BigJakk

15 June, 2020

Hello Folks,

Bought myself a 64 plate Octavia VRS MK3 two days ago, it has a panoramic roof. I bought the car from a very good friend who I have known for donkeys years through thick and thin. He looks after his cars and I am certain had no prior knowledge of what I have discovered tonight, when I've told him about it he was genuinely gutted.

The car has pretty much sat on my drive over the weekend, during which time it did of course lash it down with rain.

Tonight the missus and I decided to take the new car to visit my daughter who has been in intensive care In hospital the last few weeks (2020 can go away already).

On getting into the car there was a musty smell with SWMBO complaining that it was coming from her side of the car.

With the AC on and blowing fresh air the smell was fairly quickly dispelled, however when we returned to the car after visiting hours the smell was back. Checking under the mats the whole nearside floor was damp, particularly the rear.

Upon returning home I wet vacced a ton of water out from the nearside floor. The driver's side of the vehicle appeared dry.

Given the effective operation of the AC and the fact the service history shows the cabin filter was recently changed my first thought was a possible issue with the cars panoramic roof.

With darkness drawing in I opened the roof and poured water into the channel around the glass panels. I started at the rear and found the water drained away quickly and could be seen draining from the rear wheel arch area onto the ground.

I then poured towards the front of the car and the water seemed to take a while to drain out of the channel and I couldn't determine where it drained away to, as there was no evidence of any water fall on the ground at the front of the car.

I then checked the interior and found the driver's side to be dry, however when checking the passenger side there was a fair bit of water trickling out of from the bonnet release area.

I poked around a bit more and couldn't find any evidence of damp around the headliner. I also found that the passenger side carpet is dry around the upright section which goes up the back of the firewall, suggesting that the water is coming in fairly low down. I also culdnt find any moisture around the glovebox so I don't think it's a cabin filter/plenum chamber issue.

Unfortunately it then started to get a bit too dark outside to investigate any further.

I was hoping someone may be able to point me in the direction of a possible fix or even suggest where I should start to look first?

Thanks guys

28 May, 2020

Hi folks,

Having a bit of an issue where the front passenger side door will not unlock from the keyfob or using the centre console button. It still locks okay and can be unlocked from the inside using the handle - MOT is due imminently so don't know if this will constitute a failure or not.

Everything I've read suggests that the central locking module on the door has an issue and sure enough my OBDII tool shows an '00929' error for that door confirming this : http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/00929

I understand this is a common issue on the Golf MkV platform and there are loads of online guides for the Golf which indicate the outer door skin needs removing. I've had a bit of a rough week so haven't had much chance to look at the car in depth, but it appears (to my eyes at a quick glance anyway) that the door of the Octavia II is assembled slightly differently to the Golf V, as such i was wondering if anyone here had done this job or knew of a DIY walk through for it?

Thanks in advance

21 March, 2019

Thanks CWARD, appreciate the thorough response.

Having previously helped a mate on his car and seen him strip one of his bleed valves with a ring spanner I've been out and invested in a flare line spanner and some decent penetrating oil.

Out of interest can you recall the order for bleeding; I've been told start furthest from master cylinder and work your way back towards it - however I've read online to do the opposite on the MKV GTi platform (Front Left first, rear right last)

Thanks again

20 March, 2019

Hello Guys,

I usually do a lot of my own servicing but don't generally touch brakes however I'm wanting to flush and change my brake fluid as its been a couple of years since its had any work done on the brakes and is probably due. I've got a Gunson Eezibleed and read through several how-to's and am fairly happy with the procedure, however the kit comes with four caps that go onto the brake fluid reservoir - two are obviously too small however the other two are listed in the owners manual as:

1) 44/45mm - this is a smooth circular cap and appears to have two rubber washers with it

2) 46mm - this cap is gnurled

I have highlighted them in the attached image.

I have dry fitted both caps to the reservoir and both appear to fit and screw onto the thread without issue.

I've read several horror stories about these kits not sealing properly with the reservoir and brake pedals dropping to the floor and want to avoid anything like that first time out so was wondering if anyone could advise as to what size cap i should be using and how to configure the seals.

Thanks in advance

22 April, 2018

Hello guys,

So, I've found a swimming pool in SWMBO's 2010 Ford Fiesta. Lifted the passenger side carpets and found that the underlay/sound proofing and floor pan beneath was soaking. I've dried the floor out but the underlay is still soaking in patches and smells minging.

