clutch issues

[delboy345]

i have an 11 plate petrol  octavia vrs in feb 2012 which i bought  and have loved driving since then ex demo with 8k on the clock 

last thursday the clutch packed in with 22k on the clock 

 

skoda are not willing to look at the car without me agreeing to pay approx £1200 for clutch and flywheel  despite the technician thinking it will be a manufacturing flaw 

 

skoda are saying user error despite me owning 9 manual car before and never having an mechanical failure and despite skoda assist telling me twice i had nothing to worry about as the car was in warrenty 

 

if i was riding the clutch as they claim surely i would have noticed some sign before the clutch gave way 

 

their customer services are a joke not returning call and the like claiming any manufacturing defect would have shown itself by now 

 

skoda assist are calling me a liar and there customer service claim i dont know how to drive

 

 

any similar instances out there or can anyone offer advice on why the clutch would fail without warning 

 

[colsay]

Hi there

 

My car is only a 1.4 TSI but yesterday when starting from cold and having to accelerate hard I got clutch squeal and a bit of judder. First time ever, but today it is behaving perfectly normal. 21K on the clock. But I am nervous and I'll tell you why... Previous car was an A Class Mercedes diesel and that had clutch/DMF (Dual Mass Flywheel) failure at 15K miles but was replaced under warranty as they admitted there were known issues. My driving pattern of cold starts/short journeys exacerbated the problem. With my Skoda I don't even know if it has a DMF.

 

Now, your situation. There are many vRS owners on this forum and I am not aware of clutch or DMF problems being a major issue. Seems to be DPF on the diesel that is the regular issue. So, your clutch should not have failed at 22K. Can you describe the failure mode? Was it complete sudden failure or did it begin with slippage or judder or any other indications something was wrong?

 

I would suggest you do some research and see if there are any known clutch problems for your engine/gearbox combimation and also check the rest of the VAG family. If you find that is the case then you should pursue Skoda for a contribution.

 

Finally, my belief is garages will always wriggle out of any warranty etc obligation if they can argue wear and tear. And like you, I don't ride the clutch and the last car (apart from the Mercedes) that I have owned over the years that needed a new clutch was an MGB so you can figure out how long ago that was!

[smileonimpact]

Whilst it might not be the answer you are looking for but skoda have fixed price repairs and the price to do a clutch is £499 so why they are quoting £1200 seems bizarre. http://www.skoda.co.uk/owners/service-and-maintenance/national-pricing/maintenance

[delboy345]

thanks for the replys  gents

 

it was a complete and sudden failure with no signs of any issues beforehand which made me believe it wasnt simply wear and tear

 

they were quoting for worst case senario and quoting for clutch and flywheel as the mechanic thought that the flywheel would be shot to pieces also the final figure igot from the was up too £1500.00  flywhhel itself costing approx 570 + vat parts only

 

have argued and argued and argued with skoda uk they agreed to pay 50% contribution whilst not admitting liabilty bla bla bla

 

i agreed to this just to get the repair moving

 

garage called this morning and found that i do know how to opperate a clutch properly after all and have found a defect and the clutch will be replaced foc the flywheel was undamaged

 

glad i did not just accept the news on the first phone call to say i would be liable for the repairs

 

makes me wonder if they would have admitted the fault if they didnt think i would be sending the clutch away for independent testing.

[smileonimpact]

At least the dealer has been honest with you and got you the result you were after.