j0hn

Oh Ar The reason I picked up the phone to write the above in the first place was to post about these Leyo Motorsport “PD” billet paddle shift extensions. I specifically chose the Leyo versions as they are attached with a screw, rather than being stuck on with 3M tape. I saw the clear Perspex ones at Ultimate Dubs and came very close to buying them (they were on offer) and I’m glad I didn’t because they wouldn’t have fit the Octavia. The Mk3/3.5 uses the same paddles that were fitted to the Mk5 (and possibly 6) Golf, so you’re limited in what you can get hold of. I would have loved the Perspex ones but unfortunately they’re not available. They’re not cheap and I don’t think I would have paid the full twist for them (£195 plus P&P from Awesome), but I bought these from a Greek firm And I recall they were close to £100 delivered. Unfortunately they don’t deliver outside the EU so I had them sent to a mate who has a place in Spain and was there when I ordered them. Unfortunately he came home the day they arrived, so I’ve had to wait until he went back this time for him to bring them home. They’re a bolt on job so it should be the work of a moment to fit them later.

It seems to be a while since I last wrote anything about the car, so… The OE window switch I bought failed, when the clips that hold it into the housing all broke. I ended up buying another switch from the same seller, which cost me £48 this time. I did bring the knackered switch to the attention of the seller, but IMO they were a bit evasive. He did tell me to send it back but then didn’t give me a return address and I wasn’t confident that anything positive would happen. What happened to original switch was the clips in the housing broke, which means that when you push down on the switch, it pushes the whole mechanism down and doesn’t activate the windows. £42 and then £48 for window switches was a bit annoying. In the heat in (June?), the sticky pads on the rear number plate failed and it fell off. Fortunately I knew where it had happened and a Facebook appeal in a local group helped it be recovered. Except by that point it had been driven over (probably by Mrs j0hn), but it was too late by then so it was replaced. I also was amazed that the boot swallowed two acoustic guitars in cases. I couldn’t fit that into the boot of my A6 Avant. Otherwise it’s been a bit dull. We moved house, which brought the insurance down about £70, which was nice. I took the car on a trip to the Elan Valley with some friends (plus C6 RS6, C7.5 S6, E30 M3, Clio III RS200) and the Skoda acquitted itself very well. I may take my Corrado next year but I enjoyed the comfort and the clever diff on the vRS. More recently I had a correction/enhancement detail of sorts and a G-Techniq ceramic coat. In the light there are still some swirls, possibly because the polish was not worked though its full cycle, but there we go. I finally got my 20VT converted Corrado back and obviously rushed out to take a photo… And lastly the MOT was due so I rang Marshall, as the All-In plan covers the tests. Well I say “rang Marshall” - I used the online booking system and never had a response. I didn’t bother ringing them, I left them a review as it’s the third time I have attempted to contact Marshall online and didn’t get a response. After my Google review was posted I was contacted almost immediately and the car booked in for test. What followed was a reminder call to tell me that the VAQ oil needed changing, the air con needed servicing and the brake fluid changing. I didn’t do the air con but I got a quote from an independent and the price was largely the same for the diff oil, so I thought it was worth a tick in the book at £278… Oh well

I ordered the Prestige mats from OEMVWShop - I’d ordered from them before and, despite being pretty slow to ship and feeling like they needed prompting, the stuff I ordered was cheap and turned up. The mats worked out to £45 ish and I ordered a set of wheel nut caps (haven’t got these to fit, but haven’t got the patience tonight), a toddler-size Skoda branded hi-vis and a collapsible shopping basket. I had to pay €15 shipping, €4 payment fee and €5 shipping insurance. Then 14 business days later (so getting on for three weeks), only when I asked was I told the basket was out of stock. Frustrating because when you buy fewer items and the shipping and other associated costs are distributed between those fewer items, you might have just gone to your local dealer. Anyway…. That looks a bit better Difficult to see a huge difference in the carpet but the edges are vinyl trimmed, rather than a woven edge which was starting to fray. I also gave the inside a vac and a spruce up with Autobead interior detailer I’ve ordered a Chineseium R600 intake mod kit from AliExpresa It was £50 which seems remarkably cheap for a turbo elbow and muffler delete, although while it’s under warranty I am reluctant to fit them and have the car mapped, although I’ll stick these in a box in my soon-to-garage. Give it a couple of years this might no longer be a daily…..

