dieselV6

If you keep halogen housings and put LED's or HIDs in, tester will know because the housings are marked as halogen (ECE markings). If you change complete units, the next point tester looks at is auto levelling, so I guess if you picked a car with weak, under 2000lm xenons/LEDs and swapped whole units, you might get away with it. But putting LED or HID bulbs into halogen lamps is now an MOT fail for stock headlamp low beams and high beams. You can still put LEDs in fog lights and signal lamps. Even auxiliary high beams now have to be ECE rated, I struggle to explain this one by anything other than automotive lamp makers protecting the profits (typical at least 3x price difference between ECE and non ECE high beam LED).

Because Section 4.1.4 of the current MOT Manual says so. 4.1.4. Compliance with requirements Existing halogen headlamp units on vehicles first used on or after 1 April 1986 must not be converted to be used with high intensity discharge (HID) or light emitting diode (LED) bulbs. If such a conversion has been done, you must fail the headlamp for light source and lamp not compatible. Now if you ask if it does make sense, that is another story. For starters, either HID or LED in projectors work just fine, and the 2 sided thin plate narrow LED strip lamps also work fine in reflectors, but if the MOT manual says fail, they will fail MOT check. Much like not having a guy walking in front of your car with a red flag some years ago (The Locomotive Act 1865). In the meantime, if you want to make your H7 headlamps light the road better, see my earlier post here. HTH

Steel at the bottom, solid neoprene rubber on top. Another picture from different angle:

I use Aliexpress a lot lately, around 30 items in the last 4 months, always pay by Paypal. So far, everything arrived in under 3 weeks, one item is taking longer but tracking shows it cleared Heathrow customs, so is lost in UK RM network if anything. About 70% of goods are as advertised, the rest you either argue for a hefty discount if you still want them, or open a dispute on Aliexpress and demand return and refund if goods are not fit for purpose. Aliexpress do seller originated returns to a UK collection address, and I did get refunds on items such as £80+ "55W" HID ballasts that were only 40W after warmup, or a set of £20 "50W" LEDs that were 15W, it took less than a week to refund. It pays to check what you get and argue. For Skoda specific parts, I recommend www.skoda-parts.com, shipping charge a bit steep now but if you order stuff that would be more than £50 at a dealer, Skoda Parts invariably work out cheaper. Plus they have loads of original Skoda accessories that take days to arrive rather than the usual month from a UK dealer (UK dealers work out faster for parts but not accessories). Anyway, just my 2 pence (+UK VAT charged now at both Aliexpress and Skoda Parts )

The amount of oil consumption depends on whether the engine has cracked rings, chipped pistons and/or scored cylinder bores. Unfortunately, lately more and more engines do across the entire VW Group range, quality control and VW are no longer compatible it seems. Skoda being a major engine maker also has a part in it, it's not just the parent. Having said that, I used to have Mk1 Octavia 1.9TDI and despite drinking about 0.5l / 1000miles from the start and heavy car use, it lived for 9 years and over 120k miles until got written off in an accident and worked just fine, with good fuel consumption. Also, remember it could be worse, rather than engine drinking oil, it could be adding fuel into oil during regens. This is what I have on Roomster, problem continues despite early warranty engine block change. I have just changed oil after 273 days and just over 2000miles (yes, two thousand, not twenty), and took out 4.8l oil/fuel mix but only 4l oil went in. On long trips Roomster is just fine, no oil increase, at high speeds fuel actually boils off after a few hours (autobahn), but due to lockdown the car only did short trips in the last 9 months. I would just keep adding oil and not worry too much, but it is worth double checking if oil does not go to the intake on account of a failing turbocharger seal. That particular failure will eventually hydrolock the engine and kill it.

Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post! Some photos and more info for the tilt angle increase: The 2 front bolts are M10 x 50mm , https://www.mackay.co.uk/m10-socket-cap-metric-head-allen-hex-screws-fasteners.html you also need 4x M10 spring washers. https://www.mackay.co.uk/washers-spring-stainless-steel-nutsboltsscrews-fasteners.html Even though you replace only 2 front bolts, rear bolts also need spring washers for everything to sit securely and not come undone, as the angle has changed. The actual supports are 12mm thick steel, 25mm wide and 12mm high, cut to 45mm length, with a 10mm thick solid neoprene rubber laid on top. Steel goes at the bottom, rubber at the top to allow change in angle. https://www.mackay.co.uk/flat-black-mild-steel-metals-warehouse.html I got bolts, washers and steel from Mackay, though they are pricey for shipping. The nice thing about this shop is they cut your steel to order, so only drilling is required (pillar drill best for the steel and the neoprene). But feel free to use other suppliers. As I said earlier, I got short neoprene rubber strips from Ebay, search for solid neoprene rubber strip in about 25mm width and 10mm thickness. I would not go higher than 12mm with a neoprene rubber strip alone, you need steel underneath for support. You can see front lugs in the photo, they still are in the floor for a few mm. There are also rear lugs I think, closer to rear bolts. All in cost was about £15, plus drilling 4 holes (2 in steel and 2 in neoprene). Not much visible from top as there are plastic covers on rail ends, I had to put mobile phone right to the floor to make the photos. HTH Front supports: Front bolts with spring washers: Original rear bolts with added spring washers: Disclaimer: I bear no responsibility for your safety or seat comfort in case you decide to use information in this post!

