pcspinheiro

Hi again, Does anyone know if the original Orion rims fitted to Skoda cars are factory painted or powder coated? I recently had an issue with a simple tire swap (damaged all 4 rims quite badly) and they sent them for repair twice already, but the job has been quite abysmal, and they just threw some flaky metallic paint on them (not really a repair if you can still see the damage...) and did a pi s s poor job at it too, because it's uneven, dirty. Does not look factory and does not seem like it will last. I'm opening a legal claim against the workshop because, despite the fact that THEY ruined them AGAIN! after the second "repair, it's apparently not their problem anymore...

Ok, thanks. But the thing is, I'm not replacing them, I'm having them machined since they're still quite new and, ideally, I suppose I should take the pair to the workshop. But that means either having to sit the car on stands (I have them, but I'm weary of doing it because it seems hard to lift the car AND support it in the correct location to remove the jack), or put the wheels back just to be able to put the car down

Have to take road camber into consideration and see about it. But in stretches of road where other cars I own just keep straight if I let go of the steering, the Skoda just swerves to the right, quite fast too... I tested this and the Skoda needs to be constantly pulled to the left to travel straight. Alignment: has been done several times, last one at the dealer (even have the report) tyres: are almost new (and it did it with the old ones, but only after a certain mileage) brake drag: dunno... I do have some vibration from a slightly warped rear disc and more recently I'm a front one seems warped too (steering vibration on braking), possibly thanks to an idiot at the workshop that tightened the lug nut all wrong. Some were pretty lose, others over-tightened. I have to sort this out too... Road: could make the issue worse, but definitely the car is to blame. I don't feel this need to constantly pull the steering to prevent the car from leaving the road with my other 2 cars...

Yes, LHD. Constantly drifting toward the side of the road (better than the other way around...), but I have other cars that I drive on the same roads and they don't do it, at least not nearly as much. As soon as I let go of the steering, off it goes. And I have to constantly have the keep pulling the steering to the left a bit to prevent it from drifting. Doesn't seem normal.. A 4-wheel alignment was done, I have the report. The alignment had been done before at a tire place that I trust, same result... The car has 4 almost new goodyear vector 4 seasons. Before it had the factory Falken "something..." and had the same issue. I thought it could be uneven war on the old tires but problem persists after changing all 4

Cool, thanks! Another small thing though: since I'll be removing them in my garage, I have to do them one by one and don't have an easy/safe way to keep both rear (or front) wheels up simultaneously. Is it possible/OK to mount back the wheel without the discs, just to be able to set the car down again, or is this a no-no (or there is no clearance to the carriers?)?

Not wanting to steal this thread, have the same car (model, year, engine) and I'm often getting a lot of shuddering when starting from still. I complained to the dealer but 1) they could not find anything 2) said even if they did it would never be a warranty issue, it's a wear part (despite the low mileage, driving conditions, etc). Is this something I can just live with or will it cause other issues? I have an 20 yo Opel astra estate, 1.4 petrol, almost 400.00 km, original clutch, smooth as butter....

Ok, sorry but it's me again... My MK3 superb has, for a while now, been constantly pulling to the right. I've had it aligned several times, including at the dealership, where I even got a printed report. It was within specs before and maybe a little better after. The problem remains: it always pulls to the right. Tire pressure is as indicated and even across tires. I never had any accident or anything, so this is starting to annoy me. Obviously, the dealership finds nothing wrong with it (it's still under a warranty extension...). What could be the causes? Worn ball joint? Worn motor mounts (I complained of what seems like too much play and a clicking sound when I press and release the accelerator and suggested bad mounts, but they said its the transmission gears moving, never even looked at the mounts...). Any help is appreciated, I feel like my car will last very little as long as it's in the hands of this stealership... Even the interior blower makes a chirping sound on cold days THAT I RECORDED in a video, but they say they must observe the defect themselves... and apparently don't... so f**** frustrating... They will obviously see EVERYTHING - and them some - once the warranty is over... Anyway, any help is appreciated!

