rossm

Just found this thread after suffering some of the discussed symptoms. My first encounter was after parking up on a gentle slope on a busy main street (with handbrake engaged), after walking away from my car I looked back to see it rolling down the street towards another stationary vehicle. Had to give chase, unlock and enter while moving and pull the handbrake back on, unfortunately a second late as I collided into the other vehicle with two children on board. Fortunately no injuries or damage, but could have been disasterous had a pedestrian been standing in the way. This really knocked me, believing I'd failed to put the handbrake on, doubting myself and not to mention utterly embarrassed. Then a couple of weeks later, just after parking up and about to leave the car, heard a loud 'clunk' to find the handbrake had disengaged, slipping off the ratchet. Not impressed. Unfortunately, I'm unable to recreate this, so I'm stuck with a handbrake I cannot rely on and no real way of proving it has issues. Glad to find the thread - hope everyone affected is reporting here and to Skoda. For background - I'm in a 2013 vRS estate and on both occasions, only short journeys beforehand, so not related to hot disks.

Hmm, according to the manual the fuse for the dimming mirror is shared with ESC, TCS, Tyre Pressure monitoring, Start-Stop, reverse light and some air conditioning stuff. The other bits are all working, so I stopped short of checking the fuse and will pop down the dealer for their view. ...will be back with an update soon

Thanks - I've tried several times, the update portal accept my VIN but just tells me no updates are available. I'll try via the dealer, good timing for the November update with a bit of luck.

True. I got quoted £32,160 for the Golf R Estate after adding £2,410 worth of options, just depends if you need them - it's fairly well kitted out as standard. For me, it'd need to have the adaptive chassis option for another £830 and sat nav (oddly not included standard in the R). For better residual value, it could be an idea. That aside, I'd still say the Octavia is definitely worth the new price, it's an exceptionally good car, but depreciation is too painful, unless your planning to keep it for several years.

If the £29k didn't bother you and your looking for a fast estate....maybe worth getting a Carwow quote for the Golf R Estate. I suspect you might get it for around the same price, you'll have 300bhp, AWD, and better value retention. Food for thought!

Hi, I've just taken ownership of a 2013 Mk3 Octavia vRS with Amundsen Sat Nav. Disappointingly, the maps seem very outdated. For example, the M74 extension around the south of Glasgow isn't on the map, despite the road opening in June 2011, two years before the car was released. I've been on the Skoda update portal (http://updateportal.skoda-auto.com/) but after entering my VIN, it reports that no updates are available. Any chance another Amundsen & Octy Mk3 owner could check the same and let me know if it's showing available updates for them? I need to go see my dealer about another issue, so will ask about this then. Alternatively, is there anywhere else online where I can either buy or download genuine map updates? Many Thanks, Ross

Thanks for the replies, much appreciated, sounds like its faulty right enough, definitely no green light no matter the switch position. The other gadgetry in the windscreen seems to be working (lane assist & auto-wipers). Having sunset glass wouldn't have any impact on the auto-dimming would it? I'll check out the fuses later, once I've figured out which one. Otherwise, I'll get it into a local dealer to check it out.

I just paid £14k for a Mk3 vRS estate, 21k miles (includes Amundsen sat nav, spare wheel, cruise and sunset glass). Wasn't from a Skoda dealer though. This one is a year newer, nicer wheels and has Canton....but the obvious downside is that it's done more than double the average mileage for its age. Then again, mileage wouldn't worry me, since it probably a fair chunk of motorway driving and you've still got a decent warranty left. Personally, I think it's a steal at that price! ...worse case scenario, after you start driving it you notice it's not quite as refined or 'new' feeling as you'd like, then you've still got the Skoda 30-day exchange policy to fall back on.

Finally got a Mk3 vRS after the untimely demise of my Mk2! Rossm, White Octy vRS estate, 2013 (first reg June 2013, so guessing its an ex-demo), Amundsen, Cruise, Sunset Glass and a spare wheel ...21k miles but still a bargain at £14k!

Hi, I've recently taken ownership of a 2013 vRS, but the auto dimming rear view mirror doesn't seem to be working. I had this on my previous Mk2 and the system looks much the same, you press the button underneath to activate/deactivate the auto-dimming, indicated by a light below the mirror. ...only I'm not getting any light when I press the switch under the mirror and it doesn't auto-dim when bright lights are shining in from behind. Before I follow-up under warranty, just wanted to check I'm not being silly...is there anywhere else this might have been turned off? Or any fuses worth checking? Many Thanks, Ross

Yeah, 2000 for the Octavia vRS but the 40-years thing harks back to the first 'RS' racing model in 1974, there's some more about on the Skoda UK page here. The article below is about the rumoured 280 model: 280hp Skoda Octavia vRS rumoured for 2015

I've heard rumours about a special edition 280 vRS FWD next year to celebrate 40 years of the vRS badge, would probably have the diff too. All speculation though. Sounds like a very similar car to the Cupra ST, which on a dry surface is as quick as the Golf R. A 280 AWD would be nice, but can't see it happening. A well spec'd current Octavia is only £4k less than a better spec'd Golf R Estate (300bhp AWD), when priced up through Carwow or similar. Not sure how Skoda would set a price on a 280 AWD Octavia, but I reckon it'd be very close to the Golf R Estate. Given the choice, at the same price, most people would go for the Golf (residuals, badge snobbery and better internal materials). I think Skoda would take the view that developing such a beast would be too risky to go head to head with the Golf R. Having said that...if they done a limited edition AWD 280 Octavia, I'd probably take one!

