1 hour ago, Danoid said:

No idea why or how people smoke in a car, bloody grim!

I smoked for 40+ years in various company & private cars because that's what we did back then. That said , I always had an open driver side window to exhaust the the smoke & the but!. I packed up 10 years ago & I don't miss it one bit. None of my cars had yellow roof linings or cigarette smells & i was on 40 + a day. I couldn't afford to smoke now. 🚬 Government have taxed the hell out of it have lost a load of tax income as a result.

After quitting for the unmpeenth time, and this time I thought it was for good (2yrs solid) I feel into it again since maybe three months ... howver since a week started my usual "downgrading" routine before I go cold turkey again, I hope to succeed, once again😉

Damn bad habit ☹️

However, I have stopped smoking in cars since many years ago, when first a piece of the lighted thing fell into the driver's seat, I was in my Dad's P405 and they were velour ... few weeks ago did the same on my Mom's Uno and that was it for me☠️

Never again, even when parked, even in my most furious smoking period, years ago ... just get out, or wait.

The other day I was at a friend's garage, he said "hop in to pump the brakes for bleeding" and I "nope" as I had just lighted ... oh well. Let me get around once again with this.

Reminds me I haven't update my endeavors on the SIII lately ... sorry ☹️

8 hours ago, Danoid said:

No idea why or how people smoke in a car, bloody grim!

People are grim…zoom that photo in and look at the patch of ingrained something in the trim in front of the seat belt clip…similar on the other side…I think the previous owners may have been a bit on the large side, and may not have had the best personal hygiene habits…

I hit that with Auto Finesse Total and a toothbrush yesterday morning before work and finally got rid of it…again, after multiple attempts with cleaning products and microfibres not doing much to remove it.

I’ve a feeling this may be a case of just focussing on a small area at a time, and scrubbing it down thoroughly when I get time over the next few weeks and months!

The car’s probably in such good condition because it’s been protected by a thick layer of crud 🤣

Edited 1 August, 20251 Aug by CubbyQ

6 hours ago, Colin170CR said:

I smoked for 40+ years in various company & private cars because that's what we did back then. That said , I always had an open driver side window to exhaust the the smoke & the but!. I packed up 10 years ago & I don't miss it one bit. None of my cars had yellow roof linings or cigarette smells & i was on 40 + a day. I couldn't afford to smoke now. 🚬 Government have taxed the hell out of it have lost a load of tax income as a result.

Exactly that. Used to smoke but if it was dry the window was always fully down (mk1/2/3 fiesta, Citroen zx/saxo) and the butt went out the window (horrendous I know but that’s all I knew back then). The only lingering smell was when the ash was blown around started to collect on the rear parcel shelf and after a hoover that had largely gone.

Cigarette smoke is oily and sticky - I found the best thing for it was steam to reactivate it and break it but you can use that on fabric seats and carpets but ceilings and leather are a no-no. You’d need something with a bit of a solvent action to soften and absorb the oily residue but solvents will ultimately do the same damage to leather clearcoat

53 minutes ago, travs said:

Exactly that. Used to smoke but if it was dry the window was always fully down (mk1/2/3 fiesta, Citroen zx/saxo) and the butt went out the window (horrendous I know but that’s all I knew back then). The only lingering smell was when the ash was blown around started to collect on the rear parcel shelf and after a hoover that had largely gone.

Cigarette smoke is oily and sticky - I found the best thing for it was steam to reactivate it and break it but you can use that on fabric seats and carpets but ceilings and leather are a no-no. You’d need something with a bit of a solvent action to soften and absorb the oily residue but solvents will ultimately do the same damage to leather clearcoat

40 years for those butts to decompose in our rivers and seas…I did the same when I smoked, so not at all have a dig at you buddy, also horrified with how we just threw them away back then 🙂

Thanks for the idea for steam cleaning; if I don’t get it clean over the next few months, I’ll get it detailed properly.

A relatively easy fix may be to buy a used steering wheel from eBay and get it re-trimmed - I’ve found a few posts on various forums where people have resorted to this.

I was driving down the M5 a few days ago and as the sun was hitting and panning around the dash, wheel and front doors, the smell was coming and going.

I’ll beat it, and at least now the car isn’t greeting me with a stale smell every time I get it in. I’ve been keeping a windscreen sun reflector up which is obviously helping.

Could hit the visor with steam at least.

Most other options like Ozone, an odourbomb, or an enzyme cleaner are usually for bacteria and mould. They kill living organisms which smoke residue isn’t. Any that are scented like the odourbomb might be which only mask the smell in the shorter term, but they’re all about disinfecting.

44 minutes ago, CubbyQ said:

Thanks for the idea for steam cleaning; if I don’t get it clean over the next few months, I’ll get it detailed properly.

As I always say - look at IDA or PVD websites for Detailers near you. These will be properly trained and qualified guys who’ve been taught what to do and why.

