weasley

Some Peugeot 205 models (most famously the GTi but also the XS I had) had factory-fitted driving lights under the front bumper. In this case though you’d probably have to create something from scratch, perhaps with a 3D printer and some aftermarket lights.

The Roomster/Fabia foglights do look like a close fit, although I can't find any evidence of anybody doing it. One question though, is what you would want these lights to do? If you use them as foglights then you'd have to disconnect the big round ones since you are only allowed two front foglights. If to be used as some kind of spotlight or 'driving light', that comes on with the main beam, then the Fabia/Roomster lights won't work without significant modification as they are focussed as foglights (ie low and wide).

This bit I assume. Not aware of any plug-and-play options.

From memory there should be no prising needed. There is a spring one end and a catch the other. You slide the body towards the spring end which should free the other end to be pulled out.

I have just been quoted over £240 just for the rear pads on my MINI. I know I could do it myself in an hour but I just don’t have an hour to do it, and it’s under warranty so needs an approved job doing.

They must be capable of showing mph or kph but it doesn’t have to be at the same time, otherwise pretty much every car with a digital dashboard is illegal! As above, it is switchable so still compliant.

I also wouldn’t write off Skoda dealers - in the past I have been pleasantly surprised how competitive their prices are.

Dipped beams are focussed to avoid dazzling. It’s a requirement of Lighting regs and the MOT.

How old is that?! It mentions CCMC PD-2; CCMC was replaced by ACEA in 1996!

Yes and no. For many years ACEA have lumped petrol and diesel specs together and many OEMs did the same (for example VW insist that 504 00 is always given with 507 00 so for a petrol engine using longlife engine oil you get the diesel cover thrown in), although in recent years we are seeing them diverge again as efficiency and emissions demands drive oil specificity for the best outcome. But for the engine and oil in question here - yeah, it's fine! It's a 5W-40 too, so you may lose a decimal point on fuel economy but it will soothe the older engine nicely. 5W-40 is permitted under the specs that the car demands (it is included in 502 00).

OK, first things first - the car will be fine. Next, some more details. VW used to allow the bundling of 505 00/505 01 and 502 00 together but a few years ago adjusted the specifications to separate the 502 00 away from 505 00/505 01, hence why you see a change to the product data sheets. Note the publication dates of the two attached above are April 2012 and August 2018 - always go with the newer one. 505 00 and 505 01 are specifically diesel engine oil specifications. 505 00 is higher ash (based on ACEA A3/B4) so is for pre-DPF engines, whereas 505 01 is lower ash (based on ACEA C3) for DPF-equipped engines. Worth noting though that 504 00 is a gasoline engine spec but is also reduced ash level and based on ACEA C3 (as it is always bundled with 507 00). 505 01 is a more robust spec than 505 00 and includes protection for PD engines, so is a robust oil and, if anything, over-engineered for the OP's Fabia. Knowing what I know I would have a word with the workshop as to why they put a diesel-specified oil in a gasoline engine to see how they react, but I'd do it knowing that the engine was fine and I'd have no qualms about leaving it in there.

Good question. In basic terms the oil is consumed in three ways: - volatility; as you say the lighter molecules evaporate and leave the engine through the crankcase ventilation, so into the intake air and burnt in the combustion chamber. This is not “burning” of oil, just evaporation. It is driven by the volatility characteristics of the base oils in use. The test used to identify, compare and control volatility is called the ‘Noack’ test, which is run at 150°C. Specifications tend to limit this to 10-13% volume loss maximum - combustion; oil gets past the piston rings and is burnt in the cylinders. Not a lot you can do about this from an oil perspective, driven almost entirely by engineering - oxidation; the oil gets hot in the presence of oxygen and is oxidised (“burnt”). The by-products of this are all sorts of things - acids, water, carbon etc. This tends to lead to oil thickening - it can be controlled by using robust base oil and antioxidants. The ratio of these is dependent on the engine, operating conditions etc but will be split mostly between volatility and combustion, with much less oxidation. The volatile components are mostly from the base oils, so this has the effect of concentrating the additives but obviously reduces the amount of fluid left to lubricate and also leads to a thicker oil. Combustion affects all of the oil and is what causes issues with DPFs as additives are burnt, forming ash which blocks the DPF (and now GPF). Topping up the oil has two fundamental benefits: the first is the increase in available volume of oil to do the job and the second is an addition of fresh additives (antiwear, detergents, antioxidant etc) to help refresh the oil. Oil change intervals are determined with all this in mind so that the oil should still be serviceable when it is finally drained and replaced.

A towing connector is 13 pin, with three of them being earth connectors.

I tend to agree - from what I can see it has at least 15 blades though; maybe something like an aftermarket towing loom?

Wheel nuts tight?

