OldHacker

Unfortunately now been thrown back into confusion. Skoda UK seemed confident it was the EGR valve based on history and diagnostics done by first dealer. However local dealer who Skoda UK arranged to take the car in has now said the problems are the circulation pump, water pump (apparently leaking which is strange because nobody else has spotted this and have not had coolant loss) and cam belt with no mention of the EGR valve I was told was the problem by other dealer which Skoda UK confirmed likely. Local dealer offered no explanation for this previous EGR breakdown and conflicting diagnosis. Local dealer also told me that they had never seen my car before which is disturbing since I bought it from them new and they have carried out all three services since ! Situation is terrifying - if local dealer is right then I could have ended up spending £900 having the EGR valve replaced unnecessarily without solving the problem and still be faced with another £600 for the pumps and cam belt.

I have now raised it. The dealer in question is listed as providing fixed price servicing and maintenance and Skoda UK certainly seems interested in raising it with the dealer. I cannot fault Skoda UK so far on this one. My email addressed to the MD concerning my Yeti's recent medical history and dealer problems got a telephone response with the hour and the car booked into the dealer. Will be interesting to see where it goes from here.

You have got me worried now. I have just been through the 3 Skoda dealer invoices I have for my Yeti services and the basic charge for each is well over those published by Skoda UK. Then things which are listed as included in the service by Skoda UK (such as oil and pollen filter changes) have been charged as extras by the dealer and they have charged way more than the Skoda UK listed price for a brake pad change etc. And I see what you mean about the tyres. The dealer charged me £192 a tyre for a like for like replacement of the tyres supplied with the car compared to £130 from most other sources I have just looked at.

2 tyres = £382 Front brake pads inc labour & VAT = £150

The 'extras' on the service were 2 new tyres and new front brake pads. I have now written to the Skoda UK MD about the problems to see what they propose. I have already tried Skoda UK customer services through Twitter. They asked for my reg no and tel no so that they could call me which I provided but that was last week and I have heard nothing.

Thanks for suggestions re battery, engine wire loom etc. Very unsatisfactory that the Skoda dealer did not propose to look at these things rather than blindly rely on the diagnostics report and charge me a fortune for replacing parts which may, in fact, be fine and not causing the problem ! One other question. Another Skoda dealer I just contacted suggested the problem could be that the ECU software needs updating. I have had the car dealer serviced from new (3 services with the last one costing £1,100) and never had an update of the ECU done. Should it have been?

Flapperjack7 - Trouble is I cannot be sure that the EGR is the problem and spending £900 replacing it will fix the fault. First time warning light / limp mode came on it was the 'Control System for Exhaust' light and diagnostics came back with 'intermittent coolant pump B control circuit B open'. That cleared after a garage reset. Then next time it was 'Glow plug system' warning light / limp mode which self cleared and diagnostics came up with EGR valve (£900 job). Now it is the 'Control System for Exhaust' warning light / limp mode again - ie a different warning light to the one which came back EGR last time. It has not been into the dealer for diagnostics on this yet.

The saga continues - while on a 10 mile round trip this evening the 'Control System for Exhaust' warning light came on again and back in limp mode.

Frenchtone - can you give more detail on 'Italian tuning'? Do you rev the car while stationary or driving in low gear, how many revs and for how long?

Harrymonk - yes the problems (and associated repair and cancelled holiday / lost work time costs) have left me scared of using the car for long trips. There has not been any work done on the cooling system. I have owned since new and always dealer serviced (routine with no repairs). The coolant pipe connector that failed was inaccessible behind the engine. The RAC man who came out could not even see it from above or below despite trying damn hard and cutting his arm in the process. The garage who eventually managed to repair it could not understand why a plastic connector was used as it was just joining 2 lengths of pipe. I have the failed connector and it looks as though it has melted away over time which is odd because the car has never got anywhere near overheating. Both said using a part which could fail like this in such an inaccessible place is daft. Do others think it is worth raising these issues with Skoda UK?

Ryeman - mixture of motorway (130 mile trips) and 20 mile country road trips. Very little town driving.

I have a 4 year old (40K miles) Yeti SE 2.0 TDI 4X4 110, owned from new, dealer serviced. Been very happy with it until 3 weeks ago since when had following problems: Week 1: 'Control System for Exhaust' warning light came on while driving and Yeti went into limp mode. Garage did diagnostics which came back with 'intermittent coolant pump B control circuit B open'. They could not find physical fault so reset and light stayed out and car seemed OK. Week 2: 'Coolant warning light came on while driving on motorway. Topped up coolant but came straight back on again. RAC called out, found coolant gushing from somewhere unreachable behind engine. Not reparable so towed home (holiday cancelled). Garage had a nightmare getting to the source of the problem and found a plastic connector joining 2 bits of coolant pipe had failed (also said there was no need for any connector and should have been a single pipe). Week 3: 'Glow plug system' warning light came on flashing while driving with 'go to workshop' message, car in limp mode. Parked car and finished journey by train. When returned to car light had gone out and no longer in limp mode. Took to dealer. Diagnostics came up with EGR valve (£900 job !) but suggested leaving for now to see if light comes back on. Basically the car thinks it has another fault every journey. I know it is out of warranty but this should not be happening to a 4 year old, 40K miles Yeti. Any suggestions?