pikpilot

Could be the temperature sensor(s) may be reporting the wrong temperature. Is there a sensor immediately after the mixer flap? If you select screen only or feet only, does the air come out at those position at max temp?

On later models which have different fuse box layout, one reason for a car not starting is corrosion of the fuse and fuseholder of a10A fuse at he bottom left (?) of the fusebox. Usually means putting in a new fuse box. Once you have removed the battery, it looks like your fuse box can be taken out after releasing a few screws and a power connector.

Oh its tight all right. The garage released the panel for me from underneath on a second occasion. It needed considerable force and blows to get the panel back in when I did it the next day.

And I initially tried unsuccessfully to get a selection of credit cards in the gap. Eventually one went in a bit and I could feel resistance which suggested I had found the clip but then the card got stuck. I got it out in pieces. This suggests there is some variability in the gap size between 2010 models and later models. Hence my documented approach through the wheel arch. My handbook says to just pull on the trim panel and shows two drawings of how to do it! No way.

Perhaps been done to bypass water damage/corrosion on the board underneath.

I assume it does not come on unless the engine is running?

High possibility that coolant is getting into the engine through a failing head gasket. When the engine is hot, cylinder gases will pressurise the coolant bottle and expel coolant through its pressure relief valve in the cap. When the engine is off but before the coolant cools down, the coolant bottle will be still pressurised and will force coolant into one cylinder via the failed head gasket. On starting, your white smoke is the coolant being exhausted from the cylinder which has the gasket problem. You could try getting a test made on the coolant for absorbed combustion gasses but make sure you use coolant from the bottle before you top it up again. It is a minor gasket leak at present (no apparent loss of power) but may get worse quite quickly.

I use the Carista app to tell me which bulb has failed. This is very small part of this app, which can do much more. Only the driver's side fog light is lit on VAG cars to avoid confusion with brake lights.

My car was in with Skoda recently and the paperwork said that next August I would need a new timing belt at a cost of £549 - same as your quote. But when going through the paperwork with me verbally he said that the £549 is today's price and in the new year it will rise to over £600 !!

If you have climate control, make sure you have it on AUTO or have the air con switched on (without reducing the temperature setting). In auto it will reduce the humidly very quickly. On wet days I can clear the screen and side windows in just a few minutes. The way it works is this: The incoming air is cooled and the water vapour is condensed to liquid water and piped away. The chilled dry air is then mixed with heated air to achieve your set temperature, There are two downsides 1) until the engine warms up the heater pushes out cold but dry air and 2) the air conditioning will not work if there is a risk of freezing such as below 5C. Keep the system on auto all the time and you will soon dry out any pockets of damp such as in seats and trim. With the modulating, rather than on/off, type of climate control used on our cars, I cannot see any difference in mpg by having it on AUTO all the time outside the summer.

Your right Wino in that all doors have microswitches and these are used for the same functions as those on the driver's door. On face lift models, from what I have been able to fathom out, the drivers door module contains "intelligence" and sends instructions to others doors to lock and unlock. I may be wrong but that is how it looks to me. On the point about intelligence, When my driver's door lock was changed last year, it had to be programmed to make the light work on the bottom of the door card. Earlier this month it had to be re-programmed again as the Entry Light on the underside of the driver's mirror had become de-activated; perhaps as a result of the battery being disconnected for a while. Just to put the progress(!) made in this area into perspective, my first Passat (new) had a pneumatic door locking system!

The drivers door lock is a master for control of other door locks. Common problem on Mk2 is a broken wire in the elephant truck that connects the door to the body. Open the driver's door, pull back the trunking at both end and look for broken wires. Also check the door open indication on the dashboard for each door in turn. If the driver's door indication is not there, it is likely you will need a new door lock (failed microswitch). Another symptom of this is the one you found - door relocks by itself after about 30 seconds because there is no indication that the door has been opened.

Likely to be software issue and needs recoding. After disconnecting and reconnecting the battery I had to have the driver's door lock recoded to make the entry light at the bottom of the door mirror active again. You are not the first to have this problem. The best thread is this:

Hear Hear! My reason for buying Carista was so I could activate my factory fitted DRL's, cheaper than asking the Skoda garage to do it. Having got the app I then found loads of other useful hidden features that I could activate. Seems they differentiate between Makes or Models by switching feature on as standard on up market cars as a marketing ploy. Reminds me of the story recently in the Sunday times. One of their journalists had bought a Tesla and is very happy with his car. After a few months some of the features no longer worked. Response from Tesla was "Oh, those features are on a x months trial on new cars. If you wish to to continue the cost will be XX or x per month. That is progress?

When we bought our Fabia last February, we asked the dealership to give us a print out of the service history as there was no Service Book. Any Skoda garage can do this for you.

