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gwu

Finding my way
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Everything posted by gwu

  1. Funny enough, I just fitted the rear facing camera earlier today. This is the second time I fitted the rear facing camera. The first time was in the Superb II Elegance. Both times were easier than I anticipated. The key is to have the right tool; those plastic trim tools. No need to remove any panel. Just a matter of tugging and kneading the cable along the edge of the headliner. The main challenge is the side pillar between the front and rear seats but still no need to unscrew anything. Good Luck.
  2. Hi, I used to own a Superb II Elegance and had to turned my dashcam on and off manually since the power socket was constantly on. With my new Superb III SE L Estate (right hand drive), I decided to install the dashcam with Next Base hardwire kit. I posted a new topic asking if anyone could tell me which fuse in the fusebox I could use which would only has voltage when the engine is on. I don't really want my dashcam constantly power on to drain the car battery. One member pointed me to some old posts regarding dashcam hardwired installation but they were not specific to Superb III. Having done some research online (mainly via Youtube) and equipped with a mutlimeter, I managed to install the Nextbase dashcam today. Thought I would share my findings here. Disclamer: this is not meant to be a tutorial. You fiddle with your car at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage caused. I cannot gurantee the accuracy of the information provided here. 1. The user's handbook did not make it very clear how to drop the glove compartment to gain access to the fusebox behind. It just said: "Release the box brake pull bin" and a 90 degree bent green arrow. What the arrow meant was "Pull the box brake pull bin towards you first. When you hear a click, pull the bin away from the glove box". 3. The left hand side cover of the dash can be opened easily with a plastic trim tool without unscrewing any screw or bolt. This makes it very easy to feed the cable through to the fuse box underneath the dash and connect the negative terminal of the hardwire kit to a bolt connecting the car body. 2. With my multiple meter, I managed to find out that fuse 48 labelled "Not used" would only had voltage when the engine was on. The voltage dropped to zero when the engine was off. That is the fuse I use with my nextbase hardwire kit. Fuse 48 is the one on the right hand side of that 15Am blue fuse with label 47 for "rear wiper". This information is specific to Superb III SE L estate. Might be different for other models. There are plenty of information on Youtube about how to feed the cable along the roof and pillar trims, and fuse a fuse tap cable etc so I would not repeat it here. Again, this is not a tutorial.
  3. Hi, I only saw your post today. Just wonder if you already managed to hardwire your dashcam to your Superb ii? I managed to do it after some research today. Happy to share my experience if you still want to know. Kind Regards,
  4. Many Thanks Petrolcan for the information. Will take some photos of the new Superb when the sun comes out (I am not holding my breath since I am in London as well).
  5. Just bought a six months old Superb DSG Diesel Estate. In the past, I just used the 12v socket for my dashcam in my old Superb Estate II. I had to unplug it every time I turned the engine off so as not to drain the battery. With the new Superb, I would like to hard wire the dash cam in with a fuse splitter. I am just wondering which is the best fuse to use in the fuse box which would allows the dash cam to turn off when the engine is off? Any advice from someone who has done it would be much appreciated. Many Thanks.
  6. Thank you for all the kind responses. I finally bought a 6 months old Superb SE L Diesel 150HP DSG in metallic grey with 6 thousand miles on the clock from a francise dealer. Good price. More gadgets. They are not the most important things to me though so I am happy that the passenger seat has mechanical adjustment. Do like the adaptive cruise control and better fuel economy. In the past, I just used the 12v socket for my dashcam in my old Superb. I have to unplug it every time I turned the engine off so as not to drain the battery. With the new Superb, I would like to hard wire it in with a fuse splitter. I am just wondering which is the best fuse to use in the fuse box which would allows the dash cam to turn off when the engine is off? Any advice from someone who has done it would be much appreciated. Perhaps I should post a new thread for this technical issue. Thank You.
  7. Many Thanks for the info. How about the cam belt (I said fan belt by mistake) replacement interval? Also looking at a 3 years example with 20k miles after the previous service. Has Skoda extended its service intervals? Something like a dynamic service interval?
  8. Many Thanks for the clarification. Sorry, I am in one of the London boroughs which is almost touching the M25 but 4 miles away.