Sorry, I know this is an older thread, but reading through it I got that for the SS MK3: - you don't need to remove the carrier to remove solid rear discs - you do need to remove the carrier to remove the front discs Is this right? What type of bolts are holding the front carriers? I saw some video where they were M-type (M-14, I think?). Can anyone confirm? My disks and pads are still half good but I need to have my discs resurfaced after a workshop torqued my lug nuts quite wrong and I started getting judder when braking... Was thinking of keeping pads, otherwise I need to wind back the electric brakes and whatnot... needs tool I currently don't have, so I'd rather not...

Is that a petrol or diesel engine? I did a trip from Portugal to Paris in my 2.0 TDI estate, always respecting speed limits (2 adults + 2 children + full trunk + A/C on), and remember, for example, Bordeaux- Paris doing 65 mpg UK, which is awesome. I can sometimes get as much as 78 mpg UK if only driving outside the city on 50-90 km/h roads. This aspect of the car is a big plus. I have some quibbles with other aspects, but OK in general.

Hello good people, I have a few small questions that hope someone can help me with... 1- Does anyone know what kind of factory finish is applied to the Orion 16" rims (paint or powder coat)? I had ALL FOUR!!! damaged in a tire swap operation and the "repair" done at the cost of the workshop (twice already) is complete sh** ! They supposedly sent them for a rim specialist but both times all they did was apply a bad coat of metallic silver paint. Never corrected the metal they removed from the edges and the paint has uneven coverage/dirt (especially in the holes for the bolts, edges all around and inner spoke surfaces) . I'm taking this legal now, since they refuse to admit this is an unacceptable job (plus they damaged them again mounting the tires, but still don't care... it was in Norauto, btw). It's not even the same kind of silver satin finish, it's a very shiny, metallic flaky finish... A few pics to illustrate obvious defects are added. 2- I seem to have one or more warped discs since I feel some vibration when braking. Though they are still very new (I make a very defensive driving and use the brakes sparingly) and the pads half used, Skoda said it was time to change everything (obviously!...). However, I think they can simply be machined and there's a local place that does this well at acceptable costs. Is removing the discs and replacing the pads something I could do myself? I'm used to doing it in other cars (no ABS), and I'm good around cars in general, but never touched something as "new" (car's from 2017). Anything special to pay attention to? I suppose I can find tutorials but just wanted a heads up. 3- I have a "swooshing" sound coming up usually at or above 40 km/h. Steering is aligned, wheels balanced and the tires are still almost new, and I don't remember this before they assembled the tires after the last rim "repair". Could it be a bearing starting to fail? Strangely, the braking vibrations and "swooshing" sound all appeared after the car went to said workshop (some 10k km ago) for the tire change that damaged the rims... Coincidence?... Thanks in advance for any input! Cheers.

Seriously????

I've owned the car practically since new (it was a demo car) and, AFAIK, nothing was done to it other than regular servicing and (supposedly) the AC compressor was replaced due to malfunction. I say supposedly because these guys are unbelievable, for the lack of a better, non-insulting word. I took it to an independent mechanic that specializes in VAG cars, and found that, through the 4 years of services at Skoda they apparently never changed the air and fuel filter! Unbelievable!!!! Anyway, it's doing again some strange noise on the compressor area, as per my other recent post...

Hello yet again... Yesterday I noticed a loud knocking sound coming from the engine bay, seems to be on the engine side where all the belts run. Unfortunately did not record it at the time and I am pretty sure they will not hear it at Skoda (or say it's normal!). Today I noticed it's still there and maybe related with having the AC on (must test), but less loud. Please see vid but ignore the last few secs where I started sneezing 😅😅. Any thoughts? I'm so sick and tired of all the noises and clunkings. Nobody finds anything until the day the car falls apart! I also suspect a bad/loose engine or transmission mount since there is noise/clicking on the left side when accelerating and letting go of the gas, but again, it only seems that bother me 😭😭😭 or I have supersonic hearing.... I so think there's too much vibration from the engine when under heavier load (say, full car uphill at highway speeds). Im sure it will be thousands worth of repairs as soon as the warranty extension is over!!! 👿👿👿 Very frustrated with this car and with Skoda service ☹️☹️☹️

Thanks for the suggestion. When I changed the tires and aligned the steering I asked to do it on all fours. They normally only do the front but I saw on the screen that the rear was slightly off and asked to do it as well. Unless the machine was lying, it should have been fine...

