MarkyG82

I did this swap on my octavia and got no errors or anything. Was all just plug and play. As far as I can tell your experience will be the same.

If the fan is on after the car is running, that does not indicate the regen has completed. Please see my post above. Seeing that behaviour once a week doesn't necessarily mean a regen once a week. Also, fan on for just a few minutes might point to the system not actually being that hot so lots of cooling is not required. If the regen has completed, the fan should not run at all unless you are in particularly hot climate. 30km a day is roughly the same as mine (10 miles each way) and one of the main reasons I dropped my diesel. 1-2 years for a battery is far too short. If the garage is suggesting that then there is another issue with the car making the batteries fail so soon. You need to find out what is causing the issue. Could be the fan random running thing combined with fan running too much due to not completing a regen.

The looseness could be just that it was finger tight and use over a few days had worn the surface of the paint enough that it worked loose. Quite understandable really given the timeframe. Certainly not acceptable though.

Does it do it more when driving in a straight line? If yes then I'd be looking at the roll bar links and/or bushes.

Another thing to add about the regen process: The fan running after you stop is to cool things down. It is NOT the regen itself taking place. Just a sign that a regen either has just finish or (more commonly) that a regen has not finished. The process requires the exhaust temps to be raised by 2-300 degrees (maybe, This is an educated guess at this point without looking it up). This extra heat needs to be dissipated. If the regen is not complete when you stop, then the fan needs to run to cool things down again before you start the car up for the next trip. Then if you don't drive for long enough for the regen to complete next time the fan will again cool things down when you stop. First fix: go for a nice long drive to make sure the regen is completed. This should also have the knock on effect of giving the battery a charge. Second fix: Have a think about how old the battery is. If the original part then 7 years on a stop start car is time for a new one. just make sure it's coded so the car knows to charge it like a new one. Third fix: Maybe the DPF has had enough and needs a clean or even replacement.

Thanks all for the comments. I think I will go for cross climate 2's or similar in another brand. I'll take a look at the tread patterns to see if any are ambidextrous as that will be handy for evening out tread wear.

This describes my area (and commute) quite well. I often get people asking me why I bother with seasonal tyres. Then I get to work on a cold winters day and they are complaining about the traffic because every man and his dog is using the main road. I can manage on roads that transition from between open fields to steep tree covered hills in a few seconds. In those situations I like to have the best tyres possible.

I'm a mechanical engineer specialising in structural dynamics and I fully agree with your theory. Never put much thought into it before but the door speakers must go through hell with all the opening, closing, temperature changes, humidity changes, etc. etc. I can see an upgrade in my future. PS rivet guns are dead easy. Keeping the head of the rivet snug down is the key. The long push ones are far easier on your hands than the gun type.

I like this (not the fact it broke). Some small useful bits of info/ideas around the fact the speakers are fragile and closing the doors too hard could fail them.

@Ootohere any work? I work on mine all the time and don't do anything with the battery. Physically, what requirement is there for the traction battery to be disconnected to be able to drain and fill a gearbox or any other work on the car? Not disagreeing with you, just want to understand.

@Ootohere Just had a scan through that thread and sounds like a bunch head cases at that dealership. I would expect them to offer some sort of solution. Also I struggle to understand why an EV tech is needed for the oil change. Can't remember what is needed to get at the filter but I don't recall it being any orange parts. Yes it was done by VW in Newbury.

thank @Ootohere good to know. As a side note for those reading and considering the hybrid variant, the dq400e is a variant of the dq250 and follows the same maintenance. However, the filter is hard to get to so make sure whoever does the work knows their salt.

