BoxerBoy

After a year I got the wee garage 4 minutes (walking) from home to change my oil. Using a pukka Skoda filter and a gallon of Opie Castrol. Pay peanuts compared with main dealer. Received a full page checklist too. An oil change service is simply that. Don't be fooled by the "sexy" video walk round. We can all count our wheels and tyres, wipers, etc. A few days ago I did the exact same thing with my wife's low miles 2023 Polo. I've got the air and cabin filters on the shelf for future use. £819 my arse! ps - I'm seriously thinking of buying these 2 cars at the end of the lease period in this ever changing climate we live in - so I'm not fussed about dealer paperwork.

New brake discs has become one of garage industry’s favourite money maker. Both main dealers and independent MOT garages. It’s an easy job, so popular. Rusty looking discs appear often as a “recommendation” on MOT tests. Not a Fail. Just an observation. I’ve met the challenge myself. My previous 2 SKODAs got new rear discs under warranty. Made of cheese. Current one doing better. (I’ve been looking at history for lots of cars recently).

In June I bought 4 Goodyear Vector 4Seasons from ASDA. £485 delivered. Sorry - they are 17" for my spare winter wheels.

I’m on Kodiaq No.3. 2L petrol after 2 diesels. Multi-mode DSG every time. Always with paddles. I also have DCC. I flip-flop through gearbox modes and suspension modes all the time. And I mix and match all the permutations too. Roughly 10K miles a year. A mix of open roads and regular “taxi” trips into Glasgow city. My shift paddles get well used every trip. Very often to pull the car back into gear when Normal mode insists on coasting. Sometimes in full manual mode when I’m having cross country fun in Sport mode. ECO never gets used and Stop/Start is a no no. You’ll have to decide what you need / want to suit your own driving style.

Sounds like Cuckoo Land.

Driving with 2 fingers and elbow on window cill! Sorry, cant take you seriously.

I can’t envisage the key ever leaving my pocket, so it surprises me that folk leave keys in cars.

Changing pollen filter is a 5 minute job. Readily available online for pennnies. Compared with Stealers.

Eliminating hesitation begins by switching off the Stop/Start (nonsense) button. ECO mode is also banned. Another killer option. Next, make use of Sport mode to get that extra sharpness from standstill. And also improves response on the move. A simple click of the gear selector lever. Flicking the gear selector sideways to hold a gear longer also helps responsiveness at times. I flip / flop all the time to suit the road conditions. And my mood. Auto this and auto that does not mean that the driver should abandon all responsibility for making best use of the vehicle. Various other 21st century “safety features” might also be switched off. Such as lane control, speed limit sign control, collision protection. ACC also carries some nonsense behaviour. Our Polo has ACC while I prefer my standard cruise control. It stays on till I tell it otherwise. My wife and I have enjoyed DSG on 8 VAG vehicles since 2008 and I reckon we’ve got to grips with them. I love DSG.

I'm enjoying DCC for the 2nd time (Kodiaq) and love it every day. I flip-flop between modes frequently. With 17" winter wheels vs. 19" summer wheels I find I can ring the changes to deal with road surfaces and/or my mood. I never touch ECO.

Doesn't sound healthy. Does the car still drive?

I’ve just ordered 4 Goodyear Vector Gen 3 All Season tyres. Was surprised to find ASDA are cheapest. Coming in a few days. Less than £500 delivered. As an aside - I was considering re-coating the black 17” winter wheels till I found it would cost at least £350. They’re not really in bad condition so I’ll just clean them and touch up a few bubbles.

Today I finally got round to removing my winter wheels after the car has been idle for a few weeks. Tyres are done. Will get the wheels refurbed. May consider All Season tyres in future.

It’s easy to say Yes. Or No don’t bother. The reality these days is that Skoda fit poor quality discs so it’s not unusual to see wear on discs. In your position I’d visit a trusted local independent garage and ask for a price for new discs and pads. A Skoda dealer will say £££££££££

Sorry, I can’t explain the intricacies of how the DSG thinks. But I can say my wife and I have been driving 8 VAG DSG cars since 2011 and have never encountered any problems with the transmission. As a retired engineer, I do reckon the clutches must be slipping or else the car would shudder to a standstill, like old school clutches. It’s the only logical option. We love ‘em.

I'm surprised you found the engine air filter difficult. What did you find? It only took me a few minutes to remove the 8 (I think) screws holding the cover on. Then swapping the old filter for new and putting the 8 screws back in. I did cheat using both a normal Torx hand tool plus a power drill with a Torx bit. It really was easy. Sorry, no pictures.

I say it's a very poor offer from Skoda at 10 months. Either a poor dealer or Skoda have tightened the screw with this common problem. My first 2017 Kodiaq got 2 sets of rear brakes. After 1 year and again after 2 years at 23,000 miles. My second 2020 Kodiaq got new rear brakes at 11 months, 11,000 miles. Brakes were made of cheese. My third Kodiaq seems to use a better quality disc. Still ok at 10,000 miles.

Skoda dealers do come up with scary prices for routine servicing. I’ve recently enjoyed my first annual basic oil change with a local garage. I provided the oil and filter. Cost peanuts in comparison. And I changed the the air and pollen filters. 10 minute jobs for pennies. We can only vote with our feet.

Too late. Perfectly usable blades available for pennies on FleaBay. Work a treat.

I found a key in a drawer that belonged to my previous Kodiaq. Tried asking if anyone could find the current owner, but no luck. Can anyone use a spare key and code it to their car? I’d hate to throw a good key in the bin.

I cut away a piece on the inside of the flap where the “bolt” turns to engage the lock. It will never lock again. Open the flap and actuate the bolt and you’ll see it turn 90 degrees.

Last time I looked online plugs were selling for around £18 each.

Yes. Yes. Yes.

Further to my ramble on another page about dealer servicing, today I replaced both my air filters. Yesterday, my local garage (4 minute walk from home) changed my oil and filter (with oil and filter provided by me) and ticked off all the boxes for a First Service. Even reset the service flag. For fun I timed myself. Engine air filter took me 5 minutes. From exiting garage. Didn’t look very dirty at 9,400 miles. Pollen filter took longer - 9 minutes all in - because I had to return to garage for a big screwdriver to lever the tags back that release the glovebox lid. The side tags seem different from my previous Kodiaq and I couldn’t lever them sideways with my fingers. Awkward access and stronger “spring”. I was ready for the RH cog wheel jumping out of place, so reassembled the RH damper before popping the glovebox lid back into place. Pollen filter was pretty dirty. Must be doing a good job. Haven’t calculated my savings yet 🙂

….. and I’m wearing out my LH paddle as I click it back into gear when it freewheels when I done want it to.