RobMurrant

An update on my Scala: Long Story Short: Went to the dealership, they said there wasn't an issue - but forwarded the complaint to Skoda Technical. Contacted Skoda UK, they said they wanted a second opinion before getting involved. Wrote an email to my dealership stating I wished to reject the car due to this issue. The dealership had a response from Skoda Technical. New drivers and passengers seat backs have been ordered. Will be fitted in about 2 weeks when they arrive. Got a hire car until they're fitted. Long story:

UPDATE: Summary - Got a courtesy car until mine is repaired, new driver and passenger seat backs have been ordered and will be fitted in around 2 weeks when they're available. I went to the dealership I bought the car from, and explained the issue and the proof of movement. The technician took the car for a drive, and had no problem. He was a very slender guy, whereas I'm ~95kg. They said the only way they could get the seat to move was to sit in the seat and push against the steering wheel; and that due to the seat back not locking in place, the seat back will recline over time. I pointed out that that is still unacceptable and doesn't meet a specific European regulation. The dealership said they don't see an issue and if I wasn't satisfied, I should take it up with Skoda UK. I called Skoda UK Customer Services and they said they wouldn't do anything until I'd had a second opinion. I booked the car into a second dealership, they look one look at the sticker marks, and agreed it was unacceptable, but would need to book it in for three days to assess it. They couldn't do that for 2 weeks. You have the right to reject a vehicle in the first 6 months if there is an issue and you have given the retailer one opportunity to fix the issue. My 6 month window would have passed by the time the second dealership had assessed my car, so this morning I emailed the supplying dealership - stating I wish to reject the vehicle: 07:00 - Email from me to the sales manager. This included an exact excerpt from a European regulation that states the adjustment mechanisms must lock automatically. 08:45 - Email forwarded to the Dealership Principle. 09:00 - Dealership principle asked when I was available to discuss the issue. 10:00 - Discussed with Dealership Principle. He stated after my first visit, the dealership had raised the issue with Skoda Technical who had now responded to the complaint (TPI) stating some shims or spacers may be the issue, and the repair is to install a new seat back. Skoda has approved the warranty repair for a driver and passenger seat. I stated that I don't feel safe driving the vehicle as it is. Skoda UK had arranged for a hire car for me to use until my vehicle is repaired. 11:00 - Service team called to confirm the seats had been ordered. Drivers side is available, passenger side is on back order and will take between 10 and 14 days. 16:00 - Hire car delivered to the dealership and ready for me to collect. I'm impressed at how quick all of today's actions have occurred, but slightly disappointed that it required me to express my desire to reject the car to get the ball rolling, and not them contacting me once the TPI had been sent back to the dealership.

I have a 20 plate Scala, and for a while now I've found I'm forever adjusting the seat back and height adjustment to get comfortable. I previously thought it was just me preferring a different position, however this morning I've found this not to be true. I set the seat to the position I liked and aligned two markers, and then sat in the seat and gently rocked back and forwards for a minute. The adjuster had rotated backwards. (I'll be trying this in the dealership with their car when I'm there too) I adjusted the seat back four times in a two hour journey, and had to raise the seat a little too. I'll be in contact with the dealership today. I'm in the fortunate position that I work in vehicle safety testing for a west midlands automotive manufacturer, so I know the seat requirements pretty well. The first aim is to have a courtesy car until the seats are fixed - which would be a new set of row 1 seats (the passenger side does the same, but not as bad). If a new set of seats does the same, I'll be aiming for Skoda to retrofit electric adjusting seats to my car; swap the vehicle for one with electric seats; or buy back my vehicle. Depending on how I get on, it will be taken up with the Motor Ombudsman if I'm not satisfied with the resolution. NB. Having a quick look in this forum it seems to be a common issue across car-lines, so I doubt a new set of seats will fix the issue.