roguebrit

Do go and do it - it is wonderful, and I love it so much!

Well, thanks, and I continue to be amazed at the technology built into these toys. I was aware that the box adapted to driving style, it was very noticeable with my DSG Golf, but not that this was a longer term learning/adaptive process. I am sounding more and more like my late dad, but having turned 60 this month, oh horror, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised..

Thanks so much for all the detailed reporting on this brave, groundbreaking, and (for me) terrifying procedure - just back from hol and have enjoyed reading the whole thread, and everyones input, enormously. I wish I wasn't such a coward about these things - I have to say I share the reservations voiced by some folk already. But I am so pleased it has worked out so well and, now that the process has been so well pioneered, I just know it is going to niggle around in the back of my mind for ever.. My last two Defenders had plug-in devices that really contributed greatly to making ownership a near-practicable proposition! Mike - I was interested in your comment about initial 'lumpy' gear changes now smoothing out, and that this could be due to some sort of learning process? Was this a serious comment - ie - does the gearbox have that sort of functionality/capability?? It will be great to continue to get feedback on how this works out, and I do hope and trust everything continues to be fine.

Take it up with your dealer - I bet it will just get replaced, and that will be the cheapest solution . As you say - 'it shouldn't happen...' Perhaps James at Allams will comment if he reads the thread..

I do James, but I have to figure a way to get 'em off the phone, and onto the forum! I am a bit of a luddite, as you know..

Another here that likes a high seating position - but have had to lower it a tad due to that pesky mirror - I can't stand not having a clear view to most points to the front, without ducking and diving around. As my set-up is, the door armrest is pretty useless, and the top of the door, below the window, is a bit hard! There you go. I do use the centre rest on long journeys, a bit. Mine seems to work most of the time, but sort of 'misses the ratchet' occasionally when I try to reset it high after going into the box. Praps that's just me though.

Ah - Mike - I must go back and see if you have posted a report on the re-map since I have been away! That is something of greatest interest to me.. I regret I don't have a heated screen on my 'as it was, ex-demo' model - I could have done with one last week. On my old XS Defender I used to see the wires occasionally, but never an issue.

Hi - mine was registered at the same time - I have just checked outside and the front trim looks OK to me. The extreme outside edge of the back logo does show some sign of water ingress in a couple of small patches - perhaps 6mm diameter. I share some of your concern, since I do take care of my cars, and don't expect this sort of thing to happen this quickly. If it gets any worse I will most certainly take it up at first service (another 3,000 miles or so), and I think you should too. These plastic coated trims do not seem to last well, as I noticed on my old Golf. The logo had started to really look tatty after 3 years. Incidentally, I am still awaiting a replacement for the chrome-effect surround of the front logo - mine had nasty mottled staining under the surface from new. I understand from the dealer that they have a few of these on order, for several different models, and it is a known problem. They think the delay in getting replacements might be due to Skoda re-sourcing this item. Whatever, I don't think we should tolerate the sort of deterioration you describe, in these sort of timescales, and I would be very surprised if your dealer argued otherwise..

Hi Folks Thought I would report having just returned back from a week in wildest Highland (literally) Scotland where weather was, at first, very cold, with deep snow, and later in week had compressed and melted to a perfect ice skating surface, covered in water, and virtually impossible to stand up on. The 500 mile journey home at the weekend was the wettest and windiest I have experienced for a very long time, with some deep flood water at times. I am pleased to report that The Beasty, wearing its Conti winters, performed faultlessly throughout, inspiring confidence whenever and wherever it was driven, including some pretty awful 'estate-track' conditions. I had also just installed a Road Angel, and was well pleased at how that performed too (see thread in ICE forum if interested). All in all, I am enjoying this car as much as any I have owned. The pretty constant, very strong headwind - added to motorway speeds - contributed to overall consumption around 36 mpg - which initially disappointed me. But there, you can't have everything. I have noticed what a dramatic difference a constant high road speed makes to The Beasty's thirst, compared to my old - similarly powered - Golf. Hardly surprising. Only pain was on the way up the M6, BANG, and a nasty stone impact star appeared on lower middle screen. But a call via Bluetooth arranged an appointment for my return, and I now have a new screen, and am pleased to say I can't tell the difference. Am now spending a couple of happy hours going through all the interesting forum stuff I have missed in the interim - this place is so good, so active, and so useful, I can't bear to think I am missing anything!!

