Fabia Recall

[newbie69]

George - is an oil change, even on a DSG box, and an ecu update really that risky? - genuine question as I am not a mechanic

 

I don't believe he is a mechanic either though... I remember something about working in car paint industry but I may be wrong.

Edited 9 May, 2014 by newbie69

[Gcj]

Maybe I am too trusting but when last I spoke to the Technician at my local Skoda dealer, I asked him a very tricky question to check his detailed knowledge of the Fabian VRS - he passed with flying colours.

The question? How much oil does the VRS need for a service

Answer - 3.6 litres

This I took as a sure sign that he knew what he was talking about

[Gcj]

Newbie 69 I think you may have got the wrong trousers

[Rooted]

I served my time as a Motor Mechanic, before becoming a Panel Beater, but that was a long time ago,

when Mechanics were Motor Vehicle Engineers, and trained as such.

[newbie69]

That's what I remembered. Didn't imply anything good or bad about it.

Edited 9 May, 2014 by newbie69

[Rooted]

Its not a good thing, but i did have some very good people training me that knew their stuff back then, and some even today.

 

VW/Skoda are trying to get this done without too much adverse Publicity, 

just let it go as something of no great concern, which is correct.

 

So if they were less secretive, they will get less Online Hassle.   Just Announce a Service Campaign.  List the Vehicles it Concerns,

Simples.

[newbie69]

I agree, but that's a reason not to go Skoda/VW in my next purchase, not try my luck with my current car and get in even more trouble sorting out a potential failure caused by deliberately ignoring  this recall, that's the way I see it at least.

Edited 9 May, 2014 by newbie69

[Rooted]

Nobody would ignore a 'Recall' surely.

 

So lets see if 'Skoda/VW' do a sort of 'Call in' of cars type 'Recall'.

by telling owners of the cars that are not visiting their Main Dealerships.

 

A few adverts and Press Releases to the Editors, & then the Public will know.

 

'If only everything in life was as reliable as a Golf',  

or

VW/Skoda were as open and honest as Toyota had to become.

[sharkrider]

I have to disagree sharky. Unless someone really has the theoretical background to decide, based on scientific facts, if this recall is or is not important for his car, why take his chances by ignoring it even though it will carried out at 0 cost for him? I just don't understand it. The DSG is a rather complex mechatronic unit which I believe has to be treated with care as most mechatronic systems anyway, it's not just nuts and bolts imho. I would suppose there's only a few people aware of how these systems exactly work, what are their sensitivities etc. even at a dealership, that could say responsibly how serious it is or it isn'. And "precautionary" would be serious enough for me to give them a call If I hadn't found out already.

 

Sure, if it breaks down due to this fault and you hadn't been notified by Skoda you could have a case. The question is, do you really have all the time that will be needed to get towed in, argue with Skoda, prove it's not your fault, find a replacement car, wait for the repair, then wait some more, then finally get your car back, all because you felt angry they didn't contact you and decided you wouldn't either as a payback for their bad aftersales service? I think that's one of the main reasons why we hang around in forums in the first place, to be always up to date with how cars are doing.

 

Also, all cars run fine before they show up a fault/warning light/ or start behaving strange right? What does that tell us? 

 

Of course, anybody decides on his own what he does with his car.

All good points, and I tend to agree with you .... BUT having done 62k in these cars (2 of them) and read all the problems on here , it seems you either have a good box or a bad one... and the ones that have been opened and messed with have generally never been right! its a case of trusting some monkey isn't going to mess up this very complex piece of engineering!

 

Thats my only issue. HOWEVER as Gcj says (assuming he uses my dealership, he lives nearby) the techs there are pretty good, (sales are awful) and the techs generally know what they are doing, even down to how mods effect the cars (remaps and misfires ect) so... assuming I could get one guy I know quite well in their garage to work on it, I WOULD let them do the upgrade, as like I said, in theory I agree with your reasons ... I just dont want my car ruined!

 

Shark.

[Big Sheep]

See earlier posts re electrolyte build up in synthetic oil causing shorting resulting in loss of power

 

This may be a coincidence and unrelated, but yesterday my vRS suffered a momentary loss of power. This is the first DSG glitch I have had since owning the car (61 plate). I was exiting a roundabout in auto mode (D) and put my foot down to accelerate away expecting kick down but got nothing, and I mean nothing. It was like it suddenly found neutral which was scary because the car behind got very close and must of wondered why I was slowing down with a clear road ahead. Fortunately it regained power after a second or two and I was away. Has anyone else ever had anything happen like this?

[the mad monk]

i reverse off my drive and a few times ive selected d and nothing happens for a few seconds but could be diff to you as im stationary at the time, i put it down to ecu booting up, maybe it runs windows

[Gcj]

Shark rider - I agree with you 100% - the local dealer has good techs ( but the worst sales I have ever ever experienced)

I would be very nervous if I didn't trust them and can absolutely understand your reluctance - I was very tempted to just ignore the issue but as the car is going in in 2 weeks time I have decided to go for it.

Peace of mind? - not sure as car (touch wood) gas been absolutely faultless and uses not a drop of oil - so don't really want the DSG touched, but when I hear stories like Big Sheep above perhaps it is best to just get it done.

