Hi all, I went to view a 05 1.9 Octavia elegance today, couple of questions ....firstly .... on the computer we have average Mpg and actual which jumps about like crazy ....now the average one..start from cold and it's on 56.9,long drive and it does not move..stuck on 56.9...any ideas???

Secondly ...... on acceleration, especially 2nd 3rd 4th ....there is a fairly faint whistle you can hear from inside the car ....I'm guessing turbo?? Problem??

Thirdly ......under the bonnet,,,the underside of the bonnet at windscreen end and right the way across was soaking wet ..... the guy said it had been really cold and it was prob condensation ....thinking about it, I don't know

Anyway .....I liked the car, a reasonable px was offered for my bora but I am unsure due to the above,

Any words of wisdom gratefully received thx

Leave it and look for a better one.

Not sure about the mpg. But it should have fluctuated, considering it had not been driven before you, why was it already on 56 average mpg? Did the instant mpg fluctuate whilst driving ?

Faint whistle not wind noise from the rear quarter windows as they do have issues with that on hatch models.

Not sure about liquid/condensation perhaps some gasket/rubber given way and allowing water ingress.

Not sure about the mpg. But it should have fluctuated, considering it had not been driven before you, why was it already on 56 average mpg? Did the instant mpg fluctuate whilst driving ?

Faint whistle not wind noise from the rear quarter windows as they do have issues with that on hatch models.

Not sure about liquid/condensation perhaps some gasket/rubber given way and allowing water ingress.

The instant mpg worked fine ..... the average mpg was on 56 at start and stayed there .... I know every other car I've driven the average mpg is zero from cold ( especially as the car had been sat a good while), there's no way a car can instantly do an average of 56mpg from cold start up. Fault with that part of the computer I'd say as it seemed to be stuck ...... the whistle was definitely from the front engine Bay Area,coming from behind the clocks .... the water .... I was thinking window wash hose maybe, engine bay was all dry, was only on the under side part of the bonnet..... I think I'll give it a miss

Thirdly ......under the bonnet,,,the underside of the bonnet at windscreen end and right the way across was soaking wet ..... the guy said it had been really cold and it was prob condensation ....thinking about it, I don't know

 

Just soaking wet or standing water? 

 

The plenum chamber (the bit where the wiper motor etc sits) may have the drains blocked, if so they are easy to unblock.

Was the bonnet underside wet before or after the test drive?

Mike beat me to it re the MPG.

 

Personally I find mine noisy and want to upgrade soon but if the one you drove went well with no other issues then it sounds ok to me too.

They are known to be noisy but very reliable and economical. Most would say the Elegance is the spec to go for, too.

Firstly, the MPG "stuck" on one figure isn't an issue. The computer will have been set to memory 2.

 

If it on memory 2, then the figure shown is from the last time it was reset, not that particular journey. It is was set a long time ago (and memory 2 will hold data for 10000 miles), and it will take a lot of driving to alter the average MPG, even by a small amount.. In other words, at it's extreme, it may well be showing an average MPG over the last 10000 miles. Set to memory 1, the average MPG will show the figure for that particular journey only, and resets after about 2 hours of switching off the engine. Just checked my memory 2 on the preFL which hasn't been reset for about 2 years and it's showing 53.3mpg before starting the engine. Memory 1 has no data from a cold start and is showing 3 dashes before starting the engine, and will start showing a figure after about a quarter of a mile of driving.

 

The fact that the instant MPG figure jumps about like crazy shows there is absolutely nothing wrong, and it is working as it should do.

 

Have another look and see of the memory is set to 1 or 2, change it with the button underneath the wiper stalk.

 

Any turbo will faintly whistle on acceleration - both my old 54 plate and my current 08 plate have a very slight whistle and it's perfectly normal. It's when it's loud and sounding like a police siren that you need to worry.

 

Finally, all cars will be wet under the bonnet, especially in the weather we have at the minute. Water thrown up from the road and condensation - you can't avoid it. If the car is dry inside, then there is absolutely no problem at all.

 

Sounds to me like there aren't any issues with the car at all.

