StuartMR

I'm considering replacing my much loved Octctavia vRS later in the year and been looking at smaller engined cars but the DQ200 box puts me off. I've got the 6 speed DSG in my vRS but I've heard nothing but horror stories about the 7 speed dry clutch DSG in the smaller engined cars. Is the reputation deserved or have they fixed the issues on more recent versions? Am I better off sticking with bigger engines to get the DQ250 DSG? I like to keep cars a while (current vRS is not far off 180k miles, the one before that was 170k and before that was 250k) so don't really want to be buying into something that is going to be a money-pit at high miles. I know anything can go wrong but I'd rather avoid known weak points and transmissions seem particularly pricey and specialist. I've got a long term injury and long journeys in manuals don't do it any good so an auto box is kind of necessary. It would be a second hand buy and probably in the region of a 2015-2016 for age. Although I'm tempted by an old Caddy van as they seem good value but again the DQ200 puts me off. Cheers, Stuart

No, never managed to get to the bottom of it. The car went in to a local VAG independent specialist. Their electrics guy (who was Skoda trained) spent a few days looking at it but couldn't figure it out. He rigged a bypass cable into the cabin area that could be used to manually send power to the starter as a temporary fix and I fitted a push-button in the dashboard to make it a bit safer/easier to use. Two years on and the temporary fix is still working fine (touch wood). He thought it was a failed module but didn't want to try replacing it because of the cost. I'm happy with the push button start so didn't seem worth the £4-600 he was estimating to replace the module (and still might not work). It's had a new battery and a new starter motor since then so wasn't either of those.

A bit of luck, managed to get hold of a salvaged part for 25 quid.

I can't believe I'd never noticed they were also the sidelights. Just checked, still out with the headlight switched on. Ta for the warning. FFS, nothing is simple any more

That's weird, I can see the picture in the post on my PC. Never mind, it looks exactly like the one you posted so I guess is a Skoda fit then. My mistake. Thanks for the part numbers. Ouch, quite a pricey unit. I think I can live without it unless I can find one on Aliexpress or from a scrappy. Google tells me DRL's are only an MOT failure on post-2018 cars. Ta for the help.

Hi, the LED strip on my running lights seems to have blown. I've been reading through previous questions and I'm a bit confused now. The car came with them when I bought it (second-hand) so I just assumed it came from Skoda with them on as an option. But from reading old threads it sounds like that's not the case. Am I right in thinking these are actually an aftermarket add-on? This is the lamp: So... two questions. 1. I can get the plastic grille off but I can't figure out how to get the LED strip out. Do I have to remove the entire foglight unit? 2. Any idea where I can get a replacement? There's about a million choices on Ebay. I guess when I get the unit off then I'll be able to compare. Thanks, Stuart

Thanks, I'll have a check of those. The alarm has gone off at random quite a few times in the last few months. I'd thought it was just being a bit sensitive. Looks around 60-70 quid on Aliexpress for a new sounder which seems a lot less hassle than opening the old one up and finding a replacement battery. In the thread I posted above they mention this is a hard to source custom battery, in the past I've used a company called Cell Pack Solutions for making oddball batteries fairly cheaply so that might be of interest to others. The beeps are definitely coming from the rear of the vehicle though. I had my daughter check while I was driving and she agreed. My car doesn't have parking sensors so definitely not that.

Not checked if this is the problem but I've found the thread so it's a start!

Thanks I'll have a hunt.

Don't know, could be. Is that something that is accessible?

Hi, I had a strange beep from my car (2010 Diesel vRS estate) today on the journey home. A single beep evey few minutes. No warnings showing on the MFD or dash. The sound was coming from the rear of the car, like in the boot area (I don't have any items in the boot that could make the noise so is definitely the car). I've had the car three years and happened once before and just stopped at the end of the journey last time it happened. Never happened again so forgot about it. I can't see anything mentioned in the manual. Anyone know what it is? I've checked Youtube and Google but can't find anything. I've seen a couple of threads on here that have mentioned tow pack electrics or reversing sensors but my car doesn't have either fitted. Thanks.

Yeah, it's only on the left inner pad. I was surprised to see so much meat left on the pad, I'm pretty sure they've been on well over a year (though I might be mistaken). My last car (a Citroen) ate pads like digestive biscuits. Thanks to both for your replies.

So if I just connect the ends of what's left of the cable together then I'm good? Thanks, sounds like an easy fix. The old pads had the sensor fitted and connected, I did them a while ago. You can't really tell from the photo but there is still a trailing lead coming from the inner pad but the plug and socket are missing. I'm guessing I've driven over something that's caught it at some point.

Hi, I need a bit of electrics advice. I've had the check the brakes warning light on the MFD (yellow circle that flashes up now and again) which I figured was just the pads needing replaced. So bought a new set of front pads, took the wheel off and spotted the problem with the cable below. It's the Y-shaped cable with one end which goes to the inner brake pad and the other (I'm guessing) is the ABS sensor. The socket where the plug from the pad connects is gone. Not sure what has happened as the plug on the lead from the pad has also gone as well. Anyway, is this an easy DIY fix? I know nothing about electrics. Do I just splice on a new connector and heat shrink it up or is it more complicated than that? Like would I need to replace the entire cable? Any advice or part numbers much appreciated. I can't find the actual cable on the exploded diagrams in the Skoda parts catalogue. Or should I just take it to an auto-electrician? I'm also wondering if this is the source of my mystery electrical problem. I posted another thread a few weeks ago, my car wouldn't crank and neither a general auto-electrician nor an independent Skoda specialist could trace the problem. The Skoda guy had it for a week and couldn't find anything (he's rigged a temporary bypass until he gets a chance to dig some more). I'm also wondering what caused the cable to break as I don't want to fix it for it to happen again. Doesn't appear to be anything where it was rubbing. Cheers, Stuart

Update from the garage, they've eliminated the starter motor and battery as the issue so they're having an auto-electrician look at it. The mechanic said he managed to start it by powering the starter directly. So will have to wait and see. Fingers crossed it is something simple.