I think I have a bought problem ....

[Zenbasses]

So I know a lot of this has (possibly) been covered before but I can find no ref to this particular problems.

So 16 days into new ownership and Huston we have a major issue.

2 days ago I was reversing out of my drive when suddenly I lost all power too..well.. everything..no dash lights, no ICE, no engine.

I turned the car off, moved the key to first click and the ICE and blowers etc all came on..turned to ignition ... absolutely nothing not even a click. So I locked the car got back in and the same happened..No life ...I then jiggeled the steering wheel and it burst into life...very strange ..I could not replicate this again..until yesterday

Reversed out my drive ..to the end of road and it conked out..everything electrical just went hard down..and then 2 seconds later burst into life..I cautiously carried on and for 15mins all was well when at 40mph in 4th it went again..more disconcerting is the facrt that steering went ...great..use the brakes...ermm.no ...and then it burst back into life..after 1hr of A and B road driving it replicated this 8 times .

Once stationary at a set of traffic lights about to set off

Quite a few on the move

And then when I was pulling into the drive I use clutch control but have to apply a small bit of throttle to get it over the hump.At that point I was feathering the accelerator and clutch...I replicated this time and time again.

Just for the record when I say it burst back into life..when at 40mph the engine was still running when it decided to come back to life but when at 10mph crawling or at standstill I loose the engine totally and have to restart....

Just been out now as I didn't use it for work today and its once again fine.

When it dies just literally has nothing , no warning lights.

However the MFD stays on and is now displaying a message if 'check your dead locks' ??? On ignition and turning off.

I've done some searching and it could be a number of different things

Solenoid's

Relays

Duff battery

Locks

Immobiliser

Ignition switch

Loose connection

Short

Grounding to earth

I am no expert...

The list is endless.

It's a 140bhp Elegance Estate on a 12 plate with a six speed manual...done 32k and on the face of it looks in mint condition.

I have a 30 day return to base warranty which I am using as it getting thrown back at them on Sat...

Buggers even told me to arrange my own low loader if I didn't want to drive it down...no arrangements made for what is potentially an accident waiting to happen.

In dont know if it has one but could a clutch sensor create these symptoms??.

Worrying as if its comes back with the 'cant find a fault' scenario then I will be asking for assurance that if it returns they will have a look..if they cannot offer me that then unfortunately, even though I love it .. I will be invoking my right to a full refund within 30 days ...

Heartbreaking but I am not living with a problem child and a potentially lethal one ..dread to think if it actually failed on the motorway only to find no brakes , steering and then the hazards don't work either ....

Any thoughts?

Edited 16 June, 2016 by Zenbasses

[Rustynuts]

Ignition switch at a guess. But a scan for fault codes would probably be a good idea.

[Zenbasses]

I am hoping it throws back an error that's points to a fault ..rather than a generic 'loss of electrics'

Edited 16 June, 2016 by Zenbasses

[Rustynuts]

Do you have anything hanging on your key when driving? We had a similar issue which only affected the car when the wife was driving. Reason being, my key is just the key, while her's is the key, the house keys, three keyrings, a shopping trolley token keyring, a cuddly toy... Essentially about half a kilo of unnecessary weight dangling on the key which was affecting the switch.

[Zenbasses]

I just have key on a Caribbean clip with the rest of my keys and take the key off when I am driving. ..I can't do with dangling and rattling keys ...hehe..but that's doesn't rule out the previous owner...who may very well have had a anvil as a key ring ...

Edited 16 June, 2016 by Zenbasses

[numskull]

I presume you've bought it from a Skoda dealer? If so, I'd just get it back, get them to give you a courtesy car and let them sort it out. Definitely sounds like the ignition lock, but their dio system will throw up the associated fault codes in any event. Bloody frightening though, with the loss of power brakes and steering; not nice at all.

