Driveucrazy

Hi, one benefit is to update Skoda navigation maps if you use them. According to official Skoda update portal you can do this for free using the Skoda Navigation Card in the glove box and following the instructions in the Skoda update portal. Very simple in theory. My car was supplied without The Skoda SD card. slight problem you can’t use apple mac, but purchased a 64 GB SD card for £10 and downloaded maps easily on Microsoft , though very slowly. just come off phone from a very helpful Skoda Customer Services person who put me on hold several times to confer with the technical department. They advised my car ( Karoq) was not supplied with SD card as can only be updated online via Skoda Connect. Not what infotainment system says. I pointed out that directly contradicts the Skoda Update portal where you have to enter your VIN to get specific instruction for your vehicle. I can’t fault the patience of the customer service person who was piggy in middle between customer and her technical department. problem unresolved and whilst I have maps on SD card I am too much of coward to insert into car in case I screw up the infotainment system. might explore putting Skoda Connect on car if £36 and not long contract and update all infotainment software.

Update on my saga. just about to order strut from Czechoslovakia main Skoda dealer as cheaper by over £100 than Uk dealer. Then thought I would check out a recommendation from another Skoda owner who had same problem which turned out to be a break in the wiring. I pulled back the rubber boot between strut and tailgate, and low and behold a broken wire. It is clearly a design fault that the incredibly fine wire is not capable of taking the flexing when the boot opens an closed. I raised the boot to highest point and propped it. then release bottom of strut which gave better access to the wires It is not possible to join wires together so soldered a small extension wire between the broken ends replaced strut and with some trepidation pressed the closure button. Eureka, boot lid smoothly descended and closed. A bit of a fiddly job but well within the competence of any DIY person. remember the main dealer price to replace strut was £ 835 plus £ 96 to investigate, so well worth having a go. Took around an hour to complete. hope it is a permanent fix, though does’nt solve the design fault and this wire or others could break in same location.

Whilst I will now follow the new recommendation I have a 1.5 TSI and the water pump is not driven off the cambelt unlike the dumb idea of some other models. if your car is the latter I would advise that the water pump is regularly inspected. My Vauxhall had a cambelt failure 2 months after it had been replaced. The cause was the water pump failed which then snapped the cambelt. that is why when the previous guidance was to change the water pump whenever the cambelt was replaced. I don’t know what Skoda are now advising about water pumps driven off cambelt. if I had a had a Skoda with cambelt driven water pump serviced, I would make a point of asking what the condition of the water pump was on inspection.

I am definitely one of the old folk! Never had problem with Honda dealership. Only visited for servicing. don’t get me going on Skoda dealership

Strange coincidence. I have come to same conclusion. We have a had succession of jazz as second car, latest 2011. When we decide on one car household the Karoq and Jazz will go to be replaced by hybrid Jazz. Can’t compete for Karoq for comfort though.

As members have previously quoted. The official Skoda Workshop has no time interval for the cambelt, only max kilometres. That said, I personally would EMail dealership and confirm their new recommendation. only cost an EMail and gives you a fig leaf in case thing go wrong in future.

I have given up with Skoda Uk, chocolate tea pot springs to mind. They have written me off and closed case. So I repeat, if any forum member has any experience of changing an electric tailgate strut I would welcome sharing their experience.

Good luck survey. the result of the investigation by dealership is it needs replacement right strut , having replaced the left strut in September. the quote they have given on top of the £96 already paid. A staggering further £835 you can get non VAG struts for £360. I used to believe in using original parts in the believe the quality is higher, but as both of mine have failed. In 16000 miles, I am questioning this logic. looking at the workshop manual, the change is pretty straight forward and if it took a mechanic more than an hour I would be surprised. I might even have a go myself but the only doubt is the manual states the last step is to plug into the diagnostic plug and set the maximum height for tailgate to open. The car manual states you can set this using the tailgate opening button, in case you have for instance a low garage. Put this to Skoda UK they said follow the workshop manual . if any member has replaced a strut, grateful for any wisdom. Skoda Uk state it is not possible to retrofit gas struts as wiring loom is different. More research looms, sorry no pun intended.

Ok update, Skoda czec turned out I better than UK and said I had to deal with Skoda Uk. In turn Skoda UK say I have to go to dealer. I pointed out to Skoda Czec that I was only seeking technical advice about ability to retrofit Gas Struts, and that as they built them I expected them to have the knowledge. They have decided not to reply. I went to a Skoda main dealer and asked for a quote for replacing the boot lock control mechanism which I suspect my be the culprit. they refused to quote without first doing a diagnostic test at £99.00. My suggestion that as the part is £70 and not the stock they carry it would be sensible to replace that first and avoid the customer paying for the diagnostic. As you can imagine that fell on deaf ears. given these parts are not reliable/durable, I would have regarded this as planned preventative maintenance and not a waste, and incidental a risk I was prepared to take. went to independent garage who was very helpful, though he said he believed the lock had to be configured online, which he was unable to do as did not have equipment. He gave me some contacts of tech guys who he recommended, but thought I might have no option but to use Skoda. Pass the valium please I like my car, but would I ever buy another Skoda!!!!!