Well, as promised, I can report that the Skoda garage has fixed my puddle light in the driver's mirror. Apparently the official name is an entry light. The garage warned me that there was a high chance of the mirror breaking but I told them to try to release the mirror up to the point where it seemed likely to break. They added that the mirror usually breaks in cold weather when removing it. There are some people who seem to have the knack, and their man did remove the "glass" without it breaking. In fact the mirror is not made of glass but acrylic, which explains why mine was bending when I tried. Changing the bulb for the one I supplied did not work. Further investigate with their software tools showed that the bulb was not being told to be active. A tick in the right place on the software then brought it to life. At this point I should point out that the same garage had, last year, replaced the door lock assembly in the drivers door. This is a master controller for other doors and many other things. When picking up the car, I noticed the red/white light on the inside of the door card was not illuminating. Straight back to the garage and they found that they had not programed the door lock assembly to activate the door card light. Soon fixed. So I don't know how the entry light programing had been lost, but it was a simple fix once found. Perhaps there is a fault in my door lock? Perhaps it was when the battery was disconnected at some time? I thought door lock assemblies were just swapped for one with the same part number without a need for programing; or did the garage use a general purpose unit that has to be programmed to the features of the particular car Make and Model?

You seem to have disassembled the unit more than is necessary or your unit is different to mine. I found that access to the brush holders and the brushes inside them was quite easy. I moved the brushes back and forth in their holder to wear away the sides of the brushes until they became not so tight. I have repurposed the wiper motor assembly but if time allows, I will take some photos for comparisons. Sorry for the delay in posting but I had not noticed that the topic had slipped over to the previous page.

Yes, pre facelift which push in to a circular ring clip are easy Facelift versions have a plastic piece on the back of the mirror which has two arms facing towards the front of the car. These arms push into gripper sockets on the main assembly. Must have been designed by the same guy who who designed the cover on the small grill to allow you to change the DRL bulbs! I had to get a Skoda garage to remove mine (for free, including the grunting etc).

I am in the same position, and have been for about 6 months. In my case it is on the driver's side. I have bought a pair of 25% longer life bulbs from Halfords, type 501/ W5W. There is a video on YouTube that shows how to change the bulb. You remove the mirror by pulling its' two tangs out of sockets in the frame then take out 4 screws to release the bulb holder. Total time to fix is about 10 minute. BUT getting the mirror out is a real pain. I have tried all kinds of tools plus just pulling with fingers. With each tool I gave up when the mirror started to bend. Posts on Briskoda and elsewhere say that it so tight that you have to apply a lot of force and often the glass will break. I was considering leaving the bulb as is, after all it is just a puddle light, but I miss it as there are no street lights here. But I was talking to my SKODA garage when booking the car in service and MOT and they said they can replace the bulb at the same time as they often have to do it - but sometimes the glass mirror breaks! I have told them to try when they have the car (2 Dec) but not to break it! We will see! I will report back. Just one of many vids:= https://resetservicelight.com/change-glass-side-mirror-skoda-octavia-ii-facelift/

I believe you now have to pay to get customisation. In the HELP section of their website it talks as though customisation is in the PRO version; a paid for choice at start up. https://help.caristaapp.com/hc/en-us/articles/360009767180-How-do-I-get-the-PRO-version-

Not sure what you are trying to say. Yes, the diagnostic port is a tight fit on the plug-in unit. The bigger problem is pulling it out!! There are no other apps that I am aware off that are dedicated to VAG vehicles and can make changes to optional features. Is not the question in the app about the type of OBD2 unit, asking whether you want to connect by WiFi or Bluetooth.

I forgot to say, check for corrosion in the fuse box near the battery. Water ingress can corrode the fuse holders and the fuses and has been found on older cars. Check also for overheating/melting of the plug in fuses as a result of poor contact.

My understanding is that the free trial is now only available if you buy the (expensive) Carista OBD2 reader. If you download the app it will ask you choose one of three payment options. At that point it may give you a trial???

Increased revs to try to recharge the battery, more so when additional load loads are switched on, plus radio turning off are all signs of low capacity in the battery. This can be caused by the battery being near end of life or the alternator not supplying enough recharge current. My bet would be on the battery as it would read the correct voltages, steady state, with a reduced capacity. How old is the battery? Are the connections clean? Are the body connections to the alternator and battery good with no sign of corrosion? The supply to the radio (and some non essential loads) is shut off automatically if the system detects reducing battery voltage.

Probably needs a new battery. The electronics give that display when you try to start with a battery that cannot supply the starting current. You can prove it by temporarily swapping the battery with a known good battery; perhaps even when using jumper cables from another car. Once started, (1) check that the alternator is recharging the battery and (2) there is no continuous discharge overnight such as when a non VAG radios have been fitted incorrectly.