Broke down!

[RizzoTheRat]

My 59 plate VRS diesel conked out on me last night. It seems the fuel leak near the top of the fuel filter that the local dealer charged me £150 to fix last month by replacing the fuel return lines, is still leaking, and diesel dripping on to the alternator belt has caused the belt to disintegrate, and it seems modern diesels need electricity to run. Has anyone had similar leaks? Presumably that belt also drives the water pump, I don't recall seeing the temperature gauge do anything funny so hopefully it's not caused further problems.

It also appears that the Octavia has a collapsible front end, meaning it can't be bar towed, and the low front skirt on the VRs means it won't go an RAC towing dolly, So after breaking down at 6, it took 15 minutes to get through the RAC on the phone, the patrol arrived about 8:30, and after deciding he couldn't tow me home called for a contractor recovery lorry and pulled me a couple of hundred yards to get me off the main road, and the recovery truck arrived finally arrived about 9:45, having spend 15 minutes looking for me as the RAC hadn't updated them with my new location. So after dropping the car off at the dealers I got home at 10:30, 4.5 hours after breaking down 10 miles from home. Not a good day.

[Davidsr20]

Cr or pd?

[RizzoTheRat]

CR. Garage reckon they're not even going to be able to look at it until Monday, and I'm away on work all week, so looks like I'll be getting wet on the bike Sunday night.

[skodacarman]

It won't affect the water pump. It's driven by the cam belt instead.

[silver1011]

Think yourself lucky it was the alternator belt that got covered in diesel, if it was the cambelt it might have been a worse result...

[skodanorman]

Exactly the same thing happened to my sister in her 2.0 TDI Octavia (57 plate).

Bit of a joke when the dealer "fixes" something and makes it worse!!

[RizzoTheRat]

Not too sure where the cam belt is on this, I used to do most of the servicing on my ZX and 306, and my bikes haven't been to a garage in years, but 18 months with the Octavia and I've only lifted the bonnet a few times. Hopefully the cam belt is ok.

[Zdenek Fibich]

A 59-registered car is still under warranty. Why did you have to pay £150 for a repair, let alone one that didn't work?

[meta55]

Would it still be possible for the diesel to get to the timing belt, I know it's behind a cover.

[FUBAR]

A 59-registered car is still under warranty. Why did you have to pay £150 for a repair, let alone one that didn't work?

A very good point sir!

[Zdenek Fibich]

Thinking about it, he may have done over 60,000 miles. Anyway, I hope he'll come back and tell us how he gets on.

[3701gemma]

It also appears that the Octavia has a collapsible front end, meaning it can't be bar towed, and the low front skirt on the VRs means it won't go an RAC towing dolly

I found this out the hard way when I broke down and had to call RAC they decided to use the dolly resulting in deep groved scratches on the bottom of bumper, but didn't notice until a week later so can't do anything about it.

[RizzoTheRat]

Is the warranty 3 year? I thought it was only 2 year? I'm on 65k miles too so I amuse from the above comment the warranty is only 60k anyway?

Edited 24 June, 2012 by RizzoTheRat

[DGW]

Three-year Vehicle Warranty. All new Škoda passenger cars purchased from an authorised Škoda retailer in the United Kingdom qualify for a three-year

vehicle warranty consisting of a two-year/unlimited mileage manufacturer’s warranty and a third year warranty with a 60,000 mile limitation.

Should a defect in manufacture occur with your vehicle during the three-year warranty period and it is within the mileage limitation, any member of the Škoda

authorised network will be able to carry out the necessary rectification, free of charge, whether or not they were the original supplying retailer.

If you have modified the vehicle with the addition of accessories or other equipment, you may be charged for the removal of such equipment if so required to effect

a repair.

The warranty is not affected by any change in ownership of the vehicle.

Any part which is replaced becomes the property of Škoda. Any replaced parts are covered for the unexpired period of the vehicle warranty.

http://www.skoda.co.uk/GBR/contactus/FAQs/Documents/New%20Vehicle%20Warranty.pdf

[RizzoTheRat]

So it's probably the warranty chip that's gone and is taking everything else with it

[silver1011]

Being within the time limit (three years) and only 5,000 miles over the mileage limit I'd still be pushing Skoda UK / the dealer for a gesture of goodwill, even more so since they clearly dropped a clanger with one of their previous botches repairs.

[m0bov]

6 years under soga.

[RizzoTheRat]

They should be taking a look at it today and getting back to me. Dealer seems to have a good reputation so I'm hoping for the best but eprepared to be dissapointed.

Edited 6 July, 2012 by RizzoTheRat

[RizzoTheRat]

Well apparently the belt twisted and caught the timing belt, and the timing has jumped. So a days labour just to get the head off...

[RizzoTheRat]

£4090! Waiting to hear what Skoda UK have to say on the matter

[silver1011]

1) It's in warranty.

2) The leak was caused by a franchised Skoda dealer.

3) The car has full Skoda service history.

Skoda UK pay 100% of the cost.

[meta55]

Just been to look at my diesel engine and cant see how the drive belt could catch the the timing belt to make it jump. As far as i can see (with a very dull tourch) lol the t/belt is fully encased behind a platic cover. Can someone please clear this up for me as i cant see the connection between the two belt to cause the fault.

[CappoRob]

After having my fuel filter replaced at my last Skoda dealer service, I had a diesel leak from the top of the filter housing. (57 Octy VRs 105,000 miles) My idependent mechanic who looks after my other car said he had seen a couple of these cars that have had leaks here after the filter had been replaced.

My leak also destroyed the alternator belt. The dealer (70 miles away) sent a truck to pick up my car and left me a courtesy car. Everything was sorted for me free of charge and my car returned.

I hope you can get your car sorted out. It does seem to be a known (if not admitted) problem with the fuel filter housing so I would hope the dealer / Skoda will do the right thing.

[RizzoTheRat]

1) It's in warranty.

2) The leak was caused by a franchised Skoda dealer.

3) The car has full Skoda service history.

Skoda UK pay 100% of the cost.

1) Warranty is 60k miles, I'm on 64k

2) They're claiming it's a different leak but my argument is they're related as apparently the mechanic noted that the filter housing was corroded

3) Yes, and the 60 service was done by the same dealer that it's with at the moment. I bought it second hand not through a Skoda agent but it's got dealer stamps for the previous services.

Skoda UK say they'll get back to me on Tuesday about it, here's hoping.

Interesting that others have seen leaks here after filter replacement, presumably my filter was replaced as part of the service shortly before the first leak started.

Edited 6 July, 2012 by RizzoTheRat

[RizzoTheRat]

Finally got it back after 5 weeks! New head, water pump, alternator belt, cam belt and fuel filter housing. Skoda UK coughed up 80%, the garage paid 10% and I paid the remaining £450. I might have been able to argue it lower but I wanted the car back, and at 65k miles it was due a cam belt change in another 10k so I've saved myself that one for now.