dieselV6

At definitely known 50k and 5 years, I would first open the timing belt cover from the top and check belt condition and whether tensioner marks line up. If belt looks pristine and marks line up to within +-1mm, I would just leave the belts as they are. 5 year interval is Skoda UK invention, belts are rated at 120kkm/75k miles. If you do decide to replace the belts, after so many years chances are that you need to also replace all rollers, the airco v belt tensioner and whatever else makes bearing noise, and of course both v-belts too.

B5.5 passat one will fit, that's what the last 3 windscreens fitted to my Superb have been labelled as.

As far as I can see, only VW Arteon (Superb in VW's posh disguise) got them in the UK as an option, VAG UK still prefers to lose private new car sales in the name of desperately keeping brand order, ie Skoda must be "budget" compared to equivalent VW, for a particular model you can only get stronger engines with bling skinny-tyre wheels and leather (losing comfort, spare wheel and the rough road pack) and so on. I'll get a factory order Mk3 Superb as soon as Skoda UK opens up options list, until then the money stays in the bank and I'd rather drive my trusty old Mk1, if it fails the next 3 cars on my list are Mondeo then Arteon then as a last resort a Superb. I put a limit on brand loyalty when I am asked to pay 50% more for an inferior car. For me, the current Mk3 as specced in the UK is a downgrade on Mk1/2 in several aspects. To anyone asking why acoustic glass is necessary, I own a 12 years old, 190k+ miles Mk1 Superb and last year I have road tested the Mk3. It was immediately evident even at UK motorway speeds that there is more wind noise in the Mk3 than even in an 11 year old Mk1. Shortly afterwards, Skoda Auto seemed to have agreed and introduced acoustic glass option for most/all countries in Europe...except the UK.

MOT, 12years/190k+ miles, passed without problems. I bought a new battery last year, and the boot lock microswitch, plus changed windscreen (5th time!), pollen filter, wipers, stop bulbs, gearbox oil, front and rear brake discs and pads and engine oil/filter a couple times. Otherwise everything works just fine. I have been searching for equivalent replacement for this car for 3 years now, but frankly the way it's going I may be better off keeping the one I have for a few more years. Might have to address paintwork at some point though. And yes, it's the 'dreaded' 2.5V6...I am so glad I bought the 6 pot new, as evidently, so long as you do not mess up timing belt changes, the engine is quite durable, not to mention way more comfortable and faster than the diesel alternatives. As a side note, don't expect Mk3 Superb to be equally quiet on motorway/autobahn any time soon, as it appears that the 'acoustic pack' of quieter window glass only made its way to the UK for VW Arteon (Superb in VW disguise).

Hi My Superb is still alive, just want to post a bit of advice for anyone replacing their transmission oil. I had problems with shifting into 3rd for the last 6 months from cold, the 3rd would go in then pop out initially but was OK once the car warmed up, so decided to change transmission oil (last change 5 years / 100k miles ago or so). Initially, I poured Castrol Transaxle GL4+ 75W90 which actually made the problem worse, 3rd kicking out and clunky gear changes when cold. So the next fill was Fuchs Titan Sintofluid GL5 75W80 and that has cured the problem completely, and that I have used before. Both fluids are VW rated G 052911 A1/A2 which is correct for the 6-speed manual gearbox. Just posting to help avoid the extra 40 quid and an hour effort for anyone doing this and tempted to go for Castrol on brand strength (Castrol makes e.g. best brake fluid for this car IMHO, React Response Super Dot 4).

I use EBC Yellow pads for many years, initial bite is average but they brake much better once pressed firm and have not faded on me yet. I had stock pads fade as well as stock brake fluid boil in the past, pads on the Mk1 Octy and fluid in the Superb. Since then I use Castrol Response Super Dot 4 fluid and EBC green or yellow pads, yellow DP4680R for rear if I recall correctly. If you want even better brakes, I guess for larger discs you would need to find fitting carriers from some 2WD Audi or a Passat.

You need part number 4B0955531C or E, relay is marked "603", under a tenner on eBay, older versions were marked 377 and 389. Your current rain sensing relay is 1J0955531A and is marked "192" and grey in colour. Installation is plug and play, remove lower dashboard cover, take out relay 192, insert relay 603 (or 389/377) in its place.

