Zetec-S

Hello But what vRS have you got an Octy or a Fabby??

Update on the situation. Just got a new report sent through from HPI and the car is now showing as completely clean!! Spoke to the Renault dealer again this morning and they had contacted HPI to get the stolen report removed. Appears to have worked, so fingers crossed should get the Focus this weekend.

Thats what I've been thinking. Its really strange as the car shows up as stolen in April 2004, but then it also shows the change of owner in Jan 2006 (i.e. me) and the DVLA have allowed it to go through no problems. It seems that the likely answer is that the car was stolen, at which time the previous owners reported it stolen to the insurers who marked it up as such. Then when it was recovered the insurers were notified but they never took it off the register. Still not too pleased that it was stolen in the first place and nobody told me, but hey its a second hand car so you never know. Whatever happens I'm sure I won't be out of pocket, because I asked the dealer and they told me the HPI was clean. If it goes to court who is going to believe a car dealer (from a city with a bit of a reputation for stolen goods) against a Chartered Accountant!

From what I can tell it is classified as stolen!! If it had been recovered I think it should show as nothing outstanding against it, but its not clear to be honest. Somehow I don't think an authorised Renault dealer (and one owned by Renault UK) would have been selling a stolen car if they knew about it, especially as they had taken it in part ex. Always possible the salesman was bent?

The exhaust and that straight 5 together just make the best sound in the world. When I got the vRS I loved the turbo woosh noise it made but the noise the ST makes is something else!!

Having spoken to the Renault dealer, appears that he is talking to HPI to get it taken off. So fingers crossed. Like you say if stolen and recovered hopefully won't effect value, although still not impressed that they told me verbally that it was clean when I bought it.

Can't believe what I've just found out about my (well hopefully mine) Octy vRS. At the weekend agreed to trade it in against a Focus ST (yer I know it uses a ton of fuel, won't be as reliable as a Skoda etc etc). Garage rang me up earlier and told me the HPI check wasn't clean. To say I was shocked is an understatement. Turns out that it is coming up as an Insurance theft, which from what I can see is that it is still outstanding against a theft in 2004, while I bought it in 2006!! I bought it from a franchised Renault dealer (one owned by Renault UK at that) and did the normal thing of asking if it was HPI clear at the time and was told it was. Either they were lying or an insurer has managed to back date a claim against it. Speaking to the place selling me the Focus, looks like I need to have a right go at the Renault dealer, cause even if there is an explanation, the fact that this is registered against the car means that its trade in could be reduced. Not impressed at all!! Zetec-s P.S. Sorry to be leaving but looking forward to the extra 45bhp!!

Mooing brakes are a problem on the Octy I vRS. I had them after a brake pad change just over a year ago. Ended up having to wait for Skoda UK to come up with new pads which I then had fitted before Christmas and car has been fine since. There is a technical note on this, as I just told my dealer I wanted the car fixed for mooing brakes, and although they had no idea what I was on about originally, I told them to contact Skoda UK and they did and found out what needed doing.

Are we even sure it'll be a diesel? Sure I read somewhere that is likely to have the 1.4 TFSI engine from the Golf, which normally comes as either 140bhp or 170bhp.

I've had exactly the same problem as mluton for a year now and it is driving me mad. Thing is I've had the alignment done three times now, with no improvement. Proper laser alignment at that. Car's just had 40k service and they replaced front arb, hoped that might have some effect, but it hasn't really. One think I do have in common is cheap tyres at the front, and the wheels are corroded and do drop pressure. I keep them pumped up though and it doesn't seem to make a difference.

I think my problem is different, as I just have to hold the steering wheel against the camber of the road. Got one of three possible causes now; i) Tyres - so will probably swap fronts with rears this weekend ii) Steering rack is duff - at the moment I think this is the least likely iii) Front shocks are causing this, although not sure if this is the case, although two new front shocks is cheaper than a new steering rack. Any ideas much appreciated.

Well, I've now had the car checked over by Awesome, and they couldn't find anything wrong with any of the bushes or suspension components. All they did find was that the front shocks were weeping, although they said any change was only advisory rather than necessary. Could all my problems be being caused by spent shocks at the front? I'm sure I've read somewhere that duff shocks is what causes the steering wheel to move around when you are coming to a halt. (Which mine does do). Now over 7 months since I first noticed this and I'm no nearer to a fix. Three lots of four wheel alignment as well.

Think I'll contact the garage tomorrow and say I want a full check of all the suspension and steering components, but suggest to them it could well be the steering column bush. At the end of the day the best way to show them what is up is to take them out for a drive in it first, before handing the keys over.

