Avocet

It's perhaps not surprising though, that the manufacturer will "sell" them as different features! All it costs him is a few lines of code. All the hardware is already in the car anyway. There have been a few occasions (usually a tight parking space on a slope) where I have wanted to disable Autohold and just let the car roll back(or forwards) slowly on the brakes a few inches at a time. On the uphill occasions, the hill hold becomes a right pain in the backside because you can't disable that! (At least, I don't think you can)?

Auto hold works on upslopes too! If anything, it makes hill hold completely redundant. Nothing bad happens if you get to the end of your 10 minutes, by the way. If that happens, it just puts on its electric parking brake and lets the pressure out of the hydraulic system. The car doesn't go anywhere.

Yes but two of them are pretty much the same thing, just longer duration! (And it's not Skoda - or even VW who develop these, it's usually a 2nd tier supplier like Bosch). You then get different manufacturers buying the technology and giving it their own fancy name to try and make it look like their own. Hill hold is just auto hold with a shorter duration.

It took us a couple of months to convince our dealer that there was a fault with the car. Initially, they didn't even believe the car was fitted with that function. They were utterly clueless as to how their own cars worked.

Yes, but the hill hold and the one you call autobrake are the same system, it's just that when you press the button it will hold the car for up to 10 minutes and when you don't, it holds the car for a couple of seconds.

I think we're over-complicating this! It has 2 systems - the electric parking brake and the one that uses the hydraulic brake. The latter can be enabled or disabled using the button by the gear lever. I agree that the terminology is constantly changing, and different manufacturers have their own names for the same systems, but essentially, those are the only two. The electric parking brake is a legal requirement (for those asking why it is necessary at all). The regs demand a mechanical system (i.e. not one that relies on hydraulics) that is completely independent of the hydraulic system. In an emergency, you also have to be able to stop the car using the parking brake alone. (This is done by pulling the switch and holding it). The autohold / hillhold / uphill start assist, is the one that works on the ABS system retaining the hydraulic pressure from when the footbrake was last applied. Different manufacturers have different whistles and bells on it, but it's basically the same system. I think most of them use the accelerometer in the airbag and / or ESC module to tell when the car is on a slope.

There will be ways round it, I'm sure. Simplest, would be to leave the belt buckle bolted to the car, rather than the seat - or maybe do something smart-arsed with wireless? I'm torn over the issue you describe though. I have a foot in both camps, as it were. A 1980s "toy" car and a virtually new company car. I love the lack of "nannying", the driver involvement and the simplicity of my '80s car, but like the creature comforts, fuel efficiency, safety and environmental performance of my company car! We have massive extra "nannying" in the pipeline, over the next few years though, mandated by regulation. It will be interesting to see whether the UK adopts those same regs, post-Brexit...

Seat Belt Reminders are now a legal requirement on all seats, (with a few exceptions), for cars registered from the start of September 2021. There are measures in place to allow limited numbers of vehicles manufactured before that deadline but not registered before it, to continue to be registered for another year.

Electric starter motors... that's when the rot really set in...😉

Just because it's "legal" doesn't mean it's the kindest thing to do. Farting in your face isn't illegal, but it's not nice. I do find sitting behind someone with their brake lights on for a long period in the dark, "less pleasant" than sitting behind someone without their brake lights on.

I asked about the DSG oil at the start of October (the car was 4 years old then, but only had 27,000 miles on it), and got the following back from Skoda Customer Services: Re: ŠKODA KODIAQ – TMBMJ7NS0JXXXXX Dear Mr XXXX Thank you for your recent contact with ŠKODA Customer Services. I apologise for the delay in my response. I refer to your questions below which I have highlighted. a) which gearbox we have and; – The gearbox is a DQ500 (b) whether the DSG oil and filter change recommendation is time or mileage-based? – DSG oil and filter change is mileage based so it is required at 40,000miles I hope this information proves to be of use. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me and I will be happy to assist you. Thank you for contacting ŠKODA UK. Kind regards XXX XXXXX Customer Relations Advisor ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA Tel: 0333 0037504 [email protected] | www.skoda.co.uk | www.skoda-auto.com"

No, we haven't, but the conversation then moved on to the driving of vehicles with some old MOT left, that had recently failed an MOT.

