David P

Mine's a seven speed. (As clutch comes before the gearbox wouldn't the drag be the same for D & N if the clutch were fully disengaged?)

Mannyo is right and I'm wrong. I've devised a simple test which seems to prove that the clutch is slightly engaged even when the footbrake is firmly pressed. Here's the test: place your LEFT foot very firmly on the footbrake; select N; barely blip the throttle with your right foot; the engine will rev freely. Repeat with selector in D. The engine will rev more sluggishly - suggesting drag from the slightly engaged clutch. However I'm sticking with my driving style as the manual says it's OK and I bought the car as an automatic. If it wears it wears and I'll learn to treat it as a consumable part just as I have learnt to accept that brake discs are consumables (at a rate of 1 disc for every other pad change if my Mercs are anything to go by - but that's another post). I am deeply impressed by the quality of the DSG gearbox and the depth of thought that has gone into the shift programme. On the very rare occasions I move the lever out of D, the S setting extracts more performance from the 1.4TSI than I'd ever manage myself from a manual box.

If you use both remote key fobs you might have to make the settings having opened the car with both of them. I noticed that some/many Maxidot customizations seem to be specific to the keyfob in use when I made the changes. I guess this is so you and the better-half can avoid fighting over how the car electronics are customized...

From the owners' manual: "The selector lever position N does not have to be selected when stopping just for a short time, such as at a cross roads. It is absolutely sufficient to hold the stopped vehicle stationary by depressing the foot brake. The engine can, however, be allowed just to idle." The DSG doesn't hold the clutches at biting point if you have your foot firmly on the brake pedal. You can see how the DSG works in the regard in two ways. First on a level empty road or car park with the DSG in D simply remove your foot from the brake without then touching the accelerator - there will be a slight delay until the clutches engage and the car will creep forward, the anti-stall will keep the engine at idle and you'll just move forward in 1st gear at idle speed. When you brake the clutches disengage and the engine doesn't stall. In this respect the DSG works very much like e.g. a Citroen DS or similar "automated manual". Second the way the Hill Hold / Uphill Start Assist works is designed to work with the slight delay in the clutch take-up. From the manual: "The system assists a start of by holding the brake pressure produced by the brake pedal actuation for approx. 2 seconds after releasing the brake pedal. The driver can therefore move his foot from the brake pedal to the accelerator pedal and start off on the slope, without having to actuate the handbrake. The brake pressure drops gradually the more you operate the accelerator pedal. If the vehicle does not start off within 2 seconds, it starts to roll back." The DSG is totally different from a traditional torque converter automatic. If you sit with the car in D held on the brakes with a torque converter you will start to heat-up the AT fluid and may cause the fluid to over-heat - though in my opinion you'd have to do it for a pretty long time. With a torque converter there is little problem when waiting in traffic if you ease your foot off the brake to creep forward a few inches and then reaaply it. In a DSG if this is your driving style you will increase the wear on the clutches (as I keep reminding the other half...). In my opinion (and that of e.g. Honest John or LJK Setright - both experienced auto drivers), in an automatic (of any kind) you are more in control of your car if you are in D and the foot brake is used - better still if you learn to brake with your left foot. Handbrakes exert a relatively much lower breaking force, and a pointless juggling of levers (selector or handbrake) simply takes your hand away from more important controls. It could be argued that at night it is courteous to use N+handbrake when stopped to avoid dazzling the driver behind. However with the high ambient light in towns and on lit roads this is less a problem, and on unlit roads you really want to be seen as being stationary so the brake lights and third light add to your safety; only when someone has come to a stop behind you is N+handbrake worth considering.

Mine works perfectly too.

Have you also discovered that the armrest slides forward too?

Many posts on this forum suggest the FISCON Plus. http://fiscon-mobile.com/products/rns_510.php?brand=skoda I've only just got my car and I haven't fitted it myself. But when I ordered my car I did not order the factory bluetooth because posts on this forum list many problems with connecting new phones (iPhones and BlackBerries) using the factory system, whereas the FISCON product gets good reviews. NB - If you don't have the Maxidot display you'll need the Plus not the Basic, as it is the Plus that uses the Bolero display. Also note that for a few Euros extra there is a special microphone that fits out of sight in the courtesy light unit. Hope that's helpful - second hand information as I haven't done it myself, but it's the route I plan to take.

