DSL

Artistic pic when it was -5c a few days ago. Brrrrrrrrrrrr.

Re volt meter, yes ok plugged in permanently as long as it’s not in a socket that’s always live like the boot one. Plus there will be a voltage drop through the cabling so it will under read. When using one I read the battery volts directly using a multimeter, then read off the ciggie lighter read out, maths gives you what to add to the ciggie lighter readout to get whet the battery is. Re where to get one, I just use the cheap ones from eBay. As below, right of the cable spaghetti. Pls excuse the mess.

Just got to remember to put oil (heavy version) in mine, not t’other stuff. Re oil in the big spinning lump in the front, it hasn’t used a drop in 4,100 miles. Thanks for the discussion on burning oil, just been out to check it.

Good old NC500, which someone, somewhere, thought was a good idea.

Very useful app indeed. wonder if that sharp edge to the tarmac is the culprit. Hit that wrong and it’ll certainly do some damage to the inner wall of a tyre.

Is this the kind of road you are talking about? Boooooooootiful part of the world, makes my location (Grantown on Spey) seem positively southern!

I’m hoping the selection of modes is totally unnecessary as I don’t have any way to do it! Will trust in the car and keep brain switched on, well when we eventually get some snow.

Reason I’m going for Latitudes is because I have a fiendish plan for a few jollies to Scandinavia, and a good few days of that will be on gravel roads. COVID allowing that is. I used to do these trips in my old trustie Disco 3, well until the engine died on me 2,000 miles from home and she was sent to make Norwegian Coke cans, 99% of which I can easily do in Skippy. The only concern I have is tyres, I’m not sure the Bridgestones are up to the job from a survival point of view. This is typical of the roads but they can be a lot more “rocky”. I asked around in the D3 community and Latitudes are well recommended, used on Freelanders and Discos, as a good AT (all terrain) tyre, a nice compromise in road manners and off-road ability/durability. I was thinking of using them for winter use but opted for full winters instead, as insisted on by SWMBO. Besides, you can never have enough sets of wheels and tyres. Plus a third set of wheels & tyres is a LOT cheaper than a new Defender.

Don’t tell SWMBO but I’m hoping for some serious snow this week/weekend to see how my 4x4 Karoq, on full winters, behaves in the white stuff. May even throw caution to the wind and not carry my recovery rope.

If your looking for something a bit more chunky, or more robust, have a look at these, obviously in your size: https://www.camskill.co.uk/m56b0s222p120535/Michelin_Tyres_SUV_4x4_Michelin_Latitude_Cross_-_225_55_R17_101H_XL_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_2_Noise%3A_71dB Once I’ve sourced another set of rims I’ll be getting a set for trips to far flung places with dirt roads. PS As suggested by SurreyJohn.

Do you carry wet dogs in the car? We used to have similar due to two big soggy boys we used to carry in the back. Sometimes we’d run the car on max heating with the windows cracked open a little to get rid of the moist air. Obvious 2nd question, you don’t switch off the AC?

I didn’t think your roads were crappy at all, well the tarmac ones anyway. 3 months & prob over 20,000 over WA, NSW, Queensland and Tassie before we had to bail out coz of Da Bug, really enjoyed Aus and look forward to getting back when allowed. We did have a few days in Melbourne, and it rained and rained, plus snow in Tassie in Feb, really missed the WA sunshine in your corner!

What I was wondering. Would just have to make sure there’s nothing there to damage the fabric of the backrests, was thinking of carpet for that. Seat backs also don’t look too difficult to remove, but that’s assuming the base is out the way. Mind you, the bases didn’t look that difficult. Unfortunately I tend not to travel light. But it’s all worth it for wild camping in places well off the beaten track like these. Just got to figure out the best way of getting it all in.

Unfortunately the pauper level SE has the basic rear seats, something I knew about but was convinced I was going to be able to just whip them out and put in some way of storing my stuff. Stuff includes an Engel fridge, that’s 1/3 of the boot space taken up, and a 2.0m long Oztent bag. Unfortunately I tend not to travel light.

Was exactly what I was going by, unfortunately didn’t get past the first step. And I’ve had the equiv of 3 Wheetabix this morning. I had the feeling something was going to break before the clips gave way, wasn’t expecting my wrist!

Thanks for that, agreed looks very similar. I’ve kind of abandoned taking the bases out as even standing in the rear footwell and using both hands all I’ve accomplished is a sprained wrist. The base was just not for budging. It was a good idea, and looks easy in the manual, but reality didn’t match my hopes.

Step one in my quest for more space is an epic fail. No way that seat bench is budging, not helped be not being able to get my fingers under the bench where I’m supposed to “Pull the rear seat bench - 1 - forcefully upwards with a jerk with both hands”. I was doing it from standing in the rear side door opening, I might have to clamber into the back. Not giving up quite yet.

Forget my theory of possibly having a replacement battery at PDI stage, one of the posts has 2619 marked on in dots.

Speaking as a non expert but having messed around with the electrics on my Disco 3 & Disco 4, incl fitting second batteries, have a little experience in this area. Would only work if the socket not “protected” by a relay. If the socket is permanently live then it doesn’t have a relay in there so is not looking for the voltage from the crank battery via the ignition key. Then a trickle charger would add volts to the system, enough to power up the locks. If it is protected, and the battery is dead, then the voltage it’s looking for will prob be too low, socket will not connect to the battery and the rest of the car. Now talking of aux sockets, isn’t the boot socket, beside the little torch, perm live? That might be a route to get a trickle charger in though to give enough volts to open the locks. Bit of a clamber from the driver’s seat but not impossible. Another route the LR owners use is via towing electrics, specifically the permanently live feed for the caravan fridges. They even have has specific adapters made to connect a C-tek charger to the main battery as a routine way of charging. Works well as long as peeps remember to disconnect before driving off. PS This is the jumper cable arrangement used to make a socket, or series of sockets, perm live off the crank battery. No idea how it would look on a Karoq but the principle would be the same. Re batteries sitting dead for long stretches after manufacture, my car was built late July 19, but not picked up by me until June 20. After 5 months and 4,100 miles it hasn’t missed a beat. It was a Skoda UK preregistered car, wonder if it was charged during that time or the battery was changed as part of the PDI process.

Not to the right. Well not that I’ve noticed.

Has anyone out there removed the rear seats on a basic Karoq, ie without fancy Varioflex seats? From the maintenance manual it doesn’t look too tricky to take them out but curious to know what it’s like underneath the seats, ie the new load area. Is it like this but without the grab bars for the VF seats or is that flat area with those bars an add-on as part of the upgrade? I’m looking to use the car for a potential camping trip to W & N Finland next summer and I think I can just about squeeze all by stuff in and still see out all the windows. Having an additional load area like above would be very useful.

Re the Conti winters, found no loss in mpg on a 1,200 mile like for like trip. The yellow mark is where they were changed. If anything the mpg is better.

All look fine to me. Build date end July 2019.

Unfortunately 2nd hand 17” Karoq rims seem to be pretty thin on the ground. I managed to source 2 sets of Ratikons (5 for winters and one spare plus 2 extras), but not seen any more for a good couple of months. There’s an overpriced set on ebay that’s been there for months, but that’s it apart from buying from overseas.