Sorry, I replied too late and didn't see the other replies. I'll have them check this at the dealership. Could be a steering rack calibration issue then. Or the tie rods. I got it aligned after a tire rotation, quite some time ago (and before these all new tires), and maybe this is when it actually started behaving like this, but can't remember... It is rather annoying though.

It happens everywhere. I know roads tend slope from the middle outward, but regardless of the road, soon after letting go of the steering wheel there it goes wandering to the right...

Hello again, my Superb estate has been pulling to right for quite a while now. I had it aligned with the old tires but that didn't do it and the guy said maybe one tire had more grip and caused this. "fair enough" I thought, "so this be straightened when I change tires". Just did that a couple of weeks ago (they messed up ALL my 4 rims at Norauto Portugal and still did not provide a satisfactory solution, but that's another story...) and asked for a new steering alignment. After this, the car still wanders to the right when I let go of the steering, always to the right. A guy at an independent VAG workshop said that the car needs to have the steering rack at the zero position for proper alignment. What does this even mean? Or should I suspect a problem elsewhere (suspension, bushings, ball joints)? I do feel like there is some knocking that I can feel on the steering and even on my feet when driving on more irregular roads that I don't feel with our other 2 cars (a LEAF and a 20-yo Opel astra), but the dealership can never, ever find anything wrong (unless I specifically tell them what it is)... The tires don't seem to wear unevenly, but it's still super annoying. If someone has any thought to share they are welcome!

@JR RS can you please tell me what spacers you are using (brand or seller)? Been considering 15-20 mm spacers on my superb but keep putting it off... Any pics of how the wheels look? Cheers!

There should be no clutch clicking since, AFAIK, they don't have a clutch but a valve system instead? Was told this by the head mechanic at the dealership when mine started doing some annoying noise that went away if the AC is turned on. Also, the climate control has 3 modes, weak, normal and strong (or something like that) that you can access in the infotainment menus. Check that it's not set to weak. Mine was and it was very unresponsive to higher cabin temps. Much better after setting it to medium.

How do wheel spacers compare to changing for slightly wider rims and/or with different offset? I mean in terms of the mentioned problems ( Increased load on wheel bearings; Increase in bump steer; Changed suspension geometry...). people seem to do these all the time, yet when it comes to spacers they'll will ruin the car... I'm neither for nor against, mind you, just trying to understand. I'm sure my very stock and "old dad-driven" superb would look worlds apart with the wheels pulled outward by just 2cm. The stock rims just keep the whole thing too much "inside" the car.

If I notice that the hissing sound comes back I'll do that and take to the shop recommended by Bruno. As I said in a previous post, they probably refilled the system to get me to shut up, as I'm not (yet) crazy to make up a hissing sound coming from the AC system. I really, really wish I didn't hear it, it would mean all was OK and I didn't need to bother...

Not that I can see, no. But it's hard to look down there, and and the engine bay is so crowded that I can't properly reach in with my hand and feel around the area to see if there's any oil leaking.

Do you think it's a complicated job? I do most repairs/service on my old Opel, and I've changed the front callipers, brake pads and discs, steering pump, alternator, one fuel injector, etc... Can't be that hard, can it? Don't know, haven't done anything to the Skoda yet...

Thanks Wino, this is also my best guess as well since it's the most likely problem here, but they won't admit that something went wrong...

Not much worn yet, no. I do a very defensive/eco driving and use the brakes very little. The car has almost 60.000 km and they are still the factory ones, with plenty to go still.