I washed the car at the weekend (used the Labocosmetica 2ph to see if it would breathe any life into the Diamondbrite "Ceramic" that, according to the sticker in window has been applied in the past*) It is very good stuff and the acid/alkali components really do make a difference to my eyes. I am moving soon and will have a garage big enough to work comfortably indoors so the first plan, once I'm in, is to do a full decontamination, check the paint for marks and swirls (looks good at the moment) and either use a sealant or put a proper ceramic coat on it. *I've always been sceptical about the likes of Diamondbrite and Supagard - ceramic or not. I think the week point is the way they are applied and whether it has been done correctly. I can't imagine that, even with proper maintenance, it would have lasted 6 years although saying that, the paint is in really good shape for a 2019 car. I have noticed, however, that the driver's side mat has seen better days... I've ordered some 'Prestige' mats from Europe which have worked out to about £45, or around half the price of the UK dealers. I may also treat myself/the car to some of the rubber mats with the red logos.

The bodywork is crackers - I did see this at UD 2025 but I didn't think to look at the back. Love the attention to detail with the submarine lights, door handle lights, etc.

I went, along with one time member Jonny5ive, to Ultimate Dubs this weekend (in the T6 and parked it in the 'Slammed Vans' display - even though it's not that slammed). We spoke to a few people as part of our broadcast endeavour, who lamented the loss of forum(s) activity and the switch to social media. I also spotted a few bits from one of the traders that I quite fancied on the Octavia. But do I replace the OE black mirror caps for carbon? I also liked the clear key tops from Leyo Motorsport and the clear paddle extensions. As the Mk3.5 seems to still use Mk5/6 shifter paddles, it would appear that these won't fit - which is a shame. I have also recently been reading about how tunable these MQB EA888 engines are - I can't believe that an airbox mod and a silicone pipe will get them north of 320 bhp with a map. When I think of what went in to my Mk2 to make 340 bhp and 500 Nm.... THS intercooler (Chinese APR clone if I remember correctly) BCS 3" turbo back exhaust with 5" 200 cel cat S3 injectors RS4 fuel pressure regulator Autotech high pressure fuel pump Revo induction kit Beach Buggy Turbos K03 hybrid (basically a K03 with a K04 compressore wheel) Custom tune I think that's it That must have been a couple of grand had I paid for much of it. When you think that you can get the turbo elbow, panel filter and the airbox mod parts for less than £200 or a proper R600 airbox for £500 plus the cost of a map, it's mad really. And finally - a sucker for a bit of carpet, I have been after a boot mat for a while. I would normally opt for rubber but as I have the T6, that does any kind of dirtier load duties (bikes, tip run, bla bla), so carpet would suffice. Especially when it's only 30 quid. I got it (new) from Deutscheparts and was £32 delivered, which I thought was pretty good. The one and only boot net doesn't make the cost list as I bought a couple of boot restraint parts for my A6, which seemed to be identical to the Superb and have requisitioned the net for the Octavia. In a couple of months I've managed to get the power folding mirrors and high beam assist, which were the main things I was after and missing from my A6. I am not sure how much I will do while the car is under the All In warranty. The airbox and map may follow, I would like to lower it and probably add a set of Porsche Macan 4-pots but that will probably be it. Famous last words. Costs this post Octavia boot carpet - £32.48 Total cost so far: £876.53

Amazon light switch = rubbish Sort of. I fitted it and it was backlit white, like a Golf. So that was no good. I also noticed that the rear window lock button wouldn’t light up when pressed. “Funny” I thought, “is it a duff switch?” So anyway, it being Amazon, you can just put stuff in an envelope and take it down the local shop and it goes back and before it’s even been picked up, they’ve sent the money back. So that’s £7.70 back in the bank but then we have the “what do we do to replace the switch?” conundrum. I found a genuine one, brand new in the box, from eBay. It also had an eBay March 2025 20% off discount code, so in the end it was £42 odd. Now after fitting it, I noticed that the rear window lock didn’t work… That sort of ties in with the new door modules I fitted last week and never even considered that it could be an issue. I did a bit of reading and thought the parameters were all going to have to be calculated and updated. After a short bit of experimental long coding fiddling in VCDS, it worked. Thanks be to god and his holy mother. Don’t ask me what I did l, all I know is it’s done. The other thing I did last week but never took a photo. Bonnet struts defo feel like the basic b1tch modification but it’s so much better than having to use the prop. These were also off Amazon and were about £20 Lastly I got a bit of carpet but I haven’t taken a picture of it yet so you’re not to know anything. Costs this post Window switch return: -£7.70 Proper brand new window switch: £42.39 (was >£52 before discount) Pair of bonnet struts: £22.02 Total cost so far: £844.05

