Hi folks,

I am having a few probs with my Octavia saloon - hoping that one (or more) of you nice folks could please offer some assistance ? I am an old (62) full-time student, with practically zero knowledge of cars (and not a lot of money for this), so trying to avoid garage bills if at all possible... ?! Ready to ask some questions when I get the go-ahead.

Any and all guidance and advice very gratefully received !

Thanks in anticipation.

Rob H

Edited 14 April14 Apr by McRob

Hello Rob, welcome to the forum.

Can you post your engine type and fuel? - your engine type is the 3 or 4 letter prefix of your engine number, listed on your V5 document.

What are the problems you are looking for answers to?

A Hi Warrior193, Thank you for your message :-) It might take a little while to find my V5 document, so I will ask my questions in the meantime; hope that's OK ? My fuel consumption suddenly rose to using about 3/8 of a tank of fuel, having driven only around, 50-60 miles, in a primarily very flat area; this was after a fill of 5/8 of a tank,using petrol from an independent garage which I have never used before. Possibly dodgy fuel, maybe clogging up the injectors a bit, I thought, so I got an injectors-cleaning compound and a lubricating agent, which was added when I refilled the tank with the used-up 3/8 of petrol. This seemed to cure the fuel consumption issue, (at least temporarily), since I took a trip a of about 50-60 miles or so, (after adding the additives), which caused barely any needle deflection for fuel consumption. I would appreciate any comments about what may have caused this issue, please? Following yesterday's test run, I have done another test run of probably round 25 miles, flat, which has used around 1/8 of a tank of fuel... so still not good. This has now become accompanied by a squeak at the back of my car, which is more noticeable when I (slowly) turn corners. However, the squeaking ceases when I apply the brakes. I am thinking something amiss with the brakes themselves, and I noticed scoring of the brake disk on the nearside left brake disk. The squeaking seemed to first appear during my first test run up to Largs from near Ayr, but it is more noticeable now ! The brakes were replaced about a year and a bit ago; there seems to be only a small lip on the disk, this far - but it is looking rather scored. Any and all feedback would be much appreciated Thanks in advance ! Kind regards, McRob P.S. Apologies for my long first message...

Edited 14 April14 Apr by McRob

At 1 litre, I assume you have a TSI - is that correct?

Hello Rob, fuel gauges can often tend to be fairly non-linear, especially from 50% mark down - the best way to monitor fuel use is to fill tank completely (to 1st click of fuel nozzle), note the mileage, then repeat after, say, 100/200 miles.

Did the engine performance appear to be significantly affected during this 'high fuel use'?

Light to moderate scoring of the brake discs is not especially a problem, as long as they do not have excessive runout - 'squeaking' from the rear discs may simply be because they don't provide much of the total braking effort and tend to rust a fair bit - try applying the hand-brake a few times while moving to see if that cleans them up - or try a few harder stops (somewhere safe) if the squeak is from the front discs.

There is no badge to say TSI, Warrior193, so apologies that I can't confirm; I guess that this info is also on the V5 ? All that I do know is that it's a 67 plate from 2017 with a 1ltr petrol engine, which I run on standard unleaded. Sorry, I am so rubbish at this ! I have never done cars, so my experience is very little indeed, sadly. Apologies for any frustration which this will cause to all parties.

Thank you for your suggestions; I will give that handbrake idea a go. I have tried some sudden braking on the flat; not sure if it actually helped or not, though.

No noticable reduction in actual engine performance during especially my first, high fuel-usage test. However, the engine did seem to have a bit more "oomph" during my 2nd (longer, farther) test run up to Largs, after I had topped up the tank with fuel from a frequently-used garage (Asda) and added the fuel additives. However, this extra "oomph" could be my imagination !

Edited 14 April14 Apr by McRob

1 litre petrol will be TSI in the Octavia 3.

It could be that the brake pad anti-squeal shims are sticky - not really an issue apart from being annoying.

Do you get any apparent false alarms from the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)?

Welcome. How many milers has the car done. When were the Spark plugs replaced last. They are a 40,000 mile / 4 year thing. 3 cylinder 1.0 TSI can need done sooner. When was the Air Filter checked or replaced? Unlikely dodgy fuel from ASDA because they sell so much and the Internet would be telling as thousands of cars get their fuel there . Pumps have filters. Fuel supplied has changed from Winter spec to summer spec at the end of March, or should have depending on what ASDA has bought up and from where. It is not quite as volatile in summer but still 95 ron minimum.

Edited 14 April14 Apr by Evolution13

On 14/04/2026 at 14:55, Warrior193 said:

1 litre petrol will be TSI in the Octavia 3.

It could be that the brake pad anti-squeal shims are sticky - not really an issue apart from being annoying.

Do you get any apparent false alarms from the tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS)?

Thanks for your feedback, Warrior193. Yes, it does seem like the brake pads are sticky or similar. I jacked up the wheel which has the severely scored brake disks, released the habdndbrake and tried to spin the wheel; it's a bit gringy, to say the least ! No sign of any warning lights at all.

On 14/04/2026 at 19:56, Evolution13 said:

Welcome. How many milers has the car done. When were the Spark plugs replaced last. They are a 40,000 mile / 4 year thing. 3 cylinder 1.0 TSI can need done sooner. When was the Air Filter checked or replaced? Unlikely dodgy fuel from ASDA because they sell so much and the Internet would be telling as thousands of cars get their fuel there . Pumps have filters. Fuel supplied has changed from Winter spec to summer spec at the end of March, or should have depending on what ASDA has bought up and from where. It is not quite as volatile in summer but still 95 ron minimum.

