PetrolDave

On the 1.4TSI & 1.5TSI the water pump is on the opposite end of the engine and I can only recall seeing 1 owner on here comment about having water pump problems. Contrast this with the 2.0TSI where the water pump is on the same end of the engine of the cam belt and there have been numerous posts on here about water pump problems. Taking all this into account I don't see why OP should be concerned about whether the water pump has been changed on a 1.4TSI or 1.5TSI?

If Skoda still haven't fitted a plastic engine cover (cost saving measure compared to VW & Audi) then if on the top of the engine there are 4 large blue(?) solenoids then the engine has ACT.

Just do it the proper way from now on, it will take more than one charging for the BMS to correct its view of the battery SoC but it will get there. BTW since lockdown 1 last year I've been using a 15W solar charger from Amazon plugged into the 12V socket in the centre console - start/stop works within a couple of miles of leaving home (when allowed out!) and the battery voltage never drops below 12.6V

What dashcam do you have?

There will always be hackers that can remove component protection, so as always it's a case of the car manufacturers playing catchup.

The key point is that any journey has to be for an allowed reason - exercise (once a day and staying local), shopping, caring for someone or going to work (if you can't work from home), so going out for a drive 'for the sake of it' is NOT allowed. That means that matmacka's statement that " I carry on using my car as no rules against it in your local area" isn't correct, as every time you go out in your car it has to be for an allowed reason. I may be more keen than most on helping people to comply with the regulations after having spent time in Intensive Care with Covid-19 in January - during which time the doctors told me that there were 3 days when my condition wasn't improving and it was 'touch and go' whether I would be leaving the hospital feet first in a wooden box

I had an Audi A4 Sport with the 130PS 1.9PD and the 6 speed gearbox - I had it mapped to 180PS and never had any problem with the gearbox.

Just once a day though

That's true but you're not allowed to go for a drive for the sake of it, see:

IIRC the early 2.0TDI had a weakness with the drive to the oil pump, sorted eventually.

I got the impression that OP was asking whether he could update his Columbus with the original Amundsen maps on the SD card - since he made no mention of replacing the maps with the correct Columbus ones? Of course if he quick formats the SD card and downloads the Columbus maps onto it then it should work.

No, the Amundsen uses different maps to the Columbus.

Component Protection can only be cleared by either a VAG dealer or an independent garage which has paid for FAZIT access (online access to the VAG servers to confirm that the item is not listed as stolen). Of course there are people that can hack the firmware...

On several forums it's been said that VAG have made all their cars start in Normal mode to avoid more questions over emissions tweaks.

I tried to update the BIOS in my former PC in 2015 - it ended in tears, even replacing the BIOS EEPROM (it was a fairly old motherboard and the BIOS chip had leads and was in a socket!) didn't recover the motherboard, so it was new PC time.

See Tayna all of these Varta Start/Stop batteries are under £200 inc VAT I've used Tayna for batteries for both my previous 2 cars and been happy with their service.

Not a software update but a coding change to the battery management module - especially as you're planning on fitting a battery with higher Ah rating. I also have a 1.4TSI and when my battery needs replacing I'm going to fit a Varta E39 Silver Dynamic AGM battery (096AGM).

It won't harm the battery but it will confuse the battery management system on the car as it won't know that the battery has been charged.

Are you sure that's the correct thing to do? If you are in the UK then we have right hand DRIVE cars because we drive on the left side of the road and hence have left hand TRAFFIC.

I guess we must have been lucky then as SWMBOs 1.2 Fabia was bought in 2005 and sold in 2016 with no timing chain related issues.

Not sure I believe a word of that 'explanation' - a radio station having to renew a licence with EVERY car manufacturer? I don't think so Do logo updates work on other VAG models based on the same platform e.g Golf 8, and on other manufacturers cars?

Do you mean only the twin charger version? SWMBO had a 2005 Fabia with a 1.2 3-cylinder normally aspirated engine for 11 years and it never missed a beat.

... in order to force owners to go to VAG dealers? If it was just about data protection then VAG would have implemented a means for independent workshops to access SFD - without having to pay the huge costs of ODIS/FAZIT which are uneconomic for many independents.

Do you mean crunching? If so it sounds like a weak synchromesh on 2nd gear. How many miles/kilometres has your Octavia done?

The hydraulic brake is only held on for a few seconds after the vehicle comes to a halt, for TJA to work it needs the EPB to apply the non-hydraulic rear brakes. Yes the Octavia III does NOT have EPB hence TJA is impossible on an Octavia III, but is possible on the Golf 7 & 7.5 and Octavia IV which DO have EPB.