JJC77

Thanks for all your replies. I've found the answer, a little embarrassing, but I've added it here in case it helps anyone else in future. I took the vehicle to a specialist as suggested. They discovered that the oil filler cap was not properly secured, which was causing a crank-case air leak. This caused an extra rich mixture and clogged up the dpf. They re-cycled the dpf, which cleared it up - and the problem was solved. The smokey smell was either a bit of mist escaping the crank-case or a bit of oil splash on the exhaust. This cost me an investigation fee of £108. I guess I incorrectly re-fitted the cap at the last oil-change, about a thousand miles ago. You live and learn. Joe

I have a 2016 1.6TDI DSG Octavia Estate. 130,000 miles and I've owned the car for 6 years. Fuel consumption recently has noticably got a lot worse. I know it always varies a bit and I expect a bit worse in winter, but it has reached a low point I've never seen before in 6 years of ownership. Typically, a full tank gets me 500 - 550 miles before it needs refilling (I just got to 600 once). But my latest tank full has only lasted just over 400 miles. That's at least 20% worse than normal. My driving has been completely normal. On a recent motorway run at a steady 70mph, it reported average consumption of 52 - I would normally expect to see at least 60. There are no symptoms of any problems, no error lights or poor running or anything. Perhaps there is a slight smokey smell occasionally, like a sooty exhaust smell - but there is no exhaust smoke or anything. Nothing abnornal when I look under the bonnet either. The oil was last changed about 500 miles ago. Air filter and fuel filter recently changed too. Any suggestions? Where should I start looking? Should I take it to a diesel specialist for an injector check and tune-up etc? Any similar experiences or suggestions gratefully received. Thanks - Joe

I have a 2019 Skoda Octavia 1.6 diesel with the 7-speed DSG gearbox. 125K miles. I have been advised that the box is sealed for life and does not require an oil-change. It this right? I know that the 6-speed box has a 45K service interval. Is it really true that my oil never needs to be changed? Is it recommended to service the box somehow? I intend to keep the car for as long as possible, so want to do a proper job of maintaining it. There is also a small problem developing with the box. It is often reluctant to engage in D or R when setting off. The solution is to select N for a moment and then put it back into D - but it is not supposed to do this. Any idea what is happening? What can I do about this? Many thanks for any advice. Joe

If your key fob does fail, you shouldn't need a tow, at least not on the Octavia. There is a hidden key hole in the drivers door handle. Pull the drivers door handle outwards a bit, grasp the plastic cover to the left of the handle, which should pull off to reveal the key-hole. You can now open the car manually. It may set your alarm off, but at least you can still drive the car.

I had a very similar experience to those above - remote stopped working, no red-light, replacing the battery made no difference. My remote had been using a cheap pound-shop CR2025, which had worked fine for the last few years. I tried replacing it with another cheapy CR2025, didn't work. So I bought a Duracel CR2025 (£2 each) and that did not work either. So I concluded that the remote must be faulty. I took it to the Skoda dealer. The first thing they tried was replacing it with an official Skoda battery - and that worked! I don't entirely understand what happened there. The cheapy CR2025 had worked ok in the past and I don't know why the expensive Duracel didn't work. The moral of this story is to try an official Skoda battery before concluding that the remote is actually faultly - the dealers may even do this test for you free of charge.

I have a 2016 1.6 diesel with the 7 speed DSG. The owners manual describes how the manual gear shift is supposed to work - but mine does'nt seem to behave like it says. At standstill, if I push the auto-gear level to the left, it nicely engages 1st gear manually. If I then push the level forward (as the + sign indicates) I would expect it to change into 2nd gear, but nothing happens. If, whilst underway, I push the level to the left, it usually "manually" stays in that gear, but if I slow down or speed up (not a lot) it often changes gear itself - but I thought it was supposed to be in manual mode - why is it changing automatically? I'm a bit puzzled - is there a proper explanation anywhere of how manual mode is supposed to work, or is there something wrong with my car? Thanks for any advice, Joe

Very happy Skoda Octavia owner. My first was a 2004 Laurin and Klement Estate 1,9 manual. I finally sold it with around 240K miles and it was still bascially going strong - although there were quite a lot minor niggles starting to show up. Fantastic workhorse. My current car is a 2016 Octavia Estate 1.6 DGS. Even better than my first one. I love the DSG and ACC and the 60+ mpg. Looking forward to getting some tips from this excellent forum. Joe