AMartinD

Once again, thanks to everyone who has replied to my original posting. I've just found the following item on eBay and have ordered one: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SKODA-SUPERB-II-08-15-GEAR-SHIFT-STICK-KNOB-6-SPEED-BLACK-3T0711113/323318773901?_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20160811114145%26meid%3D20b95a6b35364acc9485f5bb51d82dcd%26pid%3D100667%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26mehot%3Dag%26sd%3D172319531018%26itm%3D323318773901%26pmt%3D0%26noa%3D1%26pg%3D2334524&_trksid=p2334524.c100667.m2042 Although it's slightly more expensive than the Poland-sourced item mentioned by Othen it'll hopefully arrive here a bit sooner (although there's no guarantee of that with Royal Mail...!). The eBay posting states that the Reference OE/OEM Number is 3T0711113, 3T0711113TRYP but presumably that covers both the gaiter and the gearknob; there's nothing to indicate what the part number is for just the clip-in insert. When I receive the delivery from S2 Group Parts Ltd I'll try (carefully!) to remove the insert from the gearknob in preparation for swapping it for the faded one on my gearknob - just hope I don't end up breaking any of the clips on the replacement insert! -- Martin

Here's a pic of what the top of my gearknob currently looks like. As I'd previously described, the entire legend showing the gearshift pattern is much less clear than it should be, but what I hadn't noticed until I looked closely at the pic I took this morning is that there appears to be a black tab of some sort obscuring the figure 6 at the lower RHS. There's also a kind of a grey halo around almost all the part of the insert that shows the gearshift pattern, and the edge of the 'halo' looks far too smooth to be the result of wear - most odd! I think I need to try to remove the insert to see what's happened to it - does it just clip in, and hence can be prised out with a screwdriver blade? -- Martin

Thanks to all for the replies. I don't need reminding where the gears are when I'm driving - I think I've just about got the hang of them after almost 55yrs of driving experience... :-) The picture posted by Alan (Othen) shows exactly what I'm pretty sure my gearknob used to look like but now the entire white pattern is almost completely invisible, which is why I began to wonder if there was meant to be some form of back-illumination. What's odd is that the outer surface of the insert in the gearknob is not showing any signs whatsoever of damage, abrasion or wear, and I would have expected the white pattern to be on the inner surface anyway, so I don't believe the cause of the disappearing legend/pattern can be wear - it's almost as though the pattern has just faded away evenly and completely for some reason. I'll try to remember to take a photo of the gearknob in the next day or so and will post it on here. I'll see what I can find by way of replacement inserts, although it might be simpler just to try to find an entire gearknob from one of the dismantlers who advertise online. I'd like to restore the gearknob to looking like it should for when I intend to sell the car in a few months time. -- Martin

Here's a hopefully simple question - is the gearknob on a 2011 Superb Mk II Estate in Elegance trim (with manual-shift 6-speed box) supposed to be internally illuminated, to make the legend showing the gearshift pattern visible? I noticed quite some time ago that the legend on the gearknob on my car is almost completely invisible in normal daylight conditions; I haven't checked it after dark to see if the legend becomes illuminated when the headlights are switched on. I have a vague recollection of the legend being much more visible than it currently is even during the day, so I'm wondering if there's some form of internal illumination behind the legend that might have failed, as some of the surface-mounted LEDs that illuminate the dashboard instruments did several months ago. I asked my local independent VAG specialists if the gearknob is supposed to be illuminated and they didn't know, and there's no mention of gearknob illumination in any of the service/technical documentation I've got for my car, so I'm somewhat puzzled as to why the legend has become almost completely invisible! Anyone got any suggestions??!! Thanks in advance, -- Martin

