Onza

I've not been on here for ages - basically since I moved away from the brand after my MkII Octy TSI engine gave up. But to come to the point, I'm happy with the service I get from TyreSpot in Gilesgate for my current car. Alternatively, might be worth having a chat with Swift Motor Engineering in Westerhope; Newcastle area? They recently changed Wife's Seat Leon rear suspension arms and had the car 4-wheel aligned by A.N. Other nearby when setting it back up again. Hope this is useful.

Thanks very much for that useful information, TsvRS, I wish the dealer had been open with me when I reported the increasingly worrisome noises. If they'd explained that there was a known vulnerability of the lubrication system and admitted to the chain tensioner issue, I could have decided on what strategy/risk to take with my car. Instead of that, they admitted nothing and insisted it sounded normal - even though I've had it since new and knew for a fact the noise was getting worse. Still feel bitter about that experience, but this thread should at least help others to avoid the issues, and proper information like that you just posted is really helpful! All the best.

Re: sourcing replacement engine from elsewhere other than main dealer. I do agree that would be a less expensive approach (and probably the only feasible approach) where there's no warranty and no chance of goodwill. FWIW, this is why I ended up going the main dealer route. My first thought was to drop the car at my trusted local garage. When I arrived there on the back of the recovery truck (early in the morning on a weekend, of course), they didn't want me to leave the car with them. At that stage, we didn't know that a new engine was going to be needed, only that a nasty rattling noise was evident. My local guy told me that some kind of special VW tool is needed to set the timing properly, which they didn't have and which would have cost several hundred pounds for them to buy. So they didn't want to start opening the engine up to see what damage there was. They called around some VW indies while I was on the back of the truck, as did the recovery driver, but between a) not answering the calls, not being able to do the work and c) the recovery truck driver needed to be away to another call, I ended up dropping the car at the nearest dealer where it had been serviced all its life, and where I had pointed out the noisy idling on several occasions. I was hoping that the matter would be covered by hefty amounts of goodwill. Other issues which contributed to my decision: I don't have anywhere to store a disabled car while I source an engine and find an installer. Costs of dragging the car here and there to effect the repairs etc, I didn't know that replacement engines are available relatively easily I certainly feel fortunate that I had access to SUK goodwill, even if it wasn't as much as I felt they should have made. If there was no goodwill, I would have been forced to recover the car from them and look for a replacement engine and installer. I couldn't have stretched to 6 or 7k for an engine. All the best.

Sounds like its normal to me. Mine makes the ticking noise from the front of the engine; it comes from a small plastic component (sorry don't have a photo to hand). I noticed it when the car was about 15k old; it made the noise intermittently thereafter. It now has a new engine (after oil starvation problem on the original engine - explanation is in the big "TSI engine failures" thread), which runs very quietly; but still makes the same intermittent ticking noise. So I'm confident it is a normal noise (but different from every other car I've ever owned...).

Yes, that's what would worry me about changing the cambelt & tensioners as a pre-emptive fix; the oil starvation issue may still raise its head...

Perhaps that's the root cause of my oil starvation problem, resulting in the new engine being required. I've now put c.6k on the new engine (the car's done ~75k altogether) and the engine still sounds nice & quiet.

I'd suggest following up with Skoda (Skoda UK relevant in your area?) again. First of all, the comment "there's nothing wrong with that engine" suggests to me (by corollary) that they're acknowledging that there IS a problem with other engines (eg 2.0TSI CCZA ...) Secondly, I'd be disappointed if Skoda really think that any car built in 2011 can be reasonably expected to need a new engine after such a short time period. When I was talking to Skoda UK about my problem, it was indicated to me that if I was not happy with their response, I could ask to speak to someone more senior than the claims handler I was dealing with. The implication was that more senior people have authority to give more goodwill. Basically, I ran out of time & patience with mine, which may have cost me in £. Thirdly, I think there have been issues with any of the TSi engine range? Have you read the "sticky" thread at the top of the Octavia II section in full? I found it extremely informative when I had my engine problem. Good luck

Hi, Lifesaver, The phrase "new engine" was originally used in the offer Skoda UK made to me, but within a day, this was clarified as meaning "remanufactured engine". TBH I had got fed up with arguing and wanted to draw a line under the situation, so I just accepted the change from new engine to remanufactured engine, on the basis that there was 2 year warranty on whatever Skoda fitted. Good luck with your own situation. All the best.

