Alasdair1

Doubt it would cover clutch etc but worth checking anyway. Some plans cover more than others depending on how new the car is or how much you are paying. Alasdair

I believe you make sure its in neutral and then follow the process of locking gearstick and removing reattaching cable ends. Worked on my son in laws caddy as his had no locking pin either. If that doesnt make a difference it may be a clutch/slave problem or perhaps a small amount of air in system. Make sure the plastic selector that the cables attach to isnt seizing either and is moving freely. Alasdair

Depends on the warranty you have been given and how long you have had the car. Does sound like a worn release bearing. At 53k I doubt it would be the DMF or clutch itself unless its like my sons mk1 fabia that although had very low mileage I reckon previous owner was elderly and prone to high revs and slipping clutch when taking off as it failed without warning at 60k with nothing left of clutch disk. I would monitor it till next service and if its getting worse get it looked at then its Gbox out and as said while your at it a new clutch, Hopefully DMF is good plus fit a new slave cylinder to be on the safe side. Alasdair

Friend is on his second one. First was diesel which was pretty good but then he got the 2.0 tsi petrol tuned to 270bhp. Had a shot a while baack and its very fast in fact too fast for me as I am used to 1.6tdi but seriously fun car to drive. Holds road like glue and really shifts when you floor it. Alasdair

Could be as said its new and compared to old one is heavier/stiff due to spring plate being stronger. It may just need time to bed in properly. It might be an idea to give the garage who did it a quick call and get them to check it out. Maybe a problem with master/slave cylinder if they werent changed or old clutch fluid. If they replaced the DMF was it a solid conversion as they can be stiffer. Last LUK clutch kit I bought had sachs clutch in box. Alasdair

Wondering if the oil pressure sensor is failing? or perhaps a bad connector. Seems very odd that there are no fault codes plus warning has disapeared. Hopefully just a coincidence or blip. Alasdair

I think the pressure regulator is part of the high pressure fuel pump on the 1.0tsi. On earlier engines it is separate. On my sons fabia 1.2 I am pretty sure its part of the fuel filter. Not sure how to check. May need specialist equipment to check pressure while running VCDS. Alasdair

Is the oil pressure message still there when car is running. If it has gone off then hopefully either a blip or faulty oil pressure sensor. Seems odd there are no stored codes? Oil from the video looks pretty new and clean.

Maybe the fuel pressure regulator if the kamiq has one thats either too low or high and is pinging up code? Alasdair

I suppose it will depend on how long you manage to keep it in good condition. Eventually it will hopefully be a classic plus even if it never becomes a classic its a fast fun car so worth having anyway. Alasdair

When you do the timing belt and water pump I couldnt find a coolant drain plug in engine. Drained as much as I could from bottom rad hose but be prepared for coolant in engine to drop out when removing pump. You are as well renewing coolant at same time. If your coolant looks poor then maybe a coolant flush before hand before you do the pump/belt. If it hasnt been done I would change oil plus filter and inspect air filter at same time. The fuel filter can be changed at a later date if needed and I never changed the Gbox oil on mine and its done 140k and no probs. Alasdair

Hi I am looking for some reccomendations re a cheapish fault code scanner. I have been looking at VCDS but to be quite honest may be to complicated for me and a lot more than I need plus I have a few cars as well as my daughters etc. Came across OBDeleven 2 and OBDeleven 3. My cars are 06plate fabia, 08 octavia, 12 octavia and 09 Seat altea so not sure if the OBDeleven 3 may be too new for some of them. I just need a reliable fault code basic scanner with some live data feed. I doubt I would be coding as it looks way out of my level. At moment using very basic Xtool vag401. It works ok but slow and I cant seem to update it anymore. Any reccomendations or advice welcome.

