Mr OCD

Can anyone confirm this for me ... ? Despite being run for 15 minutes... nothing comes out of the return pipe... not seeing much movement of water either in the system.

It's not a genuine water pump. It is a circoli water pump from ECP.

Anyone?

No, none.

So the saga continues ... I'm still not convinced the head gasket is to blame given it drives fine, doesn't lose oil or water (until it overheats) ... so I picked it up from the garage yesterday and drove it home nearly 30 miles of motorway. It drove fine... just the usual temp increase when going up inclines ... So I thought I would seek a second opinion ... I spoke to Awesome GTi a couple times. They don't think it is the head gasket and they say they've never done a head gasket on a Fabia vRS PD. They did give me some ideas that is still pointing to a cooling issue ... so can someone confirm the following: - Does your return pipe to the expansion tank constantly flow water back to it? Could someone check for me? I've a gut feeling the water pump is to blame ... I reckon a new header tank and cap wouldn't be a bad idea either as the cap is a pig to remove. Very tight!

Ring local paint factor ... they will mix it up for about a tenner!

The fact he wants to change the oil in the DSG ... I would find a new mechanic

My main issue is finding Haynes / workshop manual for the vRS ... Done head gaskets before ... just never on a PD.

Any user guides for head gasket replacement? Got this to look forward to myself shortly...

Are they not 312mm standard? If not I'm taking the conversion off my old vRS before it is sold ...

Will keep an eye on it for now and see how goes ... will also give Skoda a call... I'm going to chuck it at them for major service at 30k miles... Might as well post a picture:

It was 5W 30 low ash they told me ... it has done 25,000 miles from new. One owner.

What test? ... I think you've answered wrong thread?

Nothing yet... dealer said oil was changed before I collected the car last week. I left the car overnight after picking it up and checked the dipstick. It was just above the top of the 'A' line in your diagram. Have done 450 miles since checking. Last night I checked it again (the car had not been used in 20 hrs) and the oil level was between the two 'A' lines in your diagram. i.e. approx. 3-5mm lower. It has not yet reached the crosshatch area yet.

This one has gone from the top of A to approx 5mm under it in 450 miles ... not a lot TBH. I think it's been overfilled slightly. It is now at top of marks on stick so will monitor.

So the car is using a bit of oil ... I don't think it's cause for concern but how much does it take from max to min?

late 2011, 25,000 miles, CAVE engine. Do I need to change the plugs?

Ok thanks, I've been waiting for the green indicator to light up on dash to tell me hill hold is activated. It seems to come on randomly when I come to a stop. i.e. Can't seem to activate it. But if need to press the brake hard to activate then explains it. Done 400 miles on the car now ... it's been spot on.

Anyone know how the hill hold works on the car? Can't find anything in the manual!

Totally agree. I own a Scirocco with a 2.0 CR (177) Diesel engine ... it really does drive like a petrol car. But it's much more refined in its delivery compared to a PD Diesel engine and I do prefer it. It does mean though despite being mapped to circa 205bhp it doesn't actually feel as quick as the old mapped PD in the vRS. Although the speedo tells another story ... In other news the Wife has done 250 miles in the new vRS now and I think is pretty smitten about it ... she understands it won't have the low end grunt of the PD and that she needs to rev it, but the DSG really helps with this and makes it easy... ... only once has she gone for the clutch so far and hit the brake ... We want to fit a head unit with Bluetooth - any ideas? Preferably factory fit not aftermarket.

Cheers. Just done a 110 mile drive home with a mix of A roads and motorway ... 42 mpg which will do!

According to that link no recalls on this VIN.

What's the typical mpg on one of these ... ? Averaging around 39mpg at the moment...

The warranty that comes with car includes 12 months wear and tear so is of higher standard than Skodas when compared. Once it runs out I'll look at main dealer warranty for sure. This is the warranty: http://www.glynnandrewscarsales.co.uk/pages/warranty

I thought I would update this ... the Wife was faffing about with what to do so I took matters into my own hands and test drove a late 2011 vRS with 24,000 miles, one owner from new and full skoda history. It has the CAVE engine ... keeping the story short I loved it and put a deposit down on it but not without checking it over carefully and getting a decent warranty with the car. Collect tomorrow. It's getting serviced, checked, etc. as priority but my gut feeling is it's a good one. Goes like a train!