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First, establish what the problem is that you are trying to solve? If the problem is the risk of a split silica bag causing an expensive repair, if the expansion tank says "Mit Silikat", then the car would have had a silica bag and G13 (or earlier) coolant originally. If the previous owner had the sense to fish the silica bag out, but lacked the sense to mark the expansion tank as having had the silica bag removed, then I'm guessing they didn't change the coolant. Example, pic attached is my expansion tank. It's pretty clear what coolant is in the system. (Or at least is claimed to be in the system.) I also wrote (NO SILICA) on the tank, but the permanent marker was not so permanent. 😞 G12evo coolant is pretty pricey, so the additional parts cost of changing the relatively cheap expansion tank isn't prohibitive, if you're going to change the coolant anyway. However if you're 100% sure the silica bag was removed intact and without having leaked any silica into your coolant system, it's a cost you could potentially avoid. Of course it might be that the previous owner replaced the coolant with G12evo when they removed the silica bag, in which case you don't need to do anything. If I were you, I'd get a torch and have a very good look inside that expansion tank. I'd be looking for the silica bag, but also for any evidence of any sediment of any description in the tank. I've uploaded a pic of my expansion tank with the silica bag in-situ prior to me fishing it out, but the silica container can vary. (Just for the hell of it I've also uploaded a pic of my engine bay, because it's so clean and lahverly. ) If there was no silica bag and no sediment, I'd play it safe and change the coolant to G12evo and be glad someone else fished the silica bag out so I didn't have to. If I found the silica bag, I'd uhm and ahh about deciding whether to fish the silica bag out or just change the expansion tank for one without a silica bag. Then I'd go with whatever I decided after all the uhming and ahhing and also change the coolant to G12evo. If there was any trace of sediment in the expansion tank, probably be asking for advice on whether it was worth flushing the coolant system before changing the coolant to G12evo.

Time will tell on these predictions, @lol-lol. I would welcome a drop in both interest rates and electricity prices, but I'm not counting on those costs coming down.

What MPG are you getting around town?

I think the local council tint ban applies to taxis/private hire used to carry school children. I don't believe they're a problem for taxis/private hire carrying adults, though that may be different in areas which have had local problems with taxi-drivers molesting passengers.

We had a Skoda Fabia 1.2 petrol manual (circa 2006) and overall MPG was somewhere in the mid 30's. It was pretty hopeless and I remember being surprised at how such a low-powered, small car could be so thirsty.

Yeah, when I looked at getting an OBD11 recently, it seemed to be a subscription scheme. I'll have a look into Carista. Thanks! Edit: Carista have a subscription scheme too, via the app. Oh well, I'll manage without.

Hello to you both!

Which OBD11 version do you recommend, @Tivan?

I've just spent a couple of hours changing the routing of my reversing camera wire from over the top of the headlining to down low along the bottom of the doors, because it's always bothered me slightly that the camera wire may somehow interfere with the side curtain airbags. Fortunately I made good notes on here of how I did the job originally, so re-doing it was a lot easier. This is the thread that keeps on giving! 😄

I am on a steep learning curve here as I really don't know anything about AutoHold. I didn't know it was something you had a choice about using or not. Having just read up on it, I don't think I'd use it, either. I think I'd rather just bung the handbrake on. That said, it looks like AutoHold isn't related to the electronic handbrake, it's an ABS/ESP-based thing. So presumably it's technically possible to have a standard lever handbrake and AutoHold. https://www.volkswagen.co.uk/en/technology/driver-assist/braking.html

Thanks for putting me right on that, @toot. Presumably AutoHold lifts the DSG clutch completely clear on vehicles with the feature? One other fly in my ointment is that as my DSG was reprogrammed with my engine remap, it may well be that my clutch set-up is different to the standard settings, hence my different DSG driving experience to others.

I have a full answer to this, but TL:DR AutoHold is a game-changer on this issue and my car doesn't have it. That said.... As I'm sure you know, the DSG is a dual clutch gearbox that operates automatically. It's far different to a traditional automatic gearbox. While the DSG offers the convenience of a traditional automatic, with improved fuel economy and the ability to shift gears more quickly than a manual gearbox, it has the same basic operation as a traditional gearbox, though with two clutches and two banks of gears. Gears 1, 3, 5, (and maybe 7) on one bank, and gears 2, 4, 6 (and maybe 8 ) on the other. Pre-selecting the next gear with the clutch disengaged on the other bank of gears to the one in use with the clutch engaged, is what gives the DSG its speed advantage. To change gear, the active bank disengages its clutch, and at almost precisely the same time, the inactive bank engages its clutch and the car has changed gear. The DQ381 gearbox and manual handbrake set-up on my 2019 car is not one of the very latest gearboxes, and so it still needs to be driven with some of the considerations that should be would used when driving a manual gearbox. I suspect the newer gearboxes featuring electronic handbrakes with AutoHold really do not need to be taken out of drive mode when at the lights, and are perfectly happy sat there for some time with the clutch completely disengaged. As I indicated originally, my gearbox does not completely disengage the clutch when stationary in drive. The Octavia manual does not need to change, because it tells drivers what they may do, without prescriptively telling them what they should do. So for me "The selector lever position N does not have to be selected if stopping for a short time, such as at cross roads." means "Don't worry about burning out the clutch on the 1,3,5,7 bank of gears waiting at a junction in drive, so long as you're only going to be riding the clutch for a short time." For cars with AutoHold, "The selector lever position N does not have to be selected if stopping for a short time, such as at cross roads." means "Don't worry about burning out the clutch because you can't, but it's probably a good idea for road safety to put the car in neutral and bung the handbrake on if you're going to be sat for a while." On mine, the gear selector and handbrake are big levers that invite use. On the cars with electronic handbrakes and AutoHold, the gear selector and handbrake controls are reduced to switches, which are not intended to be used in the same way, because they don't need to need to be. AutoHold does automatically what I have to do manually. As I seem to be getting a hint of rheumatism in my elbow, if that gets much worse, I may start to think of electronic handbrakes and AutoHold as very good ideas. In summary, I suspect a few of us have been talking at cross purposes here, without fully understanding the intricacies of the vehicles involved. I certainly didn't know about AutoHold at the start of this thread. There have probably been a few people who understood the difference between cars with and without AutoHold, who were wondering what we were arguing about. Oh well, hopefully this thread has shed some light on the issue and we managed to do it without anyone getting angry about it. Lovely! 😊

