Went out to a pub last night (making the best of this weather we are having at the moment!), car had been parked on the drive all day came back home and noticed my passenger side headlight washer jet cover was missing?

Now, can these things just magically 'disappear' or has someone yanked it off while it was parked at the pub? They are only £9.50 to buy another one, but then its the ballache of painting it aswell...

Yeah lost both of mine in the past 6 months, put the new ones on with a touch of glue to hold them better.

+1on losing both!

they cost about a fiver from skoda dont come painted though

+1on losing both!

they cost about a fiver from skoda dont come painted though

There is a Skoda dealer on the eBay knocking them out for £9.50 each posted unpainted. However, my nearest skoda dealer is about 20 miles away so by the time I have done the 40 mile round trip its probably cheaper to pay the higher price on eBay for it delivered.

Good to know they do just randomly disappear thou and it wasn't stolen by someone!

Edited 5 June, 201313 yr by R8MXX

Just posted this on my facebook, and a nosy neighbour saw someone messing around the front of my car yesterday... Looks like it was an attemped steal after all!

Apparently she saw them toss something into my front garden so hopefully it might be there when i get home!

Turned out the random guy was my neighbour - saw it on the drive (as our driveway is shared) and was trying to refit it for me.

But gave up and put it in the grass and forgot to tell me!

So its safe for the time being, will see what condition its in when I get home - Im guessing some of the clips are broken if its fallen off on the drive. Unless its the sun that heated it up and it just popped off.

Mine went about a year back (RHS). Thankfully replacement was readily available at my dealer. I have seen loads of Octy II's in India driving around without these washer covers. I thought that the strain the car goes through on the rough roads here in INDIA results in the cap falling off. I guess that is not entirely the case.

I think its more to do with the fact the cover always has tension on it, It sits on the bumper and the plastic leg at the rear is always tensioned unless its activated. So it just a mattter of when and not if, for the cover to come off. If you look at the mk3 octavia, the cover sits flush with the bumper so that tells me skoda know there is a problem there.

The flush covers on the MkIII are just an advancement in design, just like a move away from the non-retractable ones on the MkI. I wouldn't say the current MkII design is poor.

Theft is a regular occurance as no one can be bothered to paint them and feel it's easier to just nick one off another car.

They also freeze to the bumper in the winter which can loosen them.

Touch wood we've done a combined 100,000+ miles on our two Octavia's without loosing one...

Is it possible to adjust the "resting" position of the washer mechanism?

I have to replace the cover on mine and I'm looking at the distance from the bumper to where the cover clips on to the washer mechanism and it makes no sense that a clip-on cover basically pulls the whole thing forward, it's no wonder they fall off.

Oh and that now also makes me wonder what is the procedure for fitting a new cover?

Is there a way to get the washer to stop in the "out" position?

Not sure...

I just put my fingers in and managed to pull the washers jet out.  The spring is surprisingly strong.

 

Having to have them painted is such a chore, especially if you have a metallic.  The two aerosols the dealer says you need were over £20.  I left mine with the local bodyshop  and asked them to give them a flash over when they were blowing in some anthracite.  Took a month or so.  Looking back, its amazing they didn't loose them or forget completly.

Yeah I felt the spring and it did seem very strong, that's why I was wondering if there is any way of adjusting the mechanism forward to reduce the pull on the cover once it's fitted.

Maybe someone will come along and post details of how easy it is to do that .....