The 280PS Thread

[Colin170CR]

9 hours ago, Taki_Inoue said:

So I'm thinking of buying a used Skoda Superb 206tsi (280) here in Australia. How are these cars for reliability if they have a full service history? Car has approx 70,000kms on the clock (44,000 miles).

 

I've owned a few VW group cars and had mixed reliability (the less said about the old 1.4 TS engines, the better) and am fastidious with how I maintain my cars (always serviced, kept clean and tyres changed on time). I don't plan on any modifications.

 

I assume at some point I'll need to replace the water pump on the Skoda. I dunno what it is with VWs and water pumps, but the previous ones I've owned also had to have these parts replaced.

Mine's been OK-ish.

Yes water pump started leaking at 50k miles - not cheap. Known problem due to dissimilar pump & pipe materials? So I was told. Redesigned replacement kit solves the problem - so I was told by my independent service guy. Other than that it's been good. I got it mine at 25k miles in 2018 (2 years old) & it now has 58k miles. Used it for commuting to & from work for 3 years & now just local runs & holidays. One set of tyres early on. The rears were down to the canvass on the inside at 30k! Rear camber / tracking must have been out of whack from the factory. 4 wheel alignment done to sort it out. 2nd set of tyres at 50k. There's a lot of roundabouts where I live so the fronts get a lot of wear. I try to switch fronts to back to even up the wear as best I can but inevitably the fronts always seem to go first.   

Haldex oil & filter done at 40k if I recall. Front discs & pads done fairly recently as well along with usual annual service / oil changes & MOT's.

Still an immensely quick & practical car as a hatch or a wagon. Not the best car for fuel consumption. 36mpg on a run & 26mpg around town. But for the Q car grin factor it can't be beaten IMO. 

Mine might have to go soon as I'm considering getting an EV at some point. I will miss the huge boot but I reckon the right EV could match or better its sub 5 sec 0-60mph. 

[numskull]

19 hours ago, Taki_Inoue said:

So I'm thinking of buying a used Skoda Superb 206tsi (280) here in Australia. How are these cars for reliability if they have a full service history? Car has approx 70,000kms on the clock (44,000 miles).

Our 2016 280 has just passed 40k and my experience in terms of MPG is pretty much identical to those Colin gets. Reliability is a little better than his. The only actual failure we’ve had was a rear wheel speed sensor, which made the dash go nuts. We have it serviced at a brilliant independent. Having seen the number of failures, I’d be surprised if the water pump doesn’t go west at some point. As for performance, it’s amazing. This is a very fast and rare Q car and now I have a Racechip GTS black, which ups it to around 330bhp, performance is spectacular. With a Stage 1 remap, it would be 350+ish. In my opinion, a 280 with a FSH should be absolutely fine. 

[Chazzy]

2016 280, water pump/ thermostat here too, gear stick  dont leave in P in park or similar due to faulty microswitch.m, also a relativley common failure. but its a great Q car, you WILL get up to speed before joining the motorway and damp weather will not stop you getting that gap on a busy roundabout or uphill away from the lights ( should you feel the need)  

oh , squeaky anti roll bar bushes are standard. 

[numskull]

Bloody heck… think I’ll get the water pump changed, given its going to booger-up anyway! 

[Colin170CR]

6 minutes ago, numskull said:

Bloody heck… think I’ll get the water pump changed, given its going to booger-up anyway! 

Not cheap. Think it cost me over £1k including front discs & pads at a VAG independent.

[numskull]

Cheaper than a cooked engine, Colin. It cost over a grand last year to get the fluids changed all round, like you, at a well respected indy. 

[coppertop]

Same here with the water pump, just had it changed together with the thermostat whilst they were in there, as my thoughts were if I get one changed the other is likely to go!! These were done at dealership and as I mentioned it was a common fault on this engine how about a contribution though I am well out of warranty. Skoda gave me 30% towards the job which I am more than happy about.  So its been an expensive month  with 2 front DCC shock absorbers replaced (though I am having the old ones rebuilt by Nagenast in Poland) and now the water pump and thermostat.

[numskull]

What year is your 280? What was the cost of the pump and thermostat?

[KeteCantek]

Gosh, all these waterpump tales are making me nervous. 30k on mine now, 2016 car.... 

 

I discovered mine is consuming a bit of oil too, estimate about 3-500ml per 5k miles. Previously drove much less than that between oil services so didn't catch it. Dipstick was at min level at around 5k traveled mark and I topped up 300ml to mid level. 

[edwards]

44 minutes ago, numskull said:

What year is your 280? What was the cost of the pump and thermostat?

Mine is a 2018 with 30k on the clock. Owned by me from new and driven relatively gently most of the time. Coolant leak noticed at MOT last month, quote is £660 to replace from the independent garage I use. I did ask Skoda, they quoted £1120, so I figured even if I was to get some contribution from them on a 5 year old car, they would still be more than my independent. Its such a common problem on these 'EA888' engines across all the VAG group brands that a lot of parts suppliers offer a 'kit' replacement with the belt, gaskets etc as well as the pump and thermostat.

 

Other than that I have needed new tyres all round at 27K and it needs new rear pads now, going to be done with the water pump next week. Normal servicing with fluids etc at Skoda, including Haldex at 4 years.

 

I still love the car and can't see anything on the market now that would make me want to swap it. It tows like a dream (8ft twin axle box trailer filled with pushbikes and luggage) and has enough get-up-and-go to surprise the local boy (and man) racers at the lights. Me being a 50 year old man with a big grey beard in an estate car, they just don't expect it

Edited 13 April, 2023 by edwards

[MartiniB]

1 hour ago, numskull said:

What was the cost of the pump and thermostat?

on 2016. 2.0 TSI 220ps were €650 after 108266 kms / 72 months

 

[UndertheRadar]

16 hours ago, Chazzy said:

2016 280, water pump/ thermostat here too, gear stick  dont leave in P in park or similar due to faulty microswitch.m, also a relativley common failure. but its a great Q car, you WILL get up to speed before joining the motorway and damp weather will not stop you getting that gap on a busy roundabout or uphill away from the lights ( should you feel the need)  

oh , squeaky anti roll bar bushes are standard. 

