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To get more MPG, you need to make the car more efficient, i.e. the remap will need to get more energy from the same amount of fuel, so when driving. For the increased MPG claim to be true, the remapped car would have to need less fuel to propel the car forward at a given speed than it did with the original fuelling map. I've never seen any convincing evidence that a remap will improve a vehicle's MPG, though there are plenty of anecdotes about them increasing MPG, and tuners sometimes claim increased MPG as the remap will give the car more torque at low RPM which means you can use a lower gear. (What they don't say is HOW the car gets more torque at low RPM. The answer, presumably, is that they bung more fuel in.) What's needed is a proper before/after MPG test with a remap, and I haven't seen one of those done. Example claim from Superchips. They simply state you'll get better fuel economy and expect you to take their word for it. If your remapped car fails to give you improved fuel economy, they will tell you it's because you're enjoying all that additional power. (Which is quite likely true.) In my limited experience (two remapped cars and a couple of tuning boxes), a good remap will give you more power when you want it, and no penalty in the form of increased fuel use when you don't. My remapped car has given me improved economy on the same route to my holiday. However no two journeys are precisely the same, and I would not be able to prove that the difference was not caused by traffic conditions or me driving slightly differently. What is undisputable is that if I use the extra power, I get worse fuel economy.

Hi Lenny! 👋 If the car wants 95, try and give it 95.

It's a bit of a reach, but I get where you're coming from. I like how distinctive the split headline design is. It's done a BMW on me, by that I mean when BMW first introduce a new design I usually don't like it, but then it grows on me. I think my favourite car designs are by Audi. Their designs age very well, in my opinion.

Hello and welcome! I hope you're enjoying Spain.

I agree with this. It doesn't make sense, but I think it's a VAG thing. My neighbour ordered a petrol VW SUV last year, and when it was delayed he simply cancelled the order and bought a Tesla model Y instead. (Which he's been delighted with.) The Tesla took a few weeks to arrive and he got a good deal on it as they were running an offer on lease/pcp/whatever Teslas at the time. If the delays are genuine, then I can only think VAG have got an absolutely hopeless procurement team.

Just had a search for CTEK charger as my car sits doing nothing most of the time on my drive. Lawks they're pricey! Which is the most cost-effective CTEK to get for the average Skoda driver, as I sometimes get the "Low Battery - Car Needs Driving!" message too. Edit: Ah ha! This looks like a reasonable set. https://www.amazon.co.uk/CTEK-MXS5-0-Value-Bundle-40-513/dp/B0BJDMVH2H/ref=sr_1_26?keywords=ctek+battery+charger&qid=1674739242&quartzVehicle=29-10519&replacementKeywords=ctek+battery&sprefix=ctek%2Caps%2C91&sr=8-26

Hello and welcome!

This has come up before. Could one of the experienced mechanics clear this up, please? @varooom & @Crasher, can you advise? Are there EA888-engined Skoda vehicles with both port injection AND a GPF? It's my understanding that my car has both a GPF as well as port injection. I know it has port injection, because I can see it, but I'm not sure about the GPF. (I say I know, but I think it's reasonable to assume Skoda has fitted fake port injection. If it is fake, then I stand corrected.)

Thank you for clarifying that. 👍

Good grief! That's one heck of a delay. (Hope you don't mind me editing your quoted post to add the missing "4" in "2024".)

I'm happy to take that page at face value. However that page refers to sales, not how many cars were actually made. It seems contradictory to me, that although fewer cars are being sold, waiting times are still long. I'd have expected waiting times to come right down as fewer cars are sold, assuming capacity has remained at 187K or more, but I may be missing something.

Yes, I remember this came as one of the knock-on effects of the COVID pandemic, and there were genuine supply chain issues, but surely those have been sorted out? Even in 2020, when COVID panic was in full swing, 187,000 Octavias were built. https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/skoda-auto-produced-over-750000-vehicles-at-czech-plants Surely they must be producing more now?

+1 this. Get your car Skoda dealer serviced while in it's in warranty and then leg it to a decent independent as soon as you're out of warranty.

Good grief! I smell a rat here. This is a ridiculously long time to have to wait for a new car. I understand delays for parts but 14 months does not sound plausible to me. I'm not doubting what @undercoversaintis reporting, but the delay sounds contrived rather than unfortunate.

Software issues are a Mk4 Octavia issue, the Mk3 & Mk3.5 are generally okay AFAIK. The infotainment system is much, much nicer IMO. Bigger, clearer, capacitative rather than resistive. Very nice! I do like the "proper" buttons of the old system, but all things considered, I prefer the new. The looks you get used to. I've now grown to love my Mk3.5's distinctive look, but I can understand why a lot of people don't like it. Additionally, the 1.5 TSI is far more likely than the 1.4 to have a particulate filter fitted. One more thing to go wrong, but generally the 1.5 TSI seems to be a pretty good engine. One plus of the 1.5 is that it's likely to be mated to a later gearbox, and the later the DSG the better. I know everyone seems to like the 1.0 engine, but if buying 2nd hand, I personally wouldn't touch one if I was buying a car to keep for some years. I think it's a bit underpowered, but then I like big grunty engines having driven diesels for a couple of decades. Not sure if the 150ps engines have IRS, but I'm pretty sure the 115ps engines don't have it. I think your idea of a 1.4/1.5 petrol DSG SE L would be a good call, especially if you can find one spec'd with one or two nice extras like heated seats or the full winter pack. I wouldn't worry too much about the silica bag issue. Check the coolant is nice and pink and the heating inside the car is even on driver and passenger side, then whip that silica bag out and replace the G13 coolant with G12evo and you should be golden.