There are guys who just do it and have built up experience but these may be hit or miss. Get someone who’s got a proper professional setup 👍🏼

Hey @CubbyQ

You might try Koch Chemie Fresh Up. Not saying it'll help 100% because judging from what you wrote it's pretty nasty in there, but it might help.

https://www.koch-chemie.com/en/products/fresh_up

13 hours ago, travs said:

As I always say - look at IDA or PVD websites for Detailers near you. These will be properly trained and qualified guys who’ve been taught what to do and why.

There are guys who just do it and have built up experience but these may be hit or miss. Get someone who’s got a proper professional setup 👍🏼

That’s brilliant @travs , thanks buddy!

11 hours ago, Setesh said:

Hey @CubbyQ

You might try Koch Chemie Fresh Up. Not saying it'll help 100% because judging from what you wrote it's pretty nasty in there, but it might help.

https://www.koch-chemie.com/en/products/fresh_up

Hi @Setesh , that’s great, will have a look, it’s worth a try before investigating a proper detailer!

Probably the cheapest and easiest bit of preventative maintenance I've ever done!

Replaced the infamous "mit Silikat" silica bag-equipped coolant expansion tank with a shiny new one, without the silica bag. Mine was the version with the separate chamber so the bag can't be removed.

Less than 20 quid from Skoda Parts Direct, and they even had it in stock when I dropped my car in yesterday for some warranty work.

Part number is 5Q0 121 407 AA.

Following a video on YouTube, it took all of 10 minutes to empty it using a meat baster, unclip all the pipes, fit the new one, refit the pipes and refill it.

Well worth it for peace of mind.

Edited 5 August, 20255 Aug by CubbyQ

1 hour ago, CubbyQ said:

Probably the cheapest and easiest bit of preventative maintenance I've ever done!

Replaced the infamous "mit Silikat" silica bag-equipped coolant expansion tank with a shiny new one, without the silica bag. Mine was the version with the separate chamber so the bag can't be removed.

Less than 20 quid from Skoda Parts Direct, and they even had it in stock when I dropped my car in yesterday for some warranty work.

Part number is 5Q0 121 407 AA.

Following a video on YouTube, it took all of 10 minutes to empty it using a meat baster, unclip all the pipes, fit the new one, refit the pipes and refill it.

Well worth it for peace of mind.

Good mod. Did mine a year or so ago. Got my new tank from Amazon for similar price. Only snag now is to remind my independant garage that coolant may need changing a bit sooner & more frequently than before. May also need a different coolant water mix.

@CubbyQ Please excuse my ignorance on this but I have questions:

1) do all the coolant tanks have this silica bag in them? If not, is there an easy way to tell if I have it or not?

2) if I do have one, why is it a good idea to remove it (isn’t it supposed to be there)?

Thanks

Chris

Off to France for 12 days tomorrow morning so this week I’ve given it a full service with plugs, oil and air filters and fresh Castrol. Today and yesterday I’ve cleaned out and hoovered the interior including leather cleaner and full exterior wash finished with ceramic polish. Looking good but I’m sure it won’t when we return home.

14 minutes ago, chrisgreen said:

@CubbyQ Please excuse my ignorance on this but I have questions:

1) do all the coolant tanks have this silica bag in them? If not, is there an easy way to tell if I have it or not?

2) if I do have one, why is it a good idea to remove it (isn’t it supposed to be there)?

Thanks

Chris

If it says 'mit silikat' then you've got one with a bag. If it's not marked with this, you don't! The tank is double walled so it can be tricky to see inside - for a while it tended to be later models that didn't have them, but there doesn't really seem to be a pattern - be it Skoda, SEAT, Cupra or whatever.

The silica is intended to act as a corrosion inhibitor (think all those pretty aluminium matrix components rusting), however the bag is prone to bursting after prolonged heat cycles. The little beads swell up, the bag goes boom and then the aforementioned beads work their magic and block up your heater matrix - not a cheap fix.

The easiest thing to do is replace the coolant bottle/reservoir/tank with a non silica bag variant, and put some fresh coolant in. You'll ideally want to change the coolant type (can't remember what to) to suit. A quick google will pull up many threads on this.

I've been lucky with my cars, but a mate had the bag in his. He chose to get the garage to replace the bottle at his next service. VW do often know best, and it's a good idea not to fiddle, but in some instances their design is... flawed. It's like the recommendation that the DQ381 gearbox be serviced at 80k, rather than 40k like every other DSG box - not everything VAG say should be taken as gospel. Ultimately, they want you in an ID.7 as soon as possible.

52 minutes ago, OccyVRS said:

If it says 'mit silikat' then you've got one with a bag. If it's not marked with this, you don't! The tank is double walled so it can be tricky to see inside - for a while it tended to be later models that didn't have them, but there doesn't really seem to be a pattern - be it Skoda, SEAT, Cupra or whatever.

The silica is intended to act as a corrosion inhibitor (think all those pretty aluminium matrix components rusting), however the bag is prone to bursting after prolonged heat cycles. The little beads swell up, the bag goes boom and then the aforementioned beads work their magic and block up your heater matrix - not a cheap fix.

