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

Thanks for the replies all. After a month I finally got the second key, which meant I had to go back to the garage, a trip of 83 miles, so it could be co-ordinated in, took an hour. Free of course. I had to chase them a bit but all's well in the end.

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.

Car was MOT'd this morning. Passed with no advisories. 😁

Getting back to the truth about electric cars,If you are fortunate enough to have a driveway, solar panels, and battery storage, you have essentially won the system. You get to fuel your car for next to nothing, and some people can even brag about getting paid to use their electricity. But out in the real world, this setup is creating a massive economic divide, and it is driving a deep, stubborn resistance to abandoning petrol and diesel cars. The current strategy focuses entirely on throwing money at discounting expensive new cars, but that misses the fundamental problem. Having vehicles that are only cheaper to fuel for the relatively wealthy does not encourage mass sales. Think about the actual running costs. If you can charge at home on a smart overnight tariff, you are paying a fraction of what it costs to run an ICE car. But for the millions of UK households with no off-street parking, like people in terraced houses or flats, home charging is impossible. They are forced to use public rapid chargers, which makes an EV significantly more expensive to run than a standard petrol or diesel car. To make it even more unfair, the government charges full VAT on public electricity but only a reduced rate if you plug in on your own driveway. Before anyone replies saying "but there are public night-time tariffs" or "you can find slow kerbside charging that equates to diesel price," that completely misses the point of how people actually use cars. A working family or a commuter without a driveway shouldn't have to wander the streets at midnight or leave their car plugged into a slow lamp-post three streets away just to match the cost of diesel. For a mass transition to work, we need rapid charging that is easily available for all, everywhere, at an acceptable price. Expecting people to jump through logistical hoops just to achieve price parity with an ICE car is unrealistic. When normal working people look at the current setup, they don't see progress. They see an elite lifestyle choice that is financially toxic for them. Seeing wealthy owners boast about free fuel while rapid public charging remains extortionate just creates resentment and a stubborn determination to stick with ICE cars. Instead of targeting money at discounting new cars, that funding should be spent bringing the price of rapid public charging down to fair levels. If government money was used to subsidise and cap public charging tariffs so they actually matched home rates, the economic argument to switch would become undeniable for everyone. It would also instantly spark life into the second-hand market where normal people actually buy their cars. Until we fix the running costs and accessibility for people who don't have a driveway, the mass EV transition is going absolutely nowhere.

Yep, I never thought I'd change from an RS, but my car has passed the 3 year boundary and will soon want an expensive service, discs and all sorts of TLC. Throw in the increasingly expensive fuel, VED and the fact that I'm getting older, I've now lost my parents and dog I've decided to have a change and go electric! I'm not leaving the Skoda fold though, I'm getting a Elroq Sportline 85 instead, had a test drive and I was very impressed with it, it was smooth, comfortable and airy. Also it's going to be cheaper to "fuel" at home and with a broadly similar range to what I get from my RS now it was a no brainer for me. My RS leaves me at the beginning of December.

It’s a slippery slope. Then when you’ve exhausted the cheap parts you move on to more expensive projects! I’m fast heading towards the only thing left to do is order an eibach pro kit and lower it! Then I’ll have to convince the Mrs she needs things for her kodiaq!

Been having no luck trying to capture the lightning and finally got one!

As others have said the bushes may pass an MOT but they really only fail when they tear, so overtime they degrade and crack and become soft (much like me it seems), refreshing the bushes is a good place to start. There are so many on these cars I would start with ARB bushes and then look at things like swing arms etc. I had mine on the ramp recently and I was looking at the state of the bushes and thinking I should probably start a refresh as they are looking a little worse for wear after 11 years.

