numskull

Very true…..’ish 😂

Well, when we bought the MKII, I was thinking about selling the MKI then, but because I loved the car and it wasn’t worth much and we’d spent a fortune on it too - we had the usual oil pump failure and that was replaced with the revised pump, plus the turbo, intercooler and associated pipework were all replaced as they’d been damaged, had the usual leak via the air filter housing which ruined the convenience unit, so we had the housing sealed with the correct kit, had the whole interior and carpets removed and dried, replaced the convenience unit, the associated wiring harnesses, replaced the parking sensors etc. all of which was done at a main dealer - and it was in excellent physical shape too, so I just kept it. It was only when I retired and we’d bought the 280 and traded the MKII, that common sense (and SWMBO’s protestations) finally prevailed and so we sold it, but to a person who really wanted it and I’m delighted that it’s being loved, looked after and used by someone else and it is in even better shape now.

When I spoke with Ctek before I bought the charger, they confirmed that the battery can be left on the trickle programme indefinitely. This was important as I intended to use this on our MKI PD140 when the then fairly new replacement battery lost its charge over a few months and I wanted to keep it healthy…. and I was fed-up with running the engine for an hour on idle to keep it charged! I used the charger for about five years, between 2016 and 2021 and during that period, I used the battery conditioning programme once annually. It was only ever off the charger to get it MOT’d or when I took it out for a run every 6 months or so. When I was in the process of selling her to a fellow Briskodian, I moved the car from the garden drive to the front drive and it was then off charge for around a month as I was now using it on the 280. When it came to starting it for the roadtest, she started immediately; it’s now on its third owner and still on the same RAC battery. So I’d say that’s quite a good recommendation for the Ctek tech.

Throughout lockdown and during the 6 months when I was unable to drive following that, the car sat on the drive in the garden connected to the C-Tek. It’s back on now and started without a problem this morning.

Another thing to go pop…..🙄

That or the flap unit has failed. I suspect mine is on the way out as it’s creaking like billyo! 🙄

Perfect AS; I look forward to meeting up when you’ve cracked it matey! 👍🏻

Update I had the battery tested by the RAC earlier today - results are below. So, there is nowt wrong with the battery. In fact he was quite surprised that a 7 year old 680en battery was showing a test rating of 671 and it was holding its charge OK. However, it was only showing a 47% charge, which he supposed was caused by very short local journeys, which I confirmed to be correct so he told me to shove it on the C-Tek overnight and take it for a decent run tomorrow using as little load as possible and then put it back on the charger for 24 hours. Finally - and this was interesting - he said when it does fail, he confirmed that firstly, the replacement battery would be adapted to the car and secondly, they would replace the current EFB with an AGM unit, primarily so the RAC can be assured it should outlast their 5 Year battery warranty, as they still experience early failures of OE EFB units.

Thanks for the link and that puts my mind at rest. Yeah, I’m well aware of the RAC sales targets for batteries, however, I’m in the market for one.

Yep, I agree, hence the questions re the RAC.

It’s the original battery so close to 7 years old. No idea what type it is, but I’ll take a pic this morning and post it.

Had the first battery warning on trying to start the car this morning at -5c; definitely struggled to start. Was fine after running for a few minutes, but we have a big trip coming up need to have it replaced. I’ve just noticed that I have battery replacement cover included in our RAC membership, so I was wondering if anyone knows if they’ll replace it with a proper like-for like unit (no idea which manufacturers the RAC branded batteries are) plus do they have the tools and experience to adapt the battery to the car?

Does anyone have an estimate of the cost of the BCM and the DCC controller so early models can be modded?

Well, to be accurate, I quoted a selection by the OP from his post you quoted in your post…. …which I’ve now corrected. WOW!!! So they didn’t know what the fault was on the previous 1/2 doz visits hence why they were unable to resolve the problem (nah… there’s nothing wrong there/they all have that feature/do that) but, quite miraculously, now, they do and guess what… this one (which they’ve admitted now there is a fault and therefore there has always been a fault - keep hold of that) does not involve replacing the head unit. Brilliant. And utter boolocks; dealers simply lie with impunity and quite incredibly, a straight face.

WOW!!! So they didn’t know what the fault was on the previous 1/2 doz visits hence why they were unable to resolve the problem (nah… there’s nothing wrong there/they all have that feature/do that) but, quite miraculously, now, they do and guess what… this one (which they’ve admitted now there is a fault and therefore there has always been a fault - keep hold of that) does not involve replacing the head unit. Brilliant. And utter boolocks; dealers simply lie with impunity and quite incredibly, a straight face.

You shouldn’t’ve waited 2.5 years but you know that. You should construct an email, giving a précis of the issue, then in bullet point form, giving the dates and numbers of loss of use days you have experienced; ignore courtesy cars etc. because they are not the car you paid to drive. Call SUK and ask to speak to their Customer Quality Manager, Emmaline Bruce (how you “manage” the “quality” of “customers” I really don’t know!). Don’t take no for an answer, as they’re masters of dodging, delaying and deflecting. When you get to speak to her, or their nominated subordinate, follow-up with the email, including Bruce, and time bound it for a response with a solution (you want a new unit of course) so 5 working days should suffice.

Blimey! I paid £695 on our MKII 5 years ago at a Skoda main stealer.

After the Conti All Season tyres were fitted on Tuesday, the tyres were so disgusting being covered in fitting lube, I decided to clean car for the first time in two months yesterday. So Tyres first, using Gyeon Q2M Tire Cleaner. Wheels next; pressure washed to remove the light brake dust, then cleaned the alloys using two buckets filled with filtered water and Poorboys Superslick, using a noodle glove and EZ wheel brush. Then I Snowfoamed the entire car - twice - with a medium pressure wash down in between. Then I shampooed with Car-Chems 1900:1 Pure which, if you haven’t used it, is the slipperiness shampoo you’ll find and, at 15ml to 25litres, it lasts and lasts. I used a Race Glaze filter on the final rinse, dried down using my pet drier (just as good as the very expensive yet remarkably similar dedicated “car” units!) and fluffy microfibres and finally I topped-up the TW Graphene Wax on the bonnet, door tops and boot-lid. Unfortunately I was too cold, in too much pain wiv me poor ol’ back, cold to the bone and knackered to do the roof and doors and to dress the tyres. Still three hours well spent and it looks much better for it.

Take it to a specialist; could be loads of things.

Thanks varooom; saved for the inevitable change which, given its nearly 7 years old, must be due imminently.

I have the OE ones and they’re both excellent.

Yep, they don’t work with lights in Eco mode. I don’t understand the point of it really.

Sounds like they’re working then?

When you switch them on, do they do the set-up dance, so they go left, down, right etc.?

I wouldn’t worry too much as it’s probably something really simple an may not ever happen again. But in any event, there’s certainly no reason to consider getting rid of a fantastic car. Ours through-up a Christmas tree of warnings 18 months ago - no ABS, no ESC, no adaptive cruise, no TPS blah, blah and I had a 1000 miles to cover. I was like AGGGGHHHHH - the car is a dud!!! 😩 Turned out to be the NSR wheel sensor had failed. 😂 As for the error code - and this isn’t directed to you - I thought VCDS will pull all fault codes?