Hi all,

After discovering yesterday that my handbrake was as stiff as hell to apply/ disengage I realised it was the little slidy gaiter causing the issue as it was sticking in its guides. I asked a few folks on here for advice and then decided to have a go at "sorting" this myself. Here's some photos and some notes for the benefit of others as removing the jumbo box console is fiddly.

Part 1 - in the back.

From the back seat remove the rear ash ash tray by lifting out the inner tray and pulling off the opener. The left side pulls out of a catch, the right is on a pin.

Next up you need to remove the rear vents. These just pull out but do need some force to do so. Be careful not to break anything:

After this you can remove the rear shroud. There are 2x screws at the bottom pointing horizontally and 2 at the top right under the back part of the arm rest. After this again it just pulls off but the top might need some force. Again be careful.

It'll then look like this:

Next, lift the arm rest all the way up......this is so you can get to the aux 3,5mm headphone jack plug underneath to disconnect it:

Here's the aux plug pulled out. Warning - this is as fiddly as hell and there's nack all slack on the cable so BE CAREFUL.

Now we're into the front of the car:

From here pull out the gearknob gaiter like this. No need to fully remove it:

Remove the 2x screws that hold the ash tray in and pull that out. Ensure you disconnect the ash tray light plug too. That's quite easy but again not much slack on mine.

Now the ash tray is removed we need to remove the side carpets so we can gain access to 2 hidden screws. You'll see where those are in a minute.....

To do this, undo the screw that holds the carpet on to the bulkhead right under the dash. There's one on either side. Also looking in where the ashtray once was you'll see 2x more screws that hold onto a horizontal bracket which is attached to the carpet. Remove those too.Then push the carpet towards the front of the car so the clips that hold it onto the trim around the radio / heater controls are freed:

Same applies to both sides.

Next up are those hidden screws I mentioned. This hold the console to the trim that goes around the head unit etc and point upwards. Here's the screwdriver on them so you can see the angle/ location:

Now the console should be free. It needs to be manoeuvred such that the gaiter comes over the handbrake (which needs to be as high as it will go by the way).

Bearing in mind the cigarette lighter and central locking switches are still attached. I didn't disconnect these as I didn't remove the console completely to get the gaiter out. There was also plenty of slack on the wires for me too which was handy so the console could be lifted quite high without concern.

Now the rear of the console should be high enough to get access to the gaiter track. So back into the back seats again...... and you'll see this:

And the gaiter being slid out of its track..... Remember which way it went in. Mine had a nice crease in it to help with that. :(

Here's the gaiter removed. You can see it's missing a tooth, has folded and a few of the other teeth have become a bit wonky as the overall shape has distorted. Poor quality material really as it's mis-shapen over time and that's what's screwed it up.

I filed down some of the teeth a TINY BIT with a steel file as I was advised so they weren't fluffed up or wonky any more. I then sprayed the track of the console (visible from the front of the car now the gaiter is out) with some white grease to help keep it lubricated when it goes back in.

Re-assembly is a reversal of removal and I found it to be harder, especially getting the side carpet back in, the aux jack attached and the rear vent pipe back on. Take your time and don't force anything - if it won't go simply remove and try again.

Hope this helps some folks a little. Also apologies for the photos - they were taken with my phone hence the varying exposure levels. :(

Chris.

EDIT - I didn't replace my gaiter but I will probably in the future as it's not got much life left in it. I think the part is about £12 from the dealer.

Edited 21 July, 201213 yr by Chrispy

Pretty good guide there! Mine went while it was under warranty so Skoda fixed it but handy to know how its done as I don't think it'll last that long.

I might order a new one from skoda if it's not too expensive. Anyone got a part number for it?

Edited 28 July, 201213 yr by jcdub

Oh dear..why have ordered these parts? New hand brake trim, mine is worn and looks really tatty and my central locking switch has given up the ghost unless you mash it 20 or so times.

I can see this going wrong :(

Good guide, just dismantled mine to replace the handbrake slide and add an aux port in the jumbo box.

Be careful about getting these changed by the stealers out of warrantee. We just got done £315 for doing this. It sure ain't 3 hours work, especially when they stuck two engineers on it and the blooming thing squeaks now.

For central locking switch just spray lots of contact cleaner into the switch or remove and clean, mine works perfect again.

This is a great guide, I couldn't figure out how to remove the carpet trim until now.

