pikpilot

Probably best to ask your question again in the Mk 1 forum but the reply from Sticky Mickey above suggests you do need to unclip the roof lining at the sides.

That is interesting as I had a cold starting problem on my 1.9 ASV engine caused by the timing being slightly out.

The febi bilstein may be ok as it is the same colour green as the genuine VAG unit. If you can find someone local with VCDS, they could read the temperature indicated to the ecu by the sensor. And while they are doing that, get them to do a full VCDS diagnostic scan. Look in the VCDS section of Briskoda to find someone local to you who will do the scan a few beers.

Did you use a genuine VAG coolant temp sensor? It is very fussy.

There is an "improved" motor on the CR facelift estate such as yours. I and others have found the problem with the estate rear wiper is the brush holder and its brush spring. The two brushes are tight in the square holders. When the brushes are new and therefore longer, there is enough spring pressure to keep the brushes in contact with the commutator. As the brushes wear and so get shorter, there comes a point were the now reduced pressure springs cannot overcome the friction of the brushes in the holders and one of brushes fails to touch the commutator. The solution is easy. Remove the wiper motor from the tailgate, undo the obvious many screws to separate the electrical half from the mechanical half (which also contains the motor), then either move the brushes up and down inside the holders a few times or take out the brushes to sand off a little on the sides. Assemble and refit. With the two halves are apart it it easy to test the motor using the two connections that normally go the top half however I also found that previously just lightly touching the brushes may have pushed the brushes into contact to fool you into thinking it is fixed. So only test it after freeing up the brushes in the holders. I also found the bearing and shaft to be working fine although I did lubricate them again as I had it all apart. Alternatively, just replace the wiper motor assembly with a new one of the same part number.

I bought a cheap ELM 327 dongle to access the diagnostic port which I use with the Carista app for full diagnostics/clearing codes and activating addition features that are already in the car but hidden Also use it with VAG DPF and TorquePro apps. A better combination than a dedicated plug-in code reader.

Starter has to reach a higher speed before the car will be allowed to start when hot. This is bypassed when the engine is cold. Can you borrow another starter motor as a test? Sounds like the likely cause.

For my wife's 2016 Fabia 3, see attached file which shows how to reset the service indicator and, I believe, changes it to fixed service. Taken from another post in this forum. Fabia 111 service_reset.pdf

On my 1.9 when I lost 3 glow plugs in winter, it would only start after longer cranking accompanied by white smoke and a lot of engine shake until all cylinders were firing. I would recommend replacing the glow plugs before winter, assuming the rest of the engine is ok.

The third brake light on the estate is a sealed but a replaceable unit. There are other posts in this forum that show how to access the unit on the estate (with photos). Try the search function at the top right OR use Google to search using Briskoda+octavia 2+ any terms you choose Basically, you remove the rubber closing handle, unclip the large panel on the boot then unclip the connector, unbolt the lamp and replace. You may break a few of the trim clips in the process but you can replace these cheaply through a Skoda garage.

Glow plugs are cheap so worth checking/replacing before the cold weather. On the Mk1 1.9 TDi engines it was a common problem of failure of the relay which supplies power to the glow plugs. Difficult to check at this time of year as the glow plugs only come on at low temperatures. In warmer weather the glow plugs are not needed. Your details show a Mk1 TDi so if this the case I suggest you copy your post to the Mk1 Forum for their additional knowledge. If it is a Mk2 then please add the engine code i.e. ASV, BMM etc Mike

The maximum towing weight on the 1.6CR is lower than on 2L models as the car weighs less. Means you not able to tow the same weight. I have the Westfalia tow bar (from new - fitted by supplying garage). However, we don't have to climb high mountains in England and that is probably the important difference. When I worked in Southern California and drove up into the Sierras, it was the altitude that was the problem. I guess in your country you also see reduced engine power at altitude, and working the engine flat out may be the reason you need better cooling. Also, thinner air has reduced cooling effect because it is the weight of air used for cooling that matters. It also depends what loads you want to tow.

The blower motor will shut down if it overheats. Will restart again automatically when it has cooled down. Could be a sign of lack of lubrication of its bearing but more likely it is clogged or the passenger air filter is clogged. When was the filter changed last? Easy to drop the filter down to inspect it..

It is not evaporation. It is a water bottle with a lid. For evaporation the water surface needs to be in contact with outside air.

My car doesn't tell me which bulb has failed, but I use the Carista app through the diagnostic port to tell me which one. Never fails. Other apps are available.

Try pumping the pedal to see if air in the hydraulic fluid is the cause. Or have the clutch and brakes re-bled.

I sympathise with you but the basic problem is that there is no synchromesh on reverse. i sometimes have to use this procedure with my Octavia to get reverse. What is unusual is it being unable to release from a gear. This hints that there is still load on the gear. Does the procedure work for you when stuck in a gear?

When stuck in first/reverse or failing to get into gear, have you tried what we used to have to do with non/poor sychromesh cars? Raise the clutch to put a little load on the gear and then push the clutch pedal fully down again and then move the gear lever. It usually works.

If the battery has been disconnected recently, it may just be that you need to make it remember the position of the limit stops. The fact that it takes three goes suggests that this is the problem. To reset the stops do this:- When you have got the window to the top position as shown in the video then immediately hold the close button on again for more then 3 seconds. Repeat in the down position. Alternatively, and less likely, the "anti finger pinch" feature is operating because of friction in the window slides. You haven't said which year and model details so assuming it not too old you should be able to override the feature as shown in this extract from a driver's handbook:- "The electrically operated power windows are fitted with a force limiter. It reduces the risk of bruises or injuries when closing the windows. If there is an obstacle, the closing process is stopped and the window goes down by several centimetres. If the obstacle prevents the window from being closed during the next 10 seconds, the closing process is interrupted once again and the window goes down by several centimetres. If you attempt to close the window again within 10 seconds of the window being moved down for the second time, even though the obstacle was not yet been removed, the closing process is only stopped. During this time it is not possible to automatically close the window. The force limiter is still switched on. The force limiter is only switched off if you attempt to close the window again within the next 10 seconds - the window will now close with full force! If you wait longer than 10 seconds, the force limiter is switched on again."  Also look at the window slides for signs of deterioration, tree sap, etc. Some people have used WD40 or similar to lubricate the slides but any lubricate tends to pick up more dirt longterm.