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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.

Audison is a very good make so I am sure you will notice a big improvement over stock. I fitted Focal 2 way components to the front and rear doors of my Superb (fitted straight in with OEM connectors) and they, together with a JL Audio 4 channel amp and Pioneer Car Play Head Unit, together with acoustic sound deadening have made a noticeable improvement.

The ECUs ability to control the engine, as you put it, is entirely dependent on the code which has been uploaded to it. The ECU will never operate outside of this code, whether it’s stock or remapped. The code which is uploaded to a tuning box’s ECU, intercepts the code from the car’s main ECU. It is quite possible that the same code is uploaded to a tuning box’s ECU as a remapped car’s ECU, if both sets of code are off the shelf. The end result will be the same. Incidentally, I think you will find that a custom remap applied with the use of a rolling road and several hours tweaking said code, will result in a significantly higher cost than that of a “less bad” tuning box! Also, a custom remap would need to be applied to a ‘modified’ vehicle, where for instance, a straight through exhaust with cat delete has been specified, ported headers and / or a hybrid turbo has been fitted. Otherwise, if the vehicle is unmodified in all other respects and has been well maintained, an off the shelf remap or dare I say it, a decent tuning box, will probably suffice.

I have had vehicles remapped in the past and spent time researching both options so my decision to run with a tuning box on this occasion was one that was made objectively and certainly not with any degree of bias. To say that a stock remap is safer and more effective than a tuning box is misleading as there are poorly written remaps as well as cheap / ineffective tuning boxes with limited parameters. If a reputable tuning box supplier such as TDI Tuning, which has been trading for a number of years and is prepared to offer a 5 year warranty on its product, is selling something which is potentially unsafe and ineffective, don’t you think they would have faced litigation and ceased trading by now? I think we will just have to agree to disagree on this one!

In terms of recommending a tuning box supplier, I only have experience of one, which is TDI Tuning. I have one of their tuning boxes fitted to my VW Crafter van and Skoda Superb and have been more than happy with the results and the service from the company.

A remap will alter values relating to boost pressure and fuel / air mixture / fuel injection pressures by overwriting the manufacturer’s software code. A tuning box works to the same set of principles, except that the signals from the ECU are intercepted and altered further down the line. An ECU will only work within the parameters that have been set from the software code. A good tuner will use a rolling road to alter the parameters on the fly, however most remaps are performed without the aid of a rolling road and are therefore off the peg, albeit to the specific characteristics of that particular vehicle. Exactly the same as with a decent tuning box.

Can’t say I agree with your statement as you are suggesting that all tuning boxes are equally bad in terms of the data, which is not the case! You can get a bespoke programmed tuning box from a reputable company, which will be calibrated and better suited to your particular vehicle than an off the shelf remap from a flash it and go tuner! Equally, there are a lot of duff tuning boxes which use generic maps and only alter fuel rail pressure.

Mine is manual, not DSG and I have fitted a tuning box (TDI Tuning), with a bluetooth interface, which connects via an app on my phone and allows one of 7 levels of 'tune' to be selected. I generally use level 5, and the increase in available torque is very noticeable, which aids overtaking and allows you to hold higher gears for longer. On a long trip, this helps fuel economy (unless you are constantly using the increased performance)! The tuning box connects to the fuel rail and turbo boost sensors, the latter meaning that you have to approach it from underneath the car. The unit is well made and support from the company has been very good. I have also fitted one to my VW Crafter van and again, very impressed by the improvement in torque and fuel economy.

Do you have a multi meter?

You maybe doing this already, but if you input the exact details of your car into the 'Parts that fit' feature when searching for car parts on Ebay, it should show the parts, which fit your car, although some listings state, 'Contact Seller'. In addition / alternatively, go on www.lllparts.co.uk or search lll parts Skoda), choose Skoda EU, Superb, click on parts diagrams and you can find the part number for the blower and cross check that with the listing. The resistor part of the blower motor for the dual climate variants has an obvious metallic (looks like a heatsink) part attached to the plastic casing.

The dual climate models need a blower fan with a built in resistor, which is why they cost more. As Derbyshirebod mentioned, the fan is behind the lower part of the glovebox on the passenger side. You can access it with the glove box in situ, but you need to half turn the unit to engage / remove it, so much easier to do if you remove the glove box first.

