RMurphy195

You don't need VCDS, there are several ways available online to do the job - there seem to be several variations depending on specific model, most claim to be "THE way to do it"!. On my 2014 Rapid Spaceback 1.6tdi the following procedure does the trick IGNITION OFF HOLD DOWN 0.0 BUTTON ON DASHBOARD TURN ON IGNITION MESSAGE “SERVICE RESET – ARE YOU SURE?” WITH OPTIONS “YES” “CANCEL” RELEASE 0.0 BUTTON USING RH THUMBWHEEL ENSURE “YES” IS SELECTED. PRESS RH THUMBWHEEL - JOB DONE! IGN OFF IGN BACK ON – REMINDER MESSAGE SHOULD NO LONGER APPEAR GO INTO MFD MENU > SERVICE SHOULD SHOW “SERVICE IN 9400 MILES OR 372 DAYS”

It sounds typical of a clagged-up EGR valve or throttle body (Have had something similar on 2 petrol engines and this was the cause in both cases)

There's a thread on here somewhere re use of the Saris Bones on the spaceback, might be worth looking up to see what he's done about lights. The electric kit for these cars is a tad pricey.

Its more to do with the weight distribution of the car than anything else, which is why the fully laden pressure on the Rapid has an extra 12psi on the back but only an extra 2psi on the front - when you add extra passengrs and luggage most of the extra weight goes on the back of the car. My MX5, which has about a 50/50 weight distribution, has the same pressures all round (with Summer tyres that is).

I'm surprised no-one has replied to this one. The key phrase in your post, for me, is where you refer to the emissions fix, and I can't help feeling there may be a connection. Before having my 2012 1.6tdfi 90 fixed I did some internet research, and having found the problems people were having I decided not to go ahead (loss of low-down torque, EGR failure, DPF failure, increased frequency of limp mode and so on) Is it worth your doing searches for up to date information? There's thread somewhere on this forum, however its a long time since I've looked, and I can't find it now.

Looking at the brochures for the new Scala, as a carvan owner I looked up the towing limits. And came across this "interesting" phrase "Please note in some cases it is not possible to retrospectively fit a towbar if the car is not fitted with towbar preparation at the factory" Now I never buy new, always low-mileage used, 1 or 2 years old. How an earth am I supposed to know, in a coupleof years time, wether I'm able to buy and use such a vehicle?

Yup, it is expensive for the electrics. The risk is that the vehicle electrics won't work properly with non-specific items, and your warranty would be affected if you have electrical issues. On my 2014 SB there was a lot of dismantling of trim to fit the vehicle-specific harness, for some unaccoutable reason it wasn't just a "plug in in one place" job. Job includes - or should include - re-coding the car's "brain" to act differently when the trailer is plugged in. There's a recent "towbar" thread in which I've posted more details on this.

Seen this? Looks like the panoramic roof to me ....

Slosh plenty of waxoil over the bare patch, and keep an eye on it. Trying to add underseal could be counter-productive unless you get it to perfectly seal against the existing stuff it may simply trap water and cause corrosion.

This makes the car pretty useless from my point of view, one of its selling points - an important one to me - is the availablility of a full-sized spare AND SOMEWHERE TO PUT IT! (My 2014 1.6tdi has the spare where it should be)

We have the Westfalia removable towbar on our Rapid SB. We did consider the "British" type of non-detachable bar but the fitters (who do lots of towbars, they are a specialist) could not guarantee that the ball wouldn't interfere with the sensors in normal use. Reason is I have a Witter bike carrier that uses a plate that bolts on using the 2 bolts, I used this when carrying bikes but not towing a caravan. I have found that if I leave the towball in place after unhooking the caravan, I can drive around as normal and there is no interference with the sensors. Having said that the "Ball on a stick" presents a smaller "target" for the sensors than the flanged one, the bike carroer plate presents an even bigger target! You do need the "software changes" - this means resetting the car's brain to detect the trailer plug-in. What happens is that once the change has been made, some things work differently once you have plugged-in the trailer electrics, this includes disabling the reverse sensors (a trailer symbol comes up on the display instead), and I thing it also disables the cars rear fog lights as well. Not sure about its reversing lights, I've never looked! And of course the flash rate on the indicators. Cut-out - the rear bumper folds under the car for quite a distance, so there is a large panel cut out of its underside, invisible from normal view. Mine is the Westfalia detachable towbar (https://www.pfjones.co.uk/skoda-rapid-spaceback-2012-onwards-westfalia-detachable-towbar.html), if I was doing it now I would look at the Witter detachable flange towbar (https://www.pfjones.co.uk/skoda-rapid-spaceback-2013-onwards-witter-detachable-flange-tow-bar.html), simply because of the cost of the ball if it gets chipped/damaged/wears out! You should only need to replace the ball with this one (maybe £20) instead of the whole plug-in mechanism (up to £170). When mine was fitted it involved removing a beam from across the rear of the car - the towing brcaket uses its mountings. I have this in the garage, make sure you get yours in case you remove the bracket before selling-on the car! I hope this helps - Richard. I should add mine is a 2014 Rapid SB 1.6tdi - bog standard version, just in case different versions have different bumpers!

Over time they went from not lifting properly, to not lifting at all and dropping the thing on my head! No leaks at all. And I was surprised - I've owned several hatches/estates (Astra's, Cavaliers, a golf and an old banger Fiesta) over the last 30+ years that all had lifting struts, and none has ever failed after twice the mileage(56k)/twice the age(2014) of the Rapid. Says a lot IMHO that the parts are so easy to get, esp at a discount. Mind you, not as bad a weakness as the old Golf 1.4 - consumed oil at the rate indicated in the handbook (never had any other car do this that wasn't totally worn out or leaking) - with the obvious knock-on effect on the EGR and throttle body. Same car also ate springs! So much for VW group "legendary reliabiity"!

My Rapid 1.6tdi 90 (un-ea189'd) pairs well with my '07 MX5 - and does a better job of pulling our caravan! Seriously though, without the diesle's torque I cant think the rapid would be anywhere near as pleasant, or economical, a drive. Michelin tyres all round, and while the gearchange on these cars is very nice thank you I do like to simply chunter along without changing gear too much sometimes.

For those who are interested (there don't seem to be many, strangely !) ... It is as easy as this video suggests Fit gas struts Really did take as much time as it took to boil the kettle for the tea, with the little lady holding the tailgate open. Cost the princely sum of £36.94 inc delivery. Loads of suppliers out there. Kilen 458022, original part no. 5JJ 827550 C.

I have the 1.6 tdi 90 (not-EA189'd), given the comment above about no turbo boost in 1st I'm glad I did get that version, plenty of oomph for pulling away fully laden or with the caravan on the back, plus plenty of mid-range for nippy speed control between 50 and 70 on m'way without lots of gear changing (when I don't have the caravan on the back!) Basic version, 15" wheels/tall tyres does the job it needs to do very nicely thanks, easy to drive around town, ride is much better than my friend's sports version with big wheels and low-profile tyres.