Hello, all. I've listened to the videos posted above; thanks for posting them. The first video of Nick H/Adam Lewin is (as close as I can judge) to being very much the same as my car was when I took it in at 59k to have the dealer specifically listen to it. I think that's the same video posted by blackspaven? The video posted by marcinp is the phase my car went through (lasted from ~40k to ~59k) where I went from thinking "this doesn't sound right for a petrol car" (~40k) to "there must be something wrong with this" (~59k +) The second of the videos in Nick H/Adam Lewin's post is what my car sounded like when restarted after it had cut out in the cruise @69,000 miles. As I mentioned, no-one wanted to let it run sounding like that so it was turned off. I have some pics of my dry camshaft bearing, but need to research how to post them.. :think: Right, have now read the "how to", so let's have a go: Bit of metal in undesirable place Spot the difference Dry bearing Oops, they're a bit large, but you get the idea

Hi, GTI Jazz, Variable regime. I basically followed the manufacturer's recommendations in how I treat the car.

Or buy a car with a completely new engine with 2 yrs warranty....and latest chain & tensioners etc.

Sorry, everyone, I realised my posts are inferring that the "ticking noise" evolved into the "rattling" noise. I just want to clarify that, in my opinion, the two noises are not related and that the rattle is the one to be wary of.

Thank, monkeyalan, Sorry, I realise I should have pointed out that the new engine is also making the ticking noise. But I can't really hear it from inside the car. I'm confident that if the noise is just a light "ticking", then it will be the small valve on the front of the engine and nothing to worry about. Its when it becomes clearly a rattle, and then eventually audible clearly from inside the car that its worth paying attention, from my experience.