Another Amazon purchase that arrived today I’ve not gone out of my way to find a chrome tipped switch, but the one in the car needed replacing as the passenger front window switch in that group has broken. I thought, after I’d taken the door card out and pressed the back of the switch back onto the body, that the problem was solved. But no - it’s still knackered. So I paid just under 8 quid for this and it has mainly positive reviews. costs this post Master window switch - £7.70 Total costs so far £787.34

Decided I didn’t like the fact that the puddle light didn’t fit right, so I took them out and refitted the originals along with Osram 501 LEDs. This time I did it properly so ran an output test with VCDS on the door modules to check both sides worked. The side that didn’t had a dirty connection, but contact cleaner has sorted that out. I’ve returned the Chinese Amazon units for a refund and the not-very-good numberplate holders. And finally. When your screenwash matches your paint… Costs this post Osram LED £7.92 Total costs so far £779.64

Did you fit it yet? The drilling was the easy bit - use the paper template to mark out the holes, pilot hole and then the 7mm hole. the fiddly bit was attaching the net to the second clamp and trying to keep the rod under tension, but wasn’t the worst thing I ever did.

End of Feb' update A few jobs ticked off that I wanted to get complete. I bought some power folding mirrors by searching for "Octavia breaking" on Facebook Marketplace and came across a guy from (I think) the Seat Skoda Breakers in Oldham. For £250 I got a pair of mirrors. 2 modules and a switch. Of course it didn't occur to me that there would be a difference between model years when it came to electrical connectors, etc. So this plug, did not fit into the C and E modules I was sent (E module supercedes the C module and they were fitted up to 2017). Not a problem, I did a bit of digging around for some 'local' to here (because at this point, I've got the car in bits and a day off and have to go back to work the following day) and drive to Milton Keynes (20 miles) for a pair of "K" revision modules listed as *592 and *593 (the part numbers for the modules that power fold the mirrors). Except when I get there, the bloke had listed them incorrectly and they were in fact 392/3 modules and no different to what I had. I stopped in Northampton on the way home and picked up a "p" revision module to try it, plugged it in and it made the mirror fold out when the car was locked and in when it was open and running. I'd read another thread on here about that very thing and saw it could be fixed with a pin swap. I bought a P module off eBay for about £16 - so now I am another £36 into it. After a bit of digging around in ETKA (which I did. but got a totally different result first time), I saw that 2018 to late 2019 cars had F modules (is anybody else bored with this yet?), found a pair on eBay for about £46 next day delivery. Put them in and the passenger mirror folded the opposite way to how it should, due to me swapping the pins but the driver's side didn't... Anyway, I've bored myself now so the short version is I did a powerfold retrofit for £250 which has ended up costing me about £330 and I've now got 3 pairs of door control modules I don't need. Before I put the mirrors in, I fitted some LED puddle lights to replace the filament lamps. However they're not very good. I don't know if they are designed differently for the Golf, than the Octavia, but these don't have the notch in the plastic that holds them in to the mirror housing, so they don't quite sit right. Having fitted the mirrors, only one of the lights is working, so it's possible the polarity is the wrong way round. Also, I didn't check the coding was correct for both modules and thought the red safety/exit light had stopped working, but it wasn't coded. What I should have done was run an output test when it was plugged in for the first time. Lesson learned. I will get some 501 LEDs and put them into the original units I think. It shouldn't be too difficult to swap them out without removing them from the car. I also refitted the number plate today as it was hanging off. Bloody Halfords charging £3.49 for sticky pads - I had no choice, as I didn't have the requisite screws to fit my number plate holders (I now know they're M6) and had to drive down the road with the rear plate in the window. I also bought a caramel wheel to remove the sticky pads - what a waste of time that was. I've either done something wrong, or they are useless as all it does is spread the adhesive out. In the end I used the Auto Finesse ObliTARate (as good as Tardis, but it's a gel so it sticks) to get all of the goo off. I was also looking for a few bits to fill the gaps that Skoda leave for various accessories. I bought the proper under-seat umbrella from Vinted of all places, and a proper warning triangle and hi-vis vests from OEM VW Shop (along with some merch). The other thing I bought, and had wanted since I had a Mk2, was an under-the-parcel shelf net. OEM VW Shop was really cheap for this sort of thing. It feels like the despatch and shipping speed is about the same as glacial formation, but you can't knock the price - the parcel shelf net was about 8 quid. I'd seen them elsewhere for north of £30. The triangle was £4 and the hi-vis vests to go under the driver's seats were a couple of quid. Had I realised that the parcel shelf net involved drilling holes in the parcel shelf and generally being a d1ck to fit, I probably wouldn't have bothered, but anyway... I was taking a picture of the tailgate struts on my T6 to get the part numbers and took an accidental pic of the car Lastly, the AliExpress Porsche fuel cap is rubbish, so it's got to go.... Costs this post: Power folding mirrors £260 delivered P Modules £36 F Modules £46 Parcel shelf net £6.92 Hi-Vis vests x2 £4.38 Warning triangle £3.74 Under seat umbrella £19.44 Number plate sticky pads £3.49 Total costs so far: £771.72

