1.8TSI and 2.0TSI engine failures

[SmithkyleNS]

So after nearly 3 weeks of waiting I have an update from Skoda. As i suspected I have a failed tensioner and will require a new engine. Total cost £5750 

 

Without me asking Skoda UK have offered me a Brand new engine and cover 70% of the labour costs. My total bill comes to £452.

 

Not bad for a 5 year old car with 66k on it. Good luck to anyone who has this issue! 

Edited 13 September, 2016 by SmithkyleNS

[Sarge]

Good result. I'm still waiting to hear about mine although my issue is the excessive oil usage rather than the chain tensioner.

[SmithkyleNS]

Good result. I'm still waiting to hear about mine although my issue is the excessive oil usage rather than the chain tensioner.

To be honest mine burned a lot of oil the weeks leading up to it failing. It also had a slight rattle on start up.

Good luck with yours buddy.

[TheClient]

Been quoted by TPS £375 for timing chain, tensioner, chain guides and lower cover, seems a bit steep that, and I'm in the trade

I would have to look at my invoice for exacts but that sounds about what I was charged for same parts when I had mine done in April.

[ric04vrs]

I would have to look at my invoice for exacts but that sounds about what I was charged for same parts when I had mine done in April.

I believe I was mis-quoted by TPS, as I've now got a quote of £285, I think they included the balancer shaft chain and guides

[TheClient]

I believe I was mis-quoted by TPS, as I've now got a quote of £285, I think they included the balancer shaft chain and guides

Yes, you're right just had a look it was about £225 excl vat, £269 inc vat for parts. Didn't do the counter-balance shaft chain or guides either.

Edited 17 September, 2016 by TheClient

[thewheelsofsteel]

Hi all. First post on here and not a good start. After purchasing my car from motor depot (Hull) at the beginning of June I've had several issues with my Car (60 plate 2.0L TSI Octy VRS with 57,000 on the clock when purchased) First off eml came on after about 10 days. This was quickly diagnosed as the charcoal canister and evep purge valve. To there credit it was quickly fixed even though I had to go back because one of the pipes was not connected correctly and set of the eml again. It was sorted and soon back to full working condition. For the last few days I thought I could here a slight vibration at about 3000rpm. I thought It could be a rattily waste gate issue. and would get it checked asap. Car ran fine and pulled fine. No rattle at start-up. Went to get in car a short time after parking up to do some jobs. the car gave a brief blip on the rev counter and then sounded rough as though a coil pack had failed. Car was still running but roughly so decided to get it strait to the dealers. Went in spoke to the nice lady that sorted the previous issues and explained my situation. This was already the worst week of my life has my mum had passed away suddenly 2 days before. I explained I needed a car. none were available but she would get my car into the workshop as a priority and let me know latter in the day what they have found. Later in the day I get a call to say the car would be sent to the nearest skoda dealership for diagnoses and they would loan me a car for as long as needed. This got the alarm bells ringing and I suspect the chain had jumped. The car arrived at the skoda dealers yesterday by truck as it would not now start at all. I suspect someone may have tried starting it and that finished off the chain. Skoda dealers told me there was no compression on cylinders 1 and 2. and it was totally dead. They were waiting for authorisation from motor depot HQ and one of there directors before they could start any strip down. After going back in today and explaining that if the chain had snapped it would almost certainly mean a new engine at considerable cost she said would I be possibly be open to having a replacement car. Although I Have had problems with the car I do like it and would prefer to have this one fixed as I need the boot space for work and they had nothing in stock that grabbed my fancy. I took an extended 2 year warranty out but reading consumer law because it was less than six months after purchase the onus is on them to prove the fault was not there already. When I first purchased the car I did ask the salesman about the tensioner issue but said he had never heard of any problems. To there credit the lady in charge repairs at motor depot has been really good.

[Longship]

As I understand it, the extended warranty won't cover wear and tear. A timing chain failure is not in that category so you should be covered. I took a long warranty out on the '11 tsi I've recently bought to cover this eventuality.

[thewheelsofsteel]

Hi again. Well i had some good news yesterday. After initially thinking I would have to look for another car to the same value and finding nothing I liked I went back in to speak to the nice lady at the motor depot maintenance dept. She told me that my car would be repaired and whatever it takes to put right will be done. She told me that the bosses had agreed to repair it. Its just a case know of were it goes for repair. It has to be collected by truck from the Skoda dealer they dropped it off at. It's just a case of how long it takes now. At least I have a loan car till mine is sorted. Just so pleased I took out an extended warranty.

[richwat]

Hi Everyone.

