pdhealy

I treated the carpets and seats in mine, after using the usual spray on/ wipe off foam cleaners for the last 4 years. Each time I used the foam cleaners (Shout, etc), they looked clean initially, but soon water marks appear and just keep getting worse. I am convinced the foam leaves a powdery residue in the fabric, trapping the dirt. I bought an Aldi wet and dry vacuum for €59 and it worked a treat. I used a solution of vanish oxy sponged on to the fabric, left for 1 or 2 minutes, then vacuumed off. I repeated this process, then used warm water sprayed onto the fabric to rinse, and vacuumed off. Once dry, I used Scotchguard fabric protector spray (it's supposed to repel water). So far the car is still pristine. I gave my wife's car a going over with the same treatment, and all I can say is we never knew there was a pattern in the seat upholstery until we wet vac'd it!

I tried a few times without success too. As Yegnold said, there were loads of caching error messages.

I had tried the spray on upholstry cleaners, and wiping off. This seemed to work for a while, but water stains badly after a few cleans. I invested in a wet & dry vac 2 weeks ago (Aldi special for €59:thumbup:) and used some Aldi stain pre-treatment neat on the seats, vacuumed off after 30 seconds. Then I squirted water onto the seats to rinse and vacuumed (3 or 4 times). The seats now look like new.

Got this by email today (apologies if it's a repost). "Fully built in white gold - Abu Dhabi registration." :eek: The recession is obviously not hitting everyone.....

At a guess, this could be down to moisture ingress in the central convenience controller connection to the elec window motor in the drivers door. Any other symptoms? Elec mirror working when window is playing up? Is the drivers door LED staying on when driving? It could be a faulty switch or course...

If it sounds like the locking mechanism trying to lock and unlock in rapid succession, thats how my convenience unit behaved just before it started winding the windows down of it's own accord. This noise is much more noticable than the V71 flap motor problem. If it is the convenience unit & loom problem, then the drivers door LED will probably be off completely, or stay on even when the car is being driven. Some on here have managed to take the connector apart, and remove signs of corrosion (WD40, etc). If you feel confident enough to remove the door card (How-to somewhere on this site I think), then you will be able to get at the controller (plugged into the elec window motor), and check for signs of corrosion. It's worth a try as paying main dealer prices to replace the loom & unit will be expensive.

These symptoms sound all too familiar. Try searching for "central convenience". My original post is here: http://briskoda.net/octavia-i/octavia-rs-posessed/68453/

Greetings from Co. Mayo

Once you have removed the single screw each side, try pushing in and sliding the trim towards the centre. They can be stiff, but persevere.

Does this look like the correct part? eBay.ie: Skoda Octavia/Superb Air Positioning motor-ORIGINAL&NEW (item 390000341760 end time 27-Mar-09 21:39:15 GMT)

It could have been worse.... http://briskoda.net/off-topic-chit-chat/bmw-z4-vs-deer/129214/

Yep, sounds like a wheel bearing. I had one replaced 2 weeks ago, after my wife hit a big pothole. Drivers side front in my case. I am getting the anti-roll bar bushes replaced too, because I can hear it clonking over bumps since the bearing noise went.

I have heard a laser warning from scatter off a car ahead of me, but I wouldn't rely on it happening all the time. The BEL 915 LR works on GATSO's and mobile GATSO vans in Ireland, but as VRStu pointed out, if you hear the laser alert, you don't have time enough to react.

I had my drivers side wheel bearing replaced last weekend, and on the way home I noticed the anti-roll bar bushes need doing again - due to be done on Thursday.

It is possible. When I had my issues on the Mk1 there were about 14 codes, lots of which were for equipment that was not in my car (electric memory seats, etc.). Of all the codes, I think 2 were relevant to my problem. It seemed that the convenience unit became schizophrenic, and thought it was a Bentley or something equally grand.

It looks like you have a central locking/ central convenience unit problem. Have you noticed any unusual behaviour with the elec windows, alarm, or locking? I'm not very familiar with the Octavia II, but have had similar issues with the Mk I. If there is an LED on the drivers door, check to see if stays lit while the car is being driven. If the car is under warranty, tell the garage that there seems to be a central convenience problem. On the Mk I the central convenience unit & loom is prone to water damage at the connector, could be a similar problem in the Mk II?

I wish your seats fitted a mk1 RS Nice find by the way!

This should help a bit: http://briskoda.net/technical-guides/door-card-removal-deadlocked-octavia/124920/

Sounds familiar... Mine had these and other symptoms http://briskoda.net/octavia-i/octavia-rs-posessed/68453/ I would bet if you can look at the central convenience controller in the drivers door, you will see signs of moisture damage on the pins. Clean off any corrosion, and try some WD 40 on the connector before refitting. AFIK the LED behaviour being on constant is a sign that a fault code has been logged. If you can get the codes read, see if any match the ones in the link above.

I going to try to get to one this year. Didn't make any of last years meets...

I have had two RS's back to back since August 2002 if that counts. I put 55k miles on the first, and so far 78k miles on the second. I have had a good share of glitches with them, but no more than most manufacturers. 2002: Have had the water pump go (under warranty), coil packs (under warranty), turbo gasket replaced, 2004: steering rack (under warranty), central convenience unit and loom (parts under goodwill from Skoda), two electric window assemblies, anti roll bar and bushings replaced, and an ongoing hate relationship with a factory alarm that doesn't like when it's very windy. All in all, I'm happier with the Mk 1 than a mate with a 06 Mk 2 RS at the moment.

Bump

I have had a 22% cut in salary since before Christmas. We have been paying two mortgages, one on a house we want to do up and eventually move into, but it's not rentable at the moment. My wifes wedding florist business is not generating much income. We are heading towards negative equity, and we were hoping to get our home sold to do up the cottage, but nobody is buying. So, I guess you could say it has affected us a bit. Thankfully, neither my wife or I are suicidal. We have resigned ourselves to the knowledge that what will be will be.

I have experienced similar. I have always had an issue with the brakes on both my current and previous Octavia RS. On wet mornings, I notice a lot of oxidation on the discs, so I tend to ride the brakes for the first part of my journey to clear the discs. My main issue is that in heavy rain in a line of traffic, if I need to brake, there tends to be a one or two second lack of response before the brake force is felt. The only explanation I can come up with is that the brake disc gets a lot of surface water adhering to it, and it takes the pads a second or two to clear the water/ get hot enough to grip the pad. As I'm no expert, I may be wrong, but it feels like that is whats happening. I may try out grooved or drilled discs next time.

(Off topic slightly) I thought the vRS model wasn't available until 2001?