hi having just had my monte over a week now ive been reading the manual as you do to find what that knob does etc when i come to the bit about washer fluid ive seen several posts about having to use vag own brand only any reason why as book mentions nothing at all thanks

Lidl stuff, 5 litres mixed at 1part screenwash to 2 parts water. £4.99 It's TuV (German MoT) approved and suitable for fan jets. It's all I ever use now.

I use TRP a all makes brand supplied by a company called PACCAR (DAF/Foden) as where i work we TRP/Foden Dealer (as well as either)

I personally dont see why you need to use VAG washer fluid.

halfords screenwash for me, no problems with fanjets on my old roomster or new fabia GLII

I'm using vag own brand, i bought it a long time ago because i didn't want the jets to be blocked or freeze up in the ice cold weather after i heard bad things about using cheap stuff, it's expensive, now that my car is just out of warranty i won't buy it again. it's better than cheap stuff you get from the discount stores but not worth it. Cost me about £3.50 for a bottle but you can dilute it to get 3-4 times as much. I'd mix it to a ratio of 1 to 2 (1 part screen wash to 2 parts water) when it's freezing, in the summer about 1 to 3 or 4. It's quite strong.

I'm using vag own brand, i bought it a long time ago because i didn't want the jets to be blocked or freeze up in the ice cold weather after i heard bad things about using cheap stuff, it's expensive, now that my car is just out of warranty i won't buy it again. it's better than cheap stuff you get from the discount stores but not worth it. Cost me about £3.50 for a bottle but you can dilute it to get 3-4 times as much. I'd mix it to a ratio of 1 to 2 (1 part screen wash to 2 parts water) when it's freezing, in the summer about 1 to 3 or 4. It's quite strong.

I see where coming from and i try and avoid cheap stuff, but what use is cheap thanks to staff rates. And acts as antifreeze too so i see no reason not to use it warranty or not.

I new round here. But I can't believe Skoda have refused or would refuse a warranty claim for not using their own screenwash? (Block EU agreement not withstanding)

It's bad enough in GTR world with people asking about y pipes invalidating warranties. But this would top that!

I new round here. But I can't believe Skoda have refused or would refuse a warranty claim for not using their own screenwash? (Block EU agreement not withstanding)

It's bad enough in GTR world with people asking about y pipes invalidating warranties. But this would top that!

You'd be surprised what those B@ST@RDS can get up to when it comes to warranty claims. My car began to rust shortly after its second birthday, and they wouldn't cover it because they deemed it to be cosmetic... Thanks skoda!

'They' can deem what ever they like, it does not stop you challanging that, and asking the qualification of the person reaching that conclusion.

if it is not damaged paint by an accident and 'corrosion/rust' from paint defects or manufacturing,

you can easily have the 'rust' & paint defect looked at.

Second opinions are good, from those qualified to know the cause of rust.

Was it body work or wheels?

If it was Brake Drums, then you will get no place with a warranty claim. Brake drums do or can get rusty which will be deemed as cosmetic

that is not just a VAG/Skoda thing.

george

ANY corrosion except that caused by accident or negligence WILL be covered by warranty. Use another dealer!!

By the way, Auto Express recommends Halfords concentrated screenwash as 'best buy'.

I recommend which ever is on offer out with the winter & stock up on it.

It often up and down in price with the forecasts.

Concentrated & not ready mixed.

Tescos suits just fine, or Asda , Lidl, Home Bargain or where ever.

-10 if you need that or - 20 if you think necessary.

Used 6 litres already this winter and its just away to get cold again.

george

The reason VAG and many other manufacturers who use fan jet design washers ask us to use a particular brand, their own or not, is that fan jet screen washer jets can block up much more easily than other types when using cheaper screen wash brands. Impurities in the cheaper screenwash, and limescale are responsible for this. This sort of issue is not prevelant in single or twin jet systems as the holes in the jets are much much bigger. The VAG brand uses a mix to prevent limescale build up which cheap brands do not. If you have to use your screenwashers alot non VAG stuff may make you more liable to have screenwashers blocking with limescale and some other chemical additives. I agree, VAG should make this clearer in their handbook literature, but it's well known in the trade.

I picked up 20 litres of genuine VAG Platinum concentrate for about £30 on ebay, should keep me going for absolutely ages and as others have said, far less likely to freeze than the cheap stuff (and in turn potentially damage washer reservoirs / pipes etc) and better for your fan jets.

You'd be surprised what those B@ST@RDS can get up to when it comes to warranty claims. My car began to rust shortly after its second birthday, and they wouldn't cover it because they deemed it to be cosmetic... Thanks skoda!

I had a rear badge replaced after two years, that was done under warranty, if thats not cosmetic I don't know what is!

LOL, I have never heard such tosh, the VAG stuff is stupidly expensive, if cheaper screen washes cause blockages with limescale and gunk? there probably would be a national outcry? I would say that the water you mix your screenwash with probablably has more to do with it? IMHO and cheeper stuff freezing in winter guess what the VAG stuff froze in my car last year!

