Hi everyone,

Not sure whether I'm posting in the right section, I posted here because I have a Fabia VRS. (56 plate)

I have had the vehicle 3 weeks but there are a couple of niggles and I'm not sure where I stand warranty wise. It came with a year from Wings/balance of the three year manufacturer warranty.

Anyway I'll get to the questions:

1) The car suffers from the BLT engine stutter. I have looked through the thread in this section regarding the problem and thought I would go to the dealer first.

Spoke to someone in aftersales at dealer yesterday (Wings of peterborough). Who initially didn't know what I was talking about until I told him I could email him the service bulletin. (Thanks briskoda/fabiaVRS.com). He then checked somewhere and replied that it wasn't a recall so the work would cost £110+ VAT. (£100 for an hours labour and £10 for the gasket!!) - this upset me quite a bit as I've just spent £8,550 on the car and another £22 for bulbs as one went 2 days after I collected it!

I'm now not sure whether to go to them and have it done or just fit the gasket myself! Due to cost...

2) I have problems selecting reverse; I just can't select it without having to "declutch" multiple times and then forcing it into reverse... Last night it got sort of stuck and wouldn't come out! I'm very worried as I don't want to wreck the box.

Its also making a whining noise in 3rd and 4th, mainly. When I cruise in those gears and don't press the accelerator :confused: is this something to do with reverse?

3) The steering pulls to the left slightly. I metioned this to the dealer when we purchased it. They have had it re-tracked and it still has the problem. I think I'm going to need new front tyres soon so I might just change them. Or switch them round to the back to make em last a while longer.

4) Hope I don't seem to petty with this last one ; The wipers are screeching like mad! I'm just moaning because they serviced the car before I collected it so I would have thought they would have looked at/changed them?

Sorry about the long post! And the moan! Just needed to share with some petrol heads in the know. As I'm feeling a bit desparate - didn't think I'd be spending cash on the car so soon! :(

Thanks very much to everyone in advance!

if you've had it 3 weeks, just reject it and tell them you're not happy with it

I think other members on the forum will probably be able to answer your queries better than i can, but here's my two bit's worth. I would say that you are well within your rights to either reject the car, or have the above issues fixed under warranty without any extra cost to yourself (not sure about the wipers though). I'd say nearly all of your problems have been faced by other members on the forum:

Blt stutter - should be fixed with a replacement EGR gasket. i believe the one endorsed by skoda doesn't completely cure the stutter due to emission regs, but you could buy the gasket yourself and have it fitted (think it's the 14mm, but you'll need to search the forum to be sure).

difficulty engaging reverse - i'd say the clutch will need bleeding as there could be air in the system, hence the reason why it is not releasing fully.

whining in 3rd and 4th - if it's excessively loud you should have grounds for having a replacement gearbox. Again, check some of the experiences of other forum members by searching the threads.

If you are finding that the dealer isn't particularly helpful, I would have the car checked independently to verify the issues and then either go back to the dealer or complain to Skoda UK. I wouldn't back down until getting a satisfactory answer.

I'm sure other forum members will also be able to provide you with useful information and advice...

Good luck!

Take it back and explain what is going wrong with it, tell them you want it fixed under warranty as it's not fit to be sold in that condition, i.e. gear problems etc and if they won't help, tell them you will phone Skoda HQ and report them for the lack of good service.

Thanks all for the replies!

As I said, I rang the dealer on thursday eve. Spoke to Mark (aftersales) who said he would call me back with answers to my above questions on friday. Which he didn't!:thumbdwn:

So I have just rang them again asking for the salesman I dealt with (nice chap) hoping he could help me. He was apparently on a test drive...

The lady I spoke to noted my issues and has booked me in on tuesday morning at 8.30 to have the car looked at! Unfortunately, she could not give me an answer when I asked if all the issues will be covered under warranty. As the aforementioned Mark, was the "warranty guy"....

So I am now awaiting another call back on monday to see whether I have to cough up:(

I did try ringing Skoda UK but their lines were closed, will try on monday to see whether they will cover the BLT gasket work under warranty.... Fingers crossed.

WillVRS - I have had a good read of the BLT thread, but I don't think there was any mention of whether the issue was covered under warranty.. But I will find out on monday morning! I am very tempted just to fit the 9mm gasket myself and see what happens. Just to be safe I'll go through the dealer first though, to avoid any warranty issues.

I will do some more hunting re the gearbox and monitor the whining noise.

Cheers

Neal

I've had a 56 plate VRS since February (great car) and experienced a few niggles which were covered under guarantee including the replacement gasket to cure the engine stutter. The dealer did not argue the point at all (showed them the service bulletin etc). Bye the bye, the 14.5mm gasket has virtually eliminated any hesistation at approx. 1800 rpm.

If I were you I would return the car and insist all the faults are covered under the guarantee or you will reject the car (sale of goods act).

Best of luck.

