My Superb 280tsi is 1.75 years old so I was rather surprised when, after taking it for a service at the local Skoda dealer, they called me to upsell "needs new front and rear wiper blades, needs brake fluid change, needs Haldex fluid change". "Hmmm " said I, "nothing wrong with the front wipers, the rear one has been rubbish from new (seems to be a hopeless design and I doubt replacing it would make it any better), the brake fluid is 3 years then every 2 years, and the Haldex is every 3 years. Well, unless the recommendations have changed recently." "They have" he said. I didn't believe but when I went to collect the car he did show me the printout which now shows brake fluid every 2 years and Haldex every 2 years. Althought they had cocked up thinking the car was Sept 2023 when actually it is Dec 2023. But interesting that Skoda have changed the recommendations to 2 years. So one point to them

Then I noticed that the car had another 7 miles on the clock, which seems excessive for a brief road test. Unfortunately they always disconnect the dashcam so I can't see them exploring the 0-62 in 5.3 seconds bit! And when I started the car, the "check engine" light came on straight away. Turns out the dispstick hadn't been put bak in properly. And presumably the check engine light had been on during the 7 mile "road test" thrash, but they hadn't noticed. Not much point in doing a road test then! I was not impressed.

After 15 years or actually 13 because Skoda changed 2 years ago back to Brake Fluid @ 2 years and each 2 years.

Cash Cow.

VAQ front diffs are @2 years / 20,000. Changed from @ 3 years / 30,000 or never tell the owner.

Nice if now they service the Haldex Properly and not just more often do half the job.

Makes maintenance / servicing damn expensive.

BUT, stuffs them up. Greedy Barstewards.

Used cars, SKODA APPROVED, FMDSH, they best be selling ones 2 years old or older done to the Manufacturers Recommendations, advice, specification, guidelines.

Edited 11 September, 202511 Sep by Ootohere

@nicknorman you’re not tied to any dealer. If you’re not happy then have a look around for alternatives.

For wipers ask them how much they’ll charge and compare to Bosch from ECP etc.

But someone had the genius idea of getting the Arteon version which is slightly longer so you clear more of the screen.

This is the part number for front and rear and how much they were from Tayna which was the best price I could find at the time.

I found I had to trim a tiny bit of the clip down but once I realised which bit it was easy.

For Haldex and Brake Fluid - you don’t have to get them done at a dealer for warranty as they are maintenance and not servicing work. Warranty relies on servicing but maintenance can be done as long as it’s done at a proper place and the service record can be updated. I had a very respected specialist do it and also included (what Oot alluded to) cleaning the gauze on the Haldex pump. It isn’t on the official VAG workshop process but anyone with a pulse sees that cleaning the gauze is absolutely vital so it doesn’t contaminate the clean oil. Pics attached of my before and after at 2 years/12k miles.

40 minutes ago, travs said:

@nicknorman you’re not tied to any dealer. If you’re not happy then have a look around for alternatives.

For wipers ask them how much they’ll charge and compare to Bosch from ECP etc.

But someone had the genius idea of getting the Arteon version which is slightly longer so you clear more of the screen.

This is the part number for front and rear and how much they were from Tayna which was the best price I could find at the time.

I found I had to trim a tiny bit of the clip down but once I realised which bit it was easy.

For Haldex and Brake Fluid - you don’t have to get them done at a dealer for warranty as they are maintenance and not servicing work. Warranty relies on servicing but maintenance can be done as long as it’s done at a proper place and the service record can be updated. I had a very respected specialist do it and also included (what Oot alluded to) cleaning the gauze on the Haldex pump. It isn’t on the official VAG workshop process but anyone with a pulse sees that cleaning the gauze is absolutely vital so it doesn’t contaminate the clean oil. Pics attached of my before and after at 2 years/12k miles.

Thanks for the wiper tip, I might get one. A rear one, because there i nothing wrong with the front ones.