Just add a bit of vinagar when you top your screen wash and use any screen wash as per the instuctions. Just out of interest Aldi or Lidl screen wash/de-icers are brilliant. Ron.

Edited 8 January, 201313 yr by Lukeskywalker

I picked up 20 litres of genuine VAG Platinum concentrate for about £30 on ebay, should keep me going for absolutely ages and as others have said, far less likely to freeze than the cheap stuff (and in turn potentially damage washer reservoirs / pipes etc) and better for your fan jets.

How do you come to the conclusion that the VAG stuff is better than cheap stuff.

Eg Nissan sell gearbox oil for 400quid for 10litres. BMW sell gearbox oil for less than 200quid for 10litres. Do either company manufacture the oil? Nope. Are there any differences? Not on spec. Both are fit for purpose. And in my and other's experience including SVM and Litchfields the BMW stuff (actually pentosin ffl4)gives smoother gear changes.

It's your money, spend it how you like. But if you're making claims that the VAG washer fluid is somehow superior (and I don't mean price), please back it up.

I realise it's not that much money, but it's the same deal with the oils. Just because it's branded VAG doesn't make it better.

Ive never had to top up... its never run out between services, then skoda top it up! lol....

Use mine all the time and only ever used the VW stuff. Bought two big bottles years ago in VW, not that expensive and smell like lemon when you use them,

'They' can deem what ever they like, it does not stop you challanging that, and asking the qualification of the person reaching that conclusion.

if it is not damaged paint by an accident and 'corrosion/rust' from paint defects or manufacturing,

you can easily have the 'rust' & paint defect looked at.

Second opinions are good, from those qualified to know the cause of rust.

Was it body work or wheels?

If it was Brake Drums, then you will get no place with a warranty claim. Brake drums do or can get rusty which will be deemed as cosmetic

that is not just a VAG/Skoda thing.

george

ANY corrosion except that caused by accident or negligence WILL be covered by warranty. Use another dealer!!

I had a rear badge replaced after two years, that was done under warranty, if thats not cosmetic I don't know what is!

It was rusting on the driver's side front chassis leg, where the engine mount sits. I will try to attach a few photos I had taken at the time. Went to another dealer to get a second opinion but their response was identical to the first one. They both took loads of pictures, which they would send to SUK, but told me there and then that this is only cosmetic and they were sure it wouldn't be covered. I was really eager to chase it up with Trading Standards, but by then I had witnessed the appalling service work from their useless technicians, so I could no longer trust them to undertake the task of repairing that rusty spot on my car. They would probably make it worse. Fortunately, a mate had his own little body repair shop at that time, so we sat together and worked on it both on a weekend, and fixed it.

Its all comman sence. Really (fluids in general)

Screen wash is screenwash to a degree.

Some are better and expenisve then others.

I personally buy from wether im working at the current time (in the motortrade) wether it was Merc VWG or now TRP, i always use concentrate as you can control the mixture (more in winter to stop freezing) less in summer to make it last.

Its the same as oil, listen to the salesman he recomends Castrol, speak to some service departments or TPS they supply quantum why!???? Because all the oil have to do is carry the right spec (eg VW504 i think its just for example anyways) so as long as the oil meets that soec you can use castrol quatum total Q8 or whoever else supply oils

LOL, I have never heard such tosh, the VAG stuff is stupidly expensive, if cheaper screen washes cause blockages with limescale and gunk? there probably would be a national outcry? I would say that the water you mix your screenwash with probablably has more to do with it? IMHO and cheeper stuff freezing in winter guess what the VAG stuff froze in my car last year!

Just add a bit of vinagar when you top your screen wash and use any screen wash as per the instuctions. Just out of interest Aldi or Lidl screen wash/de-icers are brilliant. Ron.

Luke, may I respectfully suggest you need to know a bit more about screenwash. It isn't that VAG stuff is stupidly expensive as you put it, but it's the other somewhat substandard stuff being very cheap and in some cases very ineffective. I don't know why you had problems with the VAG screenwash freezing, as it is one of the very few that will give protection down to -70c. Almost no other screenwash concentrate does that. If you need good protection this is the one to use. I would guess you didn't mix it correctly because if you had you would not have had that problem. If it was a VAG pre-mix...then you used the wrong one for the temperatures you encountered. You can't blame the product for that. Incidentally, we were only allowed to put VAG concentrate in military service vehicles as it was virtually the only one guaranteed to work in winter training abroad. Many other good quality concentrates are in the -50 to 55c area before freezing, and many of the cheaper retail ones in the -25 to 30c performance area and many of the really cheap concentrates -15 to 20c. Premixes are usually around the -5 to -9c area (typically Halfords premix -9c). This is because of the ingredients used in each one. It's not rocket science but better ingredients and more of them provide a better performance, but cost more. I'm not saying VAG don't make a good profit from their product and it is more costly, but it does perform and it does prevent fan jets blocking because of it's purity. As an example, even now some very cheap screenwash contains small amounts of ethylene glycol, although thankfully it's gradually disappearing from use. However, the ethylene glycol can become sedimentary and lumpy if in the washer bottle for too long and this can lead to some blocking of jets. Strongly recommend you don't put vinegar in your washer bottle. In the volumes you would need it to be effective as a descaler (at least 300ml per litre) it will eventually harm your washer motor seals and then of course the motor. It will also harm the wiper rubbers. Don't ask how we know this! Just saying, as your post could potentially mis-lead someone into doing something that could harm their car. Good luck and Happy New Year!

