TerFar

Unlikely. The only normal option is for a spacesaver. I believe you can buy them as a kit with the insert thst holds the jack, etc.

Tell that to Nissan Qashqai owners!

No it doesn't. Disconnection the BCM sensor hands over control of the battery charging to the alternator. It works fine. It doesn't cook the battery. And if you look at the statistics for small car owners, they tend to do most of their mileage on short local journeys anyway.

Yes. Basically, the small auto-clutch unit (DQ200) with the 7-speed DSG unit can cook if you keep your foot on the brake without start/stop active. So I usually slip the selector into N when I stop and slip it back into D when traffic starts moving again. This doesn't happen with more powerful petrol or diesel VAGs because they use different heavier clutch units.

It's a complete nonsense system. Firstly the start/stop puts higher demand on your battery because of all those restarts. Then they limit the battery charge to ~70% or so, as it only charges on overrun. So if you are in a common situation of short journeys in busy traffic, the start/stop is being used but there's virtually no overrun situations to get it charged back up. So disconnect the little monitor connector from the negative battery terminal which disables the Battery Control Monitor allowing the battery to fully charge and inhibits start/stop. The only downside is if you have DSG and not manual gears.

If the estate is like the hatchback, no. The rear seatbacks simply fold down onto the seat squabs, are not flat and have a big step. I wish they would come out for bigger loads.

Rule 1. NEVER mix tyres on an axle. Preferably use the identical tyres all round. Rule 2. Budget tyres are cheap for a reason: they're inferior. Most tyres seem OK in the dry, but in the wet the inferior tyres will show their worth. I suggest you scrap all tyres and get Continental or Michelin premium tyres such as the Continental PremiumContact. It's your life and probably your family's you have to consider. Those few scant inches of tyres in contact with the road may save your life.

Remember to release the handbrake and use top gear next time. 😉

The tyres are worth far more than the wheels. I suggest taking them off and sell them separately. Make sure to include tyre depth for each tyre in the ad. Try selling the rims in a separate ad, but frankly they're worth little.

I can confirm that the aircon light goes out when the fan is switched off suggesting that the aircon does go off. But as it was 34 degC today, I wasn't keen on experimenting to see if it definitely turned off. 😉

I never have the fan off, so I'm not sure though I'll check when I go out later today.

The only 'automatic' action I see in the system is if you lower the temperature control down to the lowest section, it switches on recirculation and speeds up the fan slightly. Converse when you turn the control up above the lowest setting. But with the aircon ON, the blue on light glows continuously.

So in cool/cold weather, how does turning it off stop mold?

Insignificant in cool/cold weather, probably does in hot weather. But if you're concerned about it, why have aircon: it's there for comfort.

Well 30 years of always running aircon is suffifient proof that it works for me. I turn the temp control down when it's hot and up when it's cold.

Mine is a manual aircon. I never turn off the aircon. Leaving them off for a long period can allow mould to grow and start smelling resulting in having to have the aircon 'sanitized'. I've not had problems with aircon in any of my cars since I had a Ford Escort in the 90s.

Love my MC with 7-speed DSG. It really comes alive when you flick it into sports mode. I'm not permitted to use it when the wife is in the car!

Sounds about right to me: hiddeously expensive, but about right. I had a motorbike hit the front offside of mine that needed a new o/s wing, front diffuser and mounting brackets - so fairly simple compared to your damage. It cost £2,200 including 7 day car loan, collection and delivery.

As Rootem... suggests, the grinding is probably rusty disk surface from overnight damp. A couple of applications of the brakes should clear it. I really recommend investing in a good tyre pressure guage and pump so that you can accurately set the tyre pressure at home. I never trust the gauge at the garage (although the regulations state they should be within 1 psi). I find 32 psi perfect on my MC. Make sure that when you have them all set perfectly, reset the TPM.

No doubt inactivity is not good for many parts on a car. We drive around 7,000 miles a year. I have no intention of changing the cam belt as early a 5 years. I don't usually keep cars too long, so I don't expect to change it at all.

Frankly, the OHC drive belt and water pump is a total con. If you go to the manufacturer's website (not VAG, but the cam belt manufacturer), they advertise their belts for 120,000km or 7 years. VAG reduced this to various different mileages/times over the last couple of decades using the original excuse that the belt tensioners wore and advised changing the water pump at the same time because it was exposed and just a few minutes extra time. Now that the water pump is separate and the tensioners have been redesigned, what is the excuse for changing them all so frequently? Just money for the garage and VAG. At least with electric cars it is all much simpler!

Some people don't have any feelings for their cars.

Hi All. We recently decided to downsize from our trusty Yeti (2l diesel) and found a Jan 2016 Fabia 1.2 Tsi Monte Carlo DSG with just under 6,000 miles on the clock. Within a few days I started to have battery problems. It came with a Skoda warranty and I took back to the garage for testing. They assure me that nothing is wrong, they charged the battery and it just needs driving more!!! Well, a couple of days later, I started getting the low battery warning in the DOT display and the Infotainment switch itself off. I did a 70 mile FAST round trip on the M27/A27, stopped at Asda Garage to fill up on my return and found the battery was still low, still getting the error message! I haven't been back to the garage yet as I have been doing some tests and reading about all the battery charge problems with Mark III Fabias sop that I am armed with some information before tackling them. I have fully charged the battery using an Optimate battery conditioner. It took 48 hours to fully charge: not unexpected as it does only trickle charge. After reaching the full charge, I disconnected and the immediate battery voltage was 12.64 volts. After 30 minutes rest, the voltage fell slightly to 12.5 volts but stayed at 12.5 volts for several hours. (I'm going to do some further tests later after taking it out on the road and I'll add the results to this thread.) Meanwhile, the battery fitted is a 59Ah MLA Moll EFB battery. Reading around leads me to believe that EFB type batteries are inadequate for Start/Stop systems and the battery should be an AGM type. So my first question is should I insist the garage (a Skoda agent) replace the battery with an AGM type and did Skoda continue fitting EFB type batteries or did they change them to AGM batteries in later models? When I went on line to look for the cost of replacement batteries, at least three sites specified an AGM battery (all at over £150), which makes me suspicious that Skoda threw in an inadequate battery! Thanks: Terry