I realise "What is the problem you are trying to solve?" might sound like a patronising question, but it really isn't meant as such. (It's a useful question.) From your original question when you were talking about a stage 2 remap, it seemed like you're not really sure about remapping your car. Personally, I think a remap isn't right for you at this time, if you're worried about your warranty. (Not that Skoda have an exemplary record of honouring warranty claims, even if you have a genuine claim on an unmodified car.) That said, have a shop around the different tuners and talk to them to see what they suggest. Don't be tempted to go for the biggest claimed power increase for the lowest price, There are some useful links for tuners in this thread. (It's not a thread about the 1.5 engine, but the tuner links are still useful.)

Hello! There's a saying "There's no such thing as a free lunch." and it's very true. Sorry to get all dry and boring about it, but it's probably worth putting in some real thought to this issue. Firstly, I suggest you want to have a bit of a think as to what the problem that you're trying to solve is. Respectfully, "150hp is starting to become not enough " is pretty vague, especially when you are talking about making a fairly substantial increase to your car's power. Secondly, as @MarkyG82 indicates, the "stages" of tuning a car are not simply remap to stage 1, remap to stage 2, remap to stage 3, remap to stage 4. Stage 1 is the cheapo "easy" option where you simply get a remap which gives a turbocharged car a bit of extra oomph with the penalty being increased wear and fuel consumption and depending on the map, some longevity issues. Some people also add a high flow air filter as part of the stage 1 remap. Stage 2 normally involves improving the air intake (induction kit), and improving the exhaust air flow. The cost is a fair bit more and there is no hiding a stage 2 remap from all but the most clueless observer. The trade-off costs of increased fuel consumption, increased wear and reduced reliability increase. It might also be worth considering changes to suspension and brakes, which will be set up for 150ps, though depending on how you drive, those changes may not be necessary. Which brings me back to my original point, which is to answer the question "What is the problem you want to solve?".

Hopefully trying to demonstrate the problem with cure the problem. 😄

I have a regular journey that involves a few sets of lights on a long incline. Usually, when I stop at the lights, I put the gearbox in neutral and apply the handbrake. Then when the lights change, I press the brake, release the handbrake, put the gearbox in drive, release the brakes, and the car sits there until I press the throttle to move forward. There's no delay between my throttle demand and the Hill Hold Assist releasing the car and allowing it to move on my command. However, the car is at this stage of the journey fully warmed up to operating temperature, so it's not the same scenario as you describe but I am very familiar with how the Hill Hold works in that scenario as it's a regular journey. I've never noticed the delay you're describing, but I haven't specifically looked for it. I'll have a play when I find suitable test conditions. Even though I wouldn't expect my car to behave like that, it might actually do it from cold.

Firstly, the manual says "check the o-ring and replace if necessary". It may be that the o-ring is fine, and doesn't need changing. Though for the cost of an o-ring, you might as well change it. But if you can't get a replacement, it might not be a disaster. Secondly, it might well be that the rocker cover gasket comes as a "kit" which includes the o-ring to replace. It might be that you can buy just the rocker cover gasget as a standalone item, or you can buy it as a kit with the o-ring included. Might be worth asking your parts supplier. As for the o-ring name, obviously it's sealing something, so whatever it's sealing is probably the prefix for the correct name of the o-ring. If you're lucky, there's only one o-ring in that vicinity, and you should be able to get away with a description of "The o-ring under the rocker cover at <location> on my <year> <engine type> Astra. Personally, I'd be surprised if there isn't a rocker-cover gasket kit that comes with the o-ring you need. Good luck!

This does not sound normal. Agree with you on the piano black plastics. Also agree on the infotainment system, the capacitive screens are so much nicer than the old resistive type.

Do you have any evidence you can share that DSG gearboxes slip the clutch when the brake is released and the throttle is not depressed? Not that slowly, in my experience. Obviously if you simply dump the clutch you'll stall the car. That said, I've been driving fairly torquey cars for decades, but even my old Rover 420 would creep happily on idle in 1st gear. One of the VAG diesels I've had could get up to 3rd gear on idle without much grumbling, but that DID require a bit of careful clutch control.

This reminds me of old DSG problems that used to circulate and almost discouraged me from getting a DSG-equipped car. Lurching forward was one, and an inability to reverse uphill was another. I don't think your car should do this, and I'd talk to a Skoda dealer (or trusted independent) about it. If you get no joy from that approach, it might be worth talking to a tuner who can remap DSG boxes and see if they have encountered it before and whether they have a fix. Of course, the easiest solution is to just live with it, but it does sound annoying.

I'm amazed that anybody would dislike the very convenient creep characteristic of automatic gearboxes. In fact I can't remember the last manual car I had that didn't creep forward on idle when in gear. What's not to like?

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to recall that the 272 has direct and port injection, while the 280 has direct injection only. (Or it might be the other way round. ) I was particularly interested in port & direct injection on my EA888 as it helps keeps the inlet valves clean.