hi guys, i have had 4 skoda's,3 Octavia's and 1 superb, last car had to have had to have the air-con unit replaced, now the superb is the same, is this a common problem..

Yes its common - well I can vouch for the Octavia. I think the problem stems from the fact that the compressor does not have a mechanical clutch to disengage it it when not in use. Its therefore always driven and the system controlled by a pulse width modulated signal.

So since its always driven, the shaft and bearings wear out at 80,000 miles instead of 200,000 miles on a conventional system with clutch.

Mine has gone. I took it off and put a short accessory belt on. May fix it in the summer. However the compressor is expensive. I bought what I thought was a bargin from Euro car parts. Had it put on and regassed but didn't work. Then had a lot of grief and hassle trying to get my money back.

If you took it to a Skoda dealer they would want maybe £500 to fit one. I have found another one for £200 and it will cost £90 to be fitted and re-gassed. - but its a gamble. This has been my experience so far.

The other main design fault with the Octavia is the duel mass flywheel - they only last about 80,000 miles ish. People are replacing them a conventional flywheel and clutch.

Hi and welcome aboard.