To my horror, after starting the car (an 02 reg Octy RS) yesterday, the orange "electronic emissions and other wizardry" warning light stayed on. So, after a call and visit to the local dealer, they diagnosed it as a fault in the cooling system.

Apparently, Skoda is monitoring this, as it appears that the impellers on the water pumps are failing - the dealer said that they had already had the problem on 2 or 3 Octavias, and had heard other local dealers having the same problem.

I was told that as long as I keep the miles down, don't push the engine (as if I would ) and keep an eye on the temperature it should be OK to drive for the next few days before it can be mended.

Worth keeping an eye out for the orange light!

Don't want to alarm you, but don't I remember a link between failed water pumps and stripped cam belts?

Or a friend of mine with a failed water pump which led to a blown cylinder head gasket in an Octavia diesel. Very expensive to fix!

Yes, in order to minimise the mileage, I'm using the wife's car at the mo.

If there's a risk of damage to the cam belt, it is worth asking the dealership to check and replace it if necessary when they change the pump?

Excuse me if I'm asking dumb questions - my knowledge of the engine internals isn't as good as I'd like it to be!

Cheers