Goldfish1986

Evening all, I recently replaced my old Astra H 1.9cdti (150bhp) with a VW Polo BlueGT (1.4 tsi 150bhp with ACT). Ultimately I'm really impressed with the Polo and now believe the future for economic petrol engines is cylinder deactivation technology. My drive to work is 35 miles and 95% motorway. I generally drive at around 70mph during my commute to work. This yields a fuel economy figure of 50- 53mpg which ironically is more than I got from my diesel Astra. Interestingly today though I decided to drive my Mk 2 Fabia VRS (1.4 TSI Twincharged 178bhp) which on the same journey achieved 46mpg. Taking into account the Fabia was not really designed to be an super economic form of transport, so doesn't have start/stop or ACT like the Polo plus has an additional 30bhp I was really impressed! i know there are issues with the Twincharged 1.4 TSI, but ultimately I can't really think of many petrol engines that will provide that amount of performance with that amount of fuel economy. Just thought I'd share

Thanks Offski

Really interesting thread. I have always dipped mine (mk 2 Cave) hot as instructed by the manual. The other week I dipped it hot as usual and it was 1/4 way up the dip stick (1/4 full) so I left it. That week I had to drive the fabia to work mon-wed rather than the diesel Astra as it was in for repairs so I was doing 70 miles a day in the fabia. By Tuesday I thought I would check the oil again as I don't normally do long journeys in it and I wasn't sure how much oil it would of used so I thought it would be interesting to check. Dipped it hot again when I got to work (35 mile journey) and it was off the bottom of the dip stick. So since Sunday when I checked it at "1/4 full" it had used all that oil in 3 trips (up and back monday and journey to work Tuesday) which was approx 105 miles. I put in 750ml of oil in Tuesday when I got to work and that brought the dip stick level to just over 3/4 full. Checked it again when I got home (another 35 miles) and it hadn't moved and the same when I got home On Wednesday (still had not moved). Thursday I was back in the Astra and have been since which means the fabia has been sat un-used and cold for a week, so after reading on here about the dip stick "lying" and the merits of cold dipping I thought I would give it a go. Just had a look and oil level is off the top of the dip stick range and onto the the orange plastic just above the cross hatch area. Don't really understand how, as when oil is hot it expands so it should show more oil when hot and not cold? When hot dipping I would always leave it a few minutes for the oil to go back in the sump so I'm really stumped with this one.

lmao!! :-D

Yea I just wondered if there was a mechanical reason for the Vrs diesel not to have it e.g. Back pressure? Just seems daft else styling a car to have twin exhausts but capping one off on the diesel. So I would of thought if they could of left it as two they would of.

Yea I get that, but what I mean is on the Octy Vrs 220ps petrol the car has two functional exhaust pipes. Whereas on the Octy Vrs Tdi 184ps one is blanked off? It there a mechanical reason for diesels not needing two exhausts as I could name numerous petrol vehicles with a similar bhp output as the diesel Vrs which come with twin exhausts.

Just a general wondering! Why is it that on the Octavia Vrs plus other high performance diesels made by other manufacturers that when the car is given a twin exhaust one is a fake for the diesel variant?

I'm interested to hear people's thoughts on timing chains in the TSI engines as it concerns me that the chain is quite a major component not to require any maintenance (according to my local dealer) because if it fails that's effectively the engine knackered. I queried this with Skoda Uk and they gave me the worlds best worded answer for not wanting to take responsibility.

The clutches in the DSG gearbox will not become damaged or burnt out when a vehicle is at idle speed, stationary with “ D “ selected. The clutches are controlled by hydraulic pressure determined from engine load, with the vehicle in this situation very little load is applied to the clutch packs so they shouldn't burn out. So yea I think something has gone wrong with the mecatronics unit.

I only use Shell V-power. For the first time the other week since owning the car I filled up with Tesco momentum as Shell is starting to get a bit expensive. Car hated it! I normally achieve 40-45mpg on my drive to work when I use shell, but with the momentum it dropped to 32mpg. Car was also far less smooth and responsive.

