Alasdair1

Had the same on mine. Still one small air bubble in rear brake line. I used a pressure bleeding kit. Took a while to get rid of air. If it was done at a garage I would take it back and see if they can bleed it again. I have in the past come accross garages that just gravity bled the brakes which sometimes works but all it takes is a small amount of air. Alasdair

Depends. If the previous owner was say a taxi/delivery etc then start stop all the time. Both my octavia have 130k and no problems. What are the symptoms you are having ie slow engine turnover or it not engaging. Alasdair

May be a worn timing chain if yours has one. My son has a 06 1.2 and it doesnt sound like that. At 64k the chain should be ok but if not regular serviced and correct oil used could have caused wear etc Alasdair

It may be the switch if it works with the drivers side the motor etc should be fine.I would as said swap or check with a meter. I bought a new one for the drivers door recently as it had failed. Probably through water when the windows been left open. The new switch makes a slight click when pressed. Not sure if there is a switch on your drivers side to lock rear windows etc to stop kids opening them. If there is it may be the source of the problem. Alasdair

May be a bad release bearing. I think your correct with solid flywheel but there is I think a chain driven balance shaft on that engine. Not sure if what you are hearing is the chain rattling. Did read that they are prone to wear. How many miles has the new clutch done and do you tow anything? Alasdair

P0172 is fuel too rich. Try a new airfilter but it could be MAF? Might be worth disconnecting MAF,cleaning contacts and reconnecting.

Could be headlight fixing screw or perhaps panel above rad or radiator?

My fluid gets changed gradually when I replace flexi hoses or coroded brake lines. Never bothered changing it completely as had no problems with brakes. Did notice the clutch fluid was well past it when I changed clutch and slave. It was green/brown but the fluid to brake lines is still pretty clear. Bled clutch till fluid was nice and clean again.

Reckon if the belt looks ok an it was fitted by a VW garage it should be upto OEM spec and decent quality. I change mine around 5 years but have gone as much as 6 if the mileage is low for the belt. After that I think the age of the belt would worry me. If it was a DIY job using a cheap belt then it would be another matter. I have come accross a few cheap ones that are ready to go after only three years. Take it easy and you should be ok. Alasdair

Whats your air filter like and has it been changed recently? Had problems a few years ago on an old Volo940. Random no start and it wasn't running right when it did but when I took plugs out they were really black. Checked airfilter and discovered mice had taken up residence in filter houising which wasn't good at all. Eventually had to take whole inlet system apart to clear all the crap that had been sucked in. Glad you fitted NGK and not Champion or some other cheaper make. Hope the coolant sensor cures the problem. Might be worth a bottle of injector cleaner as well. It should help get rid of the soot. Alasdair.

I've have an 08 and a 12 plate octavia which yes I have had problems but mainly wear and tear and age related like bushes/ball joints brakes shocks etc. Electricly had one dash fault two rear wiper motors and a couple of ABS sensors which were due to failing bearings and wouldn't come out. Apart from that generally trouble free. Skoda fabia mk1 06 the same, bearing bushes ball joints and clutch. Seat Altea xl the same again, mechanicly good but electrics not so with age. I find the paintwork/rust is the main problem on the Ocatvias around sills and front wings but they are getting old and we get a lot of salt in winter. The Fabia is so far pretty rust free. Dealers are expensive and seem to find more to repair than is required. I service and repair myself and generally not too bad to work on. You need a few random extra special tools etc but most other makes of car do as well. Alasdair

I do the folowing before I attempt anything under the car especially suspension etc. I have been using RP90 penetrating oil from toolatation and AC90 which is the euqivalent of wd40. For stubborn rusty bolts I spray with AC90 and leave for about 1/2 hour then use RP90 and let it soak in for 12-24hrs then repeat process over a day or two. A bit of heat and a spray of RP90 when still hot works very well especially when trying to replace flexi brake hoses with a seized union. I'm a great believer of take it slow and its less likely to break. All my cars are old so no stranger to 1/3 turn to loosen 1/4 turn back then more AC90 and repeat till it comes out. Alasdair

Did read on here somewhere similar problems with a 1.4. They also had split servo hose but the car still kept cutting out after replacement. I think they replaced engine ecu temperature sensor as the car seemed to be stuck in cold start mode as plugs were very sooty. The other suggestions were blocked breather hose and to check exhaust (pre lamda) for leaks. Tunned out to be the ECU engine temp sensor Took a few trips for the ECU to learn They had no stored fault codes either At least you are with the AA Alasdair

I would start spraying penetrating oil/wd40 every day for a good while before attempting it. It will give any seized/rusty bolts a chance to free off. I also use a bit of heat on really tight ones. I bought a mini Vortex blowtorch which I use with MAP gas (plumbers bottle). I have the larger one but the small one is ideal for targeting small areas. I also have a plumbers heat pad that I put behind to protect plastic/wiring/brake lines etc. Not sure if there are any bolts that go into rear chassis. They can be tricky to get wd40 to the nuts welded inside.