The easiest thing to do is replace the coolant bottle/reservoir/tank with a non silica bag variant, and put some fresh coolant in. You'll ideally want to change the coolant type (can't remember what to) to suit. A quick google will pull up many threads on this.

I've been lucky with my cars, but a mate had the bag in his. He chose to get the garage to replace the bottle at his next service. VW do often know best, and it's a good idea not to fiddle, but in some instances their design is... flawed. It's like the recommendation that the DQ381 gearbox be serviced at 80k, rather than 40k like every other DSG box - not everything VAG say should be taken as gospel. Ultimately, they want you in an ID.7 as soon as possible.

52 minutes ago, OccyVRS said:

If it says 'mit silikat' then you've got one with a bag. If it's not marked with this, you don't! The tank is double walled so it can be tricky to see inside - for a while it tended to be later models that didn't have them, but there doesn't really seem to be a pattern - be it Skoda, SEAT, Cupra or whatever.

The silica is intended to act as a corrosion inhibitor (think all those pretty aluminium matrix components rusting), however the bag is prone to bursting after prolonged heat cycles. The little beads swell up, the bag goes boom and then the aforementioned beads work their magic and block up your heater matrix - not a cheap fix.

The easiest thing to do is replace the coolant bottle/reservoir/tank with a non silica bag variant, and put some fresh coolant in. You'll ideally want to change the coolant type (can't remember what to) to suit. A quick google will pull up many threads on this.

I've been lucky with my cars, but a mate had the bag in his. He chose to get the garage to replace the bottle at his next service. VW do often know best, and it's a good idea not to fiddle, but in some instances their design is... flawed. It's like the recommendation that the DQ381 gearbox be serviced at 80k, rather than 40k like every other DSG box - not everything VAG say should be taken as gospel. Ultimately, they want you in an ID.7 as soon as possible.

Exactly that and another point to make is with mit silikat the coolant was G13, which VAG no longer use which says enough

The new stuff is g12evo, if you mix your g13 with g12evo expect some browning to occur but perfectly fine to mix

As g12evo doesn’t have the extra silicone then technically the coolant needs flushing more often now but I’ve yet to see a schedule for this, like every 2 years 4? Not sure

6 minutes ago, Danoid said:

Exactly that and another point to make is with mit silikat the coolant was G13, which VAG no longer use which says enough

The new stuff is g12evo, if you mix your g13 with g12evo expect some browning to occur but perfectly fine to mix

As g12evo doesn’t have the extra silicone then technically the coolant needs flushing more often now but I’ve yet to see a schedule for this, like every 2 years 4? Not sure

Although despite having a lower silicone content, my Leon used G13 and my Octavia uses G12 Evo - neither of which are silica bag cars. VW don't use G13 anymore as G12 Evo is kinder to polar bears.

Rule of thumb seems to be if it has it, rip it out and change coolant type, if it doesn't, forget about it.

Thanks both @OccyVRS and @Danoid for pointing out the differences in the coolant.

I’ll get that changed at the next service to make sure it’s been brought up to date with G12 EVO.

11 hours ago, Windybum said:

Off to France for 12 days tomorrow morning so this week I’ve given it a full service with plugs, oil and air filters and fresh Castrol. Today and yesterday I’ve cleaned out and hoovered the interior including leather cleaner and full exterior wash finished with ceramic polish. Looking good but I’m sure it won’t when we return home.

Hi @Windybum What's the name of your car's colour? It seems very similar to mine (Raspberry Red). I also have the 280 estate.

Arteon climate control unit

1 hour ago, AMD87 said:

Arteon climate control unit

It's a personal choice but I hate those things with a passion.

1 hour ago, AMD87 said:

Arteon climate control unit

It doesn't look like a great fit.

2 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

It doesn't look like a great fit.

I hadn’t fitted the surrounding trim piece yet.

4 hours ago, Setesh said:

Hi @Windybum What's the name of your car's colour? It seems very similar to mine (Raspberry Red). I also have the 280 estate.

4 hours ago, Setesh said:

Hi @Windybum What's the name of your car's colour? It seems very similar to mine (Raspberry Red). I also have the 280 estate.

@Setesh i really have no idea, i am on the Eurotunnel awaiting departure right now so when we make a stop I will try to remember to take a look at the paint code. I do know that in my life I have never known a car get paint chips like this one!

53 minutes ago, Windybum said:

@Setesh i really have no idea, i am on the Eurotunnel awaiting departure right now so when we make a stop I will try to remember to take a look at the paint code. I do know that in my life I have never known a car get paint chips like this one!

Mine was from the "fleet colours" (at least that's how they called it in my country). It was pretty cool to be honest, something like 60 different, sometimes crazy, colours to choose from on top of the base selection. We didn't like base metalic red they had, but in the fleet palette there were another three reds so we got Raspberry Red (my wife's selection of course).

Regarding stone chips, I opted for a PPF protection since I want to keep it for an extended period of time so the extra cost of the PPF will somehow stretch over time (of course PPF also has its own lifetime).

Edited 6 August, 20256 Aug by Setesh