Just to point out, 205/55/R16 that Skoda puts in the Mk3 Superb is a regular wheel, but it is not full size/diameter spare for the Mk3 Superb. Full size is actually 215/60/R60, which is about 32mm larger diameter. 205/55/R16 was indeed the full sized spare for Mk1 and Mk2 Superb, but Mk3 has 5% larger tyre circumference. If you put the current Skoda "full size" (not!) spare on the car, your ABS/TCS/ESP and tyre pressure systems will have a fit. Not to mention that the diameter difference with the other, regular wheel would probably cook your diff after a while if used on the front axle. Unless you put double effort and put rear wheel on the front and the spare on the rear. For this reason I do not consider a full sized spare anything other than same wheel as the rest on the car, preferably with same/similar tyre. But apparently the rules for car salesmen are different... Has anyone tried to pack under the boot floor a genuine full size spare, same as the rest of the wheels on the car? I guess in the UK it would be only in the Superb S trim, but other countries allow other trims/engines in that wheel size. I ask because the 5% undersized spare that Skoda currently offers as "full size spare" is not a good idea if e.g. you are 500 miles away from home, in a remote area of Scotland, on a Sunday afternoon, and your damaged tyre looks like this: Theoretical? No, this is my car's wheel, this summer. Thankfully, I had a genuine full size spare matching the rest of wheels in my Mk1 Superb, so 20min and some sweat later we were on our way back home. I am looking into replacing my Mk1 with Mk3, so if someone could clarify that a 215/60/R16 wheel could fit in the spare wheel well, possibly with marginally raised boot floor by 5-10mm, I would be quite grateful.

For me, the primary thing stopping me buying a new car and replacing my 176k miles / 11+ year old Mk1 Superb is that Skoda UK limits options and engines for lower trim Superbs. I have always bought my Skodas (3 so far) factory new, with cloth upholstery, 55+ profile tyres, manual gearbox, most powerful diesel in the range, rough road package and most winter options. Superb SE 6-spd manual with a 2.0 190bhp engine, rough road package and heated seats/windscreen/steering wheel would suit me just fine, though ideally with standard cruise control rather than ACC and with 16in wheels. But apparently, if you want to buy a 190bhp Superb in the UK from a dealer, it will have to be a bling 18in alloyed, leather/alcantara upholstered SE L Executive version. Frankly, until Skoda UK frees up the car configurator to a level found e.g. in Irish car configurator, I'm not buying a new Skoda, at least not in the UK (might still decide to import one). If the Irish can get most options in RHD configuration, so could the UK.

Resurrecting a very old thread to note that I have just replaced my Exide EA852 battery for a new one (same type), at a ripe old age of 8.5 years and over 120k miles. The old battery worked very well right until the end. I guess a couple cells must have dried in the Spanish sun because as soon as we came back from hols and nights became colder, cranking became very slow and voltage fell down to the point of resetting instrument cluster. Considering that factory batteries never gave me more than 4 years worth of acceptable use, I am going to stick with using Exide Premium.

No ratchet alternator pulley on a V6. Pump can make noise at maximum turn due to pressure, but belt should not, if it does, check the belt, belt tensioner, rollers and alternator bearings as well as the pump.

If there are no holes in the exhaust yet, a £10 can of zinc (e.g. zinc galva 97 or more silvery zinc aluminium galva 97 silver) can fix the surface rust, actually also convert some of the rust back into iron over time as exhaust runs hot. On all my Skodas exhaust only rusted from outside, so worth keeping outside rust in check to prevent bills.

Tested my Superb today, pass on everything. I'm now into 12th year of ownership, and at 170k+ miles of happy motoring, I'd say I got my value for money All maintenance and repairs done by myself over the years, including belts, CV boots and an alternator replacement. I have a few maintenance jobs planned for the future, most notably replacing suspension wishbones, but I'll wait until they are loose enough to be MOT advisory. Though Mk3 Superb is supposed to have better noise insulation from next year, so who knows, I might get tempted to replace my Mk1 (I tested Mk3 last year, was noisier at speed than my 10yr+ old Mk1). That is, if Skoda UK stops limiting the 190bhp diesel to models with bling alloys, leather upholstery and a ton of unwanted electronic crutches...

Smoke might be due to retarded timing, on an old 2.5V6 BDG you really want it around 0.2ATDC+-0.2deg for clean starts, even new ones needed less than 0.8ATDC. Has the low idle been there before timing belt change? If yes, it might just need adjusting, login 35342, and I think 2nd adaptation (idle speed) with VCDS. I would check basic timing with VCDS (measuring blocks - start of injection then switch to basic settings ad look at the "late" timing values, should be 0.2deg ATDC, after adjustments "early" should get to 15deg BTDC), then adjust idle. But if low idle and smoke appeared only after belt change,likely the belt jumped by 1 tooth and the engine needs to be retimed.

