Hi All,

 

New member here just looking for a bit of guidance.

 

I have an Octavia Estate SE 1.6TDI (September 2011 bought new from Skoda main dealer) which has just exceeded 60,000 miles (62,500 approx) and have been told that I need to pay nearly £6k for a complete replacement of the fuel system.

 

4 weeks ago i was driving on a dual carriageway when the car suddenly stuttered, the glow plug light started flashing and the car went into a kind of limp mode. It could stay at 70mph on the flat but there was no real pull and it suffered very badly going uphill.

 

the local main dealer was too busy so advised i call Skoda Assist who came out and diagnosed the fault as low fuel pressure. the tech cleared the fault and declared the car ok to drive.

 

problem reoccurred two weeks later. on that occasion i had to refuel on the way home and once the tank was full the problem disappeared. 

unfortunately the issue happened again just over a week ago. skoda assist came out again and diagnosed the same issue but this time the tech advised i bring the car to the main dealer.

 

a week later the problem is a serious build up of swarf in the fuel system and the recommended fix is to replace the complete fuel system. i spoke to one of the mechanics who said that a reason for the issue could be i misfuelled (which absolutely is not the case) or that from filling up from tescos / sainsburys etc i was putting 'less refined' diesel into the tank than available at esso / bp / shell.

 

i have been in touch with skoda uk who have appointed a case manager to look into this and the possibility of offering some 'goodwill' but as i said to the mechanic at the main dealer what is to stop this happening again in another 60,000 miles. i havent read anywhere, or been advised, to only fill the tank with diesel from proper filling stations. i had a mercedes a class that did 75,000 miles over 3 years filling up from the same supermarket forecourts that didnt have a problem.

 

what is in place to avoid this happening to lots of other drivers with the common rail diesel engine?

 

if anyone is able to offer some advice i would be very grateful. 

 

 

 

That's a load of rubbish from them. If the fuel conforms to the European standard (EN 590?) then the car should run on it. Or to turn it around, the car as sold to you should be able to run without issue on any fuel that meets the standard.

 

Chances are if you said you only used Shell V-Power diesel they would blame it on the additives in it.

Had a similar problem for a few months fixed (or appears to be fixed) by a last ditch attempt of curing it by cleaning the throttle pedal. It sounds weird I know but I was convinced that a full fuel tank fixed the problem. How erratic is the issue if you stop and restart?

 

My car isnt CR though. What error are you getting on VCDS?

 

Hang on, Swarf.... heard this before from a Volvo dealer. The volvo has now done 60k miles more on a 'disintegrating fuel pump that will block the injectors'.

If you purchased it new from the dealer - I would look at going down the Sale of Goods Act.

 

As long as you have used the correct fuel meeting the required standard then the car should run fine on it.

Very strange.  I would of thought that if it was swarf in the fuel, then the fuel filter will have caught it.

Thanks for responding so quickly.

 

I thought blaming supermarket diesel was not the most convincing of arguments but as i dont have technical knowledge i figured i would try to get some advice.

the error that was coming up when they plugged into the car was 'low fuel pressure'. when the main dealer eventually looked at the car they asked me to authorise a couple of hours of technicians time to 'properly investigate the problem'. if that doesnt suggest that these cars are too complicated i dont know what does.

 

i need to see what skoda uk are willing to offer before i start firing off fitness for purpose and sale of goods act but it all helps in trying to come to a more reasonable solution.

 

once again thanks.

My old Octavia had low fuel pressure or fuel starvation then i changed the filter, i would suggest the lifter pump might be at fault, a cheap DIY replacement off ebay just to prove it might be worth a go?

I have covered many thousands of miles in common rail diesels run almost exclusively on supermarket diesel without any fuel pump issues.

 

However if a dealer tried to palm me off with this 'shouldn't be run on supermarket fuel' nonsense I think I'd be inclined to call their bluff and say it had never seen a drop of supermarket fuel since new. Unless it's gone in for repair with a glovebox full of Tesco diesel receipts, how would they ever prove otherwise?

What a load of codswallop! How come there are many thousands of diesel vehicles of all makes & types on the road which run quite happily on supermarket fuel?

I know the subject of supermarket v non supermarket fuel has been done to death, but in this instance I think the dealer is trying to pull a fast one.

Like Gti JazzBlue states, I'd be inclined to pursue them under the Sale of Goods Act as this shouldn't happen to a three year old car, irrespective of what fuel you have been using.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted soon.

Ditto the above. supermarket fuel is from the same refinary as other brands. can u get a sample from the tank? I would not invole skoda. take it to ur supplying dealer and claim under soga. did u pay the deposit by cc? Finance?

Ditto the above. supermarket fuel is from the same refinary as other brands. can u get a sample from the tank? I would not invole skoda. take it to ur supplying dealer and claim under soga. did u pay the deposit by cc? Finance?

Perhaps the supermarkets would be interested in defending their reputation?

Get them to put that reason in writing, if they want you to pay

Can u get a sample of fuel from the tank?

when was the fuel filter last changed ?, and do you know if they really did change it ?

on the pd diesel engines it should be changed at 60,000 miles, not sure if the common rail engine is the same interval.

imo though, it's better changed at 30,000 miles.

if it was my car, i'd be looking at the fuel filter, probably changing it and putting some fuel system cleaner in at the same time. then see how it goes before doing anything else.

