BD314

On a recent visit to my Skoda dealer, I asked when the Haldax unit needs an oil change. The receptionist was a little unsure and asked around getting three different answers of 30k, 40k and three years! While I hope that one of these is correct, it dawned on my that I don't seem to know where to find this information (and not just for the Haldax). For previous cars I have owned, there was always a table in the owners manual that listed all the systems, e.g power steering, Geabox, Cambelt etc and the service interval. I can't seem to find any such information in my manual, or am I missing something. Clearly, if the dealer is unsure, I'd rather find a definitive reference. Can anyone guide me where to look ?

Looking to buy a new Kodiaq. I'm tempted by the SE L spec, but worried the 19" wheels give a harsh ride. The SE spec comes with 18" wheels as standard. Does anyone have any experience of the 19" wheels ?

My Superb is two years old with 25k on the clock and always starts reliably and covers around 100 miles daily. Recently did a 50 mile journey (daytime), parked the car, only to find that it wouldn't start 5 hrs later when I returned. Just enough juice to unlock the door, but not engage the starter or do the lights self check thing. Nothing was left on (interior lights etc). I'm at a loss to understand how and why the battery could be drained so quickly. The only difference is that it was parked on a bit of a slope, but can't see how that could change anything. Any thoughts welcome.

Mizuno, I'm not sure if I've got a problem with my auto wipers. I leave the wiper lever in position 1, which is auto wipe. The problem I have is that if I start the car when it's raining, the auto wipe doesn't kick in until I move the lever to another position, and then back to auto. Natutrally, the moment you get in, you want the screen wiped, especially if it's pouring down. I've found that if I pull away, eventually it decides to start wiping, but if visibility is poor, you can always do this. Does yours behave in this way ? Thanks.

Many thanks, the split charge relay seems to be a good way to go. I did consider running a wire back to the fusebox just under the edge of the headlining, but a little worried about the curtain airbags that sit there.

Installed a rear view camera today (E-Prance DVR, see attached pic, having been hit up the rear a couple of times. Currently powered using cigar lighter socket in the boot (estate), but didn't realise this was permanently live. I don't want to keep having to plug and unplug this when leaving the car. Is there anything that can be done to change this over to only being live when the ignition switched on ?

Bought a 2013 estate last year with factory fitted removable towbar. Went to use it recently for the first time but found that it's been stored in the locked position so it won't go on! The dealer isn't being very helpful and says there was never a key with the car, and the only solution is for me to get it drilled out. The barrel isn't numbered and just wondered if anyone has a spare key they could send me to try? Promise to return it. Many thanks.

Thanks all. Not the easiest of jobs. I was struggling with the seat bolster, thanks Woddysc1!

How do you get hold of the latest map? I've got version 7918, but my dealer says it's the latest. My SW version is 5238. Many thanks.

Thanks all. I used to have some on my Vauxhall that had a neat lever system to attach. Is was very quick and easy. The Thule ones I've seen seem to have a clamp tightening arrangement, presumably this works ok? Does anyone have any quick-fix bars?

Can anyone recommend any, there appears so many different makes ? Are the proper Skoda ones the best, or doesn't it matter ? Many thanks.

Had some idiot prang me last week on the rear quarter, just between the bumper, rear light and fuel filler. Only light damage, but very annoying. The repair company want to fill the crease, but I'm sure much of it will press out but they say access is tricky. Has anyone removed the carpet on the inside of the rear cubby holes? It seems to tuck up under the luggage cover rail, but not sure where to begin removing it. Has anyone done it before ? Many thanks.

The brake pedal on my DSG 4x4 is about 40mm higher than the throttle pedal. This means when I brake, rather than slide my foot across, I have to lift it first which can be very annoying, especially if I have to brake in a hurry and I sometimes catch my foot on it. I'm not sure if this is particular to the 4x4 or does anyone else have this problem?

Mine is a fairly new one and when you accelerate or go over a bump mine retracts on its own with a loud snap. Very annoying and frightened the life out of me the first time it happened. Anyone else have this trouble?

Thanks for the tips Too Tall. Its a great car, as you say, I'll be more patient and enjoy it.

77kg sounds better. 300kg would a very high proportion of the cars weight, although many do quote this figure. I don't have a spare wheel so not sure if that's applicable to just 4x4s, to compensate, but that would only be about 20kg. Has anyone any experience of tyre pressure affecting mpg? In my last car (Vauxhall), just a couple of psi made quite a difference.

Thanks all, the graphs are really interesting. The car performs well in all other respects, so perhaps I just need to be more patient. As you say, I've only had it a month so we perhaps need to used to each other! I had no-idea that the Haldex added so much weight, which probably isn't helping, but I still think the benefits are justifiable (just!). I'll keep a close eye on tracking my consumption. I guess I was a little disappointed that the Maxi dot only made matters even worse when corrected. I hadn't really thought about winter driving, but although the tyres are standard (what was fitted on delivery), I guess there's greater load on everything with lights, heaters etc. Hopefully the engine will loosen up a little as well once I've got some more miles on it. Any more thoughts still very welcome though!

I generally fill with either Shell or BP and it doesn't seem to make much difference. I've checked the tyre pressures and they're slightly higher if anything, so it's not that.

I've been running my DSG Superb for about a month now (13 plate 12,000 miles), and I'm quite disappointed with the fuel economy I'm receiving. My journey to work is 100 miles round trip, mainly with dual carriageway, and some urban/town driving. I've got a fairly light right foot (well I think so), as there's little opportunity to do anything other than follow the car in front. The display is reporting around 40mpg, but I'm only getting around 430 miles per tank (leaving 20 mile range margin). If I measure more accurately from brim to bim fill, I'm getting more like 36mpg! This tallys better with the mid 50's litres I put in each fill. So it would seem that the onbaord computer is measuring about 10% optimistic. Is this normalboth for the computed economy and poor performance, or could I have a problem ? I had expected to get mid 40's mpg.

Thanks guys. I'm fairly certain it's a DSG/Haldex thing. I guess I feel the 'clunk' rather than hear it, as it is fairly quiet. Doesn't seem to do it in manual gearchange mode, just auto. Sounds like it might be normal behaviour.

Just got my car a few weeks ago and absolutely delighted with it. 1 year old with 10,000 miles. However, I've noticed that when I'm crawling along in traffic (no throttle), and then go to apply throttle (very gently), I get aslight clonk. If I lift-off and apply throttle again, I can usually get it to repeat the noise but not always. It's barely noticeable, but I tend to be paranoid about these things. Is this normal, and simply the take-up mechanics of the drivetrain/gearbox ? It's super smooth any other time, it just happens when crawling along. Any ideas ?