Maybe once per week orange warning triangle [mid bottom of dash] appears, once driven for a while and after stopping/restarting it disappears. There is no other light appearing [simultaneously] In the manual the triangle usually appears with a particular link. ie brakes, gearbox oil etc.

As an aside..and maybe linked, the dpf, Since owning the vehicle have put 30k on it, serviced a few times, never dpf mentioned. I wondered at what point is it prudent to consider cleaning, or does one wait til a problem arises [I prefer pre-emptive maintenance]

Tks in advance for comments

Keith

Would be helpful to know model year, and what engine and gearbox you have.

Sorry, of course.

2014 Octavia Tour De France [2l] 4x4.

Has basic trim, was made for carrying bikes so very minimal accessories. Manual 6 speed.

Got on the road to repairs..and never stopped.

Front end [suspension, disc's etc etc] Inlet manifold [thought was the egr leak..wasnt] clutch AND new diff [ at 6k costs] New boots all round

Lot of money I know, love the 4x4 system, rear seats take out in 30 secs....[can get 3 cubic meter bags in there].

Has 130k on it, Hoping to make it to 200 or more.

2 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Would be helpful to know model year, and what engine and gearbox you have.

1 hour ago, Dogsb said:

2014 Octavia Tour De France [2l] 4x4.

TDI or TSI, manual or DSG?

TDI Manual

If only seen when first starting and then it goes away there is a chance it is the first sign of a 12v battery voltage drop. I would wait until it gives you more info either with another lamp or message in the system messages.

Could also be a dodgy earth connection to the body from the battery, once the car is run the problem goes away.

Yes - battery wobbles will cause all kinds of problem due the car being a CANBUS type network, it needs a stable battery voltage to operate.

Other things to do: fill it up with some super diesel and make sure that you take the vehicle out on some fast high-speed runs and leave it in 5th gear - and let the car clear itself out. You probably need to do that once a week if you are doing short journeys. I also personally use some Cetane improver if you are just using standard diesel. https://www.hydra-int.com/DPB000K.html - i use 20ml per full tank of diesel - make a world of difference. Others on this forum feel strongly against that solution though. I can only tell you what works for me.

Its also worth scanning the car to see if it is throwing any codes. Any DPF related codes need to be actioned. If you are using excessive oil, this could be a EGR valve issue or stuck piston rings. Some Wynn's Engine flush will clean out any crud and make sure you use good quality VW504/507 5W30 engine oil in your engine and good quality (such as a Bosch filter) in your vehicle.

Thanks to all for the insights.

Whenever it appears does not go out until next turn off/switch on. [drove an hr other night with it on, fuelled up twas gone on start up]

It is a new battery so will check that connection tomorrow.

I did have an egr fault show [came on after dropping from 80mph to nearly zero after emergency braking, [ semi truck came into my lane]. Went out next day but had it checked at dealer, all was ok apparently...and not reappeared.

I do use Liqui mol [Speed tec and others] in general [last MOT was extremely clean Im told] Engine oil is Liqui mol top tec 4200 [older engine formula....whatever that is]

Maybe my mileage is not helping....rarely these days do 3k per annum, but I still observe a 12 month rule..''xxxx miles or 12 months'' on everything .

Thanks again on comments, will tick those actionable beginning tomorrow.

Keith

Just to balance some questionable assertions...

AI is very reliable as a source of info isn't it? So I go off lived experience

I'm happy for you.

3 hours ago, Dogsb said:

Engine oil is Liqui mol top tec 4200 [older engine formula....whatever that is]

Not sure older engine formula is that appropriate for a modern car.

Does it need the VW spec your engine requires?

Course Liqui Mol is German.

Website you can give details on vehicle, the suggested items are in response to those details.

16 hours ago, Dogsb said:

It is a new battery so will check that connection tomorrow.

Did you code in the battery? If not, a lot of your issues will have come from that.

Yes...''professionally' done whatever that means these days.

The use may be an issue. Just been working on an aid project overseas, not driven for 12 weeks. Always note for first couple miles the strange odour out the back..which does clear quite quickly.

There are 6 months each year I don't touch the thing.

18 minutes ago, Dogsb said:

There are 6 months each year I don't touch the thing.

There are small solar panel battery maintainers available for around £30, maybe useful if you leave it so long.

22 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

There are small solar panel battery maintainers available for around £30, maybe useful if you leave it so long.

I used one during Covid lockdown to keep the battery topped up, just plugged into the permanently live 12V socket in the centre console.

If you get a Solar Panel that plugs into the ODB port, this is a better solution that using the 12V socket.

I think the 12V socket powers down when the car goes to sleep. Plugging into the 12V socket might cause a Terminal 15 keep-alive error on the car.

FIXRA

AA Car & Caravan Solar Battery Charger

AA Car & Caravan Solar Battery Charger The THINFILM technology allows a wider spectrum of natural light to be absorbed, meaning the unit can still generate electricity under low-light cloudy or wi

Edited 22 January22 Jan by varaderoguy

29 minutes ago, varaderoguy said:

If you get a Solar Panel that plugs into the ODB port, this is a better solution that using the 12V socket.

I think the 12V socket powers down when the car goes to sleep. Plugging into the 12V socket might cause a Terminal 15 keep-alive error on the car.

FIXRA

AA Car & Caravan Solar Battery Charger

AA Car & Caravan Solar Battery Charger The THINFILM technology allows a wider spectrum of natural light to be absorbed, meaning the unit can still generate electricity under low-light cloudy or wi

The 12 volt sockets are permanently live on the Mk3.

18 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

The 12 volt sockets are permanently live on the Mk3.

Okay - that's odd. My MK3.5 isn't....when it powers down the CANBUS network and goes to sleep, it does power down the 12V socket. Mind you, my car was a run-out so it probably shares some components with MK4 cars.

I read the orange traingle is a general warning. I also read that you can read the stored messages via the infotainment screen. Not sure how to as mine is a lot older.

You could also scan with obd2/vcds to see if there are any stored codes/messages

Alasdair

7 hours ago, varaderoguy said:

I think the 12V socket powers down when the car goes to sleep.

Not on UK spec Mark 3's where it's permanently live.

I believe other markets have a fuse that can be moved to make the 12V socket ignition switched.

10 hours ago, PetrolDave said:

Not on UK spec Mark 3's where it's permanently live.

I believe other markets have a fuse that can be moved to make the 12V socket ignition switched.

My Enyaq has a 12v socket in the boot that can be permanent or not depending on the fuse position

The importance of a good 12v

This EV ran out of traction Battery power and the systems drained the 12v before it could be put on charge. See what happened when they charged the traction battery up again and the effects of poor 12v on the management systems

On 21/01/2026 at 22:31, Dogsb said:

Maybe once per week orange warning triangle [mid bottom of dash] appears,

Mine poped up the other day.

As I looked at it and wondered what it was as I drove along, the washer fluid low light popped up.

I topped up the washer fluid and all good.

Maybe a past intermittent non serious warning like washer fluid...