[yesman]

I had exactly the same the other day and it turned out to be the starter motor, the car would start and then sometimes wouldn't, starter motor finally gave up and failed completely, doesn't throw up any fault lights or fault codes either, just a thought

Edited 17 June, 2016 by yesman

[Zenbasses]

It's now back at the garage...it's not a Skoda main dealers was bought from Direct Cars in Sheffield who, hats off to them have been brilliant.

It refused to start this morning but when rolling it only cut out a meet 6 times on the trip down.i refused to go on the motorway for safety reasons so had a rather spectacular trip across Peniston road.

If I am going to break down its better to do it at 30-40mph and at least I would have some great scenery to look at whilst waiting for the recovery truck..

I have now mastered to the art of recovery...if it dies them I jiggled the steering wheel it instantly came back up.which is interesting ...Mostly happens at low speeds and when pulling away from stationary, jiggling the wheel seemed to improve things..keep it straight and it would conk out ...

Due into the workshop first thing Monday morning so we shall see.

Edited 18 June, 2016 by Zenbasses

[Zenbasses]

Update from the Garage

The Body Control Module has failed and will need replacing along with a small ECU ..then it's off to a Skoda dealership to have both key and the BCM recoded

Garage has also said the error messages had been wiped / cleared suggesting before they took possession of the car it had a problem that was intermittent and was cleared before hand in order to hide a problem.

Total cost to them is £650+ time they have paid for parts , labour , low loader , pay Skoda etc etc

Best part is that he BCU come with 3 year manufacturers warranty..so kinda feel a bit better now...

Car should be ready to collect on Thursday ....all being well..really depends on if Skoda can fit it in the re code..

[Zenbasses]

So 09:30 and by rights I should be stuck on the M1 on Sat traffic coming home ..but no ..I am just at home.

The phone call on Friday was not what I have hoped..it's still at Skoda...update ..many many things had issues .

Skoda has now ordered the following..

Ignition Coil ... this was found to be faulty

Electric Steering Servo ....failed.

Clutch Sensor ...this was found to be faulty

And a few other 'bits and bobs' as Direct Cars put it ..

So I asked a direct question...why werent these found at the initial 100+ point check they carry out ? Why didn't their equipment find more faults ? Their answer was

"Our equipment is not as advanced as Skoda's "

My next question was ..."is this common, not been able to find ALL faults??""

Answer "Yes"

Next question "So why do you attempt to diagnose issues and fix them when you have told me your equipment is not up to the job??"

Answer "Silence"

Now I have no problem if a smaller independent garage does not have the budget to equip themselves out...so when it comes to large electrical faults they should just sub contract out ...not attempt to fix the issue...

I am lucky it was the BCM that went that required re-coding at Skoda or else these other faults would/could have been undetected until the car failed to start/steer or what ever.

I am no mechanic but I did ask if they had checked to see if any water could be entering somewhere and causing electrical components to fail?...we have had numerous electrical components fail on the bounce.to me that sounds like there is a root cause somewhere ..or am I just unlucky for them all to fail at once.???

At the moment no ETA for the fix will have to wait till Monday ...

With 30 days Warranty about to expire we will be having a conversation as at the moment I have lost confidence in a car I will run for at least 5years..

[WaveyDavey]

Is it still within a return period where you can just give it back?

If not I'd be asking to have some form of free extended warranty as you have lost confidence in the vehicle. Maybe mention going to the Star, Telegraph etc.... too.

Hope all gets sorted to your liking in the end.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited 25 June, 2016 by WaveyDavey

[Zenbasses]

The thing is I really like the car 

 

Here it is 

 

 

 

http://www.directcars.co.uk/usedcars/skoda/superb/p126828.htm

 

I had a quick look tonight without going silly and could not find a better value car, its got almost every option

 

I will be having a word though, I believe in these circumstances I would give a customer of mine at least a years RAC warranty for free..RAC is the company  they use. from them this i£275 http://www.directcars.co.uk/service/warranty/. The thing that concerns me is, in the small print of most warranties they won't cover you for existing issues, this is of a concern..

