I have a 58 octavia diesel vrs that has done about 40k miles. No problems with it until it was about 2 weeks past the warranty period and then the following issues happened...

1) Engine Management light came on

2) Shortly followed by Glow plug light

3) Shortly followed by DPF light and the engine kicked into safe mode with low power.

4) we then drove the car steadily at 60mph, and the DPF light went out. The glow plug light also went out and has not come on since.

5) took it to the skoda garage who plugged it in and couldnt find any significant issues, so re-set everything and couldnt get the problem to repeat. They did mention that it could be a sensor that had coked up.

6) 2 weeks later, the engine management light came on again.

7) took it back to a different skoda garage (the original garage no longer supported skoda vehicles!) who said that there could be a boost issue, so re-set to default settings and cleard the errors and couldnt get the errors to repeat.

8) 2 weeks later again and the car is running ok, but when stopped with the engine off for a while and trying to re-start, the engine will turn over on the starter motor but not actually kick in. It takes about 5 attempts to get it to fire, and then drives alright with no loss in power. This has happened about 5 times over the past 4 days, and the DPF light has now come on once again. THe car seems alright when starting from cold, just having problems if stopped from anywhere between 1 minute to 45 minutes.

I was getting fed up with the garage not fixing it so have bought a 3rd party VAGCOM cable which has yet to arrive, but when it does I will post the error codes for some help.

Does anyone know what could potentially be the problem? I have read all sorts on here, from glow plugs, to sensors, to injectors and DPF filters. Can anyone recommend what to look at first, obviously I am hoping that it is the cheapest option!!!

Cheers,

Graham

Sounds like it could be one of a few different possibilities...

1) DPF / exhaust pressure sensor.

2) Sticky vanes on the turbo.

3) Faulty injector.

Each problem is well documented on here:

1) http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/214799-dreaded-dpf-light-and-flashing-glow-plug-light/

2) http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/215905-death-of-a-turbo/

3) http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/197422-vag-170-ps-diesel-injector-failures-vosa-action/

All can be fixed relatively cheaply, the sensors are around £50, the sticky turbo vanes could be cleared with a turbo cleaner and the injectors will be replaced FOC by Skoda UK.

As you mention the problem is diagnosing the exact cause…

This sounds very similar to what happened on mine , problem turned out to be failing injector AND exhaust sensor

What do you think I should do? Take it back to the garage or use my own VAGCOM to have a look at the error messages first and see what is going on? I am in the process of reading the injector thread and at 26 pages, it may take a while! Thanks for the help so far

As the injectors are the most expensive fix, but also the only one that is free I'd start by jumping on the phone to Skoda Customer Care in the morning and getting the fix approved and booked in.

If it is a faulty sensor then this 'should' log an error which the dealer would be able to read but if its been in to two different dealers and they are still unable to pinpoint the problem then it may be a case of trial and error as there are a number of sensors, I'd be tempted to start with the exhaust pressure sensor as this is a known problem.

I'm not sure the VCDS cable will help if the dealers can't instantly identify the error.

If the problem occurs after the injectors are replaced then you may get some goodwill back from the dealer or Skoda towards the sensor...

UPDATE....

Well I logged an email with VOSA and had a reply very quickly and also logged the problem with Skoda UK on their internet site. On route home from work last night the DPF light came on, shortly followed by the Coil light flashing and the car dropped into get home mode. So, I drove it straight to Sparshatts at Botley who took the car straight through to their workshop. A quick call to Dan Latta at Skoda UK and the car is now being looked at for the problems with the injectors. Cross fingers this is the cause of all the problems otherwise it's back to the drawing board.

Thanks to all on here who suggested what to do, a great help.

Graham

Hopefully a result. Let us know how you get on.

I would also argue the fact for goodwill as its only 2 weeks out of warranty if it is something other than the injectors.

UPDATE......

Apparently there is a cam sensor issue which the garage are fixing at a cost of £260. No news back yet as to whether there was anything wrong with the injectors though!