Former

ETA: Rooted posted whilst I was still typing but I've left my post as it was. I almost posted last night if you were being serious (but had totally forgotten about the date). Over here 97 and 99 octane fuels generally have a higher cleaning additive package in them which might help with regular or fairly regular use in addition to regular proper and timely servicing, of the whole car but engine in this case, engine air filter, spark plugs (good quality engine oil for generally). And I'd suggest driving the VRS as it's designed to be driven when you can to get a good volume of clean (as possible) air and petrol in, through and out of the engine. Depending on what's in the air where you drive changing the air filter more often than service spec might be advisable, unless VW has already taken that into account given you have a 7 year (!!) warranty, The car manufacturers have too much power and influence in Europe and UK for us to get anything like that unless it's an Asian car manufacturer then snobbery and protectionism puts those brands down to keep the likes of VW's prices up and their customers expectations down. Modern sports style engines and transmission gearing are ridiculous given the legal speed limits, Google tells me 130km (81mph) or 110km (68mph) for Aus, in the 1960s 60-ish (or less) horsepower cars would be doing that in the UK (they were of course a lot lighter than modern cars) so the only way you can exercise the modern sports style engines car is acceleration and gear selection which goes against fuel consumption of the cars (even when the manufactures aren't manipulating the figures they give).

ETA: forgot the photo. -

Get GT85 instead as it's a longer lasting lubricant, has PTFE and smells better too than WD-40. - https://gt85.co.uk/ In your case it's shake, spray, walk away (leak to soak). It used to be a British company until one of the invasive American corporations took it over, called WD-40 Company.

Yes I know. That was my point previously, that you could perhaps use some of the old motor parts such as metal and rubber washers, clean and revitalise the rubber washers with whatever you have that is best for the job, metal washers it's up to you whether you clean and polish them. Getting nuts and bolts/setscrews is more difficult now because of the obsession that everything, even a washer, must be posted to the customer rather than the customer going to a shop so retail places that used to stock and sell wide selections of fittings have closed or had to reduce their ranges, you're luck to be dealing with just metric, try getting small sizes of UNF, UNC and getting a selection of BSF, BSW and BSPT, BSPP. 🙂 Until about 10-15 years ago I didn't even know there were three different metric threads. A 14mm spanner size isn't that common but also isn't that rare. Again old British cars you might need spanners of metric, AF, BSF/BSW and Whitworth for older vehicles, some crossover in fitting to nuts and bolts depending on the quality or wear on fittings and spanners. I've been dealing/suffering with Chinese made car parts (not all Chinese made stuff is poor or abysmal quality but a lot can be) for about 20 years which is how I know you sometimes have to be adaptive, and adapt the Chinese parts, to get a good or reasonable fit and working, sometimes you mix and (almost) match old and new bits. You said the length dimensions of the two shaft covers was the same so I assumed this included the length of the treaded section so the photo of the old motor and washers and nut would be relevant. If you want to use the thicker washer(s) then you could look for a half/lock nut which would have more threads on it than the very slim M20 hex nut but take up less motor thread than the supplied whole, standard depth, nut. If you wanted you could add threadlock as anti-vibration security, or my mate reckons Tipex is fine too (unless they've changed the formula).

Very nice offer. I don't need one (well at the moment anyway) but I am curious about it any chance of a photo of it please.

If you saw my previous posts and the keyblade still won't turn you could try having the keyblade half way in then using the applicator straw on a lubricant spray spray into the cylinder lock, leave to soak in for a reasonable while then try turning the key again a good few times. If this doesn't work one more good spray of lubricant as above but leave as long as possible and again try turning the key a good few times. If there's no moment at all then yes you may not have the correct keyblade. Only this afternoon I changed the batteries on both of my neighbour's (Ren-No!-Nissan KESSY equivalent) proximity key remotes so if you have not already done so it might be worth checking the batteries in your KESSY remotes just in case it might help if they are too low too.

