J.R.

The second time in 24 hours that I have questioned the use of the name "pop rivets" for plastic reusable fasteners. I dont know the correct term for them but it sure as hell is not pop rivets.

The MK2 Octavia seems to be the common denominator here, I wonder if it is because it has such good large diameter front discs and is overbraked, the lower braking temperatute combined with a gentle driving style could be allowing the build up of glaze. Uniquely the year and a bit I had my MK2 I never used my trailer & never overloaded the vehicle, aside from that period my brakes would always get abused from being overloaded and towing overloaded trailers. The Yeti has small front discs that are really not up to the job, its remapped so sometimes brakes from faster speeds and is often towing unbraked trailers well beyond its capacity so glazing has never been an issue.

I'm very pleased to read that the cruel to be kind approach has worked for at least 2 people, being another carefull plan ahead driver I know how horrible it feels to dish out the necessary medicine. One observation, if the ABS did not cut in then the brakes were not working anywhere near their full capacity or you were sparing the rod to use an old fashioned term. You dont need the ABS to cut in to deglaze, indeed its a little counterproductive and ideally you want to be braking to just under that point, however now the brakes feel better and are no longer juddering please try a full on ABS stop, the brakes should be capable of locking up from anything over 40mph on a dry road, you can ease off the pedal force as soon as you feel it pulsing..

Pre flight check, - I like that!!! I used VCDS and when I tried the output tests for all the things that didn't light up on the Pre Flight Check I got a not available message for all of them, might have been not supported. The oil pressure and oil level sensing I know is monitored as I could view the current values, I have to assume that any warning will come up on the Maxidot, with regard to low washer fluid level I dont know whether it has it and will warn me on the Maxidot or has no sensor fitted, not that I really care but I should have confidence that the oil warning system will indeed warn me. Too much dirty grovelling around to remove the sensor, I removed the coolant level sensor and nothing happened but later found it was because the bonnet was open, it brought up the light within the fuel level guage but again that is one that does not light up in the Pre Flight Check.

Plastic pop rivets?

I just checked the warning lights that came up on self check, difficult because some of them go out very quickly, my monocular vision probably doesnt help and I had to do it a dozen times to register all the lights on both instruments. I dont have an EPC light and it also confirmed that the oil pressure/level light does not come on during the self check. Then I found that by shining a torch I could see the silhouettes of all the possible warning lights, there was an oil can one but it definitely does not illuminate on self test, there were others as well which are not relevant to my vehicle like hill descent and what looked to be side radar. Could my oil warnings and perhaps an EPC warning if it exists come through on the Maxidot display? I replaced 3 litres of tap water with G12 coolant yesterday, I did it with the engine running by using an oil change syringe on the pipe to the header vessel to remove the fluid refilling the header when it was empty, I expected to hear a Bing-Bong warning for low coolant but I didn't & I didn't see a warning light but by then had topped up. It would be nice to know that these systems actually work before needing them, I think I will disconnect the coolant level sensor, it wont prove it works but will show the circuit is active, I guess I could also use VCDS to operate the warning lights through output tests.

Yes and also the readings from the MAF sensor will now be not what the ECU expects when EGR is commanded, yes it could be remprogrammed but I would go for an EGR emulator/simulator sold by the Polish guy on Ebay

Operating knob will only pull out for the foglamp function in sidelight or headlight position. Google & Youtube will show you how to remove the switch, its a case having the knob in a certain position to allow its removal, I can't recall if the outer trim has to be removed but it will just lever out, use a plastic pry tool to protect it. Once removed I would hold it with the knob facing downwards and whack it down onto a worktop a few times to dislodge anything, some switch cleaner sprayed behind the knob along the spindle shaft can only help.

Skoda grilles & grille surrounds do not work like that, they clip into and through each other into the bumper moulding which without them would be too floppy for one person to attach to the vehicle. Like most plastic clip together things they are made for ease of assembly and only come apart with great difficulty, the outer bezel usually snaps in the process. Mine having already been ond and off a couple of times losing its virginity in effect and me now being experienced with the job I reckon I could at a pinch get it off with the bumper remaining in situ, probably breaking the surround in the process, bumper removal on my facelift model is a real pain due to the stupid design of one of the headlight retaining bolts, nonetheless I would choose to go through that when I next remove the grille because the black paint job I did on the surround has flaked off in several areas.

Posting pictures is beyond my skillset, my smartphone never leaves the countertop where it performs the functions that I begrudgingly had to purchase it for, when I work on my vehicle I dont even have my bombproof 2004 Nokia dumbphone with me, taking photos to share with others is the last thing on my mind, I have a memory for that, far from a perfect one neither are my descriptive skills. So I respect and admire others who can describe things well and concisely, what Cap44 wrote painted a perfect mental picture for me, I would not want a picture guide.

It was a very comprehensive description which will help many people, those who can help themselves. How about giving credit where it is due?

What does EPC actually mean in the context of these dashboard warning lights? Everybody bandies the term around but is it even the correct one? I am guilty of using the term MIL light (multi function indicator) for "a warning light" Is there a specific dashboard light that VAG call EPC, what is its symbol and what does it signify?