I'm considering cutting out the water logged underlay - Only passenger side is affected, rest is bone dry and i cant be fussed removing the centre console to get it out as a one piece.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend a good place online to pick some replacement underlay up from and if there are any particular types or thicknesses I should be looking at?

Cheers

15 September, 2016

I am fairly happy its not the battery. The new one i put in last year is above and beyond the power rating of the OEM battery, however to be doubly sure i went out and checked with the multi meter last night.

Car had been stood for about 36 hours and the battery was still putting out 12.6v, turned the engine over and it didnt dip below 10v so i think im fairly happy with the battery.

I think i'll try the coolant temp sensor next as you suggest, fairly cheap to do.

I don't think its the MAF (or the coils/plugs) due to the lack of issues once up and running, i would have thought any issues there have manifested themselves in day to day driving as well and produced some codes.

Cheers

14 September, 2016

Hello all,

I've had my MkII VRS 2.0 TFSI for a shade over 18 months now. Not long after i first bought the car i noticed that it could be quite hard to start on the first start of the day. Turning the key over it would cough and splutter and sound like it was going to stall before catching. This would typically only happen on the first start of the day and from then it would be fine. Once up and running the car is absolutely spot on and there are no fault codes logged anywhere in regard to the issue.

The problem seems to occur when the car has been left standing for a few hours (like after a 12 hour shift) and although it is exacerbated by cold weather - on a couple of occasions in winter it has stalled outright before firing up on the second turn of the key - it happens no matter what the weather conditions, it seems that the time the car has been stood is the causal factor.

Initially i attributed this to the battery probably being on its way out, however changing the battery made no difference and the issue persisted.

I've tried to following attempted fixes to no avail:

- New battery

- PCV Updated to latest revision

- Fuel Filter Replaced

- Cam follower changed - original had ~40k miles on it and was showing no real signs of wear

- Spark Plugs replaced

- Coil pack recall checked (has already been done prior to my purchasing the car)

- VCDS scan, no fault codes

I understand starting issues can be linked to a faulty drivers door micro switch causing the fuel lines not to prime when the drivers door is first opened, however i can hear the pump prime when i open it and all of the dome lights seem to be coming on as they should and the dashboard correctly displays when the door is open/closed so i don't think this is the problem.

I've read that turning the ignition key to the accessory position (electrical systems on) and waiting a few seconds before turning over the engine can prevent this problem, it does help but doesn't eliminate the issue. I've also been told this is just a 'normal' behaviour of these engines - i cant see that being the case given that every other modern car I've driven you can just get straight in and turn the engine over.

The only 'solution' I've come up with is to blip the throttle when turning the key, this seems to help the engine catch first time.

Could the fuel system be losing pressure when stood overnight?

The way the car coughs and splutters like a chain smoker before nearly stalling and then catching is starting to get annoying and more than a bit embarrassing now, so any help or ideas will be greatly appreciated!

Cheers

27 June, 2016

Well, the car has been back into the VW specialist and they rang back about an hour later suggesting that the condensor is damaged and leaking. Been quoted £410 to replace it which seems a bit steep when I've Googled a new condenser for about £60.

19 June, 2016

Hello guys.

Last month I noticed that with the AC on there was a strange squeal coming from behind the dash. Not very loud and easily drowned out with the stereo, but noticeable. The AC still appeared to be working though and was blowing cold air.

My initial thoughts were possibly a bearing going on the fan in the footwell, however there was no noise from there and as soon as the AC is turned off and back to just the regular blowers, the noise goes.

Given the car is 10yrs old and there was nothing in the history to say it had ever been regassed I took it to a local VW place that pressure tested, cleaned and regassed the system.

They reported no issues and initially at least it *seemed* to have removed the noise and the AC was blowing cooler than ever.

A few weeks on however and the squeal is back and seems louder. I managed to get a loan of a fault reader and found a '00229 refrigerant pressure low' warning. A Google showed this commonly being related to a goosed AC Pressure Switch Sensor, so I have changed that. Good news is that the error code has been eradicated by doing this but unfortunately the squeal remains.

I'm a bit stumped at the moment. I know the compressors can fail frequently on these but the fact the AC is still blowing cold would suggest the compressor is working in some capacity. Both of the fans at the front of the engine bay are also spinning so I don't think it's a failed fan.

I have considered that the pressure switch sensor might have caused a leak and that it may need another regas but it's blowing nice and cold so not sure and don't want to waste another 40 quid.

Any thoughts and ideas on this would be greatly appreciated as it's driving me mad!

Cheers!

