[dkaile]

How to Remove the Skoda Superb's Bolero Stereo - A Guide -

Now I had seen guides to remove other VAG car stereo's on the forum but not specifically for 2012 Skoda Superb, which is very slightly different when it comes to removing the front fascia. So here goes -

Very gently, the trim removal tools are inserted at these 2 points, as shown in the picture, and the front fascia easily comes out from it's tabs -



Here's the fascia completely removed -



Here's a look at the fascia's back -



And it's part# in case anyone is interested -



Here's how the stereo looks after removing the fascia. Note the 4 highlighted holes for removing the attached screws -



T-20 torx screws x 4, needs to be removed -



Here are the 4 screws removed -



Now the trim removal tool needs to be inserted gently into the lower part of the stereo, as shown, and then the stereo simply slides out. No Passenger Airbag button is present on our Indian spec cars, otherwise that connector also needs to be removed (but don't switch on ignition, if your car came with the passenger airbag on/off switch, otherwise a error code will come, which will need a vcds scanner to remove it)



Slide out the stereo and gently rest it on the gear knob -



Gently hold it in your hand and 2 connectors are visible at the back. One is the 'twin' antenna connector and the other is the 'quadlock' connector, very common on most VAG cars -



Gently pull up the locking plastic clip visible on the antenna connector as also the Quadlock connectors clamping plastic lock and then both the connectors easily slide out -



The stereo fully removed after removing the connectors -



A look at the empty stereo cavity in the car with the connectors freed from the stereo -



A closer look at the Quadlock connector and the plastic lock clamp which needs to be moved in the direction of the arrow and vice versa to unlock/lock it to the stereo -



A closer look at the other end in the back of the stereo where this quadlock connector connects. Note the 15A inbuilt removable fuse in the stereo -



A closer look at the dual antenna connector port on the stereo -



The most important picture of this guide - the fully removed stereo and front fascia. This will help in procuring the proper new fascia for any new stereo install -



Stereo Make - Delphi, Assembled in Portugal



Now the stereo was re-attached back to the car in the reverse order and the T20 torx screws tightened back -



Finally rechecked everything and got no error messages and everything was working as original. Even the memory of last song playing was retained -



Now this exercise was done to see what options I have to get the missing Android Auto/Apple Carplay in this version. Everything else including bluetooth works perfectly but I have to use Android Auto (mostly Navigation or streaming Spotify via bluetooth) through my phone attached to the windshield through a phone holder.

The best option was to get this original Skoda Discover Media MIB2 stereo, but it was not currently available, one. Two, it was quite expensive (50k) and Three, it's feedback was troublesome -



A closer look at this MIB2 stereo -



Comes with Apple Car Play and Android Auto -



The other option was the RCD340, which was earlier available for as low as 15k (not anymore) and seemed a good option then, tutorials for which abound on our forum. But I did not like it's looks especially the ugly front usb port and also was suspect whether it had the matching sound quality of this Delphi unit. It too was rarely available nowadays and AliExpress is since closed. Another option was this Kenwood DMX7520 stereo which was Canbus compatible and I had heard good things about it. But it too was not available easily nowadays -



So the problem remains as it is as I am still apprehensive to remove this beautifully sounding stereo. I am doubtful if I will get clear radio reception with the single connector (coming nowadays) that is attached to these twin antenna connectors by a Fakra adapter. So is it the best option for me to keep on using Android Auto on my phone, as I have been doing for nearly a decade now and listen to Spotify through bluetooth? Or is there some practical and high quality but low cost option available? For another day!!

-------------

Also, my son buys a Skoda Scala in Ireland -



Posts from this thread have been shifted by the mods to a new thread here - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/inter...a-ireland.html (My son bought a Skoda Scala in Ireland)

Cheers for now...

[vaibhavyagnik]

OEM MIB2 will be very good. My technistat MIB2 works beautifully.

[AVash]

I've been an avid follower of all your threads since a long time and I just wanted to appreciate all the efforts and details that you put into your posts.

I hope I can be as good of a vehicle owner as you.

Cheers!

[dkaile]

Rear Brake Pads Change + Clutch/Brake Bleeding by Automatic Machine - 40621 kms - 22/23-04-2024

This is going to be a long '3' poster. So I was going to meet my in-laws at Faridabad and since the rear brake pads, which the technician had pointed out needed replacement, and were not being made available at Brite Meerut, even after several reminders, I decided to test out the full fledged dealership at Faridabad - Excel Skoda. I called them from their online number and the part was available there. Initially I told them that I will pick up only the part as I wanted to get them changed at Meerut. They quoted a reasonable 1k as labour to get them changed also and a time period of about an hour. So I decided I will first see their setup and then decide.

