tuscan30

Even cheaper and easier tip when your AC is a bit whiffy is to run the AC with the heater on full blast. This will dry the system out and kill the bugs that cause the funky smell. Few miles with full heat and full fan (windows open so you don't melt) and you should be good for a while before needing to do it again. Also recommended to switch off the AC for the last couple of miles before parking up - this gives the evaporator a chance to dry out and less chance of mould etc forming.

If anybody has a front bumper off their car at the moment - could you tell me please if there are locations marked on the inside for parking sensors? On rear bumper skins there are four embossed circles to denote the mounting positions for sensors. Having a tighter-than-reasonable parking bay I would like to add switchable sensors to the front too. Thanks in advance and hope it's not too much of a thread hijack. T30

Hi NZ100, I, for one, would be very interested in a write-up on fitting the seats once you have completed the job. Not contemplating leather here but do fancy some heated pads incorporated into the existing seats - so would like to see how you tackle the wiring side of things, switch locations etc. Best of luck with the project. Pete

Still feeling the love here too. Had three of them since 2007, all diesels. No idea what to replace the current one with. Probably go for the youngest Yeti I can find.

You're welcome. It only happened once when I was fitting the electrics for a towbar. It was all supposed to be plug-and-play according to the instructions - should have been a ten minute job. Ended up taking the side panel off the boot and feeding the errant cable back up to the top. Pete

It's a good idea to tie some string or wire to the plug before disconnecting it - if you are very unlucky and it disappears back into the bodywork it can become quite a challenge to retrieve it again. (ask me how I know ) Other than that they are (as Aubrey says) simple and quick to remove. Good luck, Pete

Removal and refitting the bumper skin is a straightforward job and achievable by one person (done a couple of towbar installs on my Roomsters over the years) Bear with me as I'm offshore and can't refer to the car so I'm working from memory. Start in the rear wheel arches. Three torx screws each side to remove where the bumper curves into the wheel arch (same screws secure your mudflaps if you have them) Open tailgate - another torx screw (larger size - maybe t20??) each side of tailgate opening. Pull the rubber sealing strip away to give access to these screws. Underneath bumper (pretty invisible) are four (I think) plastic rivets. Push out the centre pin and withdraw rivet. These can be re-used again when you replace bumper so try not to lose the pins. Once all that lot is undone then grab the bumper at either corner and pull outwards gently to disengage the locating tags. Then loosen the other corner and bumper skin will now lift away quite easily. If you have reversing sensors you will need to unplug them of course. Once that is out of the way there is a steel beam mounted across the rear of the car - this is the real strength of your bumper. Check that for damage. If it is damaged at all they are simply bolted onto the chassis. You often see them on ebay for about £20 from folk that have put towbars on. In true Haynes style refitting is a reversal of the removal. Hope it goes ok for you. Clem

Sorry to hear about your Roomster - hope you are OK. I'd love a set of your stickers if possible please. I'll pm address etc. Best regards and thanks.

Recently got myself another Roomster (third one - what am I going to replace this one with now they aren't available any more?) so fitted my Westfalia detachable towbar. Cut the access hole in the bumper and painted the new cover piece. Whilst working at this end of the car I fitted a Rearguard bumper protector (as I managed to scratch the last two Roomie bumpers) Then fitted a set of sill protectors that were an Ebay bargain - makes me feel less bad about standing on the sills when I'm polishing the roof. As that lot went quite well I carried on and fitted front and rear dashcams (pinched the idea of taking a switched 12v supply from the rear wiper as mentioned on the Yeti forum - great idea and very neat) That just leaves a set of drl's to fit once I find a decent set of E-marked lamps that suit the car without looking tacked-on.

Hi all, I'm fitting a detachable towbar to the car (OK it's a Roomster - but the Roomie forum is a bit quiet compared to here) and I need to spray the cover that disguises the cut-out in the bumper. Surprisingly, TPS can't supply suitable paint in an aerosol - just touch up pens. Paint colour is Steel Grey LF8L. Whereabouts are folk getting good paint from these days? The dreaded bay of E has a couple of suppliers but I wondered if anybody has any recent experience of internet supplied paint? I tried Halfords custom mixed aerosols on the last car and after two attempts I demanded my money back as the colour match was a country-mile away from what it should have been. I suppose the Dents Away and Paint Technique folk could do something for me but I'd like to have some paint left over in case of future need. Thanks in advance. Clem

Hi, I bought a Scangauge a couple of years ago for my Fiat Ducato based motorhome. Found it very useful. When the motorhome was sold I transferred the Scangauge to my Skoda Roomster (as the Roomster had no temperature gauge - just a warning light) It worked perfectly and communicated with the OBD socket straight away. It was only blu-tacked to the steering column but never moved and the wires could be neatly hidden away. You even get the option to match the colour of the display LEDs to match your original dashboard. Interesting range of info can be displayed but so far I've left mine set to water temp and volts. Only a button press to change it to whatever you want though. It will be transferred into my new Skoda when I get it on Friday. Clem

^^^ As above, except that I'd not bother with the aircon. Brake fluid needs changing every two years as it absorbs water and there is the potential for its boiling point to be lowered (in theory you could end up boiling the fluid on a long, long hill descent. Water in the fluid would boil to create steam. The steam is compressible so you end up with a soft brake brake pedal that could go almost to the floor when pressed, accompanied by the obligatory brown-trouser moment) As I said this is theoretical and a worst-case scenario - much more likely is that the water will corrode the pistons in your calipers and/or drums and cause them to stick or damage the rubber brake seals. All of which is avoidable by changing to fluid regularly. You'll also keep the bleed nipples free (unseized) by regular use. Brake fluid is too cheap not to change regularly. Good luck.