This was an interesting one and caused me a lot of head scratching! My Superb has the Stop Start function and is fitted with an AGM battery. On the side of the alternator is a voltage regulator with a plug. On the negative terminal lead to the AGM Battery is a Control Unit, with a plug, which monitors and regulates the battery charge to enable / disable the start /stop function. The wiring harness from the plug on the voltage regulator contains (what starts out as a yellow wire), which carries the data signal (Lin) from the voltage regulator on the alternator to several components, including the control unit on the negative lead to the battery. The above fault code usually indicates a likely problem with either the terminal plugs / connections on the voltage regulator or battery control unit and / or the wiring in between. Without the correct diagnostics equipment and ideally an oscilloscope to monitor the data signal, it is tempting to fear the worst and start replacing components such as the voltage regulator and / or the alternator. This is an easy mistake to make as when there is no signal from the generator and you stick multimeter probes on the battery, with the car idling, it shows that the alternator is not charging the battery and this remains the case until the revs rise above a certain level, at which point the alternator kicks in and starts charging the battery again. This can be a problem if the car is idling for a long time with the blower fan and other power hungry applications turned on, as the battery will discharge. The plug on the voltage regulator is a very snug fit and difficult to access unless you have small hands (I don't)! The plug needs a really good push (I used the leverage of a screw driver handle to do this) to fully engage, at which point you will hear a click. If you don't hear the click it may seem that the plug is fully engaged but it won't be and this will be the cause of your problem. The other potential issue is a break in the wiring, normally the yellow data wire, which will need to be traced and replaced. So what caused my problem? A few weeks ago I decided to fit a tuning module and mistakenly unplugged the voltage regulator plug instead of the turbo boost connector / plug below it. I quickly realised my mistake and thought I had fully engaged the connector but over time it must have worked loose causing this error code / problem! I put up an earlier thread about battery adaption and am now thinking that this problem maybe linked!:

If yours is the diesel engine as you suggest, it will (or should) have the 3 bolts. You do not need to remove the 'plastic' intake manifold itself, just the V157 intake flap motor. Probably worth checking that the intake flap bushings are not worn, prior to shelling out on the bracket mod. Have you seen the Diesel Geeks You Tube Video?

I repair cars for a living (small to medium area bodywork repairs) and imo that is too badly damaged to repair satisfactorily and / or cost effectively. Try www.partsgateway.co.uk They are a salvage broker and will search all the salvage yards that have that part available. All member salvage yards do nationwide shipping.

If you don't have a multi meter get a second opinion regarding the wiring as it does suggest that is where the problem lies. The wires within parking sensor harness are known to go brittle, particularly where they are under stress and cause this problem. You can get a tested, used parking sensor harness from Ebay for around £30 and fit it yourself. Plenty of You Tube videos on how to remove the rear bumper, to gain access to the parking sensors and wiring and the rear offside interior side trim to gain access to the module where the harness terminates. If you are going to do this, get some 3M double sided sticky pads to reaffix your parking sensor holders to the underside of the rear bumper.

Certainly an interesting conclusion, which sounds entirely plausible but why would the live data from the diagnostics show the potential battery charge capacity for my depleted battery as being 12.7v at that time, yet the system did not permit it to charge up until the (correct) 'new battery' adaptation had been performed? I had earlier, once the red battery warning light was on constantly, tried a different variation of the adaptation code, using VAO instead of VA0 and this made no difference - the light stayed on. It was only later on my journey when I changed the adaption code to VA0 with the same sequence of binary numbers that the light went out and the battery started to charge. This would seem to suggest that entering the code correctly is critical in this situation but it would of course be great to get a definitive answer from VAG.