I would have thought that if the axle is bent it may be weakend and should be replaced, I did read in a work shop manual that straightening or welding not allowed. Don't think there are shims but have you checked the bushes. If they are worn it might be why its out of alignment. Not sure if worn shocks mounting would cause it but might be worth a look. Would think the main problem would be removing the old one as being a MK1 its been on for a good few years. On the MK2 there are concentric bolts to adjust the rear alignment. Alasdair

I did use redex and wyns but they didn't make much difference. The Forte one was more expensive but got good reviews and it worked. Good tip in puting a tank of premium diesel in from time to time. My local garage has a pump now so may give it a try. I never thought of that I assumed it was for performance diesels. Alasdair

If its still making black smoke try a bottle or too of injector cleaner in the fuel and perhaps replace air filter. My old octavia exhaust was a bit black and sooty but I used Forte diesel injector cleaner that I got from my old mate at his garage. Took a couple of tank fulls but cleaned it up. Alasdair

I readf that Mr Muscle is death to alloy. I was going to try it but was worried I would damage alloy parts on turbo. Think the best option would be to either strip down and clean and recondition yourself or replace with new or good second hand turbo. I was lucky as it was the actuator itself that was ssticcking,

Hi have a 1.6tdi and since I bought it revs at idle have been variable. I originally thought it was running high (1100rpm) due to being cold and would eventually drop once upto temp or perhaps regen cycle. Car starts at 1100 and normally drops to about 800-900rpm eventually Itakes a while especially when cold) but today the car was warm (90C) and I noticed when in town that the car was slightly accelerating in slow traffic. I was in second gear and it didn't feel right. Checked revs and they were 1200rpm with foot off pedal and the car seemed to want to accelerate by itself. Hit brakes and pressed clutch and it seemed to cure itself and revs dropped to 800rpm Any ideas what the problem might be. No fault codes stored or warning lights on dash. Car runs very well apart from slight wobble at 40mph which I still havent found out why plus a few knocks and clonks etc from I assume drop links/bushes and to top it off a dodgy wheel bearing appeared this week. Going to service and cure clonks/bearing this week. Winter is hard on cars. Just worried it will self drive into the back of someone. Where do I start to look? My old 1.9tdi never did this Hope the above makes sense Alasdair

Had the same isssue with an octavia. Low coolant sporadically but level ok. I bought another tank but never got round to fitting it and since then its cured itself. The metal prongs can get dirty/coroded and cause false singnals.

Looks like the Xtool vag401 is now discontinued. Pity because it didn't need batteries or a smartphone for it to work. Was hoping to get another one so I could have one in each car as they were really cheap. Not sure what their new versions or if theres something similar.

I bought a cheap code reader XTOOL VAG401. It was only £35-00 and I had my doubts but it actually works. Reads and displays codes and can reset them too. Its a bit slow and I havent used it enough to get the hang of it but it now lives in the glovebox. Was going to get VCDS but was a bit short of money. Your problem may be related to an accelerator drive by wire fault?? which I am afraid is well out of my comort zone. Alasdair

Check accross the battery with engine running with multimeter in DC mode. You should get 13.5-14v Change to AC mode on meter to see if there is any reading. If you get an AC reading then the regualtor is probably shot. The fact that you get a spike in voltage when revving does point to worn brushes but worth a quick check before removing alternator. There is also a very slight possibility that the belt may be slipping?? Alasdair

The exciter wire goes from the alternator I think marked L on the alternator to the back of the cluster/battery light (might be blue). There is another marked DFM which I think is a voltage sensor wire that goes to the ECU. The third goes to the battery. Under the car in front of the gearbox theres a few cable joins on a bracket below the starter motor if I remember right. Alasdair

Had the same problem with my BXE but it was the actuator that was sticking causing overboost and random limp mode. Turbo made a high pitched whine/whistle etc but disapeared once the actuator was freed up. I sprayed all I could with wd40 and manually operated it back and forward until it moved smoothly.