Hi - hope you mange to do it - I wouldn't have attermpted it myself. Just back from a week in Scotland - a little different to portugal. Minus 13 at night at beginning of last week, and torrential floods and wind on way back. Pleased to report that the Road Angel performed good! Hope you had good hol!

Tony - yes - it was a bit of a game to get to the back of the fuse board. The trim was removed around the light swithch etc (mine is the wood effect I ordered from Czech R via Allams). Light switch etc was also removed, I seem to recall. There's a kind of central strap in the lower middle part of the facia which is held in by a screw, and when removed enables the lower facia to be removed. To be honest, I can't recall if there's any other screws to be removed in that facia panel - the disadvantage of not doing it yourself! But the principle is - you need to remove enough so that the fuse board can be passed out to the left, and the back accessed that way - you cannot access the back from the right by unscrewing the two holding bolts. Sorry I can't be more specific. I had gone off for a cuppa at the critical time . They also put an in-line fuse into the wire prior to the socket - it sits under the top caddy also. Like your son, I like the Road Angel. With sub etc, it is not a cheap solution, but it does seem to be a well thought out and supported one. I had a couple of queries and, in both cases, spoke to a competent UK human-being within seconds of calling them - that bodes well, I think! All best, Roger

Glad you have recovered from what could have been a very dangerous incident - waiting with great anticipation to hear a report on the remap, as I have a growing (and unsettling) niggle in the back of my mind that it is something I might want to do too - ah me!

Wowy - scanned though all this - it is a case of a large part of the pleasure being in doing the job, obviously. Superb design, I think, all round, as well as incredibly competant and fastidious execution. Fascinating, and beggars belief!

Hi again - I wanted just to complete the story in case another Yeti owner sees this. I actually got Halfords to do the instal for me - I know the young guys in our local branch are real enthusiasts and do a lot of ICE etc stuff - and they did a very professional job, I think. I was there throughout, and we used your notes extensively too, thanks. Using your suggestion, Tony, we took the supply from fuse 6, the rear window one - it is convenient from a position viewpoint also. By removing dash panels to the left and below the box, and undoing the two bolts that hold the fuse holder in place, it is easy to move the holder out, to the left, and access the back of it - where a connection was made into the wire entering the fuse position. The wire was taken up to underneath the top caddy - ala la your installation - again fairly easy using a flexible cable guide. There it terminates in a normal in-car socket, where the Angel power cable plugs in, retaining the 5 volt step-down functionality of the the latter. The socket was earthed to the large steel member visible under the caddy, and all was secured rattle-free to the same by plastic ties. The lead for the Angel unit was taken through the floor of the caddy - a hole just big enough for the plug - and eventually hidden under the rubber mat. The wire emerges out of the back of the lid to - in my case at the moment - the Angel, which is situated to the right of the caddy on a flat part of the dash. This position seems to suit me best - I used heavy duty Velcro coins which provide a bit of 'give' and slightly more clearance underneath. But I have used the round 'clip-in' base which, despite my initial scepticism, seems to work well for removal etc. I have had to relieve the rear of the caddy lid just a touch to prevent it pinching the cable when closed - I used a dremel very judiciously to remove the sharp edge - the effect is virtually invisible with the box in place, but the cable is nice and free now. So that's my installation - not as elegant as your sophisticated solution - but I think should serve me OK. Many thanks for all the advice which was most welcome and useful! Roger

Tony - thanks so much for your trouble and for your reply. I had written a detailed description of what we have done - using your notes extensively - and when I went to post it - zap - the notes disappeared, and I dont have time to repeat, there is a server problem apparently... I will report in fully in due course - have to be tommorow now! Thanks again, Roger

Hi Peter! Yours is similar to mine, but I don't have the sunroof. You will love it, I am sure!

Absolutely a great idea and added mine also!

Thanks Folks - John, while I share some of your enthusiasm for the Columbus, it is not a speed camera/laser warning device (even tho it can show speed cams as POIs), nor does it give accurate road speeds, hence the Angel. It is significantly better, IMO, with V7 maps, I have to admit. I still prefer Tom Tom mapping, tho, and dash top mount meant mine was in line of sight, and great for providing warning of tight bends etc on the remote roads I tend to frequent..I miss that. But I agree the many integrated feastures of the Columbus are great - like reducing radio volume during route messages and so on. Hi Great yeti - yes, thanks, I have studied your instal closely - and thanks for the trouble you went to. Yes, you can have a lidless caddy, I believe, and it would indeed sit in there. It will also sit on the lid quite happily too - and retain the usefulness of the caddy for bits and bobs. I guess my main problem with both solutions are that it is so obvious - definately need to remove constantly from the vehicle, and it is something I really want to avoid. Do you find the rear laser sensor something that is effective and useful? I ask because I am more and more tending towards the 'behind the tax disk' placement, and that is one feature that might be compromised. Otherwise, tests seem to show it would work good - not as elegant a solution as yours, but acceptable for me! thanks, Roger And all best for the New Year also!