So I reach Excel Skoda, Faridabad



My car, looking brand new, along with their current breed -



This is the Rear Brake Pad Box they gave me!



The part# 1K0-698-451-S and the old MRP of Mar 2022



Important thing was that it had a different homologation number and the brand was FERODO, Made in Italy. And this had me confused for a while.



The confusion further increased when I opened up the brake pads and the part# inside was also different - 1K0-615-415-AD. I even apprehended that they might be replacing the brake pads with cheaper ones from outside!



The rear view or the main surface view of the pads -



But my apprehension reduced when I saw that the Homologation number was clearing printed and embossed on the pads -



I was charged a princely amount of Rs. 5410/- for the pads -



Also to clear my doubts regarding part#, I checked online on renowned sites like ECS Tuning and local sites like Boodomo and found the part number on the inside pads was the same as the one I had received -



As also on fcpeuro.com -



Here's the Part# from our trusted Bosch, in case anyone is interested - F002 H23 845-8F8 -



And it's available at just Rs. 1298/- on Amazon !! And I could have tried it, just like the Valeo Wipers I got online for a fraction of the cost of the OE item. But I had talked to Ganesh Balan beforehand (our dear moderator Gannu_1) and he advised me to go only with the OE ones, in a high performance car like mine. So it was settled to stick with the OE ones -



Also I was impressed with the setup at Excel Skoda workshop. The technician looked knowledgeable. And I was also feeling something was not 100% with my Clutch after the manual bleeding. As you will remember from my previous posts, I had bled only the brakes the second time around, not the clutch slave cylinder. The car stalled a few times on low speeds while pressing the clutch, which had never happened to me before after the initial days of getting used to this Skoda clutch. And I was told that they had a automatic brake bleeder. So the deal was sealed that I would also get the clutch bleeded once again and checkout this new machine that I had never seen before.

So I reached their workshop the next morning for both these jobs -



My car was put up on special lift and I was allowed to stand alongside the car throughout the job, which I had insisted -



They had all the proper tools required. And I was impressed when the technician brought out the Torque Wrench and the Brake Caliper Compression Tool, without me saying anything -



The car was raised slightly -



The technician opening up the Rear Wheels to change the pads. He informed me that even though they had the pneumatic wrenches for opening and closing of the wheel nuts, he was doing so manually, so that proper torque can be attained, while tightening them back. He said the pneumatic wrenches tend to over-tighten the wheel lug nuts, which can then create a problem for the owners, in case of a puncture. I was highly impressed by these small precautions taken -



The Brake Calipers being opened next. Tools required were a 13mm and a 15mm spanner -



The rear pads still had a little life left in them -



The Rear Brake Assembly -



A comparison of the new vs the old pads. I would say that 1/3rd life was still left in the old ones and they were good for another 5k kms, at least, unlike the 1k kms, I was told by the Meerut technician -



Comparison from the other side -



Also I was relieved to see that the exact same Ferodo pads were their as OE from the factory -



A closer look at the old pads. Even the part#'s were the same. The technician told me that the part# printed on the pads differs from that on the box, as there may be many vendors supplying these parts to the VAG group. And the part# printed on the pads was an internal VAG# for that particular manufacturer. Relieved that I was getting the OE parts!! -



And here comes the pièce de résistance - the Wurth, semi-automatic, Brake Bleeding Machine, Made in Germany -



A closer look at the machine and the Instructions. It was a simple contraption which basically creates positive pressure on the brake lines for easy bleeding.



It is attached to fresh DOT 4 Brake Fluid canisters for automatic discharge of the brake fluid. No manual topping up required -



And the Dirty brake fluid can both be sucked automatically or manually. Here's the old brake fluid reservoir at the back of the machine -



First job was to suck out the brake reservoir fluid from my car, to avoid any spillage, so that the rear brake pads can be changed and the brake calipers compressed to accommodate the new thicker pads. Because on Brake Caliper Compression, some fluid is bound to flow back to the reservoir. This was done to avoid any spillage and keep the engine bay oil free -



30 Photos Limit reached - To be continued -

[dkaile]

Rear Brake Pads Change + Clutch/Brake Bleeding by Automatic Machine - 40621 kms - 22/23-04-2024 Cont...(2)

A closer look at the Brake Caliper Compression Tool -



As the brake oil had already been sucked out of the reservoir, the brake calipers were now compressed manually, with the help of this tool, using which avoids any damage to the calipers while compressing. -



The Brake Calipers fully compressed -

]

Torque was set at the required 35Nm for tightening the bolts back with the new pads -



