OccyVRS

AFAIK, virtually all dashcams use a 5V/3A supply - which the USB port in the mirror is equipped to supply.

All DSG gearboxes have the service interval at 40k miles, except for the DQ200 (no service interval... do the MCU and gearbox oil around 100k) and the DQ381, which is at 80k miles. As you've noted, this is rather high. Many people (myself included) opt to do this in line with the other DSG boxes at 40k. When it's being done, make sure they change the filter. Skoda dealers tend not to do this.

I wouldn’t say it’s draconian at all. I’d argue it’s a pretty kind and understanding response to a clear lack of common sense. I’m sure many people on here haven’t read the T&Cs, but they’ve got on just fine over the years… As has been suggested, if you need to get your count up, at least make an effort to use words. I’ve only been on the forum under this account for a year or so. Everyone is very friendly and the site is well run, maintained and populated. As with all communities though, if someone comes in and starts being silly, the response will be appropriate. If you were sat in a group and needed to make five contributions in order to ask a question, if you put your hand up and down five times in a row, surely the response would be similar to this? The twenty post count is to protect members from spam, and keep the community thriving. Think more of twenty contributions, rather than comments. Also, the member you tagged hasn’t been online since 2025.

I had a 1.0 FR. I was really disappointed with it, but that said, I was also disappointed with the brand new Leon FR I got a week later. Compared to my old 2016 Leon it was worse in every way, aside from the backup camera. To be honest, my main gripe with the Arona isn’t the car itself - it’s the type. It’s no bigger than my parents Ibiza (granted, it is the same car), but yet costs more and is worse to drive! I’d understand it if it was bigger, but it’s actually rather small - especially in the back. Then again, all of that aside, I took their brand new 1 Series out into the country a few weekends ago - 350mm M Sport brakes with four piston calipers, adaptive suspension, and volume controls you can twiddle your finger to. I was so disappointed. Okay, yes, it felt faster than what it is, and it drove nicely, but it was absolutely devoid of any feel and the ride was awful! I know it’s an A to B car, and suits my dad absolutely to a T, but I was just expecting a bit more - especially compared to our old 330i. I’ve no idea what the obsession is with making new cars steering wheels feel like you’re operating the car behind.

The Arona! Even as just four wheels and some seats, I can't imagine why you'd buy one.

I tried organising a big vRS meet last year. We ended up with well over 150 people in the WhatsApp community, all for it to fizzle out into nothing. East Mids is a litle far, but if you're ever nearer to Southern civilisation, I could maybe round up a few fast Skodas, and @travs container ship :)

Utter pile of garbage... I had one as a courtesy car last year. More cramped than you'd expect, slower than you'd expect, frighteningly light steering, and all for ticket price equal to my (used) vRS.

Depends if you'll keep posting a full stop in a bunch of random posts from a decade ago? There are easier ways to save a post without spamming... Reviving a post is fine, but it's rather annoying to have the first page of the Octavia III page full of random puncuation marks.

Oil consumption aside, what is the condition of the oil like? Issues with NOx/O2/etc sensors can cause the oil to degrade a lot faster - not necessarily 'burning' it in the traditional sense.

Just been looking over the files transferred to my new PC and came across this! It's the Red Bull Driftbrothers M4 - taken at Goodwood FoS at some point in the last few years.

Wishing you all the best, and hope to still see you around! Having just done some wiring work on my vRS, and recently driven my dad's new 1 Series, I'm wondering if my next car will even be German, let alone from VAG.

My thoughts too - either that or I’ll drill a hole and fit it. It’s been fine for a year or so now - only noticed it when I was fiddling around with wiring. I’m blocking you now - that’s absolutely bloody gorgeous. It’s not the R is it - as in the ABT? I know the previous gen of Leon/Formentor came in various guises, but only the ABT R versions came with Akebono/Brembo and the carbon wingbacks. I loved the quad tips on them too. I’m still quite young, and when I got my vRS even a GTI PP was expensive to insure - something like a Cupra was just a bit too much, and an ST (somehow) even more so. I think next will be an S4 or something - I like the extra size of the vRS, but I really wish it had the driven rear wheels. I had mine up to 350bhp and it was absolutely perfect, aside from that.

I had mine fitted at a very competent VAG garage last year. I’ve just noticed that the center screw is missing - or was never put in. Now, it’s not like this place to make a mistake, and with the Octavia’s little plastic lip bit and it seems pretty impossible to install a fastener there anyway, but still…. Any ideas? Photo is from FB, but same car. All the install videos are on a Golf platform, which doesn’t have the bit of plastic. Also… ears perk up… new Cupra? I wanted an ST300 R, but couldn’t make it happen at the time 😔

Not an F600R, sorry!

Does anyone have an R600 intake on their Mk3/3.5? I’ve got a question about the install.

