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Thank you, silver 1011! I shall bear that in mind next time I want to upload images! Kind Regards, John.

Thank you, rwbaldwin, for your reply! Well, that information is very useful and reassuring to know because, from what you say, it sounds as though this is a failure which has "just happened" due to a failure of the board itself and most likely not due to any "external" causes such as a short circuit. Kind Regards, John.

Thank you, shark_90, for your quick reply. I shall certainly keep you in mind but, at the moment, I think that the auto electrician in already researching means of either having the unit rebuilt or sourcing another unit to have the immoboiliser data transferred to it. Kind Regards, John.

Hello Donovan, Thank you for your reply! First of all, I'm not really au fait with adding pictures on this forum and I wasn't really sure about what I was doing - I started up a PhotoBucket account just so I could upload those pictures - surely there must be an easier way? Anyway, to the ECU. No, this ECU has never been opened up before. There is also no sign whatever of water ingress into it and both sides of the pcb look totally pristine with the exception of the "fried" or "burned" area around those three or four pins which I have pointed out in the pictures. But, at the end of the day, I just thought I would post this as it might be of interest to some people particularly as ECU failure does not, apparently, affect these cars that often. I am pretty well resigned to an expensive bill! Perhaps I should just stick to my other car which doesn't have such crazy complicated electrics - - very easily fixed with a penknife and a ball of string but not quite so fast and not quite so efficient on fuel! Kind Regards, John.

Sorry, but I'm not sure if the three pictures which I added to my last message displayed properly - I'll have another go! i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o713/circumstantial/IMG_1991pointersmalljpg_zpsdac0d96a.jpg:original i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o713/circumstantial/IMG_2000pointersmalljpg_zps1a8ea4ce.jpg:original i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o713/circumstantial/VAG_EDC16U1_zps8772721f.jpg:original

I thought that I would add this story about my recent disaster as it might be of interest to others on this forum! My car is a 2006 Octavia 1.9 pd tdi Estate (BKC engine) which has given me sterling service and never let me down once in 110,000 miles - until last week! After an uneventful 40 mile trip, the engine suddenly "died" with no power whatsoever and initial attempts to start it were unsuccessful. Now, as my engine failed, I did notice that the oil pressure warning light came on despite the fact that the engine was still turning with the transmission (before I declutched) and I also noticed that the temperature gauge had dropped to zero. Once I had rolled to the side of the road, I noticed a strange noise from the engine compartment and, when I lifted the bonnet I found (the key by now having been removed from the ignition) that the radiator cooling fan was doing strange things - idling slowly then speeding up to full speed then slowing down again - while I could also hear a clicking sound (like a relay) coming from the fusebox next to the battery. Having just returned from a business meeting, wearing a smart suit and the weather being wet and windy, I did not feel inclined to delve into the electrics at this point. Attempts to restart the engine were futile - the engine spun healthily on the starter but would not fire. I cannot recall whether or not the engine management light was lit or not. However, after a wait of about 15 minutes, I tried again and the engine started rather lumpily and this time the eml was lit. I then managed to limp (just) to my local independent garage after which the engine died and would not restart. Needless to say, the garage people were rather flummoxed by all this but (at my suggestion too) they did check for water in the engine fusebox as well as checking for blown fuses, bad connections and bad earths, all to no avail. They then sought the advice of an auto electrician who finally found the cause of the problem - a failed ECU. I gather that failed ECUs are quite rare in these cars but I'm enclosing a couple of photographs which I took of the "motherboard" or "printed circuit board" of the ECU once the auto electrician had opened it up - the red arrows point to the area of "mischief": http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o713/circumstantial/IMG_1991pointersmalljpg_zpsdac0d96a.jpg:original http://i1339.photobu...ce.jpg:original Looking at the whole unit, it looks to me as though there are no obviously failed "components" as such on the pcb, just two or three "fried" connections and, if you look at this image - http://i1339.photobu...1f.jpg:original - it appears to me as though the "fried" joints are where pins 76 and 77 (and maybe also 54 and 55) join to the pcb. Any idea what other bits and pieces those connections go to? Obviously I am going to be faced with a substantial bill but I thought that others might be interested in the symptoms of this sudden failure as well as the "post mortem" findings too! One concern I have is what exactly might have been the cause of this failure - was it most likely just a "dry" soldered joint which had built up resistance then failed - or was the cause some "external" problem such as a failed relay or short circuit or something like that which burned out this part of the ECU? Funnily enough, it had crossed my mind that if the auto electrician can't find a replacement or rebuilt unit, it might just be an idea to try repairing those soldered joints myself - I have done it (successfully) in the past on radios and suchlike!