 

Mike

Thx mike ..... the only other thing to note was the car took longer than usual to start, even when up to temp she turned over maybe 4-5 times before firing up .... but hen the car has been standing quite a while by the looks of the discs

Just soaking wet or standing water? 

 

The plenum chamber (the bit where the wiper motor etc sits) may have the drains blocked, if so they are easy to unblock.

I can't honestly say I noticed the water before the test drive.... conditions were also bone dry ..... and I did not use the wipers at all ...the water was also very clean and only on bonnet, not any of the engine covers :-)

Just soaking wet or standing water? 

 

The plenum chamber (the bit where the wiper motor etc sits) may have the drains blocked, if so they are easy to unblock.

It was clean water on the underside of the bonnet at the windscreen end, didn't appear to be anything in the engine bay ..... the engine bay was really clean and I asked if they had washed it, they said no and that they had only wiped it over

Pure clean water on the underside of the bonnet is nothing to worry about at all. If it was screenwash or coolant then it would be a different matter.

 

It's a known thing with the 1.9 that the engine can take a little longer to fire up, especially when warm. My own 54 plate that I recently sold used to take up to 5 or 6 seconds to fire up when hot - it did that every single time it was warm for the 8 years and over 50k miles that I had the car and never got any worse, and more importantly never once failed to start. It's just one of those 1.9 characteristics that has been looked at in detail on here. Some say a new battery has cured it, some say its the starter motor, but it#s certainly nothing to be overly concerned with.

 

Remember one thing - It's an 11 year old car you are looking at - it won't be perfect!

Could have been screen wash if there was only clean water in the bottle .... battery has not been replaced in over seven years I think but they said they tested it and it was fine

I know what your saying lol .... trouble with me .... trying to find a new perfect car for very little money .... the guy offered 200 for the bora and will deliver 134 miles for free so I may take a punt on this one

Thx again mike

 

Mike

On the question of memory 2 auto reset, here is a quote from my Skoda handbook:

"Total-trip memory (memory 2)

The total distance driven memory gathers data from any number of individual journeys up to a total of 19 hours and 59 minutes driving or 1 999 kilometres driven, 99 hours and 59 minutes driving time or 9 999 km driven in vehicles with an Information display. The memory is deleted when either of these limits is reached and the calculation starts from anew."

I found that on the Mk 2 this applies if you have maxidot (and was the same on the Mk1 without maxidot) but if you don't have maxidot then there is less memory and it will reset before you have used a tankful of fuel (~ 550 miles).

I guess they did wash the engine bay, especially if it was as clean as you say. They're just not willing to admit it. Question would be why???

 

But then I'm very cynical.

 

But again if no issues during and after test drive then it sounds ok. Just have a good check for oil / water leaks.

 

Any warranty with it???

I guess they did wash the engine bay, especially if it was as clean as you say. They're just not willing to admit it. Question would be why???

 

But then I'm very cynical.

 

But again if no issues during and after test drive then it sounds ok. Just have a good check for oil / water leaks.

 

Any warranty with it???

Three months on all major parts in the event of a breakdown

A deal has been struck and all being well .... I should be the owner of a silver 05 Octavia 1.9 elegance by this time next week ..... the guys gotta drive it 130 miles to deliver to me ,,, guess that'll be a good test that alls well

Oh ...... and it's going to be serviced, full mot and a new battery fitted as I wasn't happy with the age of the one in the car nor the initial and second start up from cold

You will find that the trip computer wil have reset with the battery disconnected, so will not be stuck on the MPG figure as you first mentioned.

Make sure they put the correct VW Spec oil in on the service.

 

Mike

Update..... I have today purchased and received the car and I must say, the elegance model is superb and when delivered was on 70mpg ...I have only driven around 30 miles but the only obvious fault is the rear parking sensors don't work ....when reverse is selected there is sometimes a loud solid beep for a couple of seconds and that's it ... nothing else and when you deselect reverse....for a split second a picture of the car appears on the stereo screen ..... do you have any knowledge of the rear parking aid?? Many thx