Yes, but that's not really the point I'm making. The point is that if the car fails for something that isn't immediately dangerous, then you can still drive it on what's left of its previous MOT, but you run the risk of being stopped for whatever "the thing" is that it failed on (doesn't have to be lights or wipers).

Well if it comes to that, I've never been stupid enough to actually present a car for MOT with a failed bulb. It was simply an example. If you prefer, I could just as easily have said "...if I'd failed an MOT on CO at idle...."🙄

With regard to the OP's post. I also think he's being taken for a ride. Others have already mentioned that there is no connection between rusty discs and water in the brake fluid. With regard to the missing cap, they are NOT hermetically sealed. (They can't be, because the system has to cope with fluid level changes as the brake pads wear). Moisture will therefore enter the system whether there's a cap on the reservoir or not. The cap is simply to prevent spillage. I therefore feel the garage are talking rubbish when they mention water ingress, and agree that he should just get a new cap and change the brake fluid (Which should be done every few years anyway). I find that threatening to appeal against the decision to DVSA usually puts the fear of God into testers who are taking the proverbial. With regard to driving a car with some remaining MOT but which has just failed, I think the government website is fairly clear, but perhaps not clear enough: 1. You can't drive it if the defect is in the "dangerous" category; 2. You CAN drive it if the defect ISN'T in the "dangerous" category; 3. You can drive on the road provided it is "roadworthy" (i.e. "meets the minimum standards of roadworthiness"). It seems that Points 2 and 3 are contradictory - which they are, but Point 3 applies even if the vehicle has 11 months of MOT left to run and hasn't just failed an MOT. I think it's one of those situations where the government cannot possibly issue advice that says "you can drive an unroadworthy vehicle", so the only pragmatic solution, is to take a "light touch" approach to enforcement. If, for example, I'd failed an MOT on a number plate light and drove it, that's technically illegal, but in the unlikely event of getting stopped, the penalty would be much less than paying for the vehicle to be trailered from one place to another, so it's an easy choice for me to make.

I think discs are usually made of cast iron? But yeah, they do all rust. They can't easily be protected from it because they get hot in use. And yes, I agree they need a certain amount of use to stop the rust forming a skin. As soon as that happens, the oxide layer is harder than the pad material, so the pads just end up "polishing" the rusty skin that forms on the friction surface.

We have a 2017 (67 plate) 4x4 DSG diesel just coming up to 30,000 miles and it's still on its original discs and pads all round. It had a service a couple of weeks ago and in the "free health check" the front pads were recorded as still having 7mm left on them and the rears have 5mm left on them - i.e. barely half worn! All the discs have surface rust on the non-friction surfaces (which is pretty normal) but the friction surfaces themselves are fine. Frankly, unless you park yours on the beach each night (below the high tide line!), I can't believe that any well-manufactured disc should have experienced serious corrosion by now. Either your dealer is trying to "play" you, or you have a car with defective discs, probably made from recycled manhole covers... As Kodiaqsportline suggests, it might be worth you speaking to Skoda Customer Services about this...

I think I could probably have done it. Perhaps getting that first bit of carpet in, ahead of the big steel top hat bracket, would have been the hardest bit if I hadn't. And yes, much better now thanks. Despite two vaccinations, I got Covid and a month or so later, thought I hadn't got rid of it, because I was still experiencing breathing difficulties. Eventually, it got bad enough to put me in hospital. There, they found out that I was over the Covid infection, but the breathing difficulties were actually down to a couple of bloody big blood clots in my lungs! Was in there for a few days while they sorted me out but am feeling much better now, thanks.

Apologies for the delay - managed to get Covid and then got hospitalised! How-to for 7 seater spacesaver installation, (car originally equipped with can of slime and a compressor), if it's of any use to anyone. Lift out the rearmost floor panel. Flip up the two side covers and lift out the "modesty curtain" Lift out the separator board Pull the tabs to release the Row 3 seat base. You don't have to do this next bit, but it makes access a bit easier. I popped the gas struts off their bottom mountings to allow the seat base to lift higher. Then tied the seat base to the head rest bars to keep it up out of the way. Pull out the carpet and take out the foam tray for the compressor and tyre repair "slime". This exposes the wheel recess and captive nuts for the steel retaining bar that goes over the front edge of the spacesaver tyre. Tighten the 4 screws to secure the steel retaining bar to the captive nuts. It should look like this, with the top of the retaining bar just under the leading edge of the seat. Fit the curved bit of carpet. It's a bit fiddly, it goes AHEAD of the steel retaining bar and then the ears at each side face backwards. Peel off the backing and glue down the two side pieces of carpet. Fit the spare wheel with the yellow speed warning labels facing DOWNWARDS and push the plastic retaining screw down into the slotted steel pressing on the floor of the car below the centre hole in the wheel then turn it 90 degrees to lock it. Fit the new foam tray just behind the wheel. Secure the tray with the two Torx-headed plastic push nuts. There are studs already in the steel floor to accept them. DO NOT over-tighten! The jack handle goes in first, under the jack. I wasn't quite sure where all the other bits go, but I think it's like this: Fit the new piece of rear carpet over the tool tray. Fold the forward edge up at right angles and push the Fir tree clips into the holes already in the rearmost round bar forming the Row 3 seat base.

