kgreenhough

Hi, just a quick question. I am looking to get a tow bar fitted to a 63 plate elegance hatch. All the fitters I've contacted have been trying to push me into a detachable ball, claiming that anything other than removing it will get picked up by the reversing sensors when not towing. I don't really want a detachable ball, because frankly I've had them before and have never been bothered to take them off, so don't imagine that I'll start now. Also, the detachable ones are quite a bit pricier and I would rather spend the money getting the electrics and coding right! I suspect that the fitters are trying to cover their backs (which I kind of understand!) so to help me to decide, can anyone who has a towbar fitted (especially an after market one) let me know whether the reversing sensors really do pick up the ball when the ball's in place and you're not towing anything? Also, whether you have a flange, or a swan-neck as some people have suggested that I might be more likely to get away with the thinner profile of a swan-neck... Thanking you in advance, Kevin

Hi Rich, I was just wondering whether you had any tips for getting the blower motor out? I want to get mine out to investigate an annoying squeak! I've got the glovebox out fairly easily and exposed the motor housing, but think I'm being a bit thick as can't see an obvious way of dropping the motor out of the housing. It seems you sussed it back last year so if you have any pointers I would be very grateful! Thank you in advance Kevin

Hi, just wondering whether you had any luck with fixing your handles? I have a similar problem... In the frost 2-3 weeks ago I opened the door and it wouldn't latch again. With a bit of jiggling it did finally latch but then wouldn't open from the outside. I sprayed it up with some wd40 - just through the gap around where the handled opens on the outside. This seemed to do the trick and it was OK until Friday when it froze up pretty hard again. The not latching itself saga repeated, but locking and unlocking with the button on the drivers door released whatever was stuck. Very alarmingly the doors then somehow all locked again when I got out...engine was running to help defrost!! Spare key wouldn't work on the button (because they don't for some reason!) So had to get the little cover to the key lock off and that did get me back in! Now the door is latching OK, although I'm worried whether it will work if it's frosty in the morning! However once locked it won't open with the outside handle until it's been open with the inside... Just as ures Phildon! If any of you have come across solutions then please let me know. Mine is well out of warrant and I could do without any big bills. I've had door cards off of previous cars, so willing to give it a go but would rather know what I'm facing!! Cheers. Kevin

Thank you everyone. I will call a couple of dealers and try to reach a consensus I think - I know cambelt schedules have always been revised in service, but it's frustrating that there still isn't much clarity from Skoda as there must be plenty of these 170CR engines at or over 4 years old by now. I'm more inclined to have it done than to take a risk as the last thing I want is to be looking for a new engine and it's a low mileage family car that I intend keeping for a few more years! K.

Sorry to hijack an old thread... but it is relevant. My 170CR is coming up to 4 years old. The service schedule that came with the car says the cambelt should be changed every 100k miles, with no time restriction as jrw says. I've seen on other threads that people are going with both lower mileage and/or adding a time limit as is also suggested here by tech1e and mannyo. My car has only just gone over 40k miles, so way off the distance. A reduction from about 10 years (on my mileage) to 4 years is substantial and from my point of view, quite disappointing. Clearly I don't want to risk a blown engine, but on the other hand a cambelt change is a lot of money and if I don't need it, then I won't do it. So as the CR engines area now getting older and more will be known about their longterm use, I was just wondering whether anyone has any further updates on time/distance recommendations to add to this thread from last year? Thank you K.

Just for people's info, I have a 2008 (58) twindoor, which came with the 16" spare - 17" on each corner. Whilst this was better than a skinny spare, I wanted a proper matching spare wheel. Anyway, I picked up a 17" rim (VW so different style, but it's the size that isimportant) and when I next needed tyres, put the best of the ones coming off on the new rim as the spare. The twindoor seems to have a little bit less room in the wheel bay than the estate, but a 225/45/17 does just fit - as others have mentioned, it's the 225 width that is the problem and the boot floor is pushed up perhaps 10mm or so. I thought I might need to support it with some hardboard, but in the end it wasn't necessary and you really can't tell. As an aside, I kept the 16" spare and matched it with a set of second hand alloys for winter tyres, giving me a full set of both winter and summer wheels - which was enough to ensure that last winter was really pretty warm - on the South coast anyway! K.

I've been really happy with Michelin Primacy HPs - it's not really a sporty car, so sporty wasn't my main criteria, just wanted reliable grip and good wear, but on the other hand it was steady as a rock with them at 125mph on the autobahn last year In terms of wear, after about 8000 miles the tyres were measured at the MOT as having 6mm left all round, so doesn't seem too bad. I think something that is really important is to get the pressures right for the wear to be reasonable. The recommended pressures for the Superb seem to be pretty high - up to about 40psi (from memory) depending on wheel size and load. Most tyre fitters seem to automatically set pressures at 30psi, whatever you ask for. Low pressure is known to cause problems such as wear to the inside edges of the rears - which the car had when I bought it. I keep the pressures on the high side and have had no problems. Just my thoughts... p.s relates to a 170CR twindoor, so 17" tyres - although 16" winter tyres on at the moment.