15 May, 2016

Quite fancy fitting the shorter throw shifter from the TTS to my VRS after reading a thread about it on here.

Only thing is most references are to fitting it to the TSI engined cars. I was wondering if anyone has done it on the older 2.0 TFSI that i have in my car and if its the same part number of 8J0711046E?

(I imagine so as AFAIK its the same gearbox but want to be sure before buying the part)

Cheers!

18 November, 2015

I've worked out that the part number for the replacement plug is going to be 1J0973704.

Was wondering if anyone might have a picture of their MAP sensor in situ, as I have no idea which order the wires go into the plug?

Cheers

16 November, 2015

Hello guys,

Car has been running a bit lumpy lately, especially at part throttle. Scanned it for faults and found an implausible signal error for the G31/MAP sensor.

Went to check the sensor and it looks like somehow all of the wiring has come out of the plug, which itself is still connected to the sensor.

Spoke to my mate whose handy at auto electrics and he's told me that a new plug and some repair wire should fix it easy enough. Only thing is I don't know the part number to buy a replacement plug and was hoping someone might know?

Also, if anyone knows how it should be wired up, or has a picture that would be great.

Cheers in advance!

29 September, 2015

Cheers chaos, off to the garage with her in the morning it is!

28 September, 2015

Not familiar with this issue myself but this video may be worth a watch:

28 September, 2015

Hello guys, i think my VRS may have an issue with the thermostat sticking open, have booked it in with my local independent but want to be sure that im asking them to do the right job before dropping it off with them.

My daily commute is only about 12 mins door to door, mix of urban and dual carriageway - car usually gets up to 90C on the temp gauge and sits there, all heating functions normal etc. - happy days. Last few weeks I have been travelling a lot further for work and have noted that although the car gets up to 90C it them seems to drop after a short time and the temperature fluctuates from about 70C-80C on the gauge. This was mostly driving on fast roads, however bizarrely when getting back onto the slow urban roads was when the temperature rose back up to 90C, rather than on the faster roads where the engine was under more load and would expect to be hotter.

I did a 120 mile run the other night, nearly all 70mph dual carriageway and using the Torque App logged the coolant temperature, at no point in the journey did the coolant temperature get above 75C and seemed to fluctuate from 60-75C throughout. Noticeably when I turned the heater, the air from the vents was noticeably cooler than i would expect, it did produce heat but only when the heating was turned all the way up.

By way of due diligence I have checked the coolant level which seems fine, there are no obvious coolant leaks to my eye and both of the radiator fans appear to be working properly. Water pump etc, were done about 6 months ago. I've scanned the car for codes using an OBD2 reader and nothing coming up relating to the cooling system and there are no warning lights on the dashboard (did have a Coolant Temp Sensor once go on my old MkI VRS which caused the temp gauge to read funny but that immediately threw a CEL).

It is my understanding that the car should warm to 90C on the temp guage and under normal operation, remain at 90C at all times., My reading of things is that there's an issue with the thermostat, the car is initially heating up as regular but the thermostat is remaining open, meaning that when the car is on faster roads with more air flow and thus air cooling effect, the stat is still remaining open when it would normally then close and coolant is still flowing, hence the low temp. readings - am i right??

Just want to check im barkign up the right tree and not booking the car in for a job that isnt going to fix things! Cheers in advance.

22 September, 2015

Hello chaps,

The cherubs next door appear to have cracked the casing of one of the wing mirrors on my silver MkII VRS during one of there games of cul-de-sac football and its driving my OCD nutty. I don't really want to shell out loads and was hoping to replace just the casing, there are plenty of unpainted ones on the fleabay etc. however i was hoping to find one painted and save a job. Unfortunately pre-painted Octavia mirror covers seem to be rare as hens teeth or expensive.

I'm told that the wing mirrors from the Mk4 Polo are an exact match to those from the octavia and I've found some Mk4 Polo mirror covers reasonable priced, pre-painted in "Reflex Silver" i was wondering if anyone could confirm if this is a match for the silver used on the Octavia VRS (i think its "diamond silver" isn't it?)?

Cheers in advance!

7 March, 2015

fitted this morning, top tip on removing the top box chaps. Didn't do that last time, did it today and have us loads more room for manouver, fairly straightforward from there.

Now I just need to make this darn 3M tape actually stick to the dash!

4 March, 2015

I've only had the car for three weeks, but when coming to temporary stops in traffic I do tend to go handbrake on and into neutral rather than sitting on the brake pedal. Are you thinking issues with the rear calipers?

