Alasdair1

My octavia is held together with cable ties as the screws and clips they go into rusted away. I drilled some small holes in tray and where it joins other plastic. I just snip them off if I have to remove it and replace. In fact all my cars ended up like that at some point. Never given me any bother, Alasdair

Think the older skodas were painted better. As said my sons mk1 fabia paintwork and underside is pretty good for a 55plate but both my newer octavias are rusty. Old one under rear and sills/wings plus middle of drivers door panel and newer 1.6tdi under rear,sills,front wings and estate boot lid around nplate and nplate lights. Alasdair

its fairly thick as I had to remove some to patch sills on my old octavia. Its good protection but on mine over time moisture got behind it and ended up with holes. Weird thing is my sons mk1 is a few years older 55 plate and its still perfect but my 58 plate octavia is now a parts donor car as sills have gone past repair. Alasdair

On my mk2 octavia and sons mk1 fabia the lower outer sill and inner has an orange peel effect which is thick plastic stone chip protection then overpainted with gloss colour. They both have(had) clear plastic on rear wheel arch/sill area Alasdair

You could get a set of 16" alloy or steel wheels just for winter use off ebay etc but bit of an expense for all the time there is a lot of snow. 195 tyres will be much better in snow than the 215. I managed to pick up 4 steel with part worn 195/65/15 for £100 a couple of years back for my octavia and stuck them on when bad weather was forecast. Alasdair

17911 may be a failed or failing voltage regulator on alternator or alternator itself. Check the wiring to it and also both the exciter wire and the one that goes to ecu. Check as well what voltage you are getting when car is running. Have had one in past that failed and was putting 15-18v output. Also check fuse box in engine bay for any signs of corosion/burnt terminals. Alasdair

Been using Fram,Febi/blueprint or Mann which ever is cheapest for years and no probs. I use standard oil not longlife so it gets changed more regularly including filters. Just avoid any cheap ones that you have never heard of. Alasdair

Depends if you can fit two prams or pram and buggy plus luggage. Daughter has volvo v40 which is only slightly shorter than the karoq and just gets the pram in boot. I would have a look at both load space in rear. As previously mentioned have a look at Octavia estate. Its got a big load space and slightly shorter than kodiak. Alasdair

Probably as you said not put back on securely which would explain the whistle noise. Glad you got it fixed. Alasdair

If you disconnected battery the steering and esc will come on until you turn full left and full right plus a short drive. Looks like you may have to remove bearing and clean or replace. Alasdair

Could be the alternator belt as you suspect but flat ribbed ones generally dont screech as much as V belts unless loose/glazed/oil contaminated or perhaps a tensioner/bearing has failed puting it out of alignment. Check the edges for wear and also check tension of belt. Alasdair

That may explain my late MK2 octavia as its not nearly as responsive as my old one. Its probably as you suspect factory programmed throttle lag to reduce emissions. Did read you can change it with vcds but not sure how. Someone on here will know. Had a quick google and AI came up with this but it is AI so I would be wary of messing up ecu until sure The Mod: Change the Throttle Response behavior from "Gradual/Incremental" to "Direct / Controlled by Threshold". [1] VCDS / OBDeleven Path: Go to Control Module 44 (Steering Assist). Select Adaptation 10. Find the channel named "Driving Profile Switchover" (or Kennlinien der Lenkung). Change the value from Incremental, controlled over time to Direct, controlled over threshold. [1] The Result: It makes the pedal mimic an old-school cable-driven throttle. The computer acts instantly on how deep you push the pedal, rather than waiting to see how long you hold it down

Did my old toyota a few years ago and needed special o rings From memory they were green in colour as normal o rings degrade. According to google HNBR (Hydrogenated Nitrile Butadiene Rubber) so reckon skoda oem is the way to go. Alasdair

If reset doesnt help It could be the map sensor as you mentioned or wiring to it if you have no vaccum leaks. Check all vaccum hoses carefully for leaks including brake servo hose. Map sensor isnt that expensive from memory Alasdair

If it is the caliper handbrake mechanism I removed lever and soaked in penetrating oil then manually operated and wound piston back in and repeated till it moved freely. Lasted for a while but eventually happen again. I replaced caliper which was around £30-00 from parts in motion. Alasdair

Daughter had the vw UP with the 1litre mpi and it was a great little car. Ideal for around town and surprisingly nippy and gave her no real problems apart from a flexi exhaust failing. Check its got a reasonable service history and also have a look on MOT history to see if its failed on anything and if underbody corrosion is mentioned. We were looking for a car for my son a few years back and its amazing the amount of cars that looked good but had failed previously with things like tyres down to canvas, brake pads worn out ,no handbrake, One even had dangerous fault due to subframe loose which I reckon points to a car that;s not been looked after or serviced regularly. We went for a mk1 1.2 fabia with very low miles. Alasdair

Not sure on the suberb but on my octavia the handbrake mechanism on caliper was stiff and making it difficult to pull handbrake on. No sticking calipers but only one side was working properly. It could also be a failing handbrake cable thats got corosion inside and seizing. Get someone to pull handbrake and make sure the rear calipers mechanism and cables are moving and returning freely. You can adjust the handbrake to take up stretching etc but doubt it would help with the stiffness. Alasdair

They will help keep it clean if slightly sooted but wont work if its heavily sooted up or a high ash content. If your DPF light is coming on its normally that the dpf is blocked. My 1.6tdi revs increase at idle if doing a regen but if the rad fan comes on after engine switch off its a failed regen. Never had a dpf light. Problem with dpf is you need to do regular long runs to keep them clean. We used to but not any more so if I notice rev increase at idle around 950rpm I give it a 20-30 min blast down the road at 2500rpm if I caan until idle drops to around 750rpm. Reckon the next one will be petrol. Alasdair

If the filter doesnt help then found post I mentioned https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/481670-p1553-and-p1504-coming-in-and-going-out/

Came across an old post from 2020 with BBY engine codes P1553 and P1504 with same symptoms as yours. Sorry cant seem to post link but he had done a major overhaul on engine and it started and ran then got the codes with EPC,ASR Idle all over the place and no response from throttle. Eventually they did the following and it cured it. It was solved by resetting the ECU to factory defaults by writing value 00 to channel 00 in the engine control module. A bit above my zone but might work Alasdair

Is there no sticker in boot near spare wheel or sometimes in owners book/glove box? Alasdair

Even if the 12v battery seems fully charged it may be on its way out. Check its reading 12.5-12.8v if you havent already. Alasdair

On one of my old cars there was I think a non return valve which was gummed up. Hopefully its that simple. Alasdair

I think a leak in air intake manifold would reduce suction in crank case but it could be a blocked breather pipe think goes from engine to PCV? I think there is a one way valve inline. Alasdair

Yep probably the most awkward place to put it. Its one of those you can see it but cant get to it. Alasdair