OCTAVIA III Owners discussion thread

[Gerrycan]

How many ks do you guys have on your cars now? I'm about to take ours back for the 2k checkup the dealer offered for free

6600 km to date.
Problems (nothing major but):
A hesitancy/stutter experienced during first few hundred metres after initial cold start of day. A rattle on overrun is becoming apparent during this phase as well, during in-gear overrun (waste-gate or PCV?)
A faint falling whistle tone is heard during overrun again when in gear below 2000rpm (reminiscent of whistling falling bomb sound heard in war films)
A relatively new (10 days or so) B-pillar proximity buzz at 2000 rpm during in-gear overrun during warm up phase that disappears when engine gets to operating temperature.

Comments:
Other than the above issues the car is going well.
First to Second gear change is now normal and has lost the notchiness experienced when new.
Steady state driving fuel consumption is unchanged so no evidence of improvement from running in. Consumption is still very good but more recent use of A/C has indicated it has a particularly negative effect in urban use as opposed to highway cruising.
IT is definitely more affected by cross-winds than my old Mk2. Stands to reason as it is much lighter and I have a suspicion that it generates a little more 'lift' at speed than the Mk2 did. Still heaps better than most other cars I have driven though.

It is a nimble thing and I can easily make gaps in traffic I would not have contemplated before with the diesel.
The extra rear passenger and boot space is just exceptional for the size of vehicle.

[GTR27]

The only issue I have so far is the rest washer leaking under hard acceleration. No squeaks or rattles so far. Gearbox improving a lot since new. Economy steadily improving. Had the worst tank so far for economy (all stop start, traffic, idling, short trips etc) and it was 7.6l/100 for a 34kph average. Pretty much no highway at all. For a car that always has 2 adults, 2 kids and ac on mid to high, I reckon that's outstanding. For reference, or 1.3l Honda jazz (manual) gets 6.8-7l/100 in the same conditions. Overall we are very chuffed with the car. The only two things I think could be improved is the suspension damping (specifically rebound damping needs stiffening up) and I'm not a fan of the anti stall thing the car does at low revs/low throttle. I'd sooner it stall than ignore my throttle inputs and slowly creep away. I am adjusting to it so it happens less, but occasionally get caught out by it.

Otherwise, we are very happy campers. Car hadn't appeared to use any oil either yet which is great news!

[daMama]

Just curious on how well, if at all, the windscreen cuts out uv burn?
I'm dying in the lancer and I've read that Euro cars tend to have some built in film? Or something to deflect uv rays....

[GTR27]

I remember reading specs on briskoda, and due to lamination, it's something like 94+% UV protection.

Remember though, all the glass on the car is thin as a butter scraping (for weight).

The heavily metallised tint I put on made wonderful differences to the heat in the car. I can also confirm the sun roof glass is made from magical glass, hardly any heat transmitted through the glass.

[mazstar1980]

6600 km to date.
Problems (nothing major but):
A hesitancy/stutter experienced during first few hundred metres after initial cold start of day. A rattle on overrun is becoming apparent during this phase as well, during in-gear overrun (waste-gate or PCV?)
A faint falling whistle tone is heard during overrun again when in gear below 2000rpm (reminiscent of whistling falling bomb sound heard in war films)
A relatively new (10 days or so) B-pillar proximity buzz at 2000 rpm during in-gear overrun during warm up phase that disappears when engine gets to operating temperature.

Comments:
Other than the above issues the car is going well.
First to Second gear change is now normal and has lost the notchiness experienced when new.
Steady state driving fuel consumption is unchanged so no evidence of improvement from running in. Consumption is still very good but more recent use of A/C has indicated it has a particularly negative effect in urban use as opposed to highway cruising.
IT is definitely more affected by cross-winds than my old Mk2. Stands to reason as it is much lighter and I have a suspicion that it generates a little more 'lift' at speed than the Mk2 did. Still heaps better than most other cars I have driven though.

It is a nimble thing and I can easily make gaps in traffic I would not have contemplated before with the diesel.
The extra rear passenger and boot space is just exceptional for the size of vehicle.

Pardon my ignorance but What is overrun?

