Cars hate me

[JamezF]

I have an Octavia, 54 plate, 259,000 miles. Used mainly as a bee car now. I had a similar problem years ago with a rear door. It was sorted by local garage without removing the rear door panel. I'm not sure how, but a lot of the central locking control is in the drivers door. Corrosion is a problem with the multipin connector in that area. Only problem with EGR was a leaky air pipe, easily fixed.
https://www.briskoda.net/ is a good forum for Skoda. Good luck.

54 plate would be a Mark 3 I think? Ours is a Mark 2. Impressed that it has done such a high milage though. There are some models that seem particularly prone to problems as far as I can tell. Ours has been particularly bad since Skoda did a recall to reprogramme the ECU in the light of the events of the VW emissions scandal. It's also a problem that we don't really do very many long journeys any more. Our local mechanic showed me a photo of the throttle body before he cleaned it a few months back. It was probably reduced to about a third of its diameter by being caked in soot that re-enters the airflow via the EGR valve.

I'm told that welding the door closed, "Dukes of Hazzard" stylee would not be a problem MOT wise, so that's my last resort Not sure how my wife will feel about sliding across the bonnet and climbing in through the window though.

I've tried all the tricks that have been suggested with revving the engine whilst unlocking the doors, bumpy roads etc. etc. My gut feeling is that a linkage has come loose or broken, so I need to get inside to find out. The door card looks like it has four retaining screws, two under the handle to pull the door closed and two at the bottom where they may be obstructed by the sill. If I can get them out then it allegedly just lifts up and off. If I can't get to the screws then I'll probably just introduce the door card to my Dremel, and perhaps I'll replace it afterwards if it bothers me that much.

James