I’m just relating recent events with my car in the hope that the info will help some-one. For 4 years I’ve had a 61 plate Scout with the 1.8 TSI CDAA engine. I originally planned to keep the car long-term as it has features that are not easy to find with the current crop of new cars ie petrol manual 4x4, a real handbrake and a spare wheel. It has always been a nice engine to drive, but I’ve been keeping an eye on this forum and wondering whether I should sell the car or get the timing chain tensioner changed. From the information on the forum, I reckoned my car had the 3^rd version of the tensioner. This was only fitted for a few months, and presumably Skoda changed to the current fourth version because it was theoretically better, and not because engines had failed within their first few months. I therefore thought there was a good chance it would be OK.

However, a couple of weeks ago, there was a loud grating cum rattling sound at start-up. The engine then ran normally to get me home, but I decided the tensioner would now have to be changed if I wanted to sleep at night. Autotechnica at Hull had previously been mentioned on the forum, and they were very helpful and changed the chain, tensioner and cover for £560, which isn’t too bad if you compare with the cost of changing a cambelt two or three  times over the life of a car.

The car has done 57K, and the latest part numbers, as fitted by Autotechnica, are 06K109467K [tensioner] and 06K109158AD [chain]

[Sarge]

Hi richwat, how's yours for oil consumption?

[richwat]

Hi Sarge

It has used very little oil....maximum half a litre top-up per 10K

[thewheelsofsteel]

Hi richwat thanks for the info. The Autotechnica guys seem to know there stuff. I was due to have a DV+ fitted at the the cost of the part, no labour. However my chain jumped snapped or whatever has happened before I had chance to get it fitted. I'm on my second loan car know from Motordepot and it's almost 3 weeks since it first happened. Things hopefully seem to be moving on know as my car is know back in the motordepot. I was led to believe that the Skoda dealership had diagnosed what was wrong but they did not know what it was as they were waiting for authorization to strip the engine. All they knew was there was no compression on 2 cylinders. But I don't think they ever touched it as no one still has any idea how much damage has been done to the engine. I think motordepot were deciding weather to ship it out to a vw specialist or do the repairs in house with one of there techs. This could still have some twists yet. I'm not going to accept the car back unless they can list which parts have been replaced and especially the tensioner. My fear is that they try to put a recon engine in it's place which could have the same ticking time bomb again. A repair to the existing engine would be preferable with updated parts. I've not been pushing them and given them plenty of time to decide what to do but decisions are going to have to be made soon. One of the deciding factors of getting the Octavia was the large boot which I need for work. I will keep you all posted. One last thing I notice a lot of posts stating high oil use just before it goes pop. Mine never seemed to loose any since I bought it. Mine just went without warning.

[TheClient]

I like your patience the wheelsofsteel.  I also have a vRS TSI and it is a nice car.  If it is the car you wanted and it is "just" the timing chain tensioner failure (and any related damage) I can understand your desire to try to stick with it.

 

However, it does seem to have taken quite a while for the dealer to sort this out. And, it is not done yet. I am not sure if they could be deliberately dragging their feet or they are just very slow. Under the Consumer Rights Act, tbomk you have 30 days to reject a car .(and get the cash back).

 

After that time you are generally stuck with accepting a repair or replacement.

 

You may want to consider your options closely before the 30 days passes. Perhaps consider getting the refund and sourcing the car elsewhere especially if the garage is not giving you much re-assurance about the extent of repair and when it will be done and by whom. 

 

Edit: PS the oil consumption and timing chain tensioner failure aren't really related. They are just two separate faults which can impact the engine.  The timing chain issue is normally caused by a timing chain tensioner failure which depending on model can fail in a variety of ways most commonly when the hydraulic pressure is not present like restarting the car.  The oil consumption is caused most commonly by poor rings / bore condition and sealing causing oil to be burned as a part of the combustion process. 

 

The two issues are not directly linked.

Edited 10 October, 2016 by TheClient

[Clarky]

Had on/off issue for several months with power delivery and fluttering noises from engine. Engine also noisy, particularly on start-up, but no warning lights. The RAC were called out after one particularly bad journey where it kept losing power and was really noisy, but could not trace a fault. Seems worse when warmed up, after sitting for a while and cooling down it tends to run normally for a bit. An independent garage was also unable to diagnose the problem.

 

Took the vehicle into Skoda today, who think it could be a timing chain issue (they mentioned a possible tensioner and guides). They've asked for £477 (five hours labour) + parts just to diagnose the issue! The car is six years old, done 70K and has a full dealer history.

 

Any advice? 

[Clarky]

Update on the above.

