Faulty heater control & grinding brakes

[Nels]

Can anyone help?? Yesterday I bought a nearly new ex demo Rapid sport from Skoda. During the test drive last week I noticed a small amount of vibration through the brake pedal when gently braking at low speeds. The salesman said that it seemed ok but give it a while to see if it rectifies itself. Day 2 and it's really bothering me, could it be something really simple like grit or a serious problem?

Problem 2 came when I found that the heater control that controls where the air blows is out of sync e.g if I want it on my face I have to turn it to windscreen. I have found if I turn it and turn it, it does briefly go near to the correct position but any more turns and it goes out of sync again. It also makes a terrible clicking noise. It's a bit like trying to crack a safe rather than adjust where the air goes . The car has done 3000 miles and is 5 months old. It's under warranty so no probs taking it back but I thought I'd see if anyone knows what the problems might be. I'm really disappointed with the car now and I'm starting to loose faith in it.

[camelspyyder]

As a demo has it been parked up along time?  Could be some surface rust on the disks, shouldn't take long to remove through normal braking.

 

Opinions on the quality of the car vary on here, many are completely happy, others less so.

 

It does seem like these 2 items will be an easy fix at the dealer though. 

[Nels]

Thanks, I've done about 60 miles with no improvement but I will keep my fingers crossed. It's going to have to go back anyway for heater control as I don't think that will sort itself out. My concern with that is if they will need to take the dash off, things are never quite the same again after things like that. I have to say it does feel more cheaply engineered the more I drive it, I don't mind that as long as it is reliable and two days in With two issues and I'm not impressed.

[camelspyyder]

Mine feels rock solid compared with the brand new Citigo and i10 we drove today. Both are 5* cars according to WhatCar but neither gave me an impression of solid build quality. SWMBO rejected both and chose a more substantial Ibiza instead. That felt like it was built to the same standard as my Toledo(Rapid) which I'm very happy with.

[Stormchaser]

My dash was taken apart at 4 months old and it's ok now. No rattling or creaking. The heater controls are a separate part and you won't need a complete dash strip down to do that.

[eyegr]

For the break issue: According to a TPI from Skoda, vibrations can occur either from corrosion of the disc or from imprint of the brake pad on the disc.

Skoda suggests that you drive a minimum of 10 km with repeated braking, warming up the brakes to operating temperature and cleaning the brake discs from corrosion. The handbrake can be used to properly clean the rear brake discs. Do not use the handbrake at a speed higher than 15 km/h and pull it only with such a force to prevent the rear wheels being blocked.

If after this cleaning of the disc you still have problems, they describe specific measurements to be done at their workshop to assess whether you are eligible for repair/replacement under warranty.

 

For the a/c issue: I suppose you have the model without Climatronic, so your controls are manual. I suspect broken controls, eitherI the flex shaft or the knob itself. I suspect that the damage was done by a customer (as it was a test unit). If they admit it, they should cover it.

[Nels]

Thanks for the replies, I've booked it to go back on Mon for repair. I guess what will be will be,but it's ruined my enjoyment of a newish car and I'm left thinking that two faults on such a new car doesn't bode well for the future. It looks good but I fear it's badly built. In many ways it's similar to the VW polo it replaces but it's more noisy and cheaper feeling. shame I didn't ask for a day to test drive it rather than 20-30 mins.

[Nels]

Sorry the polo it replaces is our polo we owned for 3 years, not saying the rapid has replaced the polo!

[eyegr]

Thanks for the replies, I've booked it to go back on Mon for repair. I guess what will be will be,but it's ruined my enjoyment of a newish car and I'm left thinking that two faults on such a new car doesn't bode well for the future. It looks good but I fear it's badly built. In many ways it's similar to the VW polo it replaces but it's more noisy and cheaper feeling. shame I didn't ask for a day to test drive it rather than 20-30 mins.

I understand your disappointment. When my brand new Rapid was 5 days old, it was attacked by rodents. Not easy to fix and not covered by warranty!

 

But wait until you get it back and then decide who's to blame. Right now, I don't believe any of your faults have to do with construction quality.

[Nels]

Wow that doesn't sound good! Hope u got it sorted. I do feel it's built to a strict budget, which I don't mind but should heater switches and brakes have problems with only 3000 miles on the clock??? Plus it's bloody loud on the motorway!!! Does look nice though

[camelspyyder]

How is it loud on the motorway?

