Hi,

New Octy owner here, but have had VAG diesels (03 Ibiza PD130 and 52 Golf PD100) before. Very impressed by the new motor (it's a 06 2.0 PD140 with 65000 on the clock), very smooth and power delivery is better spread across the rev range, unlike my old Ibiza when it all came in one big lump at 2000 rpm and just lit up the front tyres.

However, on it's first long run, I noticed a distinct hesitation when I use a heavy right foot. It's most noticeable on the motorway in 6th gear if I plant it to overtake someone. I can change down to 5th and it's still there, but less noticeable - perhaps because the revs build more quickly ?

So far (after checking the very useful Briskoda forums) I've checked the MAF - it ran distinctly worse with it disconnected, and the air box - the filter was a brand new OEM and clean as a whistle, so air flow seems not to be the problem.

I've just ordered a VAGCOM cable to check the diagnostics (bit scary - I work in IT, but mucking about with the ECU seems rather worrying).

Anyone have any advice ? I'm concerned that it'll be a high value item like the turbo that's stuttering as it comes on boost. The car was serviced before I picked it up and I do have a 30 day warranty on the car, but if it's something as simple as a gunged up EGR pipe I'd hate to return it just for that.

One last thing - I know it's a much bigger car than my old Ibiza, but it does seem quite a lot slower, particularly in the 50-70 mph bracket. Is it worth getting the PD140 remapped and if so can I still get on the p-torque group buy ?

Thanks

Jake

sorry - can't answer many of your questions but...

I went from a 130 bhp ibiza to a 140 bhp Leon Mk 2 - The Leon also seemed quite a bit slower to me and I was never impressed with performance - or fuel economy for that matter (around 43-44 mpg)

I think the 140 bhp engine does rev a bit more than the 1.9 though so perhaps it needs to be driven differently ?

I'm now back on an Ibiza FR Tdi with a gentle remap but need a bigger car and have been looking at the Octavia Sport !

Hi,

The PD sport is a nice motor - out of all the Octy II's I looked at on autotrader, the sport was the best price with the right kit. Could have got a DSG Elegance for a bit more money, but to be honest I just don't trust an autobox for what will be a long term car. Also, reading on here, I wasn't sure that the DSG would cope with any remapping that gets done, which (although don't breathe a word of this to the wife), is the reason I went for the Octy - a 180 BHP remap with 50mpg will do very nicely thank you; as long as the issue I'm experiencing isn't indicative of a more serious underlying problem - there's no way I'm forking out £300 for a remap, only for the turbo to fail 100 miles later.

As an update, I've just come back from about a 15 mile trip, and it definitely feels like it struggling a bit in the upper rev ranges. The stutter is most noticeable around 3000 RPM with a wide open throttle, and the surge of acceleration that starts at 2000 RPM and I'd expect to carry all the way through to 4000 RPM just isn't there. It feels almost like it's missing, but I thought this wasn't possible in a diesel engine?

Maybe I'm kidding myself about the acceleration, but I think the car is capable of much more brisk performance.

How difficult is it to clean out the EGR ?

Thanks,

Jake

Is the Turbo making the tell tale whistle/siren noise ?

Could be the variable vanes on the turbocharger, they are designed to reduce turbo lag by altering their angle depending on revs and engine load. They also prevent the turbo from overspeeding/overboosting like a waste gate does.

If they are stuck or are sometimes sticking in a certain position you could get what feels like a flat spot through the rev range.

The PD140 is 16 valve and will rev easier towards the redline than the PD130 which is 8 valve. There should be sufficient grunt up to about 4000rpm, after that its pretty much all over.

Look out for a big hesitation when approaching the upper rev range under hard acceleration, this is a sure sign the turbo vanes are stuck which can lead to an overboost situation which will essentially 'shut down' the turbo, a restart will fix this.

Even worse could be an overspeed scenario, this happened to me and the turbo split in two.

How many revs are you on in 6th when you plant your foot down? When do you feel the turbo kick in? Turbo doesnt kick in until 1800-2000 so you will get a lag until you hit the range.

I read on the turbo technics web site that the average life of a turbo is 75k. Whether its true or not I cannot say, only that there are many reports on this site regarding turbo problems and I should be changing mine next week at 57k.

On a positive note my neighbours Octy has done 160k and is still going strong!

- Sorry didnt read your second post - Definitely get it checked out could well be the turbo.

Edited 21 September, 200916 yr by stacon

My Sport DSG goes like a train from 1500-4000 rpm so you must have a slight glitch there. Doesn't sound too serious. Incidentally, on the life of turbo's, my mates PD130 Superb taxi has done 196000 miles and is still on the original turbo, lots of other things have been replaced, but not the turbo.

Just goes to show that a car running hot all the time and driven gently can acheive massive mileages from components.

just wondering if you used some redex or something to flush through the system and give it a good boot for 50 miles or so to clean they system out.

Regarding the average life of a turbo, mine let go at around 70k and I am starting to get some minor problems with the second one at 106k, I wonder if they shoved a recon unit in seeing as it was under warranty? :holmes:

Well...

Took the Octy back to the dealer this morning to get them to properly diagnose and fix the problem. They aren't a Skoda dealership, but there is an MOT garage on the same site which is used to service all the cars before they are sold on, so I'm hoping they've got everything they need to sort it.

However, very annoyingly, got the car over to the dealer (about a 20 min drive) and one of the sales guys jumped in and asked me to demo the problem. A quick 10 mile drive, encompassing both derestricted dual carriageways and a stretch on the M56 failed to demonstrate the problem - the car behaved pretty much flawlessly, no matter how much I tried to recreate the symptoms. There was a very mild stutter at about 3000 RPM, but nothing anywhere near as bad as it has been, and in fact, if I hadn't been acutely aware of it and looking for it, I don't think I'd have noticed it.

Could it just be that it just needed an "italian tune-up" and that it's getting progressively better as it gets driven more ?

Its always the case when you take the car back to the garage, everything runs perfectly:D

I think I read on here that the ECU adapts to your driving style, maybe a possible cause? Or like you said, "italian tune up" may have cleared the tubes out;)

Problem sorted !! Got the car back at 5pm and all running perfectly.

The solution....? A blocked fuel filter - apparently one of the lads in the garage had it sorted in 10 mins. A good fast drive back was perfectly smooth throughout the rev range - no hiccoughs at all.

How annoying is that ? Still, goes to show why I work in IT, and not as a car mechanic.

Thanks for all your advice everyone, I'll still be keeping half an eye on that turbo for the next few thousand miles though...