I'm an idiot but please bear with me!

 

Last week I filled an almost empty 1.6 Greenline with a full tank of (cough) petrol.

 

Ran it for 1 mile before it was obvious it wasn't happy, pulled into a layby and had it towed away and pumped out. System was flushed and the engine started ok. Drove it about 200 miles good as new (yeah right) and glowplug warning light came on and it went into limp mode. Switching ignition off and then on clears it and then it runs fine. Till the next time...

 

500 miles after the wrong fuel was put in I had it serviced and new fuel filter, fault codes were pressure fault on CR line or something like that. I took it to a Skoda dealer and they stripped some tank down under the rear seat and said they couldn't see any metal particles but it did exhibit low pressure when they test drove it with diagnostic computer plugged in. They quoted £4850 to fix it...

 

When it's not in limp mode it drives perfectly, no issues at all. Seems a shame to spend £4850 on it if there's a more cost effective fix available. I've taken to switching the ignition off and then on with it out of gear while still in motion for now, works every time.

 

My insurance conmpany (Aviva) have written the car off, paid me £7000 and sold it to me for £2400, i thought that was a fair deal for a 61 plate Octavia Greenline with 50,000 miles on it even if it is potentially a scrap car now.

 

Any ideas for a cheap fix to stop the warning light, I can then run it for a while till it dies and then flog it as a non-runner for hopefully more than £2400...!

Edited 23 December, 201510 yr by TopLoser

Sounds to me like the problem I had, (2.0 tdi VRS 07) driving along, needing more acceleration/power to get up a hil or overtake, and the glow plug light would flash, the car would loose power and then enter limp mode. A simple turn off the ignition would restore every thing. A diagnostics check would turn up no faults, until.... The dreaded DPF light came on one day, and limp mode, Having then had the DPF issue resolved, the light has never come back on again, its never cut out on me, and over taking is again a pleasure./ not a dice with death.......

 

However, back to your issue, not being entirely sure that your car even has a dpf or similar system, I can only then offer a couple of potential reasons why the car is suffering (from my un educated position), all gleaned from similar situations in past threads

 

1) Variable vane turbo sticking - dirty/clogged up (use a fuel system cleaner £50)

2) Turbo actuator not going to its full limit  (there's a link on here to cleaning it (less than £10 plus your time)

3) Over boosting from a loose or split pipe

4) Damage to the valve stems/seals/seats from running the wrong fuel (all though I can never remember which way round that it is worse - diesel in a petrol or petrol in a diesel.)

5) Fuel pump - seals (allowing oil to enter the fuel system) - fuel pump failing? (which sounds more like the issue relating to the fault codes Identified)

 

Hang on a sec - £4850 for what? A new fuel tank. new fuel lines, new fuel pump, new head, new injectors, and labour or was it £485 .oo for fitting a new fuel pump?

 

Sounds like you told them the situation with the write off /repair and they want your money. It would be interesting to see what is on the itemised quote that they would provide you for that price....

 

There will be lots of people saying, just trade it in now and you'll get more money at we buy any car then that, as long as you don't take it in with the Coil light on (£500 off per any light showing). I am pretty sure you don't want to let some one else purchase a car that has a fault, but you got to think of yourself here pal. Youll get a decent low mileage Mk11 PFL for £4850, so I would never spend a penny of £4850 on a CAt C/D car to repair it.  

 

And Props to you for owning up about putting the wrong fuel in.... I dread that day ( I own a diesel and a petrol car) cos it will happen, 1/2 a sleep on a cold morning...

 

All the best, and good luck ....

There a few things working against a successful out come here...

 

1) The tank was almost empty of diesel before being filled with petrol. This means the petrol will have had no diesel to dilute it.

2) You drove the car to a point the car displayed issues, suggesting damage has been done.

3) After having the tank emptied you didn't immediately replace the fuel filter, it sounds as though the car was driven further (500 miles) on the original contaminated filter?

 

As petrol is a spirit it has no lubricating properties, unlike diesel which is an oil so there is a good chance engine damage and fuel pump damage has occurred.

 

The Skoda dealer will have run a diagnostic check which will have allowed them to check the fault codes (these are always logged when the car drops into limp-home mode). This has directed them to check the fuel tank under the rear seats. Metal debris in the tank might suggest engine or fuel system damage, which by the sound of things they didn't find.

 

Low fuel pressure was another thing they noticed, this does suggest that the fuel pump is damaged, or the complicated common rail (CR) system.

 

What you really need here is the fault codes, this will give a good indication what is causing the car to drop into limp home mode. Find a local member with VCDS close to you and run a scan...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/224376-vcds-owners-map/

It's the first time I put the wrong fuel in something but it sounds like it's a common problem. The Aviva engineer said he dealt with 20 cases a day, and that's just one insurance company.

 

It was the Aviva engineer that told the Skoda dealership what he expected them to replace, not a case of the dealer taking advantage. His opinion was that anything that could potentially have been contaminated by petrol or have metal particles from an unlubricated fuel pump should be replaced. I'll got the report and quote from the dealer being posted to me, I'll put details up here later just for giggles. It was only after Aviva got the quote that they decided to write it off cat D and offer me the £7000 and the option to buy the written off vehicle.

 

I'll get the fault codes read next time I drive past the guy that normally services it, PK Automotive in Lincoln.

 

It does exhibit another issue as well, and has done since it had 2 injectors replaced under warranty earlier this year... at around 1400 rpm the car begins to judder quite significantly. Doesn't matter what gear or speed I'm doing, its 1300-1400 rpm that the shaking starts. It's a right pain in 5th gear in 50mph average speed zones!

Edited 24 December, 201510 yr by TopLoser

 It's a right pain in 5th gear in 50mph average speed zones!

Do you consider it a problem? You can always drive with the 4th gear there.

Why on earth did you buy it back from the insurance company?

 

Any chance of letting the deal go back, maybe with a deduct?

Edited 28 December, 201510 yr by Tranberg

Why on earth did you buy it back from the insurance company?

 

Any chance of letting the deal go back, maybe with a deduct?

Because I can throw it in an auction or on eBay  as a Cat D running car and make a profit without doing anything to it.

 

I have plenty of off road area to keep it for now, no need for insurance or tax.

 

I've already bought a new car to replace, I can decide what to do with the Skoda at my lesiure.

Edited 29 December, 201510 yr by TopLoser

Sounds to me like you've damaged parts of the CR fuel system. It can be repaired/replaced at some cost.

 

Personally I am amazed that your insurance company paid out, but I guess this is just one of the reasons why we all pay such high premiums.

I'm surprised too re the pay out.

 

I'm not having a go, but you put the wrong fuel in the car and they give you £7000.

 

Now I know what to do to get shot of my car when I want a newer one. Aviva insurance, here I come  .

You won't see the metal particles in the fuel. If they are small enough to pass through the filter (which they are) then you ain't gonna see them with the naked eye. The tolerances are so fine even these particles will damage the pump and injectors.

You will need a new pump, new injectors and new high pressure lines. Then the low pressure side of the system, tank, lines etc will need to be cleaned and flushed.