Fault finding found sporadic fault stored for engine control module, knock sensor and emission control. This and noise from timing chain means they suspect a valve timing issue. They think it may be the tensioner and that the chain may have stretched. Of course we won't know for sure unless I spent £500 getting the engine stripped. The hourly rate is shocking at nearly £80 + VAT.

My car is 6.5 years old and apparently Skoda goodwill only extends to six years. I was told to ring Skoda customer services and see if they would help. Anyone got any advice?

[thewheelsofsteel]

Well I spoke to the dealers again on Friday. Seems like after getting lots of advice from specialists they are going to attempt the repair themselves however they had not even started striping the engine as it was a big job and would require a ramp for an extended period of time. They were snowed under with work but planed on starting this week. They did say a new engine might be required if the old one is beyond repair. I asked if it would be a new engine or a reconditioned engine which she then told me probably a recon. I said if that's the case I would not except it unless the timing gear had been changed otherwise we would be back to square one and waiting for it to go pop again. And the mileage will have to be proven or I will just refuse it. no point in putting a higher mileage engine in otherwise it's already effecting the resale value. There supposedly contacting me at the beginning of this week to tell me what's going to happen but as yet I have heard nothing. I plan on going in tomorrow and insist they either start the repair change the car for something equivalent or I want my money back.

[Ootohere]

If a new engine is supplied or bought from VW as a replacement for a Skoda engine it might well be Refurnished but it is done in a VW Factory and the engine is as new and comes as a Base Engine not a Short Unit.  (Comes with a 2 year Warranty if You or a Warranty Company are paying for it.)

Be sure that anything people tell you is confirmed in writing and you have their name and position in the organisation you are dealing with, 

especially when it has anything to do with The Volkswagen Group or Main Dealerships or even Independents.

Edited 12 October, 2016 by Offski

[thewheelsofsteel]

Head has been removed and sent to local engineering firm for a report on damage. I went in and spoke to the firm that is potentially repairing the head. He said one valve is bent possibly more after strip down. I asked if there was much carbon build up which he said it's not to bad but if they get the go-ahead it will be fully overhauled and cleaned. motor depot told me there was no compression on cylinders 1 and 3 she believes. She told me she was not sure if the tensioner and timing kit would need replacing but I find that hard to believe if the head has bent valves. Went to autotechnica vw specalists for some advice and was told that as long as they use genuine vw parts and put the latest tensioner and do the work correctly it should be as good as new.

[thewheelsofsteel]

Hi again. Dows anyone know what the part number is for the latest tensioner

[Greybeard]

Hi again. Dows anyone know what the part number is for the latest tensioner

See post #1288 above

[thewheelsofsteel]

Hi all. Just a quick update on progress to my octy. Got a missed phone call this morning from the dealers. Popped into see them to see what the score is. I was told the head is being rebuilt and cleaned by a specialist with new valves as needed and any other parts required for the head. That should be ready by Tuesday. Also the timing Chain, tensioner and timing chain cover are being replaced and any other parts that may be required. All Genuine VW parts. So she's hoping it will be back on the road by the end of next week. Not a moment too soon. I'll be glad to see the back of the Hyundai ix35 loan car. no power, small load space and totally uninspiring to drive and crap gearbox.

[TheClient]

Update on the above.

Fault finding found sporadic fault stored for engine control module, knock sensor and emission control. This and noise from timing chain means they suspect a valve timing issue. They think it may be the tensioner and that the chain may have stretched. Of course we won't know for sure unless I spent £500 getting the engine stripped. The hourly rate is shocking at nearly £80 + VAT.

My car is 6.5 years old and apparently Skoda goodwill only extends to six years. I was told to ring Skoda customer services and see if they would help. Anyone got any advice?

Timing chain tensioner rails and guides, new chain and lower timing cover, seals and oil and filter change was charged at about 5 hours for total job about £650 all up (inc parts) at an independent for me.  I'd be looking to get an independent to do the job and do any pre-checks they can like VCDS camshaft phase measuring blocks that might also point towards a validate the timing chain problem. At least if you can get the whole job done for similar money as disgnosis, you've got the latest tensioner and chain fitted. It would in my opinion be remiss to get the front covers off and not replace the tensioner and chain. 

 

If you stick with Skoda, I'd be asking what the total job is going to cost assuming timing tensioner and chain replaced? £500 strip down, plus parts are just under £300 if no damage and then set up and re-assembly.  Sounds like £1,200 or thereabouts job all up if they do it. 

Edited 15 October, 2016 by TheClient

[Clarky]

Parts came in at approx £270 inc chain, tensioner and ancillaries so the quote is just under £750. Skoda customer service will consider further once the damage and cause is assessed.

[TheClient]

Ok, well that sounds more like it, not too bad for dealer prices - I feared worse. Good luck.