RichardB53

Right: Can't alter the speed the front sensors come on, as far as I can see. Activate automatically is unchecked - still come on. Front assist disabled - still come on. No worries, I've had a try and failed, and I can live with it. It's not a big deal, just a mild annoyance, and I am starting to get used to it anyway. Many thanks for all the ideas, very helpful. Cheers all.

I would have thought a generic bulb kit from Halford's or whatever would be sufficient. *Clouseau voice* Wherrrre is your bulb kit, m'sieu? Here it is, officer. (Shows generic kit with various bulbs clearly visible.) Merci, m'sieu, 'ave a nice day! */CV* No policeman will know enough about every single car on the road to say it isn't correct, and they have better things to do with their time. Also, I carry a breath test kit. Even though they are not a legal requirement any more, I have heard of people being asked for them at the roadside, perhaps by police being awkward or looking for something to catch you out. For a couple of quid, it might save an hour of arguing in a foreign language when I am supposed to be on holiday. In my experience, if you show the police what they need to see, quickly and politely, you are on your way in no time.

Mine is a plain old steel wheel (full-size) whereas the car wheels are alloy. So not a match visually, but should get me home after any wheel-related incident without fuss. I generally only rotate side-to-side anyway (can't remember when I last did it, mind) so I usually relace tyres in pairs as they wear. Having all 5 matching is not a requirement.

As above, I have 'activate automatically' UNCHECKED in the car settings, but they still come on. I'm guessing that is the 'fairly obvious' setting you mean. I'm a bit puzzled with it all, but I am guessing that as it is a 'safety' feature they will make it as hard as possible to get round. I can live with it, but it's a tad annoying that I can't do anything with it. Will have a go at playing with the speed and turning off Front Assist, see where that gets me. Having said all this, I've had the car two weeks now and I am loving it. Thanks all for the suggestions.

Octavia SA Technology, 2016. The car is fitted with Park Pilot, with front and rear sensors and a dynamic image on the infotainment screen with steering path and the location of obstacles. I can see that is a great idea, but it's more than I need. What I really need is just reverse sensors that beep when I am close to an obstacle, which is what my wife's Octavia has. I'd ideally like to disable the front sensors, as they cause an issue when I am driving down the lane from my house to the road. It's narrow, there's a lot of foliage at the sides, the car thinks it's going to crash, and there's a lot of beeping and flashing that I don't need. I've been into the settings (Car/Parking/Park Pilot, 'activate automatically' unchecked) but it still activates from time to time. I know I can always stop it with the button in front of the gear lever, but I would prefer it not to work at all. Is there any way of downgrading the Park Pilot feature to the next level down (like my wife's car), where it is just a reversing sensor? I am aware you can turn down the volume of the beeps, but you can't disable them entirely, and the image still takes over the infotainment display. Many thanks for any info.

I just bought an Octavia estate, 4 years old, with a can of slime and a pump in the boot. I don't like the idea of doing any journey without a spare wheel, so I ordered one. There are plenty of cheap wheels with tyre on eBay, but I got a genuine Skoda kit with wheel/tyre, jack and tools, all in the proper black foam thing that fits in the wheel well. Also very important, the correct device to attach to the boot floor to hold it down, for safety reasons. It's very neat and well-designed, and I am happy with it. Caffyn's (Skoda dealer), £170 shipped, arrived ion 3-4 days. I had the spare before I had the car

Not sure I know why, either. I think it's the combination of the 150PS engine, which has plenty of torque, and the DSG box, which seems to cope with the demands of towing admirably. The car is stable at all speeds, probably good geometry as you said, and I can see how it won the Caravan Club Towcar of the Year Award several times. The only car I have towed with that was better was a 4.6 auto Range Rover, but that is quite a high bar. The Octavia is MUCH better than my Mondeo estate was, despite them having almost identical outputs and dimensions.

I feel like I've been here before ... I joined the forum and posted a couple of things when my wife got her Octavia hatch in 2016. Since then it has continued to work without fault, and so I haven't felt the need to post anything else. Today I exchanged my car for an Octavia Estate (1.6 diesel, 2016, SE Technology I think). I've had a few cars in the last year or two which have been big disappointments, and when a local dealer had a super black estate in stock for an affordable price I jumped at it. I'm not a big fan of modern cars, but the Skoda has impressed with being utterly reliable, well-built and thoughtfully-designed, and the best tow car I have ever driven (hers is a 2.0 tdci DSG). So here I am again. Will post a couple of noob questions in the appropriate places. Cheers! Richard, near Haverfordwest, West Wales.