Colin170CR

Mine is just over 4 years old now (car was reg Dec 2016). However, only 44k on the clock & hardly any mileage in the last 12 months for obvious reasons. My previous 2010 MkII Superb battery also went south at around 4 years. That was an easy DIY replacement but I understand Mk3 Superb need to be recoded after a battery change? On that basis it will be a visit to Halfords for them to supply & fit an new AGM battery - assuming they can do the coding. If not then buy a battery & visit local VAG specialist for coding. I do wonder sometimes if all this extra tech & complexity is worth it!! It certainly seems that the OEM batteries are not built to last much beyond the 3 year warranty.

Same thing happened to me. It started at home but wouldn't start after a 5 mile drive to the vets where I was stranded with wife & 2 cats until recovery gave me a jump start. Driving a short distance with lights, heated seats, heated windows all on was not long enough to top up the battery. I've now bought a jump start kit & the car went on a 2.5 day recharge at home so hopefully I'm now covered. I think my battery (AGM) is on its way out.

I used these to replace the OEM bulbs in my estate tailgate lights. Big improvement. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07DQH7MN1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I'm looking at maybe adding extra lights inside the boot as well - where the hatch has them. Not sure if the estate has wiring in situ for extra lights or not. Bit of investigation needed - when the weather gets warmer! I used some of these LED's in the door lights as well (same fitting). They are a tight fit though & they may be a tad too bright as the red rear reflector are looking a bit pink.

I think a lot of suppliers are profiteering from the demand for bikes created by lockdowns etc. That said, I checked on Amazon earlier & it seems the price of the E-MTB's I bought in October have gone down by £20! Bugger. Converting your existing bike to electric might be a more cost effective option? A replacement front wheel hub motor, battery pack & controller seems to be the easiest conversion. I looked into it & the cost of a decent conversion kit was a bit cheaper than buying new bikes. However, I wanted a foldable bike frame design so converting my existing rigid frame bikes was not an option for me. Since getting our e-bikes we've only used them a couple of times. The plan is to use the bikes more when better weather returns & we can take them with us on trips out & about in the car - whenever that becomes possible. I also need to think about selling our 36 year old his & her 26" 18 speed Falcon Majorca MTB's which I have recently refurbished & are in very good nick. One thing that did surprise me a bit is how much heavier e-bikes are. I knew they were going to be a bit heavier than normal bikes but not as much as the ones we got. Part of that is probably due to the foldable frame design which requires thicker steel to maintain rigidity. I certainly would not want to lift my bikes on / off the roof of my car! That said even getting them in/out of the car boot is a bit of a work-out. I did manage to get them both in the car with the front wheels attached but in future I think I might remove the front wheels (quick release) to make them more compact & to save having to drop the back seat. Roll on the spring & summer.

Due to low mileage / low usage my stop-start hasn't worked since lockdown 1 - but I never got a warning message. Even before that SS would only kick in intermittently on a longer run. My battery has been playing up for awhile now - possibly age related or just low usage / mileage. Either way after the last failed start (which needed a jump from a recovery van while on the other side of town) I put the battery on a 2.5 day charge / recondition after which the SS came back to life for a short while. I think I'd rather have SS disabled since IMO it's more trouble than it's worth. I could switch it off manually via the button on console every time I use the car but I think I'd rather have it coded off permanently. I don't have access to coding so it will have to wait until the next service / visit to my independent VAG specialist.

With a 2016 L&K with 45k miles I suspect I might have need of this thread at some point. So far the starter button has been OK but just once or twice it has hesitated when trying to start. Not sure if this was due to the button itself or the ailing battery in the colder weather. Judging by the number of people needing this info perhaps this should be a sticky thread?

Are you still missing that extra 210bhp & 4WD?

Talking of suspension (well a gearbox actually), after completing the build I'm currently trying to find out why the back end of my LR Discovery Lego kit is locked up & the wheels won't turn! Must have put a cog in backwards somewhere. Suspension works fine though!

Enthusiastic approach to speed bumps? A neighbour of mine's wife & 2 x daughters each broke front springs on three separate cars over a period of 18 months (all different make / models of car). After the 3rd one broke he started asking questions. Seems they were hitting the local speed bumps (4 in our road) at excessive speed! Probably 35mph. So much so that on two cars the front bumper valance was also scuffed as the front end bottomed out on the road. Coincidently for the first time in a while I was driven by my wife in her car the other week & guess what, yep, she did the same thing. I actually hit my head on the roof of her car. A heated "domestic" then ensued as I tried to explain that hitting speed bumps at 35mph+ was not what they are in the road for

Maybe, maybe not. My 2016 L&K battery let me down earlier this week when it was colder. It had stareted at home but failed to restart after a short trip across town & I needed a jump from a recovery van to get it going again. I've had it on a re-conditioning charge since then for nearly 2 days & bought myself a jump start kit to carry in the car in case it happens again. I will need to use the car tomorrow so fingers crossed it behaves itself. I think that at 4 years old the OEM battery is on it's last legs. Funny that this seems to happen just outside the 3 year warranty. I also read somewhere that a new battery requires a re-code which means a trip to a dealer or specialist & is therefore not not a DIY fix. Is this true?