How do you come to the conclusion that the VAG stuff is better than cheap stuff.

Eg Nissan sell gearbox oil for 400quid for 10litres. BMW sell gearbox oil for less than 200quid for 10litres. Do either company manufacture the oil? Nope. Are there any differences? Not on spec. Both are fit for purpose. And in my and other's experience including SVM and Litchfields the BMW stuff (actually pentosin ffl4)gives smoother gear changes.

It's your money, spend it how you like. But if you're making claims that the VAG washer fluid is somehow superior (and I don't mean price), please back it up.

I realise it's not that much money, but it's the same deal with the oils. Just because it's branded VAG doesn't make it better.

Hi Mister, I take your point. My point is that it's not better because it has the VAG screenwash label on it, but it's a very good product full stop. It works whether it has a VAG label on it or not. It's more money than some but it works better than mostly all of the cheaper brands over time in fan jets, and gives superior protection down to -70c when the concentrate is used (see my post above for some figures). It's purity means it doesn't block the fan jets up. I've worked as a tech in the motor trade for 32 years and it's fact that fan jets block more easily due to the tiny tiny jet holes.

The oil is not a very good comparison as two oils meeting the very same spec can be very different oils. An example of this is the oil used in VAG's PD engines. In Halfords you can buy two oils that both meet the PD 505.01 spec. One is several pounds cheaper than the other (don't know what the current price is) by about £10 for 4 litres. However, although you can use either one oil in the PD engine, one of those oils is just a Semi-Synthetic oil and the other and Fully-synthetic oil. In tests the semi synthetic oil goes off spec 3-4k miles earlier than the more expensive Fully Syn oil. So it sort of proves you often only get what you pay for.

Fab59, that's unfortunate you had some rust. But to be honest it's not the sort of thing that any manufacturer would likely cover. It's irrelavent to the performance of the vehicle and no one sees it unless checking the oil! Rust warranties only cover bodywork and chassis underside and in reality for perforation or something that is likely to perforate within the warranty period on the bodywork or underside of the vehicle. It's cosmetic which is easily fixed, as you did. Personally, I'd have just cleaned it and covered it in Waxoyl. Well done anyway and an interesting point to raise.

I can't believe that this thread has got so heated. The VAG screen wash is £3.50 for a 1 litre bottle of concentrate -that makes 3 litres for use at up to -16C and in summer strength 5 litres. There's costs to running a car that far eclipse the price of 1 or 2 bottles a year of screen wash.

It's common sense to use a screen wash designed specifically for cars with fan jets in cars fitted with them, regardless of the brand name. Skoda insisting that you use VAG screen wash are just ensuring that the product used meets their criteria -obviously other brands are not under their control so some may or may not be suitable.

Hi Mister, I take your point. My point is that it's not better because it has the VAG screenwash label on it, but it's a very good product full stop. It works whether it has a VAG label on it or not. It's more money than some but it works better than mostly all of the cheaper brands over time in fan jets, and gives superior protection down to -70c when the concentrate is used (see my post above for some figures). It's purity means it doesn't block the fan jets up. I've worked as a tech in the motor trade for 32 years and it's fact that fan jets block more easily due to the tiny tiny jet holes.

The oil is not a very good comparison as two oils meeting the very same spec can be very different oils. An example of this is the oil used in VAG's PD engines. In Halfords you can buy two oils that both meet the PD 505.01 spec. One is several pounds cheaper than the other (don't know what the current price is) by about £10 for 4 litres. However, although you can use either one oil in the PD engine, one of those oils is just a Semi-Synthetic oil and the other and Fully-synthetic oil. In tests the semi synthetic oil goes off spec 3-4k miles earlier than the more expensive Fully Syn oil. So it sort of proves you often only get what you pay for.

Cool, i get your point and thanks for the detail/info. And as i said it's very little money in the scheme of things. So if it brings comfort why not. Although even in Glasgow it doesn't get to -70 Saying that it's supposed to get very cold next week!

Good point on the oil, what i should have said was that you can usually provide your own oil which is superior spec to the dealer provided oil for the same price. eg from opie oils. i use Motul 5w50 over Mobil1 Ow-40 (from March to Sept) and go back to Mobil in Winter for the cold start protection in the fast datsun. I plan on doing the same with the VRS when it arrives.