Ask for it back with the car and take some better pictures. It could be anything - I once found a really nice Snap On inspection light under the bonnet of a courtesy car when topping up the screen wash with the hosepipe. I did, of course, return it.

It's worth getting the workshop manual for your car. I have one for mine and it's come in handy numerous times - far beyond the initial problem it was bought to fix!

Ahhh... but spending time finding the right part is an adventure in itself. Just look at me and my heat-resistant sleeving...

As above, I'd get the car read fully. It should have been done, but then again who knows what a main dealer should do. The next step I'd take is to run from the main stealer, and seek refuge in the warm bay of a reputable, trustworth independant VAG specialist. I would get them to find the issue, be prepared to swallow the cost, and then present Skoda UK with the problem. Are you sure that the car is actually burning the fuel? As in, is it 100% definite that the car is using the fuel at the rate it is indicating? That would be something to check, as VAG fuel gauges are well known for being utter rubbish. Excess fuel useage is tricky. It could be a problem relating to the car literally losing the fuel, or it could be a different problem that is causing the car to run less efficiently. There will be a reason for this, but it might take you a little while to find it. I wouldn't hold my breath with the Technical Enquiry - among other issues raised to Skoda UK are the weird sound these cars sometimes make when reversing, the extremely poor rear caliper paint peeling, the EA888.3/4 water pump/therm housing issues, the EA888.4 engine cover issues and the discrepancies with DSG/LSD servicing (something you should look into - your DQ381 and VAQ will need servicing if they haven't already been done).

I'm guessing you're on about seeing this with the wheels on the car? In this case, what you're seeing isn't the wheel hub, but rather the brake disc hub. If you Google 'brake disc bell', you'll see the part I'm on about - although on your car you just have a hub, as a brake bell is for fancy lightweight two-piece discs. Anyway, it's nothing to worry about and is perfectly normal. My vRS is maintained to within and inch of it's life, and all the hubs are a bit minging now. I give them a clean every six months or so with some strong iron fallout remover, however there's not much you can do for an OE disc to prevent it happening. It's just surface rust. To fix it in the future, you've got a couple of options. The easiest one would be to buy brake discs that are coated black - the braking surface will wear, but the hub will remain black. You can also remove the rust, but it will then be bare metal, which will then oxidise again even faster! You'll want to paint them, as above, but remembering to use some specific high-temperature paint - brake discs get hot! It annoys me too, but it happens to every car. Once they start to wear even more, you'll start getting little rings of rust around the very edges of the disc. It'll happen on the rears first.

To be honest, something like a vRS is best looked at without considering the power. You could give a 1.5 Octavia SE L the same 350bhp as my vRS, but it just wouldn't be the same thing - different gearbox, suspension, brakes, steering and drivetrain to name but a few. I remember when I had my Leon FR, a lot of people with the 1.8 FR were approaching the power levels of a Cupra 290 - yet it wasn't even close. The TSI vRS is a GTI with a larger boot. The TDI vRS is a GTD with a larger boot. Do you need/want a car that is designed with handling and performance in mind? If you just want straight line speed, I'd get a 1.8TSI/2.0TDI L&K with some options and call it a day. That being said, the older TDI vRS models don't really cost that much more than a 'normal' Octavia to maintain - there's less of a difference than now with the vRS 245 compared to a 1.0 SE. In general, the TSI engines are much more user-friendly when it comes to tuning. For an initial remap, both are similar, however you'll get more gains from a petrol. Beyond that, with a TDI, I wouldn't bother - not unless you plan to spend a chunk at Darkside.

Are you able to get a code reader on the car? I'm not sure what sort of dashboard indications you'll get on a Mk2 (my 3.5 dash was like an Xmas tree when my battery was on life support), but lots of modules usually log low voltage DTC's. If you can't get it done at a garage and buying one isn't an option, you might be able to find someone kind on here that can help. This should hopefully be a way of finding out if you need a battery charger, or if the internal alarm battery is dying. That said, 11V is rather low. I'd get it on a charger ASAP - especially in the cold weather and with the alarm going off.

Does anyone know how to open up the 'coil pack wiring harness conduit'? I've attached a picture. I see the clips on the sides that should release, but I just can't get it to play ball. I don't need to open it, but would mean more space for me to work.

Thank you @Cairus and @PetrolDave From what I've seen, the depinning tools can technically be replaced with jewellers screwdrivers, or a DIY bit of wire - having the two-pronged tool does make it a lot easier, but AFAIK there's nothing stopping you from doing one barb/prong at a time with a screwdriver, or even using two screwdrivers at once. I've got a set of Wera precision screwdrivers and the smallest, at 0.6mm, is probably better than some dedicated depinners.

One of the door card differences is the ambient lighting strip - PFL cars didn't have them.