  9. Hi All, I sold my 2015 Superb Diesel DSG Estate 2 months ago. I bought it from new. It has proven to be a great and reliable car. I loved it. The only reason to sell it: Euro 5 and not 6 and I live within the M25 extended Ulez zone. I would love to buy another Superb Diesel Estate. Perhaps a secondhand 2ltr 150bhp version from 2019 onwards. Just wondering if anyone has any issue with this particular model? When I sold my Superb privately, I was asked many questions including if and when the DSG gearbox oil was last changed, fan belt last changed etc. I would be grateful if the knowledgeable among us could tell me what I should look out for when looking for a second Superb diesel from 2019 or newer. Are they more or less reliable than my old Superb? Known faults, recalls, service interval, DSG gearbox sealed or change intervals, and fan belt replacement interval are the items I am interested in before seeing a car. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank You. Kind Regards, Gilbert
  10. Thank again to all the contributors to this thread. The AGM battery on my Skoda Superb (2015) was successfully replaced with the help of a diagnostics unit Antel AP200. Perhaps I will share my experience here to help others who may want to change their AGM battery on their Skoda with the Stop/Start feature. My original Varta battery from 2015 was working perfectly fine with the exception that Stop/Start feature stopped working (I see that as a blessing). Guess the voltage of the battery had dropped due to old age. I had to drive to Spain (2,400 miles round trip) so I just went to my local GSF Car Parts and they sold me a standard Drivetech 76 Ah battery when I gave them the car registration. At the time, I had absolutely no idea about AGM battery technology. Luckily I didn't change the battery but just put the new battery in the boot as standby. The 7 years old battery performed normally in my long trip albeit no "Stop/Start". On my return, I did a bit more research on Briskoda and Youtube and discovered that I did need a AGM battery and a diagnostics unit. Antel AP200 is just a little bluetooth dongle which talks to an Antel app on your smart phone. Great value for money for just £68 via Amazon. Here is how I changed the battery: Negative terminal detached followed by the positive terminal (10mm nut). Removed the 13mm securing nut on the side. No need for any tender to keep the cirucuitry alive. No radio code as in the old days. Took the lower half of the plastic outer case wall off and it made refitting the new battery with the original inner sleeve so much easier. The outer case wall is only secured by some sort of "push and click" type joints. No screws or nuts involved. Having the new battery fitted and secured, the next step is to use the Antel AP200 to tell the car control unit a new Varta AGM bettery has been put in and what capacity it has via the "BMS- Battery Management System" tab. Note that if your car takes AGM, don't replace it with a EFB although both are "Stop/Start" type batteries. GSF did give me a EFB battery when I returned the standard battery. I was warned by the Youtubers that the car would show quite a lot of "false positive" errors after a new battery is put in. In my case, I had two errors - steering assistance and brakes. The AP200 managed to reset them. Now the car is good to go with a well deserved new battery. The driver himself has new knowledge and a new tool to monitor the car and to do things like resetting the service warnings after changing oil by himself. The only regret I have is the "Stop/Start" function is working again. I have to press that cancel button everytime I drive the car!
  11. Many Thanks for the replies. I guess we need a programmer unit like Autel to tell the car what battery is being used if we want the Stop/Start. I wonder if anyone knows of a cheap programmer that can handle this? Say if we just put a AGM battery and connect the sensor, I know it will come up with some errors but will it stop the car running at all? I never see the point of Stop/Start; can't be that good for the engine.
  12. I have a 2015 Superb Estate 2.0 TDI CR 170 ps Elegance DSG Mark II (Euro 5). I am amazed that the original Varta AGM is still working since I bought it from new 7 years ago. However, I guess the voltage has dropped hence the stop/start has stopped working at traffic lights; not a bad thing really. I am thinking of changing the battery myself. My questions are: 1. Do I need to get another AGM spec battery even I don't really need the stop/start feature? 2. Do I need to have a battery tender to keep the vital electronic alive (i.e. keep the 12v current) while I am changing the battery? Have it got any sort of security code? (I did ask a local Skoda but no joy. They just refused giving me any sensible answer. They just said: "bring the car in" - so they can charge me. I would be grateful if someone has done the battery change on the Superb before can share the experience and knowledge. I will definitely get another Superb - a solid trusted workhorse taking me to Spain and back many times!
  13. I got a phone call from Skoda UK. Unfortunately, the chap on the phone did not read any of the emails I sent them before he called hence just kept talking to himself while reading his screen. I thought a customer service operative would have read the customer's case before contacting the customer. That was not the case here at all. I must say Skoda UK has a pathetic customer service at its best.
