Beware CR170 engine

[Altifox]

After 18500 miles of happy motoring (aside from broken aircon after 6 months) my vRS 170 CR has developed problems. After its first service it developed a nasty vibration/ resonance especially bad around the 1500 rpm mark but can be felt throughout the rev range when on the move making the once smooth engine feel really rough, this was assumed to be something left loose after the service. However after 2 visits to the dealer and a "recording" sent to Skoda (still awaiting a response) they dont know what is causing the problem let alone how to fix it. It feels very much like something mechanical rather than a loose item.

I have been told it is safe to continue to drive the car and whilst asking today for a correspondance to confirm this, the dealer admitted they have 3 cars with the same engine showing the same fault (although typically mine is the worst!!!) with as of yet no known fix. There are another 3 people on this site with new Superbs that also have the same problem and I have heard of other Octy owners being told, when mentioned to dealers, that the vibration is normal as "they all do that".

I believe that Audi/VW delayed the lauch of their new models last year with this engine due to vibration problems but Skoda appeared to have pushed on regardless.

I wonder how long it will take Skoda to come up with a solution for what appears to be a generic problem????, I feel a replacement engine coming on !!!!!!

[Silverware]

:eek:

[Evening Star]

Me thinks I'm glad I went to petrol!

[gadgetman]

:eek:

:+1:

[vRSLen]

:+1: +1

[sworrall]

oh balls :(

[Brimma]

oh balls :(

I suppose the good news is that if everbody's is affected they've pretty much got to do someting about it, as it's clearly a design or other inherent fault.

I'll wait for another 10k to see if I hit 'the wall'.

[rsbspt]

I suppose the good news is that if everbody's is affected they've pretty much got to do someting about it, as it's clearly a design or other inherent fault.

I'll wait for another 10k to see if I hit 'the wall'.

PD rules! But I feel your pain...

[dan_the_v8man]

hmm, me feels glad i got one of the last PD170 passats instead of the CR

[Browny_37]

Its not the airscoop is it?

Or can it be felt through the entire car, as though a wheel was out of balance?

[Altifox]

Unfortunately as much as I wish it was, it isnt the old air scoop problem.

You can feel the vibration through the pedals, steering wheel and drivers seat both when revved stationary and when on the move.

Funny you should mention the out of balance wheel feel as I have recently noticed this at high speed.

It appears that cars effected vary in mileage, if you notice this on any other car with the CR170 engine dont be fobbed off by the dealer, there is a problem and it needs addressing !!!!!

[XLBaconDoubleCheese]

o dear doesnt sound good! Worth stickying?

[harrysprout]

http://briskoda.net/octavia-ii/engine-vibration-new-cr170-tdi-vrs/153035/

$hit

[cheezemonkhai]

That isn't sounding good, I wonder if it's perhaps an engine mount issue as the PD170 had these at one point.

[kob999]

I suppose the good news is that if everbody's is affected they've pretty much got to do someting about it, as it's clearly a design or other inherent fault.

I'll wait for another 10k to see if I hit 'the wall'.

But how many people are affected so far. There must be a lot of CR owners on this site (i'm one on 17k so far with no probs).

What sort of milage are people up to on their CR's and how many have encountered issues. Before seeing that post this mornng I had not seen the issue raised before.

I'm certainly not naive enough to think a company wouldn't go to market with a product they are not 100% satisfied with, but if Skoda a company that has built its reputation on value for money and reliability has done so then it would seem a very bad move on their part.

[harrysprout]

But how many people are affected so far. There must be a lot of CR owners on this site (i'm one on 17k so far with no probs).

What sort of milage are people up to on their CR's and how many have encountered issues. Before seeing that post this mornng I had not seen the issue raised before.

I'm certainly not naive enough to think a company wouldn't go to market with a product they are not 100% satisfied with, but if Skoda a company that has built its reputation on value for money and reliability has done so then it would seem a very bad move on their part.

