Chathura

I call such people as "tea party" people. To be honest, they are pretty common here in the UK in many sectors (e.g. mechanical garages, house builders). Their priority is to enjoy their tea parties and family events while charging the customers for those hours they spend talking and "tea partying"! Only if they have any spare time left, or when they need the next payment they attend to the customer's job and do some work.

Your post is truly helpful! Especially, listing down the required tools will give a better chance to anyone to prepare for this in advance. Re: Coolant draining: However, in my case, I may have to bring the car to a garage as I don't have the jacks or ramps to lift the car to remove the cover under the engine. Maybe, it would be a good idea to update your original post including those also as tools if there are no alternatives. Re: Product buyer recommendation/advice: I have an Octavia MK3 (2016) and I looked for OEM products when looking for a new heater matrix and an expansion bottle. However, I couldn't even find anything branded as Skoda or VW. Instead, I found a set of different products including Valeo. Therefore, I came to the briskoda forum looking for some advice.

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I recently bought an Ancel car diagnose tool and ran a quick scan to see if there are any faults. The only fault I got in the report is P199E00 - Cylinder head coolant valve Open circuit. I searched this online and didn't find enough information. Even though there were no indicators/warnings on the dashboard, I brought this to a different garage instead of the one I used for previous services. The mechanic (and the owner of the garage) asked me all the correct questions and then inspected the engine. He actually predicted the exact issue just by listening to me even before checking the vehicle. My car originally comes with a switchable water pump that is described here in this video[1]. The mechanic at this garage showed me that the car has been fitted with a non-switchable water pump instead of a switchable one. The solenoid that is supped to be connected to the (switchable) water pump had been left just hanging. (Then I realised what has happened. A while ago, I got the Timing Belt + Water Pump replaced on my car after reaching the recommended mileage for Timing Belt replacement. That was a different garage based on where I live. People in that garage where I got the Timing Belt + Water Pump replaced had fitted a non-switchable water pump. The difference can be spotted in the following two Water pump and timing belt kits) I asked my new mechanic if I should immediately get the water pump changed to a switchable one. But he described the additional tasks that the switchable pump performs in comparison (that are described in this video) and told me that it is OK to leave the current pump as it is until the next timing belt change. He diagnosed the car by attaching a diagnosis tool and confirmed that there were no other issues. I would like to know everyone's opinion on this if they have come across this very issue by any chance. Also, I noticed a lack of heat in the driver-side air condition/flow vents during the winter, which is connected to the heater matrix as I learnt. (Maybe this issue, the non-switchable pump has contributed to causing that heating issue as well). I am planning to get this also checked/fixed when I find time and I will update the observations/results here as well. I only mention this here for the benefit of anyone who has come across the same set of issues. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TEap0nuVrE8&ab_channel=febi.bilstein

Oh!! This is truly helpful, even though the thread isn't about the DSG oil change. They have mentioned prices for labour (106.37), Seal ring (4.88) and Gear oil (96.10). But there is no mention of a filter. Should I be worried about this? Should I get some other garage to get the filter also replaced? The current mileage is 65011 and I plan to anyway do a DSG oil change at 80K miles. Can I wait until that, or should I change the filter before that?

Thanks a lot!! A correction: The amount Marshall Skoda quoted is £899.82 (not £900+) and it was in January 2021. My car has a DQ250 (0D9) - 6 Speed DSG: I believe that 40K miles oil change applies to it. I bought it at the mileage of 51669 and the actual DSG oil change was done at 54029; after driving another 2360 miles since I bought it. Because I was dumb enough to trust their so-called "experienced, qualified Vehicle Technicians" too much