 

The thing is, the garage have been accommodation and haven't once quibbled about the cost the them, and have acted within the 2015 Consumer Rights Act, which technically covers me for a 6month refund in extreme cases's

 

I have to give them opportunity to put it right, their will be some clause's to this,

 

• 30 Return to Base Warranty with Money Back Guarantee to be reset..
• 1 years RAC cover included
• The right to an independent evaluation by a Skoda specialist/

My mind has been ticking along and someone did mention was it a victim of the recent floods in Yorkshire? and this is a valid point......I will be inspecting under the carpets and stuff when I get it back,.......

 

I'll await the phone call on Monday

Edited 25 June, 2016 by Zenbasses

[TheRobinK]

It's a very nice car, I can see why you went for it. You're being sensible with the clauses too. 

 

I think the main worry is that the car got a soaking and you have already said you will check that (all electrics and radio reception etc). Get all air fresheners, if any, out of the car. Run the heat on high and sit there see if you can smell any hint of moldy/mildewy air and do the same with the aircon. Pull the seat belts out all the way and look for staining at the far ends that you would not normally see. Get the spare out and check right down in the rear, underneath it - this is often a better place to check than the engine compartment as they are usually careful to clean that area up. 

 

(I checked all this with my car as the price was very attractive and I wanted to be sure it wasn't too attractive for the wrong reasons. Too many flooding events in the last few years in Ireland and in the UK).

Edited 25 June, 2016 by TheRobinK

[terrytowelling]

It seems strange otherwise that all those components are "faulty " at the same time

[giandougl]

Get your money back, don't put-up with a potential drop-dead car....

[Jamsco]

Had similar faults on a mondeo recently. Had just bought second hand of an independent. It was just before the recent law changes. Dealer tried everything including main dealer but still wouldn't fix. Eventually I refused to take it back of them and it took 3 months of 'discussion' before I got my money back. I really liked the car and so kept taking it back but have learnt the lesson now. If it won't fix it won't fix. Don't pro long it. Ask for your money back!

[Zenbasses]

So I have kept quiet for a week or so but it's time for the update/verdict ..

The car ultimately had £1045 spent on it

*New BCU +2 ECU's

*Clutch Sensor

*Ignition Coil

*Electronic Steering Servo

*Instrument cluster relay and

*New battery

I then took it to http://www.ivcleeds.co.uk for a full health check and they have come back with an answer . Luckily it's not water damage , they found no signs. What they have seen before is a duff battery that needs replacing and what often happens 2 over enthusiastic work guys have been trying to bring a car back to life with a power booster pack and someone turning the ignition.. repeatably trying to coax some life in it and basically over doing it ....this then puts strain on the physical connections and fuses and causes them to weaken thus causing intermittent faults as the connections start to fail.

They were impressed by the condition of the rest of the car and also pointed out a place on the inner wheel arch where a stone or something and knocked the paint off ..they sealed it (with clean nail varnish I reckon) and said get it touched up so it doesn't spread .. Direct Cars also agreed to sort this and are arranging a local guy to repair on my drive.

The car now feels totally different to steer you can really feel it tighten and loosen up..the engine actually has a turbo now..well it's more responsive and the gear change is slick.

Really happy and I got 2 years RAC warranty + 1 year Break Down Cover ...FOC..

Great result and well done Direct Cars

Now's time to put it to the back of my mind and start enjoying the car. We are going to Scotland in 2 weeks with the dogs and I can't wait ...

[Rustynuts]

Good stuff.

[TheRobinK]

Good news - hope all is well from now on. 

[WaveyDavey]

Great news glad you got it sorted. Hopefully get to see it in the flesh on one of the local meets.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[numskull]

Excellent end (fingers X) to what could've been a horror story from the "services" of a less professional retailer. Nice to hear a positive story!