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Now that the gearbox is shifting fine, I'm almost afraid to do a gearbox adaptation 🙈 - I read some forum posts that said that recalibrating the dsg with potentially worm clutches can actually make things worse. Not sure how true this is, but I'm tempted to leave it. Going to get the battery checked out as suggested 👍

There's a product called polywatch designed for polishing plastic watch crystals on vintage watches. It would be perfect for this use case - apply and rub in with a cotton swab or pad until dry. Less than a tenner if I recall correctly. I think you risk melting the plastic cluster lense further with any kind of stronger spirits or solvents - as mentioned, that plastic feels very thin and fragile

Quick update. Earlier today I decided to disconnect the battery for a couple minutes to see if the issue would resolve itself in case it was something stored in the ECU memory (shot in the dark, no idea if that's how the gearbox even works). No effect. However I then took the car for a 70km round trip to, of all things, pick up VCDS gear - and on the way back the issue seemed to have resolved itself. The car is setting off fine from a standstill and it's now shifting ok. So I wonder if it had relearned the clutch positions etc on the long drive after some sort of electrical/ software glitch (perhaps hence why it took me a few goes to start the car prior to the issue occurring yesterday.... maybe low battery voltage. The battery does appear to be the factory unit from 2014). I'll run VCDS anyway to see how much clutch I have left and will update here.

I did indeed, all the same, including in manual mode, though manual mode was a bit more "normal" feeling with less slip between upshifts. Reverse engages without issue or any slip. Yeah it did have 34h5 applied, the repair kit seems to have done the job anyway (assuming what I'm experiencing now isn't another mechatronics issue!) The car is coming up on 100k miles now (about 159k km) I'm going to try someone with VCDS to run a gearbox adaptation

Have a 2014 Octavia estate, 1.4 petrol, with the dq200 7 speed DSG. Today I was stopped with the ignition on (in Neutral, handbrake up, stop-start was activated so the engine was off), got out of the car for a couple minutes, got back in and had to turn the key to get the engine to restart. At this point, it made a starter-motor type rattle, and it took me two or three turns of the key to actually get the engine started, as if the battery was flat - this never happened before. Directly since then, the gearbox has been acting up, as if the clutch isn't engaging, like it's slipping. From neutral it would not creep on releasing the brake or tapping the accelerator lightly. Gear changes take too long and the revs overshoot on upshift, again, like a typical slipping clutch (not specific to any gear groups - consistent from 1-7). In short, car no longer creeps in drive from a standstill. Revs will fluctuate if I give it a bit of throttle, and car will jerk forward eventually if I step on it. Overall car feels slow to react to throttle inputs, and as if it's a bit down on power. Revs overshoot on all upshifts. Previously had an issue with the accumulator housing cracking, but I fixed this with a mechatronics repair kit and mechatronics oil change (about 30k kms ago). No error codes/warning lights at the moment. Doesn't matter whether the car is hot/cold. Video of what's happening below. Anyone experience anything similar? Assuming it's a clutch pack issue, tempted to source VCDS and recalibrate the clutches in the first instance. Video here

Could be the clutch packs? Assuming there are no leaks or errors, I wonder if the clutches are worn leading to juddering..

No stress at all @ColinD 👍 +1 on the above, I'd try cheapest repair first before sinking 650 quid into a fix you don't know much about, especially if there are no warning lights. I'd ask your mechanic to read the codes while he's at it to see if there's anything stored? Working under the car and not removing the mechatronics may well be the fix I had done though, in relation to the eBay guy. I'm based in Dublin but coincidentally I came across two guys on YouTube in my research - one by Heathrow and another in Harrow that fit these accumulator kits. Again it's completely up to you, but maybe it's best to try diagnose the issue first before going with a fix, or even get the mobile repair guy to do a diagnostic first. Leaking out the top of the unit suggests it might be coming out of the breather, which could be a cracked mechatronics housing - but then you'd get a gearbox error and codes to go with it.

I posted a reply yesterday but it seems to be hidden and requires approval for whatever reason, so I'm going to drop it in here for further info. @automass, it's hard to know what the issue might be if you are not getting any very clear issues or error codes. The fixes being proposed by the eBay seller seem like a bit of a catch all? For example issues selecting the reverse gear can be to do with a completely different part to the one I swapped in my case. Just fyi.

What kind of repair is the eBay guy offering? Just FYI the mechatronics unit in the dq200 takes 1L of oil, not 1.7

There isn't always a visible broken metal part, sometimes the housing has a hairline crack that will leak mechatronics fluid. How do you know that there's a problem if you have no lights? Is there a visible leak? New gaskets + new oil could solve the issue, could be worth trying first I guess. Just to clarify, usually with this issue it's the mechatronics housing around the accumulator that cracks due to the poor quality of the metal and the pressure in the unit - not the accumulator itself. Lots of videos on YouTube showing the issue if you search the error codes I noted originally.

The official fix is a new mechatronics unit which was about €1500-1800 fitted - what I did instead is order a kinergo 7.03 kit off eBay, with a new mechatronics sump, gasket and 1L of oil, and that was about €300 delivered, and then labour from my mechanic to fit it. I guess make sure first that the Kinergo kit would fix your issue - if it's just those 2 error codes, chances are it would. The reason I went for the kit is that new mechatronics units still have this issue that's pretty much unresolved (weak housing castings around the accumulator) - and the kit pretty much bypasses the weak part of the housing with the reinforced mounting plate you get, and supposedly provides a more robust accumulator. Like toot above notes though, you're pretty much at the mercy of gearbox places if you need a new mechatronics. Apparently there's a backlog on getting them in too, so some people have had to wait to get their car fixed.

On a somewhat related topic, what VAG wheels look good on an Octavia 3 estate? Looking for a change as I'm not too fond of the stock 16 inch 5 spoke wheels on mine. Want to keep it 17 inch max. There's a set of golf Belmont wheels near me for sale at the moment, but I'm not sure if they'd look too modern on the Octavia (pre FL in my case).

Does your phone connect to the head unit at all? If it is connecting, but you can't make calls or play audio, make sure that you have call and audio access granted for the Skoda head unit in the Bluetooth settings on your phone.

No pics I'm afraid, I didn't have access to a lift so my mechanic did the work for me.

I have a 2014 Octavia with MIB1 - no issues with it really but android auto would be nice, along with a more aesthetically looking unit. I was considering the MIB2 upgrade route, but the cost seems to outweigh the benefits. So I was wondering if any of the big screen android units on the market offer integration with Skoda software? I know some will do the driving mode selection and tyre pressure monitoring - but are there any that will pop up warning messages for low fuel, warning lights, fuel usage stats on screen like the OEM system does? Many thanks in advance.