Hi all,

I drive a 60 plate Octavia and had it for just over 12 months. I recently went to get my front tyres changed and asked for the backs to be placed on the front and the new on the back. The chaps said that the tyres on the back had slight stepping on the inside edge. I asked what causes this and he said a number of things, suspension or bad wheel alignment.

I went back to the dealer and they said that nothing was wrong and it is caused by either the car being under load or road surface, which I find either hard to believe. They even picked it up on the service and said the same reasons for it.

Has anyone else experienced this or have an answer to why it happens?

Thanks in advance

Andy

I think what your seeing is an effect called Sawtoothing, my rear tyres are the same and I get a lot of road noise from it. Looking through the different posts there is a revised setting for the rear suspension on the vrs which (I think) gets rid of it.

I'm due a visit at the dealers I'm just waiting until I'm in the right frame of mind as I hate having to point things out to mechanics when they say there's nothing wrong.

Ps it does seem skoda are willing to pay for to get the suspension settings altered as well as paying a contribution towards some new tyres..

Really..? I wonder if that is only for the vrs. I'm driving an old man SE version...:-(

Do a search on 'Sawtoothing' there's a massive amount if posts; I don't know if it's just a vrs problem or more widespread.

I get sawtoothing on my motorbike tyres.

Stop worrying about it.

Wow - there is a lot of posts. I've phoned a specialist where I live and they said it is a common thing for octavia's, A4's and just happens don't know the reason why. Said to check tyre pressure and tracking as often as possible - madness.

At a £100 a tyre - I am concerned!!!!

Hi all,

I drive a 60 plate Octavia and had it for just over 12 months. I recently went to get my front tyres changed and asked for the backs to be placed on the front and the new on the back. The chaps said that the tyres on the back had slight stepping on the inside edge. I asked what causes this and he said a number of things, suspension or bad wheel alignment.

I went back to the dealer and they said that nothing was wrong and it is caused by either the car being under load or road surface, which I find either hard to believe. They even picked it up on the service and said the same reasons for it.

Has anyone else experienced this or have an answer to why it happens?

Thanks in advance

Andy

I had exactly the same problem 2 weeks ago, when I wanted my new tyres on the rear.

They said to keep the ' stepped' tyres on the back and to have a four wheel alignment done which cost 50 quid.....best 50 quid I've spent on my vrs ! No vibration, steering rock steady, its like driving a new car....

Don't let the dealers fob you off - they do know about it - its a common issue on the Octavia.

Ring Skoda customer services (08457 745745, option 4) and complain, it needs fixing under warranty.

Get a proper 4 wheel alignment done, I did on my Octavia using the revised settings and the rear tyres then lasted ages and were wearing evenly across the tread. The key is to get the revised settings and not the from the factory settings, otherwise the problem will persist. Wheelsinmotion located in Chesham, Bucks work wonders with alignment, yes you pay for it but the results speak for themselves.

Mine have gone like this over 20ish k.. It's now like driving a Sybian and it's quite annoying as there's plenty of life left in the tyres. It's done it all of its life as the previous owner will attest to.

You could swap the rear wheels over every few months or so

Readjustment to latest settings, proper 4 wheel alignment and it may be one of the few cases where f/r tyre swap is worthwhile.

I think the consensus was that main dealers will not do this job but farm it out, and not to places that produce the results we expect. My 56 est was terrible but out of warranty, so I first of all did the swapped the tyres. Which for a few miles made it rather nervous, but soon scrubbed off. Some suspension work was coming up, once complete I went to Fowkes at Ibstock who did a fine job, same results as Studmuffin. Very pleased. as was the other driver who didn't know anything was "going on". "Much nicer" she said.

So positive result - but you may be on a looser trying to get a dealer to sort it.

I had the same issue. Got the dealer to adjust the geometry and the miles per tank dropped by 80 miles to 400. Got them to check and redo it and it was still the same.

I decided to get all 4 wheels done (not just the rear that the dealers did) and took it to a specialist (CLCM in Edinburgh) - all 4 wheels were out of alignment. Car drives great now, done quite a few thousand miles now and no sawtoothing and consistently get 500 miles per tank.

My advice is, get a specialist to do it right and get all 4 wheels done - the dealer I used just couldnt.

Cheers

Dave

Thanks for all your replies and advice. Just a couple of things before I go and ring skoda customer services. I’m guessing they won’t do much about it, but least I’ll be able to voice my point.

Where do I get the revised settings for the wheel alignment / geometry?

I had it done on my FL Vrs at ABC in Pudsey, Leeds. Excellent service and results.

Hello,

I live in Derby. I normally use a place called Inner Ring....Not sure who thought of the name, but it's about the best place I know.

Hi all,

Ok my problem (sawtoothing tyres) thickens. I've rung Skoda customer service this week to get any more info about the issue with the dealer and the original problem. Funny enough the dealer was all too happy to help after the call. They sent the car to have a full wheel alignment check which showed it was slightly out but not enough to cause the sawtoothing issue.

Skoda customer service then phoned me back to find out how it went on and not sure if she meant to but let slip that there is a known issue with Dunlop, which are on the car, and Bridgestone tyres suffering from effects of sawtoothing.....

I did question why it has taken me three attempts to querying this only now to be told that there is a known issue, and being fobbed off that it was down to road surface or underload.

The dealer now wants the car back in to check the suspension, shocks etc I have asked the question will you replace the tyres if the issue is due to the make and the problem that has been highlighted. She said No, due to the mileage the tryes have done.

I now need to wait for the outcome next week and then argue a case. Wish me luck! :-)

So for all who have Dunlop or Bridgestone tyres and might use a skoda dealer in the derbyshire area, be on your guard.

I'll update you with my outcome.

Thanks again for all your help

Andy

Mine have gone like this over 20ish k.. It's now like driving a Sybian and it's quite annoying as there's plenty of life left in the tyres. It's done it all of its life as the previous owner will attest to.

Whats a Sybian ??? :think: :think: :think:

Whatever you do, make sure you're not in work when you google it. I'd be interested to know how OctyNik knows what it's like to ride...

not sure if she meant to but let slip that there is a known issue with Dunlop, which are on the car, and Bridgestone tyres suffering from effects of sawtoothing.....

You would think by now the largest and 3rd largest tyre company's would not have these problem's, there again its good of Skoda to point this out/shift blame. .

I have never had the sawtoothing issue on my current Vrs or even on my last Vrs. I only got rid of the dunlops on my last Vrs because the grip was shockingly bad but they had all worn evenly across the tread. I only replaced the conti's on my current Vrs because they were close to the wear indicators and I fancied a change.

Whatever you do, make sure you're not in work when you google it. I'd be interested to know how OctyNik knows what it's like to ride...

+1

Well after going blue in the face at skoda, they still refuse to pay or contribute for tyres. So I've brought new tyres and the alignment has been set to the revised settings.