the driver of hazards, and actively intervene with braking or steering to prevent accidents. Common VAG ADAS Features Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC): Maintains a set speed and safe gap from the vehicle ahead. Lane Assist: Tracks road lines and provides steering input to keep the car centered. Front Assist / Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB): Detects sudden obstacles or pedestrians and applies brakes. Side Assist / Blind Spot Monitoring: Warns of vehicles hidden in adjacent lanes. Park Assist: Automates steering inputs during parallel or bay parking. Importance and Maintenance in VAG Vehicles Safety Compliance: Meets modern UK and EU vehicle safety mandates. Precision Calibration: Requires specialized diagnostic alignment whenever a windshield, bumper, or radar sensor is replaced or repaired.

Didn't bother with the eclipse, decided to continue with a series of shots of the ECML

@Coral-C - I feel for you, having endured the misery of Lloyd Group for the past few years. Excellent at the beginning but then lost all.of their good employees and became so bad it was best described as 'dark comedy'. To be fair, they recruited a new Service Manager and he has tried to turn Lloyd Kelso around with a degree of success. The dealership even issued a public newsletter by email to their customers apologising for what went before. Thing is, at approx. £170 per hour labour and the usual 'premium badge tax' associated with Land Rover, it hurts even more than similar poor service from a mainstream franchise garage. My Skoda dealership is West End Skoda in Edinburgh. They are a privately owned group of just three Skoda dealerships which are all based in Scotland. They have been very fair, respectful and gracious as we worked through the rejection of Rosie 1 back in March. My Senior Sales Executive is also excellent and he has messaged me every month on or around the 1st with an order update. It feels personal. The Sales Manager is also a good guy and both have worked at the dealership for many years. Continuity and consistency are severely underrated these days. They're not perfect but who is, especially in the world of car sales, and so patience is needed in the relationship. The caveat is that I have no experience yet of the aftersales service since we haven't collected Rosie 2 yet. That's crucial because the folk in the service team are the ones that really matter for the long-term ownership experience. When we visit for our own personal PDI, I hope to spend a few minutes chatting with the Service Manager and perhaps a member of his/her team. What I can say is that this dealership doesn't have a 'hostess welcome' person (Edinburgh Audi) whose sole job purpose is to greet you on entry and simply show you to a seat - this lady must have had a substantial clothing allowance included in her remuneration package because she always looked stunning! Neither do they have a receptionist which initially feels odd until you realise that our experience of dealership receptionists is simply to try and transfer your call before telling you that the line is busy and they will ask someone to call you back, which has a less than 50% hit rate. At Lloyd Kelso, I was on first name terms with the receptionist who was a very kind lady and who eventually couldn't apologise sincerely enough for her colleagues after many weeks of no returned calls. We made it a game in the end and laughed together at the utter stupidity of the whole process. At West End, you choose the department you need on your keypad and get straight through - no call centre,no receptionist and no hostess service. And no £170 per hour labour charges! That's refreshing. No palacial glass and marble showroom which attempts to shrink you in the way a global bank's HQ attempts to do (here's looking at you, RBS Gogarburn before you crashed the economy in 2008 with your subprime loan book and over extended debt). Smoke and mirrors. West End is a decent, real world kind of place which feels normal.....and the toilets are spotless, always a good sign! But we shall see how collection goes and the follow through thereafter. Honestly, I'm not asking for much: an unspectacular but straightforward customer journey will be just fine. No ribbons, no dustsheet reveal, no fanfare. Just a Sales Exec who is happy to help me set up my user account with Rosie and a bunch of experienced, salt of the earth technicians who understand what the strainer is on the Haldex 4x4 system. Substance matters, gloss is superfluous. I will let the Briskoda Community know how it all goes, including the follow through with the all important team in the service department. Hope this has been helpful! David.

Quick shot in the field, i did drag my sideskirts on the ground just a bit 😁

Your feet activate virtual pedal. Mine does the same.

So Gandalf came back today, transformed into a Stage 3 machine!! A very nice upgrade, which I'm enjoying a lot more than the Stg 2 upgrade. It's still early days, but it just keeps pulling and pulling and pulling. Dyno reveals a nice healthy 297 kw (403 hp) 550 Nm at the wheels power. Mine being a FWD, the Galano boost-by-gear is working overtime, but doing a good job, to put most of that power through the front wheels. The car can break traction in 3rd gear if push really hard!! Upgrade involved:- Garrett Powermaxx GT2260S Stg 1 turbo Galano Port Injectors 1050cc HPFP T-Piece and Bung for split system NGK-R - Spark Plugs - Stage 2/3 Galano Pro ECU Stage 3 with TCU Upgrade Because of the turbo upgrade, they flushed and put in new coolant, as well as the engine oil and filter. Likewise wheel alignment was also done. I'm enjoying the drive a lot more now. Turbo has more drama now with whines and spooling noises. Dyno.... Pic of the Powermaxx turbo n the bits it came with... Marketing of the Powermaxx turbo..... Fitted.....

Hi all, I’ve owned my Skoda for 18mths and up until a a few months ago, it was all plain sailing. I will ask questions on the relevant pages in regards to my recent issues.