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

First time ŠKODA owner here. Went all the way to Colchester from our home by Loch Ness to pick up a Octavia diesel estate which was pre registered with 31 miles on it. It had the premium winter pack which I really wanted as handy up here in the cold weather. Hope to get a few tips on getting the most out of the car. First impressions are really good. Great quality and drives really well and averaging almost 70 mpg on a run. Martin 👍🏻

Best I could manage with a cheap Amazon cardboard and plastic solar filter And the sunset after the moon made way

Seriously - being in the industry - you must be stark raving bonkers to think that full self driving vehicles are 'the near future' for much of the population. Yes there are a few places where they are being trialled but not without faults / problems and only in very small geographical areas. Whilst the industry (and certain well known billionaires) are prone to make extravagant claims they don't currently stack up and don't reflect reality. There is then the issue of interior cleaning / sterilisation etc. between users (eg the drunk coming home from the pub who throws up int he back, or the person going to the hospital with a contagious disease). Add to the above a human being's natural self preservation instinct and lack of trust, plus the differing nature of many parts of the UK (many don't live in cities which are where full self drive will be commercially viable) and we're decades away from it.

Mate saying goodbye to his 89 year old 500 bhp Ford Tudor: Off to a new home and owner. I'd always marvelled that there was enough room between the tyres (ran at 18psi) for an axle and a diff. 😎 Gaz

We went to Nymans, near Haywards Heath, this afternoon. I was watching bees busying themselves, and took this snap, which I quite liked: Gaz

The bushes may look ok and get through MOT but overtime they get worn out with too much play. Did my old volvo years ago as it was like driving a boat. New bushes all round and it was like new again. Went for standard rather than poly mainly due to cost. Maybe start with antiroll bushes and take it from there. Alasdair

So I've had the car four weeks now. Replaced the leather sides of the DSG knob as they were worn with some Ali Express specials. Sorry no photos but they fitted fine. Also replaced the door puddle lights with some LED units, bit chavy but hey-ho. Had to take the passenger door card off as someone had previously been there before and the cable was way too short. Sorted now though.

Got the blind spot project to 95% complete this afternoon. All wires run in and loomed up to protect them. Boot trim came out to run cables and all power and indicator lights connected up and all working well. Not the most elegant finish just yet but this is proof of concept stage. Final bits to finish this bit is to tap in to the rear light feeds so the BSD indicators flash at you if you are indicating whilst something is in your blind spot. Just waiting on some posi taps to come for the connection points. Then if I’m happy with how it operates , next step is some experiments with the multimeter to check how the standard LEDs operate and then see if they will run the OEM BSD indicator LEDs. If they do then wires will be run in to the doors and OEM LEDs installed in the mirror housings so that it looks standard.

# ECE 2026.06 29.2 Gb version":{"major":1167955,"minor":26030,"build":1},...,"catalog_version":52 261E0 Škoda portal: https://updateportalmaps.blob.core.windows.net/maps/OI_P177_EU_202630_Offline_Update.zip Files inside: 2026.05.27 Downloadable: 2026.08.19 Published: 2026.--.-- # ROW 2026.06 - - - Previous threads: -> 2026.02 -> 2025.02-06 -> 2024.06

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.

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

Finally, it lives. First start and test drive complete no obvious leaks and its does feel better to drive. Something we both noticed was previously the engine was hunting and canting back and forth a bit, that’s all gone as is an odd noise it was making. I feel like that could well have been the head lifting and gasses escaping so something to look out for. First drive and everything was working getting heat in the cabin and all seems well. Left it at the shed last night on the 4 post to just confirm no leaks but all being well it’ll be back on the road and with luck all my issues will be resolved and I shall close out the thread at that point. IMG_9100.mov

Just in case anyone is interested. I took my key to my local Timpsoms, they wanted £220. Went to a local locksmiths, who put me in touch with a local auto tech place, where they cut a new key, provided a new case with my “inners” inside it, for £50. So quite happy with that.

More progress, sump off and new wet belt for the oil pump fitted, new crank seal and sump back on. Head refitted and rocker cover fitted, all new gaskets for the rocker cover and cam shafts etc. Turbo refitted with new gaskets and new seals for the return and feed lines. Dpf and egr cooler fitted with exhaust, all with new gaskets. New engine mounts fitted. Cam belt and pulleys refitted and timed up. Still got quite a bit to get through but all progress.

Cropped pic of the best one I took. Thankfully the magnetic ND filter kit from K&F I ordered last week (Aug 3) arrived just in time. I started with all 3 filters, but ended up with 10 and 6 stop (plus Hoya CPL). Exif data, if you're interested

6.1.3.(b)(i), apparently: MOT inspection manual: cars and passenger vehicles - 6. Body, structure and attachments - Guidance - GOV.UK

Hello, greetings from the Czech Republic. I managed to buy a 65/100 originally from GB. Octavia is in good hands, it will gradually improve. I use google translate, so hopefully everything is understandable.