Time for my story. 2010 TSI vRS A very long post if you read the detail, but the summary gives the gist. Hope its useful. I would just say to marcinp: please take care, your symptoms sound like mine, which turned out to be oil starvation, not timing chain related. to everyone else: thank you for this extremely informative thread. Oh, and PS, if anyone wants a 2010 Octy VRS TSI, mine is now a good 'un again... Summary Owned from new. FSSH. Ticking noise at 25,000 miles, bad enough to report at 45,000 miles, became a rattle at 59,000 miles, then loud rattle at 63000 miles, noticeable at start up for a few seconds, finally car cut out during travel (69000 miles) Very loud, nasty rattle when attempting to restart. Diagnosed as oil starvation causing camshaft bearing failure. New engine fitted. I paid £2000 after Skoda goodwill and quite a lot of arguing Detail When the car was new it sounded very quiet - a bit too much like a hairdryer for my liking for a sporty car. But... Around 25,000 miles I became aware of a ticking noise which I could hear at idle. It was explained away as some sort of small valve which is involved with emissions control systems. The engine progressively became noisier until (around 2 years ago; just out of warranty :S ) I asked the dealer to listen to the noise carefully. It was still a ticking noise, but was clearly audible inside the car at idle. "No fault found", says the service invoice. The noise got gradually worse until it could be described as a rattle. Reported at service ~45000 miles - again "no fault found". Then, by ~59000 miles, the noise was a rattle, clearly audible inside the car, and was often most pronounced at startup, when it would last for a very short time (estimate 0.5 - 1.5 seconds.) Worrying about the timing chain tensioner reputation, I took the car to local dealer, who has serviced it all its life, specifically to listen to the noise, in my presence. They acknowledged it was noisy, but said "they all sound like that" and showed me a scirrocco with the same engine. To me, the VW sounded quieter than mine (although still more "rattly" than a petrol engine should IMHO), we had a difference of opinion about it and the dealer wanted £75 to put my car on a diagnostics machine. I didn't feel that the computer would be able to listen to the noise any better than me, so declined the offer, especially given that the dealer assured me that "they all sound like that". I got them to write on the record that they didn't think there was a fault and left it at that. With hindsight, I should perhaps have taken out a third party warranty at that point... Anyway, I was cruising along at 60mph one morning (@69000 miles)when there was a sudden increase in the noise level, now a harsh clattering. It sounded like a clutch bearing had gone or something, but I quickly identified the noise as being engine speed rather than road speed related. The car was driving OK, so I took care to keep control and move progressively to a halt, without sudden manoeuvres. But the car was ahead of me and cut out. I dipped the clutch and rolled to a convenient lay-by and awaited my recovery service. The car did restart, but sounded very clattery and no-one wanted to let it idle in that condition, so it was stopped again. But, because it had started at all, I figured it probably wasn't catastrophic chain/tensioner failure The car was recovered to the servicing dealer and dumped in disgrace in their forecourt. After authorising £375 spend for examination of the cylinder head, with endoscope and disassembly, it was found that the timing chain and tensioner was not the issue, but that oil starvation had caused overheating and disintegration of at least one of the camshaft bearings. Because there were bits of metal in the oil, the dealer could not be sure that there wasn't any metal in the oil galleries and recommended engine change. (interlude: I'd just like to point out that I had not received any low engine oil warnings; I don't believe in economising on stuff like that...) I had many discussions (and one or two arguments) over the ensuing weeks with both the dealer and SUK customer services and knocked the total cost to me (the £375 was waived) down from an initial £2950 to £2000. I discussed SOGA with my local solicitor and he felt there was limited chance of success in court with a car breaking down out of warranty period & out of warranty mileage, but he felt that I may have some comeback against the dealer for negligence given that I had reported the noise on three separate occasions. TBH, in the end I got fed up with the whole thing and authorised the repair. The car now sounds like a hairdryer again, so I know I was right about there being a fault all along. The car's driving nicely again but I'm very disillusioned with VAG as a result of this experience and will be expecting some very strong persuasion to stay with the brand when the time comes to change. On the bright side, the supercharged, air suspended Jag (105,000 miles) that I was using during the Skoda's downtime worked absolutely perfectly and soothed my ruffled feelings after every single day. And it was silent at idle, despite also having chain driven cams....(I hear Jaguar learned their hard lesson about timing chain tensioners a while ago) Hope this essay is useful to, erm, someone... Otherwise I just wasted a load of good sleeping time. Night night.

...So its not just me... Had identical issue with my '10 FL vRS. Initially, I tried the "bit of card" fix (in my case between the dashboard and the A pillar), but the squeak came back. I described it as squeak/rattle to dealership. They had the car for a day and returned to me with: ...rectified by "removed stray clip and refitted into correct place, tightened all dash screws which were accesable, applied tape to glove box lid to improve fit when shut. If rattle persists the dash will have to come out to secure all dash fitting and retest" Unfortunately, the squeak is returning, intermittently at the moment, but one more holiday on the A roads of Norfolk could see it being a "dash will have to come out to secure all dash fitting and retest" I have to say that so far I have no problem with the dealership, but I do hope this does not turn into one of those familiar, "Oh, hello again" type of relationship.

Just used Pulman for first service (15k miles) on vRS 2.0TSI. Absolutely faultless experience, car serviced while I waited. Wi-Fi service in the on site cafe meant I could get work done as though in the office. Complimenary coffee as well, and I was able to watch the service going on through the window of the showroom. All staff very helpful. Nothing was a problem. Very attentive to the (slight) concerns I raised about the car on handing it in, and rear boot badge replaced under warranty (old one had been going opaque). First time I've spent time in the dealership - previously used their "pick up and drop off" facility for my wife's Seat. Highly recommended. Oh, and £94 for the vRS service.