You have just jinxed yourself right there. I would always want a proper spare wheel/tyre or a space saver as a minimum.

Are you sure you haven't got magnets in those wheels / tyres. Think I've had 1 slow puncture in 10 years - mainly motorway miles. My current car ailment is curbed alloys. 2 now in less than 6 months Diamond cut refurbishment is around £80 / wheel & I have another two on the car that need doing. I put this down to all the local driving during lockdowns & unfamiliar parking spots. Well that's my story & I'm sticking to it The current cold spell did for my battery yesterday. After 10 days sitting on the drive the car started OK & I drove to the vets with wife & two cats on board (lights on, 2 x windscreen heaters on, heated seat on (wife) & mirror heaters on). After vet visit the car would not start. I have jump leads on board but no other cars around to jump from. Called insurance recovery who were with me in 30mins.They jumped the car which started 1st time & I drove home. I've now invested in a NOCO jump start kit to carry in the car. Currently I'm conditioning the battery to see if I can postpone the inevitable battery replacement which has been playing up for a while now.

I'm not sure the reverse sensor brake assist thingy works in all situations. It didn't stop me from clobbering one of the Co-op delivery robots (below) last year as I slowly reversed out of our drive. I heard the car sensors warning me that something was there but I couldn't see anything & it didn't apply the brakes automatically. Initially I couldn't see anything in my mirrors until I looked harder & then I spotted the top of the robot's orange reflector (on the flexy stick) waving about near the bottom of my rear window. TBF the robot was trying to take avoiding action of it's own but I still managed to push it off the pavement into the road . Luckily no harm was done & after a minute the robot "re-booted" & went on it's way. Cute little things these Starship delivery robots which are all over Milton Keynes & surrounding areas (Northampton as well now). Actually they are easier to spot at night when they have headlights on & the illuminated orange reflector is easier to spot. Starship Robots Edit. Just seen other posts. Could be my 2016 L&K does not have this feature.

Eco mode "should" provide better economy by disengaging the DSG when not accelerating or you lift off the accelerator. I think the standstill engine idle speed might also be lower. However, as someone said earlier, it takes a lot to get used to the lack of engine braking when coasting up to roundabouts, lights etc. Unless you lift of way earlier than normal you end up arriving too fast & have to use the brakes a lot more to scrub off speed. As a result it takes a more concentration to use Eco mode than the other DSG modes. I tried using Eco mode to try & improve my fuel consumption. After 2 weeks I gave up & switched back to using D & Sport modes as it became too much hassle forward think lift off distances etc. Also, according to the instantaneous fuel consumption readout, when you lift of the accelerator in D or S mode you are not using any fuel which begs the question, what extra benefit does Eco mode actually provide other allowing you to coast going downhill or on the flat with no accelerator depression? I have to say I'm not a fan of Eco mode so in my book you're not missing much if you don't have it.

Stage 1 here. I have to say a stage 1 re-map on a 280 /272 is pretty awesome. A lot of extra "bang for your buck" for an extra +80bhp (now 360) & +40nm torque (now 488nm) & some other stg 1 re-maps can get more than this! All with stock exhaust & other plumbing. I had mine done middle of last year (Revo). I'm not sure what the stats are now but it's easily sub 5s 0-60 I'd say. Better than that though is the in-gear 30-50/60/70mph acceleration for more useable everyday use. Runs on 99RON fuel to get the best out of it. Acceleration in sport mode is fairly savage so I'm trying to stay in D or manual shift to use the extra torque in higher gears. The only downside currently is the fuel consumption. Ordinarily there world be no change stock vs stg 1 but with all the short local journeys during lockdowns 22-24mpg is as good as it gets for now. I did get 36mpg on a run once last rear though. The trouble is, once you get on the modification "hamster wheel" it's not easy to get off. I'm now looking at a rear sway bar upgrade & perhaps some induction mods. I want to keep the car looking as stock as possible to preserve it's sleeper identity so no lowered springs or body kits - famous last words! My 280 is going to be a keeper. At least that's what I told myself until I saw that new Cupra Formentor which can have the same / similar EA888 engine & 4x4 system - definitely not a sleeper looking vehicle though. It's a good looking car but quite expensive so I'll have to wait & see what the used prices are like in a year or so.