Yes. I bought my car in the January of 2020 from Marshall Skoda Northampton here: When I got the car, they had done the services and the MOT and they guaranteed that the previous owner had always serviced the car from their dealership garage and the car was maintained according to the manufacturer's guidelines by their "manufacturer-trained" staff. The MOT report was flawless! I spotted a small chip on the windscreen and asked about it. The gentleman who was there at the test drive guaranteed that it has been repaired properly by them and showed me the MOT report which doesn't even mention anything (adversary etc) on it due to this. To be fair, it was a minor thing which was almost covered by the interior mirror. But, I was disappointed with what they did about it when I came a year later for the Service and the MOT. They marked the same thing as a defect and an adversary in the MOT report and gave me a quotation of £806.04 to get it fixed. The reason they probably didn't mention it in the MOT report when they sold the car to me was very clear at this point. They simply didn't want to reduce the value of the car. But when I came to their dealership garage a year later, it was a good opportunity for them to earn more money—they don't care if the value of the car gets reduced now because if I sell the car, it only impacts me, but not them. So, now they didn't have a problem putting the same thing into the MOT report and pushing me for an upsell of their services. They sold me the car at the mileage of 51,669. But according to their own Service Recommendation chart (image below), the following maintenance work had to be completed at 40K and 50K miles—which had NOT been done yet. DSG Oil Change - at 40,000 miles Brake Fluid Change - at 50,000 miles Cam Belt Change - at 50,000 miles Extended Scope Service - at 50,000 miles The odometer had 51,669 miles on it when I bought the car, but their 'manufacturer-trained' mechanics who did the service + MOT never even recommended getting these done as soon as possible. As I see it, they clearly didn't want to leave any room for potential bargains/reduction of the sales value. As an inexperienced car buyer, I never expected a used car to be perfect. When someone buys a used car in my home country, that person anyway brings the car to a mechanic and gets the car checked thoroughly and fixed/serviced as required. I had the same mindset. But in this case, I didn't want to take it to another garage to re-check it or service it or seek to advise on essential maintenance work, — because an Authorise Skoda Dealership garage in the UK already guaranteed that they have already done it all after the previous owner returned the car after the PCP contract period. Luckily, the pandemic made me keep the car at home mostly until the next year (2021). I only had driven less than 2500 miles when I drove to Marshall Skoda Northampton garage for the first MOT and Service after I bought the car. I had no idea about the things they had done to play me until this point—so, I drove there to get my car serviced with the service plan I had already bought in 2020. My service plan had 1 Major Service and 1 Minor service in it. They had done the minor service and my friend noted that they had charged me again for the service which I have already paid under the service plan. My friend told me that this is a very common practice among UK-based vendors where they overcharge at first and pretend like it was a mistake only if the customer comes back questioning it. This was exactly what happened! After the service and the MOT pass, they sent me a quotation for the following (recommended maintenance) work and asked me if I authorise them to carry these out because they were crucial. They even sent me a link to a portal on the web where these are marked in Red and Amber which gives you that psychological push to get these done ASAP at once! DSG oil change = £248.22 Brake fluid change = £77.32 Cam-belt change = £899.82 Tyre sealant bottle replacement = £63.00 3 Tyre replacements = £123.60 / each = £370.80 Because I needed the car the very next day for family commitments, I couldn't leave the car at the garage for 2 more days to carry out all this work. Therefore, I authorised only to do the DSG Oil and Brake Fluid change. This gave me some space to get some advice from my friend who owns a driving school in the UK. Otherwise, I would have dropped my car again at the Marshall Skoda Dealership garage to get the cam-belt and tyres changed too. Once I realised how they have done things so far, I could NEITHER trust them for their VW Mechanic Expertise NOR for their integrity as an official Skoda Dealership in the UK. I never went there again, even though I had one Major service remaining for which I have paid them already!

Does it sound like an old computer hard disk or "water flowing" through a pipe? I also kept looking for advice as I had been having a "water flowing" noise when the engine stops. The coolant system had been recently checked by qualified mechanics as there were some air pockets after the timing belt + water pump change, and then the car was serviced twice after that. Therefore, I didn't have a reason to worry before. The recent observations: I had also noticed that the A/C vents in the driver side were blowing only cold air. Initially, I thought that it would be normal have cold air flowing through the A/C vents in a winter weather like that. But once on a freezing cold day during this winter, after driving about 30 mins, I also heard a noise under the glove box exactly like a little bird (2, 3 times and it stopped) as I remember it (someone can actually say that's the noise of a cricket). That's when I started to worry about this. What fixed it: Then I had the expansion tank open and kept the engine running for a while. Because, I thought the very first thing to do is to get rid of any remaining air pockets in the system. After the timing belt change, the staff at the garage had filled coolant up to the (minimum) level it barely touches the sensor, in order to make sure that there are no leaks or coolant loss. After that, I also didn't bother to fill coolant to max level or in between. So, I filled some more coolant mixed with de-ionised water and kept the engine running. I didn't observe any progress immediately, but after one shopping trips, the driver side heating started to work as normal. As precautionary measures: I checked if my car has that "silica get packet" in the coolant expansion tank as many people in the Briskoda forum had warned that it is prone to break and clog the coolant system (especially, heater core). But that silica get packet wasn't there in the coolant expansion tank. I believe the staff members of the garage probably have removed it already. When I checked the colour of the coolant in the expansion tank, I thought it would be better to get the system flushed and refilled. I know that this is something I could have done by myself, but I booked a mobile mechanic via ClickMechanic for £108 as I would hardly find time to shop all the necessary equipment and to do the job. Since the weather is too cold this week (even running in to minus degrees), the job was postponed. The reason: They have to drain the old coolant and put the cleaner (something like Prestone) and run the engine and then run de-ionised cold water twice before refilling the system with new coolant. Having to put cold water in this freezing weather to a warm engine can do damage in theory. Therefore, we are waiting until the next week for this. I am about to change the pollen filter also as my car was mostly parked near our house that was being renovated before the winter (lots of dust and particles of sanded walls and cut floorboards)

I actually posted this for the benefit of anyone who may come across the same issue. It would be helpful if you could kindly add the steps for Virtual Cockpit fitted cars.

