SkodaAndyVRS

Hi Folks, I've just had some pretty extensive work done on my 2016 Skoda Octavia VRS Estate (2.0ltr 220bhp). It's now showing an EPC intermittently and other warning like Number Plate Light Fault. Before I take it back to the garage and get them to charge me an arm and a leg to find the fault I want to check what the fault codes are myself. I dont want to buy something that wont give much detail and I want to buy something that I can use for the car longer term with any fault or issue. What would you recommend?

Quite possibly not the news you want to hear and I'm hoping this isn't the case but I would absolutely get the heater matrix checked. There's an inherent issue with these engines from this era where sand was not cleared from engine casting meaning contamination in the engine block. One of the primary signs is the heater matrix get's blocked. Skoda have just had my car (Octavia VRS Estate 2ltr for 4 months. Sand contamination in the cooling system which blocked heater matrix (only one of the internal vents in my car blew hot air the rest blew cold), blocked cooling system and ended up with blown head gasket. £7,500 later, new head gasket, replaced all cooling system parts and a load of other stuff. The sand issue presents as small issues at first like what you've experienced or water pump fails or thermostat fails and as time goes on the issue gets progressively worse. I'm not saying you have this problem, but just be aware that the symptoms you describe are atypical of this issue and the sooner you get to it and flush the engine the less likely it is you'll end up with a repair cost like mine.

Thanks Gaz, I figured as much. Robbing, thieving con artists!

Hi folks, I’ve had some challenges with air con / heater in the car where one side blows cold the other side blows hot. It looks like it’s a blocked matrix. Skoda have said to replace it they have to take the dashboard out! I’ve had a look on you tube and there’s a load of videos of people replacing them without removing the dashboard. Have any of you had any experience with this and can offer advice? It looks easy enough in the videos but I’m worried I’m missing something here. Any advice would be great. I’m not a mechanic but I’m pretty good with tools and fixing / building stuff. Just don’t wanna create a bigger problem than I already have!

@TheClient Thanks, that’s what I feared. The service intervals were every 10k and I check the oil regularly (every 2-3k). The problem only started occurring at 100k. The turbo has been checked so it looks like its piston rings then…. Ouch. Time for a new car I think.

Hi Folks, I'm hoping this is a lot simpler than I'm being led to believe. I have a Skoda Octavia VRS Mk iii Petrol Estate (2016). The car hit 100,000 back in May and I needed to get a replacement clutch, flywheel and thermostat so I booked it in to a local garage for the service and the extra work. About 500 miles after I picked the car up the engine oil light came on so I check the oil level and it was on the minimum mark. I topped it up (5w30) and then about 500 miles later I had the same thing. 6000 miles later and I'm having to put in about 1 litre ever 1000 miles (I believe the acceptable consumption level for oil on these is 1 litre to every 10,000 miles). I spoke to the garage and they had the car in. They've said they can't find any oil leaks, the oil isn't entering the coolant system and there's no indication of any gasket leaks. There's no smoke coming out the back end and the engine is running within temperature guides (no higher than 110 degrees centigrade). There's also no impact on performance. During the conversation with the garage they told me they used 0w40 oil. My understanding was that the oil supposed to be used was 5w30. I've spent hours reading about the differences and so far as I understand it it's to do with the viscosity of the oil at cold and then when the engine is running at temperature. So on 5w30 - the 5 is the viscosity of the oil at cold and the 30 is the viscosity of the oil when the engine is running at temperature. The w indicates 'Winter'. I've spoken to Skoda themselves and they can't actually / won't tell me which oil I'm supposed to use (0w30 0w40 5w30 5w40). They've given me the spec as VW50200. My question is this. Will 0W40 burn off faster than the others which is why I'm having to top up so much or is there likely to be a different problem? As I said, I've always used 5w30 and never experienced the issue before. It happened at the time of the service / gearbox change. Hopefully someone will be able to give me a helping hand with this because the dealerships and garages are all conflicting on their advice and Skoda can't give me a clear answer!