MrkSkoda

Hi ORDS. I can see yopu have Diesel car. Apparantly the pump and timing belt are next to each other and so get replaced at the same time. With Petrol cars unfortuantly this is not the case. Hence my additional costs. NB £380 sounds a very good price for timing belt & pump. Is that a main dealer or an independant specialist?

No that had been replaced about a year earlier. On Petrol engines like the 1.4 TSI the water pump is at the other end of the engine so the Skoda Main Dealer did not replace it when the timing belt was done. So over the course of 2 years I'm nearly a £1,000 out of pocket for work that should have been engineered out of the engine design. I can't help feeling if I had bought a Japanese or Korean car (or most other cars) I would not have needed to spend this extra money. It's bad enough that all VW engined cars need new timing belts at great expense every 5 years, but then have to fork out a similar amnount for a new water pump is crazy, Certainly will make me think twice about getting another Skoda/VW car.

At the moment (touch wood!) the error message has stopped, but I'm sure it will start again! It seemes completely random when it occurs. Just had my leaking water pump replaced on my 1.4TSI Octavia at 72,000 miles and 6 years old. Not at all pleased.about this as cost 450 quid. Are there any water pump threads you can point me at?

Yes I think you can almost guarantee that will happen! On my Skoda the problem goes away for weeks and then randomly re-appears. The problem in Skoda in UK/Europe are putting their head in the sand and pretending there is not a problem. I suspect with my next car I will vote with my feet and avoid VAG. Not definite but a possibility.

Using the part from Ebay and a T6 torx screwdriver plus the youtube video I have replaced the cover old my key fob. Now looks like new. Thank you for the feedback.

I totally agree with the above. When I pointed out to my local dealer that this is a common fault mentioned on many forums, their reaction was that dealers don't read forums.

Thank you all for the feedback. I'll tell you how I get on once the part arrives from ebay.

The case of one of my key fobs has become very worn and cracked. The actual key remote works fine, it's just it has a split where you activate the remote boot lid. Is there anyway of replacing the case only? The elctronics are fine. Or getting a complete repacement withou going via the dealer who I guess will be very expensive.

This is what annoys me about the attitude of Skoda UK (and VAG). They expect us to pay to diagnose a problem that should be covered by a recall. Although it's not an MOT failure it is very distracting and annoying. In the US this is covered by a recall. It's putting me off buying another VAG car.

Hi Classic. Thank you for this. They are in a convenient location in Bedford. I will ask around locally to see what people think. Hopefully your car does not develop the same fault. You have a slightly younger version of my Skoda. Mine is a white SE estate too. It's anoying that the seals can go like this on a water pump. I'm assuming its the seals that have gone. Guess I will find out next week!

Hi Classic, Varaderoguy. You have beat me to it. . I was going to post this a few hours ago but then got distracted! I have found the source of the leak. It is the water pump. Feeling underneath it, I feel dampness. There is also a small amount of coolant on the top of what I think is the DSG gearbox housing. After watching a number of YouTube videos I discovered just as you said why the dealer did not change the water pump. It’s located on the right side of the engine compartment, whilst the cam belt is on the left side. The engine is a 103KW CHPA unit. I don’t know if this is different from the TSI engines normally fitted to UK Skoda’s. The water pump is driven via a toothed belt from the exhaust camshaft. The impression I got from the video is that the water pump being the other side of the engine is not directly dependant on the cam belt replacement. Note I’m no mechanic and could be completley wrong These are 2 videos I consultanted. Both have the same engine as mine even though one is VW Golf.: 1. This video show replacing the water pump on a Skoda Octavia estate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEG1e59C0BE 2. This video show changing cam belt on a VW Golf. Again same engine as mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmYcwh1o474 If you can still recommend a name of good specialist garage in the Bedford Area that would be much appreciated Sorry I have had to post basically the same post twice, but something timed out and would not let me edit it!