Maxidot (Czechlish for dot matrix). The brochure does a rubbish selling job, but if you read the owners' manual you'll see just what a step-up in functionality it is over the standard trip computer. It also allows a reasonable amount of personalization which can otherwise only be done with diagnostic kit. (Owners' Manual is available on www.skoda-auto.com links pinned in a sticky thread at the top of this forum) Reading this forum left me in some doubt if the Skoda bluetooth worked with enough phones to be reasonably future-proof. So I'm retro-fitting the fiscon kit. If you've got the Maxidot, the phone info would be displayed too. (Though as the display on the Bolero is bigger and touch-sensitive that's not a big plus). Again the brochure does a poor job in selling the Light Assist - if you read the manual you'll get an idea if you like the features. My Elegance has the very nice boarding spots and its not clear if these are standard on the Elegance or part of the Light Assist package. Multi-function steering wheels are a matter of taste, some people like them others don't. The right-hand column stalk does largely the same job in conjunction with the Bolero touch sensitive display. But as the saying goes: you pays your money and takes your choice. If you are going for a bigger engine then keep an eye of the total cost of the Elegance plus options in comparison with the L&K. You don't have to add much (metallic is standard on L&K too) to an Elegance to be knocking on L&K prices.

Took delivery of my Elegance Estate 1.4 TSI DSG on Friday 18 June, one of the first of the 2011MY cars. Didn't bother with a handover as I'd read the manual and wasn't about to crawl over the car as I'd only just made it to the dealer by 5.30 pmand was still in a suit. 1. No small net on passenger side - but then it wasn't listed in the UK spec nor had I seen one in a RHD picture. 2. Tweezers present in the toolkit (as is the hook for wheel trims/centre trims, but not needed on Crateris alloys) 3. Didn't order sill covers Two items present that I wasn't expecting: boot net, and boarding spots. Net near useless with variable floor, but spots very nice and quite a delightful surprise. I wasn't expecting the roof-mounted sunglasses holder either as I ordered the electric sunroof, and from the manual it looked like the roof motor would go in that space, but holder is there. 400 miles in and very happy with the car. Skoda UK brochures are rubbish in terms of spec accuracy and consistency, website useless too, configurator would help - but as Skoda UK seems to have little idea what specs are on the car I guess they have given up on a configurator. Given that VW are good at both brochures and websites perhaps Skoda UK would like to ask their cousins for some help. I ended up working out the spec and options by using the Skoda-auto website, international brochures & owners' manuals, this forum, and some guesswork.

Sad to report that Plan A not very good. I ordered the 3mm thickness of mat which is probably too thin to be robust long-term. It also smells very rubbery...

Model Year: 2011 Variant: Elegance Engine: 1.4 TSI Transmission: DSG Hatch or Estate: Estate Colour: Anthracite Grey Extras: Sunroof, Curtain Air Bags, Light Assist (inc boarding spots), Maxidot, Boot Net, Dog Guard, Full Size Spare, Mats Mods to date: None, but will do DRLs, Cornering Fog Lights, Fiscon Bluetooth when I get VCDS

According to the production codes this is what my car came with: 5RV = Right exterior mirror: aspherical 5SJ = Left exterior mirror: convex The driver's side aspherical mirror is very good: flat glass for the inner 75-80% so you can judge distance, convex glass for the outer portion to eliminate blindspots. The change between the two marked with a dotted line so you know which bit to trust for distance judging. (Copied from SAAB who were the first to do this in the early 1980s). I've not noticed if the left mirror really is very convex. In the US they have the message etched in to the mirror "Warning objects in the mirror are closer than they appear". I've always thought it would be simple to just have a note on the front of the manual, "Stupid people shouldn't drive cars", but then they don't RTFM either... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Objects_in_mirror_are_closer_than_they_appear Mercedes used to have different size mirrors left to right, now that was over-rational.

Hello Sarge Thanks for the info. Trouble is that the dogs will stand on the tray not knowing that it is un-supported, then it will droop, and the little yappers with think it's a toy and chew it... I've ordered a roll of this rubber matting and I'm going to cut to fit a mat for the top and also a mat for the bottom. The 4m roll is twice what I need so I can afford to have two goes at getting it right. http://www.rubbermattinguk.co.uk/rubbermattingdetail.asp?m=6&p=9 Best wishes David

This will probably confuse as much as help - it certainly confused me. My car a 2011MY Elegance. I ordered the optional Light Assist. The car came with the light assist and the boarding spots. I wasn't expecting the boarding spots at all as none of the brochures say that they come with either the Light Assist or the Elegance trim. Needless to say I'm pleased, they are a nice touch. The car also came with a boot net, again nowhere in the sales blurb would you expect to get a boot net with an Elegance. It was even factory fit as it is in the option codes. In my view the finer aspects of the specs is a bit of pot luck and Skoda UK don't really have a clue or even attempt to market the specs with much accuracy.

