gixerboy

Evening all, We have a Skoda Octavia from 2007 which has been fantastic, but now that both the dogs have passed on and mum is getting older, there is no need for such a large car so she would like to get a Citigo. There is a world of info out there, some of it conflicting, so I wondered if I could start by asking about them here where I most trust the info to be honest and true. That will give me a good starting point. Mum has a budget of £3,500.00 which some cars appear at, but with prices all over the place, does that seem a realistic budget for a reliable one? Her Octavia has DSG so ideally she would like the ASG box over a manual. Looking online some reports say they are great, others say there have been major issues, so I thought I would ask here and find out the considered opinion. Any thoughts from owners or people in the know on these would be massively appreciated as I have not bought a car in a long time, so I am not up on these at all. Thanks for your time. Cheers, Ben.

Hi All, We have a 2007 L&K estate 2.0 TDI with DSG in the family. It is very much part of the family and I want to do my best to keep it running well. It is currently on 183,000 miles. It has full main dealer service history from new to date and the DSG has always been serviced as per the rules, by miles or time whichever was the sooner. To date, without jinxing things (I hope) it has been one of the most reliable cars we have ever had in the family! Apart from wear and tear it has only had a few problems, namely, the seat belt alert chiming because it thought there was someone in the passenger seat when there was not, the sunroof opening itself into the tilt position then closing itself again and the memory function for the driver's seat button not working on button 1. That is about it in all this time. I had noticed what I thought might be a DMF failure developing. When startup cold a very brief DMF rattle that went away. That is still intermittent but is getting more frequent. I wondered if I could ask you guys a couple of questions in relation to this. 1.) I saw a video saying DMF failure could potentially lead to engine failure through skipped timing and failure of the DSG box beyond repair. Is that true in a worse case scenario? 2.) Can anyone who has had a garage do a DMF on a 2.0TDI with DSG give me a ball park figure of what they paid? I have had a look online but prices seem to vary widely. I would be interested to see what more recent costs might be. 3.) The engine is running fantastically as ever apart from the DMF issue, no idle issues etc. The only thing I have noticed is the most slight and almost imperceptible delay in shifting between gears with the DSG compared to normal. To be honest if I was not looking I do not think I would have noticed it, it is that slight, though it is there. Could that in any way be related to the failing DMF? I cannot think how but thought I would ask. I am guessing at 183,000 miles on the original mechatronics and clutches that is pretty good going and might simply be wear and tear and that the gearbox might appreciate some overhaul work as well. To date the DSG has never had any issues at all. Only moment was when I went a little too fast into a petrol station on uneven tarmac and there was a bang from suspension reaching full reach. The DSG display flashed P R N D S all at once so shut the engine off counted to thirty, stated again and it was all good, that was 10 years ago and not one mis-step since. I know we are long past considering value of car versus repairs, but given the reliable nature it is a keeper. That said I do need to budget and save up for repairs on this scale. Any help or thoughts or experience would be gratefully received. Many thanks, happy bank holiday weekend! Cheers, Ben.

Thanks everyone for your replies that is not what I was expecting and really good news. I will have to go and read about the different systems as do not know what difference is between indirect and full and then decide which one to go for as a retrofit. Many thanks for all your time in replying. Cheers, Ben.

Brilliant, many thanks, that is really good to hear. Perfect many thanks!

As it appears that our car is only missing a couple of optional extras, I thought I would consider a retrofit of the genuine TPMS. Before I did, I wondered if anyone who has the factory TPMS on a 2007 could tell me if they are happy with it and if it has been trouble free. Plenty out there seem not to like it but would be interested to find out if there are any / plenty that are happy with it and no problems? Cheers, Ben.

Many thanks StuartA, wow then it is only missing the TPMS and the front parking sensors. Have to admit to being a bit surprised that electric passenger seat was not an option.

Cheers Wiilydog. I could find a copy of that anywhere on the web! Many thanks.

Hi All, Hope everyone is keeping well! We have an L&K estate in the family that we bought as ex-Skoda management so it has lots of toys. I am just interested to know what extras it is missing and I cannot find a definite answer online so thought 'I know where to ask!' Were electric front passenger seats with or without memory ever an option? (The car has memory electric driver's seat.) Were rear heated seats an option for these in 2007? The only other options I can find reference to that it does not have are : The aux heating system, TPMS and front parking sensors, It has sunroof, Xenon, Sat Nav, Cruise, Maxidot, half leather, DSG, all the comfort options in the maxidot, ESP, top line stereo. Would it sound like I am missing many other options? Any help much appreciated. Many thanks. Ben.

Thanks for all that. Turns out it was something to do with the thermostat or thermostat housing. Third party info so not totally sure, but £55 for the part plus labour and we are sorted. Happy days many thanks.

A main Skoda dealer. They pressure tested the head and all was fine, could not find a leak internal or external had new pump and belt about 10,000 miles ago. It is on 160,000 miles I think (mum's car so not sure on exact mileage). It has only ever been serviced or repaired by main Skoda dealers so everything that should be done will have been service wise. It has only just done it in the last few days and has only gone into the garage this morning, so was just wondering if others had had similar, whilst I await for the verdict. Cheers.

Hi, I have read alot about the different issues for coolant loss, head issues, pipes, caps etc. But I cannot find reference to an exactly similar problem to the one we are having so I thought I would just post on the off chance someone has had similar or would know what this might be. Slight coolant loss over a while. Then on odd journeys just looses from max to min in under 12 miles. Then fine again for days or weeks, then does the same again. Car is now with garage, but would be interested if anyone else had this slightly odd behaviour and whether it was ever solved? It is the odd massive loss every few days then fine which has me stumped. Many thanks, Ben.

cheers for the advice, yes thought should do it properly so did and it all seems to be working spot on. Cotton buds picked up quite alot of dirt, dont know what has been going on in that indicator stalk but it all seems to be working. Thanks for pointing out it was worth doing properly!! Hope yours keeps working.

Having never used contact cleaner before I just thought I would ask if anyone knew if you can spray contact cleaner into the stalk without totally removing the switch as a first attempt?I am guessing not but thought it worth an ask.

Thanks for taking the time to reply. Well I have bought it. Done 600 odd miles in it and now in for its 80,000 mile service. Georgeous car!

Hello, I wondered if I could seek some thoughts or answers to a couple of specific questions in relation to the DSG gearbox on a Skoda Octavia. I have read alot on the gear box but for every horror story I can find someone who swears by them but cannot find the specific answers to the following questions and wondered if anyone on here with experience would be kind enough to let me know their thoughts or answers before i pick up and pay for the car. 1.)Can a seller mask faults in a DSG gear box? (I test drove the car for 20 miles and messed about with the gear box and it behaved beautifully. So I took that to mean it was all working fine. I tried it both in sport and in drive and reverse. I nailed the throttle from rest and did an emergency stop and all was spot on. In normal mode it showed P R N D S on the maxidot screen and showed which one was selected, then moving it across to manual the P R N D S was replaced with 1 2 3 4 5 6 . I am guessing this was correct. Nothing was flashing.) 2.) How does the car tell you there is a fault with the DSG gear box? 3.) Is it definately the end of the world if the oil has not been changed at 40,000 miles. the car has a stamped service book but the skoda garage that serviced it has gone bust so cannot confirm that the oil has ever been changed. Car on 80,000 now so will get it changed now anyway. As I say it appears to behaving perfectly and some people seem to advise oil is not needing to be changed every 40,000 so dont bother. Any thoughts or experience on this from you guys would help massivley beofre i pay for and collect the car. thanks Ben.