Well, I have had my lovely Yeti one week, and loving it. I wonder if experienced folks can throw any light on a couple of questions in my head, please?

1. My dealer has been unable to find a spare bulb kit in his parts list - got 'em for everything except Yeti's. As I have the Xenons, I suspect this might be more complicated, but I am wondering how I can get a kit - even just to have them to hand, even if I have to get someone to fit them. Does anyone have any part number or other idea?

2. Since I have a spare, the only boot liner we could see in the parts list that would fit was a textile mat - listed as specifically suitable with the spare and raised boot floor. I would have liked to have got some rubber in there- is there any other solution folks have found?

A couple of observations. I am surprised, to say the least, that even top spec Yeti's do not have a drivers side mirror with a blind spot panel. I looked around the forecourt, and every other car there, except old ones, have one. As the mirror shape is different to the Superb et al, a swap is not an option. I can't get my head round why this is the case..it seems, well, just perverse!

The Columbus is irritating in several ways, to an old Tom Tom user. What I really miss, apart from full postcode recognition, the lack of intuitive logic in some places, especially in the manual - is the inability to display road speed via the Sat Nav system. This has always demonstrated how inaccurate (invariably on the 'safe side', but to a varying degree according to speed of travel..) normal vehicle speed indicators are - am I missing something?

I still love it, though!

This has always demonstrated how inaccurate (invariably on the 'safe side', but to a varying degree according to speed of travel..) normal vehicle speed indicators are - am I missing something?

I think that is the very reason why you can't get a permanently fixed in car sat-nav to display the speed!

As to the rubber boot mat: There is an area in the back where the excess rubber can hang down surely? I have read on here somewhere that most people with spare wheels just use the standard mat. I have in fact ordered TWO with my Yeti as I don't want the leather armrests on the middle seat to be damaged when the seats are tipped forward and you load the boot up - those armrests are very vulnerable. In fact they are also vulnerable when the seats are up and things are sliding around in the boot.. So I will just normally drive with the two mats on top of each other.

Ah - Johann, you are very wise. Of course, they couldn't include something that just demonstrated inconsistency - how gullible I am!

Thanks for the thoughts on the mat - be interesting to hear any other solutions, (and re bulbs too, hopefully)

Edited 29 October, 201015 yr by roguebrit

I am also a long term Tom Tom user and also an ex columbus and soon to be columbus user.

In many ways I prefer the columbus to Tom Tom. It has a great big screen, my old 720 or iphone screen is nowhere near as big, so I can hardly read them whilst on the move - need my reading glasses.

I will miss tom tom traffic, but around London half the time I don't have a cellular signal so its useless anyway, and when it works a lot of the time the info is wrong.. The TMC on the columbus is OK, and it does work on major roads as well as motorways.

As for full postcode search, no manufacturer does it to my knowledge. Anyway, with TomTom you put in 7 digit postcode, select road then number. With the columbus you put in the 5 digit postcode, then the road then the number. No different. The only time it doesn't work so well is when the address is not in the sat nav, whereas you can have an estimate where it is with tom tom but it is a little harder with the columbus, saying that, if you check where you are going with say google maps (the VW website for saving destinations to SD cards has disappeared - anyone?), get the nearest crossing and anyway you go. I personally drove about 40,000 miles using skoda's sat nav all over the south east and never got lost and always found my destination.

Also it is integrated into the car, with voice recognition as well. will let you listen to TP etc. I also like the distances you are told to turn right/left etc. I have also found the columbus to be much more accurate specially when going in tunnels as it uses the car sensors to sense vehicle speed and direction. overall one of the best, if not the best OEM sat nav system out there. And you get direction on the maxidot right in front of you. Brilliant.

Mike

Edited 29 October, 201015 yr by rockhopper

Thanks Mike - that really useful - I am sure I just need to get familiar with it - it is very frustrating when you have just been used to knowing how to do everything. Your experience gives me a lot more confidence. What is the 5 digit postcode? Do you just put it in as though you were entering a city? I couldn't find any reference to postcodes in the manual, but I was getting a bit fraught round the edges when I last looked!

Thanks Mike - that really useful - I am sure I just need to get familiar with it - it is very frustrating when you have just been used to knowing how to do everything. Your experience gives me a lot more confidence. What is the 5 digit postcode? Do you just put it in as though you were entering a city? I couldn't find any reference to postcodes in the manual, but I was getting a bit fraught round the edges when I last looked!

Postcode AB12 3CD is 7 digit.

AB12 3 is 5 digit.

just put it in where it asks for town.

Mike

Postcode AB12 3CD is 7 digit.

AB12 3 is 5 digit.

just put it in where it asks for town.

Mike

Great, thanks

Also it is integrated into the car, with voice recognition as well. will let you listen to TP etc. Mike

What?! A Columbus gives you a direct helpline to The Plumber?!?! Wow!

As for full postcode search, no manufacturer does it to my knowledge.

Nope there are cars out there with full seven digit recognition:

http://www.autoexpre...de_lottery.html

Well, I have had my lovely Yeti one week, and loving it. I wonder if experienced folks can throw any light on a couple of questions in my head, please?

1. My dealer has been unable to find a spare bulb kit in his parts list - got 'em for everything except Yeti's. As I have the Xenons, I suspect this might be more complicated, but I am wondering how I can get a kit - even just to have them to hand, even if I have to get someone to fit them. Does anyone have any part number or other idea?

snip

There doesn't seem to be a Yeti specific set of spare bulbs yet. Page 238 of the manual lists the bulbs so you could put together a kit yourself or check to see if one of the kits for other VAG cars has the right bulbs. Mind you lots of the bulbs can't be replaced easily by a DIYer so it might be a small kit.

