i'm fuming - cam belt problem

[brookieme]

FABIA 1.9D 2002. Hope you can help We had a cam belt fitted in april after 83,000 miles. We have noticed problems with it since and had it in to be checked. They said everything was ok and that the things we had mentioned we normal. On sunday our car broke down and the man said the cam belt was broken and caused engine damage. The garage say the idler pully stud had sheered and caused the cam to break. We have had this car from new with no problems always been serviced by this dealer. All i would like from you is whether this is true or not. (no names mentioned) after them having checked the car recently i can't believe we are now in this situation.the recovery guy said they should have picked up there was a problem. In his opinion the belt wasn't fitted correctly in the first place.we are booked to go to france on thursday towing our caravan. Just want an honest answer please.

Regards sue

Edited 22 July, 2008 by brookieme

[DGW]

Welcome to Briskoda. It might help if you post car model and year then this thread can be moved to a more appropriate forum, eg Octavia 1, for a reply.

[bengie]

hello and welcome, we aren't skoda by the way

[Skodaboy1983]

welcome to briskoda, hope you find a fix for your problem.

[brookieme]

This is new to me but thak you. I have put in details of my car now. Hope this helps get some useful answers

[Stormchaser]

I thinks its upto the dealer now to sort it.

Welcome also.

[brookieme]

Don't you think they are passing the problem to us though. Isn't it funny we have a new cam belt fitted then things start going wrong. We tell them things aren't right and they still send us on our way. Then 3 months later the car engine is scrap. the recovery chap said it looked like the timing must have been out on the belt.

[bengie]

i would be dealing directly with skoda customer services about this and be pointing out that i thought it was wrong right away and brought this to the attention of skoda only to be turned away. if you get no joy there then i have found the citizens advice bureau (CAB) to be very helpful and have a legal eagle on certain days and times available for free.

[brookieme]

thanks bengie I will try that if and when I need too. Might need a financial advisor first my hubby has just bought an octavia so we can still go on holiday and the skoda garage and us will sort out the fabia dispute when we get back.

[VRStu]

Was the work carried out at a Skoda main dealer using Skoda genuine parts?

[cheezemonkhai]

As Stu says, if it was there is a warranty on parts and labour so you shouldn't have to pay for the damage caused.

[Tech1e]

Before you take the recovery guys obviously excellent diagnostic skills as gospel I wuld consider a few things. First up being if you get the timing wrong when you do a cambelt you find out pretty much straight away, as soon as the key is turned not three months down the line. If the idler pulley stud has sheared (depends on which one they mean) then there is a chance its down to the dealer not doing something correctly, could also be down to a faulty component. Either way without actually seeing it its very difficult to say. But the fact you reported something didnt seem right would indicate they missed a problem in the making, from that point of view you should have a very good case for some help with the repair bill.

[brookieme]

Before you take the recovery guys obviously excellent diagnostic skills as gospel I wuld consider a few things. First up being if you get the timing wrong when you do a cambelt you find out pretty much straight away, as soon as the key is turned not three months down the line. If the idler pulley stud has sheared (depends on which one they mean) then there is a chance its down to the dealer not doing something correctly, could also be down to a faulty component. Either way without actually seeing it its very difficult to say. But the fact you reported something didnt seem right would indicate they missed a problem in the making, from that point of view you should have a very good case for some help with the repair bill.

thanks for the info. they are def saying it is the idler pulley stud that sheared off and caused the damage. As far as we know there is no warranty even though it is a big Skoda dealership and they fitted the cam belt 3 months ago. the only help up to now has been to sell us another car so that we can go on holiday on Thursday. Our fabia will be left on there forecourt till we get back they say they will give us something in part exchange.

[fordfan]

What was the original invoice for? As well as the belt, did they fit the tensioner, pulleys and may be a water pump as well, or did you instruct them to change the belt only?

[brookieme]

As Stu says, if it was there is a warranty on parts and labour so you shouldn't have to pay for the damage caused.

you would think so Stu but they say no warranty. They are the main dealer of Skoda in our area and we have been with them since 2002 when we bought the car.

[brookieme]

Was the work carried out at a Skoda main dealer using Skoda genuine parts?

yes main Skoda Dealer genuine parts.

[Tech1e]

The ony time I seen the main tensioner stud fail is on the early 115bhp PD engines, they were recalled for this. Unless the main nut was over tightened however you would have to be a right monkey to manage this. Ask them why you had them change the cambelt. It was so it didnt break and didnt end up damaging the engine, oh look what happened anyhow. I wouldnt let them fob you off without a real good explanation how they arent to blame. If it is down to a faulty component then thats also not down to you.