Cheers for that, sounds pretty simple. Me being a total non-mechanic will probably still use a garage, but sounds like it shouldn't take them too long if that is what it is. How did you know that was the route of the problems you were having?

Sounds like mine. I find that the wheel will tramline all over the place when I come to a stop. How easy is it to fit a new bush. Not that I am going to do it myself, just that it will give me an idea of how much a garage might charge. Let me know how you get on. Thanks for the help.

Hi all I know that I have commented about the problem I have with by Octy vRS on other threads before, but now I am in need of some real help. The problem I have is that the car will just not steer correctly. On most roads where there is a camber to the left I have to steer with about a 35 degree turn to the right. The amount of correction also seems to increase with speed. So far I have tried the following to correct this; i) Asked at 40k service for dealer to drive car, they said all was okay, although I think they drove it for a very short time and only up to 30mph. All they could see was slightly worn front anti roll bushes. ii) I then had the car four wheel aligned by a place that does a lot of work for a respected Skoda dealer. Before this was done the car just didn't feel like it was handling right, from then on in I have had the problem for the car pulling heavily to the left. (At the time I am sure the guy mentioned moving the drivers side front wheel forward, is that possible?) iii) I then decided that the four wheel alignment must be wrong so went to a independent garage, that advertises on here. I explained my problem, and they again four wheel aligned the car, and all print outs appear okay. However I still feel that I have to hold the wheel more than would normally be necessary to the right in order to conteract the level of pull. iv) I then had both front wheels rebalanced, and changed from left to right, but this also didn't make any difference. I know really want to get this fixed, as I don't want to have to sell it. The car has never been in an accident, and for the first 12 months that I owned it was absolutely brilliant. The only other problem I have with it is mooing brakes, which I think I can live with. Also the front tyres don't appear to be wearing uneveningly. What I'm planning on doing now is going back to the independent garage and getting them to check all the steering and suspension components. What I want to know though is how best to direct them in the right way, so that this problem is finally solved. At the moment I am starting to think that it could be a problem with a front shock absorber, or possibly something to do with the steering column bushes. Any help would be much appreciated. Sorry for the rant, just getting desperate now and a little depressed at the moment. I want my car back!! Thanks in advance.

Or just use a folded piece of paper like I do.

Okay hopefully I have attached the print out correctly here. Like I say everything appears to be within the manufacturer's specifications. I have removed the name of the garage that did it as I have nothing against them, and think they did everything in good faith. Wheel Alignment.pdf

I know we are currently splitting this over two different threads, but I'll take the print out to work tomorrow and scan it in. Thanks for your offer of help.

According to the print out I have caster angles are 7.58' and 7.56' (Left/Right)which appear to be well within the specifications which I believe are 7.20' to 8.20'. As for front camber that is -.55' and -.48' which again appears to be within the manufacturer specifications. (Where the . symbol should really be a degree symbol) Have to admit that as a complete non-techie I don't really know what this figures actually mean in terms of the angle of the wheels. Any clues from that??

No. When I bought the car last January all was fine. Then since December last year car has just become really pants at going in a straight line with the steering wheel straight. Four wheel alignment doesn't seem to fix it.

I have had the car four wheel aligned twice now. The first place was using a Hunter DSP machine and the second place is a well known North West tuner, which I have no reason to believe will have not known what they are doing. Therefore I am fairly sure that something most actually be strong in the suspension or steering. Although having siad that, when the car was serviced in January the dealer claimed all that was potentially wrong was slightly worn anti-roll bar bushes. Could that potentially be the reason? Zetec-S

Hi all I am in need of a chippy or recommendation of one who works in Cheshire/South Manchester. All I need is a back door putting on, but my DIY skills are particularly useless. Thanks in advance Zetec-s

Had the front wheels rebalanced, and no improvement. Now at a real loss. Tyre place also swapped the two wheels around but makes no difference. Rossm; I did ask the dealer at the last service January to drive it, and although they only took it out for 10 minutes, they claimed nothing was wrong. I am starting to think however that something in the suspension is bent, the only problem is that it is definitely camber related, as on a perfectly flat road things are fine (although where in the UK are roads perfectly flat). At the moment I am going to have to seriously considering a change of car, as this is really starting to annoy me.

Right. Now I have had the front wheels balanced, and was told they were out a fair way. But sadly no improvement in the steering pull, car still dives for the kerb at every opportunity. Now at a real loss as to what it is???