nta16

Sorry you've totally lost me, are you replying to another post on another thread. A mate has just had to get rid of a 2005 Picasso and replaced it with another Picasso of a similar vintage but this is in the UK. I'm not sure why you'd think I'd find it repulsive wherever you live but putting your location as Hebden Bridge I think it's natural that my post to you would be as a UK perspective so any worries about removing the seats as regards UK insure are void. You want to consider yourself lucky, from a UK perspective, to be given 5,000 Euro to scrap your previous car. Sorry I wasn't able to help you more.

I've no idea about your wife but a lot of drivers (often but not always in BMWs and diesel Audis) don't use the performance already available in the car by the use of gears and being in the power range It might even be against the law for some BMWs and diesel Audis to travel below 5th gear so dribbling by the vehicle they're overtaking shutting the door for any other vehicles behind them. One of the best tuning aids you can get is driving training (I say that not as a particularly good driver myself) and it's all transferable to other cars. I'm not saying any of this picking on your wife as in my personal experience generally women are better drivers than men and many men have performance vehicles beyond their driving skills (including me), just my personal experience others may have found differently.

I'm glad to hear your happy with your car. I've never been a VW fan, although I've been told the 17+ year old ones are better built and more reliable, I've been disappointed with my wife's 2015's parts longevity, or more accurately lack of, and annoyed at the over complexity the German marques insist on. So I'm unusual here in not being a fan and a bit biased in the opposite direction to most here. The seats will have the stuff for seatbelt wearing so fiddley plastic wire connects will need disconnecting, what the car's computer programs make of this I don't know. I also wonder what insurance companies would make of removing non-removable seats but again don't know. If you can't see any fixings then you must need to remove something to expose them but I don't know what as I've never investigated this. Good luck, let us know how you get on. Some advice I always give, especially if you're going to do lots of short journeys and very few longer journeys, when appropriate check the state of charge of the car battery even if the car starts fine and the lights are bright enough as the car's computer programs can throw up all sorts of issues even before any warning lights or messages. For the first time in 40+ years of car ownership I've used a car battery charger preventative maintenance on one of our cars (helped out with neighbours and friends batteries for decades) and bought an appropriate charger and maintainer for the start/stop battery. I also advise actually reading and referring to the 'Owner's Manual', sadly no longer a paper printed copy or anywhere near as comprehensive as decades back but even more necessary for even the very simple jobs you've done for decades as often there's a little twist of complexity not expected sometimes to something like changing a remote fob battery and where any particular collection of possibly fuses might be for one item. Here endth the sermon. 😄

Yes I wonder that too - but, it is what it is so you have to work with what it is. Surely you can make a seal that goes around the metallic lip and is wide enough (thick-walled) to also cover the whole of your filter and heaterbox intake, perhaps removing the existing door type rubber seal. A (watertight) foam type has been suggested as this can be compressed, or also be cut to allow for any angle of the bonnet slope if required.

How long have you had the car, what was the few last lots of servicing (VWSkoda "full" servicing isn't really not even for the engine let alone the rest of the car). The driving around town will do the car very few favours but if the 75 mile trips are frequent and regular they will help. Does your wife (and/or you) turn the ignition on, before starting the car, and the heater blower is still on and the air-con still from when she last turned the engine off? Halfords or places like that will IIRC do free battery checks for you (but don't buy a new battery just on their say so). Here is a list of site members who may be able to help you buy using an appropriate scan tool for your car, it's a diagnostic tool so not always a repair tool but is often needed on modern complex cars and the German marques love complex.. - Briskoda VCDS Owners Map (click me) Careful use of a (improvised) stethoscope device might confirm better the location of the noise (beauty cover off engine).

No sorry you've misread and misunderstood, I mean the 'Owner's Manual' (what used to be the Driver's Handbook) that used to come with the car as a paper printed copy (and pdf versions) now virtual(?) versions. I've only recently given away 1974 and 1980 versions of Haynes for the same model of car at least one error and omission was repeated from earlier to later, for new owners particularly and many even long term owners the Driver's Handbook gives much more useful information. It would tell you if the seats were designed to be removable and lots more info, you need to consult it for even simple things that you've been doing for decades as often there are little twists you have forgotten or don't know about or the extra complexities the German marques like to throw in to show how clever they are. My last car was a 1973 MG Midget got shot last year and I thought I saw coming the opposite way on a road today but was too slow to read the reg but it sounded like my old car. 2004 is the newest car I've ever owned, when it was 11 months old. I was thinking just to fold the rear seats down or looking at the rear seat base(s) for fixings but my wife's car isn't here to check for you, they will come out for repair/replacement. I have a feeling with my wife's car you just yank the rear seat base upwards to get it out but I'd need to consult a Skoda WSM to be sure and to know about back rest fittings, then there might be eclectics to some higher level trim models. I'd imagine removing rear seats could be done fairly easily and quickly but then would any 2023 electronics and computer programs get arsey, I don't know, unless someone else was paying every penny for and to run a 2023 car I doubt I'd ever have one as the 2015 car already has a few bits that annoy me.