Bit of thread resurrection here as I have started this retrofit with mixed success. I bought a pair of door mirrors, modules and switches from a well-known Seat/Skoda breaker on Facebook, thinking I would get the ones taken off the car pictured. I think they came from a Golf because there are subtle differences between the mirrors and the modules weren't right at all. I have them in the car but they were *592/3 C modules and although they looked the same, the power connectors wouldn't fit at all. I then looked at lllparts.co.uk which is normally my go to, mostly because it has the most accessible form of ETKA I can find. The info I got there gave me a list which suggested that modules with revision codes F, K, N and P would be suitable. However, looking back on LLL less than 24 hours later.... The choice of module by revision is different - E, F and K being the right ones according to MY and would tally with @Langster's being a 2018 I went and bought a P module as it was the only one I could get and then bought a second P module online. After connecting it up, it did the same thing as @Jrhoop - folded the mirror out when locked and in when unlocked. I swapped the pins over and that was problem solved. However, I am still not convinced that it is the right thing to do, so have found a set of F revision modules which the parts catalogue would indicate were the right ones for the model year of my car (early 2019) and it looks like the K revision than Langster bought, is for a late 2019 > car (and wouldn't in theory work with a 230 model, as they're earlier cars, right?) So I'm hoping once I get the F modules in the post tomorrow, I can put these in on Friday. Everything seems to have coded up OK and the puddle light on the one which was fitted to the P module seems to work as well, so who knows?

Cheers Gaz, that sounds about right. Edit - confirmed by checking my last autoscan that is an 0GC DQ381. I did ring U18 to get it booked in and heard what I thought was 280 - I'm sure it would have been 381, but it is a 7 speed, so must be right. I also did ask "does that include a filter" and was told yes.... Which presumably means "no" 😀

First full tank of fuel through the car (approx - it still had 45 miles left, which was probably just over 1/8) and saw 265 miles with a theoretical total range of 310. Took 42 litres to fill which I worked out to be around 28 mpg. This will probably take a bit of getting used to again - my A6 was not great and the long term average over around 8k miles was only 34 mpg. Around town, 28 mpg was probably achievable (I still don't think it was right), so the difference is not significant other than the tank in the Octavia is probably the smallest I've seen in a long time (other than the mother's eHEV Jazz - but even that does 500+ miles on a 8 gallons) and 2/3 the size of the one in the Audi. The van has a 70 litre tank and does somewhere between 440 and 600 miles depending on the drive. I cancelled the DSG service because Skoda told me it wasn't due until 80k (I thought it was always 40k) and, as I have the All-In plan, I thought stuff it - if it goes wrong, they can bloody fix it. I have a list of things to do which include refitting the rear plate as the sticky pads have come loose, and fitting a couple of parts I've bought. Once upon a time I'd have had this straight down to the mapper to get some more power, but it's fast enough for me now. There is very little opportunity to exploit the power anyway, so I'd rather be able to drive this at 6/10 rather than 3/10 I would like a set of coilovers for it, but I have seen a few on 50mm springs and they look well, so that is an option.

Key bits number two turned up - this time in the form of a Tiguan key. As I believe that once they are coded, they are basically no use, I took the battery out, the shiny metal cap and the key pad and put it onto the Octavia key, then scrapped the rest. Not bad for a tenner - I know these key caps used to be around £11 from the VW dealers, but they seem to be obsolete unless you want one with 'GTE/I/D' or 'R' cast into it. If you can find them online, they're about 25 quid. Also, why does everything have to come in a great big, oversized box? Costs this post: £10 - Tiguan key for parts £5.99 - More key buttons (3 keys) Total costs so far: £391.75