  14. Thank you all for your responses. Having owned the Skoda Superb from new for two and half years, I am still trying to find a decent main dealer to look after my car. Both dealers I used (one in Croydon and one in Dartford) have shown to be disappointing. Any recommendation would be much appreciated. Happy to travel if there is one in the UK. Failing that, perhaps time to look for another brand who truly provides a good service. The fact that my car has one of the VW "clever diesel engines" does not help either.
  15. Danny, Just like Stevew 33, I only used car shampoo to wash the car's wheels as well. We have a few other cars of various makes in the family. They have been washed using the same car shampoo in the same way. None of them have problems with the wheel centre caps. Since my original post this morning, I have been browsing this forum and discovered that the corroded/corroding centre cap problem is quite wide spread among Skoda's cars. Moreover, the poor service I received from the Skoda dealers is a norm rather than exception. Quite disappointing really.
  16. Thank you Danny for the suggestion. The car is still under warranty so they might accuse me of damaging the caps myself by using the hard abrasive cleaning cloth. I have reported the case to Skoda UK and am waiting to see what they are going to do about it.
  17. Hi, I just noticed that all the four plastic wheel caps on my two and a half years old Superb were corroded around the edge (white bits eating into the caps). Showed that to my Skoda dealer in Dartford and the very first response from the service manager was "You must have used some corrosive cleaner to wash your wheels". He just did not accept the customer's words that only soapy water had been used and no damage was observed on the alloy wheels themselves. I am not happy that a Skoda dealer would not accept the possibility that the corrosion was a symptom of poor quality wheel cap. He just would not sort them out on warranty. I wonder if any other owners have experienced a similar problem? Kind Regards, Gilbert
  18. I got the letter about the emission software update for my Superb. Spoke with Skoda UK. They confirmed that there is no legal requirement to have the update done. There is also no deadline on when the update should be done. Therefore I cannot see the incentive to get it done and risk the potential drop in performance and fuel economy reported in the media.
  19. I agree that we don't want them to promise a fix they don't have yet. What VW needs to do is to answer swiftly all those "what if" questions. The obvious one is what they would do if the fix they eventually figure out would affect the performance, fuel economy or/and value of the car. Without those answers, people would just put their VW car purchase on hold, investors won't buy their shares and creditors would recall the loans. We all agree that VW had shot themselves in the foot and now they are running the risk of pointing the gun to it's head!
  20. If those VW's eagles win the battle, it would be seen as an arrogant mistreatment of their customers (a lot of them in this case) like what Audi did in the 70s in the USA. That resulted in not many Audi cars on the roads in the USA during the 80s. As for Skoda, all those old jokes from the 70s and 80s will come back.
  21. Answer to my own question; just saw this headline on Skynews "VW Says More Suspect Software In 2016 Diesels". What next? Petrol engines as well?
  22. Do you mean cheat device on Euro 6 engine as well? If this is true, my plan to switch to Superb III will be off. That would be a great shame.
  23. I have been approached by 5 lawyers so far. As I said, I will let the vulture deal with the rat when VW UK comes up with an actual action plan. BTW, one lawyer said BBC Panorama would like to talk with the affected owners. Do contact them if you would like to share your view and experience with the public. I quoted: " Finally, we have been approached by Amazing Productions who are making a Panorama, for BBC Television, about the recent Volkswagen emissions scandal. The team are looking for people who bought a Volkswagen, (or Skoda / Audi) for environmental/ fuel consumption reasons and are now seeking redress. They would like to talk to people on camera about why they bought the car and their subsequent feelings now that VW have admitted fixing their emissions tests. If you are interested please contact Eliana on 07964 665 664 or email her [email protected] "
  24. I quoted Honest John's answer: "The greatest damage is to the perception of VAG cars as somehow being superior to other makes, but everyone who bought one is effectively a subscriber to brand snobbery and is likely to continue to support that to protect their investment." I don't think I am a subscriber to brand snobbery for owning a Skoda. I am more than happy to switch to other brands. One new joke I heard about Skoda is "Why does a Skoda have a heated rear screen?" The old answer from the 80s is "to keep your hands warm when you push it". The new answer is "to disperse the nasty stuff from the exhaust".
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