22-01-2012, 05:08 PM
Right, the dials are a bit more of a problem than I thought. Basically, this is a really common problem on the mk1 Octavia, the soldering on the circuit board for the dials is really poor quality and degrades over time. It starts with the temp and fuel gauges failing, then it's the speedo and tacho 
So normally, you can just get a new cluster, right? Wrong. The immobiliser is part of the instrument cluster, and is coded to the car, and it costs around £300 to get a new one coded, plus the £100 for a second-hand cluster :o
My options are:
1. Get a new cluster fitted and coded by Skoda - £700
2. Get a used cluster re-coded and fit it myself - £400
3. Send the existing cluster off to get repaired by an online specialist I found - £200 and the car is unusable for a week because it won't run without the cluster
4 Try find an electronics expert to re-solder the dodgy connections - £???
Anyone know someone that could do the job? I was told to check for this problem when I went to look at the car, but it was fine, looks like I've just been unlucky. It's not bad for now, the fuel light and temp warning light still work, but when the speedo dies it's a different story...
F**king VAG :roll:
So normally, you can just get a new cluster, right? Wrong. The immobiliser is part of the instrument cluster, and is coded to the car, and it costs around £300 to get a new one coded, plus the £100 for a second-hand cluster :o
My options are:
1. Get a new cluster fitted and coded by Skoda - £700
2. Get a used cluster re-coded and fit it myself - £400
3. Send the existing cluster off to get repaired by an online specialist I found - £200 and the car is unusable for a week because it won't run without the cluster
4 Try find an electronics expert to re-solder the dodgy connections - £???
Anyone know someone that could do the job? I was told to check for this problem when I went to look at the car, but it was fine, looks like I've just been unlucky. It's not bad for now, the fuel light and temp warning light still work, but when the speedo dies it's a different story...
F**king VAG :roll:
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