"185/60R15 fitted to a 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 rim is a good compromise between comfort and handling on the Fabia MK2. This may explain why this tyre and rim specification became a standard fit on the later Fabia MK3." (ETA: the man himself is now here) Yes I remember now - 185/60r15 are the tyres on my wife's Mk3 (I'd prefer 14") also 195/55r15 is mentioned as a standard Mk2 fit, so going with 195/55r15 as an example - Or 185/60r15 -

@toot what's the 17" tyre size on a 2013 Mk2 Monte Carlo then (to work out acceptable 15" tyre sizes)?

Yes that is why you want a scoop, I followed that, you want to give it an open hood. Yes I understand that, you have two problems this one I thought would be solved by my answer 8 hours ago. You should not have engine bay fumes coming into the cabin that is why seals and grommets are fitted to items passing through the firewall/scuttle. Then surely something is not working or fitted as it should be, the idea of recirculate is to prevent external air, in modern well sealed cars you should not leave recirculate on too long. Yes I understand this too but a scoop might (or might not depending on how it is done) bring in more air, a limiting factor might be the filter you use. and the size and type of mesh you use on the scoop, if you use any. First thing is to seal the metallic lip to the filter housing as this will bring in more fresh air and seal out engine bay air and fumes.

Hi, welcome. ETA: my computer is on a go slow I didn't have toot's post until I posted mine. 2013 I take as a MK2 Fabia so I'd not know but later I'm sure someone who does will be along with all the info. It depends on what size brakes your model has as to whether a 15" wheel will fit over them, if not 16" would still give a noticeable difference. Just changing old tyres that have gone hard from age and use and/or to a better make and model of tyre, even if at 17", may also give some improvement but probably not as much as going to smaller wheels with tyres that have more sidewall height (profile). If you enter your tyre size into this calculator it will give options of 15" and 16" tyres to match your 17" but some tyre sizes are more commonly available than others so are available in a wider range and often better prices. - https://tiresize.com/tyre-size-calculator/

Hi, welcome. Are the back seats designed to come out, they're not on the Mk3, what does it have in the Owner's Manual? If you mean to 'spanner' them out then it's a matter of looking at the fixings and having the right tools for the job, if VW don't mind you doing so it might be Torx or if they want to be more awkward it might be those XZN/triple-square/12 point thingies.

With a scoop perhaps you can use something less restrictive than the present foam. My total guess would be that the scoop would give you a greater volume of air coming in so you could keep the foam filter but that's just a guess you would have to do mock up tests at various speeds and in various circumstances with a some kind of measuring instrument to know for sure. Getting hot air out of the engine bay is the more difficult process rather than getting air in. I do not understand your worry of the blower motor as you presumably have a recirculation setting that cuts off the air from outside anyway and the blower motor works with that.

(I've not read the thread so this may have already been covered.) In that case could you not just extended the sealing with a tube, plate, compressible trunking or extended or another seal, something to fill the gap and seal the passage of incoming air from above the bonnet?

Have you had the bonnet up when the noise is going to see it you can get a better idea of location, careful use of a (improvised) stethoscope device perhaps or do a recording of the noise. Noises can be hard to track down, I've a couple of ideas but they could be total guesses. A scan tool reading may give you more information. Have you checked the car battery at the battery posts with a multimeter to see what it's state of charge is (relating to the alternator perhaps. What is the history of the car, it's service and maintenance and use. Good luck, let us know how you get on.

If it's not too late have a look on following link. - Briskoda VCDS Owners Map (click me)

If Tedwood is happy then that is fine and good for him as the car is 8 years old some parts can be expected to go faulty on a 2015 car from the likes of VW, that's just how it is, it's not an old(?) Toyota or Honda or even an old VW. Car manufacturers make a lot of money with replacement parts so you can see the incentive to have the parts last beyond manufacturer's warranty but how much after is a different matter. On my wife's 2015 Mk3 and the one featured in the video to me it seemed the grease used had become too thin, or perhaps too much was applied at manufacture of the part, for whatever reason the part seemed, to me, to be not built correctly with the grease used or applied. Often heard the jokes about Lucas electrical parts but I know of original parts still functioning on cars from 50, 60, 70+ years later. The stalk is still working on my wife's 2015 Mk3 after my 'repair' nearly two years, well so far. 😄

Sorry no idea, you might have to look on the bulb holder of the light units, numbers are now usually P something for incandescent bulbs now, e.g. 382 = P21W, 380 = P21/5W. Unless you buy "heavy duty" or a good make at a good price, standard replacement incandescent bulbs can be crap and need testing before fitting as they may not work out of the box or fail because of storage vibration if kept in the car. I've found the VW computer program can be very sensitive and put up the amber triangle of doom for a bub that seems fine yet not indicate for one clearly off colour - but perhaps the German computer engineers have resolved this by 2022. If you find out report back please for future reference of others.

Excellent MPG, well done. And the car is just about spot on with mpg too. 13.96 litres divided by 4.546 = 3.07 gallons, 228.1 miles divided by 3.07 gallons = 74.3 mpg.

