Blaven

My gut feeling,-walk away. I would not buy any VAG car affected by the emissions recall if they've had it done. Far too many horror stories on all the forums. I run a Scout and I've declined to have the 'fix' done.

This from the fuel filler flap

Your clinical approach to this question implies a touching faith in the accuracy of the pressure gauges that motorists commonly encounter. Most reasonably priced pressure gauges will have a degree of inaccuracy so without using an expensive industry standard device how can we say with any degree or certainty what we've got in the tyres?

Yes, being a pensioner I chose my cars carefully and expect to keep them for about 10 years or until they become unreliable. So a set of winter wheels and tyres are a good option for me. I service it as much as I can myself and can still crawl underneath for oil changes, disc and pad replacements etc. I'm not into pimping it and its as ugly as sin with the black steelies, (now a wee bit rusty) and no hubcaps, but if push comes to shove with the harsh weather we can get here in the Highlands, I'm as confident as one can be that I'll get from A to B. Oil, I change every 10K. regardless. I'm thinking after reading previous posts I may well bung an extra 2 PSI in all round on the X Climates.

Awayoffski. Forgive me, i'm losing the will to live here. No I haven't compared the two wheels side by side. One of the best cars I ever drove in snow was a Citroen Dyane on standard Michelin X tyres which today would probably be found on a mountain bike!

I've no idea. I bought the steel rims and original winter tyres as a package from Mytyres as the winter option for my car. It drives well and I'm no Stig. There's obviously a speedo discrepancy which i address by running my Garmin and checking my speed with that shown on the speedo in those interminable stretches of roadworks governed by elapsed time numberplate recognition cameras. You can worry too much about these things. The tyres look underinflated with the pressures recommended by Skoda, but surely the whole point of winter tyres is that they grip well in cold temperatures. If that means an increased tread footprint, then so be it. My neighbour runs an Octavia 4X4 and he's on 15" alloy rims. He's on X Climates as well.

Alloys are Continental Contisport Contact 3 225/50 R17 Steelies are Michelin X Climate 205/55 R 16

I forgot to mention, steelies are 16" and original alloys are 17". In my experience 16" tyres are not as expensive as the larger size. A small saving to be made there. I use the same bolts. I seem to remember that while driving the bargain with the salesman I insisted on a full size (16") spare wheel. Which I've never used. If you carefully and selectively scan eBay for part worn winter tyres there are bargains to be had, usually from well-heeled skiers who keep them for their winter holidays. Sometimes they just change their vehicles and the tyres are surplus to requirements.

Just to clear up any confusion, I have steelies for winter and the original alloys for summer, 8 wheels in all. i have plenty of storage space. My alloys are pretty much pristine after 6 years. My steelies are a disgrace. i would rather have outright winter tyres, but like others here got a good deal on X Climate, and maybe bought into the hype also. I gave them a go. They're only tyres after all!

This is the second winter for my Cross Climates now. I still have them on my steel rims and change from the alloys in November and back in April. I've had no problems on my Scout. They seem to be wearing ok but I'm not obsessive about that. Not had any snow to test them.

UK motorists file class-action suit against VW. Its started!

I would be REALLY interested for you to post details of how you complete this project when you install the wireless controller>

Fitted them on my Scout about three months ago. No problems so far.

http://xbb.nu/pdf/SYSTEMDESCRIPTION_XBB-LIGHTSWITCH_EN-20131022-5.pdf

I researched this quite a lot recently, and it seems we are just not geared up for this sort of thing here in UK, unlike Scandinavia. Check out the link I sent Lapik which is a Swedish website. As I said, all Halfords-type shops in Sweden and Finland have all the bits for conventional wiring. The link I sent Lapik has three or four further links in it which have some great gizmos for connecting via canbus. Not cheap though. Don't even think of buying anything from Norway!!

They are awesome, but sadly, probably not road-legal. Even some of the LED spots are not road-legal!