Thank you, Gyp, 2SkodaFamily and Octavia5, for your advice. I think I shall certainly be planning to change the water pump at the same time as I do the belt. Incidentally, I see that AVS Car Parts ( http://www.vwspares.co.uk/ ) sell water pumps with metal impellers for my BKC engine for about the same price as Gyp quoted. They also have original manufacturer cambelt kits for what look like very reasonable prices too. And crankshaft locking plates and tensioner wrenches for setting up the belt too. I think I might give them a try - has anyone had any experience of them? Many Thanks, Kind Regards, John.

I have a 2006 Skoda Octavia II 1.9 PD TDI Estate and, at 79,000 miles, the cambelt is due for changing. I am quite happy to do this work myself but I am wondering what the advice is regarding changing the water pump at the same time? This would, of course, be just a precautionary measure as there is no evidence at the moment that the water pump is about to fail. Are there any recommendations about this?

I'm not sure if all this isn't just a bit pointless. Isn't it better to debate just how many m.p.g. we should expect from our vehicles? I have a March, 2006 Octavia II 1.9 TDI PD Anbiente Estate which I have had since it was 6 months old and had done 5,000 miles. So I have had it for just over 18 months and have done just over 30,000 miles in it. I keep a book in the glovebox and, every time I fill up with diesel, I note the date, the mileage on the clock, the number of litres of fuel put in and the cost (the last one just to depress me!). I have had this habit since I had my first Morris Minor nearly 40 years ago. Call me an anorak! So, it is a simple matter to work out the m.p.g. - just divide the mileage done (the difference between the mileage now and that when you last filled up) by the number of litres put in, then multiply by 4.54 (the number of litres in a gallon). If you want to, you can add up all the figures in your book and work out the average m.p.g. very easily. I drive in a pretty moderate way, doing 10-mile trips to work and back during the week and doing some 100-mile trips at weekends. By this method, I have found that I usually manage about 55 m.p.g. The best I have had, during the summer months, was 57.2 m.p.g. and the worst was 51.4 m.p.g.: that was in the coldest bit of winter. The on-board computer is notoriously inaccurate: in my car it states that the average m.p.g. is around the low 60's. I estimate that the computer over-estimates the m.p.g. by about 8 m.p.g. The reading which indicates how far you can go before refuelling is also pretty inaccurate - I find that frequently, after filling up, it gives one reading only to give a higher one after I've driven 30 or 40 miles. So, there you go. My average m.p.g. is between 52 and 56 which I think is pretty good - I never had more than 48 with my Mini 1000, my Nissan Sunny 1500 gave between 40 and 45, my Mercedes 280CE did about 23 as did my 1961 Rover 100 and my 1971 Triumph 2.5PI. My Series III LandRover did a pathetic 16-18 m.p.g. My other car at present, a 1935 Austin Ten saloon, averages about 34 m.p.g. Unfortunately, petrol is no longer 1s 1d a gallon nowadays! So I'm pretty pleased with the Skoda. It is amazingly efficient for a large heavy car which is comfortable, roomy and a real workhorse. Oil? Well, I thought I'd mention that too. My car is on variable servicing. It needed no top-up at all before the first service at 18,600 miles but, just as it passed 30,000 miles, I needed to add about half a litre of Castrol Edge 5W-30: that will do until its next service which looks like it's going to be very soon at about 37.300 miles. Sorry to be boring, but reading all the comments above gave me no idea whatsoever as to exactly what m.p.g. anyone was getting from their cars. I hope that what I have written might give others an idea as to what mileage I get with mine. Best Wishes, John.

