VRShaun

Hi, you mentioned that the dealer fitted the ABS unit incorrectly causing wheel lockup. The same happens to me when the ABS unit was replace under warrant on my 2010 vrs. You might find my topic interesting. I'm still persuing a settlement with SUK/dealer after putting my safety at risk (neally went in the back of a bus). Cheers, Shaun.

That should be easy enough as the wheels are sitting in the kitchen after fitting my winter wheels. I only drove 60 miles after the repair was carried out. I will give the a check over tomorrow, I hope they are ok as there still penty of meat on them. I will let you know, cheers for your advice!

Hauptmann, thanks for your comments, you sound like a time served mechanic who knows what he is doing. I understand that all the brake pipes in the engine bay are hard lines, they must of really forced it in by bending pipes. Do you think the pipes should be replaced after them being cold worked? I agree, a safety critical systems like the ABS should have functionality checks after any work has been carried out. After speaking to the dealer (SMC Exeter) who fitted the unit incorrectly, apparently there are no procedures provided by central skoda to ensure this kind of issue doesn't happen. I believe that Skoda, the provider of the warranty, has a responsility to ensure that all warranty repairs, carried out by any of their franchies, shall be to a set standard of quality.

Unfortunately, mistakes do happen and I do feel sorry for the dealer who got it wrong, as they proably intended to do a good job. The plumbing issue has been corrected, but I believe that technical authoriy from Skoda/ABS manufacturer must be consulted to ensure that the ABS unit is still safe to use after its previous installation. Without this I have no covidence in the repair. Thanks for your suggestion; I''ll have my local dealer (Farmers Liecester) check the vehicle over. One of my mate said the AA offer good advice too.

***UPDATE - ABS Unit was plumbed in the wrong way round*** I called the dealership on Thursday morning for an update, the foreman said that the car was taken out for a brake test and that they had experienced the same as I did with the wheels locking up and staying locked after removing the foot from pedal. They then inspected the plumbing to the ABS unit and found that it had been plumbed in the wrong way round. After my phone call to dealership, I then called Skoda UK to tell them that I have been driving a death trap for 5 months after having a warranty repair carried out by one of their franchises and I was really horrified at what had happened. The chap (Phil S****) I spoke to was quick to dismiss this and that he would need to speak to the dealer first. One hour later, I had a phone call from the dealership that had the car to say that the car was fixed and ready to be picked up. He also mentioned that his first diagnosis was incorrect and that the ABS unit was just incorrectly placed. I then asked him to be more specific; "if the unit was plumbed correctly and the pipes where intact, what was the issue that made the system operate like it did?" He had no valid response and didn't know he was talking to an engineer with hydraulics experience. Anyway, after the phone call to the dealership I felt that the Skoda UK had influence the dealer not to fully divulge what had exactly happened in an attempted cover it up. I then called the SUK; Phil said that the ABS unit was fitted incorrectly by the dealer who replaced it under the warranty repair and that SUK have no liability over this issue. I said to him now that the ABS unit is now connected up correctly, it doesn't rectify the seriousness of this issue and any ill effects to the unit made to operate in a way it’s not designed to do. I did phone the dealer who fitted the unit the wrong way round, I spoke to the head chap there and he did apologise for what happened. However, he did seem to think that everything was all ok now that the unit had been fitted correctly. I did point out to him that the only way I that I would happy for the unit to remain on my car is if the manufacturer confirms that no ill effects have been cause when it was fitted incorrectly or I would insist on a new replacement. Overall, between Skoda UK and the franchise that fitted the ABS unit the wrong way round, I don't think they understand how serious this issue is! After all, I did nearly go into the back of a bus when the wheels first locked up during the bad weather. I am expecting some kind of good will gesture from them for putty my and girlfriends safety at risk, and follow the recommendations of the ABS manufacturer (Bocsh?) on this issue.

Del, that’s no problem at all; if you find something good you have to share it with others After doing some internet research and a few phone calls I knew the winter tyre stock in the UK was pretty limited. At first, I was then tempted by mytyres, but there are a few stories around of payment complications. So, I decided to try and find other German suppliers; reifen.com was top spot in google for tyre in German (reifen). I did look at other sites, but they didn't mention that they could do shipment to UK.

Hi Del, I order 4 x Nokian WR G2 (205/55 R16) on the on the 5th and they arrived 14th December. I did try to phone them for a delivery date on the 7th but gave up after 15mis; however they did respond to my email within 24hrs. Overall, I am very pleased with service provide by reifen , as they saved me over £200 on the "over-inflated" mytyre prices , and I will certainly be using them again :yes:

I didn’t realise that I could use the Skoda Assistance to pick my car up. It would of made it less inconvenient and safer for me! I'll remember for the next time, if anything else happens, I hope not :S The car was dropped off at the dealership this afternoon; the head mechanic thought that the brake pedal felt unusual and he was horrified by what had happened. Initially, SUK had requested, to the dealership, for the mechanic to be taken out in the car by me to demonstrate the fault. I thought this was a very strange thing to ask of me with it being potentially dangerous. In the end the dealer saw sense and agreed not to, with it being rush hour and dark. The mechanic there seem clued up and I believe the car is in good hands to resolve the issues. I'm hoping they can sort it quickly, as winter is on its way and I have some winter tyre to fit. Cheers chaps!

I phone Skoda UK this morning on my way to work and told them what had happened; they seemed concerned and suggested getting the car to any dealership ASAP. I've made arrangements to drop the car off at a dealership close to work (Bedford) later this afternoon when a courtesy car becomes available. I will keep you all updated how things develop. Cheers for your comments; it seem the Octy has had a few ABS system issues:(

Whilst driving to work this morning on the motorway I had to brake hard due to stationary traffic, during which the car seem to steer, dramatically, to the left and then back . This made me think that the car had some issues with the suspension. So, on the way home I decided to test my brakes on a clear straight stretch of an A-road. I applied my brakes hard from approximately 40mph and then remove my foot from the pedal about 20mph; the wheels locked up and the car skidded all the way to a halt, even after I had removed my foot from the pedal at 20mph. Clearly, there are two issues here: 1. The ABS did not work at all; no ABS lights, no foot pedal vibration (normally with ABS) and the presence of a skidding sound. 2. The vehicle decided to continue braking the vehicle to a halt after I had removed my foot from the pedal at 20mph. This worries me the most as it could be dangerous if it occurred on a motorway. I will be on the phone to the dealership in the morning, but can anyone shine some light or had a similar experience? Just to add some history, my car had the ABS Pump/system replace at 2 months old when it had ABS error warning light illuminated.

I think it's disgusting that some insurance companies have been charging extra for winter tyres!!! In fact they should give us a rebate for the time the tyres are fitted as it only works to reduce their risk. A lot of the mainstream insurance companies have operations on the continent and clearly know the score on winter tyres. If any insurance company has been unscrupulous enough to charge for winter tyres, they should either fully refund the charges or face severe penalties form the appropriate governing bodies. Any kind of policy that charges extra for winter tyres is one that encourages the motorist to put the safety of themselves and others at risk.!

Just picked up 4 x steels from my local dealership (Farmers Leicester) and I'm expecting my tyres to arrive from Germany (reifen.com) on Tuesday. I'm not too sure what my VRS is going to look like with black steels :S Also, my insurance company (AXA) was cool about fitting the steels + winter tyres Cheers, Shaun.

Hi Everyone, My name is Shaun, from Leicester and have owned my new Octavia VRS estate (silver ) for 6 months. I found my way here on the topic of Winter Tyres, I can say so far I'm impress with the content of this site! Cheers Shaun.