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Last week my elderly neighbour spoke over the fence, and told me she'd lost her gold signet ring and would I keep an eye out for it. She's lost a lot of weight recently and the ring is now too large for her finger and it must've slipped off without her knowing. Well, we looked around the garden and driveway but couldn't find it, so we'd presumed it was lost (or she'd forgotten where she left it as she's losing her memory). Just had a knock on the door and a nice lady asked me if anyone had lost anything last week, like an item of jewellery. I told her that next door had and she asked what it might be, so I told her it would be a gold signet ring. She was going to leave it with me, but I prompted her to go knock and ask to make sure. So nice lady goes next door and knocks, and sure enough she's found Flo's ring and returned it. It was on the pavement around the front of my car and she'd picked it up, but there was no one in at our house when she found it so returned when my car was there again to ask if it was mine. That's a nice start to Sunday morning. Lost property returned to the rightful owner and everyone happy.

Hee Hee! Reminds me of one of my instructors... "Only a fool breaks the two second rule but only a **** gets involved in a shunt!"

This morning I stripped out the battery to gain access to the wire. Soldered the wire back together. ABS light is now OUT on the dash, speedo is working again as is the fuel gauge. Thanks for the advice. Anyone else having the same problem look at the red wire with white tracer on the battery fuse panel that rubs on the top rad hose clip. Thanks.

Here are a few pics of mine, owned it for a few weeks now, just got round to sorting out my photobucket account haha! It's a 1.6 TDI SE L model, love it!

Post a copy of the letter to your paper friend and then have done with it. A lot of dealers do not want customers, they want consumers who just pay up and leave. You had the right to fight and got what you deserved, now take your hard earned cash to someone who might appreciate it.

Great minds....

Just waved a fond farewell to one of the most enjoyable cars I've owned. An incredibly reliable family wagon with enough oomph to surprise a good few at the traffic light GP and a good few track days. I'm pleased it's new owner is an enthusiast and I'm looking forward to seeing the next phase. Here's a clue as to the new owner...

Finally got mine finished. Fitting tomorrow.

I use it all the time and the system allows you to undertake when on ACC and below 50mph as it sees this as a jam/slow traffic but above 50 the ACC won't undertake.

64(I think) of the finest SDI hp

7 euros plus postage for a pair of socks. I wasn't aware it was April 1st already.

Watching the receptionist?

Problem is that while the car is under makers warranty you need proof of servicing with makers parts and to their schedule to make a warranty claim. Maker will make it very difficult to make a claim under warranty and impossible to get a goodwill claim after warranty has expired unless serviced by main dealer.

They are indeed ibiza seats, just extremely rare with the red stitching that's an exactly match to the Monte Carlo stitching on the steering wheel and handbrake etc.. Took me absolutely ages to find them, was posting on every Seat and Ibiza page looking for them I couldn't decide between the full leather or half leather half alcantara but so glad I went with the alcantara, it's really huggy and comfortable and not cold in winter and not hot in summer They are also heated, just not wired them up yet. Hopfully more pictures this afternoon!

Reversing camera in action - pictures from Skodacommunity.de Worth the price IMO.

280 to Christmas 90 to Le Mans 24 90 to The Ban Lift 24 to me being at Lake Garda in an Italian Rental car. Must find and restart my rental car guessing game thread Edit 363 days to Patricks day 2018 @Auric Goldfinger i fixed it

Are you serious, 1983 called and wants its leather style back.

Probably not. It sounds like you've got one of the 5 preset distances selected. Check your settings in the infotainment: Car -> Settings -> Driver Assistance. The ACC can be set to Last Distance Selected or any of the 5 distances from Very Close to Very Far. If you have one of the 5 distances set then the ACC will always revert back to that particular distance setting. Just change it to Last Distance Selected.

Engine repaired (2500 €) and everything works ok so far (400 km). One of the exhaust valves broke due to bad material which done most of the damage.. And oil consuption issue is directly linked to DI and carbon buildup in the engine, blocking oil canals in pistons (especially ring no. 3; you can see the sooth in pic bellow)... Some new TSI engines are getting double injection (DI and manifold) with 8 injectors which solves the cause of all this.. Good luck to everyone with all those TSI engines..

