JuanOlpharte

Thanks for the compliment Plymouth Red! I use variations on other forums. Replacing the pollen filter has stopped the smell of flatulence which was pervading my car (not from me I can assure you) but the condensation problem is still there. The old filter was not damp but was black and contained a few dead moths - it was two years old. I have had a dehumidifier in the car for days and nights now to no avail and I can find no damp carpets anywhere. Today I set off with no condensation visible and drove for 50 minutes through sleet and snow, parked for two hours and returned to a car totally fogged up inside. I do wonder whether the problem is more a lack of ventilation than anything else and whether removing the pollen filter altogether might help. Does anyone know if the aircon control flaps close when the car ignition is turned off? If so, this would result in a lack of ventilation overnight or when parked. Whatever the cause, it is certainly a problem.

I have just replaced my pollen filter and the most difficult part was putting the felt panel back in place under the passenger glovebox. I'm 66 years old and have an arthritic spine so it can't be that difficult!!

I seem to remember with my 2008 Octy that I can roll down the windows, get out and lock the doors with the remote and then put my arm into the car through the open window and hey presto the alarm goes off! Jim

Thanks fordfan for that reply. It confirms what I suppose I thought. A bit of plus and minus as with most things. I'll wait and see if my approach to the dealer's parent company produces any positive result. I hope that others will check their agreements to see if they are really what they thought they bought.

I thought I might revive this thread as I have just had a poor experience regarding a Fixed Cost Maintenance agreement. A year ago I bought my Octavia and took out an agreement to cover the cost of service and maintenance, paying by monthly installments. My car was set up, at my insistence, for fixed interval servicing as I cover only about 10,000miles annually. The salesman at the time recommended that for the agreement I bump up the expected annual mileage "to be on the safe side" and I opted to put down my expected mileage as 12,000. Subsequently the local dealer closed down and a new Skoda dealer started up. Yesterday I took my car to the local Skoda Dealer for servicing as the warning had been boinging away at me. The dealer asked Skoda for authorisation which was refused. Apparently as my predicted annual mileage was 12,000, the agreement only covered variable interval servicing. SkodaAuto Finance have told me that I cannot alter the agreement and that I have the choice of waiting until the variable interval service is due or cancelling the current agreement and taking out another with a lower predicted mileage. I am currently chasing the parent company of the dealer that mis-sold me the agreement and I am cancelling the agreement with SkodaAuto Finance. I am not a happy bunny as the saying goes as I appear to have lost a year's worth of payments. If I get my car serviced by an independent VAG registered specialist, APS in Brackley has been recommended, how will my warranty be affected? Does anyone here know the answer?

I agree, looks good!

I have today heard from Hughes of Aylesbury that they will open for business on 1 May 2009 as a Skoda Dealership. I found their details on the main Skoda website as Coming Soon.

For me the high gloss kills the idea. Matt black would look better.

Hi lozgti I accept your point, that is what I have always been taught but if I have to keep wiping the screen as I go through the road-narrows on our road, I might be more of a danger to other people than usual! If I lived elsewhere I wouldn't be so concerned and I would definitely just get on the road and go.

PSM I spotted your reply after posting my comment. The fact that your air con goes into a special routine must be indicative of the best route to follow. This must be tried on my next cold start! Thank you for that.

Thank you for your replies. As I thought there might be, a range of ideas and arguments - pros and cons! GriffoVRS has a point that seemed logical from this morning's experience - residual moisture condensing on the screen. I found that I could see for only the time taken to cover the 100 metres and then suddenly the screen was fogged over. In the past I have used kitchen paper to clear condensation, this also leaves few smears. I'll keep a roll handy next time. I think that I will also try letting the engine idle on the drive before setting out and see if that helps. Again, thanks for your thoughts.

Thanks for the reply mikel543. My Climatic does not have Econ, but true enough I did not have all passenger vents closed so perhaps not enough air was getting to the screen. Certainly the air con was on and the temperature control was set to maximum but the engine takes an age to warm up (total miles to date just over 3000) and cold/luke-warm air was certainly being produced for most of the trip - a round trip of only about six miles but on reasonable A roads. I feel that the old Passat would have done better, but perhaps that would be due to the petrol engine? I noticed on another thread that adverse comments were being made about the heated rear screen and I would agree with them. The other evening no real impression was made on the mist with only two people (including myself) in the car in a distance of about two miles in slowish traffic. Perhaps I should start the engine early and hope that it has warmed up a bit before setting out? I have always been under the impression that this is bad for the engine. I thought that the heating system would have been more efficient in a vehicle basically designed for harsher climates than the UK. But then the driver's door seals on the Passat froze regularly to the body work and the lock mechanisms froze solid on many occasions - I hope this will not happen with the Octavia! We shall see!!

I have just returned from a school run, the first of many I am sure, during the colder and wetter weather. I had the experience of having to pull into the side of the road only 100 metres from home as the windscreen had suddenly fogged up in spite of the blower being on max and the air directed onto the windscreen (Climatic air conditioning). This will be my first Autumn/Winter driving my Octavia 1.9tdi Ambiente estate and I wonder if some of you old hands have some tips for getting going in the morning in the poorer weather? This is my first diesel car, my last vehicle having been a VW Passat 1.8 petrol estate which I had for 12 years.

Thank You! That works - I thought that that button was only to adjust the clock.

Greetings from a newbie to Skoda. As the title asks, how many trip meters are there on the Octavia? There is the Total Mileage, Trips 1 and 2 and..... Currently I see the Total Mileage when the ignition is turned off (1650 miles) and can display 1 (reset to zero) or 2 (also reset to zero) but I have one which displays (660 miles) as I am driving and have found no way to reset it to zero. I have tried the right hand stalk button to display this reading but it does not appear in that menu. Can anyone tell me how to reset this please? Thank you!