If anyone doesn't want to have a go themselves at replacing the surface-mounted LEDs that illuminate the instrument cluster, then I can thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommend a small company called Totaltronics who can do it for you; they're located between Coventry and Rugby and will do the job speedily and efficiently. Take a look at: https://totaltronics.com/cat/skoda/ I recently had a partial failure of the illumination of the instrument cluster in my 11-plate Skoda Superb (Mk 2) Estate; the background illumination of the fuel gauge and the water temperature gauge had become intermittent. I had arranged to take the car to Patryk at Totaltronics at 11:00am today; he removed the instrument cluster and replaced not only the one or two failing LEDs that illuminate the fuel and water temp gauges but he also replaced all the other 16 (or was it 18?) surface-mount LEDs that illuminate the entire cluster. He then refitted the cluster to the car, all within about an hour while I waited. The end result is excellent - all the instruments are now fully and clearly illuminated so I wonder if I'd previously suffered some other LED failures that weren't as apparent as the failures of the LEDs that illuminate the fuel and water temp gauges. The cost of the work was £160 which might sound a bit steep but it's almost certainly an awful lot cheaper and more time-effective than buying a second-hand instrument cluster from some dubious source on the Internet and then trying to get it coded so that it'll operate fully and correctly in your car! It's rare to find such competent and speedy service these days, so I can wholeheartedly recommend Totaltronics, especially Patryk's competency, diligence and sheer professionalism (and he's a very nice guy!). -- Martin PS - there was no need to disconnect the battery when removing or refitting the instrument cluster.

If anyone doesn't fancy having a go at replacing the surface-mounted LEDs that illuminate the instrument cluster themselves then I can thoroughly and wholeheartedly recommend a small company called Totaltronics; they're located between Coventry and Rugby and will do the job for you speedily and efficiently. Take a look at: https://totaltronics.com/cat/skoda/ I recently had a partial failure of the illumination of the instrument cluster in my 11-plate Skoda Superb (Mk 2) Estate; the background illumination of the fuel gauge and the water temperature gauge had become intermittent. I had arranged to take the car to Patryk at Totaltronics at 11:00am today; he removed the instrument cluster and replaced not only the one or two failing LEDs that illuminate the fuel and water temp gauges but he also replaced all the other 16 (or was it 18?) surface-mount LEDs that illuminate the entire cluster. He then refitted the cluster to the car, all within about an hour while I waited. The end result is excellent - all the instruments are now fully and clearly illuminated so I wonder if I'd previously suffered some other LED failures that weren't as apparent as the failures of the LEDs that illuminate the fuel and water temp gauges. The cost of the work was £160 which might sound a bit steep but it's almost certainly an awful lot cheaper than trying to get a replacement instrument cluster, bought from some dubious source on the Internet, coded so that it'll operate fully and correctly in your car! It's rare to find such competent and speedy service these days, so I can wholeheartedly recommend Patryk's skills and diligence. -- Martin

Hello Octavia people, from a Superb owner... :-) Later this year I'm looking to replace my 11-plate Superb Estate (Elegance CR 170 2.0 TDi) with probably an Octavia Estate with the 1.5TSi engine - I no longer do the miles to warrant getting another diesel. I've been playing with the car configurator for the SE L estate on the Skoda website and wanted to include Bi-Xenon headlights as an option - I've found them to be excellent on the Superb - but they no longer seem to be available. Instead, the option (or maybe standard fit on the SE L?) seems to be full LED headlights. This got me wondering about how the two different types of headlight compare, so I'll be very interested to hear from anyone who's got experience of both types, I'm especially interested in learning which type has been found to be "better" (whatever that might mean!). Thanks in advance, -- Martin

Another question about a broken door mirror... Last weekend I managed to damage the n/s door mirror on my 2011 Superb Estate CR170, Elegance trim, by hitting the mirror on the handle of a wheelie-bin as I was reversing down my driveway - stupid me!! The mirror was knocked back in the opposite direction to which it folds, and became floppy so I had to secure it with some PVC tape to enable me to go away on a trip for a few days. The mirror glass is intact, as is the outer shell, and all the motors that control the mirror itself all seem to work, as does the heating element. I haven't tried the power-folding for fear of causing more damage! I've managed to obtain a complete 2nd-hand mirror assembly from a dismantler, at about a quarter of the cost of a complete new mirror base unit assembly, and the 2nd-hand unit seems to have all the expected features - power-folding (so I was assured), indicator repeater, puddle-light - so will hopefully be a direct replacement for the damaged mirror. The dismantler assured me that the mirror came off what he described as a "fully-loaded" vehicle he was breaking, which I took to be an Elegance (or higher?) trim level. However... The 2nd-hand mirror assembly has 13 wires going to its connector; although I haven't yet tried to remove the damaged mirror from the car I seem to recall reading somewhere that a full-spec mirror assembly has 15 wires. Can anyone confirm this, and offer any suggestions as to whether or not the 2nd-hand unit is going to be a direct replacement for the original? Thanks in advance, -- Martin

