chrisgreen

Those conductive paint and pens for fixing rear window elements are pretty terrible. If you can clearly see where the breaks are in the element, it would not hurt to try. But TBH, you are better off having the rear window replaced or simply making do and living with the broken element lines (assuming it’s not so many that are broken that it renders it useless). However, if it’s the whole rear window element that is not functioning, it may not be the element at all, but rather one of the two (or both) of the metal spade connectors that come off the left and right hand sides of the rear window making a bad connection with the sockets they plug into in the window frame. They can shake loose over time.

If that doesn’t fix it, then you probably need a new motor. But given you said there’s plenty of force coming from the wiper motor, and assuming the wiper arm joint is properly lubricated, I would still rule out the wiper blade first.

Have you put a new wiper blade on it? Could literally be that the old one is knackered and is creating too much friction against the glass.

It’s a good question, but not an easy one to answer. Here are some things to consider (entirely subjective whether most points are a positive of negative): Pre-facelift Rapids (including most 1.2 TSI models) Limited standard equipment The seats are not great No valance trim in front seats Engine used a timing chain Many reports of trim creaking and rattles, clanking front suspension. Post-facelift Rapids (including most 1.0 TSI models) Improved equipment specs Front wing indicators moved to wing mirrors Nicer seats (not as hard and better cloth trims) Front seats now have a plastic valance to hide the runners Engine uses a timing belt This is not an exhaustive list. Other members will hopefully add to this list or dispute it Things like tinted Windows will have been an optional extra on pre and post-facelift models. The chain-driven 1.2 TSI has proved to be very reliable. Post facelift models are a bit better put together, simply because of normal refinements to panels and parts, and learning from the model’s initial mistakes (like the real door seals that blocked the water drains on early models). Performance wise there’s not much in it between them. The 1.0 is more reliant on its turbo to deliver the boost needed to match the 1.2, but it really is minor. Personally, if I were buying one now, I would go for a 1.0 post-facelift, no more than 3 years old and a full service history.

It’s underneath the car, drivers side, about a foot ahead of the rear wheel. Changed mine last month. Very easy to access and change once the car is jacked up or on a ramp.

I’m probably going to get an MG (unless VAG electric prices comes down a lot in the next few years). £25K for an estate with 220mile range and a 1,500 litre boot (and all the toys). Crazy not to.

I’m a big fan of the Heko wind deflectors. These are my second set, I managed to break one (entirely my own fault, not an issue with the product) from my first set while washing the car, hence the new set. But they are a must-have accessory for the Rapid in my opinion.

I completely agree - the mk1 seats are bloody awful and are the main thing I don’t like about the car (and the reason I nearly traded it in a month or so ago). But, as I don’t do that much driving, have decided to live with it a bit longer (have managed 6 years so far) and continue to save up a deposit for something fully electric.

Hello everyone Having neglected the Rapid a bit during lockdown (and almost traded it in for a Seat Leon estate a month ago), I’ve instead been showing the car a bit of love, including cleaning it for the first time in ages and investing in a few new bits: Up first is this handy boot divider. Now, this only works if you have the false boot floor. The item in question is actually a genuine VW part for a Golf Estate (with false boot floor), but also fits the Rapid (as long as you have the false boot floor). It will not clip on to the regular boot floor (the one directly above the spare wheel), it’s too thin. Next up, I replaced the silver trim piece I had on the boot lid. This is an aftermarket part that has been cut specifically for the Rapid Spaceback boot lid: My previous one, after five years, lost its adhesion and was starting to look dull, so time for a fresh one. Finally, I fitted a new set of Heko wind deflectors (again, replacing a set that had started to break after five+ years of use and abuse). Next job is to remove the number plates (which are stuck on with many sticky pads) and replace them with a set of pressed metal plates. Also looking at adding a rear-facing dash cam, but need to do more research to find a suitable power cable to tap into. If anyone has any advice on that, I would appreciate it. As always, happy to answer any questions. Thanks Chris

Not guaranteed your car has it. Certainly on the mk1, it was an optional extra across the board, even on the high end models. Skoda was very tight on the tech with most stuff an optional extra rather than spec, whereas the comparable Seat Toledo models were literally dripping in tech as standard, even on the low end models.

