SW_VRS_2012

Haha quite possibly. The thing is its only around £3 for a bottle so for individual customers thats not really an issue but as you say £3 x 1,000, 10,000, 100,000, 1,000,000 etc customers is a decent chunk.

I realise this is a very old topic but I have just come across it. I've heard both side of the argument for using engine flushes with the main concern being about dislodging carbon that is actually helping seat rings etc etc, but this is normally only a concern for vehicles with high mileage or that have never used a flush before. One thing that sticks in my mind that is relevant to all vehicles new or old, is someone saying that when you drain the old oil out you never get it all because of things such as oil cooler etc - fair enough, il go with that. So if you add an engine flush, then by the same token as above, some must remain in the engine with that bit of old oil (which apparently can be up to 0.5 litre). So basically the new oil will be contaminated with this bit of engine flush. By the ratio of engine oil (~5L?) to flush (~250ml usually) this will obviously only be a tiny amount and whether this is enough to potentially cause any harm is up to you decide. Just something else to consider. I should add that when I had my diesel vRS serviced at an independant german specialist they used STP engine flush. As I have seen many high end cars in there (Aston Martin, Ferrari, BMW M3/5, Porsche etc etc) I would like to think they are confident in what they are doing!

The ebay links in that post no longer work. Why would they be ok for 6 months then start playing up intermittently is what I can't understand. As far as I know the heatsink is not touching anything. Theres little room for manouver with them, they just sits in the factory clips.

I know this topic has been covered somewhat before but reading the posts I can find did not really help me. I have LED's for the number plate lights on a 58 plate vRS CR 170. They were already fitted when I bought the car 6 months ago. I assume they are canbus compatible and they have a seatsink on the back of them. Until now they have been fine, never had any error message and they always worked. However the last month they have been playing up. When I turn the ignition on I get the bulb failure warning light which says its the number plate lights. On turning the lights on and checking, sometimes they are both on and sometimes neither of them are (warning light in both instances). By turning the lights on and off again usually clears the warning, and makes both lights work (if it was one of the times they wernt). Or sometimes if I turn the lights on and leave them on it clears itself othertimes it doesnt not. I don't see why they would work perfectly for the last 6 months then just start being funny for no apparent reason. I have removed them a few times and cleaned the contacts, reseated them, swapped them around etc/ Nothing has worked so far. I know other people have experienced this so was wondering if anyone had any up to date news or suggestions? Thanks in advance.

So just before New Year I unfortunately managed to hit quite a large pothole which gave me a flat tyre a day later. Upon reinflating I noticed there was a bulge in the sidewall so no change of fixing! I got a replacement at a local tyre place. Seen as though the fronts were getting towards being replaced anyway I decided to change the other one prematurely as well to match as I'd gone for a different brand on the new one. Got a few quotes from local tyre places then decided to try the internet (blackcircles, lovetyres etc etc) and found the tyre I wanted for approx £25 cheaper inc delivery. So when it arrived this morning I thought great I'll just go down to the nearest tyre place and get them to fit it for me for ~£10. However they refused saying that because they didn't supply it, they could not fit it! Hmmm I thought, fussy *********. So i rang around 5-6 more places and they all said the same thing! (starting to worry now). Eventually rang kwik fit who said they would do it for £13. Happy with that. Took it down same day without any problems. Anyone else experienced this? I understand where they are coming from but all they have to do is write on the invoice "customer supplied, fitted only". Liability waived. The reason they gave was that they don't know where they tyre has come from and cannot gaurantee it's quality. Also it could be stolen! Just thought I'd share this for anyone else thinking of getting cheaper tyres of the internet. Not as straight forward as you may expect. Be warned!

Quick update. Contacted the garage and asked them. They said it was a procedure they did so that 1) it helps them with any future warranty claims 2) they know everything has been put back together correctly and hasn't moved/come loose and 3) if there is more than one person working on the car nothing gets overlooked/missed. They advised that a plastics thinner is needed to safely remove so as not to damage any plastics. They willingly offered to remove them for me if I bring the car in after the new year. Much happier now. :yes:

It's not that I don't trust the garage has done the work, I have complete confidence in them and as I said, they had all the old parts lined up on display for me when I went in to collect it. It was just annoying the look under the bonnet and find dabs of yellow paint in several places on my nice clean black engine bay! I have to go back to the garage anyway to get some paperwork I fogot so I may tell them in a subtle way, along the lines of "oh by the way that yellow paint in the engine bay, how do I get that off cos i'l annoy that hell out of me?". Hopefully they'll respond "oh we'l sort that for you, sorry about that". They are a good garage and are very customer orientated. Just I've never had it done on any cars I've taken to other garages in the past. Who knows, it may a sign of a goof skillful technician with a methodical thorough approach to things. But even if it is, I don't like it! P.S.DanHam did you manage to remove yours and if so what with?