Hi again all, here's an update on the situation re: the possible unauthorised installation of the 23R6 emissions fix on my 2.0TDi CR170 Superb... Approaching 4 weeks ago I had a dialogue with the service management personnel at the local main dealer in whose workshop my car had had the bonnet release repaired; they assured me that the workshop personnel had categorically NOT installed the 23R6 software update without my permission, and I was offered the opportunity to verify for myself, on their premises, that the installed ECU software was a pre-fix version. This morning I took the car into the main dealer's workshop again and saw the output data generated by the ODIS diagnostics system; the data for the ECU in my car shows that the VAG part number is 03L906018CH and that the software version is 7825. The workshop 'master technician' who had done the diagnostics showed me some other information that confirmed that the software version number for the 23R6 emissions fix is 9977 (and possibly later). All of this confirms what I learned a couple of weeks ago from my local independent VAG specialist and from people on this forum, so thanks to everyone for your inputs and I'm now wholly persuaded that the engine symptoms I experienced after my car had been in the main dealer's workshop to have the bonnet release repaired definitely weren't caused by the unauthorised installation of the 23R6 emissions fix. However, something else of potential relevance has just come to light this evening... A good friend of mine who phoned me this evening is acquainted with a chap who, until a couple of months ago, worked for VAG in Banbury. My friend recently told this acquaintance about the symptoms - loss of mid-range pulling power etc - that I'd experienced and the ex-VAG chap immediately told my friend that there's a 'feature' on VAG diesel cars that are more than about four years old that does something to the engine mapping if the engine is left idling for more than about 20mins. Apparently the change to the mapping is intended to prevent the DPF from getting too clogged up in such circumstances, but it has the side-effect of causing the engine to run roughly for some time - a figure of a couple of hours was mentioned - after the period of idling has ended. VAG overcame the problem in more recent cars by modifying the design of the DPF. I wonder if this idle-mode protection was the cause of the problems I experienced back in early July... Has anyone else ever observed any changes to their engine's characteristics after a very lengthy period of idling, eg. when stuck in holiday traffic on a motorway??!! -- Martin

Almost certainly the compressor - I had to have mine, on my 2011 Superb, changed last year after the system failed to produce any chilled air in the middle of last summer... :-( There was apparently a particular model of Sanden compressor (the PXE16) that VAG fitted to a very large number of vehicles; that model had an inherent design flaw that resulted in inadequate lubrication and subsequent failure. Take a look at: http://www.sinspeed.co.uk/sanden-pxe16-air-conditioning-aircon-compressor-skoda/ If you're anywhere near the SW Midlands then I can strongly recommend Motorvation Ltd in Evesham for any aircon-related work. Their principal chap, Geoff Dyde, really knows his stuff and is used by Bosch as a consultant and tutor for teaching aircon stuff to garage mechanics. Motorvation did the work on my aircon system last year and it's now performing as it should (touch wood!). HTH, -- Martin

Well, I've checked again in the boot including under the black foamy stuff and there's no sign of a "23R6" label anywhere. When I picked the car up from the VAG specialist this afternoon, after the service and cambelt change, I didn't get a chance to have a detailed discussion about the findings of their VCDS tests but on the invoice the chap has written "03L 906 018 CH 7825" which he said indicated (to him) that the firmware hasn't been upgraded to 9977 or later... Can anyone confirm that the 7825 in the string of characters mentioned above does indeed represent the firmware version that's installed in the ECU? If it does then it would appear that my suspicions about the main dealer having done the 23R6 upgrade against my instructions are ill-founded, and that perhaps the poor engine performance I'd experienced yesterday and to a lesser extent this morning was due to some other factor. When I drove the car home late this afternoon the engine behaviour did feel more like it had done previously, before I took the car into the main dealer yesterday afternoon, so perhaps all is well - fingers crossed! -- Martin