Much easier to fit a couple of Bilstein B6 shocks from a VW Bora estate (B6 SPORT 24-064095 BE3-6409) for quite dramatic improvement in handling. Unless the bushes are genuinely gone.

Vacuum oil change is actually better than sump method, so long as it is performed on a warm engine so that all oil comes out. On many/most VW diesels, you actually get more oil out using this method, because sump draining does not remove all oil from the oil cooler,/filter area and you can vacuum between half glass to a half pint of oil from there, depending on the engine. I have actually opened sum after vacuuming the oil out, and there was on oil there. Having said that, the electric pumps such as the Lidl one have a problem with hot oil flowing through them, actually in case of the Lidl one the pump looks solid but the pipework looks low temperature only and not very rigid (important for dipstick tube). I use a hand-operated Sealey TP69 oil extractor with nylon/polyamide tubing, much better for this role. My Superb has never had a sump oil change, just 2x spot check if there is anything left in the sump (there wasn't). After 11 years and 170k+ miles, the engine still has no oil related problems. Apart from the 2.5TDI V6 on the Superb, I use the same oil extractor also on 1.6TDI in the 2012 Roomster, and used it also on the 1.9TDI Octavia. Far less work with vacuum extractor and better result every time than a sump change. So if anyone tells you that sump oil change is better than a vacuum one done right (on warm engine), check if they have interest in local garage network or any actual experience of both procedures.

For improved cornering, Bilsteins B6 all round are best, monotubes so handling is much improved, comfort is preserved. But if the suspension knocks about then you also need a full set of wishbones and anti roll bar links, on Ebay for GBP250-300, make sure it fits your particular year of Superb, best kits are made by Delphi as they made the original suspension set. For my car, 2006 Superb, Delphi TC1900KIT fits. Rear suspension can also be replaced relatively easily, you need new bushes. Do not know where to get them fitted, I am still hesitating to touch stock suspension wishbones as full geometry setup can be pricey and more importantly, not many places know how to do adjust correctly for Passat/Superb (raised toe).

195/60/R15 tyres are the largest OK to use at any load and give 10mm uplift (in use at present) , 195/65/R15 are the largest that will fit without rubbing on new car, but rear wheel wells will have VERY small clearance, i think even worn suspension bushes or overloading would make them rub against wheels. For off-road use probably 185/65/R15 would be best bet for 1/2in lift. The nice part is the spare wheel will fit its well at all sizes quoted. Then if/when shocks need replacement anyway, you can install Bilstein B6s all round for another ~8mm lift (pressurised monotube shocks, also much better handling), anything past that requires stronger/taller springs. Yeti springs are unlikely to fit at front as front is Fabia Mk2 platform, rear Golf Plus Mk4 platform (factory "cut and shut" ) . For anything offroad it is worth fitting front skid plate to save oil sump and gearbox, when I bought the car in 2012 it cost about 100 quid in parts and about an hour to fit myself, for me worth every penny even for ordinary motoring. Gearing is not a problem at least with 195/60/R15, speedo is 98% actual speed so also OK, but I found I had to adjust toe after a while to counter edge tyre wear, not much though. HTH

Skoda does this insane option bundling only in the UK. Irish, German, Czech and other country option configurators do not have most of these tie-ins. The one I dislike most is bundling more powerful engines with leather/alcantara upholstery, large alloys and unwanted electronic crutches. Almost everywhere outside UK you can get a cloth upholstery 190bhp Superb on 16in wheels and with standard cruise control, in the UK it is only available with leather/alcantara, 18in wheels, and ACC. As a result of this policy and the drop in quality compared to Mk1 and Mk2 Superbs, I'm still driving my 11 years old, 170k miles Mk1 Superb Comfort 2.5TDI V6, and refuse to spend the better part of £30k on a new car until both policy and quality improve.

Perhaps another reference point: after a test drive in 190bhp diesel auto Superb hatchback (SE Business I think), I can confirm that Mk3 is actually noisier in both road and wind noise than my 10 year old Mk1 Superb Comfort 2.5V6 TDI. Looks like Skoda seriously cheapened out on noise insulation to save weight, cost, and to make sure the brand stays in its place below VW and Audi.