Reality check indeed. Do a quick search on the internet and the only thing you come up with is the thread started by rcaple back in July. I reckon VAG would not sort out the problem on engines destined for VW and Audi's and leave the broken ones for Skoda. Lunacy.

[Altifox]

What if engines with this trait were already fitted by Skoda into their cars and sold, before VAG were entirely happy to start fitting them into VW/Audi's. I believe the new A4 in CR170 guise was released for sale to the public later than the other models in the range even though it was released for the media to test at launch.

I'm not sure if more recently produced cars are effected, as mine was one of the early CR's made in 2008.

I'm not suggesting we all panic or that all CR's are effected, but there are other owners with this problem out there that have been fobbed off by dealers and are forced to live with an unacceptable problem. The more people who realise that this is not normal for CR170 engines be it in Octavias or Superbs then maybe Skoda will be forced to come up with a solution.

In the mean time I am still awaiting that magic phone call to say the issue has been identified and resolved and that they can fix my car and restore my faith in Skoda.

[kob999]

What if engines with this trait were already fitted by Skoda into their cars and sold, before VAG were entirely happy to start fitting them into VW/Audi's. I believe the new A4 in CR170 guise was released for sale to the public later than the other models in the range even though it was released for the media to test at launch.

I'm not sure if more recently produced cars are effected, as mine was one of the early CR's made in 2008.

I'm not suggesting we all panic or that all CR's are effected, but there are other owners with this problem out there that have been fobbed off by dealers and are forced to live with an unacceptable problem. The more people who realise that this is not normal for CR170 engines be it in Octavias or Superbs then maybe Skoda will be forced to come up with a solution.

In the mean time I am still awaiting that magic phone call to say the issue has been identified and resolved and that they can fix my car and restore my faith in Skoda.

I agree with your posting entirely and you are correct to raise the issue. My only point was that Skoda would be foolish to risk their reputation on a known issue such as this and on one of their premium offerings. As I said before that does not mean I don't believe companies would act this way and if they have then Skoda deserve all the bad press and loss of customers that results.

Also agree with your point on not being fobbed off by dealers. Thats where a web site like this gives the customer some power. So far it sounds as if maybe a dozen cases of this issue are circling around. It might be an isolated incident or the beginning of something much more significant.

I assume that within the Briskoda website there has to be a significant percentage of CR owners relative to the overall sales of this unit. Certainly enough to gather meaningful info over the coming months to see if this problems persists and becomes more significant.

I would second the earlier suggestion that is worthwhile being sticky'd.

Hope you get a good resolution

[Altifox]

How would I go about getting this post "sticky'd"????

[a. waterfield]

watching this with interest.. it wouldnt be the first time a manufacturer tries to sweep problems under the carpet, (like renault - clio bonnets) if they do nothing and it is a design fault then time will show how widespread it will be....

[All torque]

Not happy reading this - Ive noticed i`ve got the same problem. :thumbdwn: Covered similar milage too (18k)

[Matt Bodycombe]

For what it's worth Skoda in the Czech Republic are pretty good at sorting these things out but you have to deal with the useless U.K Customer Services people in order to get to them. My turbo went out of warranty and they went goodwill on the parts. Write lots of letters, make lots of phone calls, and generally make lots of noise and they will hopefully see you right. There is a tremendous brand loyalty with Skoda and they don't want to lose their good reputation so they should, as I say see you good. If you have a good dealer intermediary (as I did at Murray Newton Abbott) so much the better.

[expostmanpat]

There are another 3 people on this site with new Superbs that also have the same problem and I have heard of other Octy owners being told, when mentioned to dealers, that the vibration is normal as "they all do that".

Three letters BLT

[InexEng]

What if engines with this trait were already fitted by Skoda into their cars and sold, before VAG were entirely happy to start fitting them into VW/Audi's.

But this CR engine was fitted to the Audi TT just before it came out on the VRS

[bomski]

I managed to shear a gearbox mount; caused tons of vibration... but i guess they'd have checked those during the inspection...

Might be worth getting under the car with a torch and checking it out... or alternatively take it to a tuner who will probably tell you what the problem is right away...