Driving down the A2 today when I felt a spongy vibration coming from the steering wheel. Pulled into a side road and found the front nearside wheel so hot the air around it was shimmering.

I had to wait ages before I could get the wheel off the car. Eventually I called the AA and set about getting the (still extremely hot) brake assembly apart to see what the problem was. Turns out the caliper had seized shut against the disc. The trip computer said the car had been doing 25mpg average, compared to the 65-70mpg I normally get on that road!

AA eventually arrived, but they couldn't get me home because my cover only gives recovery up to 10 miles and according to the sat nav, my flat was 15 miles away. Cheers guys

Took me 2 1/2 hours for a 'proper' recovery lorry to arrive, and it cost me

See what happens when you do things to your car you shouldn't? That's why I always leave it upto the dealer to take care of everything regarding the car.

Hopefully you've learned your lesson...and as far as the AA there goes, they are absolutely the most messed up recovery service I know of...it's a RECOVERY service, it shouldn't matter where you're located.

See what happens when you do things to your car you shouldn't? That's why I always leave it upto the dealer to take care of everything regarding the car.

Sorry, but that's a stupid thing to say.

I do all my work on my car myself, and have had no problems as a result. There's no reason why an owner isn't capable of working on a car himself as long as he's blessed with a bit of common sense and patience.

Dealership mechanics aren't gods, they're just normal guys. They just charge a hell of a lot to do what most people could do for nowt.

Alex.

Sorry' date=' but that's a stupid thing to say.

I do all my work on my car myself, and have had no problems as a result. There's no reason why an owner isn't capable of working on a car himself as long as he's blessed with a bit of common sense and patience.

Dealership mechanics aren't gods, they're just normal guys. They just charge a hell of a lot to do what most people could do for nowt.

Alex.[/quote']

Cheers Alex!

I don't think anything I did caused the brakes to seize. The most annoying thing for me is that the last time it was all apart, I noticed the dust boot was split and though 'ooh, I should get that replaced at some point'.

Unfortunately I didn't have the time, and now it's jumped up and bitten me in the bolocks!

And as for the AA, I have 'Relay', which means they will get you going again, or tow you to a local garage. I didn't want to be towed to a local garage because I didn't want the car to be stuck all that way from home at the mercy of a mechanic I didn't know. From my experience, there are few that are really, really good, which is why I drive a 110-mile round trip to my garage. I wonder what the price of being towed their would have been?!

See what happens when you do things to your car you shouldn't? That's why I always leave it upto the dealer to take care of everything regarding the car.

I try to do EVERYTHING myself. It's my car, and it's my life that's on the line if the brakes fail or something like that. I've had enough crap work done on cars by supposedly trained mechanics to know that if you want a job doing properly, do it yourself.

Sorry' date=' but that's a stupid thing to say.

I do all my work on my car myself, and have had no problems as a result. There's no reason why an owner isn't capable of working on a car himself as long as he's blessed with a bit of common sense and patience.

[/quote']

20 years ago I would have agreed with you. Now it takes more than common sense and patience and normal tools to work on modern cars - to start with VAG COM to know what the faults are.

I agree with you as well. Luckily I didn't need VAG COM to know that the caliper piston was jammed full of muck.

I will probably need it to reset the fault codes once everything is back together again, though :slant:

Sorry' date=' but that's a stupid thing to say.

I do all my work on my car myself, and have had no problems as a result. There's no reason why an owner isn't capable of working on a car himself as long as he's blessed with a bit of common sense and patience.

Dealership mechanics aren't gods, they're just normal guys. They just charge a hell of a lot to do what most people could do for nowt.

Alex.[/quote']

I try to do EVERYTHING myself. It's my car, and it's my life that's on the line if the brakes fail or something like that. I've had enough crap work done on cars by supposedly trained mechanics to know that if you want a job doing properly, do it yourself.

Both of you...say that again when your warranty becomes an issue, I never said they were gods.

Jamlip, good luck with fixing your car dude, I hope it all works out.

Dealership mechanics aren't gods.

I beg to differ

Jamlip, when you're breakdown service is up for renewal, have a hunt about. I have Norwich Union's breakdown cover, they do actually have their own fleet but if they know they can't get to you in half hour, they send the RAC. Of course, it's a lot cheaper service than AA/RAC but is the same thing. I wanted the full cover as I need European cover, AA I was looking at over

I beg to differ

Would anyone with ETKA (or whatever Skoda use) be able to get me a part number for a set of replacement seals for the FSIII brakes (both sides, although I assume they are both the same)? Just so I can call around VW / Audi / Seat dealerships when they open tomorrow morning.

Driving down the A2 today when I felt a spongy vibration coming from the steering wheel. Pulled into a side road and found the front nearside wheel so hot the air around it was shimmering.

I had to wait ages before I could get the wheel off the car. Eventually I called the AA and set about getting the (still extremely hot) brake assembly apart to see what the problem was. Turns out the caliper had seized shut against the disc. The trip computer said the car had been doing 25mpg average, compared to the 65-70mpg I normally get on that road!

AA eventually arrived, but they couldn't get me home because my cover only gives recovery up to 10 miles and according to the sat nav, my flat was 15 miles away. Cheers guys

Took me 2 1/2 hours for a 'proper' recovery lorry to arrive, and it cost me

Would anyone with ETKA (or whatever Skoda use) be able to get me a part number for a set of replacement seals for the FSIII brakes (both sides, although I assume they are both the same)? Just so I can call around VW / Audi / Seat dealerships when they open tomorrow morning.

The part number for the seals is 1J0 698 471

Cheers Jeff. At least now I can call around without getting the usual "this is an Audi dealership, don't you know" bull****.

My guess is Preston Motors won't have the seals in stock. Its the maddest main dealer I have ever experienced - they even have a 4ft-high Nora Batty lookalike cleaner who runs around whooping like a red indian. I think she's only in on Thursday mornings.

I'm not ****ed with Chris - non of this is his fault and he was very straightforward when I bought the car. It's done 80k, it's bound to need some work. Just didn't expect this many problems.

I'm very anal-retentive, which doesn't help. My previous car was very well looked after (under the bonnet!) and I tended to fix things before they broke. Need to get the Furby to that stage before my head explodes.

My guess is Preston Motors won't have the seals in stock. Its the maddest main dealer I have ever experienced - they even have a 4ft-high Nora Batty lookalike cleaner who runs around whooping like a red indian. I think she's only in on Thursday mornings.

no they won't have them in stock, but they will be able to order them in for you for Weds at the latest.

Just to double check I'd ask them to search for the reapir kit as well, they are usually quite helpful.

I know the cleaner you are talking about, they wind her up like a good'un and it's hilarious to watch (if it is a bit nasty).