Smart Pro

Plenty of ‘how to’ videos on You Tube. Procedure similar for VW and Audi. Stay clear of ‘cheap’ unbranded parts on EBay. Go for a quality make such as Lemforder or Febi Bilstein.

I had a similar problem with one of my rear calipers recently. It was seized and the brake pipe had corroded. Previous owner was a bit tardy with the brake fluid changes and the fluid was contaminated with moisture, which probably contributed to the problem. If you cannot wind back the caliper it is probably seized. Do check the bleed nipples as three of mine were seized when I tried to bleed the brakes!

I am pretty sure that the cigarette lighter socket is permanently live, as is the power socket in the luggage compartment. Fuse 25 is for the rear screen heated element / auxillary heating / ventilation and definitely switched, which is the one I would tap into. If the fuse blows, it's not going to cause any major issues.

You have done the fiddly bit (removing the glove box)! The video (turn the volume down if you don't speak Polish) shows how to remove the fan, which is very straightforward:

As Pete said, a short drive will clear the lights.

Check the condition / voltage of your battery and if this is within limits, check the resistor on the HVAC blower motor.

My understanding is that that the two pins / legs at the bottom of the diagram is the connector to / from the heater blower itself and the pins / legs at the top are for the connector to / from the fuse box and are for the multiple fan speed settings. These are the ones that I would be checking the resistance values. Just set your multimeter to ohms and use the probes to check the resistance (plenty of how to videos on You Tube but this one is good): )

The issue is 'resistance', as current flows through resistance. If the resistance is high, due to a failing fan motor / resistor, even if the current is below the fuse rating it will cause it to overheat.

I would start by checking your battery to ensure it is holding charge and does not dip below a certain level, as this can affect the operation of the heater blower and the operation of the flap motors. Secondly, I would also check the heater blower fan itself with a multimeter as the resistor can start to fail, causing these symptoms. I was experiencing similar problems with mine (dual climate control), replaced the heater blower fan and solved the problem. On the dual climate control models, the resistor is affixed to the outside of the heater blower fan.

Not sure where you got that from, but in the real world, most people will get the tyre pressure data from the sticker on the fuel cap, as below. Not so clear, is it?

I was comparing like for like in terms of profile. I was also talking about handling, as per the op's original post and not outright grip! I accept that both SUV's Cross Climate and Summer tyres will be XL (reinforced) but the characteristics of both types of tyre of the same profile, on roads without snow (most of the time in southern England) will be noticeably different and will have an effect on handling.

Exactly.

With all due respect, cross climate tyres are generally much softer and offer less sidewall rigidity than summer tyres, as I found out on my Porsche Cayenne (a wonderful handling machine, which appeared to defy the laws of physics). Porsche do not give N rated approval to cross climate tyres on the 998 Cayenne and when I stupidly fitted Michelin Cross Climates to mine, the difference was night and day worse over the standard summer Michelin Pilot Sport tyres it was fitted with before. Their N rated Dunlop winter tyres were surprisingly good though, despite these tyres being much softer, but clearly having much stiffer sidewalls to compensate. The suspension geometry settings of a car (camber and toe in) are tuned not only to the shocks, springs and suspension bushing, but also to the characteristics of the factory fitted tyres, so if this formula is changed due to excessive wear in any of the suspension components or fitting incorrect tyres, it will have a negative effect on handling. Many owners will have their suspension geometry checked and adjusted on state of the art laser machines such as 'Hunter', which will be a complete waste of time and an unnecessary expense unless the suspension components are in tip top condition and the correct tyres are fitted. After all, the geometry settings used will be those provided by the manufacturer when then car is new, from the factory. Correct tyre pressures are vitally important and it is quite common for owners to mistake bar for psi leading to under inflation of tyres.

There is one blower fan, behind the glove box and is very straightforward to replace. If you have dual climate control, the fan is a slightly different design to the manual air con version. If your battery charge is depleted (you mentioned you have been away for 2 months), the blower fan is one of the first items which is cut by the voltage regulator, so check your battery is fully charged and the blower fan fuse is intact before buying a replacement.

It does sound like a wiring issue or possibly a fault with the line out convertor. I suspect you have already checked all of the connections? You said the line out convertor was a 'cheapo', so maybe worth trying a better quality one if you cannot test it, or the wiring with a multimeter.

Does the additional amp, which you added, have its own power source direct from the battery, or have you tapped into an existing power supply?

I would start by checking all of the air intake pipes / hoses and also the integrity of the air intake cover. You will need to get underneath the engine to do a comprehensive check of everything but more often than not, an air leak is the cause of such codes in that it causes a knock on effect.