Lapik. check out Hella Ralley 3003 extra lightson this site

I also have an interest in doing what Lapik wants to do. Even bought the stainless steel mounting bracket for the lamps which fits behind the number plate while in Finland recently. What we need is a wiring diagram, but also the knowledge that connecting up will not affect the canbus setup on these cars. Most Scandinavian vehicles have two and sometimes three driving lights on the front so the knowledge is out there. You can argue that the lights "spoil the look" of a car. The Scout is a tool for getting from A to B in difficult and challenging conditions. Adding long range driving lights for Estonia or here in the Scottish Highlands is purely functional and helps us avoid hitting deer in our twilight winters. Its a very real problem here. Most big Scandinavian supermarkets sell aftermarket brackets, lights and wiring looms,-easy to set up to work off a cockpit mounted extra switch. What we want is to have them working in conjunction with the car's own canbus system, i.e. lighting up on activating main beam, and also a master switch deciding whether you want them to come on or not. If you have any step by step instructions that would be gratefully received. Comments on the 'look' of the car are unhelpful.

Is it my imagination, or have ECP prices shot through the roof in the last month or two? Even with the hefty discount offered by using the codes, prices have shot up. They've swung from being ridiculously cheap to being pricey. I fitted new Brembo discs and pads on the Scout's front end about 10 weeks ago for very little money compared with what they are asking now, and their oils are outrageous even when discounted. Any other views on this? Can't believe Brexit has stuffed us up this soon!! And why is VAG spec 5-30 more expensive than, say, Ford's spec 5-30?? I'm getting 4 litres of Q8 VAG spec for less than £18 up here in the Highlands, but go to Halfords, and similar VAG spec Petronas is twice as expensive.

Slightly hijacking the thread, but how many of us have asked for the old cambelt back after a replacement job I wonder? I had mine done for the first time after 50k. miles and when I got it back it looked pretty much brand new. Even turning it inside out and looking closely at the areas between the teeth there's no cracking to be seen,-let alone any fraying. I'm sorry now that I didn't ask for the pulleys as well,-(purely for curiosity's sake). The water pump's different,-apparently the are exchange items and can be returned for about £20. So i'd expect a garage to hang onto those! 2011 Scout Diesel DSG

I puzzled for a while as to how best to measure the disc diameter. Get three straight pieces of wood and two wood screws. One length longer than 288mm., and two shorter ones. `Make a 'rectangle with one long side missing' as a makeshift disc measuring device. Tighten the wood screws so that the two short arms stay in place after measuring the diameter, then measure the distance between the two short arms with a tape measure. You'll have to take the wheel off first, mind.

Its worth noting that, as the weather becomes colder and more demands are put on the battery, poor batteries need to be replaced sooner rather than later. Poor batteries place excessive demands on to the alternator, and this, in turn, can lead to premature alternator failure. Costly business compared to a decent new battery.

This is a list of SKODA approved oils taken from the Skoda site. Its pretty comprehensive and I'm glad to see the Q8 oil included as I'm getting it for £18 for 4 litres in Inverness.step_50400_50700.pdf

Presumably, James, the NO emissions would have been altered at a given RPM at operating temperature. If an improving procedure cannot be measured, how does one know if its effective? Or am I talking rubbish? I'm happy to be corrected. You see, what worries me as a pensioner who bought an ex-demonstrator Scout in 2011, hoping for at least 10 years relatively trouble-free motoring and maybe longer is the thought that this fix may make things worse. Maybe it will, maybe it won't, but I live in a part of the world where the expertise to sort complex automotive problems is thin on the ground. My experience with an Arnold Clark dealership locally was not a happy one.

Just had the second letter from Skoda (to say they hadn't forgotten about me and sort of urging patience)! Personally I'm in no hurry, car works fine as you'd expect. I'd be reassured if the dealerships were told to print out the relevant figures for one's car before any update, and after, In the event of any subsequent dispute about altered performance characteristics leading to problems, such information could be useful in the right hands. I suppose by now many cars have passed through dealers' hands. Have there been any proven problems?