chimaera

I'm not sure what your knowledge level is, so I'll go back a few steps. Oil gets thinner as it warms up, quite a bit through the temperature an engine will span from cold start up to normal operating temperature. A single grade oil that works well in a cold engine will be poor at operating temperature. If this single grade oil is optimised for normal operating conditions, it's going to be like treacle in a cold engine. Multigrade oil overcomes this by changing viscosity characteristics as it heats up, resulting in a constant effective viscosity through the temperature range. Oil works as a lubricant by creating a film between the two parts so that they don't rub on each other. Lubricity is a measure of how well the oil does this. Lubricity is a function of viscosity and the oil's chemistry. Thicker oils create a thicker film and improve separation between the parts (up to the limit of the tolerances between the parts). Oil chemistry looks at improving the oil's ability to prevent contact and friction at a given film thickness (basically making it more slippery). This is a way to give low viscosity oils better lubricity. It's a combination of basic oil chemistry and additive packages. Lower viscosity oils take less energy to pump around, reducing parasitic losses. They will also make it into all of the oil galleries faster from startup, so you improve cold running protection. Manufacturers like this because they can improve efficiency in the first instance, and protect the engine better from ignorant owners in the second. An additional consequence of lower viscosity is that it allows tighter tolerances between parts which can improve performance. So that 0W8 oil is going to be pretty thin all the way through the operating temperature range, and provided the chemistry is good enough, it should be more reliable and efficient. A side note on test cycles: they are not a reliable prediction of how the vehicle will perform on the road due to the variation of real world conditions from the test. What they do give is a basis for comparison: a better WLTP figure will on average mean better fuel consumption/lower emissions on the road. So if Toyota's test with the 0W8 has improved its official test rating, then it will also have improved its real world performance by some amount. Even if the test is done in bad faith by the manufacturer, basic physics still dictates that improvement in the test figure will improve real world too.

AliExpress is a bit of a lottery when it comes to accurate descriptions and quality. Caveat emptor.

Viscosity isn't the only parameter affecting how the oil performs. Modern lubricity additives will allow a lower viscosity oil function well compared to thicker 'conventional' oils. Lower viscosity means less work pumping it around, and more importantly I think it gets oil into all the moving parts faster since you're not waiting as long for the heat to thin it out.

Probably damage to the wiring between the door and the body. If you have the door card off, you could try applying 12 V to the central locking motor to open it.

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That's an unusually short time for it to fail. Was the installation done correctly ? You do not want a single mass flywheel. The engine was designed specifically to use a DMF and components have been lightened as a result. A snapped crankshaft is not something you want to deal with.

Pretty immediate if it's going to happen. I avoided all this hassle on mine by using Skoda's wiring kit. Everything plugs in neatly, and you get some nice bonus features: ESP towing mode (can detect and correct sway), engine/transmission knows you're towing and can modify its operation accordingly, alarm will go off if the trailer is unplugged while the car is locked, you'll get bulb out warnings for your trailer too.

Our 2012 does, so I'd be surprised if a 2013 didn't. It's easy to check anyway, just pull up the seat base and see if the fittings are there.

The tail lights are powered/controlled from the BCM. If you get this wrong you could fry the BCM (you wouldn't be the first). A new one of those is expensive. The subscription to erWin is a tiny fraction of the cost of a BCM. You get the factory wiring diagrams immediately (pdf download) and no more confusion or guessing. I can't help you because the diagrams I have are for my pre-facelift 2012 and may not be the same as the 2014 you have. (Even year to year there can be minor changes)

It'll cost you less than a tenner to go on erWin for an hour and grab the Skoda wiring diagrams.

You can buy the service manuals (which include the wiring diagrams) from Skoda at https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/erwin/showHome.do

Feed for the relay should come from a fused power supply from the fuse panel. Connection to the lights should only be for switching purposes. Any large current draw on a bulb connection could blow fuses or damage the BCM.

You probably won't want to hear this, but single mass flywheel is a really bad idea. These engines were designed specifically around the DMF and the crankshaft is lightened since it doesn't have to withstand high shock and vibration loads. They're not strong enough to last long term with a SMF.

Do you have a genuine RossTech VCDS interface? The long coding helper there can help you restore the coding. Loss of coding like this is a common problem with cheap knock-offs of VCDS.

You need some fairly specialised hardware and software to reflash the cluster firmware to match the car it's going into. It's not a simple matter of changing coding. Have you verified that the replacement headlights are sending the correct signal to the cluster, on the correct pin? There's a possibility that the wiring pinouts and clusters are different between the projector and reflector headlamps and this could be why your second cluster is working. You could also try applying 12 V to the pin for the indicator lamp on the original cluster and see if it lights up.

Right, definitely something up with the ABS. Time to get a diagnostic scan done on the control module to see what's going on.

What is the full size of each tyre fitted? Are all 4 the same section, profile and rim diameter? Are the 4 wheels all the same diameter and width? If everything is not exactly the same on each corner, then you could run into issues with these systems because the wheels will not all be running at the same speed. Another thing that can cause what you are describing is a flat or disconnected battery. The ABS module in particular gets quite upset when this happens. To reset it, with the engine running, turn the steering wheel fully left then fully right before returning to the centre. This resets the steering angle sensor and makes the controller happy again. I'd suggest trying this before you go any further, it's quick to do and you'll know straight away if it has worked. A fault scan of the ABS module would also be worth doing, just to see what it thinks is going on. It may help guide further fault finding.

What wheels & tyres did you fit? Are they all the same rolling radius?

My mechanic just charged me €363 in labour to do the job, plus the cost of the parts. It's about 4 hours work to do the whole lot. I had a mechanic do it for me because I didn't have the time or energy to tackle it myself. The procedure is in the service manual which you can purchase from Skoda at https://erwin.skoda-auto.cz/erwin/showHome.do

No, it is done without removing the engine. You do the mounts one at a time and make sure the engine is supported when you are removing the mount.

The only way to reduce engine vibration is to change the engine mounts. If the car is 14 years old and still on the original mounts, they are almost certainly shot to pieces and replacing them will make a big difference. In general, to eliminate noise you want to do two things. First is stop large (metal especially) panels from vibrating because this creates a lot of noise. This is what the rubber sheets do, and even relatively small amounts of material can make a big difference. Second is reduce 'echoes' in empty spaces between panels i.e. stop any noise generated by vibrating panels moving through open spaces within the bodywork. This is what the foam is for. If you have room, the best stuff is the foam with the little pyramids on it, and make sure they face the empty space.

Yes, the track rod end will have moved on the rack when you tightened it. Also, the torque setting is for tightening the locknut while you counterhold the track rod end to keep it in place. If you applied that torque without counterholding, you've probably moved it quite a lot. Whoever did your tracking will have tightened up everything correctly before they let it leave the workshop too so there should be no need to go back to it yourself afterwards.

The lock nut's job is to secure the tie rod end once the tracking has been set. You should hold the tie rod end and turn the lock nut to avoid messing up the tracking.

Satnav defaulting to German is often a sign that the GPS antenna is dead.