The pre 2014 1.6tdi VAG engine was known to suffer with DPF, EGR and fuel injector failure, with many of these problems affecting cars used for low mileage, start stop journeys. Unlike the ultra reliable 1.9 pump duse engine, which preceded it, VAG engineers now decided to make it devilishly difficult for competent DIY’ers to get to and replace these failed parts. Removing the front bumper to replace a blown halogen headlight bulb was now considered just a minor inconvenience, compared to what was to come. My wife owned a 2009 VW Golf from new, with one of the first 1.6tdi engines. It was good to drive and reliable until just after 5 years and 50k miles the EGR valve failed, followed a few months later by the air con compressor. Both failures were expensive (particularly the labour involved) and prompted her to replace the Golf with a Mazda CX3, which has been a paragon of reliability in the 7 years she has owned it so far.

Couldn’t agree more, although the transfer box issue on the Cayenne was apparently due to a poorly sighted vent pipe, which sped up the contamination of the transfer box fluid! However the ‘sealed for life’ approach has always seemed flawed to me, when the definition of ‘life’ is so subjective!

I agree that 20k miles would be better, but the reality is that most owners would be put off by the additional expense. As a DIY job it is inexpensive and relatively easy to do. My previous car was a Porsche Cayenne and these suffered from premature Transfer Box failure due to ingress of moisture. Porsche decided that the transfer box fluid should only be changed once every 160k miles or so!

The main problem with the Haldex unit is lack of maintenance, as it is considered ‘sealed for life’ by Skoda and therefore the changing of fluid / filters is not incorporated into maintenance schedules. Like brake fluid, Haldex fluid is hygroscopic (absorbs moisture), so over time it will degrade and ultimately increase the chance of corrosion within the unit. Ideally, fluid and filters should be changed every 40k miles. Not a difficult job and plenty of ‘how to’ videos on You Tube, as the process is similar across the whole VAG range. The companies, which specialise in Haldex repairs, sell the maintenance kits and fluid.

Anecdotal evidence would suggest that the recent introduction of ethanol in regular unleaded petrol, albeit in relatively small amounts, has a detrimental effect on fuel consumption. Maybe worth trying Super Unleaded to see if the improvement in fuel consumption is worth the additional cost per litre.

Yes, I am sure the guys at Celtic Tuning and anybody else with a vested interest in remapping (not that I have anything against them) will be more than willing to provide an objective and balanced analysis on the subject of tuning boxes! As I have already said, I am perfectly happy with the performance of my choice of tuning box and the research / testing that the supplier undertook, so I shall leave it at that!

With a tuning box, the data cables from the ECU that go to to the boost pressure and fuel rail sensors are intercepted by the tuning box in that those cables now plug into to the tuning box and the ECU within the tuning box modifies the code from the ECU. The modified data is then transferred via the tuning box's cables to the boost pressure and fuel rail sensors. This is exactly the same principle that a remap adopts except that it flashes the 'custom' data directly onto the ECU. You are tarring all tuning boxes with the same brush and I accept that some just have a cable going to the fuel rail sensor for example and others use very basic code to crudely manipulate the boost and fuel pressure. It is the same with a remap. A cheap off the peg remap could be used on a variety of different diesel engines and still result in an increase in torque / bhp. However, the settings used would not be optimal for that particular engine / vehicle and this is where the problem's occur, usually when the vehicle being 'tuned' has been neglected where regular maintenance is concerned. My last vehicle was remapped by Celtic Tuning, a reputable tuning company, albeit without the aid of a rolling road. The technician downloaded the code to my ECUs (yes my previous car had two), which had been written specifically for my model of vehicle. No tweaking, other than the actual download of the code was undertaken as it would have been pointless without the rolling road. I was very happy with results. For my current vehicle and van I spent a lot of time researching tuning box technology and suppliers as I wanted the ability to be able remove the boxes and revert to stock. I satisfied myself that the 'tune' provided by the supplier of my tuning boxes would at least be equal to that of a decent off the peg remap. Again, I was and am very happy with the results.

I agree with the suggestion that the problem could be Haldex related. Recommend that you remove the pump and filters and do a fluid change while you are at it. You can test the condition of the pump with a multi meter. Skoda seem to take the view that the Haldex unit is sealed for life and do not incorporate fluid and filter replacement into the maintenance schedule. The fluid degrades over time and the filters become blocked. There are a couple of UK based suppliers, which specialise in Haldex repair and or the supply of Haldex parts / maintenance kits. Let me know if you don’t have a similar supplier in Serbia and I shall supply the links.