Hey everyone Took the Octavia vRS CR TDI in for a major service and cambelt at a very respectable independant german specialist garage the other day. They did a great job and went out of their way to show me all the old parts that had come off the car off their own back. The only criticism I have is what the technician seems to have done when working on the engine. There are yellow paint marks (similiar to a paint pen) on several screws and bolts. From what I have read this is so that they know they have been torqued to the correct spec and they can tell if they have moved by a quick visual check. The thing is though alot of these screws/bolts aren't even critical, for example they had marked the four screws that hold the airbox lid on :think: Has anyone else experienced this? or is anyone on here a mechanic who can shed some light? It probably wouldn't bother most people but I am quite fussy and don't like yellow paint all over my engine bay which I keep very clean to go with the rest of the car! Finally does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to clean it off without damaging the plastics (ie engine cover). The usual things such as paint thinner, acetone, brake cleaner etc come to mind. Thanks

Well I decided to attempt it and thought I would post some feedback. I used this guide which was fantastic! http://www.briskoda....on-a-jumbo-box/ The job took me about 3 hours to complete. Reading the tutorial above the task would appear fairly simple, and it is, however it is the fiddly bits such as getting things to fit back together correctly that drags it out. One tip I can recommend though is when doing the plug for the 3.5mm aux head phone jack. I spent around ten minutes trying to get the clip undone to no avail as theres no much room as it sits directly behind a horizontal bracket. So at this point I just left it and carried on through the rest of the guide. Once I was at the last step and the centre console was all loose and ready to come out, I lifted it up a few inches. This then made the aux jack connector MUCH easier to get at and I then managed to get it off in about 3 seconds. PLEASE dont forget about it and end up ripping it off! Also in the tutorial the centre console isnt fully taken out just the tracking. I however undid the two connectors for the cigarette lighter and central locking switch and took the full thing out. Seen as though I had gone to this much time and effort to completely take it out I thought I may as well put a new part in. This cost me ~ £15 from the dealer inc VAT. It comes as a full unit though as you can see from the photo below of the old one. This job lot just clips into place within the console itself. I put a little bit of grease on the teeth of the new guide so hopefully this won't happen again or at least not for a long time. Putting everything back together was as you might expect just the reversal of that. The only bit that caused me alot of grief was putting the two carpet side covers back on the centre console. This took me about an hour! I don't know why they wouldnt slot back into place as easiy as they came off but it was one of those when one end is in the other wasnt, then when you put that end it that other end had come back out. I'm not exactly sure how I managed it in the end, just a lot of fiddling and a bit of luck I think. Lastly just dont forget to reconnet the plugs underneath i.e the aux jack, lighter and central locking switch. (ps when you're taking the front ashtray fixture out there is a wire attached to it, which you can see in the photo in the guide, for a tiny little light thats in the ashtray. From the guide photos it looks like that guy has just left it attached and dangled the ashtray in the passenger footwell. I disconnected mine as it just unclips.) Finally I hope this may give someone else a bit more help in carrying out this task. It is by no means technical or diffcult, just a little fiddly and time consuming. All the 'screws' are in fact T20 torx keys so you will need one of these. I would recommend the allen key type rather than a socket head as space is sometimes limited.

Handbrake rubber/plastic track (slider) sticking at the bottom end causing it to buckle/fold. http://www.briskoda....nd-brake-track/ http://www.briskoda....__fromsearch__1 Has anyone done this recently (or at all) and can advise how difficult it is actually is and how long it takes? Also if anyone PAID a dealer to do it how much it cost? Or just the cost of the part itself. Cheers Si

Are the conti's standard on new vRS's. Mine has conti sport contact 3's all round but as it's on 52k miles these obviously arn't the original tyres. Wonder if the 2 previous owners before me have kept OEM tyres. Incidentally when I do come to change them, I will be doing so for Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2's.

Did your insurer charge you any extra for declaring them? Who was it out of interest? I'm not too sure if you need to declare them. The que card question I got when taking out my insurance was "has the vehicle or engine been modified in a way that affects the performance or handling?". Since rear wheel spacers do neither I'd argue you don't need to tell them!

Hello everyone Quick question about wheel spacers. I have an 58 Octavia vRS CR170. When I bought it second hand it had 15mm spacers fitted to the rear wheels (none on the front). Having never used or even considered wheel spacers in the past I wasn''t overly keen on them and so took them off. After a few months I decided that I didn't like the look of the car without them and so have refitted them. Since doing so I seem to get abit more steering wheel wobble around 70+mph than before. My questions are: 1) Why would rear wheel spacers affect steering wheel vibration? 2) Does anyone know of any problems with using wheel spacers? 3) Are they as safe as when not using them? i.e wheel secured properly 4) Is any extra stress placed on wheel bearings, suspension etc. A few more notes. They are hubcentric and do have longer wheel bolts to accommodate them. I do not know what make they are (bright silver aluminium construction). The car is not lowered and so rubbing wheel arches is not an issue. Its worth mentioning that my car does get its fair share of spirited driving, although no track use. Many thanks in advance Si

Hello everyone Quick question about wheel spacers. I have an 58 Octavia vRS CR170. When I bought it second hand it had 15mm spacers fitted to the rear wheels (none on the front). Having never used or even considered wheel spacers in the past I wasn''t overly keen on them and so took them off. After a few months I decided that I didn't like the look of the car without them and so have refitted them. Since doing so I seem to get abit more steering wheel wobble around 70+mph than before. My questions are: 1) Why would rear wheel spacers affect steering wheel vibration? 2) Does anyone know of any problems with using wheel spacers? 3) Are they as safe as when not using them? i.e wheel secured properly 4) Is any extra stress placed on wheel bearings, suspension etc. A few more notes. They are hubcentric and do have longer wheel bolts to accommodate them. I do not know what make they are (bright silver aluminium construction). The car is not lowered and so rubbing wheel arches is not an issue. Its worth mentioning that my car does get its fair share of spirited driving, although no track use. Many thanks in advance Si