CrispyJ

Interesting info on the Wavetec conversion, I'll take a look, but honestly sounds more expensive than the current repair bill 🤑. No, I bought the car from a Skoda dealership in Oxford. I have been using my local Skoda dealership for servicing/ maintenance/ MOT. I've been looking a little more into the VAQ diff, to try and identify where the leak is actually coming from. It looks like it bolts on to the gearbox on the passenger side. I've circled what appears to be the interface between the diff lock and the GB housing. I assume this is where the technician discovered the oil leak. I can understand why they want to change the seals, but still concerned it won't fix the problem. If that's the case it's difficult to imagine any other solutions that doesn't involve completely replacing the VAQ lock. . . . and I'm guessing that will cost much more than £1,000. It occurred to me also, that the strange sound I've been hearing (high pitched electronic sound) may be related to the VAQ lock. I realised that, when I bought the car, the operation of the diff was very noticable, especially with Sport selected on the driver select i.e. you could feel the wheels gripping the road and pulling the car out of bends. I don't know whether I just drive slower, now, or whether it has stopped working, because I honestly haven't been aware of it in a while. Other than driving the thing like a maniac, are there any simple tests I can do to make sure it is working????

Thanks for the suggestion. I shall see if there are any local to me. I can't say I've heard any noises, that seem out of the ordinary. I do hear a sound, shortly after take-off, it's short-lived and its high pitched to begin with, like something electro-mechanical is either opening, or closing.

Interesting! It's four years old, so. . . . Its had the engine service, AC re-gas, brake fluid. They haven't done the Pollen filter, Spark plugs, or the DSG oil change. Is that blue chart readily available?

Hi roottoot, My instructions to the dealership have always been, service it and maintain it to the manufacturer's recommendations. I have asked them about various components on the car, including the diff, to which they have always replied, we'll ask you before we service it as and when the guidelines tell us to do so. I'm confident they haven't serviced the front dif, because I haven't seen it on any of the bills and they haven't specifically asked me for permission to do it, which I assume means, it isn't time to do it yet. Either it isn't old enough, or it hasn't covered the requisite number of miles. Or, of course they should have done it by now and just haven't realised! To my knowledge, correct my if I'm wrong, a service includes complete oil replacement and a filter change?

Hello, It's a sad day. My VRS is leaking oil . . . . something I did not anticipate, or expect after a mere 4 years of ownership. Sadly, the car is now out of warranty. So, it appears from a workshop walk-through video, created by a Skoda technician, oil is leaking between the front diff (VAQ E diff to be precise) and the gearbox. This was the technicians diagnosis of the problem, not mine. To address it, they are proposing full seal replacement, all of them between the components in question. £970 inc VAT to undertake the work. At which point, I fell off my chair. The car has been serviced at the dealership since new and it's had all of the regular maintenance work (AC/ brake fluid change etc etc) in accordance with the manufacturer's recommendations. It's done 34k miles. The garage are unsure what the route cause is, and haven't seen this particular failure before. Whether I believe that, is certainly up for debate. Skoda have so far refused to put any good will toward the repair cost, as requested by the dealership. So, I've contacted them, independently and opened a case directly, I'm yet to receive a response. However, as the car is out of warranty, I'm not holding out much hope. Honestly, I can't fault the dealership so far, although I was slightly shocked at the cost, but I do appreciate it involves a lot of work to disassemble the axle, driveshafts and associated connections to gain access to the seals. My concern is that it won't fix the problem. Why would seals fail after 4 years and such low mileage? I have never had anything like this on any car I've owned, which included a 10 year old BMW, 335i to be precise, which was an absolute lemon - but still didn't cost me £1,000 in one hit to repair! I have found an article, relating to a Golf GTI (performance), which some of you may know is essentially the same as a vrs 245 (equipped with the same VAQ E diff) with exactly the same problem. VW proposed the same fix, replace all the seals, which failed to fix the problem and the leak was still present. The article went on to discuss another VW owner, who was told by VW that there are 'quality control' issues with the manufacturer of the VAQ E-diff, which can cause leaks. The Golf, in question eventually had the entire VAQ replaced with a brand new unit, presumably under warranty. I'm unable to confirm the veracity of this, however. Clearly the internet is full of many tall stories, but I'm extremely reluctant to depart with £1,000 on a whim, when my gut feeling is that seals shouldn't fail after only 4 years at such low mileage. Can anyone verify this claim re VAQ diffs and quality control issues? Original article link here https://www.vwvortex.com/threads/gli-6mt-with-transmission-oil-leak.9346459/page-2 Also, if anyone has any tips about how to get Skoda to pony up some cash, it would be much appreciated! I'm really rather disappointed, the car also suffered the infamous 'coolant' leak, which happened under warranty, so it needed a new thermostat. Again, under warranty, but when considered together, these are major problems for a car and manufacturer that is supposedly more reliable than most of its competition. Perhaps I've just been unlucky!

Thanks for your responses. If I understand correctly then, buying replacement parts, directly from Skoda would yield Jurid pads and a TRW rotors?

Hi, The original brake pads bear both TRW's and Jurid's brand name. Jurid appear to be part of DRiV Automotive Inc, whereas TRW are part of ZF TRW Automotive Holdings Group. Jurid and TRW sell pads/ rotors independently, after-market, so why would they collaborate for OE? I'm trying to establish ta suitable brand to replace the OE with, as the car is approaching 4 years of age. I've read many posts by people asking the same questions about quality/ reliability/ cost, which all appear to conclude with subjective conclusions i.e. predicated on a personal belief that one is better than the other. It doesn't take long to discover that many of these so-called competitors, are actually owned by the same parent company. Some of their websites even use the same web template, but with different colours and logos! I used www.buycarparts.co.uk a lot in the past. Mostly good experiences. There is very little information on their website regarding customs duties and additional charges. Following Brexit, can anyone confirm if the couriers are charging duties before they deliver the goods?