Alasdair1

Long shot but oil filler cap seal/dipstick seal?? Alasdair

Pretty sure they are steel but it may have embedded itself into piston. As warrior193 said do not run engine at all and get it inspected via borescope. Hopefully it will be retrievable without removing head or caused any major damage. Alasdair

Have a look to see if there a motorfactors near you. They may well stock them as our local one had one on the shelf as someone ripped my sons off on his mk1 fabia. As for the radio code switch ignition on and make sure radio is switched off then switch ignition off and leave for 20-30mins. Switch ignition on then radio and it should resync and start working. If it still asking for code then it may be in the radio instruction booklet or car booklet. Check its not in glove box as well. If the above doesnt work then I am afraid you may need to contact dealer it came from. Alasdair

If you have a basic knowledge and are used to working on cars then fair enough have a go, but If you know nothing about mechanics especially brakes get someone else reliable to do it whether its a garage or a friend with experience. Have had a few friends that tried themselves and made an arse of it. The following I have had to sort for them. Pads fitted but not behind the part of the carrier that secures them. Pads fitted with outer pad as inner and vice versa Slider pins not tightened enough and not lubricated Discs not running true due to corrosion on stub axle Air in system after caliper change (they didnt know how to bleed system properly and thought the brakes would bed in) I could go on and on. Worse one was a friend that got a so called mobile mechanic to do hers and he only put one bolt back in each caliper. She had to brake suddenly on motorway and bang no brakes and just managed to control car before hitting central reservation. Alasdair

Have had two MK2 octavia and no major electronic problems although they arent nearly as complicated electronic wise as the newer versions. Have an elderly mother in law that struggles to get out of the octavia but find the fabia my son has is easier for her. Folks had a fabia estate mk1 for years and they really liked it. It had more boot space than the scala but I think they stopped making it a few years back 2021 ??. Maybe take a trip to the dealers and try getting in an out etc. You could also look at VW golf estate if your looking for more boot space although I think they have just stopped that as well. Alasdair

It will depend if you go original skoda parts or aftermarket. Did my mk2 octavia for around £70 in parts using apec discs and pads. Its not a VRS so factor a bit more for larger discs. You could put your reg in https://www.partsinmotion.co.uk/ and see what price decent disks and pads are. Cant see it taking more than an hour or two labour to change them. Alasdair

I meant to say I run 94v on mine as I used to take a fair load as its an estate. Its not much of an increase (about 50kg per tyre but it helped when car was fully loaded especially at rear. The GT radials are I think classed as comfort tyres and I found them better on rough roads etc. Handling is still pretty good but I wouldn't fit them to a VRS. Alasdair

Doubt the difference bewteen 94 and 91 would make any real difference but the increased side wall will help. 205/55/16 against 225/45/17 side wall difference is about 3/4" more. I run 205/55/16 on my mk2. Mid range GT radial FE2 94V and its not bad plus good tyres in dry and wet. Son has 15" GT radial all season on his fabia and again good tyre in dry and wet Alasdair

Had different but similar warnings on my mk2 58plate 1.9tdi. Foglight symbol on bright with lights even if the fogs were off. Also quite a few dim lights. EML just showing,DPF just showing and a few that came and went all dim etc. I dont have DPF so I removed cluster and cleaned terminals etc and replaced and cured the phantom lights. Reckon it had come loose or was making a bad connection.Remember to disconnect battery before removing and replacing. Alasdair

Do the fans come on when overheating light is on. If not just wondering if its the prongs in expansion vessel. I used to get the warning on my old mk2. I scraped pins and it was fine after that. Think its the same warning for low coolant and overheating on the MK2 but not sure re mk3 Alasdair

Could also be a connector thats come loose or intercooler/vaccum pipe thats not been fitted securely (Intercooler pipe is from past experience. They have to be fully home before clip is pushed in) Alasdair

From memory I believe a new turbo/wastegate has to be calibrated. Perhaps the garage either didnt or got it wrong. I would take it back and get it scanned with as said vcds to see exactly whats going on. Alasdair

