dgexafs

Diesel is currently high as the Chinese use massive amounts of it for electricity generation. The chinese government sets the price of all fuels, and thus Sinopec (Chinese Oil Co) had to sell Petrol / Diesel at a loss when oil was $150 a barrell. Sensibly they reduced the amount they refined to minimise their losses, and thus China sucked in Diesel Galore to fill the gaps typically on contracts that last 3 months - 1 year - this shorted the market and hence diesel is so slow in falling. Good news on the horizon is there is a new distillates refinery in Rotterdam due to open next year massively increasing the amount of diesel availalble, then it should drop back nicely.. so drag for the big boys they want to drag there heels for a while knowing fully well you are going to have no excuse in the near future!

Not seen your post earlier, mine was £180 ish recently (for the 60K fixed) service. Added rather more for a cambelt change & water pump as 4 years old (£300 ish). needed an MOt to add insult to by bank balance, but got through that without any extras... All done at main dealers

Had my Octavia serviced yesterday, and i only wish that all dealers were this helpful / friendly. Service was excellent - didn't even have to make my own coffee. Will definetly be going back to these guys in future, even though i have several others closer to home (none of whom i would trust my car with). If you want your car looks after properly i would certinaly give these guys the nod. :thumbup:

Thanks Ar Cool C for the info, It was definitely very wet / moist here recently as it was chucking it down and the car steamed up very badly when we got out! The boot / carpets aren't wet at present - i have had water coming in earlier in the year from the boot seal and rear door drivers side which has been stopped by covering the seals with a generous amount of silicone lubricant spray (2 weeks, no leaks yet!) I found when i turned it on that i got some clearing (ca 1 cm around the element lines) after ca 15 minutes switched on, but not a complete clear (even after 30 mins - i am aware that it cuts off after ca. 10 mins so i turned it of and then on again after ca 15). Would the screen clear more slowly if its covered with grime?? its now been cleaned and i am waiting to see how it works next time it steams up.

My heated rear screen seems to have become very slow at clearing all of a sudden (> 15 mins and still not fully clear). Does any one have any ideas what this could be?? Would it be covered by my "Skoda Approved Car Extended Warranty"? I have checked the fuse - its fine, and have cleaned the glass with windolene (haven't been able to check if this helps yet as it has not steamed up since i cleaned it!!.

Lightcliffe are now selling Nissans and have a nice (temporary) new sign!... They are remaining as approved VW service / warranty work centre at present - although this may change in the future. Not sure about DMkeith in Halifax, DMK bought the Lightcliffe site in Huddersfield some months ago, i am not aware of a second skoda dealer in Halifax (mind you i live on the other side of the pennines and only pop across to get the car serviced / looked at).

recently had my MOT and some warranty work completed (windscreen, faulty washer on rear) and has always had great service from them... However, as of today they are no more, as they are now a Nissan dealer, apparantely they will cotinue in the short term at least to be a VAG approved repair and service centre, but this is not likely in the longer term. No particular reason given - "the powers that be have decided to go Nissan" was the reason given. Mod's Note: Dealer entry amended to reflect change to Authorised Repairer only. TY for highlighting this change of status.

I went through 3 levers in 3 days - eventually i had the bonnet catch changed to make it a little eaier to open. Nowadays, i hold it in place at the top whilst pulling the bonnet with my other hand - i have managed not to break one in 4 month now!!

Thanks Guys, i'll give it a whirl when it stops raining dave

My rear screenwash (and wiper for a short time) stopped working so i had the boot trim off to have a see what the issue was. I managed to get the boot trim off OK however i am having trouble getting it back on properly. I have searched the forums and can see people say its a pain to get back on but no suggestions as to the best method to get it back on, could someone please tell me whats the best way to do it?? start at the top / bottom?? thanks dave.

Mines a 54 plate, octy II classic , 1.9 TDI Easy enough to check if t his is the problem, just turn off the child locks and the lighter works again. dave

Thats exactkly the same problem i had with the rad - takes about 2 hours to fix. When you get it back i would still drive it with the heating on for 10 mins , stop and fill up your reservoir as it will almost certainly be low (due to releasing air locks) nothing worse than the ding ding ding and flashing coolant lights when in the outside lane of the motorway!!

My power socket doesn't work due to the child locks being "on" to stop little fingers being fried..