Edited 23 May, 201412 yr by seve88

A friend with a Smax 1.8tdci had similar issue.

The oficial dealer also said that the fuel system had to be changed. At a Bosch dealer, who repairs diesel pumps, laughed at what the dealer said. According to him only recently started the rebuild CR pumps and very rare appears one and they are normally the first CR pumps that came out in 1999/2000.

The Smax at Bosch had the injectors tested, they were ok, so they went back on the fuel system.

They looked at the fuel tank and the inside was full of crap. They got the tank out and cleaned it, new fuel filter and joined some liquid to clean lines and injectors ( can't remember the name) back on the road and everything ok since then. The Smax had about 100k when this happened and, not to creat a war on this, he was a 100% supermarket fuel user.

Oh Jesus, not another premium vs. supermarket fuel debate.

 

The dealer is talking rubbish.

 

Ask them what they put in their demonstrators, I bet it isn't Ultimate / V-Power. 

 

The fact that they've tried to palm this pathetic excuse on your would make me more determined to dig my heels in.

Fuel wont play much factor into the internals of your fuel pump breaking down internally (unless your running red diesel). You can try changing the fuel filter but this will just prolong the inevitable cost of a new fuel system. The car is just out of warranty by less than 3000, if i was you i would play holy **** with skoda customer services and they will probably give you a good contribution towards the repair especially if you have bought many skodas over the years. You could probably pay a assessor to check your car out to get a independant second opinion.

 

You can make  the repair cheaper by reconditioning the injectors, removing the tank and cleaning it inc low pressure pump, cleaning the fuel pipes from the tank to the pump, also cleaning the fuel filter housing.

you will still have to buy: high pressure pump

                                       metal fuel pipes from the fuel rail/pump to injectors

                                       fuel rail

                                       fuel filter

 

hope this helps i have dealt with this problem on renaults for many years

 

this will probably cut your costs in half especially if you supply the parts your self and take to a non dealer reputable garage

Whatever next eh? That sounds like the dealer hasn't a clue what they are talking about.

Agree with what others here have said.

Supermarket fuel inferior / may contain dirt or swarf = Old Wives' Tale.  (I presume you do use supermarket fuel, at least occasionally?).  Dealer is either talking ignorant rubbish or just trying to pass the blame.

Ask the dealer to put this allegation in writing, and to supply a sample of the swarf / contamination they found, and tell them you will take these to your usual supermarket filling station.  They might realise that such a false allegation could get them into trouble for defamation, and back off.

Assuming there really is swarf in the system and that you haven't shovelled this into the tank yourself, the is only source is rubbish left in the tank when the car was built, or a disintegrating fuel pump.  Either is of course a manufacturing fault and therefore their responsibility.

Try the Consumers' Association for advice / backup / support in making a formal claim against Skoda if they continue to deny laibility.
 

Your dealer is talking rubbish. I used to work in the additives industry. The lubricity additive is added at the refinery so all diesel will meet the required standard.

Your dealer should pick up the cost in full. If not you have a good case under the sale of goods act.

They shouldn't be allowed to use the "supermarket diesel" excuse.

They should get a kicking from SUK. I too have been on the recieving end of it, but only to the tune of a fuel filter, but at 26k miles...

They can't prove the quality of fuel that's been used

Unfortunately the sale of goods act is one of the most misunderstood pieces of legislation there is. Simply quoting fitness for purpose at this point might not quite get you laughed off the premises but it won't get your car fixed either.

That said, you do have a few options:

1) if the fault occurred and/or is recorded in the warranty period then any malfunctioning parts should be replaced under warranty.

2) if out of warranty then you could try arguing that the bulk of the problem occurred in warranty and that therefore the work should be covered.

3) if nether of the above applicable then you should be eligible for a substantial manufacturer contribution - they base it on a percentage which decreases the further out of warranty you are and at 5 years/??k miles they offer nothing.

Either way, accept none of this supermarket fuel nonsense. If they persists with it, ask for it in writing. I've often wondered if you had a letter from skoda blaming tescos for a ruined engine whether you might even get legal assistance from tescos themselves since they would surely be keen to obtain/enforce a retraction of suck libellous comments.

If this is something which should have been caught by a fuel filter then where/when was car serviced? If your local dealer have serviced it then there will be a warranty over inadequate or incorrectly fitted parts.

Go to either your local trading standards office or your local newspaper who would surely be interested in knowing about the dealers claims, if they don't move of course.

It's quite funny reading the posts on here from people who understand nothing about fuel systems (I know I may get shot for this)

Supermarket fuel is different to shell fuel we all know that however the supermarket fuel should be up to the job.

The swarf has most likely come from friction somewhere (pump or injectors), most likely cause is miss fueling or lack of lubricity in the diesel, most diesel centres have a basic fuel analyser which can check for biodiesel content, water & foreign liquids - if this shows positive a full chemical investigation can be requested.

I have tested supermarket fuel which has the incorrect amount of biodiesel in it (too high)

The pump and injectors will require stripping and inspecting, remember the contamination required to damage a fuel system component is way below the visual threshold of human vision, however the damage should now be visible.

For price don't bother with the dealer - having the fuel components inspected and reconditioned will be much cheaper. You will have to replace the fuel lines and rail though as well as having the tank cleaned.

Good luck

Waits for it...............