Highly recommend adding both the boot cubby parts and the hooks. Makes the boot area a lot more practical and also tidies the trim up. Also worth getting the fixed net assembly for the right hand side, if you can still source it. You can see all three parts fitted here in my boot:

It's a 62 plate/early 2013 model. Thanks Chris

Thanks for this info Guy - will be ordering in a moment. BTW - does the same fluid requirements apply for the power steering on the Mk2 Fabia 1.2HTP (just wondering if I can use the same fluid on that come its service time). Thanks Chris

Hi Does anyone know what power steering fluid is used in the Rapid? Servicing in a couple of weeks and figured it might be time for either a flush or a top-up. Thanks Chris

Immediate thing that comes to mind is that your battery is knackered. Have you put a battery tester on it yet to check the state of the battery (rather than whether your alternator is working)? At the end of the day, the warning light you are having issue with is the battery, so that needs to be your first point of investigation. Other than that it also possibly just an early sign of instrument cluster failure.

Regards the diesel smell, you need to check that your injectors are not leaking. Injector seal failure could cause this. if you had an EGR valve issue, it would throw up a fault code (injector failure won’t and you likely won’t even notice any performance change, just the smell of diesel leaking out. Get the bonnet open, the plastic cover off the engine and have a very good look in there with a torch to see for any signs of diesel leaking out from the top of the engine. Regards the fog lights. Is the passenger side one coming on when you turn left (and the same for the drivers side when you turn right). Check both bulbs actually work. If so, this is the fog light cornering function and is intended to provide additional illumination when turning. It is normal.

Likewise, my 2014 Rapid Spaceback also has the squeaky, clunky front suspension (but apart from the noises there’s nothing mechanically wrong, it’s just a quirk of how it’s put together). Mine also suffered from the door seal fault. Due to a poorly Designed rubber door seal, the drainage holes on the doors - particularly the rear doors - would be blocked by the seal when the door was shut. This would cause the doors to fill with water. This was fixed on early Models like mine by cutting a small V section out of the seal, and later seals had this mod pre-done.

Yeah, the Rapid is a total parts bin special. But one that hangs together fairly well. While some parts are specific to the model (like the hideously expensive tailgate wiring loom I just had to replace), most are common parts. Case in point - the armrest cover. The hinges finally broke (common issue) and as its the same armrest used on several Polo and Golf iterations, no problem sourcing all manner of original and copy replacement parts.

Likewise, I oil change every 6 months, service every 12. Only doing about 6,000 a year these days so it’s OTT on the maintenance, but it’s a trivial cost & effort to keep the car in tip top condition.

Curious, what are these “strange, backward priorities” that you think UK car buyers have that differ so much from other markets?

I have a 2014 Rapid Spaceback with a chain-driven 1.2 TSI. No issues. I believe the chain issues in that engine predate the Rapid by a good couple of years and were addressed before the first Rapids went into production.

@globalste where/who did you source your V12 maps card from? Can’t say I’ve had the issues you are having. Only had one postcode-based nav attempt fail (and that was the COVID-19 drive-in testing centre In the E2 Staff Car Park at Heathrow, rather than a conventional commercial building or home), so not overly surprised the postcode was not in the database.

Fixed for the moment. Several of the wires in the rubber flexi hose running from the Car to the boot had split (the power to the central locking being one of them. 7 years of opening and closing the boot (and there probably not being much slack) had finally taken its toll on the wiring loom at that point of flex. Been patched up for now and is working again, but ultimately it is going to need a new loom for £450 parts and Labour. Waiting for said loom to turn up from Skoda (none in the UK apparently, so it’s coming from the Czech Republic).

Car is going in this Friday. Earliest booking I could get out of the rude and grumpy guy on the service desk at my main dealer. Still no idea of what is wrong or what it’s going to cost to fix. Also, unlike the Fabia, there appears to be no manual way to spring the boot on the Spaceback from the inside.

Well, it’s taken a while but tonight I have my first failure on the car - the boot won’t open. Rest of the central locking is fine, but pressing the boot release handle on the tailgate won’t open the boot. You can hear a relay clicking in the car, but there is no whirring noise for the lock motor. Don’t suppose anyone else has had similar and had it fixed? As the rest of the central locking is working it would seem to me to be one of the following: 1) Issue with boot release button on the tailgate 2) boot lock motor failure 3) broken wire brining power to said motor Anyway, if anyone has any advice or experience of this issue they can share before I book it in to the dealer to get it fixed, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Chris