Mark, I would expect the fault would be covered as you are within the 3 year / 60 k warranty period. If the head gasket has gone the oil filler cap (should) have sludge on it. One query, did they do anything to the coolant system during your service?? After my radidator was replaced, i emptied the expansion tank twice and since then it has been stable ever since... My understanding was that there are a number of potential air locks which are a pain to clear (lack of bleed valves). One thing to try - fil the reservoir up, let the car run up to warm and then turn the heating up to maximum (the heating circuit runs off the main coolant circuit apparantely) for a few mins and then hopefully the problem may have left left you. Good luck getting it fixed. Dave

We have had speed bumps (deep things across the whole road) for about 2 years now and a 20 mph speed limit (school nearby), and cars now go faster up our road than before the humps as idiots floor it between each set of bumps and then locking up at the last second. They then roar off down the hill (now a thirty zone) to make up the time they lost through the rest of the estate.

Having recently had a coolant leak myself (puddle on floor & dripping from front undertray) this does not seem normal to me The level should be between the two marks on the bottom half of the bottle when the engine is COLD. When hot my coolant level is higher (than when cold) as as the engine cools the liquid is (apparently) pulled back into the radiator lowering the level. The gurgle and instant fill maybe an airlock (some better qualified will be able to tell you for sure). I had a new radiator and was told i may get an airlock which when released would lower the coolant level (i.e. empty the expansion bottle coolant light on dashboard on). The in car heating circuit is also feed using the engine coolant and can also have an air lock and it was suggested to put it on full heat when the engine was warm to release any trapped air.

Purchased a 54 Plate Octavia II 1.9TDI Classic about 6 weeks ago, and was very happy with the price, deal & trade in value for my old Honda (99 Civic). Had a few teething problems - coolant leak (replacement radiator) and bonnet release catch (replaced) which have both been rectified under warranty without any quibbles whatsoever. The radiator leak could only be picked up when driving (30 mins pressure test showed the tiniest of leaks when you were really looking for it). The sales and service staff have always been fantastic- even with the five year old (child) in tow and the courtesy cars have been Ok (for a 1.4 petrol - boy do you get used to the diesel torque quickly). Happy to recommend them to anyone (and have done numerous times already) and will go back when looking to upgrade again even though they are not my closest dealers.

Yup mine wanted a new radiator which has been fitted no problems at all. Now i just need the bonnet release catch sorted (tomorrow) as its rather a flimsy plastic thing and if the main catch is slighty tight it comes off (well shears) nicely in your hand. Cannot complain about the dealer i bought it from as they have been incredibly helpful and swift to sort out the problem(s) to date. Will post a review in the right place when i have had all the work completed tommorrow.

Thanks for the advice guys, the car is off to the garage tomorrow morning for them to have a look at. Now heres the odd bit. Yesterday morning arriving at work - leak seen. Drove home last night - no leak. Drove in this morning - leaks again. Whats the only difference? I used the rear winscreen washer - which is not working properly i have now realised (no wet spot in the back passenegr side or boot yet that i can see) But the fluid i can see is definetely pink (i have collected some in a dropper) and my screen wash liquid is the Skoda stuff which is BLUE!

I notices last night that i seem to have a small leak coming from underneath the radiator which i think is coolant (slight pink colour). It seems to drip down through a hole in the undertray and formed a pathc maybe 2 inches around on my drive. After driving into work this morning i can see a few drops of liquid forming on the undertray in a similar position and i have a couple of questions after searching the forums - and my car is a classic so no no air con , 54 plate (1) is there any connections in this vicinity that may be leaking (2) on the expander tank for the liquid, it has been filled to about half way up (i.e. above the two marks on the lower half of the sphere - i have had the car 3 weeks and thats where it was full too when i picked it up - is the top the maximum level and if it is overfilled could this be the cause? (3) should i just keep an eye on it, or does it need to go into the garage asap. I am not sure if the coolant level is dropping in the tank - i am going out in about 30 mins to check it again once it has cooled down. Thanks for your help dave.

The Octy Shocks - 1. Put your foot down on anything sort of incline and the car will accelerate - rather than think for a few seconds then stagger forward. 2. I don't have to turn the radio up on the motorway to hide the exhaust noise. 3. My octy purrs on the motorway rather than screaming. 4. No more feet in the back from the little one kicking his legs against it. Oh and most importantly, 120 miles since i filled her up for the first time and i still haven't come back to "full" on the guage. Dave

Hello, Just bought my first Diesel (Octavia II Classic, 54 plate, 1.9 TDI PD 40k miles) which is quite a shock after a 1.4 petrol Honda Civic... must remember to brake for those pesky cameras! Love the car and the legroom, found this site through google and found a number of answers to questions i had - thought the cig lighter was bust then found that its off as the child lock is engaged - will have to see if it works without the beast in the car. Dave