I have no idea what "AutoHold" is, so perhaps I really am doing it all wrong. Edit: Just checked the manual and I couldn't find AutoHold (or "auto hold") in there. The closest thing I could find to it is "hill assist". A bit of research later and I think AutoHold is a feature that works with electronic handbrakes. I have an old-fashioned lever-type handbrake on my car.

But that is not what it says. It says you don't have to select neutral if you're only stopping for a short time. It does not say that you should not select neutral if you're only stopping for a short time. I'm not sure of the origin of the idea that putting a DSG in and out of neutral is somehow a problem, rather than leaving it in drive. Personally, I prefer to sit at a set of lights in neutral with my feet relaxed, rather than wait there with my foot pressed on the brake. If people want to sit at the lights with their foot on the brake, that's fine by me.

Yeah, I suppose it does. But that's not a problem. I can drive a manual car just fine, so simply putting the gear selector into neutral and putting the handbrake on when coming to a halt seems natural to me. It also seems to be the most mechanically sympathetic thing to do, as far as the gearbox is concerned. When my car is stationary, the car does seem to "relax" (for want of a better word) when I put it into neutral from drive. I don't think the clutch is fully disengaged when the car is in drive and stationary with the brake pressed. I don't think it's a good practice to sit at a junction in drive, with only your foot on the brake stopping the car from moving forward. Better to have the car in neutral with the handbrake on. Presumably you don't use the handbrake at traffic lights or junctions, unless you intend to be stationary for some time? Not sure what you mean here. 🤔 I have the old stick-style gear selector, not the new rocker/slider switch thingy. It might be that the gearbox behaves slightly differently with the new setup. I started putting it in neutral when coming to a stop as it allows a perfectly smooth stop. I don't have any issue changing gear in a manual car, so moving the stick in and out of neutral on the DSG is no bother at all. Sometimes I knock the stick over to put it into manual to pre-emptively drop a gear for a low-speed hill nearby me, as the car doesn't change gear as I would like it to. It starts up the hill in 3rd, and then drops down to 2nd somewhere up the hill in a slightly awkward way. So to avoid this, I put it in 2nd at the bottom of the hill and then knock the gear selector back over to drive at the apex of the hill. Incidentally, I would like to be able to select economy mode quickly and easily, without having to cycle through the modes with one button. It's irritating as I have plenty of blank buttons, so an "ECO" button would be a useful addition for me. (I find I don't need to use sport mode much at all, on a day to day basis.) Perish the thought! 😄 I only asked, as the way I use drive and neutral is how the car seems to prefer to be driven. I have no preference as to how other people use their DSGs, but I am interested to learn how other people drive differently to me.

How would you do things differently, @TheUltraRunner?

My Mrs hated her Fabia when we had it, but I liked it. (It wasn't the best example of a Fabia though, TBH.)

I was going to suggest they may have gone under the Government's scrappage scheme, but not that many Fabias were scrapped under the scheme, according to the Government's data. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/357672/bis-foi-2014-20775-scrapped-vehicles-supporting-data.csv/preview

Hello!

@MichaelTLit's fairly intuitive. Click on the [+] quote button to quote what the last person posted (though sometimes you don't always capture what the last post was itself quoting.) Or simply right click and drag across the text you want to quote, and when you lift the mouse button you'll see a little "Quote selection" prompt appear. Click on that and you'll quote it. Simple, eh?

Hello! 😊 @Breezy_Pete repairs window motors, but I don't think he covers the Octavia. He's still a noted expert on the subject and might be worth contacting on here, though.

I agree with putting the gearbox in neutral when stationary. I always put my car in neutral when I come to a stop. In fact I usually slip it into neutral just before I come to a stop, as it allows a perfectly smooth stop. Then when I move off, I press the brake, release the handbrake, engage drive, release the brake and off I go! I can confirm this, and it's quite disorienting at first. While it's second nature to move the auto selector now, initially it was a very alien experience to me. Even though it appears simple, when you're not used to it, a bit of explanation of DSG use for newbies prior to letting them drive off would be very useful.

Thank you for filling in that particular gap in my knowledge of the Yeti. Doubtless many more gaps remain.

Ah! Thanks for clarifying. Incidentally, I realise I've done very little mileage in the last couple of years, probably around 6-7K, but the car seems to have used no oil at all, which I'm very pleased about.

I can't believe the effort this guy put into this review. The amount of information he reels off is amazing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHmKKRbSNQg