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I asked my local motor factors, they were able to pinpoint the exact ones for my vehicle with just the reg. Eurocarparts was the same for me, lots to choose from. There are some option codes on the VIN sticker you can cross ref, but mine actually didn't match any of the offerings from ECP. Ended up with "Apec" brake pads/discs, I had never heard of them before but the motor factors twisted my arm, they're cheaper than most things ECP offer, and i've had absolutely no issues with them bar being a tiny bit fiddly to fit as the backing did not extend fully around the edges like on the OE pads. The discs are good quality too, and they work just fine. Fitting kits are available for some cars that need them too. Would I put them on a high performance vRS? Probably not, but they work fine for my normal A-B driving... so much so that i've put them on my partners car too, and they'll also go on the Fiesta when they're due.

Maybe to align the UK with europe? There was always a disparity with the 1.6 TDI, UK advice was 5 years or 100k, but then europe was 10 years. I wonder if its been changed for these engines too... hmm.

Mine had a well and truly deserved Haldex service. I've been putting it off for a year as I could not think how to, safely, get the car level and off the floor enough to get under it. In the end I had a friend who works in a garage stick it on the lift... and thank god I did because I'm not sure I'd have managed that on my back. My findings: 1. Doesn't that oil stink 2. The screen was as blocked up as you can expect it would be 30k miles after the last "Skoda" service (i.e. drain and re-fill). Pulled another two fingers worth of crap out of the unit where the pump sits too. 3. The metal screen/shield over the pump wiring was greener than my bogies. The wiring seems intact though. 4. My Haldex makes funny noises when you do the pump re-learn. I've never heard it "screech" like it does during the re-learn, when driving, and as far as I can tell the 4WD is actually working, I have found every slippery surface in a 20 mile radius and cannot get it to wheelspin the front, only had a couple of chirps. I've asked a company that specialises in Haldex stuff if they've ever heard the screeching before, I don't think its the pump as you can hear the pump spin up fine, I do wonder if the pressure relief valve is a bit gummed up and maybe stuck slightly open... luckily it seems that you may be able to remove that without dropping the liquid gold out of the unit again... and if so, I might take it out and see if I can see whats up (or order another, maybe, at £69 each).

15k changes is 10k miles? Interestingly enough, I found that Euro Car Parts actually sell a Triple QX 5w/30 oil with 507 00 approval, not too expensive either!

Or that people who buy them have no concept of what a good tyre is. I certainly didn't on my first car until I nearly hit someone in torrential rain when my cheapo tyres just seemed to run out of grip. Never skimped on tyres again when buying them. Or a bit of both!

I third the tyre question. My previous car (100 hp, fwd) came with diabolical budget tyres, they would wheelspin in the dry and had about as much grip as silicone grease on anything. Transformed by simply changing the tyres to a decent brand (not expensive!). If they're the Michelin Energy Saver nonsense that was on my Octavia when I bought it, then also get rid. They weren't as bad as the previous ones, but still did not feel planted. Perfectly acceptable for a small hatchback round town, I wouldn't have recommended for a car the size of an Octy used anywhere.

I cannot say that I dont enthusiastically drive... that was another consideration too! I'm also aware that being all season tyres they are softer when its warmer (like... now!) 36psi (2.5 bar) is above both OEM recommendations for < 3 people, hence why i'm a bit confused why I appear to have "underinflation" type wear, but if that wear can also be explained by enthusiastic driving, then that's probably it! I'm certain they're still legal, but will get two ordered asap as never like to be right at the limit. If anyone is looking for all seasons, these have done 35k, have never let me down in grip in the dry, wet or snow (although they feel strange in corners esp when new, you get used to it).

Washing the car, with wheels turned full lock, and noticed the tyres looked a bit odd. I check the tread depth regularly, but have obviously ignored anything more in depth (I should be shot for this!). They are Goodyear Vector 4Seasons, so all season tyres, put on in 2019, so have now done approx 35k miles. Anyhoo, across the central 3/4 I have > 1.6mm (although it's pushing it at the edges, down to ~2mm at the 3/4 edge, so I will be looking for some new tyres asap), but the edges look more worn than the center (and measures too, center depth is 3.5mm~). The edges that would be facing the N/S seem especially bad. Nothing was mentioned at the previous service or MOT 10 months or so ago. Tyre wear pictures online show that it might be a mix of alignment, and also underinflation, but that IS something I keep on top of checking, and generally run at 36psi front and rear, since i'm not the smallest of people, and the boot generally has a fair bit of stuff in it (but nowhere near 3 passengers weights worth in the back). The rears seem even and are only at 5.8mm or so. Aside from a 4 wheel alignment (which is planned after the new tyres), is this wear pretty standard of an Octavia? Or is something more suspicious going on... handling seems as fine as it is on all seasons in 25+ degrees C weather! The fat twi looking thing top right of the nsf picture is the snow limit, the legal twi is 5 treads below it

Did you back up the configuration? I haven't used OBDEleven for a little bit, but i'm sure there was a history section which showed what you changed (before/after and where).

2XL thin hi-vis waistcoat fits just fine, just pack it small!

Given that the service manual specs grease (but not what kind), I'm not sure dry slide pins would be such a good idea... Thanks @fabdavrav I'll grab some of that and replace the grease when I'm next able to!

Aah, I was informed by my mechanic friend that Ceratec wasn't rubber friendly, and may cause the rubber part of the pin to swell (which I did wonder if that had happened causing the pin/rubber to not want to slide back into the caliper), from previous servicing though there was a pitiful amount of grease left on the pins when I went to disassemble the brakes the first time around. He recommended high temp silicone instead. I'll definitely get them apart at the next available opportunity though and replace with Ceratec or other appropriate lube if that isn't the case though!

Hi all! About 6 months ago I replaced my front brake discs and pads, cleaned up the slide pins and the insides of the caliper where they live, and re-greased with silicone grease and reassembled. I noticed here that the one pin on both calipers seemed stiffer to get out (the one with the rubber sleeve), and just thought it was due to that. I had to replace my other brake disc backing plate on the O/S so had the brakes apart again, and thought i'd check the pins and possibly clean/re-grease them again. What became immediately apparant was that when I came to reassemble the caliper, the pin with the sleeve would absolutely not go into the caliper - when inserted the sleeve would ride up the pin meaning it couldn't advance. I checked for damage to the pin / caliper, cleaned everything again, took the sleeve off the pin (to clean out grease that may have got under it), put it back on, greased the hole and the metal part of the pin, and re-inserted it. I eventually got it back in, and it slides similar to how I remember they did the last time. I wonder if the wrong grease has been used in the past (the old grease was totally black), age has caused it to swell, or just that my silicone grease may have affected them? Does anyone have a confirmation that 7N0698647B is the right part number (aftermarket, that comes with the rubber bit or boots/pins/rubber bit) for my car? and i'll remember to order some next time i'm disassembling the brakes - hopefully - not for some time. Cheers

Can confirm the alarm sounds the moment you open the drivers door after manually unlocking it. I had the whole car park suddenly stare at me when I got into mine - then had to start the engine before it'd stop.

Yep, i'm thinking that it's got a dodgy solder joint or bad trace rather than a battery issue (the same battery has now been powering the spare key for the past 5 days). I'm going to have another go at trying to get the key apart (going to heat it gently first to see if it'll soften the adhesive they've used), and will have a good look over it for any broken joints - even if not, it'll give me access to the transponder chip and may be able to transplant that into another key (and then just reprogram the remote). I could program keys for my Focus with the Forscan software, and did so (a fob for my own car, and another key/remote combo for my folks when they lost one of their keys!) I'll keep you guys updated!

Hey guys! Just wondering if anyone has had any experience with the aftermarket keys available for the Octavia MK3 (or if you know a good source?) Twice now my key has left me wondering how to get into the car - the first time it just magically started working again after fiddling and trying many different batteries - and the second it required me to completely disassemble it (to the point of realising they're glued together), I put it all back together and it magically started working again. I've now found the emergency key hole on the drivers door! I believe there may be a broken trace/board/bad joint rather than a battery issue - I didn't replace the battery today and it just started working again after a fiddle. Cheers!

For the record, when removing my silicate bag from my reservoir, there were orange deposits "limescale" coating the inside of the reservoir. On having my water pump changed, these same orange deposits were sticking the sleeve shut (I asked for the pump back). The coolant will be changed every 1-2 years, so no more need for silicate bags!

This was what the dealer told me too - they just fitted the same part to the car. Luckily, the next time my car needs its belt doing I will either not be the owner, or i'll do it myself as it will be old enough that I care less about breaking something and i'll replace with the improved "non-electrical" version.

The weight, and the fact they're not magnetic in the slightest leads me to believe that - and the corrosion is white and powdery in nature, not rust. The weight id liken to that of a foil dish you'd make a flan in.

There is a mix of front and rears on this thread. If my theory is correct, if the screws haven't been tightened so hard as to damage the paint where the screw heads/mounting face sits, then they should last fine. If your plates are in good nick, I wouldn't touch em personally. I'm not replacing any more of mine (and important to note that the one that failed had likely been removed/reinstalled at some point in my car's life before I had it according to service documents).

Same happened with my Octy, but a front one. The shields are aluminium, the screws are steel (but plated). Put aluminium and steel together and you get galvanic corrosion occur. My shields on my previous car (steel, they looked rusty but still solid) lasted a full 10 years and were never touched. My theory is, as the screws are tightened, the paint may be disrupted on the shield and then allows this to occur. I put a smear of grease under the screw heads (I toyed with the idea of a fibre/rubber washer), and the mating faces on the back, just as an experiment. Mine was 4 1/2 years old when it failed... To replace the front you need to remove the caliper, caliper bracket and brake disc.

Aircon drain water vs Coolant should be fairly easily distinguishable by smell/colour - maybe not so if you're putting plain water into the cooling system. If you're able to, i'd turn the AC off in the car (just run blowers) - although I believe that in some newer cars this isn't technically possible as the car will run the AC when it feels like it.

Have you checked everywhere coolant can commonly leak? Think footwells (especially passenger iirc, due to location of heater matrix pipes), rad, engine bay around the coolant res, including the reservoir itself - it will pressurise when hot so you may find you can see where it's leaking easier when warm. Alternatively have a garage pressure test the cooling system to see exactly if it's got any leaks elsewhere?

Just to add my tuppence - had my water pump and timing belt replaced on my 2016 1.6 TDI (CXXB) engine, covered 53000 miles. I had never had an issue of overheating - however - all my journeys are generally at 30mph or above for extended periods of time. I did have a very odd noise, especially at cold, but unknown if that was related to the pump. The old water pump does indeed appear to be faulty, with the sleeve stuck in the closed position (blocking the impellers openings) until I pried it down. It's also covered in orange scale that I had also found in my coolant reservoir (and I believe may have been a result of the silicate bag inside the reservoir)

And finally closure, job finished, had an extra crank seal that needed replacing also as mine was leaking. The verdict is: The old water pump appears to be faulty, looking at resources online. Took the solenoid off, and the diverter sleeve appeared to be stuck at a slight angle (with the impeller and metal surfaces covered in that orange scale I found inside my coolant reservoir). A bit of prying with a screwdriver and it popped back by itself, but always sticking back towards the top of it's travel.