To drop the front is easy, get VW/Skoda sport springs for your year/engine, new or used. They are 20mm lower and more than acceptable comfort wise with Bilsteins B6 monotubes. I currently run on my V6 TDI manual B6s all round, with sport automatic V6 springs (thickest ones in the ETKA listed range) on the front, and rough road springs in the rear, so front -20mm, and rear +20mm. This is actually more stable at high speeds and also allows the car to be fully loaded with a carrier attached to towbar and still not looking like an emerging submarine. If you want the rear lower as well, just find very old springs from a scrapped Superb, the rears sag a few mm a year, so if you find a 14 year old car in the scrapyard, chances are the springs will be the perfect height when the extra 25kg uplift of each shock is added.

Right, the 2.5TDI BDG V6 engine is the worst engine ever, say the owners of 1.9tdi tractors. That is why I have been driving trouble free a Superb Comfort 2.5TDI V6 manual for the last 157k miles for 10 years from new now, and that it is exactly why I intend to sink some serious £££s into new suspension, injectors and headlamps quite soon. YMMV. Put simply, the later 163bhp 2.5V6 BDG engine has fixes for all faults of previous engines (oil lubrication, valve train), still provides lower fuel consumption than the the last 2 decades of diesel 4-pots above 110mph / Autobahn, and was built for serious motorway mile munching. I agree with all other points about not buying neglected cars with failures, but if you want motorway comfort, durability and relative fuel economy/range at high speeds, 2.5 V6 is the one to have. I would not get the auto box though. I test drove Mk3 Superb recently, and it is worse for wind and tyre noise than my 10 yr old Mk1. I might still buy it (ca £25k) when my Mk1 gives up the ghost, but the adequate replacements are in Audi A6/A7 guise, with cost from £40k upwards for equivalent performance, and £50k+ for something genuinely better in most aspects. Against this background, sinking even £5k into an old Superb sounds like a bargain.

I must honestly say the Mk3 DSG, at least on 190bhp diesel, felt to me like it had botched control software. Way too quick to kick down at all speeds/in all gears, perhaps the 190 has a bigger turbo or bigger volume intercooler and they were trying to compensate for the extra lag. It also could not decide whether it wants to crawl or remain stationary. Even though I am no fan of automatic boxes, I admit that the 1.6TDI DSG Rapid my wife got as courtesy car some 2.5 years ago drove and felt pretty much like a manual car, holding gear while pottering around town. This is definitely not the case with Mk3 Superb 2.0TDI 190bhp DSG. But if/when I have to replace my Mk1 Superb, the choices for me are: imported Mk3 with 190bhp engine and manual gearbox/cloth seats, new UK Mk3 but in a sensible/slow 150bhp manual diesel guise, used Audi A6 estate 3.0V6 TDI 240bhp quattro 6-spd manual (pre-2011 model), or if I can get someone else to pay for it, Audi A7 3.0TDI 320bhp tiptronic. Mk3 will be a slight downgrade, the other options are either more risk or more costly.

Well, I had a test drive of Mk3 hatchback 2.0 190bhp DSG and frankly, I really am not impressed enough to order it straight away. The Mk3 is indeed very spacious and comfortable, but wind and tyre noise is greater than in Mk1, even at UK motorway speeds. As an aside, the DSG box, even in normal mode, has kickdown so agressive that it flips down 2 gears at anything but the slightest touch of throttle. I'll stick to manual for now or tiptronic. So in summary, unless my car throws another surprise at me before I order parts to fix it, I think I'll be better off replacing the suspension and injectors later this year and hoping there won't be any more major repairs for a while. Either this, or go crazy and order 320bhp Audi A7 3.0TDI tiptronic

I'm thinking either UK sourced 2.0 150 SE hatchback but without adaptive CC, (well I could live with adaptive CC stalk interfering with my legs if they sold me a 190bhp SE), or a 2.0 190BHP SE sourced from Ireland. Both configurations have their merits, has to be SE otherwise no Rough Road Package available. Cost wise, I won't pay more than £22k - £24k, so far all cars I had from new lasted 10 years, though last one was written off (rear-ended). So purchase price per year works to well under the current cost of repairs to the old one. My main worries are that I will have geometry problems after front suspension replacement (plenty of posts around here about how tough it is to find anyone setitng raised toe correctly), and that something else might go very soon after the repairs described above. I am already in this position, having replaced timing belts/water pump this January, and driven only 15k miles afterwards. Still, I might buy Mk3 and then still fix the Mk1 and share the motorway mileage between the 2 for then next couple of years. Anyway, off to the dealership this morning, will have a closer look at Mk3 and set up a test drive, then we will see.