The cover might be cracked and that is why it is not sitting correctly, this was the case with my vRS. If you need to replace it, best to start also with a new nozzle for peace of mind and to avoid needle fiddling, cost for both cover and nozzle is around a tenner and the nozzles are set correctly. Best to heat both parts gently with a hairdryer or a heat gun before popping them off, or wait for summer. Part numbers for sedan (estate has different cover): 1x rear wiper cover 5JA 955 435, 1x rear washer nozzle 1Z5 955 985 combi cover is 5K6 955 435 HTH Edit: apparently, for later models with reversing camera there is a different nozzle with valve, part number 5TA955993

Too much tilt does indeed cut off circulation around the mid-thigh to knees, but too little tilt leaves thighs unsupported leading to back pain as well as cutting off circulation in the backside. Very uncomfortable on long trips. I just got short solid neoprene rubber strips of Ebay, same width as the seat rails, long enough to support the rail around the bolt. You also need longer bolts, I think M10x50mm, and spring washers on all 4 bolts. Best to have a look for yourself at your seat rail mounts, you will see sizing.

6ft5 here, and for me the tilt angle of seats was too small (38in inseam though). Solution (used by me on many cars, e.g. Civic, Mk1 Octy, Mk1 Superb, Roomster) was to fit a couple of 20mm high hard rubber blocks under front seat rails, with longer screws and spring washers. There is a limit to this adjustment as the seat rails are anchored with pegs at the back. Personally, I could also do with a bit more legroom but as I often have 3 passengers in the car, moving the whole seat further back is not an option. Mk1 Superb was better for legroom, both front and rear Mk3 vRS is not too bad for driver comfort legroom wise, before buying it I tried a Kodiak and blacklisted it after a couple minutes precisely because there was no way my left leg would be comfortable against the centre console. At least in the Mk3 vRS you can rest right foot on the carpet moulding next to accelerator pedal, I blacklisted all new Audis because not only none had the accelerator side footrest, but the side finish there was plastic and your foot slips onto accelerator. I'd say whoever designs Skoda LHD conversions is not very tall

You may use LEDs in fog lights and signal lamps in the UK, at least there is no explicit MOT manual clause against them. You may not use LEDs nor HIDs in halogen headlamps, this is now instant MOT failure. Here is a link to my earlier post on alternative ways to improve light amount (and not that expensive either).

It seems I have to resurrect the thread and share my observations, now that I own a Mk3 vRS Bi-xenon AFS HID headlights indeed dip down and to the right in Europe, and in my opinion are adequate abroad only if you aim them at the limit of UK MOT headlight aim spec and enable cornering lamps using VCDS or similar . Without cornering lamps, I would frequently find a dark spot on the driver side when entering /exiting motorway on a tight bend and in other situations. At least on my vRS, you have to select left or right hand traffic in the car settings / lighting menu on the satnav. Once back in the UK, they Bi-xenon AFS HIDs are excellent, though high beam again could be better on account of too much near field lighting (known feature of bi-xenon lights compared to dual headlight setups). Compared to projectors (set to flat beam) in Mk1 Superb and Mk1 (dual headight) Roomster, I find the AFS bi-xenons slightly worse abroad, though in fairness, I am comparing stock AFS lights to flat-beam halogen projectors using uprated light sources (H7 HID and/or H9/H7 Osram Super lamps boosted to 14.5V).

I did replace window seals but had to remove door card and loosen the wing mirror. But you can put a 10mm wide and 2mm-4mm thick strip of adhesive closed cell neoprene foam tape on the outside in the seal, behind the brushes, to press them towards the window. The strip is not visible unless you look very closely, and might provide enough pressure to clean the window fully. The driver side window was smashed during a break-in under previous owner of my vRS, and no matter how much you straighten the metal parts afterwards, the window would not seal fully at high speeds until I put that extra neoprene foam tape (on top of a new set of seals). Until then I had extra wind noise above ~110mph, quite annoying on autobahn trips.