Did you see my posts?

skodud, please check you didn't miss my edit of my post, it should have read (and does now) as below. - For RHD - (edit) - put the keyblade in in the cylinder lock with the remote buttons facing the ground to unlock turn the key clockwise towards the front of the car (to lock turn in other direction).

skodud, everything is arse-about-face because VW usually have the driver on the other side of the cars and the instructions in the Owner's Manual aren't as clear as they could be (it seems like later cars had the cylinder lock on the passenger's door too). For RHD - (edit) - put the keyblade in the cylinder lock with the remote buttons facing the ground to unlock turn the key clockwise towards the front of the car (to lock turn in other direction). Now when you open the door the alarm siren will probably go off so you need to get the keyblade into the ignition ASAP to save upsetting your neighbours, I can't remember if you have to turn the ignition on and wonder if the car battery might be too flat anyway. The car's computer programs will want to add to your suffering for allowing the car battery to go flat and will probably want to throw up all sorts of lights and warning messages, subject to sufficient battery power but this can easily be sorted. You need to recharge the battery with an appropriate battery charger maintainer (for stop/start batteries) or if the battery has been left too long one with a rescue setting on it or perhaps even the cost of a new battery. Once you have full battery power you can get rid of any warning lights and messages quite easily, well those that were related to the flat battery anyway. If you need to take the battery off, or leave it disconnected (to save it going flat again) the instructions for locking the car without battery power are in the Owner's Manual. Any problems just return here and say so.

I follow the sequence of washers and hole aperture and agree with Thefeliciahacker about only the start of the motor thread possibly being poor (and assuming the hex nut has a good thread on it),but I don't see how a spacer will help, perhaps I'm missing something but surely you want to reduce the the thickness of the washers so that more thread is exposed for the nut to clear the poor starter thread, or is all the thread poor.

Thanks. Wow, proper modern car farting about. I can't think a Dealership does all that at a brake fluid change, but perhaps they do (for £75?). Video seemed good.

Thanks I thought that was the case as I read some instructions on another scan tool but we weren't do the brakes at the time, I was just curious. Probably a belt 'n' braces and string 'n' chewing gum exercise to use it but with the cost of the ABS units and possibly some of their locations to use it or not is possible Sod's Law 50/50 lose/win if you do or don't. 😆 I can't remember it being Forscan on what we looking at for a mate but Ian Duncan-Smith (well that's how I remember it) not that it mattered as the vehicle just had the Ford engine and computer bits and didn't have ABS (or servo) or electric windows or other stuff, but we had only one connector (wrong shape IIRC) out of the two and only one socket that my mate could find, week later he found the other socket tucked to the side out of sight, I stored that for the next time I done something stupid with him. 😆 Like the time I done one side and he done the other side of a bit of simple front suspension work and he finished first and I said rushing was how mistakes were made, I looked at his side then mine, I'd done mine wrong way up. 😄

Personally I have never been a fan of pressure bleeders, I assume (always dangerous) that is a "pushy bleeder" (as opposed to a "draggy bleeder") and I wonder about the small amount left in the ABS block. @aubrey would you mind putting a quick description of what the VCDS tells you to do for ABS bleeding please. I'm all for a good flush/rinse through but 4 litres sounds a lot, how big are the pipes on a Yeti. 😄 I loathe the cheap nasty motor trade solution of using cheap nasty brake fluid (in the 20th century let alone 21st) and always had a filled watering can and wet cloths nearby as I once dripped some down the wing without noticing quick enough and it left it's mark (cellulose paint) doh!.

Some quick points on the thread and nut issue on the Chinese motor fitting. Not your fault but I'm a little confused about so forgive me if I have misunderstood. I think it sounds like the threaded section doesn't protrude enough through the tailgate door panel, if so and all the length the dimensions of the shaft cover (sorry can't think of the correct word) of the Chines motor are the same as the original motor could it be the location or fixing of the body support bracket or the rubber insulation (which look thicker than the previous ones) are locating the Chinese motor more inside the tailgate than previous motor thus not allowing enough exposed end thread? I am unsure if you have used the 'Hex nut M20 ISO' or nut that came with the Chinese motor with additional Teflon tape - my thought is that the end nut is to securely locate the "shaft cover(?)" by clamping force and all the rubber washers are to reduce movement and vibration for wear on tailgate panel (hole) and driver's comfort (noise). The thin M20 hex nut is metric thread, assuming it has been checked to fit correctly and smoothly all the way down and back on the thread (three times) this should confirm the thread on the Chinese motor (my eyes are too poor for thread gauges) but as the thin nut is so thin and Chinese 'metal' often so soft and threads so poorly done what I would suggest is buying three of the thin nuts and try them on the thread and select to use the one that goes all the way up and down three times the easiest and smoothest and use that. Bear in mind the thin nuts could have poor quality threads but easily screwed on by fingers only so any slight catching (forget the proper word again) carefully remove that nut and put it in recycling. The way you have fitted it now may be fine and durable but I don't know I have not seen and felt it but by reading your description(and I might have misunderstood, I often do) I would prefer a different fixing arrangement. The Chinese 'metal' being as we sometimes refer to technically over here "soft as ****e)" you should not need or want to use any Telfon tape (water plumbing Teflon tape is thinner than gas plumbing Teflon tape).