[Big Sheep]

i reverse off my drive and a few times ive selected d and nothing happens for a few seconds but could be diff to you as im stationary at the time, i put it down to ecu booting up, maybe it runs windows

 

No, completely different. I was already travelling at a moderate speed (40 mph?) and the car was fully up to temperature. It is alarming when you suddenly have no power when negociating other traffic at speed.

[MillsyVRS]

is an oil change, even on a DSG box, and an ecu update really that risky? - genuine question as I am not a mechanic

From the diagrams I've seen and what the dealer said to me, was that the box is sealed and wouldn't be opened, but they have to suck the oil out of the complex box with a very simple squeezy plastic bottle, and then I'd imagine, do the reverse in a similar fashion.

I'm also no mechanic, but IMO it doesn't seem particularly risky. If I ignored it and had faults further down the line, I can't imagine Skoda would pay for the repairs to happily. At least if goes wrong once it's been done I might have a leg to stand on. I love the gearbox, and as the dealer said, 'we'd rather do this fix than have to possibly change your whole gearbox later on'.

For all I know the car would probably go on and on long before anything happened because of the current oil in the gearbox, if anything happened at all! But I'll let them do what they think is best.

[Rooted]

http://skoda.co.nz/news/dsg-service-campaign

 

4 Hours required in New Zealand for the Service Campaign,

only 1 1/2 hours in the UK,

(But maybe NZ is Car Service and DSG & UK is an additional time over and above the Service)

so is it different Quick Fix or preventative measures, we will see.

 

But obviously they will have to Contact those that are not having cars Serviced at Skoda Main Dealers,

& not Expect Owners to pay for a Service at a Skoda Dealer while they rectify Design or manufacturing faults.

Their concern being "safety and satisfaction."

 

No reason other than if they think they can get away without doing it,

that the DSG's do not get a 100,000 mile Warranty

like they had to in Other World Regions.

[Gcj]

There is a cynical theory in the car industry that manufacturers actually deliberately employ recalls as a method of:

A/ re-establishing contact with customers

B/ enabling sales people to 'have a conversation' with the customer

C/ enabling the service desk to either confirm or re-establish contact with the customer

If memory serves me correctly I believe Nissan were one of the first manufacturers to admit that there is a correlation between non safety recalls and increased sales a few months down the line.

Not sure this applies to all Recalls - certainly not the safety critical ones - and don't think it applies here

In fact I am not sure I believe it even a little bit.........

[Rooted]

There is no Recall here though is there?  

Just a 'Service Campaign',  which so far seems to be People that are going for a Service going to get a DSG Update.

 

Thats what i am on about.

With 1,800 vRS out of Original Warranty in the UK, 

and some with Owners not going to Skoda Dealers for a Service,  Skoda UK will need to contact Registered Keepers,

 

& offer the DSG Service Campaign without Owners paying for a car being Serviced

if they do not want a Service done at a Skoda Dealership.

 

So if Skoda NZ are concerned about Customer Safety & Satisfaction,

Skoda UK surely must be as well.

[vrskeith]

What are VW doing, any recall on Polo GTI's  or Seat yet?

[vulgatrendkill]

No, completely different. I was already travelling at a moderate speed (40 mph?) and the car was fully up to temperature. It is alarming when you suddenly have no power when negociating other traffic at speed.

 

 

I`ve had many instances whn attempting to pull away at a roundabout from a standing position, after warming up the engine etc.  usually in D1.  Also happens in heavy start stop traffic and reversing also.  A week ago my car got stuck in 3rd. Put my foot down and it just revved its nuts off. I had to shift it to manual and back again to clear it!

Edited 9 May, 2014 by vulgatrendkill

[Rooted]

VW info

http://volkswagen.co.uk/need-help/owners/recall-info

 

http://facebook.com/DSGUkGroup

[vrskeith]

Cheers George but that was an old notification with no end date. Or update of status.

 

Why haven't they(VW) ,Skoda and Seat, issued on each of their websites a similar note current for CUSTOMERS.

 

Vin Nos affected or whatever manufacturing period that applies?

[vrskeith]

Haven't VAG got to act responsibly,  by tracing all owner affected via Registration / V5 at the DVLA .

[Rooted]

SEAT CEO on SKY

 

http://news.sky.com/story/1168639/vw-recalls-2.6m-cars-worldwide-over-faults

[Big Sheep]

I`ve had many instances whn attempting to pull away at a roundabout from a standing position, after warming up the engine etc.  usually in D1.  Also happens in heavy start stop traffic and reversing also.  A week ago my car got stuck in 3rd. Put my foot down and it just revved its nuts off. I had to shift it to manual and back again to clear it!

Again, this is not the same and sounds like the well-documented DSG hesitation problem, which has never afflicted my car. A momentary loss of power whilst accelerating from 40 mph is different. As I say, it has only happened to me once.

[vrskeith]

Again, this is not the same and sounds like the well-documented DSG hesitation problem, which has never afflicted my car. A momentary loss of power whilst accelerating from 40 mph is different. As I say, it has only happened to me once.

Have you logged this malfunction issue with Skoda UK .