Hi Classic. You have beat me to it. 1. I have found the source of the leak. It is the water pump. Feeling underneath it, I feel dampness. There is also a small amount of coolant on the top of what I think is the DSG gearbox housing. 2. After watching a number of YouTube videos I discovered just as you said why the dealer did not change the water pump. It’s located on the right side of the engine compartment, whilst the cam belt is on the left side. The engine is a 103KW CHPA unit. I don’t know if this different from the TSI engines normally fitted to UK Skoda’s. The water pump is driven via a toothed belt from the exhaust camshaft. The impression I got from the video is that the water pump being the other side of the engine is not directly dependant on the cam belt replacement. Note I’m no mechanic and could be completely wrong with this! These are 2 videos I consultanted. Both have the same engine as mine even though one is VW Golf.: 1. This video show replacing the water pump on a Skoda Octavia estate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEG1e59C0BE 2. This video show changing cam belt on a VW Golf. Again same engine as mine. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qmYcwh1o474

Hi All. I'm in Bedford. Yes it would be great if you can recommend a good local specialist. The dealer was a small concern with just 3-4 outlets as far as I know. In the last 18 months they have been taken over by a much larger national franchise. As far as I can tell the staff are mostly the same. I suspect the prices have gone up. I wish at the time I had insisted they had replaced the water pump. From memory they did not contact me to say they weren’t going to replace it. As it was a cost save (about £80 from memory) then I guess they felt they had no need to. Interestingly I have just looked at the receipt from the work carried out a year ago. It actually says “Work Completed: Replace Cam belt and water pump”. But at the time I remember them saying they had not replaced it. The parts listed as being used are tooth belt, roller, tensioner & seal ring. The labour cost is show as £407 (ex VAT) then discounted by 50% (not sure why the discount). So total cost parts + labour is £429 (inc VAT). I was quite pleased at the time as was less than the £500 I was expecting. Not so pleased now if it’s another 500 pounds! The car has done about 7K miles since cam-belt work. Correct the car is not currently gushing coolant. I'm not planning to use RadWeld, as sounds like that can cause a lot of other problems. Luckily it only cost 4 pounds for a tiny bottle.

So really what you are saying is that they should have done the water pump an year ago, when they they did the cam-belt. What I don't understand is why they did not. They had origianlly quoted for the extra work of replacing the water pump. Now of course it will cost far more to do it. I'm guessing another 500 quid. Not best pleased as the car is 6 years old and was hoping for no big bills. If it is as you say the water pump then I need to take it back to the dealer who did the cam-belt if there is any hope of them doing a good will jesture towards the cost of the labour. My original plan was to use a local cheaper/smaller garage. I'm sure it is the water pump. My plan is to see if I can get the car up on a ramp and look for the bown staining as you say. I noticed there was some dampness uinder the car when my wife drove it off this morning. Of course on the hotest day of the year, such dampness evaporates very quickly, plus an hour had gone before I noticed the patch. I will be looking at that more when the weather cools down. The car had a major service just over a month ago. At the same dealer. Should they have noticed the leaking water pump? I guess it could have occured since then. I'm pretty sure they are meant to have checked the coolant as part of the service. I have checked there is no recalls.

The Cam-belt was changed a year ago (5 years/60K Miles), by the local Skoda main dealer. At the the time they said that the water pump on this particular engine was not driven by the cam-belt but by another belt. So they did not change it. They had originally quoted for a new water pump but they said it was not needed. As a layman I had to take their word for it. I will be annoyed if this is not the case and the water pump should have been done at the time of the cam-belt change. The latter cost nearly 500 quid. I'm guessing if the car is put up on a ramp, and the plastic cover underneath the engine removed that it should then be possible to see any water leaks. Plus replace the water pump parts if needed. Is it possible to feel down for any dampness under the water pump? I'm guessing if I buy an Hayes Manual it will show me where the water pump is located.