I have a trade account with TPS, who stock / can obtain genuine VAG parts. They will have access to the Skoda parts database for your specific car and will likely give you the part numbers for the shocks, specific to your particular car, if you ask nicely. Armed with the correct part number you are able to confidently select the correct part from the OEM manufacturer (I believe it is Sachs) either from TPS or via the usual channels. The LLL parts catalogue link, kindly provided by Carlston above, is very useful but does not link to your specific car, just model range, so it is possible to select the incorrect part, as is the case with Euro Car Parts etc. As has been said, there are so many variations on shock absorbers and springs for that matter, with different rebound rates depending on your model and all rigorously tested by Skoda before being released. Definitely worth sticking to the shocks and springs intended for your particular model and not using those intended for another model (unless they are the same), even if they fit! Incidentally, a testament to the quality of Skodas in general is the high mileages they are capable of, as witnessed by many owners on this forum. The problem with shocks and springs is that they have a useful / effective life of about 50 to 60k miles and then start to work outside their original tolerances before failing (leaking or breaking). The knock on effect of this apart from changes to ride / handling is that the suspension geometry is no longer optimal, leading to increased / uneven tyre wear.

If you are thinking of doing this yourself, on your driveway, there is a guy on You Tube, Kevin-Albert Williams (www.williamsmobileclutch.co.uk) who has posted lots of videos, showing him replacing DMF clutch kits on various makes / models of car, including many VAG cars. All the videos showing him work are taken on customers' driveways. With nothing more than jacks and axle stands, including some carefully chosen tools, he makes the process look relatively easy and is clearly very experienced. Well worth checking out, but I think I would want an inspection pit and a Milwaukee Fuel Impact Driver as the minimum in terms of facilities / tools, before undertaking such a job!

I don't know to be honest, but suspect that the binary input values are restricted to the adaption reset field - 'enter new value'.

Let's start this post with providing some context. A couple of month's ago I purchased a 2015 (Series 2) Skoda Superb 'Tour de France' Estate 2.0L Diesel 4X4. It had covered 170k miles, had a full service history and was in good condition. It was not perfect and needed a few, relatively inexpensive parts to bring it up to scratch. I am reasonably handy with the spanners and have VCDS and Autel (Pro level) diagnostics equipment. One of the issues was a battery that was clearly on the way out. It was the original VAG badged 68 amp AGM Varta battery but it had done extremely well to last this long! I purchased a replacement 70amp AGM Varta Battery from Tayna Batteries. Now for the adaption on Channel 4. Having fitted the battery, I used VCDS to enter the new battery's adaption values. The original battery was recorded as 068 JCB 1111111111 18 digits including the spaces (1 space = 1 digit) are required. The code for Varta is VA0 (that's zero not capital 'O'). There are plenty of posts / You Tube videos that suggest you enter 'O' not '0' (zero) after VA for a Varta battery. They also suggest that you end the sequence of 1's with a 2. This is what I did, the new adaption values were accepted and I assumed that everything was ok. The big problem here is that whatever you enter, providing you use the correct format, will be accepted, lulling you into a false sense of security that what you have input has been accepted and has adapted your new battery! If you have an AGM battery or equivalent, needed for the start / stop function, the adaption code (the series of 1's after the space, after JCB or VA0 is in binary. Entering the number '2' will be accepted but it is not a binary number and will not result in your new AGM battery being adapted. SO WHAT! Not a problem if your new battery does not become drained. You will not notice any issues and will probably be none the wiser! The problem is that your battery generator function will not be operating as you have not adapted your new battery correctly. If your new battery becomes drained below say 11v, your battery warning light will come on but before the battery warning light comes and the voltage had dropped to just above this level, some of your functions may start playing up. Examples of this may include power steering working intermittently and heater blower fans not functioning. The battery generator function works like a relay and allows the battery to charge to its optimum level. If the battery generator is not functioning, due to the battery not being adapted properly, it will never charge beyond its current value, whatever that may be. In my case I installed an aftermarket head unit, amplifier and component speakers. Testing the system (with the engine off), but the ignition on, must have depleted the battery. This morning, the car was iced up. I started it with heater blower on full and rear window heater on. The battery warning light came on and did not go out, despite a 45 mile journey down the M1. Luckily for me, I had my Autel Pro diagnostics scanner on me so I interrogated the live data. This showed that the battery was not charging above 10.7V. I went into the battery's function adaption screen, cleared the value I had input originally, when I installed the new Varta 70amp battery and input the following: 070 VA0 1111111111 This, when saved, resulted in the battery warning light going off and staying off. The battery also started charging up to its optimal level. Sorry for such a long, rambling post but I hope this can be of help to others.

I have VCDS and a Pro version of Autel, which provides live data but neither are infallible and more often than not, steer you in the right direction, rather than providing a specific diagnosis.