Hi i have a 54 plate octavia 1.9 diesel, on a morning trying to start it from cold it takes between 20-30 seconds of turning over before it fires and once it does there are plumes of smoke from the exhaust.

Also there is a severe lack of power no matter what temperature the car is at.

Any help/advice would be gratefully recieved

You need to get the car checked for error codes first.

When was the cambelt last changed?

Does it start OK when warm?

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the cam belt was changed last year, there are no problems once the car has been started its just that first start each day

Is the battery ok, have you checked the fuel filter is clear and not full of water or dirt.

Check the pipes are all ok to the fuel system and make sure you don't have an air leak on them.

Also how many miles have you covered? Poor starting and economy could be down to a poor injector spray pattern. You could try a strong dose of a high quality injector cleaner to see if there is any improvement. If there is look at getting the injectors properly cleaned.

Glow plugs might explain the poor starting, but not the lack of power, so it's probably not these.

Another option might be poor injection timing, leading to the poor starting and economy and power, which would be more noticeable in the cold weather.

If you can get a vcds scan and post the results up here we can help more. See the vcds owners list for more help there.

smoke on start up so its getting plenty fuel, just not combusting it.

a few things, as mentioned:

Timing well off

Low compression

worn cam lobes are also common place if absolutely correct spec oil is used

Again as said you need to scan for codes and use vcds or vag com to check timing.

Whats the mileage??

the car has covered just over 110k miles the battery is just over a year old, the fuel filter hasnt been changed in the 4 years ive had the car so may be a good place to start, the head gasket was done summer 2011 and the cam belt was changed last year after one of the tensioners collapsed, ive also had the cat changed earlier in the year which did slightly increase the power but not much, the mpg is getting really bad at the moment

If you're getting really bad MPG, then I'd be looking at timing closely.

On the smoke front, what colour is the smoke?

If it's black smoke, then that's another thing pointing at the timing not being right too.

i had the timing done when i got the cat replaced so it shouldnt be that but i'm clueless when it comes to engines, the smoke is white on startup, ive also noticed in the last couple of cold days that there seems to be a bit more power as if it is enjoying the really cold air