numskull

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?

Yep. That’s who I originally used. Decided to give the business to a small indy, thinking they need the business after C19. Never again.

Decided to go ahead and I had the tyres fitted this morning. Chalk and cheese. The staff were polite, efficient and the garage was clean and tidy. In and out in 45 mins. I’m getting the wheel refurbed tomorrow and will submit the receipt for a refund; they’ve also agreed to a £100 goodwill refund on the tyres. I won’t be using them again. Tyres are great, but will report back after a few hundred miles, as brand new ones are always quieter and generally drive far better than old, irrespective of make/type.

….use National Tyres. They used to be poor, but now Halfrauds have bought them, they’re absolutely abysmal. I had booked to have 4 All Season Contis fitted at my local National via TyreShopper, another National now H company. Their useless website would not allow a booking to be made there, so a very helpful person at the National call centre to me to reserve them at another branch and they would then book the tyres to be delivered to my local branch. I turn up last Friday at 09.50 for the 10am booking. They check the booking and they remove the wheels and tyres. At 10.15 I’m told there’s a problem; they don’t have the tyres. I’m asked if I made the booking for Kingston and I explained the situation. He says they didn’t change the booking and they’ll be at the other branch. He rings them. They’ve put them in a cab and they’ll be here in 30 mins. Not a chance think I. At 11.10, I tell them to refit the P7’s. Simple game; knowing they’re don’t have the tyres, they go-ahead and remove the ones to be replaced giving the customer no choice but to wait til tyres arrive. I also see them scamming women into changing perfectly sound pads and discs. £695 for a front set on a Fabia but they’ll do them for £550. They also tried the same on the driver of a BMW 3 series; “see this (1mm) ridge here on the outside of the disc - that means it’s failed; they’ll all be the same so you need new discs and pads all round!” I leave at 11.40 and complain. The booking was made there and the tyres were delivered to them on Wednesday. They’ve also damaged an alloy. They’ve agreed to pay for the refurb and have offered an insult of a free MOT which I rejected. Booking is now made at a local Halfrauds today, but it should have been tomorrow - brilliant. 🙄 In two minds whether to cancel and get a refund.

Moving the seat all the way forward and then all the way back, or vise-versa, has worked for me in the past.

Yeah, it does.

Blimey… I can only dream of 50mpg on the motorway. I get 25 urban and the best I’ve had is 39 on a number of trips to/from Ireland. But then again, a 330bhp car returning 39 ain’t bad, is it?

OK, OK; I concede; Pirelli P7’s are complete and utterly ****e tyres, thee worlds-worst premium ditch-finding widow/er makers the world has ever seen and Pirelli deserve to go bust on the back of producing them. Everyone happy now? 😂 Conti All Season being fitted Friday. Eventually paid £710 fitted via Tyre Shopper (which, of course, is now Halfords).