varaderoguy

(posting deleted)

It all depends on the engine. Is your car a TDI 150 or 190 (as they have different towing weights). Also as you have an aftermarket towbar (WestFalia), if you own a TDI150, it might not have had the larger radiator put onto the car (which is officially needed). Typically 1300kgs to 1500kgs is acceptable towing weight. I think the DSG gearboxes are stronger and can pull more weight....lower figure for manuals.

Depending on the age of the Octy VRS, then yes, servicing will need to be done.

One thing of note is that the glow plugs will need to be replaced. 130,000kms is about right for this to happen. If you are experiencing issues and you put it down to glow plugs then it is time to change them.

Fantastic...sorry....my bandwidth isn't good so didn't see the video but if the fronts are slipping then rears should definitely kick in.

Yes, because loads of people were getting pump failures and getting them replaced under warranty. 3years/30k miles seems a reasonable compromise though. Still recommend 20k based on my Scout and 1.5 years of motoring. My Skoda dealer were extremely surprised how dirty it was.

The HALDEX 5 system is a good system as long as the fluid and filter in the transfer box is changed every 20k miles (and not 40k as recommended). Basically a lot of time the HALDEX system fails due to the pump trying to overcome the pressure of the fluid and failing due to a dirty filter. Now what happens is that when this occurs, it *does not* throw a code (ask me how I know - see my posting on this when I owned my 2019 Scout). So...you are left with no engagement on the 4 wheel drive system. It cost about £160 to get it done every 20k. What they don't tell you is *how* to engage the HALDEX 5 box. You have to loose traction on the front wheels for the system to engage. The garage is right when they say it is not a permanent 4x4 system.

It's a known issue. 12V battery pack into the lighter socket. Open central locking, open passenger door , proceed as normal

My thoughts are that maybe you have a sticking caliper that is potentially causing issues. Octavia and Golfs are notorious for binding brakes.

It will be a DQ250 Box. Dual mass flywheel as standard.

Potential for it to be the thrust/input shaft bearing that is failing. It will make a noise in any gear. Does the noise go away when you press in the clutch pedal? If so, its a clutch out job. Best get the dual mass flywheel replaced whilst you are there too. Best to go for original VAG parts.

Well, I would invest in a de-pinning / depacking tool (and make a note of the connector ways). If you have enough wire, then re-pin the connectors, and pack it all up with proper wiring tape (to stop chaffing).

The screens do fail on these earlier MK3 MIB1 systems. Sounds like yours is heading for that territory.

If you have a Canton sound system, this is where the base lives....or you can retrofit a base speaker into here.

It all depends on the Arrive Home and Depart Home settings (usually set between 15-20 secs). Also make sure you haven't got your light switched in the "ON" position as well.

If you speak with @pab567, he might be able to provide you a good value MIB2 unit for your car. Try and stick with VAG MIB 2 / 2.5 systems; going third party is a bad idea (because you look connectivity to loads of in-car systems and settings)

From what you are telling us, you've gone and got third party mounts and average quality wheel bearings and taken the car to a third party garage. Appreciate you are trying to fix things on a budget but with VAG products, unless you really know what you are doing, using third party products and garages will bite you hard. I suggest; get some proper OEM struct top rubbers (and get the struct tops checked to make sure they aren't rusted through), get both wheel bearings done at the same time (either two front or two rear) with proper OEM bearing kits and then get a wheel alignment done.

Stick with the Octavia. Having test driven an Arteon (a TSI 190 version) they are big 'ol buses and very very thirsty on fuel. Remember you can also enable up via functions on your car and there are LOADS of updates you can do to improve things (e.g.virtual dashboard, automatic boot opening)...list is endless.

There is a reason why I state either genuine VCDS or Odbeleven dongles....these are products that have a lot of development and extra functions over/above a standard generic dongle. Especially useful if you are trying to do diagnostics and actuation of tests on your car. I know the MK3's are now getting into the territory of being more valued for money vehicles, but if you want to keep the cars longer term, then it is worth investing in the correct tools to keep them going. Especially if you are planning to do your own maintenance on them. Sure...if you want to read codes, any odb2 scanner can do this.

Politely... I think you should have looked at this in a different way. I'm concerned that you've not diagnosed a poor running condition and then mod'ed the ECU to try and get you more power. I might suggest as an option firstly getting the stage1 reversed. Then get a full code scan done...the CANBUS network will tell you if there is an issue. However, basic things to look first: Plugs - replace with good quality Iridium plugs Airfilter- make sure it's good. Oil change/filter - make sure it's changed and you are running with good (pref OEM quality oil - either 5W30 or 0W30 504 grade oil) If the car still keep sluggish, then it's worth doing a compression test on the cylinders to see if you have a problem there. Have you checked to make sure you don't have crankcase pressure issues (usually a sign of cylinder head gasket going south...) Also listen for issues...are you getting noise from the whole engine or just one cylinder? You might also have a timing issue. Has the timing gone out of specification? At that engine age, you should be due a cambelt change. Does your engine have ACT on it? If so, is the lack of power caused by this system not working as it should do? All VAG engines if they are well maintained go on for many many years. Please have another look at this problem if possible.

Worth investing in an ODBEleven and getting a proper code scan of the car. Post up the code of what the car is complaining about and Then we can advise.

(whichever comes first....and in your case....its time for a belt change)

I've just started on my 2020 MK3 Octavia. Like the MK7 Golfs, they all rust in the wheel arch area. Its important to spend a day, taking out the wheel arch liners, using a jet washer to clear out the tutt....then using a waxoil or tetroseal clear coating, spray loads of protecting wax at the sils (especially near the "sponge" at the back of the wheel arch), down the sill and especially at the top of the struts (which also attract loads of road grime).

Thanks for your response. I'm still sticking with my original posting. TDI 2.0 engines and short journeys do not mix. My point comes from during lockdown, we had a lot of peeps reporting issues with poor performance (very low mpg), battery issues and issues with dpf light (ie high calculated ash build-up). The MIL light will also be triggered if pressure levels are too high pre-dpf due to blocked dpf. I agree that modern diesels are waayyy better than diesels from even 10 years ago, but most peeps buy a diesel for high mpg, low running costs. Of course the car will do it's best to keep the dpf clear but it will be at the expense of the cars longer term performance if a long occasion journey is not performed. Of course there are numerous points of view on here and elsewhere, but I express my experience based on driving and owned/owning numerous different permutations of the MK3 Octavia. My local dealer also says that my cars are also mechanically in excellent state of repair when I bring my cars to them (and hence my servicing costs are super-low).

A firmware update plus enabling up Skoda Surround will go a long way to improving audio quality.