Probably not amber (or red) triangle of doom but might be the little red light in the driver's door, if anything. Below is from here. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models I wonder if you try pulling the tailgate open at the same time you press the remote button and hear the click if it might open. Dealership will just order a part, or less likely plug in a scan tool and not diagnosis the results but still order the same part - but if you're not paying for this as it's under warranty why not but do confirm you will not pay for plugin, parts and labour because that could be expensive and you could order the part and fit it for yourself if you wanted, or better still do the checking and simple diagnostics before ordering any parts.

Forget genuine Skoda or VW, they're just labels. If you've got a VRS and you drive it then why not stick with the asked for ESP Brake Fluid DOT 4 but you don't have to if you don't want to, particularly if you're taking your car on a track or towing something heavy down many steep roads, then perhaps DoT 5.1. If you want a recommendation of brand I like this (local-ish to you) British oil blending company and you can sometimes see their products on special offer prices at some suppliers (particularly when like other companies they change the labels on their bottles and cans to draw attention). You are ahead of many by actually changing the brake fluid. They're in Brighouse, West Yorkshire HD6 3DP. Other brands are available. Millers Oils ESP Brake Fluid DOT 4 LV Low Viscosity Brake & Clutch Fluid - https://www.millersoils.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/8429-ESP-Brake-Fluid-DOT-4-LV-2.pdf DoT 5.0 (silicone) - not used in these cars You would not use 5.0 (silicone) in these cars but having had various over-priced and over-valued old cars called "classic" as daily drivers for 30+ years I've seen and heard a lot about what you can and can't and must do with 5.0 (silicone) in the cars that can use it and have read about "classic" owners that have used it for years and decades. One that discovered there was a mix of 5.0 silicone and DoT 3 or 4 in his when he drained the system. A mate who's had it it in his classics, Sunday "classic" for 25+ years and other two 'dailies' and doesn't drive any of them like the standard old-fart "classic" owners, so decades of real life experience with it. So I can say there's a lot of twaddle about on 5.0 silicone, including from some brake manufacturers, refurbishers and non-5.0 silicone makers and sellers. But as with oils and other things in life there are beliefs and people don't often change their beliefs.

Thanks. I am not sure many would find the thread/post but I could link to it for those that might think they are interest or want some of the information.

Good points about the (to me PITA) electronic handbrakes which I had forgot about (or blank from my mind) and about judging things by photos and over the internet, better made than my clumsy attempt at the same. Up to Ian to decide if and what work, if any, he needs/wants done, could be either end of what's been suggested or something in the middle. On our own cars we might do as we've suggested or we might do differently, perhaps as others have suggested, none of us are the other person, what might be right for one person may be less suitable for another person. If my wife has any concerns about something on her car that she drives it's of no matter if that something doesn't cause me concern.

@Rooted just seen why you were confused, I've just noticed the Vauxhall badge on the wheel, I thought they were wheels on the Picanto. 😄 Perhaps I should go to SpecSaver instead of the expensive local independent optician but I do have wonky eyes so need extra care with lenses, even if I got less expensive frame (easily possible) lenses are still expensive, few people see me in my glasses as I can't afford to wear them out. 😆

Hi welcome, Quick thoughts - Is it passenger door on a 2019 UK then (driver's door on my wife's 2015p) - do you mean you used the metal keyblade in the "emergency" door lock to synchronise the key and/or open doors? Didn't the alarm go off when you opened the door? What caused the boot to suddenly lock two days ago? You can open the tailgate using the screwdriver hole so it's not jammed or probably mechanical parts. > > > The boot opening switches can go duff or possibly a wiring fault to them, multimeter test on it and its wiring and connections. < < < Unless you have left the keyblade in the ignition AFAIK there's not a setting just for tailgate (boot lid). Is the little red warning light in the driver's door doing its warning sequence (see Owner's Manual)? Do you hear the click of the of the tailgate lock switch when you press the button on the remote?

