CubbyQ

Thanks for your comments, all, very much appreciated. @cnc I totally get where you're coming from - I did 950 miles over 5 days a couple of weeks ago, and 600+ last week, and just get out feeling refreshed every time...never had that with any other car, so don't want to ruin that. @leolito , I don't want to have that conversation with The Plod, so won't be caught touching anybody else's cars in dark corners...at least not in public 🤣 I did have an Arteon Shooting Brake PHEV company car with DCC, and the suspension was lovely in that; for covering long distances I usually had it set to just softer than comfort (it had the full adjustment, rather than three presets), and to sharpen things up, occasionally set it to sport. It was one of the only good things about the car, apart from its looks, as it was a proper VW parts bin and lockdown lack-of-development piece of junk! It's gone through two of my successors and both hated/hate it and can't wait for the lease to end! @MartiniB Thanks for your in depth detail on the suspension upgrades, much appreciated. I had a response from the garage earlier today after sending them a link to the Koni Special Actives, and I have even more confidence in their credibility as they don't want to do or advise on anything until they've actually inspected the car, and if we do look at changing the suspension, they want to be sure they match the shocks and spring rates correctly. I'm hoping that it's just tired and needs refreshing, and my head says just do something like new bushes and go OEM+ with something like Bilstein B4, but my heart says otherwise... Will update next week.

Hi MartiniB, Thanks for your comments, and I've read many threads on the subject; I think I read your last night! I have a 220ps too, and am getting confused as to which Eibach Pro springs are required - even Skoda Parts Direct have two sets listed. I emailed the garage last night, as the Koni Active Specials look like a good option. Koni Australia posted a video on YouTube having replaced the DCC shocks with those and a Pro Kit. As mine sits on stilts, I wouldn't mind it being a bit lower, but I don't want the stiffness of the Cupra. Somewhere in between would be ideal. I checked my insurance last night, and it wold only add £13.00 to my premium for modified suspension. Thanks, Nick

Thanks @Danoid , I popped into Gliptone on my travels last week after speaking to Graham there on the phone beforehand - what a helpful chap! Picked up the leather conditioner, gentle cleaning solution, a horse-hair brush, soft tyre dressing sponges (for applying the conditioner), and an Odor Goblin. Have only cleaned and conditioned the front seats and doors cards, and cleaned the steering wheel, and a definite improvement in looks, feel and smell. The steering wheel still smells a bit with the sun’s on it, so I’m just going to clean it whenever I remember, and the seats had some splash marks on the back that the detailer hadn’t been able to remove; I may have gone a bit more aggressively as they’ve all but gone now. That’s the positive, the negative is getting home and seeing that I’d scraped the front bumper through to the black plastic in the tightest parking space ever (I know exactly where I did it, but thought I was just clear)…hurts even more after making it look so good the week before! First world problemA!

Hi All, As above, how soft is the suspension? I only ask as the other day I tested by pushing my finger down on the rear bumper and could easily get about 1cm drop before it felt like my finger was going to snap! I don't carry much weight in the car, but it's noticeably lower at the back when I have stuff in the boot; right now it's got about 50kg of stuff evenly spread across the boot floor and almost a full tank of juice, and the car's sitting low. My previous car, a Leon Cupra 300 4Drive with DCC (I know it's a very different animal!) would hardly change ride height with that amount of weight, and more in it. The Superb is floaty, but doesn't feel particularly bouncy, however the front suspension has the 'standard' creaking bushes, and a rattle on the nearside when going over bumps/potholes/manhole covers, so something's not right. The car's 7 years old, just under 53k (that'll be 10k I've done in it since getting it in mid July!) and is going in to a VAG specialist next Monday for a major service, DSG service, and I've asked them to check out the suspension and report back. Just after I bought it, the main dealer reported that one of the front shocks is misting lightly, so guessing they're all knackered, but just intrigued as to other's thoughts on whether the suspension is as soft as I've found. I'm a bit wary to go and start fingering other people's cars... Cheers, Nick

Most likely the mirror switch. I, amongst others, have either had this replaced or cleaned the contacts due to the behaviour you describe. Hope that helps!

As we've had a hosepipe ban for a few weeks now, and for the foreseeable future, the car's been neglected, and not been washed for ages...ttok it to the local car wash earlier, then finished it off giving a wipedown with Poorboys QD, tyres dressed with Chemical Guys tyre dressing, and plastics renovated with Nanolex trim rejuvenator. A couple of days ago, I used the Gtechniq 2-stage polish and water repellant treatment on the sides and rear window (mine's not got a rear wiper, so was getting fed up with the constantly dirty window!). Even in anonymous "Uber" spec, it's quite a handsome wagon when it's clean...not that I'm biased at all 😅 Have a great weekend all!

Those are the worst services from a wallet-emptying point of view, but positive that there’s a good difference to the car…I hate those services where you spend a few hundred and nothing feels better…

Scanned this morning with ignition on and engine off. No errors at all, woo-hoo!