Well, however 'off the wall' I find Mr Clarkson et al, I enjoy hearing reports that confirm my real world experience.

The Columbus OK but, missing speed cam and road speed functions of my old Tom Tom, I have invested in one of these for my Yeti. I wonder if anyone has any experience that might help with some of my dilemmas/questions please? I intend to hard-wire into a ignition switched supply - hate trailing leads. The mount looks flaky for frequent dismounts (for security and updates) so I am thinking of leaving the round clip in, and using velcro or a magnetic, or something, fixing method. Placement is the puzzle, esp as manual says avoid heater vents. They say central position best - behind the central opening dash-top caddy won't work - but actually on the lid might - it will still open OK. To the right of the caddy, to the left of the 'instrument binnacle' perhaps looks most viable in a sort of central position (reckoned to be best for rear laser detection - but not sure how important/useful that is anyway). Next up would be next to driver pillar on the right - just behind the 'side vent' or to the right of the screen vent closer to the screen. The big disadvantage of all these methods so far is that the wretched thing is in such clear view from outside - it is too big to put into the caddy (a la the brilliant Garmin instal by Great Yeti reported and described earlier). I personally wouldn't want to drive around with the lid open though. On the passenger side might work, and the license disk holder disguises it quite well from the outside (they say 'always remove when leaving vehicle' - ha - they live in another world, otherwise the mount clip would be that much better...) Anyway, any thoughts that might help me think through this would be most welcome! Thanks, Roger

Graham's comments must be most pertinent, with his experience and duplicating your situation as he does. I find the strange 17" standard wheel and tyre size in the Yeti such a hassle too - for all-terrains or winters - the former not available at all, really, for the supplied alloys. I come from a number of recent Defenders, and do a fair amount of rough track and, these days, 'lighter' off road stuff - not hard core, but all round 'farm' stuff, and have not found the Yeti wanting yet - I haven't used the off road button at all in all the recent weather. I am kind of suspicious of not knowing what it is doing, for one thing, being used to more 'direct' systems, and simply don't think of it! Although I was originally pleased to have it the RRP, I dont think it' has actually had to contribute anything - I sometimes wonder how much of a mud trap all the bits are as I plough through muddy ruts, in fact! The amount of mud I sluice out after a pressure wash tells me - quite a lot! You could say 'a Yeti in the hand...' etc. but then you are having to wait perhaps half the time, say up to ten weeks, to get something which is not quite what you want. In spite of what I have said above, I personally would wait to get what I wanted - I have a habit of regretting haste afterwards. But I would definately speak to James, and take a good look around generally, before committing to anything. I walked into a dealer and drove off with mine 1 week later, spec pretty much as I wanted - rare perhaps, but it did happen!

Thanks, John, for that. I have decided to go the cowards route, and have invested in a Road Angel. That way I can keep bang up to date, get all warnings etc, and also get the SatNav speed - all of which I miss from my old el cheapo Tom Tom - that nevertheless worked superbly well for 100 quid for many years!

I am sure they will (when I need a new one of not before), and thanks again for the help! I am wondering whose that nice looking tangerine 4x4 waiting outside was - someone here? It's a striking colour, no doubt! For anyone planning to get down to Allams from the North - I come down the A1 - going back via the Dartford Tunnel was a bit further round the M25, but a whole lot quicker than via Heathrow, with the roadworks that have been in place since the ice age. I did a fair bit of 'congestion crawling' and standing stationary, but the beasty recorded about 48 MPG for my 180 mile or so round trip from Beds. So that was quite pleasing, although as yet I am not sure how that relates to reality!

Thank you, Raglits, for that and the link - looks very interesting. I see why they need to be added to a CD now - they drop into the appropriate place in the file structure, as I used to do with my old 'SD card driven' Tom Tom. I am thinking that simple POI implementation is not really a viable, or safe, way to go. I think I will also have to consider another solution for speed cams - it pees me off somewhat considering how much the Columbus cost though!

I feel for you - it is something we all dread happening, such a pain. There but by Grace go we all!