Stewart7

Many thanks to everyone who replied. Yes The pictures were easier to see larger, and they made more sense after seeing Ords Youtube video. Thank you from Stewart

Can anyone give this 77 year old idiot, a step by step idiots guide to accessing the fuses behind the glove box? I've carefully studied the instructions in the drivers hand book, but just can't figure it out. Thank you Stewart

How do I check for the DQ200 recall? Can I do it online? I never go to a Skoda garage.

I believe I have the unit with dry clutches. I've had off the record discussions with an AA mechanic about the belt, and he thinks Skoda are being over cautious. If you look after the belt, (no violent changes of revs, up or down, so as not to stretch it), you should get 100k out of it. My car is a low mileage car but nearly 10 years old so I check the belt every year. I've found that if you release the cover without removing any hoses, just unclip them from their plastic holders, you can use some cord to pull them back towards the wing. Then its a bit fiddly but with a dental mirror and a torch, you can just about see the teeth on the underside of the belt. I use a 12 inch ratchet and socket on the crankshaft pulley to turn the engine over. Its all very much a pain, but cheaper than a mechanic and you have the satisfaction that its been checked thoroughly. There is of course a similar belt driving the coolant pump, but much harder to get at, but as it has less of a load on it and it doesn't wreck your engine if it breaks, checking the cam belt should suffice for this one also. An ordinary socket will fit on the crankshaft pulley bolt, but the head is designed for a socket that drives on the flats, not the corners. Less risk of damage to the bolt to use this typeof socket.

On the subject of clutches, can anyone tell me why occasionally when starting from rest and the first clutch is not quite fully engaged, I get a judder? Its as if I have a rear wheel drive with a manual clutch and I've tried to gat away too smartish and the rear wheels have bounced, tramped?

I always do this. As you say, it makes for a smoother stop. Wiith a manual its easy to gradually ease off the brakes as you slow down, and come right off as you come to a halt. The first time i tried this with a DSG, I found it took a bit of getting used to, to make a smooth stop without having the clutch partially engaged, then applying full brake to completely disengage.

Thanks to everyone who set my mind at rest. I've always been a worrier, and this is the first car I have ever owned where nothing connected with the drive train is get-at-able. Well not for me anyway.. Best wishes Stewart

Can anyone tell me how the different gearbox modes affect the clutches? I would like to use the ECO mode but everytime I take my foot off the throttle, the revs drop, so obviously a clutch disengages. But then, if I start to go downhill, the clutch re engages to provide engine braking. Also, do you know how the clutch mechanism compares to a manual clutch? Do the clutches have springs to hold them closed and release bearings to hold them open? Or are they opened and closed by hydraulics? When the car is stationary and in gear with a foot on the brake, clutches disengaged, is there a release bearing wearing away somehow? Many thanks

I don't know the answer to your question but all my previous cars I fitted with bleed screws with a built in non-return valve. You may want to check these out as they make one person bleeding a doddle. They look just like a normal screw except the pointed end that makes the seal is separated from the main body and is sprung loaded, so loosening about a 1/4 turn allows pressurised fluid to escape but prevents air entering.

Me too. I also checked it against the gauge on the Halfords own, twin cylinder foot-pump and at 30 Lbs, they were exactly the same.

Is there more wear on the clutches with ECO mode?

My key fob battery is only a year old and has had very little use. The car still picks up the signal from the fob when 50 yards away. Can someone tell me how I cancel the warning? Thank you Stewart

Done all the above, and managed to clear notifications, now the car keeps telling me to change the key-fob battery. How do I get it to stop this warning? Thank you Stewart

Many thanks Iway I wasn't waiting for the confirmation prompt. Regards Stewart

Thanks to the good folk at Briskoda, I've recently learnt how to reset the car telling me how many days to oil change and service. But now it keeps telling me 'Inspection Now' and to change the key fob battery. The battery was changed during the last service. Why does the car want me to change it again so soon? Can it somehow sense the battery condition? Does it know maybe a duff one was fitted? In case you are wondering, the garage agreed I should skip the service this year because of covid keeping me and the car at home. Its only done 1800 miles since the last service. Can someone tell me how to cancel these warnings? Thank you Stewart

Thanks Gumby. I'll check out Halfords range.

X-Mist

Do members think I could use a 'bomb' type sanitizer I've just seen in the Easylife catalogue? It says it will kill 99.99 of viruses etc. Its only £10 for a can, so cheaper than the £50 the garage quoted. It says suitable for inside vehicles, and the fine mist gets everywhere. Has anyone here ever done this A/C cleaning themselves? Thank you Stewart

I bought a tiddly bottle of silicon oil from a builders merchant for £5, and a large aerosol can from Lidl for about half that!

An AA mechanic one advised me to lubricate electric windows with silicon oil. (On the sides where they slide against the felt tracks). Maybe silicon oil would be OK on the flap plunger? Maybe others could comment?

Be careful what you lubricate it with. I found to my cost NOT to put WD40 on a steel to plastic bearing.

Before doing so, you might want to consult the handbook. As has been said, there is a risk of sparks igniting hydrogen from the battery if you connect direct.

Thank you Phil. That's interesting, but also a little scary. There must be a sensor somewhere that notices which way you are turning the steering, and how much effort you are putting into it. I hope that sensor is ultra reliable, and that the effort the motor can apply to the rack is less than I can through the steering wheel!! 😟 Thanks for your research Stewart

That's also news to me. I assumed it was hydraulic. Does anyone have any technical info/diagrams of the electric power steering?