I realise that there have already been a few threads relating to this topic but I have a situation with our car at the moment (Octavia Scout 1.8 tsi) which is off the road with Skoda saying that it needs new pistons, piston rings and timing chain (out of warranty).

 

I am interested to learn of any Skoda owners with experience of goodwill payments being made by Skoda as a result of this issue.  Audi was exposed last year on BBC Watchdog and a number of people had the engine problem resolved by Audi UK.  Given that it is the same engine in our Skoda it seems a shame that to date my appeals to Skoda (dealer and Customer Service) have fallen on deaf ears.

 

My hope is that I can point out some examples of where other owners have been treated better for the same issue.

 

Many thanks,

 

James

 

p.s.  It is our second Octavia 4x4 and has otherwise been a brilliant car!

Can't be of much help I'm afraid but the title grabbed my attention as the EA888 is an entire engine family and not every engine in that group suffers from the issue, wouldn't it be better to narrow it down to the exact engine code and year for the ones that are affected? For example there's the 1.8T, the 2.0T, and then there's different gens like mk1, mk2 and mk3 so which one of them is in your Octavia?

Actually shouldn't that go in the Octavia section directly?

Thanks for your reply newbie69.

 

The engine is 1.8 TSI (code CDAA).  It is apparently more of an Audi engine than anything else, hence the fact that Audi have been hit more than the other brands by the oil consumption history.  This is why I started the topic in General Chat (I think that this engine is pretty rare in UK Octavias).

 

Here is some more background (a letter that I wrote to Skoda management and a voicemail reply from Skoda Customer Service)..

 

Dear Mr Movassaghi,

 

This correspondence is about our experience of our 2010 Skoda Octavia Scout 1.8 tsi (YK60 ***).  In every way it is a lovely car as it does just what we ask of it.  Indeed we have had an uninterrupted string of VAG family cars dating back to our first which was a 1985 VW Passat GL5.  However, a distressing engine problem with our current Skoda is shaking our confidence of the Skoda brand in particular.

 

We became concerned about the fact that the car began to use more oil when it was still within warranty in the timeframe 40-50,000 miles.  We were concerned enough to have an oil consumption test carried out at our own expense at Horton Skoda just before the warranty expired.  We understood that it narrowly passed.  The car has now covered around 61,000 miles and we have just paid for another oil consumption test at Horton because the consumption continued to accelerate alarmingly - consumption of a litre in 350 miles (at our own reckoning) prompted the latest dealer test.  The car failed the latest dealer test and Horton's prescribed course of action is a quote for nearly £3,500 to replace the pistons, rings and timing chain.  We accepted the car back from Horton but now it is sat at home as I don't consider it prudent to drive with the symptoms and major work hanging over it.  We cannot afford to repair the car when repairing it will not improve its resale value.

 

It strikes us that these symptoms are very similar to those highlighted by Audi petrol drivers here on BBC Watchdog a year ago..

 

http://bbc.in/1FwH3av

 

What is more we did a little armchair research and our engine (code CDAA) falls within the family of EA888 TSI/TFSI engines which have attracted media exposure on Watchdog and in the USA.  We understand that in all of these cases customers have been helped handsomely with the cost of the work required.  After consulting with Skoda UK Customer Services, Horton Lincoln declined to offer any help with our cost and Mr Lee ***** refused to accept even to look in to the Audi case maintaining that Skoda engines and policy were entirely different from Audi.

 

Mr Movassaghi, does this mean that Skoda is the poor relation in terms of customer service to Audi?  From our personal experience as a family it seems that it is.

 

As I have already mentioned we have decided to take the car off the road until the matter is resolved as we do not think that it is in anyone's interests for the car to grind to a halt with an engine fail.

 

Our preferred outcome is for Skoda to repair our car at little or no cost to ourselves (in line with the Audi goodwill) so that we can continue to enjoy it well beyond its 61,000 miles.

 

I hope that this will be within the scope of your company but please be in touch if you require any further details about our case.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

James

 

 

Reply (voicemail) from Skoda Customer Service, 23rd May 16

 

Hi message for err James it's Lloyd from Skoda UK.  Just wanted to confirmed that we've received the email that you sent to our Managing Director err, Duncan Movassaghi.  Umm what I'd say really is just to confirm that as part of the Executive Office, part of my role is to erm respond to this correspondance erm, and I can confirm that following our last conversation our position will remain the same.  I appreciate you may not be happy with that err however really just referring back to the Industry Code of Practice erm I would say, a good idea would be to refer the case to them erm and allow them to make a decision on whether they think our position is fair or unfair err or however they would like to err refer to it.  If you've got any questions please give me a call on 03330037504 but I at least want to confirm that indeed our position does remain the same.  Allright, thank you very much.  Bye bye.

What a crappy reply. And what did that other guy mean by "Skoda engines"? Somebody tell him Skoda has not made any engine since a long time ago and that the "Skoda engines" have VW/Audi engine codes (and badges) on them FFS. As such they are faced with the same issues. And this guy works at Skoda customer services...

 

Again nothing much that I can say on the actual matter but it seems the after-sales and past-warranty treatment between VW/Audi and SEAT/Skoda is not exactly the same and it is not the first time I notice this. Agreed that with any brand you should be fortunate enough to find a dealer that is willing to fight by your side but, with a few exceptions,  people have a harder time in succeeding with such claims from SEAT/Skoda dealerships than similar requests to VW/Audi ones. 

Edited 8 June, 201610 yr by newbie69

Farmerj, call that chap Lloyd and tell him you want a reply in writing, including his position/what capacity he's replying and in exactly what office he works. Preferably hard copy - a good old fashioned letter. It gets them to commit to their stance and also is evidence when complaining higher.

