ElviraKate

If you happen to be talking to your sister and she happens to mention this garage, please do let me know! Kate

Thanks again for this. Autohaus Edinburgh is out at Loanhead which is impossible for me to get to via public transport (from Portobello), and waiting for repairs etc is a non-starter. There are a couple of well-recommended more local garages, I go to one which has kept my neighbours' Octavia Mk 2 on the road for twelve years. I'll tell them what Skoda have now said re cambelt changes, and ask them to have a good look. There's definitely a coolant leak and they say it's the pump. I agree with you about the main dealers! Kate

This is for a Karoq - is it the same for an old Octavia Mk3? Just being picky but I'll need to be firm with the garage.

That's all very interesting, thank you all. Yes, the coolant is leaking, and as I understand it, quite often a coolant problem and a belt problem can be connected, especially in diesel? So my garage (who do a lot of diesel Skodas) wanted me to check if the belt had ever been replaced. Now I realise from what you all have said it's a mileage thing, and unless there's a visible problem with the belt it should be good for a lot longer. wish me luck with the garage. Sometimes as a lone woman dealing with garages can be very tricky. Kate

thanks very much indeed for that. So is it likely to need changing now? 43K miles but 11 years old! Kate

Thank you. On the V5 doc the engine number is this: CHPA212483 Does that help? Kate

That's very helpful, thanks, even though even more confusing! How do I find out whether the engine is a EA211 and not a EA888? Is this clear from the VIN or engine number? Kate

Now I'm really confused. The timing thing and the water pump being separate seems to be agreed. But how could they have put my chassis number into the VW database and come up with a chain when you say it's a belt? I don't have that much faith in main dealers either, which is why my car is at a small independent garage and not at Arnold Clark. But it worried me that there should be so much uncertainty. Kate

Thank you for all your advice. I have just now rung the service people at Skoda Dartford where we originally bought the car. They looked up the chassis number in the VW database and it turns out it is a chain, not a belt, and it doesn't need to be changed unless it's stretched. If it becomes stretched then lights would be flashing and the engine wouldn't be running as smoothly as it does. In a TDI the belt runs round the water pump and can be affected by a water system issue but in a TSI it's all separate. So it looks as if I don't need a chain replacement right now. Thanks again. Who'd have thought there was so much confusion over belts/chains in what was (still is, as far as I'm concerned) a very popular car that every garage must have seen? Kate

Model is EST 1.4 TSI 140ps

It's petrol, not diesel - is that TSI? Sorry to be so ignorant. The coolant leak appears to be from the water pump. I haven't had a quote for it yet. You say 'if the engine is fitted with one' does that mean some models don't have a timing belt?

I have an Octavia Mk3 (2014), it's only done 43Kmiles, been annually serviced (until last year always at a Skoda dealer) but kept on the road. It has a few dents and a dodgy parking sensor where a low bollard took issue with the bumper, but runs beautifully and with a low mpg. Two years ago I moved to Edinburgh from London, had a service done at the nearest dealer but it was a bit sloppy (things left undone) so went this year to a local garage that has a good reputation for keeping Skodas on the road for ever. A year or so ago I started having coolant problems. My garage couldn't find an obvious leak and put an additive in the system that kept it problem-free until the latest hot spell when I had to replace coolant twice in a fortnight (the water temperature was always constant so I don't think any damage was caused). Now they have found the leak and recommend the system be replaced. They also said that the timing belt (chain?) might need replacing. I cannot find any record in the dealers' service reports that indicates it was ever replaced in ten years. So presumably if I want to keep this car on the road I need to replace both timing belt and water pump. Can anyone confirm that this would be worth it? I don't want to buy a new car for a while yet but obviously don't want to spend too much on keeping this going if more bits are going to collapse soon. I won't get much for it second-hand because of the dents. On the other hand I'd like to know what the going rates are for this kind of replacement, and how much the process is likely to cost me. I'd value any advice you can give me. Kate

Thanks varaderoguy - I'm hoping it's going to work tomorrow as it did finally yesterday. Though it's also true I don't really need a satnav to drive to Edinburgh from London In Edinburgh itself I'll have to use Google as I'm sure no satnav can keep up with the eternal roadworks!

Well, it must have been something you wrote, varaderoguy or langers2k: I didn't reformat, but deleted, reinstalled, reloaded in the car and BINGO, it worked immediately. Thank you for the confirmation that I was doing the right thing, it made me persevere!

OK, thanks, will give it a spin and see if it does anything sensible. I have to drive to Scotland on Thursday, so if it hasn't worked itself out by then I'll just reinstall the old files and start again another time...