Moribund

Thanks for the quick response Warrior. I’ve got an ongoing problem with the coolant warning being triggered (from cold start) but the level is above minimum and it doesn’t seem to be losing coolant. I’ve noticed that once the warning goes off a temperature sign appears but it goes off intermittently. This coolant tank was only fitted two weeks ago when the heater core was replaced. I’ve tried cleaning the prongs this morning and will see if it makes a difference otherwise it’s back in the garage.

How do these coolant level sensors work? Do they pass current between the two prongs but in the absence of any coolant the warning is triggered? If there is sufficient coolant the circuit completes?

Thanks for the response. I’m not convinced I’m losing coolant - I’ve been checking the level every day. The picture below shows the level in the tank tonight. I turned on the ignition at lunchtime and no warning message came on - got in the car tonight and the message comes up. I removed the cap off the tank and put it back (without adding coolant) and message is gone. I drove for 20 minutes and no warning. Doesn’t make sense to me.

After topping up on Sunday I went for a drive last night and when I inspected the coolant level tonight it appeared ok However I turned on the ignition and I get a low coolant warning. Doesn’t seem right. I topped up a very small amount of coolant mixture and the warning disappears. Is it possible that the sensors are faulty?

Thanks for the response I’ve been topping the coolant up with a ready made G12 solution which is what the garage filled the system with. I guess the question is how many times do you keep topping the coolant up before you come to the conclusion that the issue isn’t air pockets but a leak. I will make some checks - the carpet would be an obvious one if there is a leak connecting to the heat matrix. I believe the hose connections to the matrix are on the engine side. The rad hoses shouldn’t have been touched but could have been disturbed during the work. If it’s something easy to fix it would save a lot of hassle.

Finally took the car into the garage last week to have this work done. Garage flushed the system and replaced the heating core and header tank (with no silicat bag). I noticed a massive difference in the heater from the moment I collected the car. Went for a long business trip (well 250 miles) and on the return trip a warning for low coolant appeared. I topped it up at the next services (this was Friday evening). I then did another hour’s motorway driving. Drove the car locally on the Saturday and Sunday morning started the car and the same warning again. In both cases the car needed topping up by about a quarter of a pint. Is this normal or should I contact the garage to check for leaks? Heating is now working fine but this is annoying. Any advice would be greatly appreciated

Hi, Does the nozzle look like the picture below? on the hatchback the pipe enters the wiper motor on the inside of the car and comes out of the plastic nozzle below through two metal holes

Had a trip to the dealers this morning and got a comparison quote. I can see why people on here call them the stealers…they said it would normally be £1800 but they would do a special deal for £1600 - literally more than twice what the Indy garage quoted. I know they will use Skoda parts but in this case the parts are not that expensive -you’re paying for the labour. £1800 would just less than a quarter of the value of the car

I ended up going to Johnson’s Skoda where they sold the nozzle for £7.25 so I bought a couple. The new one went on a lot tighter but the performance was a massive improvement - the increase in pressure meant that the water came out as a mist/spray. The spares bloke tried to convince me it was inferior screen wash causing the clogging up and tried to sell me 1 litre of Volkswagen concentrated screen wash for £10.

Finally got round to taking my car in to an independent (but German car specialist) garage. It was confirmed that it was the heat matrix that was causing the heating problem and I was quoted £700 parts and labour to flush , replace the matrix and replace the header coolant tank. Not sure if that is a reasonable price but he says he would need it for 2 days and can’t do until the New Year

I have exactly the same issue - one nozzle has cleared and one is still blocked despite soaking overnight in white vinegar and using a needle to unblock. I’m now looking at sourcing a replacement. My part number is identical. So far I’ve only found ŠKODA Direct at £16. I don’t mind paying that but it’s nearly £7 postage for something that weighs less than a Christmas card. I’ve found cheaper on e-bay but (although the part number is correct) the seller only mentions Octavia Mk 2.

Did you end up having to have the matrix replaced or did the flushes and expansion tank replacement do the job?

Update: part arrived in post today and I installed it in half an hour from the outside without removing trim. I loosened the edges with plastic tools then using automass's advice I used a long bladed flat screwdriver and it popped out. The other 20 minutes was spent trying to get the wire connection off which is clipped in and I was frightened of breaking it/. So its in and working ....for now anyway 😁 Thank you @automass - you've saved me a few hours

I just bought one from Nirro Ltd for £25 with a 30 day warranty. I’ve got some trim removal tools and I’m going to try getting out from the outside first. I will let you know how lt goes - mine is a 2017 66 plate so fingers crossed

Hi automass, I'm going to fit a replacement next week and was wondering if you had any tips... Did you extract the unit from the front or remove the trim from the inside and push it out Is it simply a pulling off the existing wiring and attaching to the new unit Did you use any You Tube videos (I couldn't see any) Thanks in advance.