Should be no difference in reliability. I wouldn't worry about that IMO DCC (Dynamic Chassis Control) is active shock damping that dynamically adjusts to the conditions. It also has different settings in the main menu to make it firmer of softer. The ride is widely considered superior to normal suspension but the part are more expensive. It does seem to be reliable and last longer than standard though. FYI it is certainly possible to retrofit but it's a very big job that requires a partial loom and a fair bit of coding. I wouldn't bother. DSG service is usually and oil change and filter (gauze) change. The gearboxes are reliable but if this is missed then it can be an issue. If the car needed it at 40 and it was not done until 55-60 I would question the rest of the care that had been taken with the car. The belt on the other hand is preventative maintenance. I certainly would not ignore a car of 5 years old and 55-60k miles that hadn't had it done. Might consider it as part of negotiation or getting it done in the next year or 2. See DSG above, that's more important for sticking to good time frames.

I believe we have both added to conversation with this in mind on many occasions. Quite a few people don't realise that a full dealer history or service plan often doesn't include anything beyond an oil change. Had our electric Hyundai "serviced" last week and had to double check before handing the key over what they were going to do (fluid check, software update and main battery check). The first 2 parts can be done at home. £75 for a main battery check every 3 years to maintain the 7 year warranty is worth it IMO. This I still find a little crazy. In the short 25 years I've been driving (and many before that) I always changed them annually. Now and then I might have opened the box and give it a hoover and the filter a clean (if using air make sure to blow from the engine side). Now I merely replace the filter every year. It's more hassle to clean it than spending £12 or whatever on a new part.

No I don't think Storm have that capability right now. I know the owner and he's bringing the company back up to full speed after a bit of change. Could be worth giving them a call. My personal view is as long as you have a record it doesn't matter if it's electronic or not. Having the right work done well is more important. Electronic records for warranty is another matter.

For cars this age road tax is all the same (currently £190) unless over £40k original list price which adds the luxury car tax (currently £410 per year extra).

I can definitely recommend storm development in Aldermaston. A little way from reading and not the cheapest. But their work is excellent. There's also the phirm in Camberley. Not used them but the few chats I've had certainly put them on the list.

Older DPFs are known to be more resilient than later versions. My old Octavia was fine for regens but a colleagues one that is 4-5 years newer is always struggling to complete even when driven for long journeys. He's had it from 1 year old so really shouldn't be from the previous owner.

If heat is an issue there are brake ducts (audi I think) that attach to the lower front arm and direct air to the back of the brakes. They attach with cable ties to no need for mods but are still OEM parts. Also could look at changing brake lines for braided versions. These two combined with the wide brake set from the Kodiak should give you massively increased power and resistance to fade.

My guess is it hasn't been allowed to complete enough DPF regenerations and is now becoming blocked. When you say "fully carbon cleaned" do you know what that means? Was that the DPF or some other part of the engine? At 156k it could be a new DPF time. They don't last forever.

Depth is definitely close to 3mm. Worn shoulder is the inside. I need to get the tracking redone. Drive on the motorway today the steering wheel was slightly out. Didn't notice it on the old tyres. Maybe due to the scrubbing.

Finally got round to swapping to summer boots. The "winter" tyres that came off are actually cross climates. They've been on for a combined 24 months give or take. I do about 10k miles a year so around 20k miles on these. The photo is of the worse one. This was a front tyre. The other front isn't much better. The rears at least have legal depth tread across the full width. All tyres are slightly affected by UV damage in the form of mild cracking. This brings me to the possibility of replacing. I promised myself that I would change them for full winters when they wore out. What would briskoda do? Use them for another winter season? With a worn shoulder my gut says don't compromise on safety. Especially as they are for the colder, wetter months.

Yeah sounds like binding causing mild glazing. Pads out, give both (pads and discs) a scrub with brake cleaner, go for a spirited drive. If not too glazed then that should in theory clear it up. These cars have a pad drying feature that adds some pressure to the pads to warm them and keep them dry. I'm not sure if this system is always active or only when wet (wipers going). If this is set to maximum that could explain the issue.

I think mine is 32 and 38 (unloaded and loaded). Will double check when I get a chance.

Best option is for OEM swap. You'll need a new screen and glovebox unit. Component protection removal from the glovebox unit by a dealer. Then the new unit recoded by someone like @pab567 to make sure all the features work. Alternatively he can likely sell you a ready to go unit.