4 March, 2015

Cheers gents, you've helped put my mind at ease. Phil, the whoosh noise did indeed sound like it was coming from the pedal itself.

I've had a few motorway runs now with the car and no dramas slowing the car once you have taken up the the initial pedal travel, if anything the travel feels shorter at higher speeds although this could just be me.

I imagine that the car is probably on its original discs as although its got a few years on it, its only done 38,000 miles and the discs do look a bit worn. Going to book it in and have the discs and pads done I think all the same.

Cheers guys

3 March, 2015

Hello guys,

Had my MKII VRS for a couple of weeks now. When I first bought the car I noticed that the brake pedal felt a little soft. It isn't sinking to the floor or anything but it feels like there is not much happening with the first half inch of pedal travel but then the brakes bite in well enough. By contrast on my old MKI VRS as soon as you applied a little pressure to the pedal you could feel the brakes starting to bite.

I initially thought that there may be old brake fluid/air in the fluid as the previous owner hadn't had the fluid flushed in a while. Booked the car in with Skoda who replaced the fluid and informed me the brakes were fine, however no change to the pedal feel. I have since taken it to a local VW specialist who also say the car is braking fine however they did point out that the front discs are a bit corroded on the inside and may need replacing in the next few months.

I have checked the fluid reservoir and it hasn't dropped since the car was with Skoda and no tell tale patches on the driveway so I don't think there are any leaks anywhere. Scanned the car with Vagcom and no error codes whatsoever, also sat in the car with the ignition off and pumped the pedal, comes up solid in about 3 pumps. Today after washing the car I reversed it down the driveway a couple of times with the ignition on and applied the brakes very firmly, stopped promptly both times however there was a noticeable "woosh" of air noise when applying the brake pedal - im not sure if that is to be expected or not?

Like I say, car does stop okay but the top of the pedal travel just feels a bit "dead". Does this sound normal or am I simply being paranoid in light of two garaged saying all is well?

Any thoughts welcomes and appreciated guys,

Cheers

2 March, 2015

Cheers langers, I think part of the issue may well have been that we had the blue Parrot Box behind there also, which caused a bit of a pile up for space. We've already ran the Aux Ports to the glove box, Mic to the headliner and LCD Display to the dashboard (so in effect all that's missing is the actual stuff that makes it all work!), however I may look at relocating the blue box to the area beneath the centre dash storage to free up some space for the SOT/Quadlock wires.

Thanks again mate

2 March, 2015

Thanks mate, sorry to be a numpty but by the rear left of the cage, do you mean to the glove box side or drivers side? At one point we did get all of the wiring loom pushed through behind the glovebox and the single quadlock into the stereo cage, but in doing so we had taken all of the slack out of the quadlock cable and couldn't actually connect it to the head-unit

Cheers

1 March, 2015

Hello all, I have replaced my deceased MKI VRS with a 2006MKII VRS.

The car has the standard Stream head unit with manual Air on controls underneath it on the dash.

I have invested I an MKI9200 Parrot Kit as an upgrade for the stream and set about trying to fit it today with a pal of mine who has got lots of experience with Auto Electrics.

We bench tested the unit initially on the passengers seat and all worked well, we even sorted the issue with the switched live. As such we then went about installing it proper into the car which is when we hit a snag.

Put simply, there just doesn't seem to be enough room behind the stereo to fit all of the wiring harness adaptor leads and quadlock leads and then refit the stereo in place properly.

We did make a bit more room by moving the blue parrot box and line in cabling behind the glove box, but still couldn't make enough room to refit the stereo back in place.

My mate did suggest dremelling some of the plastic cage that the stereo sits in, but by that time we had run out of light and I'm a bit loathe to start cutting things.

Was wondering if anyone had any tips or advice on how best to route the miles of cabling there seems to be!

Cheers

10 February, 2015

PM sent

6 February, 2015

Well, my pride and joy has officially been given the bullet by the insurance after its recent dust up with the No. 17 Bus :(

I'm currently in the process of stripping all of my "personal belongings" (Read: Everything that isn't bolted to the chassis) before they come and collect the car on Monday. One thing im particularly keen to get out of the car is the 60 quids worth of Super Unleaded it still has in the fuel tank. I've tried siphoning it off from the fuel filler this evening but only got a few hundred millilitres after which i was foiled by what i believe is an anti-siphon valve.

I was thinking of disconnecting the feed to the fuel filter and trying to gravity drain it but don't know if this will work as desired? I also believe the tank is accessible from under the rear seats, is it siphon able from there?

Cheers guys

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