Hi WWorx I’ve been putting off replacing mine for a year but it’s steadily got worse. Out of interest did you remove this from the inside and if so did you use any special tools to remove it or the trim that covers it. Looking at the clips it appears like it would be easier to remove from the inside. On my Octavia Mk 3 the switch has plastic gel cover - does this simply come off and then it can be reused on the replacement unit? I’ve attached a photo to show you what I mean,

I’ve got cold hair blowing through the drivers side - passenger side ok. I suspect it’s the heat matrix that’s blocked but I suppose it could be this error with the motor. I’m sure the garage will run a diagnostic. Is this a big job to fix Dave? I know replacing the heat matrix is quite a lot of labour

Thanks Paulski Did you get yours replaced in the end or were you seeing if the flush did the job? The matrix part isn’t that expensive- I’ve seen them ranging from 50 to £100. Three to four hours labour- I’m not sure what that would cost. I imagine the independent garages vary depending on where you are in the country. The only additional step I may request is to replace the coolant tank if there is a silica bag (as I said I can’t see one but it makes sense to do this for prevention)

Thanks Ted, I had noticed those particles and it could be rust. The car is going into the garage on the 18th and I’ve sent these photos with information about the silica bag issue - I’m sure he’s aware of this already if he deals with German cars. i hope it’s something straight forward- if it comes to a grand and a half I’m tempted to sell the car. I’ve got a few other issues: boot won’t open with central locking, washers packed up, position p error on gears and it’s only done 41000 miles i hope your replacement goes smoothly- there’s a few You Tube videos showing you what to do but I’m **** at even the simplest car maintenance jobs. How did you know that your original tank had a bag in the first place - did you see the beads in the coolant?

Hi, For a few months I have not been getting hit air only on the drivers side of my Octavia. After a service I was told that my coolant was contaminated- I’ve attached a picture of a sample from the header tank and it looks ok to me. I have the double wall coolant tank (see photo )but I can’t see any sign on the bag of silica ? Nor could I see any silica beads in the water sample? I’ve booked the car into a local garage who specialises in German cars but I’ve read some horror stories about repair bills of a thousand pounds (to flush the system and replace the heat matrix ). If this is the case I’m tempted to sell and replace the car - I already have two pending repairs which I can’t afford. Has anyone got any experience of similar heating problems?

Many thanks for the responses on this.I’ve taken photo of the boot handle. Hopefully this has uploaded ok. Could you please confirm this is the part you’re referring to? Also if this handle is at fault why is the boot unlocking using the middle button on the key fob?

All 4 doors are unlocking with a single press

Only today I noticed my boot lid was not unlocking when the main button was pressed on the key fob (the button that unlocks the whole car). If I use the button in the key fob for unlocking the boot it works fine. I thought it might be a problem with the battery in the key fob but there are no indications of this. This boot is one you open manually. Has anyone had a similar problem and if so how did they resolve it? I would be grateful for any suggestions or comments

I’ve been seeing this error for a couple of years. I have a Skoda Octavia 66 plate and the car is automatic. I’m way outside the warranty period. I’m not fast enough to get a photo as the error sounds a beep then disappears after 2 seconds. It always occurs in transit during the first few miles of my journey so perhaps I should start a video. I’m surprised at how common this fault is. My local dealer has said it will cost around £300 to fix - they claim it is common and it is a faulty sensor which is causing this error. Does this fee sound reasonable? Has anyone else encountered this problem whilst driving an automatic car? The dealer claims the error is not dangerous but can be irritating and could affect the resale value if it appears during a test drive.

My rear washer hasn’t been working for a while. When I took my car in to the Skoda garage for a service I asked them to have a look. The report which came back was confusing - they said there are no leaks or breaks in the pipe work. The rear wiper is working and there is power getting to the unit but I need a new motor. Is the rear wiper motor and washer motor one unit and they’re saying that part of this is working but not the washer part? They’ve quoted £277 part and labour to fit a new motor. This sounds expensive to me - particularly for something I use a couple of times a year!