On the Haldex, yes I had a previous 280tsi on which I changed the fluid AND cleaned the gauze a couple of times - I know how much gunge comes off the clutch plates! And to be fair to the dealer, they were advocating having the gauze cleaned for an extra 0.5hrs labour. Would definitely be worth it if I wasn’t going to DIY.

Pretty limited for dealers here, when I bought the car I wanted to avoid the local dealership and its other branches, and it was about 120 miles to the nearest dealer not part of that chain! I’ll probably just do the Haldex myself and keep the receipts for the oil from TPS etc. I don’t plan on selling the car until it is well past the point when a full service history has much impact on the value.

Edited 11 September, 202511 Sep by nicknorman

Best place is not so far. Have you never used them?

http://victoriagarage-maud.co.uk

Proper Servicing, proper mechanics.

12 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

Best place is not so far. Have you never used them?

http://victoriagarage-maud.co.uk

Proper Servicing, proper mechanics.

Yes I did take the old car there once years ago. It was not a great experience for a reason I have forgotten. I should probably try them again. They don't sell new Skodas any more, hence why I had to go to Sterling to buy the new one.

Edited 11 September, 202511 Sep by nicknorman

@nicknorman Was West End Stirling that much better a experience than John Clark?

Have you been into Skoda Dundee John Clark?

Much better than Perth or Dundee John Clark IME.

13 hours ago, Ootohere said:

@nicknorman Was West End Stirling that much better a experience than John Clark?

Have you been into Skoda Dundee John Clark?

Much better than Perth or Dundee John Clark IME.

No not tried Perth or Dundee. I went back to Sterling because that where I got the first 280tsi from and that was a good experience. This time around also a good experience and 100% better and quite a bit cheaper than when I went to Abz to try to buy a new car - and left thinking I just wouldn’t bother!

But going to Sterling to buy a new car is one thing (every 7 years or so) but not for a service!

Anyway I heard back from Skoda customer services. “Sorry we can’t tell you when the spark plugs or DSG oil needs to be changed because it is vehicle specific. You will have to ask a dealer.” This despite me giving them the reg and VIN.

I wonder if it actually legal to sell cars whilst keeping the servicing regime a secret that only dealers (and not independents) can know.

Was that Skoda Customer Services Contractor? Know nothing about cars.

I do not know any petrol engine Skoda from the last 20 years no mater what engine that does not have the Service Schedule for spark plugs replaced at 4 years / 40,000 miles.

Edited 12 September, 202512 Sep by Ootohere

In the end I paid my 8 euros and went onto Erwin. Yes 40k for the plugs and 80k for the DSG as expected. It’s crazy that “customer services” couldn’t tell me that!

Although with the last 280tsi I forgot about the spark plugs and didn’t replace them until about 70k. To be honest it was very difficult to tell the difference between the ones I took out and the new ones, other than the latter were cleaner. I couldn’t see any electrode wear and certainly the car went no better after I replaced them

Interesting topic ... I have noticed the "shortening" of the brake fluid interval and I wonder if it can be influenced by the more use of the brakes themselves by the ACC/PCC systems.

My front wipers are starting to leave streaks, they are 2yrs Bosch ones, so each case is different ... woman Lexus, 2.5yrs/23-24k km Denso OEM.

I am replacing the coolant for another vehicle, Dynamax and in the label it says "replace every three years" and I am wondering howe conflicting all these information are, imagine if you are uaware and rely like the OP in a less-than-stellar dealer ... mah

On 13/09/2025 at 08:25, leolito said:

Interesting topic ... I have noticed the "shortening" of the brake fluid interval and I wonder if it can be influenced by the more use of the brakes themselves by the ACC/PCC systems.

My front wipers are starting to leave streaks, they are 2yrs Bosch ones, so each case is different ... woman Lexus, 2.5yrs/23-24k km Denso OEM.

