PetrolDave

@varaderoguyWhat makes you think that the A5 camera is needed for HBA? As you can see from my earlier post it also works with the 20 camera on 'my' 2015 Octavia.

A CHMSL (Center High Mounted Stop Light) was mandatory is the US in 1988 so most car manufacturers that sold in the US fitted then to cars sold in other markets too. Even 1998 is 23 years ago, and the vast majority of cars on the roads are a lot younger than 23 years - so my argument that 3 brake lights cannot be confused with 2 rear fog lights is still valid.

A 3rd brake light has been mandatory on new designs in the EU even before I started work for an automotive consultancy back in 1988 - there can't be that many cars still on the road that were designed before then and hence have only 2 brake lights. IMHO fitting a single rear fog light (on the centre or offside) is nothing more than a cost saving exercise (for example, my first Audi B6 A4 had 2 rear fog lights but as part of a midlife "facelift" they removed the nearside rear fog light but after customer complaints they restored 2 rear fog lights on the Audi B7 A4).

I've never understood that reasoning - there are 3 brake lights (left, right and high mounted centre) but only a maximum of 2 rear fog lights...

Diagnostic Trouble Code

The stewards IMHO seem to have a 'blind spot' regarding Verstappen but have 20:20 vision regarding Hamilton. I'm increasing seeing Verstappen in the same vein as Michael Schumacher - a brilliant driver who feels the need to cheat - which saddens me as anyone that doesn't win the title World Champion in a fair fight isn't worthy of that title IMHO.

The problem i had was not in the motor/servo but in the two levers that connected the motor to the flap. The joint where those levers should swivel freely had rough sections left over from being moulded which would sometimes cause them to jam - so the motor moved freely (using VCDS output test not by hand, the gear ratio makes the effort required very large) when disconnected from them and the flap could be moved freely by hand - so for me the problem was clearly in the mechanism, and solving that saved the cost of a new motor!

With the motor disconnected can you move the flap easily by hand? I had a similar problem on an earlier car where the mechanism between the motor and the flap could jam, I had to remove some moulding flashes on the plastic parts of the mechanism to stop it jamming.

Exactly what I did and it worked every time.

Given that IIRC there has only been mention of one report on here of a cambelt failure on an EA211 engine you're not going to get any significant information from that question. IMHO it would be more useful to ask how long people have been running with the original cambelt (times and miles/km) as that would elicit more replies. Having said all that as this is a negative clearance engine (like the vast majority of modern engines the piston will hit a mistimed valve) the effect of cambelt failure will be many times more expensive than a precautionary cambelt change IMHO.

Exactly.

Given the lack of consistent information from VAG importers about the cambelt life on the EA211 (some say it's for life, some including the UK Skoda importer say 5 years or 50K miles) I chose to bite the bullet and have the cambelt replaced after 5 years - and declined the offer to replace the water pump as (unlike on the 2.0 TSI) it's on the other end of the engine and reports of it failing are very rare.

That's fine IF you can get onto a rapid charger - but the reality at the moment is that the number of rapid chargers at the motorway service areas I've stopped at this year is between 2 & 8 (the average being 4). How many petrol/diesel pumps is there at most motorway service areas? - 12, 16,... - something like that. So clearly on anything approaching a busy day (don't even think about the extreme holiday days on the M5 through Somerset and Devon) the strong likelihood is that there will not be a free rapid charger and unless you want a stop that is likely to extend to an hour (or maybe even 2) then you will want enough range to be able to move on to the next stop (in another 2 hours and 100+ miles). I still contend that unless and until there are as many rapid chargers at EVERY motorway service area (and equivalent on major roads) you need enough range to cover at least 6 hours driving (to allow for unavailable rapid chargers plus some margin) in winter which means a 300 miles WINTER range, hence my figure of a manufacturers figure of 400 miles.

IIRC in Individual you can set the mode of the ACC separate from the throttle and gearbox modes (might be wrong since I haven't driven an Octavia since July!).

That doesn't solve the problem of how long it takes to charge - it's just a sticking plaster to keep *some* (business?) people distracted - but for those with young children (I see no mention of a creche) or pets it's of no benefit. I still say the EV & infrastructure solution needed by families is range at least equal to the average family petrol vehicle (i.e. 400 miles or more) and a recharge time of less than 10 minutes.

That's a valid argument while charging at home, at work or whilst shopping - but is not valid when charging in the middle of a journey at e.g. a motorway service area or a roadside garage/charging station - where there is nothing you can do to "get on with your life" except wait for the charging to complete (or at least get far enough to complete the journey).

This is one of the longest running problems reported on here, but it does seem that a recent trial fix is now being rolled out - there are threads in this forum from the owner who took part in the trial.

Surely it's not an unreasonable expectation to expect that a new car can be "refuelled" in the same time that the car it replaced? Going from a few minutes to a few hours is not going to be seen as a positive step by many people, especially those with small children to keep entertained whilst waiting, or those who just regard a car as a box that gets them from A to B.

That's a bold statement which I don't believe is correct of the majority of car drivers in the UK - yes current EV drivers either knew or have learnt it, but I strongly believe that the vast majority of the public have no understanding that battery capacity and hence EV range will be reduced when it's colder - and will not be pleased when they find out the hard way!

This is what needs to be solved before owning ONLY an EV will be a viable option for many people especially those living 'out in the sticks' - it's all about range, range, range (apologies to Phil & Kirstie of Location, Location, Location).

Petrol vRS has a timing chain, 1.4 & 1.5 petrol have a timing belt.

Don't the new clutches need the clamping pressure calibrating after fitting? I seem to remember reading about this on the VCDS (Ross-Tech) website.

I always found the anticipation on the drive home before I could rip the CD to MP3 made it more enjoyable listening to the ripped version next time I was in the car.

I was replying to FlyingGecko who commented on the size of the roof cubby - when one is fitted.

A 65 plate Octavia is almost certain to have a MIB2 infotainment unit (depends on production date not registration date) and hence no CD player - which IIRC was only in MIB1 units.