Despite all I'd heard and read about Parks of Hamilton, I decided to take my 2006 Octy II Estate to them for it's first (variable) service at 18,600 miles. No regrets either. They were pleasant and courteous, did the service while I waited (a two-hour wander around Hamilton taking in a less-than-healthy fried breakfast in the Capocci Man - highly recommended) and fixed a minor water leak around a door seal. All for

Well done Irin! Glad it worked! Best Wishes, John.

Hello, Irin. I posted a question on this site just last week: I had put a small dinge in the tailgate of my Octy II estate when I was reversing in a supermarket car park and didn't see a small fence which was below the waistline of the car. I wanted to remove the plastic trim so I could push out the dent but I didn't get any replies other than suggestions to go to a professional body shop. Anyway, yesterday I took the bull by the horns and managed to release the trim sufficiently to push out the dinge. I presume the procedure would be similar for the hatchback. I had to unscrew the rubber handle that hangs down for shutting the lid (I'm not sure if the hatchback has one of these) and then I managed to prise the clips out using a broad flat screwdriver wrapped in cloth,starting on one side at the lower corner of the rear screen. Once started, it was fairly easy to release the other clips. Surprisingly, the clips are metal - most modern cars now seem to have plastic clips to hold on trim like this. And I didn't break a single clip either. Best of luck! John.

I wonder if anyone can tell me how to remove the interior trim from the tailgate of my '06 Octavia II 1.9 TDI PD estate? I was a silly-billy and put a tiny dent in the tailgate whilst reversing in a Tesco car-park where a cleverly-sited fence had a rail sticking out just below my line of sight. I'm sure that if I can take off the interior trim and gain access behind the panel I should be able to push the dent out quite easily. Is the trim just held on with "poppers" and the screw that holds the dangly rubber handle you use to close the tailgate - or is there a bit more to it than that? I don't want to break anything. Any help would be much appreciated. John.

I have a 2006 Octavia 1.9 TDI PD Ambiente Estate, registered March, 2006 and bought by me in October. The car was a demonstrator at a nearby Skoda dealer. It has now covered 10,000 miles and I love it. However, there are a couple of questions I have which I should like to put to those who are much more familiar with these cars than I am. Firstly, am I correct in thinking that the on-board computer is not that accurate at measuring m.p.g.? Mine reads an average of 59.6 but my calculations work out average consumption at about 52 m.p.g. which I think is still very reasonable. Secondly, I have come across what I would, on a petrol car, call a "misfire". This is my first diesel car in 40 years of motoring and perhaps it is my driving technique which is to blame! I find if I give it full throttle in 5th gear at anything between 1000 and 1600 r.p.m., I get a shudder which feels just like a "missing" cylinder. If this were a petrol engine, I would have whipped out the plugs and had a look at them. I understand that full throttle at 1000 r.p.m. might be construed as labouring the engine, but surely not at 1500 or 1600. Back off the throttle and "squeeze" again slowly and all is well. Is this a common problem with this engine (Engine code BKC) or is it something I should bring to the attention of the dealer whilst the car is still under warranty? Thirdly, I do not have a "radio code". Are the Stream radio/CD players in these vehicles coded? I noted the post by "roo" about certain VIN codes that come up on the radio after pressing certain buttons - mine displays two codes - one is the vehicle VIN itself - what is the other? Is it the something to do with the code of the radio? Should I ask my dealer? Sorry to post so many questions at once in my first-ever post on this site but I should be interested to hear any information you might have. I might add that I have already learned an awful lot about my new car by browsing Briskoda already! John.

Just bought my first Skoda. An ex-demonstrator 2006 Octavia 1.9 TDI PD Ambiente Estate. It seems lovely. I pick it up next week and am looking forward to that. I have previously been a devotee of Nissan and Toyota and have been impressed with their reliability but I fancied a diesel for economy of running and the Skoda write-ups seem excellent. I hope the Skoda will match the reliability of the Far-Eastern cars. Please tell me I've done the right thing! :confused: