[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by ppathak3383

Can anyone please advise, how to check if there is any life left in these tyres and what would be the recommended replacements. These are stock Goodyear tyres.

Should be an easy enough fix. Depending on where you stay, invest in a morning to drop into a reputed tyre shop like Madhus at Wilson Garden and ask them to examine your tyres and carry out alignment & balancing.

With your careful usage over 3 years and 30K km, it seems to be a little early for tyres to wear out. The stock Goodyears usually last 40K km on the 1.8TSI and should last similar or longer on the 1.4. You can also check the manufacturing date of the tyres by looking at the WEEK-YEAR code stamped on them just in case the tyres are old stock; unlikely with Skoda though. Also, too early to harden up.

Madhus your best bet .

[ppathak3383]

Thanks for the feedback. The car is in the Hennur PPS service center right now for some body work and regular maintenance. I have already told the service executive that I will not be changing the tyres immediately, at-least 6 months before I change them (cited financial reasons).

My major worry is the repetitive sound that's coming for the last 1 year or so, if the service center solves that, I'll take the car to a reputed tyre guy (Madhus seems a bit far for me, maybe someday when I am in the area, I can get the tyres checked).

I had a Fabia previously for 11 years and never got the tyres changed from Skoda service center, and I am going to follow the same philosophy here too. Though even then the tyres lasted > 40k easily. And I used that car literally like a rally racer. So I am pretty confident, it isn't me that's doing something wrong while driving this car.

[Abi5hek]

Hey Everyone! I have this chance to get my hands on a 2014 Octavia tdi dsg that has done close to 85k. The owner is a fellow Bhp-ian and an old friend.
I am currently using a 2014 city Mt. It's been rather fuss free to own and run, but I could really use a diesel auto since my running is increasing and so is the traffic in Chennai.
I would like to use the experience and wisdom of the forum to help me decide if I should go ahead with this or not
If the answer is yes, then:
a) what could be some of the things I need to look out for when I go check out the car in person?
b) i would be looking to have the car for at least 3 more years. What are the possible expenses that might crop up during this time?

I'm totally new to the VW/ skoda brand. Any inputs from current owners/ people in the know would be really appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Attaching the listing on TBHP classifieds for reference https://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy.../Octavia.html/

[nidhikapoor]

Originally Posted by Abi5hek

Attaching the listing on TBHP classifieds for reference https://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy.../Octavia.html/

10 year old, 2 owners, 85K on odo, diesel. I think the price is much too high. A friend bought a 4 year old within warranty and it had only 27k kms on the odo, and was single owner for 13.5 Lakhs

[Abi5hek]

Originally Posted by nidhikapoor

10 year old, 2 owners, 85K on odo, diesel. I think the price is much too high.

Thanks for pointing it out. What would you say is a fair price for the vehicle I'm looking at?

Originally Posted by nidhikapoor

A friend bought a 4 year old within warranty and it had only 27k kms on the odo, and was single owner for 13.5 Lakhs

That is indeed a sweet deal!

Also, any pointers on what to look out for when I take it for a TD?

[nidhikapoor]

Originally Posted by Abi5hek

Damn, that's a sweet deal! What would you say is a fair price for the vehicle I'm looking at?
Also, any pointers on what to look out for when I take it for a TD?

I'm not an expert at all. Others here will better guide you. I just gave my opinion based on the one sale that I knew about.

[revsperminute]

Monsoons are officially here. First casualty of this year are the front mudflaps. One was broken clean off and the other has got a massive crack in it. Hit about 2 inches of standing water at ~80Kmph.



Should I just remove the mud flaps or are there more sturdy alternatives? The OE ones are very fragile. This set only lasted for a total of 1200kms of rain driving (I don’t drive in waterlogged areas).

[itwasntme]

Personally I look of the Octavia without any mudflaps at all. On our idiotic BLR speedbreakers, both tend to scrape and gradually dislodge the panels and cladding to which they are attached.

[SLK]

Originally Posted by revsperminute

Attachment 2468385

Should I just remove the mud flaps or are there more sturdy alternatives? The OE ones are very fragile. This set only lasted for a total of 1200kms of rain driving (I don’t drive in waterlogged areas).

Ordinarily shouldn't happen with just driving through water. My original ones are working for the last 3.5 years. Potholes and speed-breakers are of course a different story.

I try to avoid driving Octavia in rains in Gurgaon, potholes are deeper than Octavia can handle.

[revsperminute]

Originally Posted by SLK

Ordinarily shouldn't happen with just driving through water. My original ones are working for the last 3.5 years. Potholes and speed-breakers are of course a different story.

I try to avoid driving Octavia in rains in Gurgaon, potholes are deeper than Octavia can handle.

I think the water was the final bit of abuse it took before taking its leave.

Same for the driving part. There are some parts of Mumbai that will literally swallow an Octavia. It stays within Navi Mumbai and is only taken out once or twice a week during monsoons. And some of the countless weekend lonavala runs of course. Drove her for ~1000kms in May-June to get my fill.

[Sumesh_Jazz]

Dear BHP’ians,
I own a 1.8 TSI Octavia which I bought in 2019. It has been a totally niggle free ownership experience so far and the car has always performed extremely well. The car has so far covered nearly 28000 kms. We had many memorable long trips with the Octavia. A week before we were out on the highway and after completing an overtaking manoeuvre the car came across a deep pothole which I could not avoid. It was strong jolt, but the bottom of the car did not scrape. The car continued to run smooth after that. However, after nearly 1 hour I have observed that whenever I released the accelerator the dashboard and the front area of the car started vibrating. This was very unusual and I never had such an experience earlier. There was no vibration with the accelerator pressed, the vibrations started every time the vehicle slowed down on releasing the accelerator. I have stopped the vehicle and applied the accelerator in ‘P’ mode. I found that after releasing the accelerator the exhaust not was felt very abnormal as the rpm levels came down to idling values. I had immediately contacted the Skoda workshop and they said they will examine. I headed towards the workshop, but by the time I reached the it was almost closing time and I have decided to show the vehicle the next day. However surprisingly the vibrations on releasing the accelerator disappeared next day morning when I checked the car. The exhaust note was also restored to normal. Still, I have taken the car to Skoda workshop. They have taken a trial run and found nothing abnormal. The have also lifted the car, opened the engine protector covering at the bottom and made sure that the engine mounting is properly tightened.

I have returned from the workshop since everything appeared normal. However subsequently I noticed something. I found that the ‘turbo whoosh’ from the TSI engine which was prominent earlier is now barely audible to me. Before that ‘pothole’ incident, the car always produced that sweet turbo whoosh whenever the throttle input was given and it was fairly continuous and consistent. I really enjoyed the ‘turbo whoosh’ especially when the ambient noise was minimal (low traffic, deserted highways, night times). The ‘turbo whoosh’ sounded like poetry to me and was one of the major reasons making the drives with the car very special and gratifying.

I have noticed that the ‘turbo whoosh’ is still there, but it is masked by a pulsating sound from the car, the pulsating sound is produced at a lower frequency at low speeds and its frequency increases when the speed builds up. It appeared to me that the pulsating noise is actually creating a background noise which is probably masking the ‘turbo whoosh’. Nothing abnormal is heard from the engine on accelerating in ‘P’ mode. The pulsating noise is heard only when on the move. Now I doubt whether something has gone wrong with the balancing or alignment of the wheels with the impact from the pothole.

The car has no issues with performance and it gives that extremely rapid acceleration any moment I need. The pulsating noise is not annoying or loud, it is very feeble, however it masks the ‘turbo whoosh’. I am really upset with the ‘turbo whoosh’ kind of vanishing from my drives. I feel really desperate to have the engine note restored back to normal.

Would going for a wheel balancing and alignment can help? Or could this be related to something else? Requesting fellow BHP’ians for your valuable feedback/advise on this.

[Timothy]

Just sharing my experience with the Skoda Varta battery for everyone's benefit.
I have a 1.8 TSI L&K skoda Octavia bought in Jan 2020 which had a Varta battery installed with a manufacture date of August 2019. Contrary to popular reporting that the car battery dies all of a sudden with no warning, I could sense a couple of days before it died that there was something wrong with the battery as it was taking just that fraction of a second longer while starting.

I had to leave for Europe for a Buss. trip and my wife who drives the car mostly informed me that the car wouldn't start the next morning and that the brake pedal had locked and become very hard. So I asked her to call Skoda assist who came and jump started the car and she took it to work the following day and returned back but the next day the car wouldn't start again
So told her that I would attend to it on my return which I did.... So called the Skoda assist guys again who came and jump started the car and I took it for a longish drive and towards the end left it at the Brite Skoda workshop. Next day got a call from them saying that the car is not starting and that some of the cells in the battery were dead and it needed replacing. Surprising the car battery is not plug and play and is actually tuned / mated to the engine (at least that's what the Skoda workshop guys told me) as I asked them on the high labour charge of Rs. 1200/- just for replacing the battery.
Exide and Amaron are available in 70 & 74 ah respectively (or the other way around) , which I was told by Skoda guys is really not an issue in using, but the warranty for the cars electronics becomes invalid as the battery details is first thing that Skoda asks for in case of any warranty claims. I still had over 2.5 years on the warranty period. So replaced it with a Varta battery which had a sticker pasted saying "received in March 2023" over the manufacturing date which could be 6 months older possibly. I got the replacement done in early May 2023 so the battery lasted for almost 3.5 years. Total expense involved Rs. 14,500/- & the old battery was taken away by a battery dealer for Rs. 1300/- as the Co. does not take back the old battery. Hope this info helps others. The pic. posted is of the old battery.
On another note off late I have started noticing some scrapping sound when going over speed breakers. On looking under the car, noticed that the plastic under belly protection seems to have come down slightly from the right side, (which seems to be very surprising as my wife mostly drives and she is handles the car literally with kids glove:-). ) This maybe be the culprit. Will take it to the workshop this week, hope they will be able to fix the existing one and not ask me to fork out for a new one...

[itwasntme]

Originally Posted by Timothy

Surprising the car battery is not plug and play and is actually tuned / mated to the engine (at least that's what the Skoda workshop guys told me) as I asked them on the high labour charge of Rs. 1200/- just for replacing the battery.

With so much warranty left you did the right thing by sticking to the OEM Varta through Skoda Service. However, just to clarify, the old gen Octavia does not need any coding or calibration during battery replacement. It’s a simple plug and play change, and you need to drive a short distance to erase all MID errors.

I myself have done it twice in my 1.8 by replacing to an Exide battery for a net outflow of 6K each time.

[Jaygojer]

Plan on getting either a BMC or K&N filter for my 9 year old 1.8TSI.
Has anyone used either of these and does it help?
Does a change of air filter have issues with Skoda on warranty related issues given that I’m on their service plan?

[Timothy]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

However, just to clarify, the old gen Octavia does not need any coding or calibration during battery replacement. It’s a simple plug and play change, and you need to drive a short distance to erase all MID errors.

I myself have done it twice in my 1.8 by replacing to an Exide battery for a net outflow of 6K each time.

Thanks for reconfirming about the new battery not required any coding. I actually did contest this point with the service adviser & they had then reduced the labour charge to Rs. 500/- from the earlier charge of Rs. 1200/-. So they had finally charged me Rs. 13.8 K for the new Varta battery.