Steviedakota

Didn't remove entirely, removed the clips and rubber strip, this allowed me to prise them up enough to have a good look inside without removing the wiper arms. Mother of God, why?!

Just checked the scuttle, removed the plastic trim, all clear in there, removed pollen filter, all clear, removed side plastic cover on dash and reached in as far as I could, no joy. Whatever it is, is light and able to roll back and forth. Maybe time for one of those USB endoscopes to look behind the dash...

Good suggestion re under the scuttle, sounds like its inside the car though. I took the glovebox down, nothing there, but will also pull the pollen filter and look in there. Keep the suggestions coming!

Here is one to send anyone with OCD over the edge. Sounds like a pen or pencil has fallen down behind the dash by the windscreen at the passenger side , and it rolls back and forward under acceleration and deceleration. Mother of God. Any suggestions how to get it out?

"So Skoda dealer says nothing wrong but non OE compatible battery fitted so unable to code in." Utter nonsense. Any suitable battery will work, but it has to be to spec for Stop/start, Varta, Exide, Yuasa, etc. It is also my understanding that the battery is not coded to the car, put the car does have to be told via the OBD that there is a new battery so that it does not try to overcharge it. If the above procedure was not done for your existing Bosch battery it could certainly shorten its life. If it was me OP I would just cut to the chase, off to Halfords, buy a new battery (5 year guarantee), €200 done.

If you were chasing perfection then maybe but otherwise overkill and it adds a lot of weight to the car.

Great results OP, £12000 to £1500 is the reason Stealers have a bad name. No interest in fixing, just replacing.

This is exactly what we ended up doing. Only place that we could get sorted on a Sunday and the car was needed first thing Monday morning. The AA came out to start the car, drove 20 mins to Halfords and the battery was dead as a duck when I got there. Interesting that there is no tapering in battery performance, it went from working fine to utterly failed within 48 hours. Thanks for all the tips folks.

Battery is knackered, any recommendations? When I use car reg on parts finder price Bosche ranges from €130-€280. Is this a case of not buying cheapest option?

That was my next guess! 😂. Well done OP, amazed you could hear that under the seat, under the carpet.

£300 sounds very good compared to what I have been quoted by Skoda! There is a fair amount of dismantling to get to the part I believe.

The secret storage slot at the bottom of the centre armrest storage?

Update: Skoda refused warranty, they obviously feel rust like this on a six year old car is acceptable. I will be sending back to bare metal and re-spraying myself as it is such a discrete area it doesn't have to be 100%. I'll post updates.

When my shocks go B6 top of the list for replacements. Can is a standard SE, my priority is comfort, not sportiness. Can B6 drivers confirm if the comfort has been retained, or has any harshness crept in since swapping?

Does side acoustic glazing, which I assume is thicker, also need new window seals or other modified parts?

Yup, those big wheels are the main culprit, I have 17s and there is very little road noise.

The 3 easiest DIY jobs luckily show the biggest improvement: 1 is easy, 10 is very hard. Boot floor - 1/10 - Dynamat and closed cell Under rear seat - 1/10 - Dynamat and closedcell B Pillar - 3/10 - Closed cell Wheel arches, inside doors are all harder and give fewer gains. Keep in mind of the biggest gains for reducing road noise are lower dB rated tires.

The rubber part at the base lifts out so can be cleaned easily. Tricky to prise out so Just stick a hoover head on it and it suck, it will lift out.

Sorry my bad, miss read you post!

You could be in trouble there now that debris has fallen into the blower. Not sure how you would set about extracting it. The proper technique when removing the air filter is to place a piece of cardboard underneath the filter before sliding it out so that any debris doesn't fall into the blower. VAG use a specific tool for this but a sheet of cardboard is fine.

Thanks for the replies guys, super helpful. Looks like mine is external thank goodness, had a feel around it and no sign of any leaking. The clutch hasn't stuck to the floor since that one time but still getting the intermittent juddering, so is the thinking that this is probably a good place to start? Interestingly I had a Passat with the same engine a few years ago and and had the the slave fail in the first year of ownership. In that case the pedal went to the floor and never came back.

No idea but good copies can be found on Ali express that are equal to if not better than the originals. Keep in mind if you're using an acidic wheel cleaner they will be destroyed in no time either way, Ph neutral cleaner and they last ages.

I'm kind of preparing myself for this eventuality!

Thanks folks, still not sure the best course of action. Yesterday the clutch pedal stuck to the floor, had to lift it up with my foot and since then has behaved. Not sure what that was about but maybe linked to the erratic juddering? Could be master or slave cylinder too, a bit befuddled at this stage!

Thanks all the responses, very useful information. Just checked with my local main dealer and at €150 might just leave it to them for now.