Morning all,

A first time Skoda owner here. I had never intended to buy an Octavia but one seemed to seek me out and I took the plunge! Prior to purchasing a 2005 Elegance MPI I had it inspected by a mechanic, he found a few little things off with it which the garage said they would put right.

One was a leak in the boot. There was a bit of a mix up with the mechanic and he somehow managed to leave off the fact that the rear washer wasn't working, which he knew. I probably don't have to tell you the leak and the washer were related. By the time I actually brought it back up to the dealer it had made the boot quite wet and blown the rear left brake light (I hadn't been using the washer needless to say, perhaps it wasn't the only cause of the leak, seems ok now in any case)

Having had the boot leak fixed, I thought I was in the clear, only to get into the car yesterday morning, and I heard almost a crackle from behind the dash (or more so from behind the dial for the headlights). I was actually just tidying the car up and the key wasn't in, it was an hour later that I tried to start the car, which went fine, but I then realised that my cluster display was completely dead. Speedo, rev counter, fuel gauge, temp all dead. No lights lighting up.Indicators are working but I have no noise or clicking noise. For hazards there is a flash off the button but no sound.

Anyway, I went straight back to the dealer who looked at it and says it doesn't seem to be fuse related, so the instrument panel itself has to be sent off for repair. I am fortunate in that the dealer is showing good faith and this is all covered (technically I only have a warranty for the engine and gearbox).

What I'm really concerned about is that this may be the start of more problems, maybe the previous owner saw it coming and cashed in his chips. Any thoughts on the cluster failure? The leak I wasn't put off by, it's a known issue and once fixed properly should be fine. But cluster's failing has me worried...hope I don't have a lemon!

I actually love the car, despite the flaws so far. But that probably won't last long if things keep cropping up.

Hi and welcome to Octy ownership and Briskoda. I believe failed instrument clusters are a known fault though I don't know how common it is. My 10 plate vRS instrument cluster developed a fault from new and the problem was solved with a new one - under warranty, of course!

Sarge.

The rear washers are a very common problem and easy DIY fix, the cluster will need to be replaced especially if you heard a crackling sound which usually means something has burnt out. You can get a replacement cluster easy enough from somewhere such as Skodateile, such as these.

http://www.skodateile.cz/index.php?pg=products&menu=Škoda%7COctavia%20II%28A5%29%7CPanely%20p?%C3%ADstroj?

Those clusters are brand new, send them a message, they speak good english and should be able to source a replacement cheaply. Once you have the cluster a dealer will be needed to swap the clusters using the "replace cluster under warranty" option on their computer, they will need all the keys at the time the replacement cluster is programmed.

Thanks for the replies, lads.

Probably not good news, but I went to the car this morning to find the cluster working normally. Just tried it again there and still working.

Any idea on what could cause an intermittent issue with it? Or should I assume it's on the way out and look at having it replaced regardless?

Pretty much I'm afraid, it's not unheard of that's for sure.

Yes, the issues with mine were intermittent - always behaved itself when at the garage though!

Sarge.