gigglepin

The SCR system has some pretty expensive components involved and they do go wrong, quite frequently. The NOx control unit is a common issue & works out around £400, plus the software update required to go with it and the necessary and legally required test drive and DPF regeneration that is obligatory to reset the system after a fault to ensure the system is operating correctly. The regen and test drive necessary to clear the threat lamp can be a long winded affair and is all chargeable to the customer. Adblue injectors and lines suffer with crystallisation issues & Adblue tank sensors are also becoming an issue. Personally i'd give one of these EU 6 diesels a miss if I valued my bank balance.

Skoda now work to a digital service schedule. The idea behind moving servicing information to an online format is simple: during the life of the vehicle certain service items can change, along with the fact a digital service record held on a server is less open to fraudulent entries by car traders stamping empty books to raise a cars forecourt value. This system is not due to Skoda deciding they wish to make more money from a service, but can be due to certain models requiring revised servicing. Examples being: the 4WD Haldex 4 oil change which intially had a service interval of 4 years, but was hastily revised as VAG realised the oil under certain conditions can turn "rancid" and fail to perform as intended, (develops globules in the oil). If the initial service book time was adhered to by the owner, who may feel the revision is a money making exercise? a failed Haldex coupling may result. Other items recently reviewed and having service specifications ammended are: Diesel fuel filters, Timing belts, 7 speed 0AM DSG (oil recall), various VAG transmissions having revised oil change intervals due to modified oil types following issues (can you see a link forming here - VAG are pretty naff at comprehensively testing their products prior to going to market). If these items had their service replacement cast in the owners tablet of stone in the form of a service book, this can lead to trust issues with customers who feel they are being fleeced. However one final point of warning, in some cases owners are being fleeced. There are VAG dealers local to me who take the attitude that at a 3 year service prior to the warranty expiring it is a must to nail the customer down for a cambelt, full service (even at low mileage), brake work etc....... This is due to some dealers suffering paranoia about the 3 year switch a lot of customers make to a decent independent specialist at the end of warranty. So before they go, the dealer gives them a hearty slap as a fond farewell. The number of dealer serviced cars I see with the service book having stamps for full services and cambelts at 3 years is criminal (literally), so on the flip side there is also a good case for an owner having a service book detailing the maintenance requirements on the day their car was built, but with an indication that some service items may be revised as issues develop. Therefore the owner can ask for the evidence that the full service & cambelt they are being quoted for at 3 years and 20K is correct. The digital service record if adhered to gives the servicing garage the whole picture without adding their own agenda to the mix. Scenario: You book your vehicle in at a dealer / specialist. When you arrive, the service receptionist logs onto the digital service record for your vehicle. The receptionist can view the vehicles previous servicing history & then inputs the current vehicle mileage into the program. The digital service system then indicates which service items are currently due on this model for its age and mileage and builds a service maintenance sheet for the technician to complete, if other items are becoming due in a couple of months these can also be selected with the customers approval to prevent another visit for say a cabin filter in the next 6 weeks. Any campaigns for vehicle issues requiring attention are highlighted on the system before the digital service book can be opened, so items such as 0AM oil change, Citigo sills filling with water, Software versions requiring updating due to issues etc.... can be added to the workshop job record, or advice given to the owner to rebook if the workshop diary doesn't have slack to complete the work on the day. In theory it's a good system and gets around the issues with lazy or dishonest dealers not performing the job as outlined by Skoda, but in reality..........................??

As above, the scum in your tank is not a normal feature. Somebody has either accidentally poured oil into the coolant reservoir or you have a major issue developing. Coolant should be a pink colour, as you look into the coolant reservoir on a new vehicle it should ppear clear & pink. I would treat the mess you have in your tank as an item urgently requiring a Skoda Assist visit.

Food for thought.................................... http://www.roadandtrack.com/new-cars/future-cars/news/a31097/german-government-votes-to-ban-internal-combustion-engines-by-2030/

http://www.genmoco.co.uk/pages/diagnostics.php These lads have a Smoke Pro. Regards.

I'm not sure where the myth of modern car reliability is coming from. Today I fixed a 1.6 FSI Golf which was logging control unit defective with a software update. A 1.6 TDI Golf with poor running & misfiring on engine warm up with a software update, a Scirocco with all warning lights on the dash with no fault codes logged - with a new dash panel, a 2.0 TFSI Golf with fuel hosing into a cylinder to the degree it was pouring neat petrol out of the exhaust & resulted in oil dilution to the tune of the sump quantity rising to 8L with a new & rather expensive injector. & a couple of services. I remember the days when I used to do more servicing than diagnostics - Modern Cars are junk & I honestly can't think of a car in production I would advise to a close friend. We replace EGR valves on the 1.6 CR engine before we replace the fuel filter in most instances. Anyone considering the emissions recall with a hastily written software package & a waffle in the intake on the 1.6 could do with seriously considering how this may affect their bank balance as EGR flow is increased & more soot poured through the exhaust in a vain attempt to control NOx. Just a brief run down on my initial thoughts. P.S - I have a Q5 in next week which looks as though it will be requiring a rather expensive SCR repair before it refuses to start in the 500 miles.

I doubt you will see a distinct advantage at trade in time with a dealer service history. Most franchised dealers chip you down on price as low as they can get you at trade in time. Independent car sales lots will quite happily quote a full serivce history at an independent workshop as a sales point and will often pay more for a well maintained vehicle than a dealer. A good reputable independent specialist technician working for a committed Skoda independent is often more concientious in his work than a dealer tech being pushed for bonus times on his daily workload. Some dealer techs are excellent, but many are just making up the numbers & have little job satisfaction in what they do. I've worked on both sides of this fence & found most modern dealerships run by large accounts driven management teams care little for their customers or the quality of service they receive. This has a knock on effect in the workshop where technicians feel undervalued & get driven into an uncaring frame of mind. Just a personal slant on the current state of dealerships & the lack of worth they hold for seasoned experienced technicians - it's a national epidemic covering even high value marques such as BMW & Porsche.

1SCR – Synthetic Urea Water Solution Injection System The selective catalytic reduction system – SCR – is used for 2.0 TDI 110 kW 4x4 and 2.0 TDI 140 kW diesel engines The capacity of the AdBlue tank in ŠKODA Superb III is 14 l and considering its consumption of 0.8–1.2 l/1000 km, it should last for 11,500–17,500 km of driving. When running low on the reduction agent, the driver is informed about this by indication on the instrument cluster display. The indication occurs in three steps – 2400, 1000 and 0 km before running out of AdBlue. The engine cannot be started if the reduction agent runs out complete Quoted from Skoda UK hth

Official VAG trade parts battery lookup catalogue. https://www.thetradepartsspecialists.co.uk/products/

The cost of repairs to the adblue system would discourage me. Couple that to the possibility of a turbo failure destroying thousands of pounds worth of sensors & catalysts in one hit & a car that refuses to start when a emissions fault presents itself............nope, i'll be having a petrol please, Diesels are being legislated out of existence.

Just for reference. My post was relating to all the battery upgrade posts in this thread to provide accurate & up to date information, not specifically thebigdans query.

If you have Start Stop fitted it is essential to use an AGM battery & to programme it into the Gateway with the correct specification. Modern Start Stop systems need to know the battery specification in order to operate correctly & prevent issues with the start stop system. Battery regulation in module 61 is for older vehicles, all modern VAG with Start Stop now have the battery regulation data installed in the gateway. Just because you fitted a bigger battery to your 2001 Octavia and didn't have an issue does not mean you can do the same with a 2015 model with a vast number of electronic systems, LIN controlled charge output, start stop, different charge rate mapping whether on the over run or acceleration etc. The modern car is a complex computer controlled device which should not have parts thrown at it with gay abandon on the basis of you want a bigger battery - an expensive series of issues may develop. See the Ross Tech video on replacing batteries. Note the bit where it says "use dealer batteries" Bosch provide a good training course on modern energy management systems & the importance of battery type, specification and programming the correct specification to the vehicle in order to maintain all systems functioning correctly. The battery charge characteristic in energy management for say a 61ah battery that is 5 years old & one that is 5 weeks old is different to take into account the deacying performance of the older battery. Fitting a battery without updating the data in energy management can result in premature failure of the new battery, system faults etc. Parasitic load is monitored in energy management (the power the vehicle takes from it's battery when not in use) if excessive loss of voltage is detected systems will be shut down to accomodate this. if you leave your car for 2 weeks at the airport your car is reacting to its batteries state of charge while you are sipping cocktails by the pool - it will endeavour to maintain a good starting capacity for when you return from your jollies. This is why you now have a smaller battery than your old stone age vehicle 15 years ago - your new car if fitted with battery regulation is a bit smarter than the old technology from years gone by. hth

1.6 CR TDI EGR Valve failures are an epidemic across all VAG brands. Around 40,000 Miles is a common failure point mileage wise. I change more EGR valves on the CAY range of 1.6 engines than I do air & fuel filters. Try for good will from the dealer or Skoda UK if the dealer shows no interest. More often than not there is a software update on the 1.6 to go with a new EGR valve, this changes the operating temperature range in an attempt to prevent a build up of varnishing inside the valve. VAG are on their 3rd revision of this valve now to try & resolve the problems it is causing. The EGR valve doesn't just fail for varnishing issues, the whole design is troublesome with roll pins falling out, motor gearing stripping, potentiometer failure etc. Aftermarket valves are worse than the dealer supplied ones, so genuine appears to be the best option. Hold in mind that if the EGR system is not operating within its design parameters, excess soot can be generated in the exhaust system. This soot is carried into the DPF & in some cases dramatically shortens the life of the particulate filter. From experience, once the system starts to fault no amount of cleaning or "thrashing" provides a long term repair. hth.