iscacamper

Thanks. I’ll query this again with the garage before going any further.

Thanks. The reason I ask is that I have an intermittent bulb warning light and the garage tells me it's an intermittent fault with the LED brake light unit.

Just a quick question. I have a 62 Octavia Estate (Elegance). Can anybody please tell me how many LEDs should be illuminated in the high-level brake light strip? I am seeing 12 LEDs light up, but it looks like there should be 14. See the attached photo for details. Many thanks.

Thanks Yorkshire, that pic is useful for comparison. My setup is similar to yours, but I reckon mine is looking lower at the back (although it's hard to compare exactly). I think I will go for new springs and see if it helps. P.S. just noticed you have the 4x4. Don't these have stiffer springs anyway?

I have a 2007 Octavia Estate 2.0TDI Elengance, 51000 miles on the clock. I was wondering whether anybody could advise me on the correct rear ride height with healthy springs. I think my car looks like it's sitting a little low at the back when empty (lower than the front). The real problem, however, is when we tow our caravan, the rear sags enough to cause the caravan jockey wheel to ground on large speed bumps. I've seen quite a few newer Octavias on the road that seem to ride a lot higher at the back than ours. Is it normal for the rear springs to sag significantly after 51000 miles? I'm thinking of getting the rear springs replaced, but don't want to waste money if it won't make much difference. I know spring assisters can be fitted, but I want to explore the possibility of replacing the original springs before I think about adding any modifications that might affect my insurance. I am towing with 70-75kg noseweight (which is the limit), and the car is not overloaded. Thanks in advance.

I have a feeling this is done because if the fan is on maximum, the airflow is so fast that some if it deflects off the windscreen, reducing its effectiveness. I think the air flows more smoothly over the whole screen if the fan is set a little bit below max. There will also be less turbulence at lower fan speeds. This is just from general experience, and I have no real evidence to back this up!

Hmm, looks like the problem is still there even with the towball cover removed. It seems to come and go, and mainly happens in damp weather. The phantom obstructions appear randomly on either side (or both sides), so I doubt it's a dodgy sensor, otherwise I would expect it to always be the same side. So I guess the flange towball is the cause of the problem. I will remove the towball for a few days to confirm whether it fixes it (though I won't be able to remove the electric sockets without unwiring them - too much hassle!). So either I learn to live with it or get a removable towball fitted.

It's a relay setup. I'm not bothered about the sensors triggering whilst towing (they would only trigger when reversing, and I avoid reversing a trailer as much as possible ). It's when there's no trailer attached that it's a problem.

OK, thanks, I'll try that. I've just taken the cover off the towball and that seems to have improved matters, but it's too early to say if it's cured it. It didn't have a cover on when I got the car (I added it afterwards) so maybe it adds just enough extra bulk to trigger the sensors.

The car came from a dealer, so I doubt they would have even noticed. Yes, I could try removing the towball and see if it solves the problem. If it does, I guess I'll have to either live with it or change to a swan neck towbar. Cheers,

Hi, I'm sure this kind of thing has been discussed before, but I am hoping someone has some advice on my specific problem. I have recently bought an '07 Octavia Estate which has a flange towbar fitted. There is an intermittent problem with the reversing sensors, whereby they will sometimes register a 'phantom' object when there is nothing there. This usually happens for brief periods, comes and goes, and sometimes doesn't happen at all. My suspicion is that the towball is causing the problem. However, since the towbar was already fitted to the car I'm a bit surprised the previous owner didn't have a problem with it. I have previously driven an Octy Estate with a swan neck towbar which had no such problems. I have checked that the sensors are working by listening to them, and they are all clicking away nicely and responding when I put my hand in front. The dashboard display and audible alert seem to be working correctly. So I was wondering - is the towbar the likely culprit, or is there a possibility of some other fault? (Before anyone suggests removing the towbar, I need it!) Thanks!

Well, I have now returned the car and bought a manual Octy estate from somewhere else instead. The supplying dealers have already put my old car up for sale, complete with DSG fault, for more than I originally paid for it. :S All I can say is: Be very, very wary of so-called "Approved Used" Skodas.

Yep - hopefully going to view a manual Octavia at the weekend! Can't take the risk of another used DSG. Even if it starts out OK, who knows what will happen a couple of years down the line.

