J.R.

I am blind in the left eye (am hoping for a miracle next Tuesday though) and frequently bash my hip whilst squeezing amongst stuff in my workshops but never outside, I always try to leave a decent space on my blind side, when I cant I will be looking down with my head turned sideways. If an adult cracks his shin while walking behind a car then he is very close to it and should know better than to walk out into traffic on a busy road from behind a parked car, children are a different matter, they will be chasing each other around and scraping past everything breaking things along the way, sometimes breaking themselves, its all part of growing up. Be truthfull how many of us like myself headbutted the rear of parked cars (or a van in my case) whilst cycling & not looking where we were going? And we didn't even have smartphones to be staring at. If any adult walks into my tow coupling its likely that they will have been staring into a phone.

You have got me there, it must rub off!

Yes, but it seems like yesyerday!! I am really pleased that you have won and hope you get resolution very soon and hopefully that will include all the costs that you have incurred paying for a vehicle that you were not able or allowed to use. I realise that its extreme and would not expect others to use it but why do you think my method would not have worked, a fault was logged and they said to carry on driving to see if it developed into something (in their terms) measurable and warrantable, surely if the gearbox lunched itself they would have had to replace it? You have already said that they were not competent, equipped or qualified to strip down and repair a gearbox. In any case its a hypothetical question, I am very pleased that at least one person has stuck by their guns & won against VW.

What have I said that would lead you to conclude that I am anything but a very considerate driver Xman? I have never reversed into a parked car except one that had boxed me in (which happens all the time where I live) and the guy was drunk and belligerant (he had driven to a bar) and refused to move forward even 6", laughed at me (playing to an audience) and said (in French) what are you going to do about it! So I showed him. Were you to live here you would realise what a massive problem tailgating is, and I mean almost rubbing paint tailgating, slowing down just exasperates, a dab of the brake lights makes them even more determined, a full on emergency stop does the trick, since fitting the larger more visible Nato coupling it happens a lot less. I have had severe rear end shunts 3 times over the years, never through brake testing but the inattention of the other driver, 3 cars written off insurance wise, 6 if you include theirs, all of mine have been easy repairs because thanks to the towbars fitted the damage has been relatively cosmetic, the impact dissipated evenly between the 2 chassis rails, the bumpers usually pushing out & needing minimum paintwork. I dont hate caravanners or any group. My choice of tow coupling is for my needs and not to minimise the self inflicted damage done to the vehicles of inattentive, aggressive or selfish drivers. I do know a couple of young children (adults now) who have broken their legs whilst running around playing too close to a parked vehicle with a towball, in that respect the swan neck removable are much more dangerous while they are fitted because they stick out much further, and many people do seem to leave them fitted, the flange on my towbar is so tight to the bumper that have had to drill clearance holes for the few threads that project from the bolts and have to use wedges in order to even get the nuts in position, with a standard towball fitted its flush to the bumper, the one in the photo by its nature sticks out more but less than most swan neck balls.

Usual blah blah blam Youtube video. I skipped through it but think that I can sum it up. Bloke has flat car battery, he charges it (or maybe used a jumpstart pack) and was good to go, to carry on with his life. Except life for him is staring into a screen so 99% of the video, the blah blah blah is precisely that!

Giving towball poisoning to inconsiderate parkers or brake testing tailgaters is precisely the reason that I remain with a fixed towbar as well as that they are cheaper and that I need the bolted flange to fit a Nato hitch for some of my trailers. Not sure about lethal damage unless you run someone over in reverse. This projects further than a standard towball, is more of a visual deterrent and protects the rear more if shunted from behind.

They are very good at that I am told!

I second what Scot says, in the video he has already removed the trim once so the fixings have lost their virginity, he does say you need to pull really hard. I prefer to use my bare hands as I get a better feel for the force being applied, the resistance and any movement, looking across the surface for any deformation will show me what clips are resisting or sometimes where there is another fastener that I have forgotten. Once the trim, or any of the trims have been deflowered the next time you can just rip them off with a confident flourish and little effort like in the video.

I have just read the whole thread as well, 3 years of angst, a large financial investment in a vehicle that has not been used, a moral victory but no financial resolution. On page 1 I had already made up my mind what I would have done in their shoes, sourced an OE bolt or small component fitted inside the gearbox assembly and found a way of introducing it into the casing and driven the thing ignoring the screeching and groaning noises until the transmission was shredded, then phoned them to say the "characteristic" has become terminal. I had a new XR4x4 Company car (contract hire) that had a water leak and overheated in the first week, I was towing a trailer up a fast hill with nowhere safe to stop so made the (wrong) choice to get to the top & pull over where safe, I was fairly sure that the head gasket was blown because on refilling it pushed out the coolant, car went back to supplying dealer with detailed report saying unknown water leak & suspected head gasket failure, it had alloy heads. They sat on it for nearly a month and sent it out having replaced only the thermostat, overheated again and they allegedly replaced the head gaskets but it ran like a pig and was knocking, they had had their chance and not wanting to drive a lemon for the next 3 years I waited for it to overheat which it did within a few miles (I bet the heads were not skimmed if the geskets were indeed replaced) and I just kept on driving until it seized, I have a lot of mechanical sympathy and it was heart wrenching for me to do so, when it started pinking badly I stopped but after cooling it would not crank over so the damage was done. It took them 3 months to source & fit a new engine, initially they tried fitting another new thermostat

They must have deliberately left it off the lower spec car to force people to choose & pay for a higher spec together with stuff that they probably didnt really want or need, the saving to them of not enabling it is the extra cost of 2 remote keyfobs, probably a couple of quid to them. A great result though, I wonder how many people are driving around without realising their car has factory fitted unenabled extras? It could be any of us especially with poverty spec vehicles like mine.

