Moonman2

OK, thanks guys.

My 170 had its two-year service today and I noticed, from the service record book, that whereas at the one-year service (one year ago) the garage used "engine oil for variable service intervals QG1", this time they didn't. The part number for the oil used today was ZGB115QLB00521, which seems (via a Google search) to be "Quantum engine oil (Fixed Service)", an oil Skoda do not recommend for a diesel with a DPF. For a DPF, Skoda say ZGB115QLB00501 (Quantum engine oil LongLife) must be used. Am I going to have a problem? My annual mileage is low (about 4000 miles), but the journeys are not that short or stop/start and the engine is generally up to temperature before I arrive at my destination.

Noted! But then maybe Skoda had a duff batch of radios

Found it and in the middle of watching it, thank-you Unfortunately my multimeter only handles 400mA, so I suspect that would get fried if I tried to put it in series. I'll see if I track down a beefier one from a friend, and then go looking for "parasitic leaks". Hopefully it's the radio, as another poster found.

Thanks for all that. I'll clean the battery terminals, if the rain and wind ever go away.

Maybe Skoda had a duff batch of batteries?

I've just been bitten again by a flat battery! Luckily I knew what to do this time - ignore all the flashing lights and bongs, jump start the beast and take it for a good run. Once again I'm left wondering what has drained the battery, and I've responded to a poster who said his radio did for him. I'll remove the radio fuse (I never listen while I'm driving anyway) and see if the problem recurs. Some general questions if I may, since I've been Googling and found all sorts of conflicting information - How long (roughly) should it take, driving, to recharge the battery to full, assuming it was "dead" to start with (battery voltage was 10.8V) but not actually faulty. Five minutes? Ten minutes? Thirty minutes? An hour? I know, from today's escapade, that forty minutes is enough to buy one one "start", but I've no idea how much charge is now in the battery. The car might not start tomorrow! I drove the car mostly in third and fourth to keep the revs up, in the hope that this would speed up the charging process. Any science to my assumption? When the car is running should one expect the alternator to be able to supply power for whatever is in use? Or is it normal for some battery charge to be consumed when "everything" is on? What are the big power guzzlers in a Yeti? Heated seats I would imagine (and SWBO does like a warm back and derriere). But, air-con? Main-beam? Blower? I'll check the battery earth terminal (as per previous poster) - what effect would a loose one have? Does it restrict the charge that the alternator can push into the battery? There's a small amount of white corrosion on both -ve and +ve battery leads - anything to worry about?

Possibly! My 170 has been stood idle for the past 11 days, and when I tried to start it this morning - NADA. Battery voltage measured 10.5, which I took as a sign of a flat battery. Jump started it from SWMBO's (after a bit of faffing, no easy way to attach the lead to her battery's positive terminal) and took it for a 40 minute run. Switched off, and then, with fingers crossed, switched on again and fortunately it started. Another 10 minutes run home. Battery now measures 12.8V (comparable to SWMBO's 12.7V), but quite how much charge is in the battery I don't know. I had a similar problem about a year ago and that time called out the RAC, who told me it was a known problem with Yeti's fitted with electric seats. The guy installed new firmware for me and told he could no longer see any "activity", which was presumably a good thing. I assumed that had fixed things ... But maybe not - I'll try pulling the fuse for the radio and see if the problem recurs, though hard to believe a modern radio can drain a car battery!

My yearly question - Anybody had a car serviced here recently? Just trying to decide where to take my two-year-old Yeti for its second service. I used them last year and they were fine, but I see that they've moved and when that happens things might change ...

I ended up at the Station Garage in Ewhurst, but I'll bear those in mind, thanks.

Ewhurst it was, two or three weeks ago. No problems at all, booked in easily with Luke via email and a courtesy car was waiting for me on the day. They said my car would be ready by 5PM, I asked if I could have it back by 3PM, they said "shouldn't be a problem" and at 2PM I got a call to say it was ready whenever I'd like to pop back and collect it. So, a good experience

Aldershot's not too far, I'll put it on the list. And I guess you've all convinced me to go with a main dealer, at least until the warranty's up (three years I think). Any more suggestions (do or don't) for dealers gratefully received.

I'm trying to decide where to take my one-year-old, low mileage, Yeti-170 for its first service. Unfortunately some of the local (to Basingstoke) garages don't get too good a review in the Briskoda dealer forums. And some of the forums have been archived (e.g. for Winchester) and have no recent posts and a lot can change in twelve months. So, I'm wondering about independent garages, but am not sure how, in practice, this would affect any future claim under warranty. I can see that it would provide "wriggle room" if Skoda felt like not paying out under warranty so I might be taking a risk, even thought one suspects some of the (good) one-man bands would probably do a much better job than an accountant-run main dealer. And there can't really be that much to do at one year old and low mileage. Does anybody have any experience of this sort of thing? Or any recommendations for a dealer in the south of England ...

Anybody had a car serviced here recently? Just trying to decide where to take my one-year-old Yeti for its first service. Unfortunately some of the local (to Basingstoke) garages don't get too good a review ...

Anybody had a car serviced here recently? Just trying to decide where to take my one-year-old Yeti for its first service. Unfortunately some of the local (to Basingstoke) garages don't get too good a review ...