phoneman(ret)

Hi, Thanks for all the feedback, unable to drive at the moment (faulty foot) but will take up suggestions as soon as I can. Regarding DRLs, my car is a March 2017 Fabia 1.2 SE (£20 road tax !) and in the infotainment centre you can turn off the DRLs - not sure why you would want to do that ? The reason for the LED swap (done by garage at service in March 2024 - (too old for wheel arch contortions) was that a lot of VAG group cars had on or both DRLs out - if they were monitored by CanBus surely they would get a warning ? P21W bulbs are not designed for continuous use, they get hot and burn out. Since fitted, there have been no warnings, which means either they are not monitored or the bulbs realy are CanBus compatible. Bulbs are 382 P21W from HIDs Direct - very bright difused spot but the side mounted "chips" are not quite bright enough to react with the reflectors. Very good quality bulbs,aluminium castings, but have seen some better ? ones since on Ebay etc that have moe "chips" on the sides. If you think it is usefull, I will put a general post regarding DRL LED swap. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Anyone got this car ?? Should have done this some time ago but for various reasons it got fogotten. Traded in the Scout Feb 2023 which had its winter wheels on so I still have the Proteus alloys as originally fitted, with 4 good Avon ZV7 tyres. Had the car from amost new (10 months) and it was the best tow-car I have ever owned. Large number of things needed replacing the cost of which was around what the car was worth, so sadly it had to go - if you have got it PLEASE don't tell me what it cost to repair !! I coldn't do any of the work myself ! Its best part was the 8V engine, 95k miles used no oil and almost no emissions, never had any DPF problems. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi Nigel, Yes, I was joking - the first time I looked under the bonnet I thought someone had installed a small oil refinery, so many pipes ! This is what the full service included, at a well known indy garage in Sheffield, which used to service my Scout for over 14 years. Major service Extended multi point inspection, computer diagnostic check, service indicator reset, service book stamp or update of Digital Service Schedule (if appropriate), oil change with Volkswagen UK supplied lubricants, Oil filter change, Screen wash top up with Volkswagen UK supplied fluid, Anti-freeze top up, Lights checked, Sump plug or washer replaced, Pollen filter changed, Fuel filter changed (Diesel)*, Air filter changed, spark plugs changed (Petrol), vacuum interior. Contact us if your vehicle is on variable interval servicing, or if you would like to change it to variable intervals. High voltage battery charged on hybrid vehicles. All consumables are Volkswagen Genuine Parts™. All services include a complimentary vehicle health check. Long gone are my days of taking engines to bits, as cars got more complicated I found there was less I could do and now its only checking oil & water, battery charging, tyres & screen wash etc. Oil temp is up to 90c after a relativly short run, but as soon as I can drive again, I will give it some longer runs. Last years MOT emissions were well in limits. I have done one mod to the car, got the garage to fit me some LED DRLs since a lot of VAG cars drive around with only one DRL lit, not monitored by CanBus so no problems. Thanks for your help, Lloyd

Hi, Firstly, thank you all for your posts - its realy helpful since I have only had the car less than 2 years. From the start I was quite surprised how it drove and performed (very good in town) and on the motorway. When I bought the car, it had no service history and so it got a full service at around 61k mikes - now has a shade under 70k we don't do much miles these days. Best MPG I have had (rarely) was 55 but it does do a lot of short journeys, but up to normal temperature all times (warms up quickly !!). Due to ill health, haven't been able to check tyre pressures or overheating brakes, but will do this ASAP. Main worry is MOT next month and if it is running rich, then the CAT may have suffered and emissions are bad. I was hoping for an instant fault diagnosis - change this sensor (lots to choose from) and all is well !! Don't want a garage changing this and that at £100s a go. Sorry, just added, don't use Start/Stop gets switched off as soon as engine started - should mean that the large battery will last a long time. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Thanks for the response, don't think brakes are binding but will check - Wow ! wish I was getting AG falco mileage !! Engine is 1.2 TSI , manual, with just under 70k miles on the clock. When first bought, it would accelerate very well with little effort but now seems quite sluggish when cold (always starts first time hot or cold) improving as it warms up, but not as before. It does do a lot of short journeys, gets a fastish run every now and then, but has been doing similar driving style since bought. Would some petrol additive help ? Or a tank of higher octane ? Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, In February 2023 I bought a 2017 (March) 1.2 Fabia SE. This was a downsize ! from a 2008 2.0l Scout which had a LOT of expensive problems pending. The Fabia never seemed to get anywhere near published MPG, but returned an average 400 miles for each fill up. A few months back with no change in driving this dropped to aound 320 miles and stayed there. Any thoughts on the sudden reduction in MPG ? Otherwise, I am very happy with the car and surprised by the performance of the small turbo engine. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Sorry for the delay in replying and thanks Nigel for the information. Looks as if access to the DRL bulbs is via a cover in the front of the wheel arch (thought only Vauhall Astras were that odd). May have a look at removing the headlight unit complete (on the Scout, unscrew one plastic nut, pull a release lever and out it came) much easier than grovelling about under the wheel arch ! I want to change the main/dip bulbs as well (H4) for something a bit brighter - first time I drove in the dark, only just realised headlights were on, 14 years of HID lights ! - so if it will come off easily, I will give it a try. Will swap one DRL for LED and see if the bulb monitoring complains, if OK, will then swap the other. Will post the results of my attempts (if successful !) so anyone else could have a go. Next job is the missing ? cruise control. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, I have posted a few topics on the Octavia 2 forum in the last 14 years and have received much useful advice - but this is my last post ! My 2008 Octavia Scout has gone ahead of needing mega money to fix all that was going wrong - new clutch, DMF, pads & discs all round, all CV joint boots and thats just the start, still had propshaft drone around 2k rpm in 6th and waiting for front suspension to give way. Having said all that, it has been my best tow-car ever (two 2.0l Cavaliers, Subaru Forester) and has only let me down once when battery (original) failed after six years. On a run easily got 40-45 MPG with a best recorded (at 70) of 57 MPG. Never failed to pull caravan off any surface, mud, snow etc and was a pleasure to drive - the 8V BMM engine, I think, the best of the 2.0TDI - emissions constantly almost zero and NEVER a problem with DPF. Hope you are sat down reading this as its replacement is a 17 plate Fabia 1.2SE TSI and if you can get a greater contrast, please let me know ! Was quite surprised by the 1.2 engine which has almost a diesel quality torque wise, £20 tax instead of around £280 and good fuel consumption fits the bill now as we no longer tow or need to move wardrobes, ladders (and believe it or not a full size bath IN the car) about. So farewell to the Octavia 2 forum, thanks for all the help and advice and good luck to you all. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, I have a 17 plate Fabia 1.2SE TSI. Has anyone fitted CanBus compatible LED bulbs to DRLs and if so which ones (some are more compatible than others). There seem to be quite a few to choose from - fitting LEDs to DRLs will NOT fail an MOT, unlike headlights. Want to fit LED bulbs as I have seen a lot of VAG group cars that use P21W bulbs for DRL with one or even both lights out. Bulbs on all the time don't seem to last long. I have been building towing electrics test equipment (for DIY and trade) for 20 years - before CanBus my towing socket testers just used LEDs for monitoring circuits. When CanBus turned up, these suddenly didn't work - found out after a bit of "digging" that adding a 100 ohm resistor across the LED "fooled" CanBus into thinking a bulb was present and it would output 12V. But the downside was (not important for just testing) that you got a bulb failure warning - not enough current being pulled. Owners of newer caravans with LED lights even have had to add an additional unit (Sargent). Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Thanks for your replies, should have known about the turbo !! Found the (rather dim) dipped beam light - why not with high beam warning in cluster ? there are so many warning lights in there, maybe not room for another. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, New to Fabia Mk 3 forum as I have just bought a 1.2SE (March 17 plate), Last car was a 2008 Scout !! which I had for 14 years, some would say quite a change !! New car low insurance and £20 tax for year, instead of over £23 per month. Just a few questions please, answers much appreciated. Does the 1.2 (66kW) engine have a turbo ? Quite surprised by the performance and torque from such a small engine. It has what I thought was cruise control which I wanted (same "stalk" as on Scout) but it seems only to be a speed limiter, which I don't need. A button underneath the "stalk" is missing - which I presume switches from one to the other (finding drivers handbook vague). Any chance of getting cruise control, switching it on permanently ? Sorry if this has been covered many times already. Also seem to be missing a headlights on indicator (dipped beam) though have a main beam indicator. That's all for now, sure to find other things to ask about, used the Octavia Mk2 forum for many years getting and on occasions giving advice. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Thanks for your thoughts and advice. Car just passed its 11th ? MOT, state of brakes mentioned but nothing else. Will try and have a drive in a 1.6TDI, (16 to early 17 plate) but am prepared to be a bit disapointed. May have a look at other makes or another 2.0lTDI but without four wheel drive. Don't do many miles now so fuel consumption doesn't come into the equation. After over 13 years driving a diesel, don't know if I want to go back to petrol (last car was a Subaru Forester, excellenr 4x4 with low ratio box but very underpowered - non turbo 2.0l) are petrol engines these days producing too much power for their own good ? Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, A few years ago I had trouble with front o/s light, but this time it was an indicator bulb showing failed on CanBus (with warning light). It corrected itself after a short time and was OK for the rest of the journey. After it had done this a few times, I changed the bulb but with same fault. I then pulled out the headlight cluster plug and plugged it back in a couple of times - no more trouble since. Same fault ?? My cars HID lights are now over 14 years old and have started to show a yellow "tint" at the top of the beam when shining on a white garage door - may be ready for some new ones. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi Jan, My car does the same ! mainly in 5th or 6th gear at around 2200 RPM. It has gradually got worse over a number of years - useful for keeping to 70 MPH limit on motorways though as it occurs at around 75 MPH in 6th gear ! Have been told that the fault is the couplings on the prop-shaft ( 4 wheel drive Scout) but it would cost a LOT of money to fix. If your car is not a 4x4, sorry I haven't been much help. Cheers, Lloyd

HI, I have a 14 year old Scout with the 2.0l, 8V PD engine. Only done 93k miles, uses no oil between services and at its last MOT its emissions were almost non-existant. Around town, 40 mpg is the norm, on a steady run at 70, 50mpg is normal, best ever (recently) was 57 mpg - not bad for an old 2.0l engine. Has very good cruise control & rear parking sensors, HID headlights still good and everything "above ground" is fine. The problems start underneath !! Just had its latest, interim, service and a whole can of worms was found. Needs - new front and rear discs and pads & new CV boots all round. Now thats the cheap ? bit ! cluch is almost finished and there is a small rattle from the DMF ,mind you it has been like that for a number of years. Exhaust still OK & front suspension & Haldex but for how long ? Don't want to start throwing money at what may be a lost cause. Bought the car for towing (1200kg caravan + extras) which it was excellent at doing, but now no longer tow so don't need 2.0l power - though I shall miss the easy way it gets down the road. After all that ramble, I will get to the point. I NEED A NEW(ER) CAR !!! Would like to stay with diesel, but downsize to say 1.6 BUT are they any good ??? The 2.0l PD engine is very good and I will miss all that torque, but have been looking at the 1.6l TDI 115PS but hearing expensive problems with EGR etc. Any advice on cars & engines (even petrol ones) would be much appreciated - will stay with the Octavia model, if I can, though may have to downsize to a Fabia. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, Had hot starting problems for a few years and finally got round to doing something about it. Car would start first time in the coldest weather (inspite of having four open circuit glow-plugs) but once it had warmed up it took a few turns before it would fire. It was not battery related - same with brand new and older batteries. Had the cam position sensor changed - not cheap but a DIY job if you are able - and from then on it started first time hot or cold. Changed a crank position sensor on my daughers car (1.4 Kia Rio) because cold starting, OK but after it had warmed up engine just cut oiut without warning - changed sensor (easy job that one) and no problems afterwards. Cheers, Lloyd

Hi, My 2008 Scout has Proteus alloys and afer a few years they were getting tatty. Problem apears to be the laquer doesn't stick well to the diamond cut spoke surface. I think they are the best looking alloy wheel (easy to clean) and nice chunky spokes. Got them grit blasted and powder coated, think it cost around £60 per wheel, and now they are a uniform silver grey finish, nice and understated, Goes well with the dark blue paint. Never had any leaking problems - was fitted from factory with Dunlop SP 1 tyres, but for the last few years has been running on Avon ZV 7, which seem to be better than the Dunlops. Steel wheels and winter tyres go on in November - helps protect alloys from salt and hidden potholes ! Cheers, Lloyd