Are you testing them on "auto" setting or on the "on" setting, best to test at "auto" when it's dark as "on" disables AFS, or at least most of it.

On my wife's Roomster, a slow coolant leak located at the water pump bearing after ~2 years eventually grew larger... to the point that the 1.6CR TDI engine used around 3l of coolant on a 1000 mile trip across Europe returning from holidays back to the UK. Timing belt was swimming in coolant by then, but otherwise fine. After the belt and water pump job the leak disappeared.

Voltage can be increased with VCDS only on certain Roomsters, mostly very late models, 2012 still had the old BCM that did not really allow much tweaking voltage wise.

Etka lists for mk3 Octavia also ordinary bi-xenon HID light without AFS (page 941-010). I imagine these would not dance, as they only need levelling motors. So first thing to check is do you really have AFS lamps?

(deleted)

First and foremost, always make sure your lights are aligned correctly, some workshops seem intent on pointing them into the ground at all times and no light source will help this. I also, until recently, have used 50W HID kit in my wife's 2012 Roomster until new MOT requirements made it impossible. So, after some searching, I found OSRAM Super H7 lamps at Aliexpress (the last of the lamps shown in the ad). Note there are other sellers on Aliexpress and probably elsewhere, I'm just showing the one I repeatedly ordered from). These are smaller and slightly more powerful 65W H9 capsules put onto H7 base, and produce 2100lm instead of stock 1500lm. They are made by Osram factory in China for Asian and American markets. At ~6 quid per pair and standard longevity these are excellent bargain, though after HIDs you will find their colour a tad yellow at standard Roomster voltage of 12.5V at the lamp with the engine running. Nevertheless, even without wiring upgrade or voltage booster these produce significantly more light. On my wife's car, I also have a voltage booster and run both low and high beams at 14.5V at the lamp (with ~1.2A glow current to prevent initial switch on shock), but that requires substantially more work than just changing the bulb. I used to have the booster only on high beams for the last 8 years, so now after the HIDs went out it was just just a matter of adapting and reconnecting it for both low and high beams. Frankly, after putting the work in, I do not miss the HIDs anymore, though I did order quite a few H7 65W spare bulbs as will probably have to change them once a year, unlike the HIDs. Edit: My wife's Roomster has dual headlights, for the single headlights in early Roomsters I would probably just put in the Osram H7 Super as shown above and a fused relay and a set of chunky wires straight to the battery clamps. or a diode and a relay at each lamp, it would make for a softer start. HTH

Funnily enough, same problem on my wife's 2012 diesel Roomster, 3rd brake light cut and central locking cable insulation cut. In my opinion, there should be cloth tape wrap throughout the rubber conduit. Anyway, 15min to fix once you know where the problem is.

Check glove box light switch if it has not fallen out, basically check if glove box light goes off when glove box is closed. Mobile phone placed in the glove box with camera recording a video helps in case you have trouble viewing. If glove box light stays on, that could be your current drain, fix is to reseat the switch.

Tensioner will shift even after you rotate the engine to check the new belt is OK, this is even more true for newer 1.6/2.0 diesels. Yes, the belt will stretch a little with age, but half of the difference shown could be normal tensioner swing. I replaced the belt and the water pump on my Roomster 1.6TDI a year ago due to badly leaking water pump, made 3 attempts to set the tension as per factory service manual and always it shifted to different to what I had set after rotating the belt. Only then I found online a later date factory service manual telling me not to bother about it. Regarding Dayco vs Gates vs other brands, any kit will do so long as it is undamaged. I ordered a beautiful Dayco belt+all rollers kit from amazon, good price, only on arrival the main tensioner roller had 2 deep scratches on the belt's running surface. Sent it back and went with INA kit and Dayco belt, not so nice but undamaged. 15k miles later still works fine.

Hi, I'm looking into getting a used pre-facelift vRS diesel (/rant) as a stopgap car until SUK stops force-feeding sub-standard 100mph ACC on all but basic equipment Superbs (while denying the 130mph ACC or standard CC options to us). (rant/) But as I drive mostly at night, and a lot of it to/from/across Germany at high speed, I need to know if the AFS Bi-Xenons fully switch to "flat beam" or just dip the Z-beam and angle it to the right for the Continent. Could a friendly soul please post a photo of 2015-2017 vRS lights set to tourist mode projected against a wall about 5m-10m away (when it is dark and cutoff is clearly visible)? Ideally, with one headlamp covered at a time. And yes, I found an earlier picture on the forum but it is taken way too close to the wall, you really cannot see beam shape from this. Help much appreciated, but given the number of tourist mode threads I think everyone will gain from this.