Well, that's it. The warranty assessors are insisting the gearbox be stripped down (at the dealer's expense) before they'll consider replacing it. So the supplying dealers have now given up and are offering me my money back. Which will leave me without a car. I will never, ever buy a DSG again. They can't fix them. :-(

Back into the dealers today. They were looking at the wrong symptom - yes, the clutch eventually cuts out on a hill due to overtemperature protection - that's what it's supposed to do! It's not what's causing my surging/lurching problem, which happens much sooner. They are now talking about claiming for a whole new gearbox on the used warranty. They don't know if the assessor will authorise it, though. Not sure how to feel about this - I feel they are shooting in the dark. What if they replace the whole gearbox and the problem is still there?!

Haha, well I think they're planning on using this as an excuse to tell me it's a 'characteristic'. They reckon Skoda say it's OK - no mention of a faulty sensor. But I find it hard to believe that the clutch can be overheating so quickly. They did offer to let me drive a different DSG car to compare (again!), so we'll see what the difference is like. They are claiming that their other DSG cars do the same thing, but I'm not convinced they're looking at the same issue.

I called the dealership today. They said they have diagnosed the cause of the problem in conjunction with Skoda UK. Apparently the DSG is attempting to protect the clutch pack from overheating. They monitored the clutch temperature, and when the clutch opened it corresponded with the clutch temperature reaching 110deg C. Apparently, according to Skoda this is correct behaviour. This explains why the problem was only evident when the car was warmed up. When we drove a comparison car - which didn't exhibit the problem - it was cold. So I'm going in on Monday for another test drive and to test a warmed-up comparison car for the same behaviour. I'm a bit surprised that the clutch is heating up so quickly (in less than a second), and that other DSG drivers don't seem to report the same problem. But if the comparison car does the same thing (they have a Yeti and another Octavia), I guess I'm willing to accept their explanation.

The latest: It went into the local Skoda dealers last week for yet another road test. The service manager agreed there was a problem. I took the car into the workshop today, and have left it with them until they come up with a fix.

Thank you, that confirms for me that my car is not behaving as it should. Mine would definitely not crawl up that slope without lurching.

Thanks, I'll be interested to know how yours works. I'm in Exeter, by the way.

Thanks for the info, ItsMe. Does it behave the same on a slight slope? Mine creeps ok on a dead flat road, but lurches on inclines. I'm not talking steep hills here, just enough of a slope for the car to roll back when in neutral. (Edit: I know the car is supposed to roll back slightly before engaging the clutch, but on mine the clutches engage and disengage repeatedly instead of moving the car off smoothly). Thanks.

Been back on the phone to the main dealer who did the work. Still being told by the master tech that the surging is a "characteristic". I took it to an local independent VW specialist yesterday, and he said he'd never seen a DSG that behaves like mine. He also found faults with the EGR valve and air conditioning, but he doubts those are the cause of the problem. I'm really annoyed that the car was sold to me with multiple faults, despite the supposed "comprehensive workshop check" it's supposed to get before delivery. So much for "Skoda Approved" used cars! So it looks like it's now going back into my local dealership under instructions from the supplying dealer. But I fully expect to be told the same thing by them ("it's a characteristic"). They also keep telling me that I need to press the accelerator to creep smoothly on an incline. Not helpful when trying to reverse park slowly! Funny, the VW Self Study Service Guide for the DSG specifically states that no accelerator input is required to creep when parking.

Just a thought... Is it possible that the 'surging' problem isn't a DSG issue at all, but engine-related? Given the mechatronics have been replaced, it would seem to rule out the DGS as a cause. The problem seems to be a repetitive surging when in gear at idle, under load (eg on a slope). Is there anything that might cause this? Timing, perhaps? The car drives perfectly under all other circumstances. Any suggestions welcome!

Ok, now I've driven the car for a while with the new mech unit it's apparent the original problem is still there to some degree. Basically, when creeping forwards or backwards up a slight slope, the creep 'pulsates' slowly (every couple of seconds) as if the DSG is feathering the clutch in and out to regulate the speed, rather than maintaining a constant creep speed. It's not as severe as before, but still irritating. Don't know what to do now. The mechatronic unit has supposedly been replaced... Am I supposed to live with this behaviour?

Not really - they implied the first mech unit they tried might have been faulty, but didn't really give a full explanation. Fitting a different unit solved the ABS problem.