I saw on the Ross-Tech Wiki that some platforms have a "Remote Control Clearing" adaptation, (e.g. in case of a lost key), which got me thinking. I'm looking for something within VCDS which effectively disables a lost or stolen key, or if buying a used car where only a single key is supplied; disabling any non-present keys. Obviously wouldn't block the physical key and lock mechanism, but possibly something to stop the remote key fob and immoiliser (without actually disabling keys that are still in the owners possession). Does anyone know if this is possible, or is a more a case of changing locks, immobiliser etc on the car for that peace of mind?

Might be worth pointing the UK representative to the Skoda International news page, which says otherwise. Not saying they're wrong though, it's quite normal for different countries to get different specifications. Would just be good to understand where we stand, with different sources giving out different info.

Thanks Allan. Likewise, I've had heated seats in my last two cars, so I'm quite fussy about having them on my next. I'm browsing the used market just now for an Octavia vRS, but limiting the search to those with heated seats or winter pack reduces my options considerably. I've seen the kits that place the button on the seat base, but I'd be looking for the OEM kit with buttons on the dashboard. Doesn't sound like it'd be too feasible or cost effective.

Thanks for the replies. Transport, storage and skills are all available, but it'll come down to whether the effort is worth the reward, i.e. the value from breaking the parts or a repaired but devalued car. I've not broken a car for parts before, but can see the logistics of selling doors, engine, seats etc being a bit of hassle. Will make a call once I've got a buy back price from the insurers. The repair estimate seems heavy and includes some things that arguably might not be needed, e.g. new parking sensors and loom, tyre, alloy refurb, sound proofing. The fusebox in that corner of the engine bay has also taken a knock, there were no obvious electrical problems, but they've added a bit on to cover that as well (probably just to cover themselves). Yes, they've assessed the market value at £5,500 (partially due to a long list of extras) and will pay that out minus my excess.

I've heard about some dealers retrofitting heated seats on Mk3 Octavia's. Has anyone here done this themselves, or know what's invovled? Is the wiring in place or does it require new looms behind the dash? Presumably it's the addition of heated pads to the existing seats (inc. vRS) or do the seats need swapped out? Or, if anyone has paid to have it done, what was the ballpark cost? Many Thanks

I'm possibly interested (awaiting the outcome of an insurance settlement for my Mk2 vrs). So above standard spec, yours has the following: - Amundsen Sat-Nav - Spare wheel - Race Blue Paint - Mud Flaps - Black grille surround Is that sunset glass and simply clever pack I see in the photos as well? Anything else I've missed? Looks like a well looked after car and right enough, the petrol estate with DSG is pretty rare!

My 2007 Octavia vRS TFSI has taken a substantial front impact at the NSF corner. No structual damage and airbags didn't deploy, but bonnet, windscreen, grille, wing, bumper, light cluster and everything immediately behind are damaged. Engine is good, but radiator may be damaged. Car had done 90,000 miles. Car is valued at £5500, repair costs were £5200, so insurer has declared a Cat D total loss. Will likely take cash settlement from the insurers, but from other people's experience, it worth buying back the salvage and either: - breaking the parts privately? - repairing privately? Haven't had a price from the insurers yet, but doing the sums, I'd estimate they'll want up to £1600 for it.

After I went to stage 1, the car developed a misfire, attributed to 1x coilpack. As a test, we reverted back to the stock map and the misfire couldn't be recreated, so it appeared to be down to a faulty coil pack, albeit the fault was only evident under the heavier load of the stage 1 map. Replaced the single coilpack with another standard one and had no issues since. I'd say standard coilpacks are ideal for a stage 1 remap, no need to upgrade.

It's under the car near the filler cap. Need to remove a screw to get the old filter out its plastic holder - you might find the screw is completely rusted and needs its head drilled off and the screw replaced. Video here for a different model, but more or less the same idea, with regards to removing the hoses etc:

On the road again...

Just following up for the benefit of anyone that finds themselves here with the same fault codes. This turned out to be a faulty lambda sensor (post cat) after all. Unusual for it to pack in after only 73k, but the new sensor (around £70) and clearing the fault codes has resolved the issue (no more fault codes logged after a week - touch wood!)

Assuming power to the compressor is okay, are you certain the system has been refilled with the correct amount (weight) of gas? If too much is put in, the compressor can have difficulties starting up. A garage with the right air con kit will be able to tell you the weight of gas currently in the system, what it should be and refill with the correct amount. I believe the Octavia II needs 550g of gas, not sure about the Mk1 though.

They're chucking road dressing down willy nilly in Glasgow just now! Anyone would think a major sporting event was coming to town next month After it's bedded in and the loose chippings are away, it admittedly looks better than before. But...it's surely a false economy. Many of the roads they've used this on have underlying issues with constant surface settlement and potholes. Plus, it's laid right over drain covers, then the team comes back and cuts a big square around the drain, followed by a more accurate laying of traditional tarmac...which fairly quickly, due to the join between the materials and harsh winters, erodes away and leaving horrible potholes around the drain covers. Full scale paint job after the tarmac dressing too, which they're also making a complete hash of, but that's another story.