So I'm back in a Skoda finally.

 

1.4 TSI 122 DSG Family. 1 owner from new with full Skoda service history (apart from the last service done at the dealer we bought from).

 

Specs are:

 

AFS II Xenons

Dual zone climate with heated seats

Rain sensor

Auto lights

Cruise control

Maxidot

Factory tinted rear windows

4 electric windows

Variable load surface in boot (not sure what it's called in English)

Swing radio (ugh)

Factory fitted removebale tow bar

 

Stuff I've done:

 

Rear LED number plate lights (the full replacement housing with built in LEDs)

LED sidelight bulbs (although don't think they're canbus as the warning is on- they're Osram)

Cheap bluetooth kit plugged into the Aux socket for now

 

VCDS:

 

AFS II enabled (yeah, it appears this isn't actually enabled fully from factory)

Refuel quantity

CH/LH via fogs

XDS Differential enabled

Cruise display (didn't work 😔)

 

To-do:

 

Full set of interior LEDs ordered from ebay

LEDs for the DRL ordered

Canbus sidelights

Rear boot trim protector in silver ordered

Heko wind deflectors ordered

A few scratches to touch up (touch up pen set ordered)

Android stereo/sat-nav at some point

 

Gave her a wash and polish today (washed, washed again with clay mitt, autoglym paint restorer, poorboys black hole, meguires tech wax 2.0)

 

Had a maiden voyage down to the Mosel region last week. 3 adults, dog, boot full and 3 bikes on the tow bar. Performed well. Did just over 40mpg which wasn't too bad especially considering the higher (or no) speed limit here.

 

IMG_20200627_110400 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

 

IMG_20200627_104056 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

 

IMG_20200627_104129 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

 

IMG_20200627_104117 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

 

IMG_20200627_104159 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

Looks like a good example you've got there Phil.

 

It's a shame we don't see high specced examples like that much in the UK.

Yeah that's one thing I've noticed here.

 

Cars are a little more expensive to buy but are generally better specced.

 

Xenon lights are a super popular option.

Chucked in some Mannol injector cleaner the other day. Also sprayed in a can of Mannol inlet valve cleaner. It stank while spraying it and some puffs of smoke came out. Running like a dream 😁👍

 

Turned the exhaust black!

 

IMG_20200707_180909 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

Footwell lighting fitted and wired into the factory pin on the CECM:

 

IMG_20200728_192509 by Philip Embleton, auf Flickr

 

I've taken the decision to have a go at fitting the Pioneer F77DAB I have.

 

Ive ordered the new dash tirm from China. Going to replace the roof aerial with a passive version and then use a DAB/FM splitter.

 

I just need a canbus adapter to save the hassle of using a switched live and trying to find the wires for dash lighting etc.

 

Ive already installed a Phoscon microfone in the interior light (since this has a standard 3.5mm plug on it) and ordered a 3.5 to 2.5mm adapter to go into the back of the stereo.

Oh and currently averaging 6.9l/100km (41mpg). I'm more than happy with this since the Saab was always awful on fuel (very heavy and all to tempting to use the power paired with the fairly inneficient torque converter box). The Saab was averaging 8.9l/100km (31mpg!).

 

I've also been using E10 petrol since that's available here. Have noticed zero difference in fuel economy or power. I've even seen as low as 5.3l/100km on a steady 70km run (53mpg).

Haven't updated this for a while.

 

I've since added interior LEDs. Initially bought a cheap sett off ebay but I've since replaced them with branded Osram and Philips bulbs since they started to flicker.

 

I swapped the LED sidelights to standard halogens but some Philips Cool Blue W5W.

 

Changed the DRL bulbs to some blue coloured halogens that give a nice wite light. I could have fitted LEDs but didn't want any issues at the next TÜV test.

 

Fitted Heko wind deflectors to the windows.

 

The most recent addition was an Android stereo:

 

 

 

I also bit the bullet and bought a proper DAB adapter kit. I tried the supplied windscreen glass mount aerial but it was woeful. I bought it from ebay as a kit listed as Alpine KAE-DAB1G6. Came with the passive adapter to swap the amplifier out in the rear C-pillar, some cables and an FM/DAB splitter and amplifier. Slightly more expensive than just the new amplifier but it saved having to run a new cable to the front of the car. And I get full DAB+ signal and zero dropouts:

 

 

Just waiting for the reversing camera to arrive. The stereo supports the dynamic guide lines that swing as you turn the wheel so I had to buy a camera from China as I struggled to find one that didn't have integrated static guidelines which would have looked rubbish.

 

We also went on another holiday last year (when we still allowed to). Drove all the way up to Denmark and stopped of in a couple of places on the way. Such a pleasure to drive. They really are well screwed together.

Decided to do a gear oil change. It wasn't one of the cars included in the "recall" and was already factory filled with the correct mineral oil. But at 117,000km I decided to change it so I know it's all fresh and healthy.

 

The gearbox oil was pretty disgusting. Dark black. With the new oil being a lovely golden brown honey colour:

 

 

And the mechatronics was also pretty dark but not too bad. Still had a green tint to it but far from the vibrant green and slightly see through of the new stuff:

 

Oh and it was also back at the garage we bought it from as the rear wiper motor was extremely noisy so they fitted a new one under warranty.

 

I also asked them to check out a squeak from the engine. It also occured when the engine was warmed up and came from the waterpump area. I've read about this and it seems its the seal on the waterpump that can become noisy. They apparently couldn't find any issue.

 

I recently topped up the coolant as it dropped to minimum but zero leaks. I was given a bottle of coolant (checked it was compatible first) and so topped it up. I didn't really take not of the noise but I noticed the other day that the noise has gone. So it's possible that the concentration of coolant was too low and causing the seal to whistle.

 

Will see how it goes.

 

Oh and the battery went during the cold (down to -18c) weather. So bought a Varter with a higher rating. Obviously the battery isn't covered under the warranty.

Aaaaannnnddd.... the gearbox has just **** itself!

 

Was driving on the motorway and the dreaded flashin spanner symbol came up.

 

Pulled over and looked under the bonnet to see gearbox oil (the green hydraulic oil) dripping out.

 

So it got taken to a gearbox specialist nearby that specialise in automatic and DSG gearbox repairs. This I thought was important as you take it to a Skoda garage or VAG specialist and they're just gonna be like "The Mechatronics is broken and needs to be replaced (with new parts)". But if it can be repaired (likely the accumulator or housing thats cracked) or replaced with a refurbished part then I'm much happier with that.

 

Car has just gone over 130,000km.

 

Let's see what happens.

So I picked the car back up yesterday. The good news is that it's running beautifully again. The bad news being it cost me 1,200€.

 

The mechatronics was the fault obviously. There was a crack in the housing around the accumulator. It's likely to have been there for a while which means the pump runs much more than it should and eventually pushes oil out the breather.

 

Took it to a local automatic and DSG specialist nearby and they've rebuilt the mechatronics with a new housing and seals etc.

 

I figured if I just took it to the Skoda or VAG garage they'd just want to replace the mechatronics with a new one and the bill would be much higher.

 

Ah well... such is life with cars eh?!

Gotta love the headache cars can give us owners sometimes, but in the end its mostly worth it.