Worked a treat for me on my MK1 Octavia, I had been suffering for years, always once the cold weather came and during the warm up period I had to drive it very gently to avoid the overboost burps & resets. Lubricating and manually freeing off the actuator also helped.

Yes if one brake is dragging slightly. I too have detected some front wheelspin this week after changing to ditchfinder winter tyres with very little wet grip, I was trying to get it to test the Haldex, it was only partial the car did turn across the junction rather than sitting there spinning the inside wheel but the wheelspin was continuous. So I tried the vehicle in a straight line on wet cobblestones, uphill on slippery tracks & canal slipways and each time after a tiny amount of front wheel slippage all 4 wheels got traction and it acelerated quicker than turning across a T junction despite far less grip. I was going to create a thread but instead will tag on yours. Try the straight line tests above as I did and please report back, my Haldex seems to be only partially engaging under certain conditions, perhaps beyond a certain steering angle, if not then the pump screen is again blocked, I cleaned it and changed the oil 22K miles and 20 months ago.

Thanks for that, I knew there had to be a reason for lower temperature thermostats, diesel is obvious in hindsight. All 3 of my VAG diesels have read spot on 90°c on the temperature guage, - OMG I have a problem, it should be 80°c!! 🤣

Did you try actioning the wipers using "Output Tests" from VCDS? It does sound like the BCM or relay if the motor worked when hardwired, if there is a seperate fuse for the wipers did you check it?

I found recently that 2 years ago when the front was off my car for the write off repairs that I had refilled the cooling system with plain water and forgotten to refill with anti-freeze as soon as I could buy some. I ordered 2 x 5 litres of G13 concentrate to have a stock but the delivery took weeks and came after I had returned to France, today I bought 3 litres of premixed G12+ from the discount shop as a temporary measure as it looks like it will be finally be getting cold, less than half the concentration I need but it should do until my next UK trip when I can refill with the proper stuff at the correct concentration. I was really really lucky to have avoided freezing damage last winter, the 3 litres that I sucked out today was clear water with absolutely no signs of corrosion which really surprised me, I dont think my header tank has the Silkat teabag (no sign of it and no writing) so either its there somewhere and has done its job which VAG say is to give protection if the system is filled with plain water or I don't have Silkat and there is no need for it. I have driven 23000 miles with only tap water in the system, there was no sign or taste of any residual coolant in what I sucked out.

Lean burn = higher combustion temperatures but would the normal operating temperature of the coolant be higher by design? 80°c does seem rather low for thermostat fitted for a European country.

It's very hard to be as abusive as you have to be when you see smoke from the brakes and the pedal becomes spongy but when its all cooled it will be firm again and hopefully if you dont go that far you will have seen a little improvement and be encouraged to do it again. Its been like that since the advent of asbestos free brake linings, I only saw my retired father once a year and he always asked me to take his car out to fix the brakes as he called it! I bought a Galaxy and the brakes were appalling, vibration and juddering to a halt, huge kickback through the steering wheel, all the discs were massively scored, I was going to replace them all the first chance I had but was busy on contracts so it got loaded up with all my gear and driven to and from sites in London, i drove like the road was my personal racetrack back then. Within a few days it was braking better, within a week no more vibration, juddering or kickback, within 10 days no scoring on the discs, they looked like new and believe me they were really really scored.

Thanks for the heads up, you are right, this is now the time to do preventative maintenance, I found that I had not put any antifreeze in over 2 years ago if I removed the radiator to replace the crash bar, I'm doubting now that I even let any fluid out, perhaps it was already filled with water, it was very clear with no signs of corrosion. I will check the accessible vacuum connections and reinforce them with tywraps.

Do you mean that the DMF centre plate that you are proposing to use lacks the cush drive springs of the solid flywheel centre plate? If you do you will end up with a solid driveline, not even a vehicle that has no inherent torsional vibration problems requiring a DMF would hold together for any length of time with such a set up and would sound & feel appalling.

Stoichiometric ratio (air fuel) = Lambda 1

If you drive the care carefully and not like you have stolen it then likely the front discs will be glazed which gives exactly the same symptoms, the cure is to go against all your instincts on a quiet road, preferably fast and downhill and repeatedly abuse the brakes doing high speed emergency stops to the point of them smoking. My MK2 for some reason was far worse than the MK1 or the Yeti, if I didn't do the above it would eventually no longer do an ABS stop. Changing to Ferodo Eco Friction pads improved matters but they would still glaze to a degree.

A keeper nonetheless for jump starting, its capacity plus what remains in the vehicle battery will probably be enough. I got £9 for my last 096 battery when I weighed it in, when you see how many are taken to municipal dumps there is a lot of money there.

Straight from the charger? If so then it wouldn't have started the vehicle once its core had cooled to ambient temperature. When I was young and poor and once again between 2004 and 2014 and could not afford to replace a failing battery I would pour a kettle of boiling water over the casing before starting on a very cold morning. Other times when the battery gave up while cranking if I did not have the time to attach the charger and wait a couple of hours I would use the kettle and it would usually give enough to start the engine. At one time when things were really tight & I was camping in the unheated building I had to take the battery to bed with me at night and put it in the sleeping bag. When charging a flat battery it will usually start the vehicle as soon as you can feel the case temperature rising, it will only have say 10% of its charge so you have to leave the engine running for 30 minutes to finish the job.