Hello Fellow Skoda drivers,

This is my first post to your wonderful forum, I wish it could be a happier one, but there you go.

Bought an approved used Skoda from my local dealer-SILBURY SKODA IN CRAMLINGTON, NORTHUMBERLAND, a lovely 55 plate 1.9tdi estate, one owner, 33000 miles.Balance of the manufacturers 3 year warranty and all that , no worries me thinks....

Have since covered another 7k in the car, and without any warning symptoms or indication signals ( i.e. slipping, dragging, noise, smell etc,) the clutch pedal hits the floor and hey presto I'm stuck in the rush hour on a busy dual carraigeway in the dark .... great.

No probs me thinks, I'm covered by the warranty.

Phones the recovery , skoda assist were very efficient in recovering the car and getting it back to the dealer for repair. So far , I'm quite relieved and impressed. Can't be the clutch itself I thought , must be a hydraulic loss I think.

Wrong!!, gets a call from the dealer for the permission to remove the gearbox, obviously I said yes , as the car wouldn't fix itself (?) so I waited to see what was discovered.

Another phone call a couple of hours later reveals that the clutch is totally fried,and the DMF is also damaged- estimated cost £ 761 !!!! And , the clutch isn't covered by the warranty after the first 6500 miles!!!!

Looking into this problem on this and other forums, it seems like I'm not alone with this type of problem.

A phone call to skoda GB also did nothing to help me with this warranty claim.

Spoke again to the service manager and the general manager of SILBURY SKODA , who although polite, did bugger all in the way of trying to se if I could claim under warranty. I believe that itis the DMF that is causing so many problems with these cars, and is in fact riding the clutch from the inside against the hydraulic check valve in the braking system itself.

Once I started having a technical discussion with the dealer, and told him I was in fact a diesel engineer for a well known marine engineering company and knew about such things , the conversation changed somewhat and the ******** about the flywheel damage suddenly ceased to exist, the car only needs a new clutch assy now all of a sudden.

Now I feel that Skoda are masking an obvious fault with either the quality of their clutch components, the quality and assembly of their DMF,or the engine assembly on build up and are trying to bill customers for the damage caused when one of the components lets go. As I said, I was aware of no warning signs that the clutch was on the way out, the car drove perfectly well until the moment the pedal hit the deck.

Anyway, I've complained vigorously to Skoda GB and the dealer, and have stressed that I was not told that the clutch was not covered by the warranty. I've also asked Skoda to look beyond the problem , i.e. FMEA the affected area and the fit and function of all of the clutch line components and ancillaries, to see what is causing such premature failures.

So, I've just forked out £500 for labour and a new clutch the wek before xmas which isn't very good at all you must agree, no goodwill of any sort from Skoda GB, Skoda factory CZ and the dealership.

In fact , when I collected the car , they had managed to immobilise the radio /cd player and cannot unlock it, so wait for it , they've ordered me a replacement , you've guessed it - UNDER WARRANTY!!!!

This really pee'd me off, the cost of a replacement radio ( Which was perfectly fine by the way) is probably gonna be same as the clutch, and the'll replace that no quibble!!?

Theres got to be something wrong with things when this is the case, I've lost confidence in the car now, and certainly will NOT be using SILBURY SKODA< CRAMLINGTON again.

Also, I'll be advising as many prospective Skoda buyers to check and be aware that the clutches on these cars are not covered after 6500 miles when new, and that the balance of the manufacturers warranty bull**** that you get when buying used really isn't worth the paper its written on. BE WARNED!!

Anyone with similar experiences out there, or am I in the minority.

Cheers Folks, have a good festive season and all that,

Wimpster.

This is a Mk.2