Well it does depend on many variables with the car, it's use, your use of the car and how you use it and all the various electric items available on it. Some think every car has a button to do everything for them so they have to do very little or nothing and even if that button does not exist they expect it too. Depends where you are in Greece as to whether you use all the heating features on the car as they are high consumption items often - but the other side is that the air-con (and possibly blower motor) use a lot. Then there are the modern essentials that life cannot possibly live without, such as "smart" phones I am told (though I have managed), using lower consumption items for a very long time without the engine running can use up battery store electric. It is difficult for me to think of electric items in a car as I am more used to having very few of them. You may know that when it is very cold (nearer to or below freezing weather) that puts more demand and strain on the battery but also hot and very hot weather drains a battery and high demand of say air-con. You can look up the figures but a 20c ambient temperature the battery likes, IIRC 30c ambient has double self-discharge effect on the battery and IIRC 40c ambient double the effect of 30c (but don't trust my poor memory). So you can learn and decide for yourself when you need to check and if required do a maintenance charge with a long drive and low electric consumption or better still just use a lower amperage appropriate "smart" charger maintainer like I GUESS your Noco (too expensive for my tastes) charger is. An appropriate charger maintainer can be left on the car as a charger or maintainer, as it never overcharges the battery because it automatically switches to a maintainer charge when required. For UK I suggest preventative/maintenance/recharge, call it what you will, at the times you might do winter-"summer" (spring, autumn) tyre changes (not many do such here except in the north) - I think I stole that idea from Banner Batteries when they used to post information on their website - and perhaps after the hottest period in summer, and perhaps at Xmas to New Year break, and/or if and when required. Quite honestly it need not be that often, certainly not when both the car and battery are new but that does depend on all the variables I mentioned before. Probably better to have too much rather than too little charging, the batteries are designed for cyclical use and charging so why not. Cars that are not used much may have the maintainer connected all the time they are parked up but too long of either is a bad idea to me and a waste of having the car if you are not going to drive it. I of course don't do any of this (we call it "do as I say not as I do" over here) I just charge the AGM battery on my wife's 2015 Fabia Mk3, fitted 34 months and 23,000 miles ago, when I think it might need it which has been slightly more often than I expected but not many times and has a couple of times taken longer to reach full (or "FUL" on my cheaper "smart" charger) but at least one of those times the car and charger were outside overnight when the temperature went down to -4c. And my wife does at least two very short journeys a day many working days and sometimes no more journeys on those days. I did once see the stop/start not come into operation when I expected it to and done a charge but we usually turn the stop/start off all journeys (unless we forget). I always charge to full even though it is not necessary with the AGM battery and complex VW computer program, I do not have a tool to check level of charge and would still charge to full even if I had. If I have not answered your questions here just say and I will be more direct and concise and give you more of my opinions/suggestions to narrow things down. Actually quite the opposite if you read some of the battery manufacturers' websites and IIRC even in VWSkoda's newer models Owner's Manuals. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models They are more fussy and careful than me about at what level to recharge, They are safe in knowing that the very vast majority of owners and others will never see or look for this information, especially those that think they already know such stuff or too ignorant or lazy to look for such information from such a source (n my personal experience of dealing with the English public and tradesmen over decades that is often electricians, mechanics, engineers, usually men, the young and the old). Battery manufacturers and other battery sellers are happy to have add-on sales of their battery chargers, also knowing the majority of the battery charger buyers will use them when the battery is very low (engine very difficult or won't start) by which time potentially the battery has been sufficiently damaged enough to never fully recover and its life probably shortened. Thank you. Not everyone realises or fully realises that there are far more viewers than the limited number of posters to a thread at the time and of course potentially in the future,. I do try to think of these other viewers, when I remember. But few people will read all my wordage which is fine, it also means that those that only want to always skim read or only looked at parts will stay away or are more easily identified when they argue about something they think they have (skim) read that I have not written or meant. I am also sometimes guilty of skim reading but much more often misreading. I used to worry a little about making mistakes but this is the internet so I worry very little about it now. Now you could help me please I might write a "guide" for basic battery charging on this site, very few will see it or bother to read it but at least it gives me somewhere to 'copy & paste' from to save my typing finger, if you say it is OK I would use your photo of your battery as an example of the numbers. I might not bother, but then I might as I have done a few others but this would be longer but more fragmented, perhaps other posts, as there is quite a lot that could be covered (all very basic non-technical stuff with incorrect technical terms and words as it won't be for those that already know or like to get all technical as that is beyond my knowledge, abilities (or caring at my age) and I can no longer edit beyond x-number of hours all the mistakes I make.