I thought I heard a slight bearing or belt noise like whirring whining type while standing outside the car at start up. My partner drove off so couldn't investigate it, hadn't heard it before. Will try to investigate further. That's not normal on a DI engine is it, I know they sound quite tappety almost diesel like at start up. I also noticed a whirring sound from inside before only at start up lasts for few seconds assumed it was A/C activating but it doesn't do it once warmed even if re-started.

[PassatB6]

The only issue I have so far is the rest washer leaking under hard acceleration. No squeaks or rattles so far. Gearbox improving a lot since new. Economy steadily improving. Had the worst tank so far for economy (all stop start, traffic, idling, short trips etc) and it was 7.6l/100 for a 34kph average. Pretty much no highway at all. For a car that always has 2 adults, 2 kids and ac on mid to high, I reckon that's outstanding. For reference, or 1.3l Honda jazz (manual) gets 6.8-7l/100 in the same conditions. Overall we are very chuffed with the car. The only two things I think could be improved is the suspension damping (specifically rebound damping needs stiffening up) and I'm not a fan of the anti stall thing the car does at low revs/low throttle. I'd sooner it stall than ignore my throttle inputs and slowly creep away. I am adjusting to it so it happens less, but occasionally get caught out by it.

Otherwise, we are very happy campers. Car hadn't appeared to use any oil either yet which is great news!

11,000 Ks for mine now. No issues. No rattles or squeaks. The 1.4 is so quiet I got out of the car while it was running bc I couldn't hear the motor LOL. 6.7l/100km average with a lot of city driving. Only regret - not having climate control. Otherwise happy camper.

[GTR27]

Yeah it is a very quiet engine. I've sat at lights before and had to look at the tacho to make sure the car is still running!

[Gerrycan]

Pardon my ignorance but What is overrun?

.

I use the term in the context of when the engine continues to run by its own momentum or by the momentum of the car when you are using the gearbox to decelerate.
I Googled it and came up with this:
When the throttle is abruptly closed the engine generates more vacuum than under normal conditions (such as idle and light cruising). This condition is known as overrun.

[Gerrycan]

11,000 Ks for mine now. No issues. No rattles or squeaks. The 1.4 is so quiet I got out of the car while it was running bc I couldn't hear the motor LOL. 6.7l/100km average with a lot of city driving. Only regret - not having climate control. Otherwise happy camper.

It IS very quiet, but for goodness sake do open the bonnet while the engine is running, the fuel injection sounds like a sack of nuts and bolts being rattled around.
It is like seeing how hard a swan is actually paddling underneath while on the surface retaining serene composure. Spoils the illusion somewhat

[Gerrycan]

Yeah it is a very quiet engine. I've sat at lights before and had to look at the tacho to make sure the car is still running!

I'm surprised you would notice anyway, as you are probably running your Canton system for all it's worth ('cos it's all about that Bass).

[GTR27]

Got young kids, rarely get to pump it. It doesn't have that much bass anyway, it's only a 6.5" sub. It's just lots more balanced than the stock system.

Edit: I guess it depends on what your definition of lots of bass is though. My home theatre has lots more!

[99Reza]

6.5inch only? I would have thought at least 8 inch.

[parisfrance]

Here is a picture someone posted on Briskoda of the Canton subwoofer. You can see that both the membrane and magnet are tiny, hence it will never be able to replicate the bass notes of a decent home stereo or custom car installation. But then for the price I don't think we should grizzle. My current car's after market stereo cost me $6k and while I have been very happy with it, it is a lot of money that I won't be getting back when I sell the car in a couple of months.

[GTR27]

That picture makes it look like it's dual voice coil. Don't get me wrong, it's not a pinch on a good aftermarket setup, but it's a lot better than the standard setup. If you can install everything yourself, and fab a custom box yourself, then you could spend 600 and get something better. But for most people, the 600 is well spent

[K4neX]

Just over 5600k's, going to to leave the car with the dealer next Tuesday to fix the vibration + noise from the air-con.

Got a call from the dealer and was told that the air-con compressor was causing the vibration and noise, a new one has been ordered.