Alasdair1

Thats an odd one. Check the battery and once started check the voltage coming from alternator. It may be theres enough to start car but alternator is weak/not charging. Alasdair

6 year old is probably about right for a battery to be a bit weak. Funny how you can have one in the car for 10 years from new then need to replace it every 5-6years. Maybe batteries arent what they used to be. I seem to be on a bit of a run of new ones after the cold spell. Had to replace 3 in different cars in the last month plus reckon I need a new one for tractor and forklift. Expensive business vehicles! Have a fair collection of old ones now. Just waiting for scrap prices to rise a bit Alasdair

I would fill tank to brim and then run till half full. Fill again take note of amount of fuel and work out mpg manually to check actual mpg. It may be a software issue etc and the cars displaying less mpg than it should. Alasdair

Glad it was that simple. Red oil light is never good. I had similar problems and yes I to thought it was oil leel. warning symbol does look like a dipstick in our defense. Rushed into my local garage panicking and they pointed out it was coolant but level was fine so they said probably the probes in tank. If it happens again it could be the probes in the coolant tank that need cleaned. I gave mine a scrape with a long screwdriver and it hasnt happend again. Alasdair

I take it its an orange/yellow warning light not red? If its red its oil pressure. I would change sensor/check wiring etc and see if it cures it. Chances are it may be the original so at 300k its not owing anybody anything. Alasdair

If theres an expansion pipe from tank put a plastic bottle on end and run car. If theres any coolant coming out you will collect it and see how much and if your losing it from there. Alasdair

Check behind/near battery box. If I remember there is a large grommet feeding into car that comes in above passenger footwell. I ran a trailer relay cable through there on my old one. I pushed a length of rigid steel wire through the grommet and pulled cable back. Alasdair

If theres no leaks or signs of missing oil it may be as said not been filled properly. I would top it up an monitor it regularly for a while and see if it drops. Mention it to garage who did service as well as if it doesnt drop once topped up they owe you some oil. As theres still oil on stick the amount will be less than 4.3l Check how much it takes to top it up. If it was burning oil would cause a lot of smoke. Only other place it may be if its leaking is intercooler although reckon you would still have smoke etc. Alasdair

If your still trying you might be able to get a self tapping screw into the old bit and use it for removal. Alasdair

It might be clutch fluid thats poor when warm or if the clutch is original at 160k maybe getting past it or perhaps slave/master not disengaging clutch fully when warm. As pointed out start with gear linkages and make sure selector parts on top of Gbox arent stiff or have too much play. Check the cast metal weight is secure on its spindle. Son in laws vw caddy haad worn out and was loose causing dodgy gear changes. Alasdair

My 12 plate 1.6tdi has it. Thought I had done something major when I serviced it as it wouldnt go over 2800rpm. Fine when driving. Not sure why it has it though. Alasdair

From memory on my 1.9tdi it was vw 504/505 but it had no dpf. Think its 507 if DPF fitted. Alasdair

Check as well that the handbrake cable is releasing properly. Mine used to freeze up in winter as it had water ingress/corosion and rear brakes would stick on. Alasdair

As plugs are new then maybe get wiring to coil packs checked. If its damaged or poor connection it may reduce life span as can a weak battery/alternator. Is it the same one each time? Alasdair

That looks very like exhaust is getting into coolant somewhere I am afraid. Could be egr cooler or head gasket. You could see if you could get a leak down test done. As there is CO2 in system I doubt its the waterpump drawing air in.

Turbos can fail at any mileage especially if oil changes arent kept up but if its got a full history oil changes etc will have been done. Have had 3 octavia 1.9tdi/1.6tdi with good service history and so far no turbo problems. All reached around about the 150k mark without any major issues. As long as they get decent long runs to keep DPF clean then should be ok. It will depend on if the previous owner used it for long journeys or short trips. Turbo is around £300 for a replacement part where as DPF is a lot more £1000 plus if it fails and cant be cleaned. Alasdair

I generally leave well alone unless one fails. I do chuck a bottle of injector cleaner through the system around twice a year and a random fill up of supreme diesel. Alasdair

Saying that his caddy was ex brittish gas and had 200k plus on it. When it went it caused all manner of problems with warning lights and drive issues. Alasdair

If your talking about the one press up/down the windows may require resetting after battery change. Hold down button and continue to hold once windows are fully down for 5-10secs and then up and when closed continue to hold for 5-10sec. Do it on each window. As for the cig socket my sons is live all the time. Not sure if its normal or someone has changed wiring. Plug something in with a light or check with multimeter with ignition off and key out. Also check the battery charge warning light is on at ignition and off when car running. Alasdair

Son in laws old caddy 4motion was the same. Spoke to Haldex specialist and they said its common on older vehicles. Its normally just the connector to Haldex but also water ingress due to age/failing seal and where the unit is mounted on the car. Alasdair

Might be as simple as a bad accelerator pedal sensor or perhaps vaccum leak/coolant sensor. Alasdair

I would get back to dealers and say they either they look at it sooner ie in the next few days or you will reject car. Its brand new so should be perfect. If I spent around 30k on a new car I would not be happy. They must also have a few demostraters that they could give you while they look at it instead of waiting for a courtesy car or at least cover the cost of hiring one. If they say no I would take it up with Skoda. Alasdair

pretty sure they are bolt on as well but think they are also stuck down with a type of adhesive. Read it can be loosend with heat gun. Might be worth sending photo to any body shops/panel beaters in your area to see if they can give you a rough price and if they reckon its repairable. Used to be a couple of decent ones near me that would do a cash in hand repair but alas they are all gone and only ones left tend to stick to insurance jobs so prices are very high. If your removing wing you may be able to get a second hand one in same colour. Would have to be fairly local as most I have seen wont post due to risk of damage in transit Alasdair

Never had any problems with gates timing kits. Used them for 40 years. In fact all my vehicles have had Gates kits. Find Febi still pretty good for aftermarket parts but not sure on their timing kits. INA are part of the Schaeffler group so should be excellent as well. I agree with stay away from anything you havent heard of and watch for dodgy copies from china. Try https://www.partsinmotion.co.uk/ Find they do a good range of decent manufacturers and prices are very reasonable. Alasdair

195mm part numbers TRW PHA350, APEC HOS3042, Skoda 6U0611707/6U0611775 Hope it helps Skoda felicia/VW caddy Alasdair