softscoop

My 1.9 PD also failed MOT on emissions recently. Not surprising as this year it's mostly been confined to pottering journeys. 0.8 limit on the VIN plate - failing at 1.2 average. I ran the tank down low to 60 miles range, and then added a bottle of Redex Diesel treatment. Only chose Redex as I was in Wilco and saw it on the shelf, saves paying for delivery. Ran the car really hard for a 20 mile trip there and back. Then filled up with 1/2 a tank of premium diesel. MOT easily passed a few days later at 0.6. Having had a good read of the MOT manual, if the value on the VIN plate is not legible or not even there, then a pre 2008 turbo car reverts back to the default limit of 3.0 on the smoke test....

I think there was a set of DRLs that was an option to fit there. I have seen one before fitted to a german Oct mk2 in that place, as well as the fogs and they looked factory.

I can't believe it but here is another one. Currently for sale on the vRS FB page.

Found a compatible one on ebay for £13.95 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/03-13-AUDI-A3-8P-TT-8J-GATEWAY-INTERFACE-CONTROL-MODULE-1K0-907-530-Q-1K0907530Q/274524217896?hash=item3feaeb2228:g:ZKUAAOSwfdZffd6N It will need recoding, but it's a 10 minute job if you find someone with VCDS locally.

If yours is a 2005, is a really simple job to swap the canbus gateway, as it's behind the glovebox. I got mine for £20 on ebay when I upgraded my HU. Keep searching and one will come up at a reasonable cost.

I looked into the gen1 haldex a few years ago when I was 1/2 tempted with a 4x4 mk1 Oct. These always seem to be well rated, especially for the money compared to a blue controller. https://www.darksidedevelopments.co.uk/products/yhw-powertrack-insert-for-haldex-first-generation-50-50.html

Looks like a good project Haydn. Has anything been done to the haldex?

Definitely try resetting the gear linkage before replacing any parts.

Not time for a new sensor. "Electrical Fault in Circuit" is the clue. The wiring harness will be damaged. It runs from the sensor in the hub to the ABS multiblock.

No Mr Muscle is legit. I did the same on a Passat 2.0 TDI that my brother in law owned, and it cleared the underboost issue completely. It dissolves the built up carbon preventing the veins on the turbo moving freely.

Can't help you on the insurance front, but here's the gospel from Colin who setup Briskoda in the first place. The site name is fairly unique and easily misinterpreted, it's pronounced "bris-skoda", a brisk skoda, a Skoda driven in a spirited or "brisk" manner. It's not the British or bri-skoda, although we fully appreciate why that happens

Was race blue ever offered as a factory colour on a non-vRS mk2? I know it is on the mk3, but I didn't think that it was on the mk2. Browsing as you do, this ex taxi caught my eye on Gumtree. I can't say I've ever seen any other mk2 in race blue that isn't a vRS. https://www.gumtree.com/p/skoda/skoda-octavia-1.9-tdi-2010-high-miles-on-clock-but-had-new-engine-with-less-miles-no-offers-/1381417908

I don't think the handbrake has ever been adjusted. Certainly while I've had it, I've never done it and no garage has said they have had to. I was expecting the discs to be scorching when I felt them, but they were really not much more above ambient.

Yes the front wheels were quite cool in comparison. The rear rim was the warmest. Tyres were warm on the tread, but given the outside temperature, I would expect that. Bad economy isn't something that happened only on one trip, it's something that I've noticed over the last few months, and have been trying to solve. I only noticed how warm the rears were when I bent down to pick something up and my arm went near them. I've never had any EGR related faults with this since I got it 6 years ago.

Tyre wear is pretty even as far as I can tell.

They could both have failed over time and never been noticed I guess? I've had poor fuel economy for quite a while now, and have never been able to solve it. I've changed fuel filter, changed the MAF twice, ran a bottle of in the tank injector cleaner, also ran 2 full cans of diesel purge bypassing the fuel filter straight into the fuel pipe on the block . There is zero smoke from the rear when accelerating, No fault codes on VCDS. Ran turbo boost logs requested vs actual and that came back fine too.

I had sticking calipers before causing the same issues, and at the time the rear brakes would be red hot. Both rear calipers have since been been replaced. The discs and calipers both sides were almost stone cold yesterday which is what threw me.

After a 20 mile drive yesterday, I noticed that both rear wheels were really quite warm to the touch. I only checked as the trip computer recorded 36mpg, which on a mostly steady 50mph road is rubbish. I had this before when the rear brakes were binding, but both calipers and the discs were actually quite cool, so I'm fairly certain that the brakes aren't dragging. Both front wheels were pretty cool too. I am assuming that something is dragging given then poor fuel economy, but what apart from the brakes could cause this? Wheel bearings failing? The car has done 182k and is a 2005 1.9 PD DSG estate.

Glad to hear you got it fixed.

Take the drivers side headlight out, you can then see the part number on the housing. A 2 minute job

Your fault code is: 00290 - ABS Wheel Speed Sensor; Rear Left (G46) 003 - Mechanical Failure - Intermittent It's very common for this to occur. You need to replace the entire bearing as the ABS ring is built into it and you can't replace it. You can get them easily. Pattern parts are available for around £25.

https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/kodiaqrs_usb_c_mirror/

There is a specific cup holder that Skoda designed to fit when the factory sat nav was fitted, which is double din. You can see there is a slight curve to the side compared to the normal one which is a straight edge. I assume this is to stop it catching. Best of luck ever finding one though! Part nos. Standard cup holder: 6Y0862531H Cup holder for navigation 6Y0862531J

Disconnect the pipe and take it off as one piece by removing the clip at the EGR and the clip behind the headlight. Drill three pilot holes and then fit self tapping screws into the joint as per the above picture. I think I then rinsed the pipe out with a hose to remove any bits of metal swarf that were in there. Problem solved forever

Looks like a good example you've got there Phil. It's a shame we don't see high specced examples like that much in the UK.