Eccles
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Posts posted by Eccles
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Looks like they are still selling a manual box vesion of the estate but it mystifies me as to why it is so much more expensive than the hatch when we are just talking a bit more pressed steel and paint.
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Sorry I do not understand what you mean by "activate it". It quite clearly states in the manual that if you want to tell the car that you are happy with say 2.0 bar tyre pressure then you should change your tyre pressures to that (with a pump and guage) then go to "CAR" on the display then select "Tyre Press" followed by "SET". Its all on page 128 of the manual and is nothing to do with ABS.
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When it's just me or me and mrs I use 30 all round which is most of the time. Have had car since new and tyre wear seems pretty even so far. 37 is far too hard, you will be skating if you are doing 70 on a motorway and it starts to rain hard and your dealer is mental IMO.
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On the screen panel select "Car" then it comes up on a list of various things you can do. BTW there are full details of how to do it in the user manual, have you not got one?
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I agree AGF which is why I always get my mobile mech to give me a written detailed bill.
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I would agree and personally I would get a new battery before we get into winter and it lets you down. I recently got one on one of the ebay suppliers with a good reputation and my mobile mechanic who has a carista set it up for me - it took him about 5 mins or so.
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Quite honestly Mickey if the car is doing plenty of miles and the battery is not past it's sell by date (usually around six-seven years) you should not have to use a charger. Never had one meself in 40 yrs of motoring. I borrowed one from the bloke next door once but that was for my daughter's car which had a seven yr old battery - I did tell her but as usual in one ear and out the other. I suppose there is one other issue which is dodgy alternator but the car should tell you about that anyway.
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On 25/09/2020 at 23:41, macsmurf said:
Carista
Hey this is sounds great but will someone explain how it works and where to buy.
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Yes, VAG being ultra careful as I have written before. Last yr I got in touch with VAG technical and had a chat with a nice man as they say, because I am not a boy racer and only do about 4k miles per annum. I quote "Well the 5 year advice is not mandatory and is only a recommendation. We recommend because we know that some people abuse their cars and do a lot more miles than you do." I then suggested doing it at 7 years:- "Your suggestion makes sense to me but it is you decision and I cannot officially comment." I have subsequently discovered that the quality of belts has improved significantly in recent years and they rarely actually break being more likely to start losing the teeth which of course can be equally disastrous. Also they come under the most stress when the car is started from cold in cold winters so stay out of Norway, Sweden Russia and possibly northern Scotland LOL. BTW may man says he will do it for about £250 so main dealer price of £450 has to be a rip off, just had an A/C regas done for £45 by local garage and main dealer wants over £100!, there is something wrong here.
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Hmm, LED's last for ever do they? Not in my experience. Yet again t'other day an LED light bulb in a table lamp packed up after only 5 yrs, it just farted some smoke, made a quiet popping sound and went out, seen it before. IMO if it is difficult/impossible for the average owner to replace a light bulb, something is seriously wrong.
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Will just add that the pollen filter is 20,000 miles, I asked at the local main dealer. Of course if you want just take it out and clean it yourself or chuck it as I have done not being a hayfever sufferer. The cam belt change is "recommended" at 5 yrs but not mandatory and it depends what you are doing with the car as I found out when I asked Skoda customer services. The guy who spoke to me said "It's at your own risk but if you are not doing many miles you could go longer than that." I have discovered from chatting around, etc. that VAG is ultra careful in this area, other manufacturers say 60,000 and some even 100,000. They actually rarely break and more likely loose a one or more of the teeth which can be equally catastrophic. Apparently they don't like to be cold and therefore suffer the most stress on cold mornings in cold climates - might require thinking about if you live in Scotland.
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My man came today, he thinks the Yuasa battery which I fitted is probably better than the original MOLL. Then he says that the car has had another new battery in the past:- "The computer says JCB and serial no 1111111111". Er no says me I bought it new, LOL. So much for VAG's wonderful installation procedures eh? Of course it's an absolute disgrace that owners cannot use a simple procedure to replace a known and easily fitted renewable like they can with wiper blades, light bulbs and engine oil. Malcolm was happy with a tenner for calling round and doing ten minutes work.
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Ah no I do not then have access, dam. Why don't VAG let owners get in without all this faffing about. Never mind, I have a very good (and reasonable) mobile mechanic who can probably do it, I will give a bell today.
