Is there any way to tell if my Octavia (2.0 TDi) is set up for variable servicing? It was new last June, and for some reason I thought it was set for variable servicing. I received a letter from the supplying dealer today saying it was due a service, presumably 12 months.

Are the cars set to variable or fixed when thay are new?

Does the first service always come under the fixed category?

I would 'phone the dealer, but the letter would arrive late on a Saturday, on a bank holiday weekend!!

Turn the ignition on but don't start the engine, press and hold the small black trip reset button on the dash and the time/distance to next service will appear.

Off the top of my head fixed QG0 will be 10,000 miles or 1 year. Variable QG1 will be x mileage/2 years max, whichever comes first.

My 2 Octavias have been QG1 and the first service has always been variable - around 16,500 each time.

Most cars are set to QG1 variable but I think cars with free servicing are usually set to QG0 fixed.

ignore the letter from the dealer. Your car will tell you when a service is due by displaying a service in ??? miles when you first turn on the ignition.

All UK octys come set to QG1 variable, but maybe changed by the dealer at PDi. This will have been the case if you opted for a deal which included so many free services.

Thanks for the rapid replies. I've tried what dstev2000 recommended. When the spanner symbol is displayed it initially says 8900 miles (this sounds about right as the car has done 7000 miles), then the display changes what I think is a spanner and a clock with the value 391. Would this be 391 days?

To be exactly 24 months from the day I collected the car it should be 373 days. I'll look tomorrow to see if it drops to 390.

Yes, the last number is days to service. So its currentlly 8900 miles or 391 days

I'm on variable servicing with my new facelift which seems a bit strange to me. My car came with 3 years free servicing and I'm only a low mileage driver, so it would be time rather than mileage for me. Under those circumstances I would normally have expected a 12 month fixed service interval rather than the 24 months variable? Having just checked my car for displayed info., there are no service details either when turning on the ignition or by holding in the trip reset button. When I access the service details via the Maxidot, both mileage and time are empty, ie. reading - - - - . Should the dealer have set this and what are your opinions regarding fixed/variable servicing for the above parameters?

The estimated mileage can be blank until the car calculates the time/distance to next service.

I would think you should be changed to fixed for the free servicing deal and your low mileage.

The revised maxidot system has the servicing data hidden in the menu system as you point out.