I remember my dad’s 1978 Chrysler Alpine did this - I always wondered why modern hatchbacks didn’t do it.

Exhaust manifold leak?

To add some background info (for interest but not specifically to answer the question asked) - it is called the "reductant" pump because it is pumping a fluid that is used as a reductant in a chemical reaction. The emissions system this works with is called the "selective catalytic reduction" system, or SCR. In chemistry (in basic terms) "reduction" is the opposite of "oxidation". What the SCR is doing is reducing the levels of NOx (or nitrogen oxides) in the exhaust gasses. The NOx has been formed by the oxidation of nitrogen in the air during the combustion process. The SCR effectively undoes this, by "reducing" the NOx back to nitrogen and oxygen. It does this through the use of a catalyst (the box in the exhaust) and a "reductant"; a chemical reagent used to perform the reduction of NOx. Ideally what you need is ammonia (NH3) but this is a hazardous chemical to handle and carry around so a solution of urea dissolved in water is used - this is known colloquially as "AdBlue", although AdBlue is actually a trade name and the generic terms is "diesel exhaust fluid", or DEF. The urea breaks down to form ammonia in the exhaust which then reduces the NOx to nitrogen and water (plus a bit of CO2). Hence you need a reductant pump and an injector to spray this stuff into the exhaust stream so that the SCR can do its job and we all get to breathe slightly less toxic air. If the pump is not working then the SCR is not working so your emissions will be higher than they should be. It doesn't stop the engine from working per se, but in some cases a car's ECU will either limp or even shut down to prevent high emissions, which may be a requirement of the type approval and qualification.

A quick look in the fusebox will tell you if there is any towing wiring fitted - the fuses for towing will be in place if so, or missing if not. Towbar prep also came with the bumper cut-out in place (or it did on my pre-FL SE).

Scuffing/rumbling was one of the symptoms we had when the clutch finger spring failed and machined the inside of the bell housing.

You can read about how I discovered all this here.

It’s a screw-linear actuator- the motor turns the gear, which has a worm gear type of shaft, which moves the white plastic block up, which pushes on the latch to pop it open. The motor only turns a few revs until the plastic block reaches the end of its travel. When power is released the mechanism rewinds back to the beginning. The characteristic symptom of a failed unit is a ‘drilling’ sound when trying to use it, as the motor keeps spinning.

If it helps, this is what it looks like inside. The white plastic lever is the emergency release. The plastic shaft from the gear on the right can shear, leaving the unit unserviceable (this is what happened to mine).

I just looked this up - in the description text of the product it claims: PRODUT [sic] SPECS ACEA A3/B4 (2012) ACEA C3 (Chemical limits differ) VW 504.00/507.00 BMW LL-04 MB 229.51 Porsche C30 Please check your service manual to find out which oil you need Let me break this down: ACEA A3/B4 (2012) - the latest version of the ACEA specs is 2016; you are not allowed to make claims against obsolete versions. Furthermore, in order to make an ACEA claim you are required by ACEA to be signed up to their code of practice - guess which company isn't signed up? Furthermore ACEA A3/B4 (2012) is incompatible with most of the other claimed specifications by virtue of having too high an ash level. ACEA C3 - same applies as above regarding code of practice signatory, but also the "(Chemical limits differ)" caveat is nonsense - the whole point of ACEA C3 is that the chemical limits differentiate it from other specifications; the limits are on ash, sulphur and phosphorus, which are important factors regarding DPFs - you can't simply disregard these limits. VW 504.00/507.00 - given the lack of compliance with fundamental industry specifications (ACEA), I find it unlikely that they hold a VW approval (also see @Kenny R's list above). 504.00/507.00 requires that the oil meets ACEA C3 (in its entirety). BMW LL-04 - again unlikely; BMW LL-04 requires an oil to meet ACEA C3 (2016) in full. Porsche C30 is equivalent to VW 504 00/507 00 so see above. MB 229.51 - this one we can verify by checking the Mercedes-Benz published list of approved oils (last updated 11 January 2021). As you'll see, no mention of Brit Oil (in fact no mention of them at all in any MB approval categories). Furthermore notice what MB themselves say (my bold): We recommend using only products which are: distinctly marked with the label indicating the approval of Mercedes-Benz, e.g. “MB-Approval 229.51”. Labels referring e.g. to “MB 229.51” don't have an approval of Mercedes-Benz. Which are listed in the current MB BeVo. Only listed products are tested and approved by Mercedes-Benz. MB229.51 demands chemical limits aligned with ACEA C3. I can't say whether the oil is actually good enough to meet these specs, but the above evidence is worth taking into consideration when making a choice. As I said earlier in this thread, I've never heard of them (well I have as a consequence of this thread, but that's it). My personal opinion: I wouldn't use it.

Nope. All false.