Stewart

Must admit I love my columbus, I find it really good. I got the textile false boot liner as I have the spare wheel, and it looks great !....just what you want when you open the boot and see the word "yeti" all over the back of your boot

Thanks folks.

Stewart - thanks - I will try to get around to doing that. I realise that most are not 'driver changeable' - but at least if you have 'em, you can get someone to fit them. Past experiance has shown that it is not always easy to find such things when they are needed...

Also have a look here at 7 digit upgrade (of sorts) to the Columbus:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/178530-new-nav-utility-for-columbus/

Must admit I was not that impressed with the Columbus. My Navigon 8310 seemed to beat it on most counts and I get free map updates for yonks. Still, prior to seeing the Google powered Audi A8 device the Columbus was probably the best integrated unit I had seen, I just couldn't justify the outlay in view of what it could do.

Edited 29 October, 201015 yr by Fluffy destroyer of worlds

And in this thead they mention that from week 22 of 2011 all Columbus units should have 7 digit post code:

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/174212-received-this-reply-from-skoda/

I wonder if I will be able to upgrade my yet to be delivered columbus unit? week 22 is a long way off. In fact isn't that the change over week for 2012 cars?

Mike

Also have a look here at 7 digit upgrade (of sorts) to the Columbus:

http://briskoda.net/...y-for-columbus/

Ah..that's where it has now gone.

Thanks Johann

Mike

Edited 29 October, 201015 yr by rockhopper

As it is mandatory to carry a set of spare bulbs in France (and some other countries), where I intend to take the SM often and regularly (if and when it is ever built), I shall simply keep my Octavia Scout bulb set and carry that with me, and assume it will satisfy any inquisitive gendarme who might wish to inspect the contents of my glove box.

You can't buy a bulb kit that contains a HID unit, so don't worry about it and just get a standard Halfrauds kit.

You also can't change front side light bulbs yourself, on HID fitted cars, at least for the first failure withouth a special kit to remove the sealed in bulb supplied with the cat. I though I read somewhere as well that the front bumper needs to come off to fit an indicator bulb?

Clearly the French law is a lttle out of date, if it is impossible to change headlight, sidelight and indicators at the roadside. The rear bulbs could be carried though? Jujst buy the two or 3 different types required from Halfords.

I use a TomTom, and have installed it in the dashboard top box. I have fixed the mounting to the floor of the box in such a way that the unit can be folded down when not required. (I took out the box, two small screws at the front under the mat, decided where the unit needed to mount, drilled 4 holes in the floor around the location and use plastic ties in a cross shape over the mounting to hold it in position as the sucker always looses grip after a few minutes. I have made a replacement mat to fit into the box around the mounting and kept the original undamaged to go back in when the car is returned to the lease company. My unit has an aerial which stuck to the windscreen so I have also hidded this behind the trim. When not in use there is no evidence of a sat nav in the car, as lid closes and hides it. I put rubber shims in the box lid hinges so it now only just opens enough to tilt the unit uupright, and the lid acts as a sunshade. If required I pull out the power cable from the box and plug it in to the socket. Someone on here has done something similar and wired it in permanently, if you wish to go to the extra expense.

This is about £700 less than going for the columbus if you already have a TomTom, which I need for work anyway as you can add your own locations into a tomtom via special files. (I have around 6000 points of interest loaded in for company assets I may have to get to countrywide if there is a problem there). Locating the TomTom on top of the dashboard is a lot closer to the drivers line of site, I have found it very distracting trying to use the Bolero functions and the phone whilst driving as you have to look so far away from the road.

The really anoying thing with the TomTom though is that roads altered near my home at least 10 years ago have still not been updated correclty so the sat nav will not use them, together with all the speed warning for temporary cameras in road works that finished years ago. I don't know if the Columbus hhas this issue?

Edited 30 October, 201015 yr by kenfowler3966

I went to france e day after I got my yeti. Took the spare bulb set from the Octavia and hoped the bixenon bulb didn't blow. They are 160ish quid each....

Got the Columbus, works ok, but I still take the tom-tom for when the Columbus doesn't have the road or postcode area for some reason.

Clearly the French law is a lttle out of date, if it is impossible to change headlight, sidelight and indicators at the roadside. The rear bulbs could be carried though? Jujst buy the two or 3 different types required from Halfords.

Isn't it the Renault Magane that needs a major disassembly to change a headlight bulb? It was featured recently on Fifth Gear. Is this what they mean by shooting oneself in the foot??

There are now several cars, including French manufactured, that require front bumpers and other bits removing before bulbs can be replaced.

There is a spare bulb kit, described as "set of bulbs halogen headlights" the part number I believe is BDB 630 001. The illustration I've seen appeared to show about 6 or 8 bulbs in a flat plastic tray.

Thanks folks for all replies. All very interesting and informative - I will check out the 7 digit 'upgrade' and also that bulb set part number at my dealers - no doubt that a Yeti kit will get established in due course anyway. I had no idea the Xenons were that costly - but I have to say they are fantastic - never had them before and they are a huge improvement I think.

Roger

Roguebrit: back to your point 2. I found this picture attached showing what the standard Skoda rubber mat looks like in a with-spare-wheel Yeti. And looking at that it looks very easy to just cut a bit off with a sharp knife and it will fit perfectly!