Colin170CR

Ah. Thought you were referring to my battery🫣

I hope not. The battery in it is only a few years old! Replaced in March 2021 if I remember correctly & still in warranty until next month. It just doesn't seem to like being sat on the drive for long periods of time especially in colder weather. I keep meaning to check what the current draw on the battery is when it's dormant because I have a sneaking suspicion there might be something not turning off adding to the drain of the alarm & other background stuff modern cars have. I'll add this to the list of other stuff that needs doing 📰

Me too. Lost both sets of parents within a 10 year period & my wife's passed within 6 months of each other. Tough times.

I guess there's not too many 280's out there with issues. A few 272 interlopers on here as well I see. I had to put mine on a trickle charge yesterday. The low battery warning came up on the infotainment, radio held off, Kessy & interior lights not working until I started it which it did with no trouble - phew. This is all due to it sitting on the drive for long periods & just used for a local run to the dump or takeaway. We tend to use my wife's EV more these days cos it's much cheaper to run on a £3.50 overnight charge which is good for 230 miles. I've only filled up the 280 with 99RON once since I came back from Bruges last November. We keep debating whether we actually need two cars but the answer to that is yes cos the wife's EV can't do all the thinks the 280 Estate can do. I had ladders on the roof & an Ikea billy bookcase in the back of it last week. Absolutely no way the Kona could do that.

Battery. The first sign of a failing battery is the Stop/Start stops working. Might have something to do with the other faults as well.

Could you find a local fabricator that can weld stainless to modify it?

Mine went at 58,000 miles so about the same at yours. Be prepared for a big bill!!

I got mine from Amazon. Just check your model against the listing. There are some on Amazon that are cheaper & some that are more expensive. I went for middle price & a Prime / quick delivery. https://www.amazon.co.uk/HouYeen-Radiator-Coolant-Expansion-Octavia/dp/B0BNN571GX/ref=sr_1_3?crid=142WWY8LUH0VR&keywords=Coolant+tank+for+Skoda+Superb&qid=1705270487&quartzVehicle=106-11675&replacementKeywords=coolant+tank+for&sprefix=coolant+tank+for+skoda+superb%2Caps%2C98&sr=8-3

Well the weather wasn't too bad today so I got it done in 10 mins. As it turned out my coolant reservoir wasn't the double chamber one I thought it was & I might have been able to fish the silica bag out without changing the reservoir. That said there was always a chance of the bag splitting whilst trying to fish it out so in the end I just swapped the old for the new & topped it back up with the coolant I syphoned out. I'll take it for a run tomorrow to make sure there are no leaks & make a note to tell the indi garage what I've done next time it goes in for a service. Now I have to give it a wash cos it is looking pretty grubby.

The problem is if the silica bag breaks & silica gets into the cooling system & heater matrix your are screwed & left with a big bill to clean it all out. £1k+ from what I've heard. Newer cars don't use the silica bags anymore & have a different coolant spec. The silica bag was supposed extend the life of the coolant to 5+ years to save costs. Instead it introduced a problem that was never there if coolant was changed on a regular 2 yearly basis. So without the silica bag we revert to morer regular changing of coolant. Next time my car goes in for a service at my independent I'll tell them the bag has gone so they can replace the coolant with the correct one.

The parts arrived yesterday so I will be fitting a new coolant reservoir in order to get rid of the "Mit Silica" bag one that's fitted to my car. The wife objected to me using the turkey baster to drain the excess coolant out of the reservoir so I had to buy a syringe as well . However, with no cover or a garage that I can get the car under or into I'm waiting for it to warm up a bit before I tackle this job on the drive. By the looks of the weather it may be getting colder next week so it might be a while before this gets done. 🤞the bag stays intact for a while longer.

I spent Xmas & New Year in Finland back in the early '80's when we visited some friends in Helsinki. For the New Year we got a train up to Tampere & I remember standing late at night outside a club waiting to get in. It was -25c & my nose froze up!! As low at the temperature was it didn't feel that cold because the humidity was so low. No need for freezers in winter either. The people we stayed with kept their food outside on their apartment balcony🥶 Also memories of cross country skiing, which we were very bad at.

Thanks. I think my reservoir has two chambers & the bag is in the bottom one which has no access from the top. I've ordered a new coolant reservoir from Amazon (£25.79) so I'll just switch out the old for the new which looks easy enough to do & removes any chance of the bag splitting while trying to remove it.

How easy / hard was it to do? I have one in my coolant reservoir. Looked at it a few weeks ago & couldn't see how to get it out without risking bursting the bag. YT vids I've seen require the reservoir to be drained & removed from the car to get at it.

I opted out of a spark plug change on my last service because I had only done 6,000 miles in it since the last service / MOT. Might be even less this year as we've been using my wife's EV more & more to save fuel costs.

280 is better.....

👍

What's the fuel cleaner you use & is it OK to use with 99Ron fuel?

Who are you with?

It's hard to go back to 2 wheel drive once you've experienced 4 x 4 in winter conditions. I was driving my wife's Kona EV yesterday in damp frosty UK conditions & even in low power Eco mode the front tyres were scrabbling for grip at every roundabout & road junction at the slightest push of the accelerator pedal. No such problems in my Superb.

To my knowledge my tank was not replaced. Just the pump, thermostat & antifreeze. It's a known problem & the replacement parts solve the problem of dissimilar part materials which expand at different rates which over time cause it to start leaking. If I recall the main dealer cost would have been around £1,300 & to get access the front end of the car needs removing!

I would say it's high leak probability. Common problem on these engines. Mine went last year so all I can say is be prepared for a big bill. New water pump, thermostat, labour etc. Can't remember how much I paid at my independent but it was well north of £800.

It's funny how what seems like what should be a simple job on modern cars, turns into a right PITA. Why do manufacturers make changing / replacing a bulb so damn difficult! I had similar experience with our Hyundai Kona when I wanted change the very weak reversing light bulb for an LED. Now most cars have access to rear bulbs via the boot. Not the Kona. Access to the Kona reversing light bulb is from underneath the car between rear bumper & bodywork which involved lying upside down under the back of the car, removing the rear tray assembly & skinning my knuckles & wrists fumbling blind trying to find the old bulb & get the new back in. Madness. I might take your lead & try adding some foam to our Kona's front / rear wheel arch liners to lessen the road noise.

I feel your pain. I did this a while ago to mine & more recently for a reversing camera. My tailgate rubber boots are getting rather full!! Copious amounts of WD40 helped slide them through.

Not the same engine as yours but I got mine done at a local Revo specialist - UK. https://www.revoperformancecentre.com/