As people might have seen in the thread I started about the failure of my bonnet release, my car was in the local main dealer's workshop yesterday (Thurs 6th July) to get the bonnet release sorted out, which was successful. However... I very strongly suspect the dealer's workshop also implemented the 23R6 ECU emissions update despite my clear and explicit instructions to them, when I booked the car in, NOT to do so. When I drove the car away from the dealership after the bonnet release had been sorted it felt extremely sluggish and unresponsive compared to how it used to drive, and when I drove the car down to my local VAG specialist this morning for a service and a cambelt change it also drove very differently to how it was before. I've asked the VAG specialist to use their VCDS to check for any engine management faults and also to check what ECU firmware version is now installed; can anyone tell me what firmware version would expect to be found if the 23R6 update hadn't been implemented and also what firmware version will be shown if the update HAS, as I strongly suspect, been installed in direct contravention of my clear and explicit instructions. The car is a March 2011 2.0 TDi CR 170 Superb Estate, in Elegance trim. Assuming the 23R6 update has been implemented "illegally" by the dealer, what options might I have for getting it removed and having the car restored to its previous condition and level of driveability - is there really no way of reverting to the previous, pre-update firmware version? Thanks in advance, -- Martin

I've just had a very quick look and couldn't see anything but I'll check more carefully tomorrow. I'll also ask the V-Hub people who are doing the service and cambelt change to use their VCDS system to see what firmware version is installed and hopefully from that I'll be able to tell if the 23R6 update has been done. Grrrrr......! -- Martin

Hi all, just a quick update... I took my car into the local main dealership this afternoon and they managed to get the bonnet open; apparently the bonnet release cable is in two parts (don't ask me why!) and the joint in the middle had for some undiagnosed reason come undone. Anyway the repair has been made and I can now open the bonet again so the car can go for its service and cambelt change tomorrow as re-scheduled. It took the dealer's workshop about an hour to sort it out but they only charged me for the half-an-hour the jobs was supposed to take. Not a bad result from that perspective. When I was booking the car in at the service reception this afternoon, the girl pointed out that their records showed that the car hadn't had the 23R6 emissions 'fix' implemented; I stated explicity that I did NOT want it, or another s/ware update, doing, so the girl marked the jobsheet as 'Declined' against those two items. However, when I received the invoice it showed that 'Other work carried out' was the 23R6 emissions update and the 'Campaign 66F1' update. I queried this with the service reception girl and she assured me that they hadn't implemented the updates, but when I drove the car away it felt quite different to normal and was decidedly gutless when I tried to accelerate away. If I find that the 23R6 emissions update HAS been implemented despite my clearly stated and explicit instructions not to do it then I'll be very, very angry... -- Martin

No! The lever inside the car moves freely enough, and is apparently correctly attached to the cable, but pulling the lever doesn't unlatch the bonnet so it would appear that either the cable (or the latch) is broken or the cable has become detached from the latch. The main dealer's reference to a clip makes me suspect the latter, but this can't be confirmed until someone manages to unlatch the bonnet so that it pops up and can then be lifted to enable access to the latch mechanism. -- Martin

Thanks for the reply, Silver. Yes, I agree that it does seem odd that the folks at the local VAG specialist weren't able to release the bonnet - the company has been in existence for (at least) several years so as you indicate it's surprising they haven't encountered the problem before. I've now got the car booked in to the nearby main dealer for next Thurs afternoon, for them to take a look at the bonnet release - when I phoned them on Sat morning to make an appointment the service reception lady mentioned something about a clip having come undone and she said they'd definitely be able to get the bonnet open so they could then take a look to see what if any parts might be needed. -- Martin

Hello all, hopefully someone will be able to help me...!! I took my March 2011-reg Superb II Estate 170 CR 2.0TDi down to my local independent VAG specialists (V-Hub in Tewkesbury) this morning for a service and a cambelt change; shortly after I'd dropped the car off I had a call from V-Hub to tell me they couldn't open the bonnet because the release lever wasn't doing anything. It's maybe a couple of weeks since I lifted the bonnet and the release seemed fine then, but I do recall having had the same problem a few years ago - I can't remember when - but on that occasion the problem was fixed, probably at the local main dealer's. I've got a vague recollection of whoever sorted out the problem on that occasion telling me that the release cable had become detached from the latch (or something!). This morning, the V-Hub guys had taken the interior panels off and checked the release lever; everything seemed to be working at that end. The V-Hub guys then tried for about an hour to find a way to unlatch the bonnet from the outside (and underneath) but failed to get the bonnet open, so the service and cambelt change had to be cancelled for today. The car is booked in with V-Hub again for this time next week, and V-Hub have ordered a new release cable plus bonnet latch to have on hand in case they damage anything when trying to get the bonnet open; in the meantime I'll be very grateful if anyone can offer any suggestions on how to release the bonnet when the cable has broken or become detached. There must be some way of unlatching the bonnet to enable it to be opened in such situations! Thanks in advance, -- Martin

