jonjc

Given the replies, I'll probably take the advice to replace the valves tomorrow, for the reasons given. Thanks all. But I still can't help wondering where the cut off point is. Are we really saying that any valve with any visible damage or any corrosion should be replaced. I obviously don't know this for sure but this could mean that 95% of cars on the road should get their valves replaced. The law says that tread depth should be more than 1.6mm but it's advisable to replace tyres when it reaches 2mm. But presumably, 3mm is safer than 2mm, and 4mm is safer than 3mm. So, should we replace tyres at 4mm or even at 5mm? Probably not. There comes a point where we accept a certain level of risk - otherwise none of us would ever drive at all - or, we should at least choose to drive cars that are a lot safer than Skodas (and, IMO, Skodas are VERY safe cars).

Obviously I took the valve cap off to photograph it. I don't drive around without valve caps on.

Thanks - that's helpful. I agree that one should regularly check pressures (which I think was clear from my post that I do) and I have also swapped front to back - that wasn't what I was asking about. But it seems that you are saying that my valves should be OK with regards to MOT but should still be changed for safety reasons - which is fair enough. But is that advice based on my description and the (not very clear) pictures? It sort of raises a question for me about the difference between genuine risk (and I'm not an expert so I accept that someone more knowledgeable than me might rightly say that this is a genuine risk) and minimal or theoretical risk that we worry about purely to cover ourselves. How far from 100% perfect does a tyre or a tyre valve have to be before I start worrying about covering myself (or before I start worrying about genuine and significant risk). Is a tyre or valve that is 99.99% perfect too risky to ignore? Is a tyre or valve that is 95% or 90% perfect too risky to ignore? Is a tyre or valve that is 75% perfect too risky to ignore? I realise that the cut off point might be different for valves and tyres and it's always the safer and more responsible position to err on the side of caution. But where is the cut off point? What counts as reasonable caution? I guess this is clear with tread depth but with other imperfections (like a slightly chipped valve end) it may be a more difficult one to call. If you're arguing that any imperfection in a tyre (or a whole car) car is too risky to ignore then I should be buying new tyres and valves for every journey (and perhaps replacing my car every few weeks). Thanks & kind regards, Jon

I got my current Octavia VRS new in January 2019 and it came with fancy metal Skoda tyre valve caps (thrown in as a freebie due to a few inconvenient delays in supplying the car). About 6 months later, two of these had rusted and fused onto the valve and I had to cut them off. Admittedly I made a bit of a mess of it (slight damage to end of valve) but I've always been able to check the tyre pressure and add air if needed without difficulty and the plastic dust caps screw on OK. Last month the car was in for a service and they mentioned the damaged valves, claiming not to be able to check or adjust the pressure. I thought this was a bit pathetic since I've never had any problem with it and I wondered why they'd not noticed or mentioned this on any of the 3 previous occasions the car had been in for servicing since the damage occurred. My questions are: Now that my first MOT is due in January 2023, could this be a reason for it to fail? Should I pre-empt this by getting the valves fixed before it goes for MOT? The tyres themselves (on the rear) are not ready for replacing (low-ish mileage due to reduced travel during pandemic but these tyres and valves have done 25,000+ miles without a problem). Pictures attached. Your thoughts and wisdom on this appreciated 🙂

Thanks all for your info and advice. It was good have the confidence of going back to them with a bit more knowledge if needed. However, in the event, they put the battery on charge and at the end of it all everything seemed to be OK. I asked why the battery had been low in the first place and they were a bit vague - 'Just one of those things - have you been doing a lot of short journeys recently?'. I said, no particularly short journeys - but then remembered that I'd left my wireless phone charger plugged into the USB port over night and when I left it at the dealers (I don't usually leave it plugged in). They said that this could have caused it. So all's well. No big bill for a new battery and I drove away with a smile and everything working and feeling just fine. The only other thing that came up on the vehicle check was that the rear screen wash was squirting in not quite the right direction. I declined the offer of paying them 30 mins labour to spend 2 mins poking it with a pin - I can do that myself! Anyway - thanks again.

My 2019 Octavia VRS is in for service (19,900miles), I took delivery new in Feb 2019. The the Skoda dealer has just contacted me to say that the battery is defective and they are quoting around £300 to replace. a) Should I be paying for this? I think it might be covered by warranty but not sure. b) Should a battery in a brand new car last more then 2yrs, 9months? c) Does Skoda supply cars with such shoddy batteries (and presumably replace them with same) ? And if so should I get it replaced elsewhere - and if I do, will this invalidate my warranty? Any thoughts welcome 🙂

It appears to be a bit of a lottery as to whether or not you get a car that remembers your mode settings (leaving it whatever mode you put it in for next time you start up). I asked my dealer to reset it so that I didn't have to reset my mode selection EVERY time I start the car up and they told me it couldn't be done. When I said that I found this hard to believe (especially since I had examples of others with essentially identical models that did remember the mode) the service bloke I was talking to asked me if I was accusing him of lying - this alone was enough to make me this about going to a different dealer (or even a different brand) next time! I enquired of Skoda UK and was told the same and I was given no satisfactory reason why my car appeared to be different to so many others in this respect. See this thread to see my tale of woe on this:

I unplugged it in my 2016 model (easy to do but of course that means it is permanently off unless you plug it in again) as it wasn't possible to alter it in mode settings and, overall it was more annoying tiring than desirable to have it permanently on. It was quieter in eco (probably silent) and normal (on but quieter than sport) but still annoying - and I wanted to leave it in sport. Now in my 2019 245 I can switch it off in individual mode (individual mode is set to the same as sport without the sound generator) but I can still enjoy it when I want the minor thrill it gives when I go to sport mode. I can definitely hear a difference. I know it's fun but the sound generator is basically fake!

I guess it isn't put in new cars - there is definitely nothing like that on mine although I remember seeing it in previous cars

I can't find anything like that in my spare wheel well either - or anywhere else on the car. Unless you mean this on the pillar behind the driver's seat(which I don't think you do)

Be aware that whatever mode you set it to (Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport or Individual), when you switch off the ignition is may reset back to normal mode for the next time you switch on. This happens with mine and I find it very annoying (although whatever settings you choose for individual mode will be remembered even though the car itself resets back to normal mode with ignition cycle). For some reason it doesn't happen with every recently built Octavia vRS and Skoda UK and my dealer were unable/unwilling to tell me why this inconsistency exists and why my car has this annoying feature while others do not.

Try touching town/city and it should then allow you to enter a postcode. Took me a while to work it out on my old car.

I was thinking exactly the same earlier today. Generally I completely forget that it exists so there's no point in having it at all. If I could enable it to be always on I would - although it may shorten the life of the filters. It's similar to my other gripe discussed already on another thread about the drive mode not being remembered with ignition cycling. I'm tempted to get OBDEleven though - especially if these issues can be tackled with it.

Yes - I can cycle through the modes by repeatedly pressing the mode button. This makes it easier to do without looking - to move from normal would indeed be three presses. One to bring up the mode screen and two to move to individual.

Yes - I realise that only too well. What I meant was... Do those people whose cars remember the mode have DCC. I'm trying to fathom out how some cars built within days/weeks of mine do remember the mode when the ignition is switched off. Perhaps having DCC is associated with this awful policy of the car forgetting the mode when I switch off. Does DCC mean that the mode resets to normal while not having DCC means that mode is remembered?