I have an old 2001 Fabia but I'm just about to buy a 2005 Octy 2 Estate that only has ASR so will probably have an MK70 ABS unit..but that's beside the point.

To everyone here who has had a failure of the MK60 ABS/ESP unit (or is worried about an imminent hefty repair bill). Lets collect together the facts concerning how various customers have been treated. The nature of the fault and how widespread and publicly known it is. Disparity of 'goodwill' asisstance from Skoda dealerships. What excuses have been given by dealers etc.

Then we can draught a letter to Skoda UK, and VAG head offices suggesting that they have a duty of care to their customers. That many of the cars that have contributed to their revenue stream over the last 5 years contain a premium part that is not fit for purpose. Impress on them that their failure to address the issue is damaging the image of the Skoda marque. That any disparity in the response of Skoda against the response of VW, Audi, or BMW will further damage the image of the Skoda marque.

I'll draught one here (it may take a couple of days to refine).

'Dear Sir/Madam,

We write to you with some concern over the response by Skoda to a wide ranging and serious fault with a large number of your Octavia cars. I'm sure you will be aware of the production fault inherent in the Continental / Teves MK60 ABS/ESP unit used in the vehicles in question. It would appear that the 'Piezo Resistive Measuring Bridge' within the 'G201 Break Preasure Sender' of the MK60 is prone to early failure rendering the ABS and ESP system faulty. We understand that this is a non-servicible part and is intended, with reasonable use, to last the lifetime of the vehicle. This appraisal can be supported by the fact that a decision was made to embed the G201 sender in the ABS pump in the MK60 unit. As I'm sure you must be aware the ABS pump is a very expensive part to replace.

It would seem that the MK60 units are now failing in large numbers. Some units that are failing after as little as 3 years in service on cars of low to medium mileage. This period of time cannot be considered to be anything near to the 'lifetime' of a modern vehicle. It is without irony that we point out that 3 years is the 'lifetime' of your warranty period not the intended life of the car.

Consider goodwill. Skoda customers bought the Octavia because they felt it was the best product on the market to suit their purse. Can you afford to suggest that they were wrong to see Skoda as a good choice? Some customers have been offered 100% of the repair cost. Some 50%, others 35%, and many nothing at all. Could you please explain why a common and widespread design fault is not being treated as a recall issue offering free repair? Can you explain why Skoda customers are being penalised for buying a costly ESP upgrade? Please note that customers that did not opt to pay for this premium feature have a non faulty unit in place (MK70).

It would seem that there is an attempt by Skoda to try to link the failure of the MK60 to the service history of the car. As the unit is clearly non-serviceable this cannot be the case. It is well known that the fault is inherent in the design of the unit as this fault affects VW, Audi, BMW and others who use the MK60. There has been an attempt by Skoda to limit any 'goodwill assistance' with reference to the age of the vehicle. Let me remind you that these cars are aged 5 years or less. This policy would seem to be at best cynical. Skoda customers might see it rather as a good reason never to buy VAG again. Making loyal customers pay for a production mistake is neither fair nor good business practice.

There has been a great deal of discusion between loyal Skoda customers on this issue on the pages of 'Briskoda.net' and other VAG owners forums. You must also be aware of the publicity in the UK press concerning this very issue on all VAG group marques. The picture that is emerging is of no coherent response to this issue from either Skoda or the VAG group as a whole. Many Skoda customers are dismayed that the onus for bad design, bad workmanship, and poor customer support is being placed on them. Many Skoda customers may soon come to regret their decision to buy Skoda if this situation is allowed to continue. We fail to see why a failure of quality control within VAG should result in a £1,500 plus pentalty to us, your customers.

This feeling of dissatisfaction is coumpounded by news that customers of VAG group who have bought other marques such as VW are recieving much better customer support on this issue. This is a dreadful situation for a car marque that has done well do overcome a 'poor relation' public image over the last decade. A failure to act well on this issue now will irreparably harm the image of the Skoda marque and undo many years of hard work in a difficult marketplace.

We would urge you to treat your customers with the duty of care that they deserve. Offer all Skoda owners who have the suspect unit a free replacement. Include used Skodas and those cars not serviced at Skoda main dealers. The cars were built by Skoda not the Skoda buyer. Those buyers were told by Skoda they were buying a superior product. A more sypathetic response by Skoda at this stage may allow some of those customers to believe that this is still true.

We know this is a design and manufacturing fault. We know that this fault renders the unit unfit for purpose. Given ABS/ESP is a safety feature this issue should be considered with the highest priority.

A full and open copy of this letter will be sent to the motoring sections of the major UK press.

Summat like that!

Anyone who wants to be undersigned please add your name and Skoda model, and price you paid (ESP only in the last 5 years). That way we can total the overall point of sale value of your custom. Then quote that figure and suggest that if they are not prepared to honour their committment to quality car production and safe driving then they must be happy to risk losing this sum over the next 5 years. Then suggest that an open copy of the letter will be sent to every motoring section in the UK press.

That should set them in a spin of contrition...hopefully.

Mr T.J.Jones Octavia Vrs TDI 2007 with MK60 ABS module living on borrowed time 41,000 miles on clock.