OccyVRS

I'm going to default to Karoq-ers/others I'm afraid, as I don't know enough about production, etc. To me, that is very clearly the transparent plastic you have on cars with HBA - not the black, ridged plastic insert on those without. It may well very well be that, on the Karoq, it made more financial sense to give all the cars the same mirror assembly, and not have a separate one. If you are sure you don't have any sort of HBA, and we're sure that is the sensor (I am 99% sure it is, and that is the only use for it - my Octavia doesn't have it and I have all of the ACC/ADAS stuff except HBA) then if it were me, I'd cover it with a bit of tape and see what happens for a few days. if nothing is affected, and it is 100% just for HBA that you don't have, then that's brilliant as you can put the dash cam there, out of sight! Cover it up, drive it/turn it on once in the day and once at night - the car isn't stupid, if it doesn't tell you it can't see from that sensor, then it doesn't use it.

What car do you have, exactly? I don't have HBA either, but my mirror is completely blank. I found this for a Karoq, but even that looks blanked out with a black piece. Even the VW mirrors have black blanks - yours looks like the actual sensor! Somebody else might know more about the Karoq.

Those Fabia paddles linked probably do fit (there are some on eBay for £40 or something), but I can't guarantee it. Someone else might know - it's only been two hours.

That's helpful. I saw those, but they came up as for a Fabia. Under the compatibility info they are only for a Fabia, but I do see they exist under the Octavia III section... weird. I suspect they're for the Fabia as they're Tiptronic (they did come with them), but possibly fit the Octavia? The Octavia shares the Mk6 Golf paddles, which look to be the same connector.

The camera at the top is for Lane Assist. The thing beneath it is the ambient rain and light sensor, for automatic headlights and wipers. The thing beneath that is a vent for cooling - you'll see some long vents/slots on the curved part of the housing - same purpose. The sensor on the back of the mirror is for High Beam Assist. Here is a photo of my dash cam install. I routed it through the headliner along the top of the windscreen, into the back of the housing, around the Lane Assist camera and then out of a small hole I made with a Dremel in the (replaceable, £5) plastic housing. It's done perfectly so that as the driver, the camera is hidden behind the mirror. You won't be able to do this, as you can't put something in front of the HBA sensor. You will need to do what @Exkiwi suggests. You might have an issue with your sensor. You will be told to turn the lights on regardless, as the car likes being in auto mode. Regarding the final question, I suspect that the Lane Assist camera isn't a normal one. I'm not saying it's LIDAR or anything fancy like that, but my guess is that it is very high contrast and possibly even monochrome or another un-dashcam-ey colour (purple is designed to cut I/R, etc etc). If you think about it, it has to be able to see road markings and signs (TSR) clearly, in all times, conditions and weathers, whether you've cleaned your windscreen or not. In other words, the sensor in it is not useable for a dash cam. That's not to mention that ADAS systems need to be separate from other stuff.

Life. Beyond the confines of Briskoda, people live vast and colourful existences. Hopefully he is simply having too much fun, away travelling or something - if not, then wishing him well with whatever he has going on. When I first joined @J.R. was very active. Less so now. Life happens! He'll be back if and when he wants to be.

You can get a set of pad wear tools for literally £10 - no more inaccuracy. It's probably time for some new brake pads. Even if they have plenty of meat on them, they have been exposed to temperature and braking cycles for 100k miles - the pad material will have degraded. That could be the cause of the uneven wear, along with calliper issues, disc issues or misalignment. All that aside, a certain manufacturer isn't known for uneven pad wear. Poor quality braking components and defective parts maybe, but if the system is in perfect condition then there should be no uneven wear.

2016 is a PFL. The FL model came in the 2017 registration year (I.E. not a 66 plate). Split headlights are the easiest way to tell. FL is full LED, along with LED fogs and brake lights. I debated long and hard about getting a Mk4 or a Mk3.5 (2022 or 2020). The interior on the Mk4 is streets ahead, but aside from the headlights and tail lights, I much preferred how the Mk3.5 looked. In the end, I drove them. I hated the usability of the Mk4, along with things like the light switches, etc. My car has the digi dash, ACC and other bits, so IMO it's the best of both worlds. Only thing I regret are those horrible rear lights I have...

I really wouldn't worry. Yes, LED headlights are expensive to replace, but your car is a 2024. Many other things will blow up before the headlights (or tail lights) decide to go.

A) the Mk3/3.5 Octavia came with either a manual gearbox or a DSG. A Tiptronic torque converter is something completely different. B) AFAIK the wheel is sold as a complete unit. The best bet would be to confirm you can remove the paddles (I would assume so, but this is VAG) and then pick up a second hand wheel and swap the paddle over.

A Mk3 FL would seem to be the sweet spot for you. I debated a 3.5 versus a 4 when I got my vRS and I don’t regret my choice. That said, I have a digi dash and the larger screen so it’s very much a halfway house. There is quite a difference between the two, in terms of interior and exterior design. The interior on the Mk4 is much nicer (at least on the vRS). I’d go for the 1.5. The 1.0 is a brilliant engine in a Polo or Ibiza but it’s not enough for an Octavia. Not to mention, if you put people in it, it will struggle. There is virtually no difference in running or maintenance costs between the two engines, or even the models. The Mk3 should be cheaper, but as I found out, get a late model (mine is a 2020) and you have the same issues!