Yup - quick and easy to check the operation of the mainbeam low/high operation. My car is 2011MY, you can read the new owners' manual (see the sticky threads at the top of this forum), but here's the difference: 2011MY - to select main beam push the stalk away from the wheel - main beam is selected and the stalk then springs back to the middle. Pre 2011MY - to select main beam push the stalk away from the wheel and the stalk stays away from the wheel. The graphic of the stalk for the 2011MY is two arrows unshaded and the centre block shaded white. The graphic of the earlier stalk is the push-away arrow and the centre block shaded white. Again comparision of the brochure or owners' manuals will show the difference.

Does anyone know if there is a mat for the upper part of the variable floor. I have an estate with the variable floor but all the Skoda accessory mats are for the standard floor. I've read elsewhere on the forum of people using these mats and just letting the excess hang down the sides of the floor - but my dogs will chew it if I leave it like that. I thought that part DAA620003 might be correct as it is described as a floor mat. But I've found out that it is for the lower floor to cover the spare wheel well. I thought that something that I cut to size might work like this: http://www.cannoncarmats.com/BootMatInformation.html But I'd much rather buy something ready made if anyone can recommend. Thanks for your help.

It's annoying even on my DSG car. If I'm in D all I want it to show is D. If I've moved it to manual then fine show me the gear. Having it show D1, D2, D..7 is just a distraction. If I gave a hoot about what gear the car is in I wouldn't have bought an automatic - picking the right gear is its problem not mine, and I don't want a running commentary. Interesting to see that on the manuals it is prompting for an early change up. The DSG gets to D6 or D7 when pottering around town at 30 mph, and that's with just the 1.4 TSI, mind you it changes down very quickly when required. Lovely gearbox, but no need for it to show-off its machinations.

National type approval was phased out in the 90s, it was replaced by "Whole Vehicle Type Approval" where the whole vehicle in all its specs and forms was approved once for sale in any EU market. There have often been car lighting odditiies that have caused confusion when they don't appear to meet the norms of the domestic care makers: SAABs and Volvos had DRLs way back into the 70s - my father was always being "flashed" to tell him he had his lights on. In the 80s the the UK tried an odd concept called "Dim-Dip" whereby if you switched on your sidelights when the ignition was on then the headlamps came on at lower power (very odd as the highway code says if conditions warrant lights then it is headlamps you must use, i.e. the only people who drive with sidelights really are dim-dips...). Recently Volvos have even had the US-style amber side marker lights. I'm not sure the centre-high-level brakelights were covered by regs when they first came in - but they were one of the best recent ideas. And extra lights that come on in reverse, my SAAB 900 had bulbs at the rear of the wrap-round DRLs that came on in reverse to illuminate back down the side of the car - odd but most helpful. I'm activating both DRLs and corner foglamps when I can got hold of VCDS. Trafficators, yellow headlights, blue foglights, amber brakelights, wing-top tell-tales, cyclops lights - any many other oddities from the past which one can still see on classic cars from time-to-time. Worst idea of all - rear foglights. I've used them less than half a dozen times in twenty-five years of driving. Mostly they are just used by people incorrectly and in circumatnaces where they diminish the obvious and safety critical contrast that shows that a car that is braking. Such a mis-used light that manufacturers have had to try everything to stop us leaving them on.

Collected the car yesterday, it is indeed a 2011MY and all as ordered: Elegance Estate, 1.4TSI, DSG, Sunroof, Curtain Airbags, Light Assist, Maxidot, Fullsize Spare, Mats, Dog Guard, Anthracite. On the 2011MY front it seems to be a bit of a "spot the difference" competition and the only difference I can see is the self-cancelling dip/main beam operation for the left-hand column stalk. I don't think anything else was due to change on the Elegance trim. It seems that the MFSW was delayed in introduction, and it's never been clear if that was coming on the DSG cars anyway. Crateris alloys remains for Elegance. There is a boot net and boarding spots which I wasn't expecting. The rear reading lights remain (and a very nice angled installation on the back of the sunroof buldge). I bought that car "from the brochure" without any test drive, and so far I'm delighted with the drive, the quality, and the features. In all the best ways it reminds me of the C-class estate I wrote-off fifteen months ago. The 1.4TSI and DSG are a nice relaxed combination and in "D" head for the high gears promptly and utilize the torque - at 30 mph it selects 6th gear and drives very happily. I'm planning to add the Fiscon handsfree, a 12v socket in the dash-top box, and enable DRLs and cornering lights in due course. So far no issues with sound insulation; I'll upgrade if needed.

