WACH

I changed the spark plugs on my 1.4 TSI at c. 33400 miles when the car was 4 years old, and managed it without any special tools. To remove the coils, I did as follows: a) Take two lengths of insulated electrical cable, each c. 3mm diameter and perhaps 500mm long (e.g. one core of a typical mains lead) Thread these cables under the head of the coil in an "X" form and then tie together above the coil c) Put a bar (I used the extension bar of a socket set) through the two loops of cable and turn a few times to twist the cables together (as if tightening a tourniquet) d) Pull upwards on the bar to release coil from its retaining tray By following the above procedure and unclipping the loom from the retaining tray, the coils from cylinders 1, 2 & 3 (counting from the timing drive end) could all be moved completely out of the way without even disconnecting the coils from their connectors. There was much less room for manoeuvre around coil 4 initially and so I also: e) Removed the charge air pipe that runs from compressor outlet to throttle body f) Disconnected the breather line that runs from the inlet-side camshaft tunnel to the air filter housing at the air filter housing and swung it out of the way g) Disconnected the breather line at the timing drive chaincase and at the compressor housing and moved it out of the way I then had a decent amount of room in which to work and could move coil 4 completely out of the way without disconnecting it from its connector. I hope this helps. Regards, WACH

My car is a 2010 Octavia II FL 1.4 TSI. I found that the procedure described in the owner's manual didn't work but that the following alternative procedure, as found on other internet sites, did work: - Ignition off - Press and hold button within instrument cluster - Ignition on - Release button - Press and release button another time - Rotate button clockwise - Ignition off Regards, WACH

I tried the alternative procedure described in post #1 above and it seems to have worked. WACH

Dear All, I have a 2010 Octavia II FL 1.4 TSI, upon which I've just done a DIY service for the first time. The car is on fixed service intervals. I'd like to reset the service light, but the procedure described in the owner's manual doesn't seem to work. I've tried several times, both with the ignition on and the ignition off, but the declared procedure doesn't reset the light. I've found an alternative procedure described on other internet sites (including as a YouTube video)and, before I try it, wonder whether any of you have any experience with it? The alternative procedure is as follows: - Ignition off - Press and hold button within instrument cluster - Ignition on - Release button - Press and release button another time - Rotate button clockwise - Ignition off My key doubt is that the articles that show pictures/video to describe the alternative procedure always seem to show an instrument cluster that's not exactly like mine - I guess it's a pre-FL cluster. Are any of you sure that the alternative procedure works on an Octavia II FL? Many thanks, WACH

I replaced the coolant pump on my 1.4 TSI after 3 years and 7 months (27500 miles). It had been leaking slightly for the previous two or three months but was not unduly noisy. The requirement for an early replacement has been my only disappointment with the car thus far. The drive belt is tensioned by an automatic tensioner. Many thanks, WACH

I didn't think that they were referring to the air box for the following reasons: 1. The service schedule has a separate, explicit task for "replace air filter element and clean housing" which is required every 90000km, whereas the "inspect plenum chamber for soiling, clean if necessary" task is required every 30000km/2 years. 2. My own car has had its 1st, 2nd & 3rd annual services conducted by the same Skoda dealer and their service sheets show that they did the "inspect plenum chamber for soiling, clean if necessary" task at 2 years (i.e. in agreement with above) but that they've never changed the air filter. I had just assumed that "plenum chamber" meant an engine plenum, but am now thinking that nick74's suggestion of the plenum for the heating/aircon unit is probably correct. Any further thoughts? Many thanks, WACH

Many thanks, FriendlyFire, very helpful. I was already familiar with the skoda.workshop-manuals.com site and have found it very useful. The "extra" that I was hoping to obtain from ERWIN was anything specific to my car i.e. whether, by entering my VIN, I can obtain an exact and up-to-date list of all the jobs to be done at each service interval, details of any recalls, etc., etc.? Thanks again, WACH

Dear All, I have an Octavia II FL 1.4 TSI and am thinking of servicing it myself when it becomes four years old in January. According to the service schedule, one of the required tasks is "inspect plenum chamber for soiling, clean if necessary." As far as I can see, this engine doesn't have a conventional plenum - instead, I think that the volume of air within the intercooler (mounted immediately downstream of the throttle) acts as a plenum. I doubt that the instruction to inspect & clean the "plenum" refers to the intercooler, but suspect that they mean the throttle body and that the work to be conducted is as per the following links: http://skoda.workshop-manuals.com/octavia-mk2/index.php?id=1647 http://skoda.workshop-manuals.com/octavia-mk2/index.php?id=1648 Does this seem sensible to you guys? Has any one tried removing and cleaning the throttle body on the 1.4 TSI engine? Any particular problems? Many thanks, WACH

Dear All, I'm thinking about registering for ERWIN and paying for access but, before I do so, I wonder whether anyone with recent experience of ERWIN can clarify the situation with downloading information. From this thread and the earlier one referenced above by DGW, I'm guessing that: 1. Some of the information within ERWIN is already prepared as .pdf files that you can download and then read or print at your leisure. 2. Some of the information is not in .pdf format but can be printed whilst you're on-line within ERWIN. According to post #13 of the earlier thread, such printing can only be done to a physical printer not to a "pdf printer" i.e. if you haven't got a physical printer, you can't write the information as a .pdf file on to your hard disc. Is this summary anything like correct? Does any one have any suggestions for how the information in category (2) could be saved to disc as a .pdf file? Apologies if I've misunderstood or misinterpreted anything posted previously. Many thanks, WACH