[Tech1e]

And a dealer has to warranty their own work for 12 months after the work is carried out.

[expostmanpat]

:wave: welcome, sorry to hear of your woes. As more knowledgeable people have said don't let them fob you off, and don't let the worry etc spoil your family holiday, have a great time and then get down their throats when you get home

[brookieme]

:wave: welcome, sorry to hear of your woes. As more knowledgeable people have said don't let them fob you off, and don't let the worry etc spoil your family holiday, have a great time and then get down their throats when you get home

Thank you. You have all been so encouraging. We are going to fight this and as we have now a lovely holiday in France to get all our facts together we will come back raring to go.

It just doesn't seem right that we had a great car with no problems it goes in the garage and then this. Has to be something they have done or a faulty part that has been fitted. We are still trying to say our warranty is binding they are coming up with allsorts to say it's not.

I am going to print all these messages off so if there are any more knowledgeable skoda mechanics out there that can help please drop a message on here.

Thank you:( from this to

[ric04vrs]

And a dealer has to warranty their own work for 12 months after the work is carried out.

thats what i thought Ross

[brookieme]

What was the original invoice for? As well as the belt, did they fit the tensioner, pulleys and may be a water pump as well, or did you instruct them to change the belt only?

Hi there,

The original invoice was for fitting a cam belt kit which i think is cam belt tensioner and pulleys. It was fitted because we had done 83,000 and they said it should be done round about this time.:confused: just thought I would put in here that i am a female and i am doing all this research for my hubby who is as sick as a parrot about the whole thing:(

[mathepac]

Hello brookieme and Welcome. Sorry to hear about your car troubles.

If you have the details of the work carried out on your vehicle, would you feel comfortable posting them here (part numbers fitted, labour charges, etc.)? It certainly sounds odd that a car that was perfectly serviceable before the work, ran badly afterwards and eventually broke down.

If you are in dispute with the dealership over the car and the work carried out, and you may be pursuing a claim against them via Skoda UK or another agency, do you think it is a good idea to leave your car on the dealers premises and in their possession? I do not mean imply any potential impropriety here, but do you not think it might be better if the car (and the service documentation booklet) were with a 3rd party?

[brookieme]

Hello brookieme and Welcome. Sorry to hear about your car troubles.

If you have the details of the work carried out on your vehicle, would you feel comfortable posting them here (part numbers fitted, labour charges, etc.)? It certainly sounds odd that a car that was perfectly serviceable before the work, ran badly afterwards and eventually broke down.

If you are in dispute with the dealership over the car and the work carried out, and you may be pursuing a claim against them via Skoda UK or another agency, do you think it is a good idea to leave your car on the dealers premises and in their possession? I do not mean imply any potential impropriety here, but do you not think it might be better if the car (and the service documentation booklet) were with a 3rd party?

Good Morning,

I understand exactly what you mean about leaving the car with them but we have no option because of time etc. We have had to insure the vehicle as well as the one we have just bought too. It's costing us which ever way we look at it. I seriously thought that the sheered stud could possible have been done (using a hammer) after the car arrived at the garage and before they showed us under the bonnet. The recovery man certainly never mentioned this but then again he might not have been able to see that area and just saw the chewed up cam belt. It's just so obvious to us that it is something that they have done or used. We will be fighting tooth and nail. I am the type of person to do this and they will be sorry they lied and misled us if this is the case. Thanks for your concerns. Hopefully the car will be locked up and left alone whilst we are away. I would be happy to mail you details of the invoice but it might be when we get back from holiday now as all this has left us running very late with our packing etc. Keep this thread running and i will get back to you all on 14th August when we return.

Regards Sue:thumbup:

[cheezemonkhai]

Hi there,

As said by Lummox and Ric, if a skoda franchised dealer has fitted a genuine part to your car and you have an invoice they have to give the 12 months skoda parts warranty.

Since they say this has failed I'd get it in writing from them on headed paper and then contact Skopda UK with a copy of the invoice and the letter asking why their main dealer won't honour their 12 months parts warranty.

The dealer telling you there is no warranty either doesn't know what they are talking about or is deliberately lying to you. I have had a part replaced under this warranty in the not too distant past due to a faulty part.

I'd almost say it sounds like they are getting very desperate to shift some cars.