If someone has been into fuse box and added bits/changed wiring it could very well be why the headlights/foglights were affected. Glad it was as simple as a loose connection. Had the same car and found it bomb proof apart from cluster being loose. No DPF to worry about and superb MPG. Alas the dreaded rust got mine eventually. Still have it for spares but its past repairing. Worth doing timing belt and water pump if it hasn't been done in a while. These days the timing belt has a very long change interval but water pump can fail as can tensioners Alasdair

Do the fog lights actually come on with headlights or just the dash symbol. Had foglight symbol on dash when headlights were on but fog lights as far as I can remember were off (cant actually remeber if I checked) until switched on. It turned out to be a bad connection at rear of cluster. I removed cluster and cleaned and reseated it. Had a few dim lights on dash as well including DPF. Same car as yours 1.9bxe so no dpf which made me think cluster was problem not wiring. If your removing cluster disconnect battery first. Alasdair

Reckon you may have found the problem (I hope) Engines these days are very sensitive to any leaks. Alasdair

It may have been removed or broken at some point. On my sons it narrows the pipe so only unleaded nozzles fit. Not sure if you can get a replacement or if its a new filler neck/tank? Alasdair

Does yours gave the spring loaded metal/plastic flap inside pipe. On my sons MK1 it looks like there is a plastic insert and flap which narrows pipe so only petrol nozzles fit. Alasdair

The bushes may look ok and get through MOT but overtime they get worn out with too much play. Did my old volvo years ago as it was like driving a boat. New bushes all round and it was like new again. Went for standard rather than poly mainly due to cost. Maybe start with antiroll bushes and take it from there. Alasdair

what I read was exactly three mins so maybe critical and a low battery can cause all manner of spurious faults. Glad its back to normal for now and hope it stays that way. Worth scanning it anyway to see if theres any underlying problem. Alasdair

Even if the brakes lights work it could be coincidence and the switch is failing. Something about the car thinking brakes and accelerator are being pressed at same time so cuts power. Think you can do the calibration with vcdslite and also it may ping up some other fault codes that generic readers miss. Alasdair

VCDS is vw group diagnostic software which you can buy from Rosstech. Someone on here may have it near you and could help recalibrate it for you. If not it will need to be done at a vw/skoda garage or specialist unless your local garage has access to vcds or alternatively OBDeleven. On another thought are your brake lights working. A failed brake light switch can cause EML and limp mode? Alasdair

Think it may need re calibrating using vcds etc but did read on another forum you could try turning on ignition but dont start car or touch any pedals. Leave for 3mins exactly. Turn off and wait for 10-15secs and start car. Leave idling for a few mins. If the above doesnt work try disconnecting battery for 30mins and reconnect. Turn on ignition without starting car for 1 min then start car and leave to idle for 10 mins. Hope it helps Alasdair

Not sure on the MK3 but if the bolts go through the wheel bearing hub from front the may protrude on the inside. If so make sure the exposed threads of bolts are clean. Just done my daughters volvo front bearing and used a wire brush on drill to clean up exposed threads. If you try and remove bolts with corrosion/dirt on exposed threads they can seize/break or damage hub carrier. Alasdair

Have had loads of cars with splashguards missing and passed MOT. Only once failed as it was loose but MOT guy kindly pulled it off and passed it. The bolts on my sons MK1 fabia were remarkably good though that was on front and small allen type. I soaked in penetrating oil for a few days. On the rear It may be the hub bolts that you are seeing? From memory I think you have to remove hub to replace splash guards on rear as its sandwichd between Alasdair

If theres a wobble on disc check hub face for any dirt corosion first. Doesnt take much to throw the disc out. Could be a bad disc but as its heated up before disc/caliper change and no handbrake cable I reckon its the hub thats maybe out of alignment or bearing is shot. Used to have similar problems on an old volvo 940. I got a dial guage to check trueness of hubs/discs and it was out slightly on rear. From memory it was after my folks spun car in snow and hit kerb. Alasdair