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OK but I cannot see anything like CAN-GATEWAY when I press the various buttons along side the screen like "CAR" or "MENU" can you give me a clue as to how to access it.
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After some further research I am beginning to get a vague idea what you are on about. If I don't change serial number computer will thnk it still has old battery to which it has adjusted teh charging level. Problem is how the dickens do i tell it a new serial number?
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Confused now rum4. The "technology" of the new battery is exactly the same as the old battery, i.e. EFB start/stop 320 DIN,etc. and I am at a loss as to how the serial number makes any difference becuase I do not believe that the computer keeps a record of every battery serial number that might be fitted to the car. That simply does not make sense.
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No "recoding" done. The new battery was exactly the same type as the old one and I went through the computer stuff just to check if the car had a problem but everything seemed fine, radio worked, etc. From what I have read elsewhere so called "recoding" is only necessary if one changes the battery type. Oh and BTW this car has always not started to do "stop/start" until it has done a few miles right from when it was brand new.
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Curiouser and curioser and like the curate's egg. Fitted a brand new fully charged battery yesterday, everything came back on - radio, settings menu, etc., but start/stop still did not get going until I had done about ten miles this morning. I did not turn it off and when I got to the end of our road (200 yds) and stopped to allow traffic to pass, it did not stop the engine and just showed the usual "A" with a slash mark through it.
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Of course they do not have to charge what Skoda says, it's up to them and the Skoda prices are the maximum they can charge. Bit like MOT's which are supposed to be £56 officially but nobody pays that unless they are not with it. I did pay the dealers for my first two services to maintain the warranty even though it is illegal for any manufacturer to insist on servicing by the dealers. I now use a highly reliable mobile mech - £65 for this year's oil change and inspection - why pay more! Oh and £45 for a regas can't be bad eh?
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I used to think like you Hetty then someone explained to me that the combination belts and turbos that we now get saves so much fuel that the cost of belt replacement is easily covered. I should add that a VAG man that I spoke to on the phone a while ago said that their "recommendation" of changing at five yrs was precisely that, i.e., not mandatory and if one does not thrash the engine or do a lot of miles then 6 or 7 yrs would probably be OK. Do you recall as I do that if you got 40 mpg out of a 1200 engine years ago, you were doing well, now I get more like 57 which is over 40% better.
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Firstly let me say that it won't work until the engine is well warmed up in my experience - say after 1/2 hour of running. Then in discussion with man in garage down the road the other day about battereries, etc., he advised me that if battery is getting on a bit, again, it won't work -as it no longer does for me. Probably why VAG recommend a new battery after five years and I will be getting one myself before the cold weather starts, my battery being now well past 5 yrs. Should be possible to get one for £80-90 unless you want to go to Halfords and get ripped off.
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Reminds me of a story from the past: Woman complained of low MPG on her mini but garage could not find anthing wrong and so sent a mechanic to ride with her in the car. She pulled out the choke knob hung her hand bag on it and drove off...... Now of course if you really want good fuel usage you have to have some good driving habits. E.g. Unless I am in a serious hurry I never do more than 60 (like the commercials) because wind resistance rises exponentially above that speed unless the car is built like an aircraft which most are not. That wind resistance requires more and more fuel to maintain the speed.
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Before rushing off to get fresh tyres, I would consult an expert as that small split may not be illegal/dangerous. Furthermore I would concur with Benz re the Kumho tyres as Continentals are very expensive these days. There is a tyre review site which I have used in the past which is quite informative, here it is:- https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/
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Yes me too. Skoda wanted to do another Roomy but VAG said no apparently because the new version was too similar to the far more expensive German Caddy. My particular Roomy had the old 1.4 non turbo lump but I would still have it today if it were not for the blind Mondeo taxi driver who crushed it beyond repair. Why on earth VAG insist on over speccing and thus over pricing the Caddy which thus fails to sell well, I cannot imagine.
Spark Plugs
in Skoda Fabia Mk III (2014-2021)
Posted
There is always someone out there ready to rip off the unwary. Think about it, a spark plug is just a bit of metal with some ceramic insulation, i.e., raw material cost is pence add on cost of equipment for making them by the millions plus packaging and I would work hard to find them for a fiver each and this is why I never buy anything from "dealers" unless I have no alternative. Here's a good example:- As can be seen from above table "dealers" charge at least £489 for a cam belt change which is ridiculous for something one can buy for around £100. My super efficient and lovely mobile mechanic (no VAT) recently quoted me £250 for the job.