Posties with shoulder bags & delivery people coming down our drive between two cars have been responsible for a few light scratches on our cars. We now leave as much space between them as possible. I've widened the driveway by one flagstone on either side for exactly this reason.

Agreed. Electric cars = "Shocking" prices . Not just Skoda either. As I mentioned in another recent thread, £30k for a tiny electric Fiat 500e is nuts. It's almost like the petrol vs diesel debate. In order to get the savings & justify the cost to switch to an electric car you have to be doing quite high mileage which, you won't be doing because you'll be stationary recharging every 150-340 miles. I'll be waiting for the 2nd hand market to have a better choice of cheaper electric cars before I dip my toe in that pond.

If it's a refrigerant heat pump system I'm guessing this would be using the car AC system & running it in reverse to produce heat inside the vehicle or battery compartment i.e. the a/c condenser becomes the evaporator & the evaporator becomes the condenser. In heating Hot gas from the compressor goes to the indoor coil for heating instead of the outdoor coil in normal cooling mode. This is normally controlled by a 4 way solenoid valve. Heat pumps are up to 350% more efficient than direct electric heating i.e. 1kw electric input = 3.5kW heat output. Millions of Heat Pumps (air to air type) are sold for use in commercial & residential A/C systems around the world where they can cool in summer & heat in winter. I have one in my conservatory. 99% of all modern air to air A/C systems are heat pumps. Heating only air to water heat pumps (no cooling) are now being installed in houses & commercial buildings to replace / avoid the need for gas / oil fired boilers. You can also buy heat pump tumble driers these days. It's all about reducing carbon emissions. Below is an air to air heat pump system in heating mode. Same system now in cooling mode.

Welcome. 280 (L&K estate) here also + a Revo stg 1 re-map for 360bhp.

JR RS. Apart from the fact that it doesn't snow much in Aus & I appreciate you also have a different air filter & modified air intake, but does removal of the snow baffle in the filter box provide any other benefit e.g. increased airflow / bhp? Also, does the new turbo elbow give you much in the way of increased response / power.

As they say "size matters". Like you I had a 10reg 2.0TDi Superb Elegance DSG Estate which I replaced with a S3 Superb estate. The S2 Superb was a great car & it served us well with loads of space for camping gear & passenger comfort for long trips to France & elsewhere. As you already know the rear legroom in the S2 Superb is huge. The S3 Superb is the same so I suspect your rear passengers would not be best pleased with the reduced rear space provided by the Octavia. The Superb boot is marginally larger as well. However, it's the general ride, comfort & luxury where I think the Superb scores over the Octavia. The latest Octavia narrows the gap I think but there is still a gap IMO.

As the saying goes, "at one time in your life everyone should own an Alfa". Back in 2000 I had a Black 156 2.0 Twin Spark with red leather interior. The girls in the office used to call it the "pimp mobile" ha, but I loved it. Not the most practical thing being a saloon but immensely enjoyable to drive. The current Giulia looks / drives great but as you say, not very practical.

Yep & agreed. My last S2 Superb Elegance 2ltr diesel 170CR was a diesel gate model which I did have done by my local Skoda dealer for free. This also helped a bit when I traded it in for the current 280. For about 2 mins I toyed with the idea of trading in my wife's 15 plate Fiat 500 for a new electric one - until I found out that the launch model was £29k. £29k for for an electric pocket sized city car when the more complicated ICE / Mild hybrid version costs £10k-£15k less - they must think we are stupid OK cheaper lesser spec electric models will be available starting at around £20k but a decent spec model will still be circa £25k for which other larger 4 door supermini's are available. I have never been, & will never be, a fashion victim or new trend early adopter so for now we will stick with the current Fiat 500 which we bought used a few years ago for £8k. This "opportunistic" pricing of electric cars seems to be the norm for most manufacturer's & my guess is that it's being used to promote the uptake of their overstocked ICE models as manufacturer's try to manage the switch over to all electric model ranges. I'm happy to wait & let prices settle down & better value used models come onto the market before I dip my toe into the world of electric cars.

The battery cover sort of snaps on over the battery. I had to remove the top of the felt flap to fit mine. Ah for the intake cover. Thought it was an aftermarket jobby which I now see are available from Revo amongst others.

JR RS. I think you are slipping No cover on top of the battery I bought one via Amazon last year which hides the cheap looking felt wrapper thingy. £11 in the UK. I cut the top bit of OEM cover to fit the replacement cover which has a removeable panel to give access to the + battery terminal without having to remove the whole cover. Battery cover Also, is the Superb cover on top of the radiator standard or aftermarket? Not seen that on UK cars & unless I missed it I didn't see it in your list of mods. Do you have details if aftermarket? This has given me quite a few ideas. Keep the updates coming