M'Lady looks over my shoulder. "You on the forum again? What's so interesting?". I explain that someone had asked about the official Škoda workshop procedure for an oil change. "All that chat, for a simple oil change?!" says m'Lady (who did a car maintenance course back when you had to know how to do the points); "Haven't they got anything better to do?". I couldn't think of an answer :-S

That would be good mileage for a diesel car up here. I used to get that sort of range in the Astravans I used previously (2.0 DTi and 1.7 CDTi). My fills are never more than 40-42 litres in the Octavia. And encountering traffic doesn't mean stop/start for me, it just means lower speed and, as such, less fuel used with the trip computer reading 46mpg (the highest I've ever seen it).

No, it forms part of the MAP sensor on the front boost pipe.

If not someone would Probably have one on eBay, if not a breakers would, with them being on all top spec models.

#TownGolyf

Hello all, sorry to revive an old post... I had pretty much exactly the same problem on my polo, brakes binding when hot, pumping the pedal far as poss 3 times when stopped would release them but when braking slowing down they would bind again!!! So frustrating!!! My car is a few years old now and has done 186k so i knew the brakes needed sorting!! I had new front calipers, discs, pads, new flexi hoses and new calipers on the rear..... Still the brakes were binding... Had the abs pump changed, thought we'd cracked it then binding again!!! Next step was to change the brake master cylinder to see if that would solve it, but after reading on here about servo and vacuum pumps briefly, I mentioned it to my mechanic.... He has changed the pipe which goes from the servo to the vacuum pump and it has finally fixed it!!! Apparently they have a one way valve in and when tested mine was sticking 9 times out of 10 causing the brakes to bind!! Hope this helps some of you!!

Rob, If it was my car I definitely wouldn't let your dealer apply lifeshine or any form of Polish or wax for that matter. With the best will in the world they won't give your car the time and care it takes to apply a professional long life coating , more than likely apply without due care and attention and put swirls all over your paintwork. I would try and claw back the cost of the lifeshine protection from them and either go to a local professional detailer and get them to do a full protection detail or buy the products yourself and apply in your own time. I wouldn't even let them wash it tbh, I collected mine with some of the transport protective sheets still on the car.

Oh and my own feedback on performance and economy. If I'm touching the vRS performance pedal occasionally ( like an overtake / accelerating hard ) then I can expect it to hit 30mpg or less. If you are more sedate ( or forced to be eg. traffic conditions congestion below the speed limits, having to cruise with traffic ) the longer term its easier to see the 45mpg that Skoda claim Its thirsty as a petrol if you are planting the pedal. So what mpg you get is inspired by the driver

If I were you I would do it myself. I have always done my own servicing for over fifty years, then you can be happy knowing it was done.

You know me too well

Bosch plugs suck, I've always used NGK Iridium, better quality control and they last 2-3 years.

Within the speed limit naturally.

Nope, different numberplate.

has anyone replaced their DPF? Looks as though generic ones are about £300 plus vat + fitting

Red Mk1 Octies are hard to beat

Garland Skoda motors in Aldershot has FL in their show room too

I can't answer for BillyJim, but are you sure you're not just used to unintentionally tailgating? I generally have my DCC set to two bars back from the car in front. It's a healthy gap, but nothing ridiculous if you count the seconds between you. I wouldn't consider the closest setting to be 'too far away'. Regarding people tailgating you to 'speed up'... Your speed surely won't change regardless of how close or far you are from the car in front. By that I mean you're still doing 70mph (for example) whether you're up the next car's arse or you're three seconds behind it. I do know what you mean, though, about some poor drivers who imagine that if you're not dry humping the car in front then somehow you're costing them 'progress'. Don't let them bully you forwards provided you're making reasonable progress and aren't lane hogging. There's nothing wrong with keeping a healthy zone of relative safety between you and the car in front - much more so, ironically, when you're being tailgated and/or pressured from behind!

Well, some bad news for the Fabia, its time is limited. I've been toying with several ideas over the past few months and even bought a couple of MX5's which I was going to amalgamate in to a dedicated track car, but that idea has been scrapped. I've now bought an Ibiza Cupra. Plan is to take the good bits of the Fabia and stick them in/on the Cupra, strip it, cage it and have it has a dedicated track/fun car and get a sensible plodder daily with enough beef to tow (X-trail looks likely). The Cupra will be stripped of its body kit and standard bumpers will be fitted, so I'll retain the same stealth theme, but starting off with a car that's a good chunk lighter is certainly going to help on track.

