Whitie

Indeed; I noticed whilst searching through the onscreen options, the screen element comes on when demist is selected automatically. Handy as I've been running the car with no heater matrix whilst I flush out the dreaded silica debris 😕 I've just taken delivery of a 2019 wheel and airbag someone was offloading after upgrading their mk3 to a mk4 wheel. Just the slip ring part number to check on VCDS and then I was thinking of trying one of the cheaper versions of the kuftec loom adapters that go for £15. I can always use it to make my own if inadequate in some way I presume. I've always fancied a HSW since the days I worked in main dealer VW/Audi garages, and used to see it as an option on North American vehicles when coding certain control units in! Hopefully it goes without a hitch 🤞

Ahhhh, THAT menu button! Thank you for the quick informative reply, I've only used the car for less than a thousand miles, so still aspects of it I've not explored (only noticed it had a heated front screen the other week!). 🍻

Hi, Great guide on how to carry out this retrofit upgrade. I'm very interested in fitting this to my '65 Reg Octavia Scout to go with the heated seats and front screen, as I too suffer with Raynauds. On searching through the menu of my infotainment screen however, I could not find the HVAC section. Is this only on certain models? Is it still possible to to run the HSW without this screen? I noted on your Seat guide, the Seat steering wheel came with it's own button for the function, no such luck with the Skoda wheels it seems? Thanks for any help Kind regards

Cheers Gaz, it's a whirlwind that's for sure! T07; I've not really had/used the car enough to notice any coolant loss before I started working on it. Could you say how far down the bottle was disappearing in a set amount of time/distance? Ta

Good point Carlston, perhaps 225/45/18s then 🤔 The current larger Michelins have plenty of tread for now though, and I'll be on my winter set for the darker months 👍

Well it's been a while since I've had a chance to work on this due to the arrival of our daughter almost 4 weeks ago, but.... I have recently removed both electric pumps to check for flow and then refitted to run them with a flush. The rear motor, No.3 I believe, which had the intermittent fault of "stuck" logged, looked cleanest! Both seemed free and operational though... Bubbles in the front pump No. 2 had me wondering if someone else had tried a flush... Just trying to find some suitable rubber hose to loop the heater matrix out at the moment, then I'll flush again thanks Gaz 👌 T07, I had toyed with that idea, but first I think I'll try the chemical test again, once everything is flushed through, to see if any exhaust gasses are present 🤔 did you have any rough running from your leak, and did you put the system under pumped pressure to see the droplets? Keep the suggestions coming, thanks!

Thanks for those numbers Carlton, most helpful. I have already fitted a set of L&K wheels from a Superb with the chunkier tyres they use as standard: 225/40/18 would be my preferred summer option however. By buffers, are these what I would call bump-stops? Cheers P.S. Photo of the Scout carrying load on uneven ground to show clearance not a problem on the Superb wheels/tyres 👍

Agreed, it would purely be a shock and spring change, which I would keep the old items for resale 👌

Yes, I know, most Scout owners will think I'm mad, but.... Hi everyone, not had my Scout long; but coming from a Mk2.5 VRs with Bilstein B12 kit and Eibach ARBs, I'm finding the suspension quite wallowy (to be expected). Having measured the ARBs and found them decently thick for OE, I fancy fitting similar age VRs suspension rather than go the B12 route again. Looking at Bilstein and Eibach's technical data, they both suggest their individual shocks and springs are not for the Scout. However a full Bilstein shock/spring kit does not exclude the Scout: my thinking is that since the Scout has higher suspension (I believe) than regular Octavias, it is not advised to fit either the shorter regular specced shocks, or lowering springs individually. But together, this would be acceptable. I know a fair few people jack their Scouts up, rather than lower/stiffen them, but has anyone experience of what I'm suggesting? Thanks for any information on this 🙂

Thanks Gaz, that is what I also read online when looking this bizzare clause up. As you say, the 30days means I can not simply reject the car. It is written in to their paperwork that the repair would be split 50/50, and the repair workshop of their choice would have to be used, with me being responsible for taking the vehicle there. Since they do not have appointments available for another fortnight, and our first child due in less than a week, I feel stuck in a difficult situation. They have offered to purchase the heater matrix and I would fit, but I'm not convinced only the heater matrix is damaged in this case. So I ordered a block tester, which changed colour within a few minutes. This has prompted me to systematically test components in the coolant system: so far I've drained the system and tried to flush the matrix; completely blocked. Checked the bottle for silica bag; nothing in the central cavity, but plenty of grit in the pipework. I then removed the EGR valve/cooler to test for blockages and leaks as we used to when I worked on these machines for a living. No leaks evident up to 1.4bar of pressure, but cold. Very clean looking also, hopefully as it was doing 20k a year before I got it recently. Next up I was going to remove and test the charge cooler in a similar fashion. I'm not convinced there's a headgasket/crack in the cylinder/head as I haven't witnessed any overheating, but I won't rule it out. Also, no evidence of oil/coolant mixing, which suggests the oil cooler is OK. So I'm hoping it's just the back pressure from the heater matrix which caused the over flow, and silica impeding coolant pump 3; which I shall remove to check and clean out as best I can. But again, any advice and guidance with this would be most appreciated 🍻

Quick update on this in the hope of other people's experiences pointing me in the correct direction. The supplying garage have stated that since 30days from sale have passed, it'll be a 50/50 split on any work carried out. They also can not get me an appointment at their place of repair for 2-3weeks; hardly ideal as our first child is expected in the next 10days. They've suggested that they're happy to supply me with a heater matrix if I'm happy to fit it. My concern is that there is more than just the heater matrix damaged/faulty here. Looks like the system has overheated so much, the coolant bottle has distorted. Yesterday I used a RELD kit to test the coolant for CO²: unfortunately the result was positive for the gas. I don't have a pressure tester as yet, but maybe a compression test would also be helpful to rule out leaks into the cylinders. I'm also thinking of bypassing the EGR and charge coolers to rule them out. Thanks for any assistance with this.

Thanks for your input Gaz, I wonder how different the diesel cooling system is. Sorry to hear you had such a hard time with it all! The thread I found linked within had one contributor mention they had their electric water pumps replaced as a consequence of a similar issue, along with their heater matrix, this could be why I came across that fault code. With 143k on the clock, I may have a different coolant bottle on this car now and the silica bag may have burst prior.... Great.

I see, any other reasons I should be looking into for a blocked heater matrix then can you suggest? Thanks

Thanks T07 for the location info regarding the additional coolant pumps. I agree that a blocked heater matrix sounds highly likely; perhaps this coolant bottle is the type with the sandwiched Silikat pouches. I'm a little concerned at the smell in the engine bay, so was looking to work through all possibilities for this. The coolant pump3 fault I thought a good place to start; are they known for causing issues? I'm thinking an exhaust gas test on the coolant be wise, and an overnight pressure test. Any other suggestions? Thanks for any help with this

Is there any reason that a second hand replacement drivers door control unit with all the same part numbers, etc. coded with VCDS to my original coding, won't communicate with the rear drivers side door control unit? I know the rear door control units are fine, as I have a second drivers door control unit which will communicate. Unfortunately, again, when that is coded with my original coding; the drivers window operates in the opposite direction to normal... Any help gratefully received for my 2012 VRs estate!