Morning V6 - Just tried this on our 2009 1.9 Roomster and courtesy lights (front and rear) come on when any door is opened. This is with ignition off or on - but of course they extinguish immediately a door is closed when Ign On rather than going through the delay and soft switch-off that you get when Ign is Off. HTH

It's on the VIN label stuck in the boot (spare wheel well) It is also stuck inside the front cover of the vehicle service history book. G/box code is the first three-letter group on the second line of heavy print - below the barcodes. Mine for example is JXZ for 1.9 Tdi Roomster.

This is often does not work with REAR calipers as the handbrake mechanism needs to be wound back in - hence the requirement for the correct tool. Edit - just thought a bit more about it and I see what you mean now - but as you point out it'll need octopus hands to keep it all together. Easier to spend the fifteen quid just for the ease of use.

Wheel bearing would be my first suspect, although I'm surprised it only does it on uneven surfaces - once they start to go they usually grumble all the time. Worth checking the simple stuff first - put the steering on full-lock (when parked) and have a good look around in there to make sure there are no foreign objects trapped in the brake caliper or suspension that could be rubbing on the tyre or wheel. If it does end up with a new wheel bearing then the ball-park figure should be about two hundred quid for a garage to do it. My sons 1.2 Fab needed one last year and the bill was £214 from Skoda. Good luck with it.

It's very easy as long as you remember the safety precautions of having the car SAFELY raised (axle stands - not just a jack) Obtain correct spec of gearbox oil from dealer (via TPS in UK, ask for some discount) Give the car a run to warm up the gearbox oil (aids the draining if it is warm) Jack up vehicle and insert axle stands. Locate the gearbox drain plug and also the filling plug. Cannot remember if they are allen sockets or torx sockets but they are a common size (offshore just now and no access to manual or car to check) Ensure that the filling plug can be removed before proceeding any further (it's a disaster if you drain the old oil only to find you can't get any new oil into the box !) Remove drain plug - drain old oil into receptacle. There's only a couple of litres in there (from memory) Replace drain plug. Refill gearbox with new oil via filling plug until oil is level with filling plug - just starts to dribble out. You'll need to squeeze the bottle to encourage it out as it is quite thick. Refit filling plug. Don't get any oil on yourself as it stinks like nothing else (and NOT in a good way !) Job done. Give it a test drive and revel in the newfound smoothness and quietness of your gearbox. Usual disclaimer applies - the above advice given in good faith (based on my own experience on these cars) but don't come looking for me if it all goes "nipples north" Good luck.

The 1.4 Tdi can suffer from it too - mine did. A change of gearbox oil cured it for the remainder of the time that I kept the car.

You're welcome wilbur. Nice to find a simple solution for once eh?

Changing the gearbox oil cured this problem entirely on my 1.4Tdi. I was sceptical whether it would have much effect but it certainly did. It took a bit less than two bottles of g/box oil and cost around twelve quid if memory serves (got it from TPS) Once the oil was replaced I never had to worry about beating the synchromesh again, even on quick getaways from the lights. Well worth a try.

Sorry, I can't recognise any of the sites showing on Google - but they have probably been updated since I bought mine. I can't see any bars that come with wiring included. Seems the current idea is to offer you the choice of a universal 7-pin socket at about twenty quid or the dedicated (plug and play) one at over a hundred quid - all on top of the actual towbar hardware at £180. The pfjones site has some informative pdf instructions and a video which should help to make a decision. But when I checked the fitting instructions for the dedicated wiring kit it now includes a box of electronics which wasn't included with my bar. There's cabling shown which you run forward to the dashboad/fusebox area - I've no idea what that is all about (possibly something to do with disabling reverse sensors when you have a trailer hooked up? but that's only a guess) Sorry I can't be more help at the moment. http://www.pfjones.c...le-tow-bar.html Pete

I got it offline but it's almost three years ago so I can't remember off the top of my head where it came from. I'd check the receipt but I'm offshore for the next ten days - I'll google it later on tonight and get back to you if I recognise anything.

N'ah - the two systems are entirely seperate. Starter motor is doing nothing at all once the engine has fired.

You'll need ramps at the very least. There's not a lot of clearance under these things. My workshop manual has stopped working (cd version) and needs to be reloaded onto my laptop - unfortunately the discs are at home and I'm in the middle of the North Sea for the next couple of weeks. Hopefully somebody with a current workshop manual can scan the required pages and send them to you. I should imagine that it would be a case of isolating the battery, remove undertray (for access) remove electrical connections and then unbolt motor from the bellhousing. Inspect, clean, repair, replace as necessary. Remember you may need your radio recoding after reconnecting battery. Do a search on here for starter motor removal. What mileage has the car done, has it done lots of short journeys thus giving the starter motor a hard life ? Usual CYA disclaimer applies - advice given in good faith but if it all goes "Pete Tong" then you've never heard of me!

Aah - sorry, I misunderstood your original post. I thought you meant the noise came when the switch was put to iGNITION ON rather than "START" - that's a different kettle o'fish entirely. You are probably correct in thinking it's the starter motor then. Obviously that'll sound like the front of the vehicle rather than in the tank and if it is grinding it sounds like a bendix or brush problem. I'd whip the beggar out and bench test it rather than simpy replacing it - there may be a problem with worn ring-gear (flywheel teeth) or maybe there's just dirt in there. It's a case of getting under there and eliminating the simple things first. Battery off first though, otherwise it'll get all sparkly down there (apologies if I'm being too obvious but you've got to CYA in today's blame and claim society :think: )