New Brake Pads in place. The process was repeated on the other side -



Now the Bleeding Process needed to be started after replacement of the rear pads. The technician told me that he would do a complete re-bleed of both the clutch and the brakes, for peace of mind. The car was attached to the Bleeding Machine -



A closer look at the air tight seal achieved by their Brake Fluid Reservoir Cap Attachment. The fresh Brake Fluid also passed automatically through this -



The Online Service Manual was checked for proper sequence of bleeding as is clearly visible in the photo. As the Clutch Slave cylinder also needed to be bled, that is done prior to the brakes -



1.7 Bar / 25 PSI positive pressure was created on the system and set on the machine as per OE specs. Hence there is no need for anyone pumping the brakes or the clutch in this process -



The first job was to remove the Air Box once again to access the Clutch Slave Cylinder Bleeder Valve -



Here is the Clutch Slave Cylinder Bleeder Valve shown in the red circle. The manual bleeder bottle was attached to this valve with the pipe and the bleeder valve was opened one quarter turn. To my shock, lots of air bubbles came rushing out which were completely bled off with fresh fluid!! -



Next in the sequence of bleeding was the Rear Right Brake Caliper -



No air bubbles were seen, as is clear in the picture. So we did a good job, manually bleeding it the 2nd time around -



Next in the sequence of bleeding was the Rear Left Brake Caliper. Again no air bubbles were seen here either -



The car was further raised to access the Front Brake Calipers without removing the wheels -



The Front Right Brake Caliper was now bled. To my surprise, few Air bubbles did come out in both the front ones, even after doing a manual bleed the 2nd time around. So nothing matches a automatic pressure bleeder for this job!! -



And finally the Front Left brake caliper was bled and the few air bubbles were fully removed -



All the brakes caliper valves were thoroughly cleaned with Wurth brake cleaner -



As was the clutch bleeder valve upfront. Last job was to remove the Pressure cap from the brake fluid reservoir -



The Brake fluid reservoir was found to be full to the brim after removing the pressure cap, as marked by that red mark by me as seen in the photo -



Excess brake fluid was again sucked out by the machine to the requisite top level, as marked in red in the photo -



The Air Box was put back in -



The torque wrench was now set at 120 Nm, which is the required OE torque for wheel lug nuts -



And the Rear Wheel were re-attached and torqued down to proper specs -



Now the technician also wanted to check the Front Brake Pads for his and my peace of mind. So the front wheels were now removed to check the Front Brake Assembly -



It was visible that they had quite a bit of life left as visible in the photo, marked in red -



As also in the front rear ones -



As is clearly visible in this photo, they had about 50% life still left in them even after 40k kms. So good for another 10~15k kms, at least -



Another job that randomly came to my mind was fixed by their denter, who fixed this broken right headlight clamp, which had been damaged in the small mishap in July 2015 (as detailed in my earlier posts), and was going on un-repaired as it is, since it was not giving me any trouble. It was fixed with Elfy and some sand, for proper grip, and it was very nice of them to do this job on a complimentary basis. The headlight was now properly fixed without any lateral movement as before, which was previously felt on pressing down on it -



The full engine bay and the headlight clamp area was cleaned thoroughly to remove any last spec of the sand that was used to fix the clamp. This completed the jobs for today -



30 Photos Limit reached - To be continued -

[dkaile]

Rear Brake Pads Change + Clutch/Brake Bleeding by Automatic Machine - 40621 kms - 22/23-04-2024 Cont...(3)

A look at the work order Data Sheet. Brings back fond memories of 2012, when I took delivery of this car -



Final Labour Bill of Rs. 2368/-. This is the best 2k bucks that I have ever spent on a Skoda Service till date. Complete bang for the buck. They did not even charge me for the DOT 4 Brake Oil, that must have been used during the bleeding process. 5 stars to Excel Skoda, Faridabad -



The car was back home at 40741kms on the odo. As a dust storm had hit Faridabad/Delhi NCR area that day, the car got quite dirty on the way back home to Meerut. The Valeo Passenger Side Wiper was tested in that rain and worked just perfectly like the OE one. And the car was given some TLC -



The steering after 12 years in service -



The Centre Console and the Auto AC and the fantastic 6MT gearbox -



Now there were some cosmetic issues too in the car after 12 years. After all plastic parts and adhesives deteriorate with time.

The 1st being that the roof had lagged a few months back as the adhesive must have given way. I punched some upholstery staples in them and they have been holding just fine since the last few months. The rear passenger don't even notice the same unless specifically looked for -



The 2nd was that the Rubber Slider cover gave way and deteriorated yesterday. I just stuck some fiber backed tape on it, as is visible in the picture, and it is now sliding just fine as before -



The 3rd being, my having to use my phone for Android Auto and to use Spotify through Bluetooth, as is visible on this beautiful Meerut Expressway Ride on this trip. But the AC is a chiller and the ride, power and handling of this car makes me forget about these small shortcomings -



--------------------------

EXTRA - How to make your Own Brake Fluid Bleeder Bottle -

This is the Brake Bleeder Bottle I made from an ordinary 750ml Soda Bottle -



2 holes in the cap were drilled - One 8mm one for the PU pipe and a small one for the air to escape -



The pipe was fixed till the very bottom and a zip tie was tied near the cap so that the pipe does not slide out while doing one man bleeding, which was now possible by this bottle, by just adding about a 100ml fresh brake oil while attaching it to the bleeder valve. Lots of YouTube videos are available to guide you further -



The transparent PU pipe specifications - 8mm OD and 6mm ID works perfectly. About 1 meter pipe is required in total (Rs. 30/-) -



The 6mm ID attaches perfectly and tightly to the Bleeder valve as tested -



--------------------------

Now I see people spending lacs on PPF and Ceramic Coatings and what not. Here's my car maintained, even after 12 years, with just love and a little help from Waxpol Silky Touch, some good quality microfiber cloths and a little elbow grease -



Cheers for now...

[Rajeev1]

Originally Posted by dkaile

[b][u]Rear Brake Pads Change + Clutch/Brake
Cheers for now...

Good to see your detailed post with pictures and your effort to maintain your Skoda Superb shows as the car looks as if it has just come out of the showroom. I liked the last picture of shining beauty and follow the same principle of some water + shampoo + elbow grease to keep my 12 year old Skoda Yeti looking as good as new. You may laugh when I say that the shampoo i use for car cleaning is what I obtain from hotel rooms (small bottles) during my travels

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by Rajeev1

I liked the last picture of shining beauty and follow the same principle of some water + shampoo + elbow grease to keep my 12 year old Skoda Yeti looking as good as new. You may laugh when I say that the shampoo i use for car cleaning is what I obtain from hotel rooms (small bottles) during my travels

Thanks for the kind words. Though I have hardly ever used shampoo to clean my car. Just a normal water wash and that too when utterly necessary. I usually dry clean my car with a wet and dry microfiber cloth and the Waxpol I mentioned is a liquid car polish, that I find gives excellent results with minimum sweat. Detergents, I find, are not your paint's best friend.

Cheers...

[three10]

I hope this level of service becomes the default across India for Škoda.

Using a torque wrench (set to the correct spec) to tighten the lug nuts! My mind was blown. Who does it these days?

[dkaile]

My Superb finally gets WIRELESS Android Auto for under 10k -





All details posted here in a new DIY Post - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/diy-d...under-10k.html (DIY: Get Android Auto in any Car/Bike for Free (or under 10k))

Cheers...

[cpabhijit]

Originally Posted by dkaile

Passenger Side Wiper Change - 22-03-2024

Skoda and they were asking around 5000 bucks for a set, whereas I had just changed my Baleno wipers to Hella ones for just 300 bucks and they were working perfectly!! So why the propensity to ask 5k for these??

I think the reason they charge 5k is so you can use it for 9 years (which is insane!) How did you manage that?

My Karoq wipers lasted 3 full years with a LOT of driving in the rain. Finally it started making noises and I changed to Bosch or something and after 1 year of average rain driving it is leaving streaks and making noises.

Will go back to OEM this year.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by cpabhijit

I think the reason they charge 5k is so you can use it for 9 years (which is insane!) How did you manage that?

The reason for them lasting so long is low mileage of the car coupled with good storage conditions for it, under shade and car cover. If the car would have been standing in the open under the sun, they wouldn't have lasted so long.

Also OEM ones might last twice as much as the Valeo ones that I got, BUT certainly not worth 10 times the price! I was in a heavy thunderstorm recently and the Valeo wipers performed just like the OEM ones.

Cheers...

[GTE]

Brake pads do not wear linearly, if there's 25%thickness left after 7500kms that does not mean it will last for a further 2500 kms. Better to err on the side of caution. Also the brake oil should be at maximum when all the pads are new.

[dkaile]

Originally Posted by GTE

Brake pads do not wear linearly, if there's 25%thickness left after 7500kms that does not mean it will last for a further 2500 kms. Better to err on the side of caution. Also the brake oil should be at maximum when all the pads are new.

Quite informational post. What about if the pads have 50% life left after 40000kms, how long do you cogitate they will last? Just for my information.

Cheers...

[GTE]

It is very unlikely that pads will be at 50% after 40,000 kms. Pad material also tends to get hard if not changed for a long time & that can cause other problems.