My dealer has just phoned me to say that Skoda UK have had a problem with the administration of emissions certification for a batch of Octavias and that my new car can't be registered until the issue is resolved. This is the bulletin from Skoda to the dealers: COC data failure update 17 Jun 10 SK0472/10 Unfortunately, we are still testing the solution to the registration problem outlined yesterday What we do know is that we will not be able to register most of the vehicles with EU4 engines in vehicles built after 29 April before early to mid-next week. All other vehicles should be available to register tomorrow, if not by close of business today. This issue has not affected all vehicles – we have processed more than 500 registrations this week already. Please ensure your staff check that the full registration data is available for individual vehicles before booking a handover appointment with customers. This may require full registration of the vehicle before agreeing handover times with customers. We have spoken to the DVLA about the possibility of implementing the contingency process. Unfortunately, this option has been rejected and is therefore not available. We understand how frustrating this issue is. Rest assured we are working around the clock to find a complete solution.

Oops, didn't get many sales is pretty much how it used to happen. A manufacturer allocates production volumes & schedules to its different sales companies around the world. They have to take the allocation a certain time before the scheduled build date. If they release their allocation it is then used to reduce back-orders from other sales companies. So, oops no orders in one country results in quicker build for others. I don't think a manufacturer would put on "a line" to support a short-term marketing promotion in one market. The volume from a new line would need demand from many countries and the investment is large and long-term so not someting that one can turn on and off for a sales deal. Generally to respond to demand a factory will do three things: change the mix on the line (most modern plants make two or more models on the same line to allow flexibility between model demand cycles); speed up the line (i.e. increase the rate of production); put on another shift (i.e. operate the line for longer each day). I am a little out of date, in the 90s I worked for Ford, Nissan, and consulted to FIAT, and its been about four years since I walked a production line (Toyota, Burnaston), but I don't think the physics of making a car has changed too much.

Just been to the dealer to see if my car was waiting for its PDI. I found it and I think that it is Week 22 / 2011MY. This is the production label on the screen: When I looked into the car the left-hand column stalk has the self-cancelling main/dip graphic per the 2011MY handbook and brochure. Alloy wheels are Crateris. I forgot to see if it had a multi-function steering wheel, but I'm not expecting it to as I read elsewhere on this forum of delays to that. Apparently some of the codes mean: 8AG = Radio with CD/MP3 9J9JCS = code not found :-( 948029 = code not found :-( 5K5 = Transit coating film with additional transport protection measures C2P = Alloy wheels 6.5J x 16 9W0 = W/o car phone preparation/installation 1D0 = Without trailer hitch 0VF = Information kit in English GR0 = Without emergency tire inflator 3S2 = Black roof rails 6M5 = Trunk net F0A = No special purpose vehicle, standard equipment 8K8 = Low beam assistant with "Coming Home" function (Thanks to the VW Decoder) I'll update this weekend when I get the car.

The dealer told me that my car is Week 22 build, I'm taking delivery on Friday 17th. I'm sceptical that it really can be a Week 22 build with such a short time between manufacture and delivery. Luckily for the Elegance there is little difference - as far as I can tell just a slight difference to the way the headlamp flash/dip works. Anything else like DRLs is just software and can be turned. I'll post again when I've been able to see for real if it is a Week 22 car.

For people tracking order/build/delivery timings (as I have been - thanks for all the postings by others, the info has kept me sane): Placed the order for my car on Friday 9 April (end of Week 14), initially told it was scheduled for Week 32, build was brought ahead to Week 22, vehicle ready for delivery from Wed 16 June onwards, I'm taking delivery on Friday 18 June (end of Week 24). Ten weeks from order to delivery, which is OK given the number of options I added. Car: Octavia Elegance estate 1.4 TSI + DSG + sunroof + curtain airbags + maxi-dot + light assist + spare wheel + mats + anthracite metallic

Depends which type of DRLs. I thought that with new soon-to-be-mandatory type DRLs (on Octavia either second bulb in in fog lights, or LEDs in similar location) when the DRLs were on the headlights were off, and vice versa, i.e. not possible to have both on at once. Page 52 of owners' manual explains what bulbs comes on with what types of DRLs. https://mediaportal.skoda-auto.com/resource/documentation/manuals/en/Octavia/06-2010/Manual/A5_Octavia_OwnersManual.pdf "On vehicles with separate lights* for daylight driving lights in the fog lights or in the front bumper, the parking lights and the licence plate light do not come on when activating the function daylight driving lights (neither front nor rear). If the vehicle is not equipped with separate lights* for daylight driving lights, the combination of the low beam, the parking lights (front and rear) including the licence plate light is used as daylight driving lights." If I've read it wrong then I guess the best colour match would depend on if the DRLs are LED type (vRS and Scout) or fog light type (any FL Octavia with fogs): so Xeons to colour match the LEDs, and H-type incandesents to match the second bulbs in the fog housing.