Hi Evolution13, thanks for assisting. My car has done just over 45K miles; I think that it had run about 6K when I bought it, if memory serves. Yes, the spark plugs did occur to me; the car hasn't been serviced for a couple of years, since the last service cost me about £700, including a change of rear brake pads and shoes. This huge fuel usage seemed to happen suddenly after I put in the fuel from the independent garage, where I had never been (the Asda fuel replaced that, and I have never had a problem with their fuel, which I have used often; apologies for me confusing folks !). It got better, but now it is using a lot of fuel again. However, today I purchased some copper grease and I'll have a go at freeing up the rear nearside brake to stop the occasional squeaking (and hopefully, the scoring of the brake disk). I have axle stands, so I'll check both back brakes at the same time - if I could just be sure where to position the axle stands without wrecking my car ! Any recommendations of any good videos which might help me with this, please ? Much appreciated !

Oh, the air filter was prolly done a couple of years ago, Evolution 13, so overdue for a replacement. My car model is as follows, BTW:

Skoda Octavia (2017 - 2018) - III (5E) - 1.0 TSI Petrol (CHZD)

Edited 16 April16 Apr by McRob

Skoda UK have the Air filter schedule for replacement @ 6 years / 60,000 miles. Total tosh, An airfilter should get checked at every service. Not all airboxes are simple to open, but then the person Servicing is supposed to be a Tech / Fitter.

To check if the brakes are binding, try gently placing your hand on each of the wheel hubs after a reasonable run - any significant difference in temperature in a hub would indicate that brake may not be releasing fully.

Scoring is just from Salted / Gritted roads in winter or chuckies stuck at some point. Has the car got a manual hand brake rather than an e-brake? Get up some hill and a bit of light application of the hand brake. Or you just drive a bit applying the hand brake lightly.

On 17/04/2026 at 09:44, Warrior193 said:

To check if the brakes are binding, try gently placing your hand on each of the wheel hubs after a reasonable run - any significant difference in temperature in a hub would indicate that brake may not be releasing fully.

Thanks again Warrior193. I used an infra-red thermometer on all 4 brakes when I returned home today, and the nearside rear brake is definitely hotter than all the rest (about 34 degrees C, compaared with about 22C for the other 3); there is also scoring, as per my previous comments. The car is still ripping through fuel ! :-( Not fun. I have found a couple of videos which try to suggest how to remove the rear caliper, but none is clear enough to show me exactly how it is done... nor which size spanner or Allen socket to use... nor where... Can any of you very kind folks please suggest how to unstick this rear caliper or recomment a good video for this. I am absolutely determined to fix this myself !! ? Apparenty, it's a bit more complex than the front one? Oh, how I wish that I was not so ignorant about car service... Sorry, guys ! (Somewhere to live was more important than something to drive... and most of my cars were company vehicles anyway... hence why I am a greenhorn!). Thanks again, folks.

Oh yes: I bought a Haynes e-manual for my car the other day... but it seems to be fairly useless for some things. For example, it does not show me how to change the oil, what the relevant fixings sizes are, etc. Again, any supportive suggestions would be really great, please ! Has anyone found a source for a r-e-a-l Haynes manual for this car (i.e. one made from paper and cardboard, which will not run out on me !) ?

Edited 20 April20 Apr by McRob

On 17/04/2026 at 10:05, Evolution13 said:

Scoring is just from Salted / Gritted roads in winter or chuckies stuck at some point. Has the car got a manual hand brake rather than an e-brake? Get up some hill and a bit of light application of the hand brake. Or you just drive a bit applying the hand brake lightly.

Cheers again Evolution13 :-) I tried this the other day, but sadly, it made no difference. I jacked the car up, removed the wheel and checked that the handbrake cable is not sticking; it seems to move OK between on and off positions. I did find that there are a couple of little spring-loaded piston-thingies, one of which seemed to be stuck, so I released that... but I could not figure out how to remove the caliper ?! The damned brake is still sticking. At this rate, a garage might have been cheaper for me ! I'm so rubbish at this :-( Thank you for your assistance and patience.

Oh, another stupid question: does anyone know if the oil filter should be a short stubby one or a long one, please ? I have been sold a short Mann filter, but I have no way to deternine which filter is used for my particular model of engine, without actually removing the filter first... so I'll be stuffed if I have been sold the wrong one ! Thanks again, anybody?!

Edited 20 April20 Apr by McRob

10 hours ago, McRob said:

Thanks again Warrior193. I used an infra-red thermometer on all 4 brakes when I returned home today, and the nearside rear brake is definitely hotter than all the rest (about 34 degrees C, compaared with about 22C for the other 3); there is also scoring, as per my previous comments. The car is still ripping through fuel ! :-( Not fun. I have found a couple of videos which try to suggest how to remove the rear caliper, but none is clear enough to show me exactly how it is done... nor which size spanner or Allen socket to use... nor where... Can any of you very kind folks please suggest how to unstick this rear caliper or recomment a good video for this. I am absolutely determined to fix this myself !! ? Apparenty, it's a bit more complex than the front one? Oh, how I wish that I was not so ignorant about car service... Sorry, guys ! (Somewhere to live was more important than something to drive... and most of my cars were company vehicles anyway... hence why I am a greenhorn!). Thanks again, folks.

12 deg.C difference might not be especially significant, but still worth checking.

Cheers again, Warrior193