 

Tyre noise? or a booming from the back?

 

OE Tyres are often nasty Dunlop Sportmaxx which are notoriously noisy.

 

The booming from the back is caused by a poorly adjusted hatch door and is easy to fix

Edited 12 June, 2015 by camelspyyder

[eyegr]

Wow that doesn't sound good! Hope u got it sorted. I do feel it's built to a strict budget, which I don't mind but should heater switches and brakes have problems with only 3000 miles on the clock??? Plus it's bloody loud on the motorway!!! Does look nice though

The original wires and hoses were ~EUR300 but we agreed not to replace, but to repair them and didn't cost so much in the end.

The strict budget refers mainly to the lack of comfort modules etc. common in other models, but not to the lower quality (imho). Any switch can break if it is mishandled, and all brakeplates rust if they're not used for a while, because they're made of iron.

Yes, it is loud, but this is mainly due to the tires (I suppose you have the Dunlop Sportmaxxes?). After you change them it will be quiter. Or, you know, crank up the volume of your radio

[Nels]

I think it is on Dunlops, whatever usually come with the car running on 17 inch sport alloys, I'm not going out to look!!! Yes I guess any part can fail any time and brakes can corrode as they are metal but my main aim when buying a car registered less than 5 months ago was to negate these type of problems. For the same money I spent on this car I could have bought a decent Audi or BMW but actually thought the brakes might need changing etc etc, how ironic lol

[NigNB]

Stick with it Nels, a decent dealer will sort both of these issues, but I suspect the brakes may sort out themselves if it is just surface corrosion. Have had two cars which sat for a month or so in the past, both got surface disc corrosion, both sorted themselves in a few days driving.

The heater may be a simple component replacement under warranty, and done. Perhaps your car sat for a while?.. Lots do.

Sounds like much of the rest of ownership is good!?

[camelspyyder]

If it isn't on Dunlops, search the Rapid threads here for "booming", this will explain how to adjust the hatch door, if indeed that is the issue.

[Nels]

100 miles in a brakes still rough but I'm sure Skoda will sort it, might be they need a skim? In some ways I don't mind the lack of sound proofing it reminds me of more basic honest cars of the 80s & 90s. As long as she proves reliable in the future I will be happy.

[shorty]

My ex demo had the brake problem, it is indeed caused by standing and pads imprinting on the discs, it caused bad judder on braking.

 

Eventually got my front discs and pads replaced under warranty which fixed the issue but be careful there's a 6 month cut off from new for Skoda paying. I had a real tussle with the dealer I bought from despite me raising the issue on the test drive several times and taking back within a week because it was 7 months old by then and basically the dealer would have to pay.

[Nels]

Hi everyone, it's back from the dealer and the heater control is fixed! The dealer said the spindle behind the dial wasn't in properly and was not catching and turning the wheel behind it. They thought it may have come from the factory like this. But it's all in place now and works as it should.

They gave me a Fabia loan car and the brakes were a bit rough on that too at low speeds with gentle braking, much like mine only not quite as noticeable.They checked mine and confirmed all ok, so I'm guessing this might just be something Skodas do. Anyway I'm 90% happy now, only let down by the mechanic scratching the dash where he removed the panel.

[eyegr]

Hi everyone, it's back from the dealer and the heater control is fixed! The dealer said the spindle behind the dial wasn't in properly and was not catching and turning the wheel behind it. They thought it may have come from the factory like this. But it's all in place now and works as it should.

They gave me a Fabia loan car and the brakes were a bit rough on that too at low speeds with gentle braking, much like mine only not quite as noticeable.They checked mine and confirmed all ok, so I'm guessing this might just be something Skodas do. Anyway I'm 90% happy now, only let down by the mechanic scratching the dash where he removed the panel.

Great news, less the scratched dash. Did you complain about this? How can an official mechanic, equipped with all the proper tools and with all the workshop manuals in hand, scratch a dashboard to remove it is beyond me.

[Nels]

I was angry but didn't notice until halfway home, visits to the garage are always followed up by a call from customer services, I will mention it when they call. Makes you doubt the quality of their work when they do stuff like that. Anyhow at least I can start to enjoy the car now.

[Delberthot]

For the first few hundred miles on mine and on some others here, pressing the brake pedal felt like you were pushing the pedal onto gravel, almost like the ABS was on but not as pronounced. I guessed that it was just the brakes bedding in and hasn't done it since