Sounds like your technician friend hasn't done The Fix on any Tiguans with the EA189 engine - there's ample evidence of quite a few owners of that model of vehicle being well hacked-off by the way the engine performs after The Fix has been implemented. There's plenty of reports of noticeable loss of torque and the 'death rattle' between 1500 and 2500rpm. It also appears that VAG has tried at least a couple of different variants of the software update to try to overcome the issues, but without success. As for getting The Fix done on my 2011-plate 2.0TDi CR170 Superb, no thank you until it becomes mandatory... -- Martin

The failure of your previously-working Nokia to pair with the car's Bluetooth sounds identical to the problem I experienced earlier in the year with my iPhone 5S suddenly stopped pairing with the SKODA_BT in my car - see the thread titled (More) Bluetooth issues. After much investigation I eventually found that the problem was with the Bluetooth module itself; when I replaced it a few weeks ago the pairing with the iPhone started to work perfectly and (touch wood!) has continued to do so ever since. Interestingly, your car seems to be exactly the same age as mine (March 2011) so maybe there was a dodgy batch of Bluetooth modules installed at that time. HTH, -- Martin

Yes, just had the second letter today. There's no mention in either the first or the second letter about opting-out of having the 23R6 service action performed and, in my opinion, although the letters are from Skoda UK they try to convey an unwarranted and rather threatening sense of official authority by bearing the DVSA logo. About three weeks ago I emailed Honest John to ask what he thought the legal position was about not having the emissions fix implemented; in his reply he stated that no-one knows [about the legal position] and that the fix seems to have been temporarily suspended for 2.0TDi VW Tiguans, which seem to have suffered quite heavily from having the fix done. HJ also indicated that he definitely wouldn't take the risk of having the fix done if it were his car... Read into that what you will...!! I wonder what Skoda UK's next step will be if I continue to refrain from booking the car in to get the service action done. -- Martin

Hello again all, I'm pleased to report a successful outcome to the saga of my car's non-functioning (or partly-functioning) Bluetooth. I've just replaced the original 5N0 .. D module with the new 3C8 .. E module and deep joy, everything works just fine without the need for any re-coding or other malarkey. The most time-consuming part of swapping the modules was fathoming out how to disconnect the Fakra aerial connector from the original module! When I fired everything up and went into the MaxiDot's phone menu, my iPhone 5S was immediately detected by the 'New user' function, which seems to have superseded the previous 'Phone search' and after going through the authentication process, which is also different to what the old module did (no more 16-digit passcode to enter on the phone), the phone and the car paired without a hitch, the phonebook was transferred and all seems to be well. There appear to be a few more functions available on the new module via the MaxiDot, for example there's a 'Settings' sub-menu option that allows one to select between 'Premium' and 'Handsfree' modes (it seems to have defaulted to Premium). I haven't yet fully explored everything the new module can do, but at least I can now make and receive phonecalls which is all I really need. I'm due to get a phone handset upgrade soon so I might consider going for an Android device instead of another iPhone, to enable the use of rSAP with its potential advantages. Many thanks to everyone who contributed to this thread, but especial thanks to Nathanio who pointed me at the source of the replacement module - I'm grateful to all for the help and advice provided. -- Martin