Eddie

With regard to the stutter, I would be suprised if the gasket hasn't allready been replaced peviously at the cars 1st service by the original owner, tbh on my car the Skoda solution made the car worse, I have just lived with it but there is a pikey mod for it if you do a search, will screw up euro emissions though.

I've had a 56 plate VRS since February (great car) and experienced a few niggles which were covered under guarantee including the replacement gasket to cure the engine stutter. The dealer did not argue the point at all (showed them the service bulletin etc). Bye the bye, the 14.5mm gasket has virtually eliminated any hesistation at approx. 1800 rpm.

If I were you I would return the car and insist all the faults are covered under the guarantee or you will reject the car (sale of goods act).

Best of luck.

Eddie

Glad to hear you got the stutter fixed, and covered under warranty! I think I'm going to have to go to SUK on that issue. As the "warranty guy" insists that its not a recall and does affect the functioning of the engine - so wants me to pay!

I do love the car so don't want to return it. I've covered about 600 miles in it already! I don't think I would get back what I paid for it, if I did return it :confused:

Who actually did the work on your car?

Neal

With regard to the stutter, I would be suprised if the gasket hasn't allready been replaced peviously at the cars 1st service by the original owner, tbh on my car the Skoda solution made the car worse, I have just lived with it but there is a pikey mod for it if you do a search, will screw up euro emissions though.

Didn't think of that one! It was first serviced by Jabbasport so that might be why? I think I might give them a ring and see if it has been changed or not.

I don't think I could live with the stutter, so I'm determined to get it fixed. Fingers crossed.

I'll see what Wings and SUK have to say on monday. Will keep you all updated.

Thanks for the support people!

WillVRS - I have had a good read of the BLT thread, but I don't think there was any mention of whether the issue was covered under warranty.. But I will find out on monday morning! I am very tempted just to fit the 9mm gasket myself and see what happens. Just to be safe I'll go through the dealer first though, to avoid any warranty issues.

I will do some more hunting re the gearbox and monitor the whining noise.

Cheers

Neal

I'm pretty sure it's covered under warranty after reading of people's experiences on this forum. Unfortunately I can't confirm this personally as I have the older ASZ engine without the stutter. Give Skoda UK a ring tomorrow morning to clarify this. Good luck with getting it sorted and don't back down until you are satisfied that the dealer / Skoda will take remedial action.

My work was carried out by Skoda Dealer, Falmouth Garages. Don't give up, get them to fix all issues.

Eddie

Im sorry to say Wings of Peterborough are pretty useless.

I bought my car from there, Justin Wing was the sales guy (the bosses son) and he was very good, really sold me on their service etc.

When i collected the car it had a faulty window switch, the service manager was trying to tell me that it wasnt covered under waranty and got quite rude when I explained that it was faulty when I collected the car.

The sales side was very good, the service side was something else, wouldnt recommend them or touch them with a barge pole now.

@cam777 - it might be helpful to post your comments in the feedback section for the dealership concerned.

@cam777 - it might be helpful to post your comments in the feedback section for the dealership concerned.

If only I knew where it is:confused:

I had the EGR replaced on my 06 vrs, It didn't cost me a penny.

If only I knew where it is:confused:

http://briskoda.net/skoda-dealers-east-england/wings-peterborough-peterborough/38256/

I've had the gasket replaced (under warranty) on my 07 vRS and if anything it's made it slightly worse. I think the stutter is now slightly lower in the rev range and it's pretty much bang on the revs when you shift into fourth gear at 30mph. At some point I'm going to have to do the proper fix myself.

the pulling to the left issue is just one of those things the car does, if you drive on the wrong side of the road the car drives straight, think its to do with the road camber.

UPDATE:

Spoke to a nice chap at SUK this morning. He said he would speak to the dealership, but had been unable to get back to me today. So I have cancelled the appoinment at Wings for tomorrow and I am awaiting a reply from SUK.

It seems like this is going to drag on for a while. I didn't think it would be this much hassle to get a couple of niggles sorted. I haven't had the car a month yet!

Im sorry to say Wings of Peterborough are pretty useless.

I bought my car from there, Justin Wing was the sales guy (the bosses son) and he was very good, really sold me on their service etc.

When i collected the car it had a faulty window switch, the service manager was trying to tell me that it wasnt covered under waranty and got quite rude when I explained that it was faulty when I collected the car.

The sales side was very good, the service side was something else, wouldnt recommend them or touch them with a barge pole now.

At this moment in time I am quite inclined to agree with you! I think Justin Wing who is now a director, and the Service manager or parts guy whichever he is are the main problem. They are both adamant that the stutter is not a warranty issue.

I just can't belive their attitudes. It seems like they genuinely don't care! The person who has been the most help, has been the receptionist - she booked in the appointment to have the car looked at. Which I now have had to cancel because I am waiting for a reply from SUK. :confused:

P.S sorry about the rant

the pulling to the left issue is just one of those things the car does, if you drive on the wrong side of the road the car drives straight, think its to do with the road camber.

Yeah I think I've accepted that, its just the other issues that are bugging me. If things carry on as they are I might end up driving on the wong side of the road