I believe that you are talking about this. This is some Copied/pasted information in Quote below:

I have posted two images/screenshots (see below) which give an idea about this. According to Haynes manual, it's at 72 months (6 years) and According to the Skoda Servicing chart, it's at 60 months (5 years) or 50K miles (whichever comes first) In the Haynes manual, they say "it is strongly recommended that the interval be reduced as suggested, especially for vehicles used intensively, e.g. short journeys or stop-start driving. This explains why it is better to change the timing belt at 50K miles rather than waiting 72 months, because, I believe the Octavia MK-III cars many of you have are equipped with automatic stop-start when moving in slow traffic or near colour/traffic lights. It is fair to assume that each stop-start would add additional stress on the timing belt compared to a scenario where you drive on the motorway (constant momentum/torque in the engine). I couldn't trust Marshal Skoda Northampton and the expertise of their mechanics even though they gave the service history of the car. Because they had missed or ignored the manufacturer's recommendations to perform certain services/maintenance work at the right time/mileage before they sold the car to me. Instead, they have postponed them until the next year when I come to get the car serviced under the service plan they sold to me. Ignoring changing the brake fluid, DSG fluid and Timing + Water pump as per their own service/maintenance chart is unacceptable. They didn't at least recommend that to me at the time of the sale (at 54000 miles), maybe thinking that I would ask for a discount for all the maintenance work due at that mileage (Please refer to the second image in Green). Then in the next year when I went to claim the first service of the service plan I bought from them, their dealership garage tried to rip me off saying that I must get these done immediately and gave me a huge quotation. Those prices were more than double the prices given in this Green colour chart, but I had no idea about the actual prices then. Without thinking much, I asked them to change the brake fluid and DSG fluid and I paid for those. Since they told me I would have to leave the car at the garage for 2 more days to change the timing belt, I drove off that day with the intention of returning to their garage a few days later to get the timing belt changed. That's when I started to study the vehicle and service/maintenance intervals! Thanks to the people on this forum, I learnt how Marshal Skoda Dealership & Garage in Northampton deceive people!! What I paid so far was double the price compared to another Authorised VW Garage in Milton Keynes. Even for the timing belt change, they quoted me £900+. So, I got it done at a local garage (with very honest, non-pushy people) for about £500. The Timing Belt + Water Pump Kit was Gates Powergrip whereas Marshal Skoda Dealership Garage claims that they use OEM parts. But I do not know if I could actually trust Marshal Skoda Dealership and the level of attention their mechanics pay. They sold me the car at 54000 miles...according to their own service/maintenance chart, the Brake Fluid, DGS Fluid and Timing Belt should have been charged at 50000 miles. But they didn't even recommend that I should immediately get those done, probably just because they thought I would ask for a discount.

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Thank you for initiating this thread and for all the responses. I came across this issue this winter. History: I got my cam belt and water pump replaced 2 years ago and there was a coolant warning after that. I drove to the garage again and got it fixed. However, over the course of two years, I got about the coolant warning with weather changes right at the start of winter. According to the discussion on this thread, it sounds like I have a coolant leak somewhere even though I cannot see any leaks physically. Maybe that is why I got the driver-side heating issue this time. I am not sure how much damage this probably has done (if any) so far. But 2-3 weeks before the oil service interval (yearly oil service) the engine oil level warning started to illuminate. Not sure if this was caused by the same issue. The MOT passed without a single issue. But, I am thinking of getting a secondary check done from another party/garage after reading this thread. I would appreciate any advice and thank you in advance!

If "Skoda UK" == "Marshall Skoda", I am not surprised. That's the exact experience of mine so far and the impression I have right after one year from the day I started to do business with them. Perhaps, the UK entity is determined to cover the compensations they had to pay for the VW customers due that emission issue; but I too agree that they are trying to rip the customers off as much as they could.

I got a quote from unit18 as "Price for cambelt and water pump replacement would be £380 incl parts, labour and VAT." This sounds unbelievable. On their website they have also mentioned that they are using genuine parts.