J.R.

So this complex modern electronic system J367 cannot measure the ambient temperature, charging voltage & current correctly unless it has been told that a new battery has been fitted and what type..................... Do you really believe that?

It depends on how it has been driven & what sort of journeys, I had a MK1 Octavia 1.9 Tdi with 188000 miles in 3 years of carefull chauffeur driving, DMF seemed fine but then started shaking on cranking & when firing up, the ragging sheared the drive straps on the pressure plate & one nearly chewed through the bellhousing. My Yeti at 90k miles unknown history had an unrelated clutch problem no noticeable DMF clonks or rattles, I changed the DMF as a precaution, the old one had no more movement than the new but afterwards the engine was much quieter & less thrashy at high revs. I would recommend that you change it but talk to them about the price differential, I know they will be marking up the price of the parts to make the labour seem less but the extra £400 is significantly more than I paid for a complete clutch, DMF and slave cylinder. Its only 5 more minutes labout to swap out the DMF, if they think you will go without then they will drop their price because that 5 minutes is bringing them £300 profit at the current price. I paid €320/£ for the genuine LUK kit including delivery from Italy: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161989960427?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649

Better traction in reverse!

Superglue all used up on the coins! Someone vandalised my MK1 Octavia, they had parked blocking me in my driveway like everyone did at the time, this guy was unfortunate to have left his drivers window open at the top and I was fortunate to have a full watering can in my hand at the time - true! I could not resist the temptation He worked at the Airbus factory opposite and a few days later he threw a cup (or some other recipient) of uncured resin over the front of my vehicle, it splashed almost every panel, bumper, bonnet, wing, door mirror, windscreen side window & door pillar etc, I got some off before it had fully cured but after that only acetone would touch it which was attacking my paint as well so I had to live with it. I got it all off the glass mechanically but doing the same on the bodywork was leaving scratches. The car was a shed by then anyway but it would be a really effective measure on a decent vehicle.

+1 for Owatrol oil.

Binary thinking, is that like always telling people to check their battery even when they have run out of fuel or have a puncture? Still its another one to add to my self awareness list.

Your problem is not the battery, ignore the red herrings. Starter solenoid (as per Wino) possibly ignition switch but I doubt it, a good probability that its the clutch master cylinder reed switch if your vehicle needs the clutch depressing to start, year 2016 I think does have that interlock.

Easystart is an ether based spray for starting engines that may have fuel or ignition problems, very usefull for diagnosing a lack of fuel on a diesel (or the wrong fuel), that the engine has compression and has not bent its valves. I got cam timing out by one tooth once, only suspected at that point as I had replaced the cambelt but was relying on someone else looking at the flywheel marks while I was aligning the cam pulley, it would not start, seemed to be cranking fast, a dose of Easystart told me that the valves were OK but the cam timing was out.

Given that 99.9% of the ECU's that are deemed faulty are in reality "No Fault found" it should come as no surprise that the test companies have decided on a "Factory Exchange" business model.

Any unburnt fuel is excess.

That is not cranking fast. Easystart will put your mind at rest. My money is on the wrong fuel or contaminated fuel.

Misfuelling would be the most obvious cause, the distance driven correspnds exactly. Other than that fast cranking sounds like the cam belt has snapped & the valves bent but you are probably unaware of just how fast the engine would crank with a new battery without starting. If it starts on Easystart then you can rule out the cambelt and look carefully at the fuel, if your diesel filter has a drain valve then drain off a sample.

Assuming its the same as the Yeti which uses the same platform then the individual vent temp probes are high up the duct just before the outlet vents. I replaced my dashboard after an airbag deployment with a reconditioned one, it had come from a higher spec car than mine and had holes for the sensors that mine didn't have. The dashboard comes out very easily.

I would simply claim for an accident damaged windscreen under the terms of the policy giving as much info as they request but no more, try to seperate your emotions regarding the driver from the insurance claim as giving that sort of information is not likely to help you. I assume that you have the registation number, it sounds like witnesses have contacted you via social media, when you know what your losses are you could ask them firmly one more time if they are going to do anything or if they would prefer you to research the driver yourself by the same social media that has given you your witnesses. I never said the story falls down, did the Police? Don't forget to deduct the value of the change from your losses!

Coins thrown by a pedestrian or motorist? If the latter travelling in which direction? Coins (plural) came through passenger window missing the passenger (I assume there was one was you said "we") hitting you rebounded onto the dashboard and broke the windscreen. The above is only from the details that you have given, it may be incorrect but if it is the info given to the Police I can understand their scepticism if you did not report any injury to yourself. Had your insurers requested a Police report or crime number?

Please expand on what you consider my mentallity (sic) is for "liking" the post and in return I will explain to you why I chose to add a thanks/like/groan to Sepulchraves posting and not yours which is the one that I actually wanted to react to.

Given that the impact damage was on the inside I can see where they are coming from. I don't think the insurers will give a four X but its been 40 years since I made a windscreen claim, for a side window that I in fact broke myself, I don't think that I had to make up any fairy tales simply make a claim. I had in fact replaced it with perspex not wanting to make a claim but my insurance broker told me I was daft.

They will see it as and process it as just another windscreen claim, they will have no other interest, why do you think that they would? They get to see all sorts of tall stories, most have zero bearing on whether the claim is valid or not, some make it into their secret hall of fame.

Did you have the handbrake applied? I'm not sure if yours is a DSG and you might be stopped in park, I have noticed when pulling up in front of a reflective shop window with my engine running that when I apply the handbrake the DRLs go out. I have also seen some settings in VCDS regarding when they illuminate.

Gottit! I had not allowed for the displacement volume of the piston rod, the true test is the resistance to displacement at a measured speed in both the bump & rebound directions, I can see from the video that the second one is easier to move in bump so would agree with your diagnosis. However a properly functioning shock that has not lost fluid may actually be slower to return or even not return at all due to stiction (unlikely with the displacement from a large diameter piston rod) yet be damping better than a worn one that does or returns faster. A duff one can be detected on the bench, a completely shot one will have no resistance, trying to determine if one is good or just OK really needs to be part of a spring mass system either bumping the corner of the vehicle or on a test rig. Modern cars are so heavy that I have not been able to test anything but a completely shot damper on the vehicle without another persons mass in addition to mine and its hard to move in sync.

Ooops, I'm embarrased now I should have thought of that given the point of impact, I'm glad you didn't yank the frame too hard.

I presume that you are on HP/HC electricity tariff? (supposed cheaper off peak) Setting aside the extra monthly cost for that tariff and that the cheap (not) rate units are nowhere near as cheap as they once were are you aware that you are actually paying a surcharge for every single one of your peak time units for the priveledge of slightly cheaper off peak units? This should really be factured into your calculations together with the extra monthly fee, I also hope that you are not doing your calculations on the KWH price of the cheap rate electric which is doubled with all the taxes, taxes on taxes and TVA on taxes on taxes. Apologies if I am teaching you to suck eggs but many people on HP/HC tariff have no idea that it is costing them more unless they have very significant off peak consumption throughout the whole year, not just the winter months.

Isn't that backwards Pik? I seem to recall that mine would start from cold on a very lazy 1/4 turn when it was not likely to make more than a couple of revolutions but people reported that theirs wouldn't hot start unless the crankshaft was whipping round. There were some bodges to overcome the problem, I never suffered but it did seem a weird function to have designed in.

Well said and well summarized.

Yes, I have had the wheelarch liners off of all my last 3 Skodas. I should not really have used the verb rod, normally its a case of dragging away the detritus with the wire, pouring some water down to make sure that it drains, perhaps helping it on its way with a little probing.