tldr; skoda mechanic restricted of aircon fan fitting new radiator, fan control unit goes, said mechanic says two events unrelated.

Greetings all,

I'm looking for some advice, both technically and on a moral front.

I have an 06 Octavia II 2.0 TDI PD. In December '11, I had to have the radiator changed, due to a leak from it.

I had this done at a local Skoda garage and all seemed well.

Fast forward 3 and a bit months, to the spell of warm weather we had last month. I put on my air conditioning for the first time since having the radiator changed (first time it's been warm enough this year!) and the most horrific sound starts coming from under the bonnet. So much so, other drivers were giving me the 'there is something seriously wrong with your car look'.

I got home ok, switched off the engine hoping the sound to stop, but instead the fan carried on.

After having a quick look under the bonnet, the cause of the racket was seen to be a solid pipe (later found to be part of the air con system) was jammed against the air con fan (the 2nd one). Hoping it would stop once the car cooled down, i left it for an hour or two, but it didn't stop. Eventually I had to disconnect the battery.

Next morning I come to start the car, battery is flat. Get breakdown guy out to give me a jump. Still wont start. He has to bend the pipe out of the way to free the fan (which by now had a sizable gash in it) before the engine would start. The fan still going.

So off i go, back to the Skoda garage. I'm not going to go in to details about being stranded without a car at 5:30pm, but needless to say, they left me in a difficult position.

The situation I'm in now is, they're admitting that they must have bent the pipe, catching the fan during the installation of the radiator.

The damage is that the fan control unit is now defective (leaving the fan running constantly). They want £450 to repair it.

Now, to me i think it's more than fair to say that the damage to the fan control unit could have been caused by the fan movement being restricted for a good few hours. The Skoda mechanic disagrees, saying that it's just bad timing and that the two are unrelated.

They're even offered to split the cost for repairs.

Am I being unreasonable in thinking that they should repair the damaged part free of charge? Or should should i just be glad that i can get the work done half price?

Edited 4 April, 201214 yr by dmk

Get opinion from another dealers too on if it caused issue but hopefully some smart person in here will know but at least either way its not going to be full price

They cause it, they fix it is my view

I agree, the restriction to the fan would cause excess current to be drawn thus damaging the control unit.

Call SUK too

I would get skoda head office involved as well and would not take no for an answer

they caused it.........the fix it.......simples

They pay full I say, and leave your air- con on all year , what tiny amount you save in juice, you will pay when the compressor seizes up or the seals go because of little usage

My opinion for what its worth is if they're admitting that they must have bent the pipe, catching the fan during the installation of the radiator and they are offering to "split the cost" Then they have admitted to failing to provide a reasonable duty of care and the failure of fan controller is directly related due to excess current being pulled as fan was jammed.

They are obliged to repair ALL related items free of charge. Threaten with CAB, Court (Small claims) etc.

They are just trying to reclaim part of cost they know they are liable for.

Good Luck

Without doubt the dealer should be footing the bill. Also, the control unit should not have been damaged by the fan being jammed as it should be fused and that sould have blown long before damage to the electrics occured. Might be worth checking the correct fuse was fitted but again it's ultimatly the dealers fault. Only problem you have is proving it if they decide to dig their heels in.

If they won't pay for it all, take them to small claims court.

As a precaution, in future always try to examine any work done by a garage before taking it away (I know this is not always possible) as if you see a problem before leaving they have no way of wriggling out of it. You would be amazed at the number of times you catch shoddy/botched work.

Which dealer was this?

As a precaution, in future always try to examine any work done by a garage before taking it away (I know this is not always possible) as if you see a problem before leaving they have no way of wriggling out of it. You would be amazed at the number of times you catch shoddy/botched work.

I totally agree on this.I do this everytime i have servicing and odd things done.

To the OP-The dealer should sort this out FOC to you.Also as said before contact SUK and get them involved.Good luck.

I totally agree on this.I do this everytime i have servicing and odd things done.

To the OP-The dealer should sort this out FOC to you.Also as said before contact SUK and get them involved.Good luck.

I can see your point if you've had a job done on the exterior, but if you think it's a good idea to lie down on the floor in the dealers car park, then that's rediculous.

This is a rare scenario by the OP, so let's not cause a panic to other owners and at least give some faith in Skodas workmanship.

Must remember to wear my overalls and take the Haynes and a creeper board for the collection of my car on it's service. :think:

Good luck by the way with the car.

You have at least 2 arguments in your favour

1 You had no problems with the A/C system or the car (apart from the radiator) before they did the work.

2 They are admitting to moving the pipe during the work they carried out.

Can the garage prove they tested the A/C system after they carried out the work, if not then they did not check what they had done correctly. How many other ways apart from the garage causing the issue could the problem have occurred?

For my 5 bobs worth

See if the breakdown guy will give a written report of how he found the car, do it now whilst still fresh in his mind.

Write to the dealer saying you want full payment

Go to another dealer for an independant report.

If reports are looking good & dealer wont play ball write to him saying you are taking it to another Skoda approved repairer, and that you will be seeing him in the small claims court for the garage bill together with the hire car costs & compensation for loss of earnings.

If reports dont look concrete negotiate hard. Start with all repairs + loaner + compensation & work back

last if the garage is a membwer of one of the trade "we are a good garage" schemes threated to report them, if they dont pay report them anyway

LASTLY talking is always the best way, gather your evidence & be very firm but go legal as a last resort

Edited 5 April, 201214 yr by Stuart_J

I can see your point if you've had a job done on the exterior, but if you think it's a good idea to lie down on the floor in the dealers car park, then that's rediculous.

This is a rare scenario by the OP, so let's not cause a panic to other owners and at least give some faith in Skodas workmanship.

Must remember to wear my overalls and take the Haynes and a creeper board for the collection of my car on it's service. :think:

I mean i visually check things after and NOT crawl under the car which you wouldn,t see anything anyway.My dealer used to always overfill with oil so that is what i used to check :think:

Call SUK too

Whats the point, all they will do is pass it around to someone else in the vain hope you disappear.

Get in touch with autocar. I told them about a wheel issue I was having that was going nowhere, they got involved and did an article and suddenly I got calls from the big bosses at SUK offering me all sorts of help, surprisingly!

What a joke!