I am replacing the coolant for another vehicle, Dynamax and in the label it says "replace every three years" and I am wondering howe conflicting all these information are, imagine if you are uaware and rely like the OP in a less-than-stellar dealer ... mah

The issue with the brake fluid is that it is water absorbent (hygroscopic) and the water in solution can cause brake failure under repeated heavy braking when it boils. I don't think the increased use of the fluid by the tech is the issue.

You would think that a car brake system could be adquately sealed to prevent moist air getting in (eg a rubber membrane under the filler cap that allows changes in fluid level without air being pushed in and out, as you get on motorbikes) but it seems that car manufacturers prefer to simply change the fluid more often. I can't imagine why!

Regarding the wipers, if they were actually damaged or worn then fine. But I have never yet noticed any problem with the front wipers.

Edited 15 September, 202515 Sep by nicknorman

The rear wipers are just awful on the MY23 superb full stop.

Changing the blade or replacing the arm with the previous part number make no difference.

Don't waste your money unless it's for a Bosch blade for <£10.

After a few months they will be dragging and squeeking

Edited 15 September, 202515 Sep by Gabbo

On 13/09/2025 at 08:25, leolito said:

I have noticed the "shortening" of the brake fluid interval

To make up for the cam belt changes they are now not doing? 😉

Thanks. AG Falco

3 hours ago, nicknorman said:

The issue with the brake fluid is that it is water absorbent (hygroscopic) and the water in solution can cause brake failure under repeated heavy braking when it boils. I don't think the increased use of the fluid by the tech is the issue.

Well, true that it has always been recommended to replace the fluid at intervals (say four years) which generally most people neglect, but three or even two sounds very little time ... I do not think DOT4s manufactured today have become more hygroscopic than older ones, or have they? 🙃

Every day is a new discovery in the world of modern car making 😁

On 11/09/2025 at 19:46, nicknorman said:

Then I noticed that the car had another 7 miles on the clock, which seems excessive for a brief road test.

In the interests of fairness and of mild interest, I should correct the above. Once the car was at the garage I checked the App, which gave me the current mileage and said "updated from vehicle just now" and when I picked the car up, the mileage on the dash was 7 miles more. Which is why I thought they had driven around enjoying the performance at my expense. Which they denied of course.

But then I looked at the App again yesterday and still there is about 7 miles difference between the App and the dash reading. I think the reason is:

The car actually stores mileage in km, it is converted to miles to be displayed on the dash. And the car also sends the mileage to the App in km, again it is converted to miles to be displayed in the App. Slightly different conversion factors are used in these two conversions (different number of decimal places, eg 0.6214 vs 0.621371 ), meaning that the App and the dash will start to diverge slightly. By 30k miles it has diverged about 7 miles. I did apologise to the garage for the false accusation, but made the point that it didn't seem unreasonable to believe the Skoda App!

13 hours ago, leolito said:

Well, true that it has always been recommended to replace the fluid at intervals (say four years) which generally most people neglect, but three or even two sounds very little time ... I do not think DOT4s manufactured today have become more hygroscopic than older ones, or have they? 🙃

Every day is a new discovery in the world of modern car making 😁

but, nowadays cars are heavier, faster, brake much intensive, fluid is getting hotter, summer temperature in central europe is "normally" +35°C, brake rotors are bigger. there are lot of reasons why properly mantain brake system. its one of most important system and always had to be 100% functional.

changing engine oil is matter of wish but changing rotors, pads, fluid, pipes are the matter of law and security.

look i buyed 5yo karoq and braking fluid was NEVER changed. i posted picture but heres too.

i have hygrometer fow dot oils, and it always shows less than 1% of water in fluid which is acceptable.

but dont wait for that. change it regularly, 2 years no matter of mileage, because this oil is getting old in not opened canister too.

opened canster should be used within 1 year..

do your brakes, think about your safety, and of people behind you and in front of you.

look at this brake fluid. 5yo.