The H&R front roll bar with “Teflon” coated bushes are so far very quiet and squeak free. They claim to not need any grease at all and are supposed to be a permanent fix for the issue. We will see how they fare over time as literally only in a few hundred miles ago. 

[coppertop]

7 hours ago, numskull said:

What year is your 280? What was the cost of the pump and thermostat?

2018 with 37055 miles, cost £780 with everything (water pump / thermostat / union / seal /screw and coolant).

[numskull]

7 hours ago, KeteCantek said:

I discovered mine is consuming a bit of oil too, estimate about 3-500ml per 5k miles.

This is a dumb question; you did measure it with a warm engine and let it sit on a level service for 20mins before checking? I only asked because I completely forgot and didn’t and thought it was empty! 🙄

Edited 13 April, 2023 by numskull

[KeteCantek]

2 hours ago, numskull said:

This is a dumb question; you did measure it with a warm engine and let it sit on a level service for 20mins before checking? I only asked because I completely forgot and didn’t and thought it was empty! 🙄

Good question because the answer is no. Initial check was cold (low level) After 300ml top up, I checked it 3 more times. Once a few mins after top up (mid level), once after parked for 8hours same day as top up (showing top level. No idea how and why...), and the most recent being 15mins after I switched off engine from full operating temp (showing mid level). 

 

I am happy that it is at mid level based on the last check😂

[Ootohere]

Dip the oil cold and know there is oil and where.

 

As to checking the Oil, that is at Normal Operating temperature, so that is once at 90*oC or so, engine off and check after a few minutes.

As per the owners manual, other than some used to say 'Warm'  bit that was Skoda, not SEAT, VW or Audi that say 'Hot' or at Normal operating temp. 

 

*A few minutes is not more than 5, not 10,15 or 20.  A few is like filling with fuel and opening the bonnet and checking the oil like VW think people do as they did decades back.*

 

The only VW engines checked cold are 1.2 44kW onces with a oil capacity of 2.8 litres. 

 

 

Edited 13 April, 2023 by toot

[CJXA]

Dear Gentlemen, 

 

Superb with CJXA engine and DQ250 0D9 gearbox with 78k km. 

Downshift while braking seems to be too rough, especially 5 - 4, 4 - 3 and 3 - 2. Extremely pronounced when gearbox oil is still cold. I'm not talking about some slight engine braking, but serious bumps.

I've owned 3 dsg cars with different gearboxes and driven a couple with Dq250. I just refuse to believe that this is normal. All other have been more or less smooth in normal D mode.

Local dealer recorder the complaint and even replaced clutch pack under goodwill warranty, but unfortunately the problem is still there.

Has anyone had this kind of issue with 280 Dq250 superb or similar vag car?

 

But please, without smart-a** comments. I know what is dsg and how it works.

[Gr1nch]

Hello, 

[Gr1nch]

Hi,

I'm willing to buy Skoda 280, but it seems that the rear differential has to replaced. Dealer gave the offer for new one which is 5.5k EUR, which is a bit harsh. By the differential part number which is: 0CQ525010T, I've found with low mileage from VW Tiguan. So the question is, are those differentials interchangeable, and diff. from Tiguan is plug and play? Or is there something else to be taken in consideration?

Sorry, if question is noob like, VAG group for me is something new. 

10 minutes ago, Gr1nch said:

Hello, 

 

[CJXA]

Theoretically it should be the same.

But what exactly happened with the rear diff/haldex?

[Gr1nch]

1 hour ago, CJXA said:

Theoretically it should be the same.

But what exactly happened with the rear diff/haldex?

Went to dealership they checked the car and said that diff. was howling quite loudly 

[CJXA]

The diff can be rebuilt, no need to buy a completely new one. Could be noisy bearings, but for sure it needs to be disassembled for proper diagnose.

I suggest you to find a company that rebuilds gearboxes, they most of the cases can rebuild differentials.

[Codename47]

I have covered first 10 000km and the gearbox/throttle response is annoying me. If I drive in D mode, moderate accelerator press does not give the response I would expect from a 280HP car, I have to push harder and the gearbox kicks down and the car pulls too hard than I need (city driving situations). Does anyone knows if there is a way to improve this without voiding the warranty? S mode changes gears too late for comfortable driving (it is great if you need to drive more agressive though).

[LeGrumpy]

30 minutes ago, Codename47 said:

I have covered first 10 000km and the gearbox/throttle response is annoying me. If I drive in D mode, moderate accelerator press does not give the response I would expect from a 280HP car, I have to push harder and the gearbox kicks down and the car pulls too hard than I need (city driving situations). Does anyone knows if there is a way to improve this without voiding the warranty? S mode changes gears too late for comfortable driving (it is great if you need to drive more agressive though).

 

I think a dsg reset will make it learn again the driving style.

 

That can be done when you change the dsg oil I think. Is part of the procedure. 

 

Also, you need to keep in mind that the Dsg gearbox is a bit 'lazy' at responding if in D. It takes a little to kick down 

Edited 6 June, 2023 by LeGrumpy

[numskull]

7 hours ago, LeGrumpy said:

I think a dsg reset will make it learn again the driving style.

It won’t. It’s an automatic gearbox, it’s not a sentient being. 

Edited 6 June, 2023 by numskull