Make sure spring is seated properly Make sure strut top is tight Check RARB end/drop links Seating or shocks would be my first guess, but RARB is the second. I see you’re in Hampshire - anywhere near Southampton? There is a very good alignment place there (it’s all he does). I’ve moved 100 miles away, but am still making the trip down to him - he’ll likely be able to figure out what’s wrong.

Yeah - I always ground with a multimeter. I used one of the dash mounting bolts, with plenty of washers. I suppose there are easier places but I like to make sure it’s grounded properly to the frame. I know they use a standard fuse assembly, however I assumed if they had a hot side installed, they’d have the load side, but then not have it going anywhere. Quite nice really - there are a couple free ones rated up to 40A.

So it does it at low speed, when you’re not on the brake at all? If it does it while braking, that’s another story. A squeal when not braking is likely a slightly warped disc. Could be an issue with dust shield but that’s more of a grinding sound (stone stuck in them, etc). Could be vibration (greased pads?), or something rubbing as a result of not sitting right (shims, etc). New rear brakes will sort it. It’s quite hard to fix warped rear discs by heavy braking as 85% of the heat (something like that) is taken up by the fronts.

The little straps? That’s the holder for a warning triangle. I bought one on Amazon for £5. Doubt I’ll ever use it, but the kind of thing that might save the car if you break down on a bend or somerhing.

Superb should be more, but I wouldn't have thought by that much. Any reason you want the hatch and not the estate? I have an Octavia hatch while it's nice and long for my bikes, it wouldn't be my choice for carrying stuff. Perhaps @travs could have a measure if he gets a chance?

One less thing to worry about. I did test everything with a multimeter when I put it in last year, but this thread had me double checking 😂

Update - turns out the fuse slot I used only has one connector, I.E. only the hot side is populated. The dash cam is grounded externally, and it’s been working for a year. In my head this makes sense, as the power goes in, to the dash cam, and it’s grounded elsewhere. The cold/load side (that isn’t there) is only for the original thing, which I don’t have?

Yeah, but as I said there is a lack of a suitable slots - My thinking (that seems correct) is that the direction of the fuse tap is entirely irrelevant if there is only one circuit going through it (in my case, the dash cam). I could probably squeeze it tail down, but thinking about it from a basic electrical standpoint, I don't see what difference it will make - sure, the dash cam will then run through both 2A fuses, but that's pointless. There is a difference in what is correct versus what works. Frankly, you could run it the wrong way off the wiper fuse and be absolutely fine. Worst case you somehow blow the 10A fuse, oh no, you've lost the rear wiper as well as the dash cam... I think I'd rather mess with that, than something important.

I don't remember the last time I really paid attention to the fuel gauge, let alone the estimated mileage. That's not because I have a super thirsty monstrous Octavia, but more because I haven't owned or been in a VAG car in the last decade that has an accurate fuel gauge. My old Leon was worse - it would be full for up to 150 miles (I kid you not), and then would plummet to 1/3 of a tank over the next 100, before then lasting 50 miles on the final bar. My Octavia seems a bit better, but still naff, while the other SEAT item and Audis have been/are all the same. That said, none of the BMW's we've had, or my Focus, have been much better. A SEAT tech told me If the car is filled up with the ignition on, that can really mess it up, but beyond that they're just a bit crap. Certainly, the estimated mileage is pure guesswork.

A) It was an empty slot B) I have a big relay connector just below the tap, so anything in the lower slots (F46/47/48) won't work. The rest of suitable positions either have no connection at all, or only connection for one blade. There are a couple, but they're like F12 or F27 - vehicle electrical system - too important to mess around with IMO.

On some cars/colours they work. Just like silver on silver, black on black looks awful (unless it's a Chiron Supersport, Koenigsegg, etc)

Oh... I think the bright silver looks very clean! The black gives me 'dirty 130' and 'Kill All Wipers' vibes. Not my cup or tea, but nice intercooler.

Yes, so in my case it doesn't matter which way the tail is going (up or down), as I have no original circuit to worry about fusing? Am I correct in saying that if my piggy back was orientated correctly, then I wouldn't even need the 'original' fuse, but could just use the 2A dash cam fuse? In my case, I believe it is incorrectly installed (goes down as I don't have the space), but as it's going through the 'original' 2A fuse I inserted (in addition to the dash cam fuse already installed) in the piggy back, there's no issue? TLDR - I used an empty slot, the tail is pointing up, but both fuses in the piggy back are 2A rated. Whether it's going through one fuse or both, doesn't really matter?

Yes, but what's the issue with this? If I am using a empty slot, and insert a second 2A fuse into the piggy back, then the current is either going through just the 2A accessory fuse, or is going through the 2A accessory fuse and the 2A 'original' fuse - no harm no foul, unless I'm missing something. I agree, if you're using a populated slot then that's not the best thing ever, as you're putting two things through the original fuse and the two aren't protected seperately. However in my case, with an empty slot, it doesn't make a difference, as there's only one circuit (which is protected)?