Thank you all for the replies. Sounds like RadWeld must be avoided at all costs! I checked the coolant this morning and it had dropped by a 5mm. It took 90ml to get it back to the top. The car had not been used for 36 hours, so was fully cold. So as Bigjakk said these problems rarely go away. Could not see the source of the water leak, but sounds like will only see it from underneath. I think the suggestion of going to specialist is good idea. The cost of the main dealer definitely frightens me! Very easy to run up a big bill.

As far as I know the coolant system does have a Silica Bag. I read somewhere that systems with a silica bag have "Mit Silka" on their expansion chambers. What does the silca bag do? The impression I'm getting from all replies is not to use Radweld! Luckily I only bought a tiny bottle for use in emegencies. It's currently un-opened, and I suspect will remain that way unless there is an emergency!

Very interesting what you said about your 2 leaks, and needing to check from the underneath. I suspect this is what I will need to get done. At the moment the leak seems to have stopped or at least got much less. Yesterday I drove 170 miles in the car. It's first long journey since I discovered the problem. I was expecting to have to top the car up when I got home, but after allowing the engine to properly cool down overnight, the coolant level had only changed by about 1mm. Could the problem have gone away? I have not used any Radweld or similar. The only thing I have done is top the coolant up with the correct VAG C13 coolant.

My 6 years old Petrol 1.4TSI DSG Octavia seems to have developed a slight water leak. Problem is I don't know from where. I have had several looks in the engine compartment, but not seen anything obvious. By slight leak I meant that after a 20 mile drive and then being left overnight the coolant level seems to have dropped by 3mm. I first knew there was a problem when the coolant warning light came on Saturday morning. Luckily the local Skoda garage was open and bought a bottle of the C13 coolant concentrate. I filled it to the max level, and then have been monitoring ever since. As said it seems to be dropping a few mm every day, but from where? The cam belt was replaced this time last year, but the water pump was not. Apparently it’s not driven by the cam belt on my 1.4TSI (140PS). The car has done about 70,000 miles over its 6 year life. The car has been regularly serviced by the local main dealer. Any thoughts what I should do? I suspect a visit to the main dealer is likely to be expensive. What about the use of Radweld (basic product in a blue bottle)? I get the impression this can be a quick fix, but could cause long term problems.

No evidence of coolant mxing with engine oil. I'll check EGR Valve later.

My 6 years old Petrol 1.4TSI DSG Octavia seems to have developed a slight water leak. Problem is I don't know from where. I have had several looks in the engine compartment, but not seen anything obvious. By slight leak I meant that after a 20 mile drive and then being left overnight the coolant level seems to have dropped by 3mm. I first knew there was a problem when the coolant warning light came on Saturday morning. Luckily the local Skoda garage was open and bought a bottle of the C13 coolant concentrate. I filled it to the max level, and then have been monitoring ever since. As said it seems to be dropping a few mm every day, but from where? The cam belt was replaced this time last year, but the water pump was not. Apparently it’s not driven by the cam belt on my 1.4TSI (140PS). The car has done about 70,000 miles over its 6 year life. The car has been regularly serviced by the local main dealer. Any thoughts what I should do? I suspect a visit to the main dealer is likely to be expensive. What about the use of Radweld? I get the impression this can be a quick fix, but cause long term problems.

Hi ju1ian1001. Thank you for confirming that it's not an MOT failure. You have reinforced what my dealer said to me. I suspect if it was an MOT failure Skoda UK might take it more seriously, and make it the subject of a recall. I'd love to get it fixed, but not at my cost!

Hopefully it will be fixed. Was the work done under the 3 year Skoda warranty or as part of a recall or something you paid for? If the latter do you mind me asking how much it cost? Thanks.

The MOT was done by a 3rd party testing station arranged & paid via the dealer. The warning light is amber rather than red, and soon disappears,

The dealer said they could do a further investigation at my cost. No price was quoted. I declined this as I can live with it, and so far it normally only occurs in the first 10 minutes of driving. The car is 6 years old, and I'm not inclined to spends hundreds of pounds for something that in my view is a Skoda/VAG problem. They did not offer to replace the switch for a fixed price the way others have been offered here.