A few from earlier at Attenborough Nature reserve.......... And this evenings sunset............

No further trouble with alarm, roof blinds were gaffer-taped together for a while. Now fixed a little better, but still a bit bodgily with hotmelt glue fixing the four magnets in their correct orientation. Front two shown here: This has had the extremely welcome bonus of eliminating a very irritating buzzing/rattling that seems to have been the result of these magnets being loose under their plastic rivet fasteners. This has made me very happy.

What he said ^ You accepted the terms at the point of sale. I’m not saying you don’t have an argument, but I highly, highly doubt they’re going to take the car back because of a missing key. Have you contacted them? That’s probably what I would do. It’s easier for them to sort a problem when they know they have one to fix.

All the 5s on the Octavia. Unfortunately, I missed it with the Vauxhall Omega.

Yesterday i took out air filter and omg was it filthy 👀 last time I've cleaned it was in April this year before going stage 2. Got Ramair filter cleaning kit so gave it a good wash and rinse and left it to dry for 24 hours. Today i oiled it with oil supplied in cleaning kit and fitted it back💪🏻

I can't believe you are suggesting the average person will carry that lot about... What a load of tosh

Another standard one from last week on way to work one morning.

What he said ^ Everything has been superseded by G12 Evo although, to be fair, I would personally just use what the car left the factory with, unless it’s a G13 car. If you Google it, there is a chart for mixing that shows what you can, and can’t, mix together.

I think you’ve answered your own question. You don’t need to improve the handling, you need to repair a component to restore handling. It’s likely a worn bushing - could be ARB, LCA, trailing arm, drop link, subframe, shocks, whatever. A common modification for these cars is to replace the stock RARB something 24mm or thicker - be it from a GTI CS or an aftermarket place like Hardrace, H&R, 034, IE, SuperPro, or Whiteline. It makes a big difference, but beware of going too stiff without changing other components to suit.

Hi, Yeah so in final i changed piston rings ,honed block , timing belt + gearbox clutch after 1k km i changed oil + filter , now per 7k km i have added 0.5l 5w30 Oil

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

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

Your tyre pressures are far too low... Hence the wear. I'd also suggest you get the tracking looked at if that wear was on the inside edge as it suggests a slightly toe out setting at the moment However, the key problem will be the pressures your using IMHO.

Meant to add that the fact he hasn't disclosed its a cat N would worry me. Alasdair

The 2014 Rapid turned over to 150,000Kms yesterday.

Presuming you have the DQ200 seven speed dry clutch DSG, this doesn’t sound good I’m sorry to say. Impossible to diagnose on a car forum, but it sounds to me like a mechatronic issue, or the accumulator failure (cracked casting) that’s quite common on the DQ200’s from this era. Better to take to a DSG knowledgeable workshop IMO, but a VAG dealer if needs must. No signs of leaking transmission fluid? Just to cover the simple stuff. Sorry to hear of your predicament - good luck with getting it fixed. Gaz

Thats one very strict MOT place. Glad I didnt put my old octavia in there. Alasdair

As far I'm aware none of the car manufacturers advertising TMC as part of navigation system when you add it to your car while placing order, instead they offer free trial of online services which are paid after free trial period.

I think that was the opportunity to reject the vehicle, or at least get it recorded in the paperwork that they would either forward it on when found or get you another. Once you have accepted one key it is difficult to complain, unless there is something wrong with the car.

Not sure about the first locking but all subsequent lockings where because you unlocked it but didn't open the door.

Some good news, the heads not cracked! So that’s a result, “just” a HG failure. So about spend £1k on parts to put it back together and some “while im in there jobs”. I will finish this thread once it’s back up and running without issue but it’s been quite the introduction to Skodas. lol.

^^^ If getting only 6 hours offpeak tariff then with a 3 pin AC charge cable you can get near 15 kWh in that time, so maybe 60 miles of range. The normal home tariff might be near 1/2 that of the cost of a kWh at public chargers.