PaulS

My 1.9 pdi diesel Octavia is on variable servicing. It had its first service at 19K and it second service at 38K. But now, at 46K, the maxidot display reckons it needs a service in 800 miles. Before I tackle the dealer, any ideas what could have gone wrong? The oil used at the last service (according to the invoice) was Mobil 5W-40 for which I was charged

My 1.9PDTDI has had services at 19K and 38K My MK1 Octy 1.9TDI had services at 24K, 48K and 72K. I wonder how variable the variable servicing is. But the PDI is going to need an extra service over 80K compared to the TDI :thumbdwn:

I didn't get them to buy Fords. Lets be clear - I have no problem whatsoever with a car breaking down - it is a complicated bit of kit. What i do expect for my

I can sympathise - having had electrical problems about 8 weeks into my Skoda Octavia II ownership. I had the same car hire problems - I was told that Skoda don't supply hire cars for 1) breakdowns at home or 2) breakdowns at a weekend or 3) until the dealer provides a definitive diagnosis of the problem. My fault was eventually traced to a faulty break pedal switch. And the same part failed iagain about 3 months later - again at home, again at a weekend and therefore (again) unable to get a hire car. But, if anyone at Skoda is reading this - I am having the last laugh. So far I have put two of my clients off from buying a Skoda - I wouldn't wish a Skoda on my worst enemy, let alone a client. One went to a 12 month old X type and the other to a new Mondeo. Maybe the person who manages Skoda Customer disservices is on the payroll at Ford???

The 1,200 mile warning has come up on my Octy 2 1.9pd tdi at 17,500 miles. My Octy 1 110 tdi had services at 25,000 and 50,000 and 75,000. I don't think my driving has changed radically between the two cars and I still do the same type of journeys. Have VAG realised that they and their dealers were missing a trick and reduced the service intervals?? Paul

Can we just get Ford to work on producing radios that work properly - before distracting them with fancy things like steering wheel controls

It is something specific to the Skoda electrics. My car initially had non Skoda electrics and the maxidot didn't work with my trailor board. But after I had loads of electrical problems, the towbar electrics were swapped for Skoda ones - and, hey, the maxidot starts to warn of problems. Which, given the state of my trailor board, is quite often! So, Skoda don't do their own towbar and use a VW one? That will be why they are so expensive then. Doesn't explain why mine still has a Skoda logo on the tow ball cap though.

My new Occy 1.9tdi needed a top up at about 6,000 miles when the oil light came on. My old Occy with the same engine also needed a few top ups in the early days before settling down to virtually zero oil consumption. Don't think you have anything to worry about.

Patrick, Which Brodit bracket have you got there? Looks just the job. Paul

Just to finish this off - the fault was traced to the brake pedal switch. All OK now.

Update: The towbar electrics have been discounted as the source of the problem. They were rewired yesterday so that the control box only activated with the ignition switch. Despite that, the brake lights still came on last night, wouldn't go off this morning and the battery was dead. When the AA man followed me to the dealer this morning, he noted that everytime I went round a right hand bend the brake lights flickered. So, car is back at the dealers - faulty pedal switch, faulty ECU/cruise control, dodgey wiring in the steering wheel column are the latest guesses.

Update: It was Mike form the AA that turned up - he was so disgusted with the service I have had that he got on the phone to his manager, who authorised a hire car for me - even though I didn't qualify for one under Skodas rules beacuse I had broken down at home. In the event it wasn't needed because by the time I had got the car to the dealer, they had found a loan car for me. If only the process had run so smoothly on Saturday, this thread would never have started. So, I am now mobile - in an Octavia 1.9tdi Classic. It hasn't got air con, so I have probably guaranteed everyone some excellent hot weather over the next few days. The tow bar electrics have been discounted as the source of the problem - I'll post more about that on the Octavia 2 board.

Well the good news is that my request for a hire car was agreed yesterday - but while my dealer was trying to find a hire car to be delivered to me, stranded at home, they managed to fix the problem and the car was returned to me at noon 12.00 yesterday. According to Customer Services, my expectations were too high - eight weeks after spending

Thanks for your support guys. Daft thing is that, because I am so busy at work, rejecting a car is not really an option I want to pursue - I really don't have the time right now to be wandering around car showrooms. And if I reject, I'll have to pay for a hire car while I am organising a new one. Lummox - I still believe that Skoda are at fault - they are the ones that have left me stranded. They are the ones who have a policy that if one of their cars breaks down at home, a hire car will not be supplied by the AA on Replay Plus. They are the ones that have a policy that if one of their cars breaks down at a weekend, a hire car will not be authorised until Monday. I appreciate that intermittent electrical faults are a bugger to diagnose and I appreciate that demands on dealers loans cars are always high, so my gripes are not with the dealer, though I accept that is where the legal responsibility lies. I am happy to work with the dealer to sort the issues - but I need some wheels while that is happening - and Skodas rules won't provide one right now for me - or any other owner who happens to breakdown at home and/or on a weekend - and I regard that as a failure in Customer Service.

I am having the following electrical problems with my Octavia 1.9tdi Elegance - 1) the rear wash/wipe only works when it wants to. 2) the rear brakelights come on when the car is left overnight. 3) when the brake lights come on overnight, sometimes they go off when the brake pedal is pressed, but sometimes they don't and even removing both of the fuses for the lights doesn't extinguish them 4) there is a current leakage of 0.75Amp from the battery even when all the lights and electrics are not running. On several trips to the dealer, the diagnostics have not reported any problems. The car had been booked in for an overnight stay, but while waiting for my slot with a loan car to come around, the battery, which is itself a replacement for the original, has been trashed. The car has now been delivered to the dealer by the AA and I am without a car, so any ideas that would lead to a quick resolution would be appreciated.