Most bikers leave their bikes trickle charging all the time, or at least all the cold months. There are some special chargers recommended for it that are supposed to be safe. One is the Oxford Optimiser (great name I know!) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Oxford-OF950-Oximiser-600-Battery/dp/B000R5B386/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1324593035&sr=8-3 There is also another make that is supposed to be better, but is pricier. Can't remember what it's called at the moment, but I have no doubt someone will know. They are for 12v batteries, the only thing I don't know is whether they would be powerful enough to be effective on one as big as we must have in the Superbs. K. p.s had a spell commuting to a train station on a Piaggio scooter that hated starting in cold weather (Italian!!) and the Oxford Optimiser was the best money I ever spent!!

+ 1 The rear seat base definitely comes out of the twindoor, albeit as one unit - no split

This happened to my rear badge and the dealer changed it without question. You're right though - it is rubbish after a year!

Now I finally know what the ping is!! I had noticed that I was getting it sometimes and not others. As seems to be fairly common, I had this sensor fail on mine (2.0CR about 2.5 years old) three months or so ago. I think I was getting pings before the new sensor, I definitely have had them since. So, my question - is pinging something that I should go back to the garage about? Is it an early warning that the new sensor is also no good, or is it simply part of the DPF getting sooted up and naturally being regenerated cycle? I tend to do a lot of short trips (8-10 miles each way to work) interspersed with longer trips to see family once or twice a month. Also. On a related topic, does anyone know how much a new sensor and forced regeneration costs if the car's not under warranty? My three years warranty is up soon and I'm trying to work out whether it might be a good idea to extend it...???

Ouch!! Thank you for your thoughts on the speed ratings - makes sense and really useful

Hi, On a related topic, I am also planning winter tyres and have picked up a set of 16" Audi rims for the purpose. With the tyres, I know it's normal to use a reduced speed rating, but does anyone know whether it's ok to go to H rated - which most of the winter tyres seem to be? I have only found a couple of makes that do V rated and nothing higher than that. I think the standard summer tyres are W rated (on 17" for the 2.0 CR diesel). I think H rated are to 120mph, which seems plenty in the winter!!! But I've been told that the high speed ratings for diesels is also to do with the torque?? Needing the 94 load index already restricts choice and puts up the price, so would be great if I don't need to be limited to V rated as well! Any views appreciated. K.

I have an SE and have worked out the headlights!! It's very easy - 30 secs at most ) Take the rubber dust cover off the back of the headlight - there are three, one for each of sidelight, headlight and main beam so make sure you have the right one. Without taking the lamp or anything out, reach in with your fingers and to the right (looking at the front of the car) of the lamp holder, on the side of it, there is a fairly thin metal lever. Push this down. It should make a definite click and feel like it's moved to a new position. You need to do this on both sides. The result should be a flat beam, without the two little kicks to light up the verge. Best way to check is against a wall in the dark. I hope this makes sense? If you stick your fingers in, it should become obvious. With a mirror and a torch you might be able to see what you're looking for. cheers Kevin

Surely the whole point is that Skoda allows VAG to sell cars to people who can't afford/aren't prepared to pay for the very latest tech. If a Superb had all the same options as a Passat or an A6, it would have to cost more or less as much - it wouldn't make business sense for the group to have cars competing that directly against each other and a whole bunch of customers would get swept up elsewhere.

With the kind of mileage you're doing, the cruise control sounds like a good idea. I have the maxidot and think it's pretty good - I don't know how much info the non maxidot gives you though to compare. I always scoffed the people who needed reversing sensors. However it is a really big car and I would be lost without them and they are essential for being able to tuck into tiny carparks. I find that with the twindoor, it's very hard to judge where it ends... the estate may not be so bad, but nonetheless I would recommend them. My dad got a variable boot floor in his (company) Octavia. He's a service engineer and found it completely useless as it ate the space and nothing he had fitted in it - so he chucked it out!! It all depends what you're planning to put in the back I guess as if you have a selection of small things that you want to stop sliding around and keep safe, or if a level boot is more important than space then it could be useful. On the other hand if you need such a big car, I imagine you have plans for the boot!! If the fabric mats you are thinking of are the same as I got (chucked in by the dealer luckily) then save your money... absolute ****... my heal has almost worn through on the clutch side after 4k miles and I've put a cheap rubber one over the top!! Whatever you chose, I'm sure you'll like the car

I tried to book my octavia into Sparshats for a service and when I called them they seemed to be completely disinterested in the work - like it was a lot of trouble for them to have to talk to me, so I went elsewhere. I had the Octavia serviced a couple of times at Freeborn in Southampton (down by the football ground) - they are not Skoda dealers anymore, but they still have an authorised service centre so presumably could do warranty work. With the Octavia I found them to be helpful, interested, knowledgable and prepared to give me a good price. I've also used Winchester Skoda for warranty work on my Superb - the heater fan packed up. I went there because it's closer to where I work. They were fine and sorted the problem although it took two visits as the "fix" on the first visit only lasted a couple of days. In fairness they replaced the unit without question after that though. To cut a long story short, what I'm suggesting is trying another service centre as it sounds like you've been given the runaround...

