Just drove down the road in my octavia, which is a march '03 vRS h/back.

As I got to the end of my road the engine management light started flashing and the engine began running lumpy. I stopped and the engine sound was lumpy and throaty and low (if you know what I mean?!) and the exhaust tailpipe was shaking about a lot, there was also a strange smell about the car :scared: . I hadn't thrashed it cold or anything like that. I phoned my dealer who said to bring it down at 2.30 today for him to look at. I am praying it's a warranty issue and not too serious :eek: . I have no idea what it could be but I was told it's okay to drive to the dealer as the engine is intelligent enough to shut down if anything major is wrong with it that would hurt it if I drove it :( .

Would something as simple as a problem with the cat cause these symptoms :amb: ?

I'll just have to wait now until this arvoafter it's been to the doctors :doctor: .

steve.

I would not drive it... Get the AA to tow it in.. As if there is unburnt fuel entering the exhaust then it is dangerous for the catalytic converter...

cheers

Dazz

Sounds like a coilpack to me.

Yep - coilpack almost certainly - smell is unburnt fuel, and the lumpiness is caused by the misfire. The good news is it only takes 5 minutes to change it.

Thanks for the replies, what on earth is a coilpack??

These engines have individual coils for each sparkplug. They sit above the plugs and are fed 12 volts by the ECU. They convert it to high voltage, and fire it down the plugs at the right moment. In a more conventional engine there is just one coil. These are the equivalent.

Denis - where's your pic?

:wave23d:

Cheers, that doesn't sound too painful if it turns out to be the problem.

I'd agree with the advice of getting the AA to tow it in rather than driving it. And get them to check all of the coil packs while they are about it - you might find they will do them all, depending on which version you have fitted.

Denis - where's your pic?

The plugs are 'buried' in the head and the coil packs fit on top. The H version was prone to failing and was replaced by the J then the L version. The latest 1.8Ts have yet another version.

ahh the fun of the coilpacks.

i experienced 3 failures over a year. every time the dealer assured me that they'd replaced the faulty ones with the new revisions, every time i ended up back there it was a case of "i'm sorry sir, it seems they only changed one last time"

in the end i bought a set of new ones and fitted them. i think they were around

Good old coilpacks. I really liked the sound of my engine mis-firing all over the place - sounded like a Scooby

I really liked the sound of my engine mis-firing all over the place - sounded like a Scooby

Nah...that's just the way you drive.

Good old coilpacks. I really liked the sound of my engine mis-firing all over the place - sounded like a Scooby

Ooo, is that your car - looks bloody lovely :-)

Which is more than you can say for the clown stood in front of it ...

Which is more than you can say for the clown stood in front of it ...

It's uncanny, isn't it?

:woohoo:

Just collected the Octy from the dealer... it was indeed the coilpack number 3 that was faulty, causing a heavy misfire. Much better now. Thanks all for the advice as it stopped me worrying so much whilst it was in the garage :bowdown: .

Apparently, as far as the driving it whilst misfiring it concerned, the dealer reckons that the engine management senses a failing coil pack and cuts the fuel off to that particular cylinder, so no fuel ends up going into the cat and hurting it. Clever these cars eh??

I know it was only a minor fault, but it did make me think twice about going to Jabba before the 3 year warranty expires. You never know what may happen, or how expensive it may end up being..

Steve.

:woohoo:

Just collected the Octy from the dealer... it was indeed the coilpack number 3 that was faulty' date=' causing a heavy misfire. Much better now. Thanks all for the advice as it stopped me worrying so much whilst it was in the garage :bowdown: .

Apparently, as far as the driving it whilst misfiring it concerned, the dealer reckons that the engine management senses a failing coil pack and cuts the fuel off to that particular cylinder, so no fuel ends up going into the cat and hurting it. Clever these cars eh??

I know it was only a minor fault, but it did make me think twice about going to Jabba before the 3 year warranty expires. You never know what may happen, or how expensive it may end up being..

Steve.[/quote']

HRRMMMMMM :rubchin:

The ECU would only know there was an emissions problem from the Lambda probe in the Exhaust.. I don't think the coilpacks would be able to send signals back to the ECU.. Maybe the ECU detects a change in the load that

enables it to detect a failing coil pack ( Ross .... ? ).. You said yourself that

the exhaust smellt funny.. I think that there was still unburnt fuel getting pumped into cyl 3....

I doubt your dealer is 100% on what happens when a coilpack goes pop!..

cheers

Dazz

Your dealer hasn't read page 111 of the Octavia Owner's Manual which says in part:

If misfiring, a loss of power and rough engine running occur when driving, this may be caused by a fault in the ignition system. In this case, uncombusted fuel can get into the exhaust system and thus pass to the atmosphere. In addition, the catalytic converter may be damaged as a result of overheating. Reduce your speed immediately and have the fault rectified at the nearest Skoda Dealer.

I would treat such a failure as a breakdown if out on the open road and would call out the AA to fix it. (Or maybe even have a go myself using one of the 2 spares I carry).

A bit worrying that the dealer doesn't see, to know all, especially as it was the chap in the service dept that I spoke to.

However, car is back home where it belongs and seems tobe running fine, no more smelly exhaust or lumpiness.. :rally:

I guess I only have the dealer's word that he checked the condition of the cat, I don't want the situation where the 3 years warranty runs out, the mot comes into play and it fails on emmisions. Hmmmmm.

:bwrspam:

Wouldn't worry too much, mine passed an emissions test with no cat

When one of the coils went on my old Megane, rather than tow the car to the nearest dealer, and then have to wait for hours to get a slot in the workshop, the AA man went and got a complete new set of coils (under warranty), and fitted them himself. No cost to me, and only one and a bit hours from first phone call to getting back on the road.

The AA man told me that under the new laws, the warranty isn't affected, provided that the work is done by somebody suitably trained, using genuine parts. According to him, this applies to any manufacturer, but only Renault (at the moment) are actively promoting the practice. Does seem slightly disappointing that your Skoda dealer and/or AA man didn't mention this to you... :(

Yeah, I suppose it boils down to the fact they are in a business to make money, not let the AA do the labour and claim from Skoda themselves, if that'show it works. *******! :grumpy:

When one of the coils went on my old Megane' date=' rather than tow the car to the nearest dealer, and then have to wait for hours to get a slot in the workshop, the AA man went and got a complete new set of coils (under warranty), and fitted them himself. No cost to me, and only one and a bit hours from first phone call to getting back on the road.

[/quote']

Same thing happened to my friends Saab, AA changed it. They only have one coil pack apparently and it cost around

When my 1st one went I drove more than 40 miles with the failed coilpack, no ill effects and emissions etc were still ok. The manual is generic for all octy models, perhaps its only the 18T that can isolate the cylinder, I was told the same thing about cutting the fuel supply by my local dealer.

Same thing happened to my friends Saab, AA changed it. They only have one coil pack apparently and it cost around