Make sure that a decent belt like gates is used. There are a lot of cheap ones out there. If your doing it yourself from memory you will need the tool for locking up engine. On mine I needed need some triple square spline drives. When I did mine the amount of dirt behind the plastic wheel arch was worrying so I cleaned it all up and waxoiled it and when I had time I removed passenger side as well and cleaned it plus waxoil. They tend to start rusting at wheel arch especially at base near door pillar. I assume its because everything gets clogged up with dirt and salt. Alasdair

If the wire is shorting to chassis or maybe trapped/nipped by any other metal it will still show continuity unless physicaly broken. Unplug both ends and check theres no continuity from any of the wires to a known good earth on car to rule out a direct short to earth rather than other wires. Sorry if this seems basic but its quite often missed. Just noticed Pete may have sugested the same. Alasdair

They dont have to have much play to cause a knock which I reckon the ARB amplifies. Chances are the garage checked same as you did and there was no noticeable movement or visible damage. The problem with MOT tests is that they dont drive car so can only check visually or some have vibration systems to check ball joints etc but not the same as driving on bumpy roads. Check the condition of the ARB bushes as well. Hope its a simple fix. I ran mine for about 3 months before getting round to changing them as I didnt have time. They also started knocking about 6months after my MOT. Alasdair

get a couple of droplinks first before removing the old ones. In all my cases I ended up cutting them off especialy the lower bolts as they have an allen key to hold bolt but any corosion and it will round itself and the ball joint just turns. There not that expensive and the last thing you need is to be stuck at your mums

Had similar on my Octavia. There didnt seem to be any wear or movement but I changed drop links. They looked fine on the car but on removing they were shot. Probably as they are held in tension by the antirollbar etc. Check bottom ball joint as well. Alasdair

You could give it a good spray of brake cleaner if you are worried but a bit of oil shouldnt cause any problems. Alasdair

Have had three cars with 1.9tdi pd engines fabia,octavia and seat. They all were excellent and generally trouble free. No DPF on any of mine and excellent mpg plus loads of power when you needed it. Now on a 1.6tdi but would swap back anytime. Treat it to a new alternator belt while your at it and it should be good for another 50k at least. Alasdair

I used to change my 1.9pd every 60k or 5 years (same as all my cars) although skoda have increased interval by a long way on some of I think newer cars. Personally I would change it at that mileage as you have no previous history. Not too bad a job on the 1.9tdi. I got a cheap kit on amazon to lock up camshaft etc and fitted a Gates kit including tensioner and water pump. Kit was around £65-00. There are from memory a few different ones depending on age and vin number. Alasdair

Might be worth getting wheel/tyre/steering etc checked depending on how hard you hit kerb. Hope its just a blip and cars returned to normal.

Try Tayna batteries. Prices fairly good and next day delivery. Have used them a good few times and so far so good. Most petrols are 027 battery but random ones are 096 (same as diesel) Think from memory 096 is physicaly longer but both fit.(check first) The 096 is also highter Ah and more capacity so probably fitted to car with all extra electrics. I have an 096 in my 1.6tdi but the insulated battery cover is too small so should probably have an 027 Alasdair

I may be wrong but the car will have crash sensors that can cut fuel/deploy airbag etc during a colision. Maybe the impact on the kerb with the full on braking has activated the fuel shut off. You could get it scanned as there may well be codes relating to crash sensors stored. Alasdair

Check there are no bubbles in expansion tank when running and as pete said check level of coolant regularly. If its water its normally thick white smoke and if its oil then greyish white and can have a slight oily burning smell. Check the oil level regularly and also check filler cap for emulsified oil. If its burning oil then it might be the HG or stuck piston rings /bad valve stem seals. From memory my old mechanic friend used to use a mix of ATF and Acetone added to cylinders and left overnight to soak the rings then turn engine over by hand a few times and then boot it down the road. If its water then you could try some kseal or steel head head gasket repair. Not ideal but kseal managed to keep my old toyota lucida on the road for another couple of years. As for scrap value its pretty low these days but a bit better if you can take the car to them. Probably around £150 I just got about £1000 by breaking my daughters old Figaro but the parts are difficult to find so you get reasonable money. Alasdair

Maybe the scuttle tray drain is clogged under wipers area. My octavia used to leak there and the drains were clogged. Chances are that its coming in at driver side and soaking back into rear. Another place they can leak is if the plastic door card seal has come loose and the water can travel down via window seal. I would have a look at the scuttle area first. Dont suppose theres a sunroof? Alasdair