Gone back to the stock cans on the R Nine T, they are Akrapovic anyway, added some Rizoma tips and ditched the noise control flapper valve and baffles and a new Z8 rear tyre, it's been a busy 24hours Also got these on the K1600 as well

Cars without turbos don't benefit anywhere as much from remaps. Going from something like 260hp/350Nm to 285hp/385Nm is not worth the cost of remapping in my opinion but each to their own.

Got to know the car a bit more today. Activated everything I could find on VCDS so have cornering fogs, alarm beeps, etc. Thought I had sorted anti-hijack but it doesn't seem to be working so need to re-check. Decided that I would change the oil as even though it was serviced by the dealer I just couldn't trust they had used the correct oil. Good job I did this as I took well over 5ltrs out of the engine, the level was way over the full line on the dip stick. Also changed the fuel and pollen filters. Had another delivery as well today - my bargain Octavia 3 VRS multifunction wheel As you can see it is a full column so have the stalks, look clock ring etc. I think it was a bargain at £95 delivered compared with bare steering wheels that are going for well over £200. Just need to source a new airbag for it.

Not 100% necessary, but if you have to get about every day or depend on getting around for work/live up in the hills etc. then they are essential. Don't knock them until you try them. They are remarkable, you can almost drive normally in snow and stop instead of risking your own life and everyone elses on summer tyres. However Michelin cross climates will probably suit a lot of people now, negating the need/expense of 2 sets of tyres. Skoda offer all season tyres as a factory option.

Thank you for your replies. I have a mk1 vrs at the mo that my wife uses for work. She does about 25k a year but that is soon to rise. We have looked at low mileage ones, 2013/14 so hopefully egr has been done. No worries about dpf as car will certainly get used.

Trust the advice here and avoid the rabbit hole as it's very deep The life cycle of most people You start off by just by taking car to the local hand wash or jet wash then ..... You then invest in some basic wash and wax and a wilkos bucket and sponge and probably some turtle wax At some point some one will treat you or you may treat your self to some autoglym super resin polish you spend hours polishing and polishing the car and stand back in amazement how good your car looks heck you will even look forward to the car getting wet so you can see the water beading off as well as looking down on people's flat boring paint with water just sitting in the surface and then it happens ...... You start the lifelong quest of trawling detailing world forum reading post after post of "which is the best polish " which is the best this and that You start buying different products and the lowly bucket and sponge on one shelf in the garage is replaced with 2 buckets, wash mitts endless shampoos,waxes and polishes on numerous shelves You then become a stickler for a certain brand for a certain task all the time you Google search history is overflowing with meguairs menzama Poorboy's and all the brand names Then you ask the wife if she wants her car doing even though she won't notice the difference and will say "oo that's clean without realising you have iron x and clayed the paint and poured your heart and souls to try and impress her with your new detailing prowess then you offer to do your parents car who give a similar response and then go to the hand carwash next visit to save you all that trouble again then your mare who seems to buy a used car every 3 months that looks like it's been reversed through a thorn bush and is full of scuffs and swirls you seem to offer to *detail his car for him " you revel in the challenge so you treat yourself to a da machine as you think it will be a quicker process and the whole cycle of searching for the best product begins again All the time that lowly shelf in the garage that was happy with a bucket a chamois and a bottle of wash and wax is now creaking under the strain of your new hobby Go for it

That's always the case if your car DOESN'T fail. So many endorsements claim a product has saved them from a mechanical failure and is used to further promote its mystical power.

Tomatin legacy. Hmmm.

at -8C ambient, it says 0.6l/h. Nothing on except the fan at 1 bar, though that was not completely warmed through. Will have a check tomorrow after work, that car park is normally at 15C, which should be more accurate. - Bret