I recently bought a space-saver spare and associated genuine parts for our car from Caffyns. Not cheap, (£288 delivered) but certainly comprehensive! I took a series of photos when I did the job. Would anyone be interested if I posted up a "How-to" on here?

Manufacturer-specific oil grades are becoming more common now. It's the VW spec that you want (possibly 507.00 - or I think there's another one, depending on whether you want "long life" or "fixed" service intervals. It should at least tell you what oil specification in your handbook?

Can you find an uphill bit of wet grass? I'm fortunate, living in rural Cumbria, because we have a plentiful supply of both"grass" and "wet"! In various 4 or "all" wheel drive cars, I have just driven along a quiet single track road until I have come to an uphill bit and put the nearside front and rear wheels on to the grass and tried to do a hill start. I've done the same in 2WD cars as a comparison. If you lose traction, just stop and reverse off. You won't get stuck unless you keep the wheel(s) spinning for ages and dig yourself a deep hole. If it passes the "2 wheels on the grass" test, and your verge is wide enough, try all 4 wheels next. Again, it'll not be a problem because the slope of the land will help you off again backwards. Incidentally, yesterday, by coincidence, I had to deliver Mrs. Avocet and some cycling equipment to a bike track. To get the equipment to the side of the track, I had to drive over about 100 yards of gently, upward- sloping grass field. It was soaking wet from recent rain, and a clay soil. Just about the slippiest stuff known to man! I have Pirelli Scorpions on the back and Toyo Proxes on the front - all with about 6mm of tread. The car is a 4x4 DSG 150 bhp diesel. I was very pleasantly surprised at how well it coped! Even in areas where I could see the ruts from tyres that ended where other cars had got stuck. I selected "off-road mode" but other than that, didn't do anything special. If the rear wheels were being driven, it was utterly seamless. I'm pretty certain they were being driven, though. The steering was squirming a bit, suggesting that the front tyres didn't have much more to give, and I really don't believe a 2WD of similar weight would have got more than a couple of car-lengths.

I'm wrestling with the same conundrum right now (except ours is 4 years old). I've always done my own servicing, but this is the newest (and heaviest!) car we've ever had. Plus, I'm recovering from Covid and really don't much fancy crawling under it just now...😁 The supplying dealer wanted £406 for the 4 year service, which they told me was oil, oil filter, air filter, fuel filter and pollen filter. Even at Eurocarparts prices using Mobil 1 and Mann filters, the parts would only have been about £100 retail. I was thinking that maybe I wasn't too ill to do it myself, after all, (Strange the effect that getting fleeced £400 smackers can have on your heath!) when I noticed that Skoda UK offer fixed-price servicing: https://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/servicing-maintenance-fixed-price Scroll down until you get to the schedule. "extended scope" for the three year one is explained here: https://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/extended-scope (along with a wonderfully sexist piccy of a bloke who looks like he's "mansplaining" to a woman what oil is)!🤣 Doesn't look like the extended service is anything you probably wouldn't have done anyway! You'll also see that (in my case) the 4 year one doesn't involve the fuel filter after all. Anyway, the "bottom line" is that it's booked in with a different dealer (but still a proper Skoda dealer) for the 4 year service for £220 on Monday. I don't mind paying that for the convenience and another genuine stamp in the history, given the value of the car and the way second hand prices are at present.

That's shocking! I hope they make a "sympathetic" goodwill contribution!

Blimey! That's appalling! Which engine is that? Presumably, it'll be covered under the warranty, though?