richardjh

i did the course a couple of years ago. found it dull and patronising. consider it like a fine without the points.

on my my07 l&k all the mirrors can dim. having said that i have this feeling that more recent builds have changed to dim only the interior mirror and the drivers door mirror. now where do i think i read this?

its what i thought it did, but i have tried the slider at both ends of the scale with no decernable affect. the manual says nothing useful. there is another setting that can be low/medium/high; this does cause the the music to be quietened when a nav announcement is played to varying degrees. are the two perhaps linked? must try it the next time i am stuck in traffic on the m25 (i doubt that will be too long in the future )

on the volume settings for the navigation there are two adjustments 'navigation volume' and 'minimum navigation volume' anyone know what the latter is for?

mine has now been diagnosed with a failed compressor. the garage is waiting for the part to come in.

the cooling on my climatronic also stopped working a couple of days ago. Ah driving along the motorway with the windows open and my back stuck to the seat. this bring back memories.

i knew this would provoke a 'eating marmite' type reaction i too wonder why manufacturers insist on using fake carbon fibre, but then i wish also wish they would offer decent fabric interiors rather than a choice between cheap cloth and cheap leather. (well at my car buying level) personally, i think wood done well in a car can look fantastic. Thanks mike for the link to the uk company.

thank you everyone for the advice. Does this problem generate any fault codes that the dealer can pick up? Being intermittant i dont want to go to the dealer and they say that they cant find any problem.

In the last week week or two i have attempted to engage the cruise control and it hasnt worked. no light on the dash. if i take my foot off the loud control the car slows down. the CC control switch is in the enabled position, but the rocker switch does nothing. Stopping the engine and restarting it 'cures' the problem. Anyone else experienced this?

I was looking at these kits for the octavia. DASH KITS - WOW TRIM! Anyone tried one?

the tdi + dsg is a good combination, but you do need to get used to it. i didnt like mine to start with. previously i had non turbo petrol with 4 speed slushmatic. Now i wouldnt go back. To smooth the ride the gearbox shifts to 2nd readily and slips the clutch. if you dribble up to a junction or roundabout it can feel like there is no power as the engine rpm arent up to the point to get the turbo working and the clutch is being slipped. I often make the gearbox go back to 1st to get better drive.

MY07 Octavia Estate. And i meant the interior plastic trim.

i think i have read somewhere there are 5 different rest positions for the front blades to stop them getting a set and consequently that nasty juddery scrape older blades would normally do when they wipe. shame the rear wiper doesnt do the same trick.

The trim on the Drivers side B pillar has started to come off. whats involved in reattaching it? is it best to take it off completely or should it just push back on? at the moment i cant see how it is meant to be attached.

overall i do like it. There are a few annoyances for me though. The touchscreen seems unresponsive sometimes. also when going to the selection list of mp3 tracks it always displays the list from 'A' The amount of times i have scrolled to artists 'S' for example. chose the wrong one then backed out of the menu to find the list displaying from 'A' again. argghh!

i'm coming up to the end of my manufacturer warranty. has anyone extended their warranty? any recommendations?

i assume 'mechatronic' refers to the computer controlled servo system to select the gears and operate the clutches. i shift mine into neutral when sitting at rest for an extended period. although with the brake depressed the clutch is disengaged it is still in gear so the plates are spinning past each other. my theory is this must consume energy and wear the oil. if on a hill, then i use the handbrake to hold the car as i move from brake to accelatator as the car will roll back before the clutch picks up. also in slow traffic i will switch to manual as the car prefers to slip the clutch in 2nd rather than re-engage 1st. to my mind this cant be good for one of the clutches for extended periods. and as i am sure many of us know we get to be in queues of traffic all too often in this country. still love the 'box though. this way of working gives wonderfully crisp gearchanges.

the complete rear one was only £4.16+VAT. very easy to change. well once i had figured out how the slidey catch thing worked:rolleyes:

finally got mine: 2 front and 1 rear. £16.58 in total. the local vw dealers were hopeless. kept wanting a vehicle registration number. instead i went to a local vag specialist garage. very helpful. they just ordered the parts. thanks to those above for the part numbers

as an electronics design engineer i am quite curious how the maxidot works. quite fancy thing i think. really must get round to reading CANbus specs....

apparently doesnt work if factory bluetooth is installed...

ooooooooooooooo more techno-porn . i wonder whats involved in fitting it?

personally i prefer to shift into neutral when stationery for an extended period. when in Drive and stationery with the footbrake pressed is the car in gear with the clutch disengaged or does the computer shift the gearbox into neutral?. if the former, this would surely heat up the gearbox oil has the clutch plates spin past each other. with my old slushmatic gearbox cars i would shift into neutral to prevent excessive heating of the transmission fluid in the torque convertor. with both types of gearbox the oil is expensive to replace.

i am not a car racer, so dont see the point of manuals. the dsg is a lovely gearbox. yes, it has a few quirks, but i can live with them. in very slow traffic the box stays in second and slips the clutch. if this is for an extended period i will slip it it into manual mode and engage first. i suspect it does this to give a smoother ride.

like many people on here i now have the skoda bluetooth installed and i am very pleased with it. A thank you to vrstu for an efficient sale and prompt despatch. Also a thank you to lummox for doing the install. He gave a very professional and curtious service. The kit works very well and as i found the bluetooth receiver is very sensitive when i left my phone in a jacket pocket, in a bag, in the boot of the car. And it still connected fine when i turned on the ignition! richard.