Still not had reply from Skoda Uk emailed Skoda Czechoslovakia, got reply next day, asked me to go to Uk dealership first. went to dealership, short version told to get on bike unless I paid for repair, no warrantee Also told not possible to retrofit gas struts. I will visit an independent garage for second opinion. Can’t see I will ever see inside of a Skoda garage again unless I win lottery also no point in using Skoda genuine parts given their failure rate

I hope it is wrong that the replacement has no guarantee, probably against hope. The electric strut alone costs £558 without fitting charge. I have written to Skoda UK seeking technical advice to see if I can retrofit the gas struts that lower grade models have as standard. I would not miss the electric boot opening which I find a gimmick. Now a very expensive gimmick. my advice based on my experience is to avoid the electric boot opening at literally all cost.

Thanks, I meant the car. According to Skoda UK website they guarantee their work done under maintenance for 2 years. I haven’t spoke to dealer yet. No doubt will be an interesting discussion.

Hi, at 11500 miles the boot would not open on the button. Skoda main dealer diagnosed a faulty strut and replaced it under warrantee. 9 months later the boot will not open electronically. It is now out of warrantee. Anyone else had this problem?

Has anyone had a Major Service undertaken as part of the fixed price service plan with Skoda Financial Services If so, what work was actually completed.

Thanks toot, appreciated

Karoq petrol 1.5 TSI FwD 2018 year

Hi toot, my 5 year warranted is just ending, had a couple of jobs done between 3 and 5 years so probably broke even, and had peace of mind during that period.. as a matter of interest, how do I know what DSG gearbox is in my car?

I agree. My car is going in for its 5 year service as part of a plan with extended warrantee. Probably last visit to main dealer, and wont have cambelt done ( Yet! )

Hi skomas, let me explain the relevance. as this is a Skoda Forum I thought it relevant to let the reader know it was a Vauxhall , not a skoda The relevant point was that a brand new belt was broken by an ancillary, namely the water pump failing. despite the improvement in belt technology I understand this is still the case, the actual belt rarely fails. That is why as well as changing the belt, Skoda change every tensioner etc, down to the last nut and washer. Cynic will say it is to maximize profit. You may think that , I could not possibly comment. as I said the 1.5 TSI does not have the Water pump driven off the cambelt, so further reduces the need to change the belt. Only time will tell if the tensioners etc are of sufficient design and build quality to outlast the belt.

The problem is they do fail and the consequences are very expensive. Decades ago my cambelt failed on my Vauxhall, 3 weeks after a replacement. Wasn’t the cambelt that caused it but the water pump off the same belt. At least that design doesn’t apply to the 1.5 TSI petrol. my friend had his replaced on his Diesel Octavia on the 5 year interval. He asked for his old parts to be returned. He is an engineer by trade and his visual inspection could not find any external sign of wear, and all tensioner bearings and water pump run smooth. I am sure an actuary would calculate that the cost of prevention for the entire engine population costs far more that rectifying the damage to the rare failure of modern belts. but you have to allow for poor design. My daughter has a Yeti. Again recommended to have timing belt change at 5 years. However it is a chain not belt, so I investigated why. Turns out the tensioner is worked of the oil pressure and when/ if the chain stretches the the tensioner extends too far and retracts when the engine is turned off. On a cold start the chain doesn’t break, but can jump some cogs resulting in catastrophic damage before the tensioner pumps up. such bad design should be the manufactures responsibility to correct as not fit for purpose, but that won’t happen soon.

No, published on their website and stating that Skoda publish the standard prices but dealerships can offer promotions etc

One main dealership quotes £539 for a cambelt change, but only for cars on fixed service intervals. They clearly don’t like the variable service regime that keeps cars out of the workshop. Well everyone needs to earn a crust.

Thanks for posting info. as a matter of interest where/ how did you obtain the maintenance schedule you have quoted from? It is a useful document. whilst it is prudent to change the belt I will not rush into replacing it after only 14500miles. It’s a gamble that could go wrong, but it will be an interesting chat when I have car serviced. I know someone whose Mercedes is in for repair after cambelt failure —-£3500, ouch! I also wait with interest to see what the Which consumer mag respond

Brilliant, look forward to your investigation. On my mileage it works out at 6.5 p per mile. The more I use my bus pass, the price per mile for cambelt increases, ironic or not. I should do the 120,000 miles it’s specified to last then it would seem quite reasonable.

I have a 2018 Karoq TSI ACT, dealer want £950 for cambelt. The actual Skoda cambelt from main dealer is circa £120, double that for tensioners and all bolts replaced. At best I can understand the belt being a time related interval, but the rest?. They don’t recommend changing the wheel bearings every 5 Years!!! Sound like bad engineering. It is a shame but I really like my Karoq, but my previous Japanese cars never had this issue! I also don’t understand the timing issue. If the cams and crank is locked into position and the new belt fitted with same tooth intervals, how is the timing changed? on another forum it was posted that this cambelt interval in Germany is based only on mileage, not years. Very hard to verify. I emailed Skoda HQ in Czech Republic, the response was they did not have any data on my car and referred me to contact my UK. Dealer. I have membership of Which consumer magazine, and asked if they could get a response. If it is not Time related I will consider my options. To spend more annually to maintain a cambelt, than my Road Tax is madness.