Hi, I have done about 60,000 miles and the rear brakes are wearing thin. I have not had to change them on this car before but I have changed them on a Vauxhall Nova many years ago. The front pads are still about 4mm but they are a fair bit bigger with double vented discs. The rears are smaller with only single discs. I was informed on the last service that the rear pads were <10% so I have changed them and below is some hopefully useful information. I was quoted aboubt £140 to change the rear and £140 to change the front by the main dealer. I ordered some pads from http://www.ebcbrakesdirect.com by putting in my Registration but unfortunately they were the incorrect type. I had not removed them at the time I ordered so I didn't know this until I had removed a pad. For future reference I will not trust the sites that ask for my reg! Edit: It is important to be careful when using your reg to order parts. VAG cars can have different parts in them from the lists that must relate to the reg. This is perfectly understandable but the websites selling you parts do not inform you of this when you are ordering. You will have to do cross checking from other websites or check the images carefully to ensure you will get the correct parts. In the service book and under the mat in the boot there is the big list of all the three figure codes of the bits in your car, amongst other things in the codes are the brakes. There is a forum post somewhere which links to an explanation if you type in the codes. After removing a pad I took it to Halfords who could order me some in at about £45 so I went to Unipart who initially brought me the incorrect pads based on my model (these were the same as the incorrect pads I got from EBC) then they found the correct pads, I am not sure how they got the correct pad part number. Wrong pads from EBC = DP1497 = £28 - I'll have to return these.. :( Edit: I returned them to EBC which cost me £5.60. After a lengthy email exchange with much complaining they agreed to credit me the original purchase amount plus the carriage. I had to wait three weeks (they said 14 business days, disappointing they can charge immediately and take 3 weeks to refund when it was their mistake) for the credit which was sent minus the return carriage. I had to contact them again and the reason given was that the credit could only be the same as the original purchase. They did refund the £5.60 three days later so I am not out of pocket except for the wasted time. I am not saying that you should not use EBC as if I had taken more care to ignore their reg system and find the parts myself the initial delivery was swift and I have no reason to doubt the product quality. Correct pads from Unipart = GBP1568 = £25.66 including Mintex Cera Tec Brake Lubricant (Apparently we don't use Copper Grease any more..) Laser 1314 Brake Caliper Piston Re-Wind Tool = £15.50 from Amazon - vital! When the caliper is pushed back there will be fluid returning to the reservoir. It was only serviced recently and the reservoir is already on maximum. I removed several childrens Nurofen syringes of brake fluid from the reservoir into a Nutella glass: Very important to have the vehicle on completely flat ground as we will need the handbrake off while it is jacked up. Take the handbrake off and make sure the car does not roll forwards / backwards. Loosen the wheel nuts while the wheel is still on the ground. Jack the car and remove the wheel completely. The caliper is held onto the wheel by 2 x 13mm bolts locked on with 15mm nuts. These are behind the caliper and you'll need a big spanner or socket set. Loosen the 15mm nut and hold it still while undoing the 13mm bolt. Tools This picture is taken looking backwards towards the wheel inside the wheel arch. Unhitch the hand brake cable from the caliper The caliper will be tight on the disc so I used a screwdriver to lever the pads back far enough to be able to lever the caliper off the disc. The pads are not held in the caliper they should be left on the disc and should be easy to lever off. img_3875 - Not much pad left here! Wind the piston in using the tool. You need to engage the pins on the end with the sockets on the caliper piston and tighten the plate against the other side of the caliper. You have to hold the knurled bit still while winding the tool in. After a bit of winding the tool will be loose and you need to wind in the knurled bit some. If you tighten the knurled bit too much then the winding bit can become too difficult to turn so just loosen the knurled bit off a bit. You need to carry on and on until the piston will go back no further and the boot is compressed right up. imag1154 imag1155 imag1156 imag1157 imag1158 imag1159 imag1160 imag1161 imag1162 imag1163 imag1164 imag1165 imag1166 imag1167 imag1168 imag1169 imag1170 imag1171 Put the new pads on and apply the Cera Tec liberally to the rear of the pad and the face of the piston. imag1173 imag1174 imag1175 imag1176 imag1177 imag1178 imag1179 imag1180 imag1181 imag1182 imag1183 Slide the caliper back on and lock the 13mm bolts and 15mm tightly back onto the caliper. imag1185 imag1186 imag1187 Fit all the wheel bolts back in and screw in hand tight. Lower the jack and apply the handbrake and torque the wheel nuts or tighten them soundly. Go for a test drive!

This did not work on my MY11 superb combi. I will endeavour to see if there is another way to do this after I get my own VCDS. Thanks for the advice/help though. Paul