Thanks chaps. Yes Lee (dealer) wouldn't be drawn at all into a conversation about Audi; he even got rather obtuse and suggested that he might be able to do a deal on bulk supply of engine oil (his way of suggesting that we should soldier on throwing oil at a 60k mile engine).

And that is a good idea to ask Lloyd to reiterate in writing. I know that a transcription can look rather inadequate but in actuality so was his response. Oh and he said that he was No 1 in the CS department! I have sat on the issue for a fortnight (like the car gathering dust) so I need to make some headway..

IME, from inside and outside, these large companies often staff their customer service/Chief Exec/Chairman's office in their Head Offices (not "Customer Service Department" which is usually on a business park somewhere) mainly with high flyers recently out of Uni. These people get thrown in the deep end to see how they cope with serious grief.

 

They're usually only a few rungs from the top and that's why when I've had complaints I usually find out the name, job title and office address of the person at the top and address my complaint personally. Though it might be fielded by someone who sounds like they're straight out of school I've always had a straight and honest answer (not always in my favour, true) which is the least they owe the customer.

 

If the complaint is explained rationally, clearly and politely to them they can't take any moral high ground. Put COMPLAINT on the envelope and say you look forward to the courtesy of their reply. Got me good results from a high street bank, electricity company, and a phone company we all know by two letters. And they're not EE.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/266114-18tsi-and-20tsi-engine-failures

 

 

 

.

Edited 8 June, 201610 yr by GoneOffSKi

Disgusting treatment for a 30 year customer IMHO

Good luck with it and if you don't get anywhere I hope you give them 'what for'

Worst case scenario,brim it with oil and trade it into a car supermarket for a non vag car

Hopefully it won't come to that

Thanks FlyingGecko, GoneOffSKi and dazz600 for your advice and remarks.  I am not an habitual whinger and feeling quite strongly about this it is good to realize that I am not completely wide of the mark.  This evening I wrote a covering letter to Mr Movassaghi and will include the texts above as appendices in the envelope.  Hopefully persistence will pay off otherwise Skoda are risking a portion of their reputation by allowing one of their dealers to dismiss five years and 60,000 miles as a perfectly acceptable lifespan for their cars.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/266114-18tsi-and-20tsi-engine-failures

.

Omg thanks for that George

Was considering Polo gti for next car but that post is enough to put anybody off!

New Polo GTI 1.8TSI or Ibiza Cupra is a whole different kettle of fish. Just VW CAN'T say because that would mean admitting the previous failures.

So this was my latest correspondence with Skoda UK (proper printed letter sent via snailmail)..

 

 

9^th June 16

 

Dear Mr Movassaghi,

 

The purpose of this letter is to register my concern over a voicemail received from Lloyd at Skoda Customer Service outlining the approach of Skoda UK on your behalf. The nub of his message was to report that, as the dealer concerned (Horton of Lincoln) had declined to offer any goodwill payment towards the prescribed £3,500 worth of repairs to the engine of our Octavia Scout, Skoda UK are not in a position to help any further with our issue (the text of these exchanges can be found attached as appendices to this letter).

 

I do not accept that as as the last word on the matter. Moreover I am surprised that Skoda are willing to put their reputation as a credible marque on the line especially given the treatment meted out to Audi on BBC Watchdog last year about this very matter of oil consumption. I am not a usual online activist �indeed I do not even have Facebook or Twitter accounts - but I have taken the step of beginning a thread on the subject on www.briskoda.net which has already attracted several comments of advice and support since posting it yesterday. Whilst we recognise the vehicle is out of warranty I would wholly imagine that Skoda are keen to boast that their cars are built to last way beyond our car's 60,000 miles. As a family we are in a fortunate position where we can borrow a car to stand in for the Octavia in the short term but we are not in a fortunate enough position to be able to spend £3,500 to restore it just so that it can act as a car again. I should reiterate that we have owned a string of VAG cars for thirty-one years and they have all been delightful but unsatisfactory resolution of this matter will mean that we stray to other marques and our enjoyment of VAG cars will come to an end.

 

I implore you to look again at our case in the hope that our faith in Skoda can be restored with the minimum of fuss.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

James

 

[email protected]

 

If you do want Skoda UK customer services. When my bonnet was touching the headlights they got me the result I wanted. Or they would have if I hadn't crashed it into a tyre wall 2 days before they called to arrange getting it fixed, but hey, it got a reaction.

Edited 26 June, 20169 yr by Outofthi5world

And the above produced another voicemail from Lloyd at Customer Service.  I asked for a response in writing and here it was last week..

 

 

All-in-all we are pretty cheesed-off now.  Apart from its content the most insulting thing was that they got both the model wrong and the registration wrong at the top of the letter despite the fact that I have not erred in any correspondence!  I would suggest that even my actual paper letter got nowhere near the MD himself - all of the signs point to them being the words of "Lloyd" at Customer Service (even thought it is not signed-off by anybody).

 

So what do you think?  Struggling with much more energy..

Edited 26 June, 20169 yr by farmerJ

A Communications Manager not addressing the Fundamental Design, Manufacturing or Component Choice and quality Control failures including that of software.

Know issues and known by the Volkswagen Group.

 

You want a Senior Customer Services Managers response really, 

& then maybe look at getting an Independent Experts Report done & have this put to Skoda UK via a solicitor.

 

As many have in the past and have reached an agreement with Skoda, Audi, Seat or VW before the need to take them to court.

Thanks GoneOffSki.  So far I do not seem to have got beyond Customer Service to actual Management yet.  Our man "Lloyd" claimed to be top dog in his outfit (Sheffield).  Surely there is someone at VAG (Milton Keynes) who might be able to consider the wider picture?  The last letter does at least concede.. "Skoda UK is a Division of Volkswagen Group United Kingdom Limited.  A wholly owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG".