Salp

Successfully rejected our 1.5 Octavia SEL. approaching 18 months old, 10500 miles on clock. Our car initially Kanagaroo 'd during cold weather, the first instance was a cold spell just when the car was 3 months old. Told they would get back to us, but never did. Put up with it through winter, summer came and went, then winter approached a second time, and the jumping continued and it was reported again to dealer. An update was applied, around October 2018. This improved the jumping slightly, but we inherited a second issue, loss of power, randomly, when pulling away. A safety concern. Spoke with dealer again, and got Skoda UK involved. Several weeks of emails, Skoda still refusing to accept this is a fault. Eventually we returned car and refused to take it back until fixed. By May, it was obvious no fix was going to happen. Some one suggested we speak to Skoda finance. We bought it when here was a cash back deal, but since paid off the finance. They were fabulous, within, two weeks, we had the car rejected. We did not expect a new car, as we had benefitted from the old, but we could not accept a diesel due to our short journeys, nor a smaller engine due to the size of car. likewise, something with equally low mileage and in good condition. Ngotiated with dealer and Skoda Finance, and had car replaced with 2.0 VRS, 6 months old, 6000 miles on clock no cost to us. Skoda Finance were getting the extra cost back from Skoda. Now, a few month on, so far so good. Lets hope it remains that way. Old car is on the dealer forecourt waiting to be re-sold!

There is hope MDVLA, we successfully rejected our 18 month Octavia with the same issues, we now have a 12 month VRS at no extra cost to ourselves. The consumer law states within 3 months a full refund can be persued, however in our case we logged the fault when the car was just over 3 months old and gave Skoda the opportinity to repair. Which off course never happened. Consumer law for cars also says you can "reject" a car if you have reported a fault within 6 months (which we had). You only need to let dealer have one opportunity to repair, and of course, you can argue it is not of satisfactory quality or fit for pupose. and most importantly, the flat spots are a safety concern. The issue after 3 months, is that you have had the benefit of use from the vehicle, so when they say you can reject it, you must take into account the benefit you have had from using the vehicle. So extremely unlikely to be a full refund, but you should get a deal which is financially better than just selling the car. Hence we negotiated our car replaced with a VRS. We would not accept a smaller engine, diesel no good for short journeys, and absolutely no way another 1.5. We also had a low mileage car, in excellent condition. These were terms given to the dealer and Skoda Uk, to resolve the issue. We decided enough was enough at 18 months, and we were concerned about the flat spot, which was not an original problem, until one of the updates. Skoda are using customers as testers, and we we not prepared for it to result in an accident.

SUCCESS! i am pleased to say, we have finalised rejection of our 18 month old car. The failure of the last update, plus my new concerns about the flat spot when pulling out, were the final nails in the coffin. Thanks to a supportive dealer and Skoda finance, within three weeks we have returned car, and upgraded to VRS, 6 months newer at no cost to ourselves. I think given the history it was a fair deal.. . Have only driven the new car a few miles, but the difference has been immediately noticeable. Good luck to all others with rejecting cars and even more luck to those who are goingto wait for the problem to be fixed.

Our car was returned to dealer 4 weeks ago for further testing, 18 months after purchase and still unresolved. We commence proceedings to reject car this week. i dont blame the dealer, they are stuck in the middle, but 18 months of "we will get in touch, when we have update from Skoda" must come to an end,

It is pleasing to hear some positive news regarding this issue, and i hope this may be the first signs of progress across the range. My 67 plate Octavia has been left with the dealer until fixed. The dealer did mention to me about an update which requires a 500 mile running in period. Excuse my lack of technical knowledge, but if the ECU takes 500 + miles to learn your driving style, what happens when you share the car, like so many, with other members of household? Wouldn't that be counter productive, and give the ECU learning difficulties.

Sent our Octavia back to dealer three weeks ago,and told them not to give it back until fixed. They did mention an update, which requires a 500 mile running in period. I laughed, because the night before Skoda UK emailed me, reinstating there was still no update. Well it sounds promising for the Karoq owners, after reading the initial feed back on the other pages within this forum. May be hope is in sight.

Same predicament for us. Car is now 15 months old, and since the update in sept/oct it has been considerably better, but not fixed. More annoyed and angry by the lack of responsibility by Skoda to correct this issue.

Totally agree. I have sent them definitions, for the term "characteristic" and "fault". They didn't have much to say sbout that.

I've also been offered a courtesy car until software update, but in the email they make it clear it is not a fault that needs fixing. My response to that, do your engineers actually know what the problem is? And, if you are not accepting this as a fault which needs fixing wouldn't the software update be pointless in connection to this issue. Response today, is that they still do not consider it a fault, and quote "However, we cannot provide any technical detail on the extent of improvement that the software may produce." That suggests to me, they haven't got a clue how to erradicate the problem. It would have been better to read, yes the characteristic (their term, not mine) has been identified, and the enginers are optomistic to find a solution shortly. Atleast that way there is some hope! NO SUCH LUCK She then concludes to say, since they can not provide any further information, i can seek legal advice, blah blah blah, and the offer of a courtesy car is still available. I can not understand, why there are still so many different stories and lies being dished out, by dealers and Skoda. You would think they could atleast relay the same messsge.

Funny you should get a call today. My contact at Skoda, emailed me today. While she insists it is not a fault and there is no fix, they are offering me a courtesy car aswell until a software update.

Octavia 1,5 manual. October 2017. When bought, car was programmed to 'over rev' and the kangaroo affect was extremely bad in cold and also noticeably in warmer temps. Software update about October 2018, no more 'over rev', and kangaroo affect much reduced, but not fixed. Expect the software update in October 18, was their first attempt to fix the fault, which they deny having.

I've sent a message back, telling her it's in the press. I also asked, as Skoda UK are only the importer, who to contact at head office, since it is beyond their remit.

Yes, i'm happy to name and shame. Gemma Gough, apparently the Customer Relations Manager.

Skoda really are rougues, hiding behind doors. I wrote to Skoda UK last week, asking them to deal with the FAULT and not to be insulting by calling it a CHARACTERISTIC, copying the message to BBC Watchdog. Received a response, In which i replied with details off my experience with the dealer to date and that of others who have received no end of excuses. Also received a phone call, which concluded she would speak to the factory and get back to me this week. That was after she made it clear that Skoda UK are only the importers which i gather excludes them from some kind of liability, since she mentioned it on phone and again in the email. Received message yesterday, which also makes it very clear, that since Skoda do not acknowledge a FAULT, there is NO FIX planned. Extract of message below: Like all vehicles the engine takes time to warm up to core operating temperatures. It is correct that we do not consider the engine taking time to warm up to be a defect. We also do not recognise that there is a “kangarooing” problem that is to be fixed and that whilst the engine warms up the vehicle remains fully operable and operates without “jumping and jerking”. In addition, there is not a “fix” as such and I am sorry if this word has been used to confuse matters. ŠKODA like all brands release sequential software updates to get the very best of their vehicles. It is anticipated that this continued improvement may reduce any warm up time but it should not be confused with some form of a repair as there is no underlying defect. Whilst engine warm up times will of course be more noticeable during winter this does not represent a defect. I hope they don't think, thats the end! I will explore other avenues and Skoda will be hearing from me again.

Unfortunately at 8500 miles, my car has not learnt a thing :-(

Talk about salt to the wound, Whatcar.com have named the Octavia 1.5 TSI as best family car of 2018, apparently the 1.5 is the favorite engine and "pick of the range". Obviously they were provided a car wihout any "character" and probably received a nice pay out for the promotion.

Yes definately both together, because it was mentioned to the dealer about 12 months ago. The UK was just going into winter, which higlighted it further, but I think looking back, the dealer assumed the revs and kangaroo were the same issue. . . . . Maybe they are. This is our second Octavia, we rejected the first because something controlling the throttle was faulty i.e. constantly revving without touching anything. They had the car for nearly 6 weeks out of the 8 weeks we owned it and could not fix it. It was rejected and replaced like for like. Putting it down to bad luck. Funny how it all seems to evolve around the throttle or what controls it. I think it is all linked, but thats my unqualified thoughts.

Certainly worse in cold conditions. I should also point out, the car had the issue with the very annoying "over revving" when purchased, as mentioned by others on Octavia pages. Had a software update about October 18, thinking yippee, this is it. . . . THE fix. It has stopped the annoying revs, and the jerkiness appears to be better than before. . . But it is still there, and bad on cold mornings less than 5 degrees.

As an Octavia owner, i can confirm the 1.5 TSI in my car has got the same issues. Initially raised concern with dealer 12 months ago, to be told there was no issue. I have been back recently, as it is more noticeable in cooler conditions, to be told 'yes' Skoda are aware, and there may be a fix mid 2019! That would be 18 months too late in my opinion. Prior the Octavia, i owned the 1.5 Audi A3, but needed a bigger car. After being so impressed with the engine in the A3, i was made up, after i ordered the 1.4 Octavia and was told 'good news, the 1.5 is being rolled out. . . . . . Would you like to change your order' Worse decision ever. It appears other customers of the VW Group are reporting the same issues and browsing the internet it is mentioned in many car reviews, but i don't think people realise how bad it can be in cold weather. Nor do people realise how bad VWG are handling the complaints.

Yes, definately some lurching as you say in higher gears, but worse in 1st and 2nd. And definately, in my case, more extreme in cold weather. I too have sent details to Watchdog, as previously mentioned and now I am starting to writing reviews to spread word.

Car back from dealer. Pleased to say, i didn't get charged the insurance cost for courtesy car. . . Unfortunately no fix (as expected). The engineer did experience the problem reported, and they confirmed it as a known issue, but as yet Skoda have no fix. The report sheet described the fault as 'Jerkie' as opposed to ' Jumpy' or 'Kanagaroo', which may be worth noting when describing the problem to other dealers. I mentioned other 1.5 cars reporting the same issues, and believed the service manager when he said they were not aware other "vw" cars having this problem. Incidentally, while talking to him, it came to light, another 1.5 was due in the workshop tomorrow. It had been described as a different fault. . . . . but that is subject to interpretation of the individual when bookihg in the car. As usual the staff were very friendly and after explaining the history of these forums, i was almost embarrased for them. It must be a difficult job to be on the receiving end of unhappy customers.

Just checked insurance Xman, only covers courtesy vehicle provided by them in event of accident/claim. But worth checking thank you. Hoping not to have another courtesy car. . . . . But who am i kidding? Not holding much hope, given the efforts from all previously in this discussion.

Had software update a few weeks ago. No longer over revs, but it has not made a difference to the jumpy starts. I have literally just got back from Skoda dealer, after dropping off car over night. They plan to test in the morning. What has me really annoyed today, is the cheek of asking £12 to insure courtesy car. A car i need to get home, because the one i purchased for several thousand pounds is back in the workshop! Also take a look at Karoq pages about "1st gear issue" with same engine.

A cold -2 this morning, car jumped down the road as expected for first couple of minutes (albeit the engine was running at standstill for 5 mins while the ice was scrapped off windows). Definately, in my case, more noticeable when cold. Car booked in with dealer tomorrow night, so they can have it for a couple days to test in the mornings.

We had a software update last week. We originally logged our complaint nearly 10 months ago, and was told there was an issue and they will be in touch. We contacted dealer to ask about the update after following these threads. They had no record of us logging it previously, despite the car being left there over a few days! Which was not a good to hear . . The update seems to have stopped the over revving, but the car is still jumpy. A bit colder this morning, and the car was noticeably more jumpy. Guess i will have to get the neck brace out again this winter :-(