TerFar

I've just done a Google search for 'VW Polo tyre noise' and guess the result: there's a mass of tyre noise with the Polo reports. The VW forum is full of them. So I guess that you don't have a fault as such, just an inherent Polo problem.

Tyre pressures should be set when the tyres are cool, not hot after a run. Once you have the correct pressure, reset the TPMS. The TPMS detects the tyre circumference. When you get on the road, the tyres will get hotter, the pressure will go up a small amount, as will the diameter, but well within the tolerance supported by the TPMS. If this happens again, stop as soon as possible and check the temperature of the wheels on that axle and their relative pressures. They should be the similar. If you have a 'dragging' brake or bearing problem, that wheel will feel hotter suggesting a problem making the tyre pressure higher which increases the diameter and triggers the TPMS on that wheel. (My dashboard display tells me which wheel it is.)

17" wheels with fatter tyres will have a harsher, noisier ride and gobble more fuel than the 16" standards. My first thought is if you change back to the smaller winter wheels, does the noise change, disappear or remain?

It does suggest to me that it is a sign of wear. It's cold in the mornings, so the belt should be tight and as Rum4mo suggests, that extra load on the alternator when just started may be why it squeals and stops shortly after moving off. It should be a quick job to replace it.

I've now had 4 Skodas, all with aircon and none have given me any problem whatsoever nor have any been serviced. My current car is a Mk3 Fabia Montecarlo that was 5 years old in January. I believe that the common factor is that I NEVER turn off the aircon: why would I? The Aircon conditions the air regardless of the time of year or weather. In damp conditions, it helps remove excessive moisture before entering the car; if it is cold, it simply doesn't cool the air any further; and in hot weather it keeps the interior cool. So leave it on all the time and unless there is a physical problem such as stone strike to its radiator or a hose perishes, you should be Ok to ignore services. It's rather like nearly everything else: leave well alone unless it goes wrong! My 2002 installed Vaillant central heating boiler has NEVER been touched by anyone and 19 years on it is still working perfectly. It's annual servicing and botch work that wears them out! (Sorry heating engineers!)

Optional sports seats in onyx Grey (monte carlo only).

Ditto for my 2016 mk3. It is live all the time and I use it for my dashcam so that when I park away from home I am able to leave it recording.

The best tyres I've tried on the Fabia Mk3 (though admittedly I've not tried many) are the Continental Eco Contact 6 195/55 T16, rated A, A, 71db (economy, wet grip, noise). There probably are tyres a little quieter, but they sacrifice wet grip and economy for noise, so it's a balance of running cost vs. safety in the wet vs. noise. Wider tyres or larger 17" rims will give a harder drive (the walls don't flex and absorb bumps so well) and increase fuel consumption (the rolling resistance of the wider tread takes more energy to rotate - simple physics!). Likewise, if you go for 15" rims, then you can have ever higher wall to width ratio making the ride more comfortable and quieter again, but at the loss of even more wet grip and braking. I think the 16" wheels/tyres are a good compromise.

You didn't use Carbide Lamps then? 😉

Me too. You either stuck out your arm or relied on the trafficators that were forever getting stuck! The Dip switch was on the floor, and the screen washer (if you were lucky enough to have one) was on the floor too. We've moved on a long way from crossply tyres, unassisted drum brakes all round and hideously vague steering!

Don't worry about them. Leds last thousands of hours and have no vulnerable filament to fail like QHs. They're more likely to need replacement from physical breakage than failure.

My Skoda agent quoted £280 for the cambelt change, but that doesn't include parts and VAT. But I doubt that is going to be £500. My 2016 1.2 Tsi has only done 12,000 miles, so I declined having the work done. The manufacturer of the cambelt states 10 years, 120,000 miles for the life of the belt, but I've no idea if the cam belt tensioners get knackered. I'll think about changing mine at 7 years or 50k, depending on which comes first. My mileage is especially low because I bought it at 2 years old with less than 6k on the clock because the first owner had died and the disposal was held up by executors. Then, of course, Covid came along. We're retired, so don't use it for commuting and with holidays off the horizon, it was hardly used since February 2020. The only extra servicing I've had done is the DSG oil change and that was done by an independent DSG expert company (£90).