@D.FYLAKTOS to be fair I think it was me that was going on about carrying tools in the boot (Americans take tool much already). No car is worth what you do in those conditions. 😄In which month was that expenditure or I should say months at each. That's not very much, you can't use or drive the car much, or you're not fully fixing a Fiat. 😄 If you think that sort of expenditure is anywhere near so much never think of getting an old English car. I don't know about these two wiper motors but there is often (not always) no need to pay these silly prices just to have a certain badge/logo labelled box or bag or label stuck on to the part especially when these parts are also made for other more popular makes or models and sold at lower or much lower prices. Yes you might have to cannibalise the new to keep the original part going or to get a good fit to car, or even the whole unit is exactly the same and straight swap. I can't think VWSkoda or FIAT made actually made wiper motors or that the VWSkoda or FIAT badge/logo labelled box or bag or label stuck on would necessarily be that much better just for the label (or VW part number on the part) unless a very specific design for these (mass market, not low volume production) cars. You two love your cars and that's fine but you can be a little realistic with yourselves, we will tell no one if an unseen rear wiper motor isn't spot concours original (and any replacement isn't original to the car after leaving the factory). Having put that you can't really moan about any expenditure on any car as even the worst most (monetary) valuable car in the general scheme of life is just a lump of metal and other bits. Certainly not worth risking getting knocked over for, with your tools in the boot you can drive elsewhere to do work like that, don't you get a lunch break so you can do it in that underground car park, with age should come some wisdom (if you can remember it by then),

It's rough at the Pole. SpecSavers or not I can see your problem with your Picanto - it's those flash wheels. 😁 My Suzuki Cappuccino would need clearing after only a week of standing sometimes (proper 3-pot turbo engine). If I remember I'll put up the neglected Ren-No! brake discs, if they don't fog up the camera (not phone) lens, they're mountain road automatic handbrake and downhill assist, never mind Schodder the French are so "simply clever". 😆

Off Topic (ish) warning (and back on-topic at end) @Rooted they're almost baby's bottom smooth. 😄 Only this afternoon my neighbour's son took away the car I was driving every three week just really to clear the rust of the brakes to stop them seizing up again (through lack of use). I also had to keep an eye on the very small old (smaller) sized battery and use one of the chargers to keep it alive. Not a heavy VW car or VW stop/start, so small battery, small alternator and small starter motor all very easily capable despite the lack of use over the years (decades) and lighter components than the VW stuff of course. Ended up driving it a dozen or so times round the block (about 2.5-3m) and three weeks later 15m round trip to properly warm the engine a bit and get stuff moving and used, then three weeks later round the block and so on. 2005 Kia Picanto, 28kmiles from one owner new, I moved it to park it when three weeks old and I didn't need to touch the accelerator or brake pedals just let the shadow of my shoes fall on them and until the front callipers were changed (about 18 months ag IIRC) the brakes remained as sharp, only the aftermarket replacements of callipers took a little of the sharpness away still excellent brakes. I found that cheap little car more fun and better to drive than my wife's 2015 (creak, creak underside, various engine noises) Fabia Mk3 and my other neighbour's car that I drive a (5k-mile) 23 plate Ren-No! Nissan. I've been 'invited' to continue look after it (I've done a few little bits on it and gave it another good external and doors/bonnet shuts polish last week) at it's new home three-miles away (I went to school with the son) but I turned down the 'invitation'. Another 71 plate neighbourhood car that had been standing for 6-weeks, I asked my wife to drive round the block to clear the rust off the disc as I wasn't insured for it. It started fine and the lights were bright. 😄 Stupid electronic handbrake fitted, manual gears luckily, so heavy foot breaking only, 20 times round and nowhere near enough, 15m/gallon use and only half a gallon left in the tank so a fuel top up and night time empty dual-carriageway driving required to possibly clear some more (but it's been standing more since then) . I tried fully charging the battery on the car with my 4-amp "smart" charger but after a long time still not full joy so the next week I took the battery off the car to try in the shed with a secret weapon but still no full joy and the battery is fully glued shut so it's a knackered cell at least. Did mean I could refit the battery hold clamp and terminal connector better than the Dealership that had last messed with them but one post was badly scored so the clamp had to remain over closed up. Proof that the car has only been touched by the Dealership. 😞 Be interesting when the Dealership comes up to collect it for the MoT (and perhaps annual service) particularly if my wife isn't able to take it for a cleaning run of the rusty brakes, I think an Advisory might be optimistic then, definitely be a quote for new brake parts regardless from the Dealership which might embolden them to quote for other things as yet unknown. Well see mid-April (earliest booking from a couple of weeks ago, what cost of living crisis).

@ianjohnston - I forgot to put, take any % worn or left figures with a large dose of salt, I can only guess they are done by (biased) eye estimations, one time my wife had to remind a chap I had only recently replaced the front discs and pads. Tyres tread depth is another area of wide interpretation for them, the old service tick sheets could be amusing and more so when compared against previous sheets, one time the tread on some tyres increased between two tick sheets despite the additional mileage the car had travelled and the recorded tread variance on the non-existing spare wheel was interesting, to be fair a couple of times it was noted that there wasn't a spare wheel.