Mine has literally only just wrinkled up on the underside of the handbrake in exactly the same place as in photo #10, so I took the jumbo off, had a look, pulled the strip out, flipped it round and it works fine again. Can't reeeeally notice it's got a ripple on the top side unless you look and should keep me going until the underside goes again, then i'll buy the part and i've saved myself buying it several times!

Dealer said it's an hour's labour to replace (which is a bit ridiculous since I can now get a jumbo in & out in under 30 minutes, possibly 20, easily) and the part is about £16, although I presume it'll be the whole gaitor unit with the track already in it which just clips in & out, very easy. It's just a plastic housing which the track slides around in; you'll understand if you take the jumbo off. There's two pairs of snap clip things either side, one middle, one back, and a pair of sideways lugs at the front. I found that the easiest way to get it out is my kind of bending the lugs out at the front and twisting/brute force to get the clips to overcome their seating positions. Refitting is simply snapping it back in. Easy.

Edited 15 October, 201213 yr by blackspaven

Hmmm, must be getting slower in my age... in the other thread on this I was obviously confident of getting the jumbo out in under 10 minutes and another 10 for refitting! Memory failing.

Still, at least i'm quicker than Holroyd at doing it.

Edited 15 October, 201213 yr by blackspaven

thanks for this writeup mate i need to remove the console to pull out the AUX input that fell inside, this will help so much!

Nice report, so useful

 

BAD for Skoda design, I think this trim is a low quality part,

Sticky!

I had the same problem with the rubber slider sticking almost solid. I put a straw on a tin of silicon spray (back to black type stuff) and poked the straw in between the rubber slider and the plastic surround. Gave it a quick scoot on each side and worked the handbrake up and down for a couple of minutes. It was much better.

After a day or so the silicon worked its way in and it has been better that new ever since. That was several months ago. I think I will just give it a scoot once a year to be on the safe side.

Much easier than taking the whole thing out.

Cheers

Dave

Edited 17 December, 201312 yr by FatblokeVRS

Mine has literally only just wrinkled up on the underside of the handbrake in exactly the same place as in photo #10, so I took the jumbo off, had a look, pulled the strip out, flipped it round and it works fine again. Can't reeeeally notice it's got a ripple on the top side unless you look and should keep me going until the underside goes again, then i'll buy the part and i've saved myself buying it several times!

Dealer said it's an hour's labour to replace (which is a bit ridiculous since I can now get a jumbo in & out in under 30 minutes, possibly 20, easily) and the part is about £16, although I presume it'll be the whole gaitor unit with the track already in it which just clips in & out, very easy. It's just a plastic housing which the track slides around in; you'll understand if you take the jumbo off. There's two pairs of snap clip things either side, one middle, one back, and a pair of sideways lugs at the front. I found that the easiest way to get it out is my kind of bending the lugs out at the front and twisting/brute force to get the clips to overcome their seating positions. Refitting is simply snapping it back in. Easy.

 

Anyone know the part number for the handbrake rubber slider and housing if it comes with this please. Will try silicon spray as someone suggested too as it is getting really bad.

1Z07131879B9

 

Found in case anyone wants it

I noticed mine had split apart on the lower section through no fault of mine, two bits of black electrical tape fixed it!

Or other solution as I just did cut it off so my hand brake is now free fit a new one later. After new rear discs and pads.

Just did this job today, was simple just worth taking your time

This was one of many jobs i have had to do tidying up other peoples neglect and bad/bodge work on my VRS bought from a member on here

Hi all,

could you please upload pictures, as this is a great guide.

 

This guide looks very helpful but there are no pictures just blank icons. Can you re-post or point me to where I can see them?

 

Thanks

Hi, seems that the pictures have disappeared :(

Other that that, this is just a spot on guide what I am trying to do.

The gaiter in my ´08 Scout seems to be broken.

 

Any possibility to get the pics back?

Does anyone have a copy of the original post with pictures? I 'm hoping to replace the cover of my Octavia brake lever cover this weekend.

I also tried to disassembly the console, and  I messed everything up. I could not find all the screws, I bent some points and cut some carpets...

 

I would really appreciate some pictures, if someone had them...

 

Thank you a lot.

 

Good to find everyone.

@TziMAn there are some pictures in this similar thread...

 

 

Ideally these two threads should be merged.

I cant see the pics anymore?