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!

Hi, I recently bought the above vehicle on 143k miles for what seemed like a good price from a local second hand car dealer. I've not been able to put any decent miles on it yet, but was a little concerned by the strong smell originating in the engine bay, followed by noticing a dried creamy residue down the side of the coolant bottle and onto the chassis. On my first drive the coolant warning light came on and the level on a slope was just shy of the sensor. Looking at the fluid though, it didn't look in the best of conditions. Reading through the service history; the second timing belt and water pump was carried out at 118049 miles on 18-01-2023. Initial VCDS scan did bring up: 28253 - Coolant Pump 3 P26F8 00 [00100000] - Stuck Intermittent - Not Confirmed - Tested Since Memory Clear. And this was dated the day after I ran the scan bizzarly. No faults have since been logged after a few short drives. After reading plenty on here regarding water pumps and silikat coolant bottles, I wondered if anyone could shed any light on the coolant pump 3? Thanks for any help with this!

Hi, I'm just looking for some mph/rpm figures to weigh up the different manual gearboxes out there on the diesel and petrol 4wd Octavias/Scouts. So what kind of speeds do owners observe at say 2,000 or 3,000rpm say? Many thanks for any info on this, or if anyone has the actual data for the different gearboxes.

Many thanks, I shall enquire with Skoda UK recarding that specific recall. I know one of the vehicless I'm interested in has had a wheel bearing replaced. On a slightly seperate note; I've seen some members on here have been able to view service invoices online so as to ascertain what work has been carried out specifically. Is this something only available to the owner of the vehicle do you know?

Agreed, I always take my car in (if I have to) clean, for a few reasons. Unfortunately the service staff just want to rush the cars in and out, so they have no desire to check the car out. Also, with my own experience of having my locking wheel bolts assessed for a replacement key; I was greeted to a dribbled oily hand print on the nsf wing of my car upon having it returned to me. I was in too much of a hurry to strike a fuss up about it. Quick one on Skoda recalls: A vehicle I'm interested has a note on it's history for one being carried out. Is there a way I can find out which one it was do you know? Thanks

That is good news Toot, 3years is far too long! I've tried locating service history from a vehicle in interested in from Skoda uk chat function: they have sent me a list of dates/distances with the service names against them. Unfortunately, this doesn't actually tell me what items were replaced. And the first mention of Haldex seems to be much later than expected; more like 4yrs/60k as a stand alone event. Is there a way I can find detailed invoice information out for these services? Enter Name, From my experience working at VAG main dealers, it all depends who you have working on your vehicle. I test drove every one unless told not to. Others were more interested in time saved bonus and just took then to be washed 😏

Thanks for those links Gaz, some handy items to check for my impending road tests 👍 Light reading 😅 I have spent many an hour trawling through the search function over the years: so much info!

6 years... For the pollen filter also! Wow, and is that first oil service at 3years? That's incredible. We had issues when longlife servicing first came out on VWs, so I've always been a great believer in the annual 10k oil and filter service with my cars. I suppose it makes sense to change the haldex filter each time the oil is replaced; just hope the oil is up to the increased distance.

Thank you Toot, I shall read the tea bag information from Gaz with intrigue, I've not come across this before. This is what I feared regarding service schedules; there would be different opinions. I was a main dealer VW/Audi mechanic for almost a decade back in the noughties, and the norm was either 4 or 5 years and 60k for toothed belt replacements. The service book for my 2012 octavia VRs however noted quite an astronomical distance in comparison. Haldex oil was every 20k and filter 40k, but has this changed to oil and filter every 30k now then? Have there been catastrophic results with vehicles missing this event? Brake fluid seems the same. Fuel and air filters used to be 40k/4yrs, so that hasn't changed much either, thanks.

Hi, First post on here, but having owned VAG for the last twenty odd years I have enjoyed the depth of knowledge available within this forum. Currently looking to trade up from a 2wd to a 4wd Octavia due to moving to a more rural setting. Are there any particular items or faults I should looked out for when inspecting the 2015-2018 models to purchase? Also, what is the official time/distance schedule for toothedbelt replacements on the 2.0 diesel engines of that era? Many thanks for any guidance