trevh

New diff from Audi, 58k km, fitted with new fluids. A$3100. Driving away made it clear just how noisy it had been. and the Haldex now works correctly. But now I have a clunk when the body is laterally loaded from side to side. And have not been able to get it back to the shop. Had a look underneath, all the bolts are tight and I could not find any movement anywhere wit a tyre lever. Any Ideas? Trev

My 2015 Scout premium with the excellent adaptive, steering HID headlights has had no moiisture problems in the headlights even when covered in snow. Then, two weeks ago on a long drive in very wet contitions I had a LH DRL error while driving. Upon inspection the light had large droplets of water all over the inside of the lens. Like others I parked the car in the sun with the covers off the next day and dried the unit out but the DRL no longer works. Seems like water being forced into the unit via failed seals at speed ( 105 km/hr ) fin heavy rain for over 4 hours. I will remove the unit ( which requires the removal of the wheel arches and nose cone - quite a fiddle but not hard ) and see if I can see any obvious corrosion next weekend. Can the lens be unclipped and be resealed? Can the LED DRL be replaced separately? It would be a waste, not to mention the cost, to have to replace the whole light assembly with the Adaptive mechanism for the sake of the LED DRL strip and a headlight seal. Trevor

Found another diff. My mechanic has found a complete diff/Haldex from an Audi that has done 60000 km. He can supply and fit with new fluids for $3100. With 3 months warranty. Seems like a lot for a simple worn bearing that is readily avilable. All three diff bearinga are available in Australia for $50-70 each but finding someone who is happy to do the work is the problem. And the double sided seal between the Diff and the Haldex may be difficult. In the video from PT he carefully preserved it and did not replace it. I suspect this would be a game stopper for most professional transmission shops. They could not warranty the work if they cannot replace the seal. Does anyone know the part number for this seal? I willh have a unit ready to be overhauled in a week or so. Trevor

There is a video on Youtube by a guy in NSW who replaced the bearings in a golf allroad which is AFAIK identical to the Octavi Scout. : My Mechanic has been over it with his stethoscope and reckons the noise is the Drivers side carrier bearing. Exactly what is shown in the video. He has queried his usual transmission and diff guys about a rebuild and has done a search on parts locator. He thinks he has found one with low Ks. Will let me know costs Monday. Much simpler to remove replace rather than have the car sitting around without a diff while the rebuild is done. The bearings mentioned in the discussion with this video are all listed by aussie suppliers. Actual availability could be a problem with COVID supply chain issues.. And the special double sided seal on the pinion between the Haldex and the diff, which was not replaced in the video, could be a deal breaker for professional workshops. Seems the filter screen on the pump had not been cleaned when my Haldex oil was changed before Christmas. When he removed the pump the screen was blocked. Has cleaned it and replaced the pump but there are still open circuit errors on the pump motor reported by the diagnostics. Hydraulic pumps do not like running with no flow so the failed motor is probably no surprise. So at the very least I need a new Haldex pump - $319 at VAGParts. Seems the Haldex should have its fluid changed and the screen cleaned every 30000km Mine has only been done twice in 160000 km! with all Skoda service history and info online it is not always easy to work out the service schedule. Trevor

My 2015 scout premium 135 KW diesel with 166 K Km has rapidly developed an increasingly loud bearing whine from the rear over the last few weeks. Noise is not related to steering loads or engine loads - It is still there while coasting. Discovered yesterday that I have no rear drive! Full throttle takeoffs on dirt roads just light up the front wheels withthe rear wheels rolling over the loose dirt created. Took it tothe mechanic today. He tells me the right output bearing on the diff is the bearing noise. And that VAG only sells complete diffs. Seems he did not remopve haldex pump to clean screen when he changed Haldex oil late last year so that might explain the lacjk of drive. More worrying is the possibility of having to get a complete diff. Anyone know if these diffs can be overhauled? are the bearings available? I am in Australia but there are specialist diff repairers who can probably do the job if the parts are available. I know thjere are Haldex pump kits available if that is the problem with the rear drive. Hopefully that's the worst outcome for the Haldex.

I have the same problem as Nick will have if he goes ahead. Picked up a pair of Cibie LED super oscars for a ridiculous price ( 2 for $ 150 normally $400 each ) and just could not resist. Had several sets of Halogen Super oscars in the '70s so there's a bit of nostalgia there. I have Xenon's on the 2015 Scout premium which are great but you can always use more light here on Gippsland rural roads. I believe I can tap the white/black wire in the headlight that triggers the gate that opens for High beam and use it to trigger a relay. Question is where is the best place to tap a 12 v source? under the bonnet, preferably fused. Is there a hole in the firewall so I can get a wire to a switch? Can i get a switch that will fit the panel in front of the gear stick? How do I mount the lights? I have a number plate light mount but it will need stabilisers as these lights are big ( 9" ) and relatively heavy. All suggestions welcome

Ok Langers2k, that is a reasonable explanation I guess. Certainly in rural Victoria and the parts of Melbourne that frequent it is more annoying than useful. Otherwise I find the Xenons really good. For a number of years I have upgraded the lights in various Peugeots to HID with success. So I was really pleased that the Skoda came with Xenons standard and the adaptive functios were a bonus. I do have a Ross-Tech VCDS and have tried to get auto high beam working without success. Apparently there is a problem in Australia and it is locked out. Trevor

Phil, Accept that it is a good idea to illuminate the roadside near the car where there are pedestrians, animals, cyclists power and light poles and all sorts of other obstacles that a driver needs to be able to see. I cannot understand how canting the drivers side headlight out and down achieves this. This position will either have cars in the outer lane on a two lane carriageway or oncoming traffic on a two way road. At night the objects in this position, by law, have to have lights on them and drivers will be aware of them because they are sharing the road. That is where the drivers attention is as they navigate their car. Surely illuminating objects that are on the edge of the road like cyclists or potholes or off the road and capable of moving onto the road like children, animals or pedestrians before they move onto the road makes more sense. Sounds like Škoda have got this little bit of cleverness arse about to me. Trevor

Thanks Langers2k. You have finally explained the behaviour of the Xenons on my 2015 MK3 Octavia Scout which has annoyed me ever since I bought it. In Australia we drive on the left like you and I could never understand why at low speed the right headlight points to the right at town speed. What I see is the lights swing to the right as normal when I first turn right then stay offset to the right until I come to a stop or speed up. So this must be remnant of the cars being set up for LHD drive in Europe and not being converted to RHD? I can see that at town speeds it might help to have the near side light pointing at the edge of the road - the RH light in LHD - but it makes no sense to me to have the Offside light pointing at the oncoming traffic as it does on my RHD car. Any Idea whether there is coding to swap this behaviour to the LH headlight so it is more appropriate for RHD cars? Trevor MIrboo, Vic, Australia