Sandancer

Folks, Just had a white spacer appear in the driver’s footwell of my 2016 Octy. It’s about 1 1/4” dia and 1/2” thick. Part number on it is 5q2721431 I’ve identified it as a securing ring - see http://www.realoem.me/Skoda/CZ/OCT/2016/753/R/7/721/721070 - item 22. However the place it goes into it just sits in position, no tight fit, securing, whatever. Has anyone come across this before, either having it fall out or when working on the brake pedal? Does it actually do anything? Is it critical to stop me using the car, does it have to be looked at the dealer, or can I just pop it back in and wait for another day for it to pop out? Coincidently was driving along a rather bumpy road today with caravan in tow, so the car did get a thorough shakedown! Cheers.

Recently been getting a sweet smell from the cabin air vents upon start up. It's intermittent but I suspect the heater matrix has sprung a leak. There was a drop of coolant a few weeks ago when it first occured (was overfilled after the dealer replaced the water pump) but no further sign of dropping but the smell still comes and goes. Anyone had the matrix replaced - how easy is it or best for a dealer to do? If so, how much am I expected to lose? Car's now four years with 57k on the clock. Alternative is a water sealant (deffo not Radweld) - thoughts? Or a new car...

My dealer (based in Durham) knew what it was before I took it in and even offered the goodwill route before I could kick off! No leaks, just a sudden increase in temperature about 15 mins starting from cold. Pullover, let it tick over for a couple of mins and it's back to normal for the rest of the run. First time it did it was about 6mths-year ago. Thought it was a one off, then next did end Feb roaring up a steep hill. Nothing for a fortnight then started doing it on a regular basis. My best suggestion is as soon as you have an unexplained temp increase like that, get it in as soon as.

Pump replaced but confused as the lassie on the desk said it was the electric pump, but the paperwork states TPI 2039483/7 replaced coolant pump part no 04L121011EX. This is the mechanical pump so why they couldn't change the cambelt beats me. Anyway, let's see how long this lasts.

Well, mines in now. Intermittent sudden rise in temperature after about 15 minutes on the road, flashing lights, stop the car etc. Pull over, let idle and temperature drops back to 90 after a few seconds. Fans blasting away and no loss of coolant. Ok for the rest of the journey. Doesn't always do it, sometimes rises to 3/4 then drops back. The garage have decided it's the electric water pump (what electric water pump?) as I was going to get them to replace the cambelt at the same time (cars almost 4 with 50k on the clock). As they're nowhere near the cambelt, that's a job for another day. Semi-good news is that they've gone to Skoda who have offered a goodwill 50/50 split on labour and parts - but still leaves me 250 notes lighter :-( Let's see if that cures the problem...

After having a drunk neanderthal in the car last night, the internal front passenger door handle is now in two separate distinct parts. Although what's left of the lever still moves, it's clicking against something and won't open the door from the inside. Until I get the door panel off I won't know what further damage has been caused, but how easy is it to replace and can anyone suggest best method/pitfalls to look out for?

The recommended method of determining what your car can tow is working out the ratio of the MTPLM of your caravan to 85% of your car's kerbweight. In the case of your Octy 1.6TDI estate, I understand the manufacturer's kerbweight figure to be 1247kg, so therefore the 85% will be 1060kg. Now, caravans have two weights, the Mass in Running Order (MRO) (aka kerbweight or unladen weight), and the Maximum Technically Permissible Laden Mass (MTPLM) (aka fully laden weight). So, going by recommendation, your Octy will not be able to tow anything with a MTPLM greater than 1060kg, which as all seasoned caravanners know, this restricts things a fair bit. However, as an example, my car has a manufacturer's kerbweight of 1255kg but when I put it on the local weighbridge, it was actually 1440kg! So, what I suggest is to get your car weighed (unladen except for driver and 1/2 tank of fuel) and see what the actual figure is. From that you will have a better idea of what you can tow. Once you've got some decent experience of towing under your belt, there is nothing to push past the 85% limit, as by law you can tow up to 100% of your car's weight, as long as you don't exceed the car's maximum weight (which is 1600/1800kg for an Octy) or exceed a total mass (Car max weight + MPTLM) of 3500kg. By this time you will understand the best nose weight for your van, how to correctly load and balance the van and able to not get yourself in, or know how to get yourself out, of trouble. As for towbar, Witter or Westfalia. You can get away with bypass electrics, but I'd recommend the full Westfalia kit (which is what I understand Skoda use) which connects fully into the car's electrical system. Fixed or removeable towbar is your choice - depends whether you want to keep you shins or not!!

My car's previous owner must have had a thing about rattles - there are bits of foam jammed in all over the place, in the doors, in the dash, centre console and behind the seats so far I've found.

Bought my 2013 Elegance from Benfield the other week. Looked after by a young lad under training (Kris) - keen as mustard, but could do with either a bit closer supervision or a check list to follow. Pushed by along by another salesman to catch the end of a 0% deal that day - only when I got home I found it wasn't the good deal it looked, plus extras that i wasn't told about. Following morning spoke to the Sales Manager (Gary...) who was given the 'I'm not paying for Gap Insurance as I said I didn't want it, and what's this £126 Supagard - I'm not paying that! And if you're think I'm paying £20 for fuel when it's already got over half a tank, forget it!' Rather dissappointingly he said 'ok'. Then I really turned the knife when I challenged him to a deal that I got from my bank. Unfortunately for him, he couldn't match it. Also got a better than expected deal for my Ford Focus, so was pleased with that. When the day came to collect, the forecourt was rather sparse, as a 36" water main a short distance away decided to deposit its contents into the garage that morning. Surprisingly my car was one of a few that didn't sink or float towards the River Tyne - the tide mark underneath shows it was a fraction from breaching the door seals. Directed to Benfield Kia next door where I met the previously pushy but now bedraggled and obviously stressed salesman. Handover was very good considering the surrounding chaos - they could have easily cancelled the handover for a day or two while they got themselves sorted out, but didn't. So hat's off to them. A final hurrah - the car also had been given this Supaguard treatment as they had already started doing it when I told them nooooo! And they paid the £20 tax. So bonus there - every little helps as they say. So overall, they were polite, helpful, accommodating, and in the thick of it, continued to crack on as if nothing had happened. Only time will tell if their service department can step up to the same mark.

I've just done my Elegance and there was an outlne in the inside of the bumper showing where to cut out. Sharp knife made short work of that. Witter detachable towbar / full Westfalia electrics, both from PF Jones, cost about £340 as the car didn't have trailer prep. The bottom just peeks out when removed. Fitting the towbar was the easy bit, as was installing the wiring at the back end. Connecting into the fuse box, multiway plugs and through the engine bulkhead for the caravan battery/fridge supply was a nightmare. If you're going for the full install like I had to, get someone else to to it! Mind you, now I've done it once, it'll be a bit easier next time!

OK, after taking it for a spin, the ESC and Tyre Pressure faults have gone - the Airbag light remains lit and the dash mimic says there's a fault, however the screen showing the car says there's no faults. Any clues?

Hi, I've got a Octavia III 2013 Elegance 2.0DTI and have just fitted the Westfalia electrics. The trailer functions work fine, but I'm getting ESC, Tyre Pressure and Airbag Faults. Is this something a coding will rectify, or is there something deeper?