So no new module required?

Unlike me but I was taken by the Simply Clever tiny rubbish bag holder that clips onto the door pocket on the Octavia & is now fitted to my Yeti, saw them on E-bay for £16 or so plus delivery, Superskoda had them for an even sillier price, it was less than £10 from TPS, still a lot of money for an indulgence but all the small plastic parts I have bought from them have been a reasonable price.

They are all obliged to have the sign up explaining that due to planning restrictions they are not allowed (supposed to) sell to the public but that is true of all the other electrical wholesalers etc around them and probably Screwfix & Toolstation also, not sure how they get around it. All I can tell you is in my experience they choose to be where they are for very good reason, - footfall, they are all on commission, you will see the whiteboard with daily sales figures against targets, they are hungry for and want business from wherever it comes, the exception being people who take up a lot of their time not being familiar with what they want, who want to buy carmats & a tartan travel rug etc. the bulk of their business is done over the phone and thats the way they prefer it, the counter is usually full of taxi drivers who may have difficulty describing component parts in a second language just like me in France. I phone them, tell them the parts & the parts numbers, they may say "the suffix is for black/chrome/grey finish is that correct?" or "do you want the bolts, gaskets etc to go with that?" I pay by credit card & they deliver within an hour or so or the next day for anything not in stock, given the volumes they shift they have a much better idea of what is fast moving than the main stealers parts counters & I am always amazed by what they do have in stock. Example being looking for an oilleak on my neighbours Octavia and finding that the CV bolts had worked loose & graunched the gearbox case, I needed 6 new bolts and also the spreader plates that were either missing or bent, they had them in stock & they were with me within the hour.

Cheap? Did you check the price for a genuine part from TPS? Most things like that I have always found to be far cheaper from TPS than the Ebay opportunists and will be with you the very next day.

What did you do in the end to enable the function Sasha?

Somewhat of an understatement, - Light years better than a Haynes manual! I gave up with them 2 decades ago when pretty much every procedure read the same: "Replacement of the air filter/heater matrix/topping up the engine oil etc etc requires special tools and dedicated workshop equipment and is beyond the scope of the DIY mechanic and should be entrusted to a main stealer"

Thanks, I have been doing some searching and came to that conclusion. The NHS might be (allegedly) free for the things that are included but they sure do charge for anything else, even just a Doctors signature. I used to pay for everything here but it was only €21 (now €25) for any consulation with a GP or specialist and they would sign anything needed during the visit, not for an extra £60. When I backpacked around the world in 2004 I went for my jabs (I was UK resident) at the doctors surgery and was surprised that I had to pay (was told that foreign holidays were a luxury and a choice) and they were a lot of money, while travelling I could always spot French travellers or tourists because they would have a second backpack or suitcase just for their first aid kit, medicines a supplies that they might need, some even had morphine!!! They all said that they were prescribed by their médecin in case and that they had paid nothing for them or their inoculations. If I need a CV19 test I go and see the médecin (no appointment needed) and he will give me a prescription for the test (test and consultation with médecin 100% paid by assurance maladie) or if I were not covered I would have gone straight to the testing lab beside the surgery (there are several in each town and scores of pharmacies) paid my (estimated) €25 and had the results & a certificate the next morning. Its the same deal for any blood or urine tests, for Xrays, Ulrasound scans etc, again right beside the surgery, for an MRI scan I would have a 20 minute car ride but it would be done the same day. If I were hobbling with a swollen ankle for instance and could not drive then a medical taxi would take me there, take me in, see me through the admin procedure and wait to bring me home.

Why do you need the tests though? Remember I am not in the UK so not up to date with the current travel situations. While I am on the subject what destinations are currently accepted for travel from/to the UK? I have December free and was going to return to the UK if the quarantine was one week but 2 weeks is too much so I am looking at other destinations to either fly or drive to, not looking for a beach/hôtel holiday. Private tests have always been €20-30 here for those who have to pay, most people are covered 100% under l'Assurance Maladie and their Mutuelle protection.

They may have not reconnected one of the connectors or not properly engaged it, or not disconnected one and yanked the wires to the switches.

Have a good holiday and I hope the tests are negative. What happens if there is a +ve result? Will you be prevented from travelling or is it a case of self confinement during and after the holiday?

Almost certainly but they may not show up on a generic OBDII reader, VCDS would show them.

Does the rear door cill/bumper sit flush with the boot floor level in the Roomster? How do they drive ride & comfort wise compared to a Yeti or Octavia, do you feel like you are driving a hatchback or something larger? I am still very tempted!

Probably more like the 14.4v that my voltmeter shows after an engine start settling back down to 13.7ish. For myself I am lucky that my vehicle was made just before the stop/startfoolery began, but if I ever end up owning one I will do the opposite to your advice, the system will be disabled immediately, I drove a car with it once for an hour in Lille and it put me off for life. Wwhen the battery eventually needs replacing it will be with a decent Varta or Bosch (the same) AGM battery which will have a long and happy life with the charging system working in mode dégradé

Watching this video I thought this security tip might interest you for while you are absent:

It was my understanding that it leaves the altenator on all the time but using a standard charging profile of 13.7 volts or whatever, yes it can run at a higher voltage but only when its commanded to which it wont be unless it knows the battery S.O.C.