Will do buddy!

Hi There, Thanks for your reply too. I really don’t know, so will scan mine without it running when I’m back from my travels and let you know. I did just google search it though, and found this post on the OBDEleven forum: https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/1846/stuck-gear-message-driving-scan Hopefully someone else with more knowledge will chime in the meantime 🙂

Did you run the scan whilst driving the car? I only ask, as I got very similar results a few days ago, whilst scanning and on the move, however the car's been driving fine. I had scanned the car a few times before whilst stationary/engine off and not had these faults before. However...in between the no-fault and fault-riddled scans, I did a gearbox adaptations reset (which has made the car drive better), so hopefully haven't unearthed any underlying problems. I'm away for a few days but will rescan it without driving. Hope that helps.

No, it didn’t, thankfully, heaven know what it would have been like if it had. From what I can gather, it was a demonstrator, then the ‘first’ real owner had it on Skoda finance for a couple of years, then the second owner also had it on Skoda finance, and was obviously the smoker. Apart from the smell, I’m really surprised it didn’t have any more burns and melts after what I’ve discovered…and it’s why I bought it…it’s in excellent overall condition inside and out, I think it only got used to smoke in, rather than being driven anywhere 🤣

I love the smell of leather too, certainly better than stale fags! Didn't have the time to drop into Gliptone on my way back home yesterday, but back up that way in a few weeks so will make time then. In the meantime, £15 spent on eBay and a few minutes of my time this afternoon to get rid of the only physical evidence of smoking in the car was well worth it...that cherry burn was really starting to niggle me! Enjoy the rest of your weekend all :-) Nick

Camel Filters....when people scrounged them in the pub, they never asked a second time 🤣 Thanks for the additional advice on the steering wheel; that's pretty much the process the detailer said to continue to do, and I forgot he'd also told me to get a proper leather cleaning brush. When I got the car, there was the usual grime buildup in the stitching and creases of the steering wheel which I scrubbed out, but obviously hadn't gotten into the pores.

Thanks Lee, Makes prefect sense, and if I can pop in tomorrow (will call them first), I'll ask their advice directly and buy the appropriate products. You know, now I've owned a car that's been smoked in, I'm spotting more and more people smoking in their cars and thinking "WTF are you doing? It's just grim."...Says the ex-smoker that used to smoke Marlboro Reds and Camel Filters in his cars 25 years ago (and gave up around the same sort of time) 🙄

Thanks @Danoid ; you've been using that on yours? I've always been unsure about using those types of products on cars with more modern coated leathers (and what looks like synthetic in some areas), compared to old-school leather where that would soak in. More than happy to try it though if it masks that smell, and itself smells like natural leather. I've just seen where they are; pretty much driving past their front door tomorrow - will see if I can go pick some up directly! Thanks again, much appreciated! Nick

I had similar sounds with my Arteon Shooting Brake, and after a few visits to the garage, I decided to check it out myself, meticulously cleaned out a load of sand from the runners/mechanism and cleaned the rubbers with Gummifledge and that sorted it. A visit to the windy Welsh coast not long after getting the car and half a beach seemed to have accumulated up there causing all those creaks and rattles! Hope that helps. Nick

So...the car was detailed almost two weeks ago, and the guy did an amazing job of getting into the areas that I thought I'd done a good job of; the stitching in the creases in the seats are immaculate now, and the steering wheel was matte again (there's a lot more to it, but we all love the instant visual improvements!). I've managed to pile on almost another 1k miles on it since then and the wheel's started to go a little shiny again, but he told me to use Koch Chemie Pol Star (which he used) to keep it clean and looking matte. He spent a good 5-6 hours on it, deep cleaning everywhere he could get access to, finishing off with an air deodoriser/neutraliser machine (not ozone), which did leave a pleasant smell, and as informed, has faded to neutral. The cigarette smell is now almost non-existent, but it has started to come back ever, ever, ever so slightly with the sun on the interior; I can still smell it if I stick my nose on the steering wheel, and there's a focussed bit on the driver's seat, somewhere around my left shoulder, which I pick up when I look to the left, but it is sooooo much better, and I'm sure with a few more basic cleans by myself I'll get rid of it completely. I think if I can find a leather cleaner/protector which has a bit of scent it'll be gone completely, because it only seems to be in these small areas now. On a different note, the Pirelli SF3 are a dream in comparison the Runway ditch-finders; we headed down to the south coast last weekend for a bit of sea kayaking but it was far too choppy to get them off the roof all weekend (that was a downer, especially with the hit to MPG!), but the SF3 gripped like poop to a blanket in the heavy downpours and strong winds we encountered. Mrs Cubbington even commented how much safer the car felt to drive, and she'd hardly spent any time behind the wheel until then...she also really likes having her own user profile automatically moving the seat and mirrors into her driving position 😁 Also tipped over 5k miles yesterday since picking up just over 8 weeks ago - it only did 3k miles last year, and 5k the year before, so it'll be funny to see the spike on the MOT certificate in 10 months' time...I'll have more than likely doubled it's 43k (when I bought it) mileage in a year 😂