It suggests that in this very cold weather, the engine is not producing sufficient heat to keep the engine at running temperature AND keep the heater running fairly high. So my first question is the engine cooling fan running continuously?

I had similar experience about a year ago. I discovered it was the reverse lamp not fully inserted and had gradually worked its way loose after 3 years! What was most confusing was that we checked the tail lights parked in the drive and all looked good with no error message on the dashboard. Then we realised the error only appeared after we drove off. Of course, we reversed in order to get off the driveway: a light bulb moment as the saying goes. We took off the light cluster and went to remove the reversing lamp and realised immediately that it wasn't fully engaged. It is a tight fit and we guess that the moron assembling it couldn't get the bayonets to fully engage, so eventually it worked loose. After reassembly, it's been fine ever since.

Red, black panoramic roof and black alloys.

That makes the whole system an even bigger ecological and financial disaster. A fast drive along an A road or motorway and your battery isn't recharged! It's bonkers.

I've had that too but found that if you reverse slowly and gently press the brake pedal a few times, it tends to dislodge itself quite easily. (Please don't try it on the motorway though! )

Not wanting to be a spoil sport, but I'm sure I read a few days ago (in The Times, I believe) that these ultra bright headlights permitted under EU regs are going to be outlawed in UK ammended regs and become an MoT failure.

Going on a 40 mile drive solely to charge the battery is an ecological and financial disaster. WTF were VAG thinking when they designed a system that stops the battery from fully charging at the same time as introducing start/stop that puts massive additional demand on the battery.

I had a similar problem, so I have a smart charger too. I connect it directly to the battery terminals in situ and it works perfectly and safely. As for the VW 75% charge limit, I find it preposterous. (Why not fit a 25% smaller battery and save weight and energy?) Any energy saving will be minuscule and extending battery life unproven. All it causes is problems! So I disconnect the battery sensor that connects BCM (battery control module) from the negative battery terminal that has the added benefit of permanently disabling start/stop (another battery killer). Some things are over-engineered!

The DSG has a manual mode, as described in the User Manual. Just select D as normal, push the selector to the LEFT and it is now in manual mode. Push the selector Forward or Back to select higher or lower gear. So you can pull away in second gear. The top of the centre display will show which gear is selected.

Switching between D&S whilst moving is harmless: it's a software change to make the gearbox far more responsive to throttle commands making it hold lower gears so that engine stays at higher revs (in the peak power band). As for lifetime/wear: yes but probably only because higher revs causes more stress on components, but no different from any manual gearbox. The gearbox is like a manual 7-speed gearbox with an automated dual clutch/gear selector - the Mechatronic unit. So the gears will stay preengaged as you flick between 1 and R as each engages with alternate clutches. But you should wait until you're stationary before engaging, though moving to N as you're stopping is fine.

I actually couldn't remember whether it was 97 or 99, so hence 98! Does it matter.

I've now had three Skodas with DSG, an Octavia Estate, a Yeti (both 2L diesels) and currently a Fabia MC 1.2 Tsi. Simply put, the DSG does everything for you, so select D and go. No, don't slip into N when in a traffic crawl unless you know you're going to be stationary for a tedious longtime. If it's slow moving, just take your foot off the brake and let it pull itself away, only use the accelerator if you need to go faster. If you get to a really busy junction and need to be quick off the mark, select sports mode, otherwise there's little to do except select D, N, R or P. Realistic consumption is low 40s for town driving and low 50s on a run. It really depends on how spirited you drive, of course: we're all different! I never turn off the aircon: it conditions the air, so why turn it off! I turn the lights on at lighting up time because the Fabia has led daytime driving lights that light up automatically when you turn on the ignition.

I'm more than happy with my 1.2 Tsi DSG. It performs well, especially when I occasionally use the \dsg Sports Mode. There's a noticeable improvement in performance if you use Super Unleaded (98 RON) compared to standard unleaded (95 RON). And the 7-speed DSG has been absolutely no problem: still as smooth and fast after 5 Years.