I had '02 vRS from new. It was serviced at same Skoda dealer throughout the time I had it. About 3.5 years in, I had a number of problems with engine management light coming on (and going into limp mode) and a lot of parts were replaced including air mass flow meter, lambda sensor etc. (TBH I've forgotten all of them). Every time, they'd run the diagnostics and got different (and numerous) faults. Dealer "came to arrangement" with me on costs (basically shared), as their various attempts did not fix the issues. Finally they ran out of ideas and the last time it went in for attention to the problem, they "cleaned all the connections they could find" and put it back together. The fault never came back (although I watched nervously for it thereafter....) I finally changed the car earlier this year; so the "clean everything" fix lasted for another 3 years or so... Only my experience, but may be useful, I thought.

Hello, everyone, from a "first post"-er.. Picked up new FL vRS from Silbury recently. Overall scores for Silbury from my experience: Price: 8/10 - might have been able to better elsewhere, but not by much Post order: 9.5/10 - A harsh rating - see below for details on comprehensive but not excessive communication. On collection: 7/10 - Slightly disappointing car prep. Vehicle: 8.5/10 - a bit thirsty so far (33.5 mpg for petrol vRS?? Mk1 managed more like 37mpg over more than 110k miles/7.5yrs from new...) but otherwise FANTASTIC: Head spinning factor (of other road users) so far must be 8/10; and I am really enjoying the Bolero, the handling, the space, the increasing looseness, and the apparently seamless power delivery (no turbo surge that I've noticed (at least compared with the Mk1)... Details (if you're "bovvered") I visited after a phone around for budget pricing (including DTD) and effectively got a deal which equalled the DTD price to my mind. I paid more than DTD (basic), but specc'd a few options, and was lucky enough to be able to cover the additional costs. VAT offer DID apply to the options, by the way. I think I might have been able to get a better deal elsewhere but not by much and I was not keen to waste time spinning around NE England chasing £not.many. 1st part of "professionalism" by Silbury was to keep me on site for ages while "negotiating" price. I live and learn. The delay stopped me going anywhere else for "live" negotiation, which I fully intended to do, but hey-ho, I ended up with price/spec I was happy with.... Next part of "professionalism" by Silbury was EXCEPTIONAL. I received SMS messages about every milestone - order acceptance by factory (2 weeks after order), build week notification (4 weeks after order - build week was something like 8 weeks after order), next one was "Your car is in Germany", then "it's here and available for you to collect when promised". Throughout the wait, the salesman ALWAYS returned my calls and answered all of my questions and was flexible with changes of arrangements for dropping off documents/ collecting the car and so on. Final part of "professionalism" by Silbury: A warm welcome to the showroom to collect the car, a clear explanation of everything to do with the car (correctly taking into account the fact that I am a VRs anorak <thanks to Briskoda>). Free & unsupervised access to my new car - impression was "nothing to hide - help yourself" for transfer of gubbins from my Mk1 VRs to the new one. Whereupon I noticed (detailers, please look away now) swirls on the rear bumper where it had been prepped by the valet. Thankfully for my peace of mind I am not too concerned (I'm sure the poor old thing will suffer worse in the times I wash it; and in the general mess on our roads (but don't get me started on that...)) So the swirls have taken the shine (sorry, couldn't help it ) off an otherwise smooth, easy experience. For what it is worth: Benfield did not return my phone call about budget price (which mirrored my experiences of dealing with them for servicing of my Mk1 (Quote from salesman when collecting Mk1 from cambelt change "Are you still driving that old thing?") so no deal with Benfield. Parts: Very Good, Service & Sales: hopeless. I personally wouldn't go near them to buy a new car. MSB (Darlington) most certainly returned my call and were absolutely ready to negotiate (and win) a deal. For me, it is at least worth calling MSB if you're in the NE and want to really negotiate hard. HTH