Right, thanks, so the XL not just for the extra weight of German cars and additions to VRSs and Monte Carlos but to reinforce the rubber band 40s against 105ps, plenty of margin for enthusiast owners. 😄 Wonder if someone retired early after setting up that supply deal, I'm surprised they didn't make them dedicated with code letters added and only that make and code of tyre to be fitted.

I think you might be getting a bit mixed up with sizes because of the silly mix of imperial and metric. The wheel rim width (in imperial) may well be show on the inside side of the wheel. XL tyres and normally for extra load, heavier vehicles perhaps load carrying passengers or commercial loads like vans, can be small car sized vans. Some links to perhaps help explain. https://www.performancealloys.com/tyre-sizes-information https://haynes.com/en-gb/tips-tutorials/beginners-guide-wheel-sizes https://tiresize.com/comparison/

As we know some owners prefer to swap from the fashion of oversized wheels and tyres, from the factory or option when new or previous owners changes, to smaller sizes to be more functional on real world roads and often give better comfort. Not everyone realises that the larger wheel and tyre size is often just fashion and that there are alternatives if they want them. Those that want the fashion sizes will stick with them and ignore any information that they can do otherwise. The other week I saw a male Estate Agent wearing some shoes with really long pointed toe (cap) and thought it must be some extreme style but a couple of days later I noticed a bloke on telly reading the news had some and the bloke doing the weather so it must be the latest fashion for shoes I expect which is fine but these shoes wouldn't be very functional in other professions. I can remember wearing stupidly wide shoes when I was young (though the fashion suited me as I have wide feet anyway). 😄

Sorry I didn't mean to suggest you were neglecting your car rather that I don't care to give my wife's car any more of my attention than really necessary (to my thinking). Until last year I was using various "classic" (over-priced and over-valued old) cars as daily use for 30+ years so very used to the full and more regular and frequent servicing and maintenance so find what Dealerships call full servicing to be a bit scant. A word of warning the replacement dampers that the Dealership fitted to my wife's car would have failed an MoT at an independent garage for "leaking" at less than 12 months old but after arranging for their under warranty replacement at the Dealership it was found unnecessary as they were only "misting" and the car passed the Mot at the Dealership without even an Advisory for the "misting" dampers. A neighbour's 20+ year old Toyota Yaris is still on factory dampers and so is a mate's Supra. The car still has a creak after the new dampers were fitted it seems a common issue even when owners have replaced lots of parts chasing it. For full service has, your car had the air filter, spark plugs, coolant, gearbox oil, brake fluid changed as I'm used to 30+ years of using "classic" (over-priced and over-valued old) cars as daily transport I'm used to a lot more servicing and more frequent and regular than the modern Dealerships and things like annual lubrication of hinges, cables and such, I even do some of it on the VWSkoda Fabia (when I can be bothered).

Zooming in on the photo the cracks appear to be in the algae - whether this is reflected in real life using a magnifying glass or brush cleaning I can't know. My wife's car looks not a lot better than yours after I cleaned it - but I don't care as I cleaned it for function rather than appearance, when (if) I can be arsed I might try clearing the seals more thoroughly at a later time before next autumn and winter.

On my wife's UK Mk3 Fabia we tried running at ECO pressure but found it too hard (on 185/60 r15 tyres) so went back to 2.1. Inside the fuel filler flap are the Skoda recommended pressures. You need to check the tyre pressures when the tyres are "cold" and use a gauge that is reasonably accurate, different gauges may give different readings so best to stick to one to use and it is not usually those on pumps or possibly at many petrol stations and garages in my experience, or the staff are slap-dash with their use. For decades I have carried a manual foot pump and separate accurate pressure gauge in the boot of my cars (most times instead of a spare wheel and jack and brace but that upsets some so much, my choice I survived 30+ years like it). The XL on your tyres may give a firmer feel to the ride. It' is best to change tyres in sets of twos (for same axle) or better still in sets of four (usually means rotating the tyres to get more even wear front to rear). Consult your Owner's Manual for tyre rotation, if you do not have the paper printed copy you can get a fee pdf download from VWSkoda. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models In the UK we have business that specialise in selling and fitting tyres that can also repair them.

I finally got around to cleaning that seal only the other day on my wife's car's front windows and lubricated the door frame seals as the electric window mech was moaning about having to work harder. I'm not sure those seals would be the cause of condensation in the car, more likely are things like towels in the car that can hold moisture or damp or wet towels from taking the dog out or other things that cause wet or damp items to be left in the car. or just the condensation of the car. I've just removed two Pingi dehumidifier bags that we use when it's not summer as the car is always outside. Along with using a few old tooth brushes on that seal to clean it (dry then with GT85) the following video shows cleaning and lubricating, I prefer to use GT85 as it has PTFE rather than silicone, some don't like to get silicone on to paint but if you spray the silicone on to a cloth away from the car you shouldn't get any overspray or airborne spray on to the car (all too much farting about for my limited car patience). - Whatever the cause I've noticed the last x-number of years the winters are milder and damper and there's more algae and moss about where we live than previously and we live at the top of a hill where it's usually reasonably windy.