New boots and panties fitted on Friday…well just new boots… Runway Enduro Sport ditch finders (fitted to the car when I bought it) replaced with Pirelli Cinturato SF3 All Season all round, and the difference is fantastic. I’d narrowed my choice down to the SF3, Bridgestone Turanza All Season 6 and Continental AllSeason Contact 2. After a lot of agonising and perusing the Tyre Reviews website I went for the SF3. While I’d had a great experience with the Continentals on my previous car, I wanted to try something a little more sporty (and with improved dry and wet grip), and, as the Superb isn’t the most dynamic of wagons, I didn’t want to dull it down even further. At first I thought the knew tyres hadn’t been balanced properly, but I’m actually experiencing road feedback now; the car isn’t being blunted by extremely bouncy balloons, and feels like the suspension’s had a mild freshen up…it feels more dynamic than with the Runway Sport… We did a 200 mile round trip visiting my folks this weekend, and with Mrs Cubbington doing the driving, it was very nice place to be as a passenger. The Pirellis are significantly quieter than the Runways on all surfaces, and while it could be argued that they’re not as comfortable as there’s more feedback, the car doesn’t feel like it’s bouncing around so much, so feels a lot calmer and relaxed. We experienced a mix of weathers, and it felt like it was just pushing water out of the way when we hit some deep puddles and standing water; in comparison the Runways were just scary, as wearing them the car just floated and I felt like a passenger when it hit any significant water… Overall very impressed so far, will be doing a good 600-700 miles this weekend heading north, so sure I’ll be hitting a mix of weather again to put them through their paces and get them properly bedded in. It was funny how the guys at the tyre fitters didn’t question why I was binning three almost new tyres, and one of them commented on how, and I quote, “f***ing ****!” Runway tyres are…

Thanks Lee, Car’s being deep cleaned in a couple of weeks, and steam cleaning’s going to be used; the detailer said a similar thing about being careful not to soak surfaces or risk damaging the plastics. In a way I was gutted when he looked at it yesterday morning as it was cool and the car had been in the shade, so there was no smell 🙄 Thankfully (I think!) it was a little stinky yesterday afternoon after it’d been sat in the sun, so I’m not imagining it. He does want me to park it in the sun before he arrives, so he can then focus on the areas that are smelling the worst. I’ve got to manage my expectations, but I’m sure he’ll get it somewhat better. Will report back in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, I’ve got it booked in to have the ditch finder generals replaced with Pirelli All Season SF3 next week. Cheers, Nick

Have decided to go down the detailer route. Spoke to a local company during the week and he’s coming to inspect it on Monday before looking at what route to go down. We had a lengthy conversation about what I’ve done already, and I feel confident with his honesty on what I can expect to be achieved with what options he thinks are best once he’s checked it out. Interestingly, he told me to set the climate control to recirculate whilst driving to see if the smell comes back, which it doesn’t, so at least it’s not trapped in the vents and pipe work (to my mind at least). Whether that’s a good or bad thing I don’t know! Thankfully, the car is significantly better than it was, and there’s only the slightest of whiff now when it’s been sat in the sun, so I’m hoping he can steam clean the roof lining and soft plastics to get rid of the smell in those areas. I’ll report back in due course!

Reset gearbox adaptations using OBDeleven whilst on my travels today. It feels like it’s not slipping the clutch as much, if that makes sense; snappier to pick up, more responsive and smoother through the gears, definitely feels much better.

I replaced mine a couple of weeks ago. In stock at my local dealer, and just under 20 quid: SKODA Parts DirectGenuine SKODA Parts Delivered To Your DoorGenuine SKODA Parts at discounted prices Hope that helps, Nick

Yep, the dealer replaced the joystick in mine the other day (not the mirror, as I was told), and all’s working well…apart from the big gouge on the control panel plate, which they are replacing!

Thanks @travs , that’s really helpful. No point investing in the ozone machine if it’s only going to give a temporary masking to the smell. When out the other day, I did set the fans to full speed, directed to front and closed the individual vents so air was forced through only one open vent at a time and a small amount of dust and debris popped out of each, so that must have helped. I think you’re right with regards to removing the door cards, as there’s no doubt ash hiding in them, and probably behind the speaker grilles too. I can also clean the door frames and might take the opportunity to stick a bit of Dynamat in while they’re in pieces. I’ve already unbolted the front seats to vacuum all the nooks and crannies and I wiped down the frames as best I could; maybe I need to give them a deeper clean, as it only takes a few minutes to unbolt them. I’ve got a couple of days off in a couple of weeks, so a job for then. Thanks for your advice! Nick