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Latest installment: After a week of looking, because I'm new in the area and know nobody, I found a guy who could look at it. Got a towtruck to bring it over to him two weeks ago today. He took it down off the truck and....it started first time. After probably at least 40 failed attempts for me. Anyway, he went at it with wiring diagrams and settled on a suspect - an engine management relay supplying the gateway module. (Not sure how precise this description is). Contacts were not showing any sign of damage but he opened it up and the contacts were badly pitted on both sides - very like worn points in an old car. Theory was that sometimes they had good contact, sometimes not. Replaced that and, over the following week or more, repeatedly started it successfully. So I have it back now. Total costs: Towing to house €100 Towing to garage €120 Labour €[email protected]% Relay €[email protected]% TOTAL €518 Hopefully, that'll be the end of it....

Update on this. After 4 months of starting 100% reliably, on Saturday the fault came back. Was 17°C and dry, putting paid to my damp and cold theory. Got the disco lights for a few moments, then it started with remaining lights. Restarted fine and lights were gone. Stopped on the way home and same again. Stopped second time for petrol and this time there was no restarting. Must have tried 20 times but it's not getting to starter motor engage. Attempted to connect WITH OBD but it can't communicate with ECU. Breakdown truck home. The afore-mentioned electronics wizard just told me 13th October is the soonest he can look at it...

Sorry, meant to come back here earlier. Short answer: I didn't, so far. I did go unplugging and replugging whatever connectors I could find, but it made no difference. Guy in work recommended this electrical wizard who fixes cars for main dealers that they can't fix (often a low bar, I realise). Anyway, he's supposed to be $hit hot. 1 month waiting list to get into him. In that time, the weather changed and that's the only thing I can almost 100% correlate with the problem disappearing. I say almost because one day recently I went out to start it, on a dry, warm day, and it threw a wobbly again. Otherwise, it's been annoyingly reliable for the last few weeks. So I told the wizard this and he said there's no point bringing it to him until it's faulting. So I'm away for a week in October, and maybe it'll be damp and cool enough then to be causing a problem again and I can just leave it with him for the week and see what he finds. Until then, every time I go to sit into the car, I'm wondering whether or not it's going to start. Mine was, by the indy garage. Made not a whit of difference that I could see.

It's a fine first post from me - looking for guidance. Before I do that, I'm a second-time Octavia owner. Previously had a 2000 Octavia 1.6 petrol hatch. Got my current 2018 Octavia 3 1.0TSi just over 4 years ago and, despite lusting after a VRS and/or a Superb sportline, I can't justify changing it. It just does everything I need. Once you don't count starting reliably. Problem started last year. Started getting fault messages when I'd engage reverse gear. Park pilot wasn't working, auto braking wasn't working. Skoda dealer was doing all the servicing and was unable to find anything, but it automagically disappeared shortly after. Then before Christmas 2024, it started struggling to start. Figured the battery was nerfed so got a new one from Halfords - bigger cold cranking capacity, etc. Seemed fine after. Around Jan/Feb, I started getting disco lights and random failure messages when I'd go to start it. Brought it to a local indy who scanned it and told me that a reversing sensor was gone faulty. Told me it was plug and play, just get one and stick it in myself. Got one from Skoda garage (€150 - puke) and fitted it and all was dandy. In the last few weeks though, I've started getting disco lights again and a series of the same canbus fault messages - tyre pressure, brake servo, power steering, cruise control - and the bloody thing won't start when this happens. I've got CarScanner and an iCar OBD dongle, so I go in and read the fault - it's always the same message - and clear it off. Turn off ignition, turn it back on and it starts perfectly, and more to the point drives perfectly. So the DTC from CarScanner is classified under 01. Engine control unit 17158 (ECU) U112300: Databus error value received U041600: Invalid data received from vehicle dynamics control module Thing is - I clear this off and the car runs perfectly. And sometimes it doesn't need to be cleared off - it just starts first time with no errors. Other times, it could take 10 mins to get the dongle connected (not sure what that's about) and the fault cleared - then it starts. I've been late for work a few times on account of it and it's just bloody frustrating. I'm out in the sticks, and the indy is the only garage within walking/cycling distance for me, but I'm not convinced they're the best equipped to diagnose. It's over an hour to the nearest Skoda garage - and I'd kinda like to go in there a little bit prepared. I'd also really like to avoid repair by expensive swaptronics, so I'd appreciate any suggestions of what might be behind it.