carbman

Hi, after 11 years of ownership, my rear windscreen wiper has just developed a life of its' own. Operating itself whenever it chooses. Can anyone help please?

Thanks Mike, that's great. We don't normally leave the dogs in the car (because the alarm goes off) but we've just booked a holiday in Dorset and will be taking them with us, so it will be useful to be able to leave them in sometimes. Thanks very much for your help.

When the dogs are left in the car the alarm acvtivates when they move. My wife says it didn't used to happen when we first got the car 8 years ago. Any ideas how to stop it happening please?

Thanks mac11irl. That's sorted that out for me. Thanks for the advice on the respective merits of the different manufacturers.

I am looking to buy spare H7 bulbs. What is the difference between 499 and 477 types please?

Thanks Roottoot for that. But I know they are lying because the VIN Checker is saying there is a recall out and I know it is for the CAT to be 'sorted' and I'm not having it done, because my car is running fine and it probably won't be when it comes back from having it done. The only thing I am confused about for now is ...what is DQ200? Thanks for all the information. Think I'll go out and buy myself a Morris Minor. We were poor but happy in those far off days!!!

DM Keith didn't get back to me on Monday, so I phoned them this morning. The girl on the service department asked for the registration and after checking she told me that there are no recalls outstanding on my car. The question is....do I believe her? After all she's working for Skoda!!!!

Thanks Phil-E, there are no such stickers so nothing has been done and I've had this car since it was 11 moths old. I'm supposed to be getting a call from the dealer in the morning to sort this out. I'll keep you informed of the outcome. Forgot to post this on Sunday (2 days ago)

Just been reading through the links posted by Roottoot and 'stickers' are being mentioned. Where and what are these stickers situated please? Never heard of them before.

Thanks again for that Roottoot. I'll see what happens on Monday and take it from there. What is the 'flashing spanner' that they claim to know nothing about?

Just been trying to see if my car is eligible for the update. It was registered in Sept 2012 and I bought it Aug 2013. On an old service invoice they had the car down as a 2013 car, so maybe it didn't have the problematic synthetic oil in the gearbox (which isn't a gearbox), but the service department from DM Keith are calling me back on Monday to see if I'm in the clear. If I'm in the clear, how easy is it to change the oil in the gearbox? Thanks.

Oh great!! Thanks for that Roottoot, at least I will have a bit of leverage to deal with them when it goes there. I just don't want the emissions 'sorting'!! I've heard too many bad stories about it.

Thanks everyone for your interest and replies. Since I put the post on I have found out through a search on one of the posts that my car is on a recall list, but doesn't say which one/s. I know it is on the recall for the cat. converter to be modified, part of the world wide emissions scandal and I don't want that doing. It runs fine thankyou!! But it just says to take it to a dealer and I'm afraid they might do the mod. anyway. My gearbox code is: NTT LF8L-2G2G CS. Does anyone know if this is in the gearbox oil recall? Thanks

I've had my Octavia 2 for 7 years (first diesel and first automatic.) it has been pretty faultless, except for one day last December it decided to stop and refuse to start, at a traffic light. After recovery home before waiting for recovery to a garage the next morning, I tested it and it fired up, and has been fine ever since. However, after a conversation yesterday with a friend, he told me that his father once told him that automatic gearboxes are fine as long as the oil is changed regularly. As far as I know my gearbox oil has never been changed, 73000 miles and he also told me that garages do not like changing automatic gearbox oil, (often refuse to touch them). My question is, how easy is it to change my gearbox oil please? I'm not averse to doing the job myself, done it enough times on manual gearboxes.

Okay Rustynuts, just what I had been told. I'm not surprised at anything that happens with this modern technology these days. John999boy, no mate it was in Wakefield, but 'scrotes' are everywhere.

An aquaintance of mine recently had his Superb broken into and the radio/satnav console stolen. It turns out he is an employee of DM Keith in Huddersfield. Apparently the chip in the radio enables the free watching of Sky TV. DM Keith take out the chip from Superbs on their forecourts. I am not technical and don't know how this is done, but be forewarned.

Thanks for that slow-nick, it's good to know the reality of things. I'll be a bit choosy in future and change the fuel brands about a bit. Thanks for the advice Sheriff. I've already been looking at new batteries with a view to replacing mine. Have a good Christmas everyone and safe and reliable motoring..

Great!! thanks for that Tolpol62 (my number on my training ship Arethusa, way back in 1962-64). So, as my car rarely does more than 8-10 starts a day I would guess I don't really need that technology, am I correct?

Thanks Jim-Octavia, only just read your reply, my life's like that lately. Just to say that the garage did all the checking he could do, including diagnostic machine, and couldn't find any fault with the car. His test drive revealed to him that my gearbox, DSG 7 speed, didn't feel as smooth as his own in a Golf. But when I drove it away from the garage I felt as though it was as smooth as it has always been in the 6 years I have had the car. His other comment related to my always using diesel from Asda. He said he wouldn't ever do that because the warning inside the filler cap says No Bio Diesel and supermarket fuel has Bio additives. I wasn't aware of that, but in 6 years of use, I have never had a previous problem. Maybe time to change my ways. Suffice to say that the car has run fine today so I can only carry on and hope. It seems these modern cars are getting too complicated for their own good. Just one more point, the battery is the original in the car. I have given it a boost a couple of times in the past when it seemed a bit reluctant and it did all but run down while I was trying to start it. Maybe that had something to do with the outcome, ie: started next morning after a couple of hours on a 4 amp charge. Guess we'll never know. Thanks for your comments.

I am looking for a new battery. I am seeing a number of 'stop/start' batteries. Which vehicles are these for? Thanks.

Thanks Redboy. No error messages or lights were displayed. However, I put the battery on charge for a couple of hours this morning and when the recovery man came, he tried it and it started. He followed me to the garage just in case it packed up again and it was okay, except it is definitely not pulling properly. Have left the car with them and they will sort it. thanks again.

Yesterday I dropped my wife at hospital for a day operation and the nurse said they would ring me at home when she was ready to be collected. I don't have a mobile phone. A mile into the journey home, waiting at traffic lights the engine just stopped and refused to start. Engine is turning and cambelt is only 10,000 miles old. Recovery driver said it sounds like a fuel problem. No warning lights showing on dash. Car at my home, as needed to be here for message from hospital. Not managed to get it to garage yet. Any thoughts please?

Thanks for that mac11irl. On my frosty way into work yesterday, the rear wiper was still doing its own thing but on the way home 3 hours later it was back to 'normal' and has been fine ever since. The worst things ever designed into cars....the intermittent fault. I'll be aware that it might happen again at any time, but until then I'll leave well alone. Thanks again for your help.

Don't know about that particular trait but my car doesn't do it. I went back to the garage today and the mechanic told me that the wiper was doing that when I took the car in on Wednesday. He tried to sort it but wasn't successful. His boss said that if some water has got into a relay that could cause it, or if a wire had broken in the rear door and was touching something it shouldn't, that could cause it. If I can't sort it he's given me the number of the auto electrician they use. Thanks for your help.

Hi Warrior, I've had the stalk in all the different positions and the wiper functions as normal but when I leave it in 'OFF' it just operates in intermittent mode. Thanks anyway.