Mines currently done 51k 2011 plate original cave engine no mods or issues with the engine. Had the mecatronics unit in the gearbox replaced at 35k.

While speaking to Skoda U.k about my Fabia that I had bought used about fault I also asked them what other warranty work had been done. To my astonishment he reeled off a list which included new alloy wheels due to corrosion.

Makes sense- Thankyou

Just a query, I've been reading all the various forum posts across the web about the oil consumption issue with the 1.4 twin charger engine. A lot of people are saying it's because they aren't being thrashed enough. How would this help the oil consumption? Surly if the engine is under greater pressure then that would put more pressure on seals etc and cause oil seepage causing increased oil consumption?

Just an update, Car went into the dealer today. They did I diagnostic and it came back with a fault logged saying Low fuel pressure. They have now replaced the fuel filter thinking it may be clogged and restricting fuel. The car on the way home did feel a tiny bit more pokey, so don't no if that was it and the car was being starved of fuel. Will keep you updated of any further developments

Can just ask though, what is the reason for this "cylinder shut down" and why does it need a new engine to remedy??

This is interesting, I have the exact same issue. See my post Epc light! My cars going in on Monday, I wonder what they will say....

It's done 48k miles and they were last replaced at 35k miles. I don't think they did check them as it had a full service in janurary and I asked about the spark plugs and was told there not due yet.

Afternoon all, In November my cars Epc light came on as I was driving to work along with the car starting to shudder and jerk. When I got to work I switched the engine off and back on again and drove round the car park but couldn't replicate it. The following week the car went into my local skoda dealer and they said there was a fault logged but they don't no what caused it, so they gave it a software update and cleared the fault and it's been fine since. That is until today when the Epc light came on again for 3 seconds and then when out while the car violently jerked. I've called my dealer again, so the cars going in on Monday but just wondered if anybody knows what it might be?? Spark plugs, lamda sensor?

Thanks for your reply Dr3w_vrs On the trip computer where it says D1-7 when your in drive, those would flash when I was in particular gears such as D3 and D7. The morning I drove it to the garage for the replacement mechatronics unit it almost gave up completely and I had no drive in D2 & D3 but the car went into limp mode to I managed to get it there eventually albeit an interesting drive. I'm glad it was under warranty as it would of cost £3900 to fix. I now buy a warranty (All component cover) from skoda every year for £400 as I would rather pay that than £4K lol Hope this helps

Afternoon all, I'm just after some advice. I have mk 2 Vrs which is now coming up to being 5 years old. It's done 49000 miles and has a service every year with the main dealer. It's had a new clutch pack set after 3 1/2 years (replaced by original owner under warranty) a new mechatronics unit after 4 years (replaced by me under warranty) and I've just recently replaced all the brake discs and pads. Apart for from the mechatronics unit going, the cars be mechanically excellent the 2 years I've owned it but now I have a decision to make. I currently travel 5000 miles per year, but I'm moving in with my partner this year so I'm going to be traveling around 15000 miles a year. Once my car reaches 70000+ miles which could be in about 18 months - 2 years I'm concerned about the reliability of the engine due to its complex construction. Does anybody have a Mk 2 VRS that's running fine beyond 100,000 miles? Should I keep the car or trade it in for something else? Thanks for you help

Thanks Jabozuma Yea it shifts at around 1800 rpm, so I'm hoping it's just a mixture of it being winter and the fuel change like George said. Just thought it was weird because mechanically nothing has changed just a computer component. Thanks again guys :-)

Oh right didn't no that. So I'm really best asking dealer about engine updates first to check I've got the correct ones then if that's ok waiting to see if my mpg goes up in March when the fuel changes back. Failing that it's a mystery!

Didn't realise fuel is changed, why is this??? Yea spark plugs where done prior to purchase of the vehicle at 35k.

Had the car 6 months and it's an 11 plate car 40k on clock. Mech Unit just died after 6 months of ownership and wouldnt select a gear. Was replaced under extended used car warranty. tyre pressures are always kept at 35 psi no different from before work was done. I get what your saying about it being winter, but I read somewhere that at cooler temperatures engines work better (more powerful) as the air being fed into the engine is denser.