Has anyone changed a car battery on a skoda octavia diesel ? as i wanted to know if it was straightforward, as i have read in the handbook that you have to put the car key into the ignition with it on before disconnecting old battery, so that when the new battery is connected the first thing the computer does is read the key. Does the fitted radio also retain the code if this is the way one does change the battery?

Many Thanks

John

I've no idea why it goes on about that. When I removed mine to run cabling for my audio (so the same as if it was being replaced) I just disconnected it, covered the terminals with cloth and re-connected it when i was done. Didnt take any special steps 

Same here. You will have some lights on the dash when it comes back on, which clear after driving a few metres, and will have to reset your window one touch closing but otherwise no issues.

The early editions of the Octavia owners manual used to say that the key had to be in the 'on' position before disconnecting the battery. This was subsequently found to be a misprint and the later prints of the owners manual state that the key has to be in the 'off' position before disconnecting the battery. I kid you not!

_{dont even have the keys in the car is the best idea. car's can auto lock as soon as the battery gets connected again, so you dont want the keys in the car  for that simple reason.}

I did mine last week.  Absolutely no issues whatsoever, except resetting the time on the clock. However, I did have the car keys in my pocket. I thought I might had to go through resetting the auto windows (had to do this on a Mondeo), but after a day, they corrected themselves.