Hello again langers2k, just to let you (and everyone) know that today (Fri 16th) I had a VCDS scan done by the excellent guys at V-Hub in Tewkesbury and there were no faults whatsoever logged for either the phone/BT module or the Columbus main unit, so it would appear that whatever's been causing the loss of BT connectivity didn't generate a fault code of any description. Furthermore, no faults at all were flagged up by a full scan of all the car's systems. Interestingly, when I first went out to the car this afternoon to take it down to V-Hub for the VCDS scan I checked to see if a phone search, initiated using the Maxidot and mutli-function controls on the steering-wheel, would produce any results and lo and behold the search found my iPhone and asked for the password to be entered. The numeric keypad appeared as expected on the phone but when I entered the 16-digit password and instructed the phone to pair, the pairing didn't succeed - I think the Maxidot eventually displayed a message along the lines of 'No Bluetooth connectivity to the phone'. When we tried to pair the V-Hub guy's Android phone to the car's BT we got exactly the same result. The only thing I can think of that might have changed is that today has been much cooler than of late so perhaps there's a temperature-dependent intermittent fault somewhere inside the BT module that's preventing the BT from working reliably. Something like a tiny crack in a PCB track or a poorly-soldered joint comes to mind as a possible cause Anyway, I'm now going to swap the car's original 5N0 035 730 D module for the 3C8 035 730 E module that I've recently bought; hopefully full BT functionality will then be restored - wtach this space! -- Martin

Hello langers2k, thanks for the info and for the confirmation that the BT antenna is inside the module - dunno why this didn't occur to me earlier but I've never previously had or felt the need to explore the detailed workings of vehicle BT systems... :-) Unfortunately I haven't yet managed to get a VCDS scan done but I'll see if I can get it done this week - I'll ask our local independent VAG specialists, who I know quite well, if they'll do it for me. I'll report the outcome in due course. -- Martin

Hello again all, just some further thoughts about the phone/BT module in my car and the BT connection problems I've been experiencing... As I now understand it, having read the Skoda workshop manual for my car in more detail, the coax cable that plugs into the side of the module connects to the shark-fin aerial on the roof of the car. I'd previously assumed that the aerial was used to radiate and receive the Bluetooth signal on a frequency of 2.4GHz but I now believe that assumption is incorrect - if I'm now understanding things correctly, the aerial on the roof is used not only for GPS reception but also to enable the phone module to communicate with the mobile phone GSM network when a handset in the car is operating in rSAP mode, ie. the phone itself no longer communicates directly with the GSM network, it's done by the module via the aerial on the roof. If this is correct then it begs the question of what type of aerial is used to send and receive the BT signal inside the vehicle? It's occurred to me that, as far as I can tell, the phone/BT module is in a plastic enclosure so it's possible that there's some form of 2.4GHz aerial inside the module - that wouldn't work if the module was metal-cased! Has anyone ever opened-up one of the phone/BT modules to see what's inside? If they have, was there any sign of anything that might have comprised an aerial for the 2.4GHz BT signal? The designers of mobile phone handsets obviously manage to squeeze such an aerial inside the handset so it shouldn't be too difficult to fit a more efficient aerial inside a phone/BT module! If my existing 5N0 035 730 D module does turn out to be U/S as far as the BT is concerned then I might be tempted to open it up after replacing it with the 3C8 035 730 E module that I now have on order, but in the meantime I'll be interested to hear if anyone's peeked inside a module. -- Martin

I had an apparent EGR fault on my March 2011 CR170 car about 21mths ago; the warning indicator began to come on intermittently starting in approx Nov 2014 but I don't recall there being any significant power loss coinciding with the warning (but I'm a fairly gentle driver!). The warning indicator eventually came on more solidly so in early Jan 2015 I took the car into a local independent VAG specialist (V-Hub in Tewkesbury, Glos) and they diagnosed a fault with the EGR valve. I subsequently, in early Feb 2015, had the EGR valve replaced by V-Hub; the total bill was around the £750 mark but fortunately the extended warranty I have on the car paid the majority of the bill. However... I subsequently learned, indirectly from a reliable source inside VAG, that there was a known software issue that gave rise to *apparent* EGR fault alerts - I think it was something along the lines of the permissible limits for the EGR valve's behaviour or performance being set too tightly. I have no hard evidence to back this up but it might be worth you investigating this aspect a bit further before getting the EGR valve replaced. I can certainly recall the guys at V-Hub telling me that there was nothing obviously wrong with the original EGR valve they'd removed from my car, although of course it's entirely possible that there was an internal fault that wasn't apparent to a visual inspection. -- Martin