Perhaps second hand prices are going up as the wait for new cars increases? I paid £15k (and got a very fair trade in on my Octavia) for a 58 plate 170CR SE twindoor with just under 20k miles on it back in October, when it was almost exactly 2 years old... who knows I might make a profit now ?!?!

It's too much paperwork in Britain, so they don't bother... every other car has a headlight out, or the foglights on with no sign of fog - or both! In France the Police retain your driving licence until you cough up the on the spot fine, no questions, no need for magistrates, no paperwork. So it's a good earner! That's a good question, because it always was compulsory in most European countries and I have been lugging a bulb kit around Europe for years, but I have just checked and the latest AA advice doesn't even mention a bulb kit. Perhaps it's because with so many Xenons around it's impossible to enforce now. Does anyone else know? http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/compulsory_equipment.pdf If you are heading towards certain German cities, watch out for the requirement to have an "emissions" sticker. It's an attempt to improve the environment in city centres by keeping smoky old diesels out. See the bottom of this document for a bit of advice. http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/touring_tips/germany.pdf

I've never seen a French, German, Polish or any other European car in GB with stickers and I doubt they've all mechanically adapted their headlights. But that's because the British Police don't give a **** so they know they'll get away with it. From what I've heard the French "Johndarme" see British cars as a ready revenue source and hang around the Ferry terminals to lighten tourists of their colourful euros before they can get to the hypermarket and spend it all on cheap wine beer and fags. So it's my aim not to become their next victim. Apparently the favourites are non adapted lights, lack of spare bulb kit, lack of reflective jackets for everyone in the car and not having a warning triangle that you can reach without leaving your seat... all things that I am certain 90% of British drivers wouldn't carry as standard, even if some of them are a good idea! Personally I'm not sure all the bother is worth it... but after being mugged in the filling station I can't afford a fine :'(

Hi, I'm interested in this as off to Europe for a couple of weeks at Easter. I also have an SE, so don't have the luxury of lights that bend around corners or that can be reprogrammed to LHD from inside the car and I don't like stickers!! I was wondering whether any other SE owners had tried flattening their beams Octavia style and whether anyone knows if it is the same? Cheers Kevin

Thanks for the extra info guys. I didn't realise it was a specific regulation regarding non matching wheel sizes although common sense says to me that having different tyre wall depths wouldn't be wise as would react differently under hard braking or cornering - I think it proves to me that getting a matching 17" spare was a good idea as can't risk getting stuck at 50mph. I've got the spare alloy now, but haven't got the new tyre yet...it's on the list of to dos Pushing the dealer into getting a matching front tyre is a nice idea Stef, but I think I got a decent deal already and as the cheapo one was pretty much new and there's nothing illegal (just undesirable) about mixing makes/tread patterns I don't think I've got much argument... I just wish whoever had put it on had spent an extra £30 or £40 and matched the Goodyear on the other side as it wasn't a great economy! thanks again, Kevin

My German is a bit rusty, but here goes... According to p10, you have an engine CBBB or CFGB In particular the CBBB engine appears on a number of pages, I think it's because there is a different page for each production run - it's using codes that are linked to German registration certificates. However, the tyre sizes appear to be constant. You are specifically looking for the M+S designation for winter tyres. According to p 204 onwards, the winter tyre is a 205/55/16 94H M+S on a 6J x 16 H2 50ET wheel. From p 205, a 17" option is also included for that engine code of 205/50/17 93H M+S on a 6J x 17 H2 45ET wheel. I guess it depends what wheels you can get. The 16" winter tyres will probably be cheaper. Hope this helps Kevin

When I started my Superb this morning the heater fan wouldn't switch on at all at any speed/any direction :( A bit frustrating as not only cold to drive, but hard to get and keep the windscreen de-misted. When the engine warmed up there was a little bit of heat trickling through, but no fan at all. It worked fine on Friday, which was the last time I drove it. I've booked into the local dealer (tomorrow) for them to investigate under warranty, but thought I would post it as a problem here and ask whether anyone else has experienced the same? cheers Kevin

Thank you for all the replies I think Spectrum's dealer is right - I decided that to be sure I should brave the cold and see for myself and the 17" 225 wheel and tyre is a little proud in the boot well... about 5mm! It's a little annoying, but I think that if I support the carpet on the sides with a piece of hardboard then it won't cause a problem and won't even be noticeable. It's odd that the Combi has a deeper wheel well than the hatch... must have a completely different back end?! I can see why they put the 50mph stickers on the wheel when it's a different size to the other 4, as the different tyre profile would potentially make it react differently under heavy breaking or cornering... I agree though that it's not such a concern as with those skinny (non) wheels. I guess they're playing safe, although it sounds like in Sweden they're playing too safe - Zilwer, perhaps it's because you changed the spec on the wheels, but kept the original spare?? Given the trips I will be doing, I've decided to play safe too and am getting a 17" spare. When I got the car it came with non matching tyres on the front, which I don't like, so I was going to change those anyway and that will give me a spare tyre to put on the new rim. I'll use the current 16" steel spare towards the winter set that I'm going to get when the prices are back to normal! Thanks again guys, really appreciate your thoughts Kevin