miracle grease

[crampedsky]

I recently commented on another thread how trouble free the SB had been since it was bought. As it usually happens, the car promptly developed a fault 2 days after posting that comment.

 

After a 120 mile round trip under heavy and constant rain, I discovered that the reversing lights were on all the time and the parking sensors would beep  randomly,  even when driving forward. I phoned my local dealership which told me I had to phone Skoda Assist (the car was drivable mind) Anyway, Skoda Assist sent the AA man (funny how the AA man working on your car wont affect your warranty yet taking the car to an independent garage will)

 

The AA found the reverse gear switch  apparently full of water, so he proceeded to disconnect it so i could drive the car to the dealership the next day. After a lot of going back and forth trying to sort out a courtesy car, I managed to get one by the close of business. It transpired there were discussions between the AA/SkodaAssist and the dealership, with the courtesy car being the main issue, i.e. who pays for it

 

The dealership checked the car and they found nothing. This didn't surprise me as  I've come to learn they never do find anything. One day i'll get them to value the car just to see how many issues they manage to find, i'm sure they'll find plenty then.

 

I was told the switch is in a place that gets wet and it's one of those things. Since they couldn't find a fault (the AA man did) they couldn't replace the switch. All they could do was to smear the switch with grease in order to waterproof it.

 

So that's it, a 7 month old car gets a water logged switch and Skoda's solution is to cover it in grease. Bear in mind the car was never submerged in water, this happened after driving the car through rain, so i would think it's highly likely it will happen again.

 

The fault doesn't bother me, things fail all the time. What does bother me is the response to it and the thinking behind the fix applied.

 

Quite frankly, while the car is ok, everything else (dealership after sales and Skoda customer service)  i have found to be a let down. We are still tied to the car for another 22 months but so far it looks like this would be the first and last Skoda for us.

 

 

[crampedsky]

Following the grease around switch "Fix" the car has developed a few other minor faults, 

 

- Hill hold control doesn't work all the time and then only on very pronounced inclinations.

- The sat nav has lost its bearings a couple of times, having to take the sd card out then in again to get it going. (never had this problem on the Tom Tom, despite getting knocked about all over the place)

- After stopping at traffic lights and when the engine turns off, it has required a key re-start 

- The remote control one door opening feature (driver door) doesnt work when left for a couple of hours. i.e. all doors open when only the driver's one should, but it will work fine if unlocked/locked and then unlocked.

 

The car is at the dealership so they can have a look at these issues. I spoke to them yesterday and was told that following Skoda procedure (disconnect battery for half an hour ?!) all was fine, only to be told, in the same phone call, that the car was actually faulting again.

 

I have little faith in anything being found, let alone put right. I'm no car mechanic or electrician,  but the way they work (grease on switch, disconnect battery, rain sensor testing) doesn't fill me with confidence. 

 

My question is, Can any of you knowledgeable people think of what may be causing all these issues?.  To me,  it's clear there are some gremlins in the system since something,  somewhere,  got wet and produced the first fault ( parking sensors). Trouble is what , if anything, can they do to fix it

 

Any help would be appreciated 

[The Plumber]

I'd be looking at taking it to another dealer myself, as your current one seems to employ supposed technicians who would find even making a brew challenging.

 

Problem with modern cars is the amount of electrics fitted to today's vehicles; you only need one insignificant rouge part to end up with multiple system glitches and to sort those you really do need a good Tech on to of their game.

 

 

TP

[crampedsky]

I'd be looking at taking it to another dealer myself, as your current one seems to employ supposed technicians who would find even making a brew challenging.

 

Problem with modern cars is the amount of electrics fitted to today's vehicles; you only need one insignificant rouge part to end up with multiple system glitches and to sort those you really do need a good Tech on to of their game.

 

 

TP

 

Been thinking about that for a while, only problem is that the nearest alternative dealer is 40+ miles away  and I haven't got a clue how good or bad they are. I'd say they couldn't possibly be worse than my local dealer but I may jinx it.

[countryboy]

Why don't you name the dealer that is 40+ miles away and ask the good folk on here of their opinion, there are bound to be a few who have used their services and found if they are good bad or indifferent.

Ian

[crampedsky]

Why don't you name the dealer that is 40+ miles away and ask the good folk on here of their opinion, there are bound to be a few who have used their services and found if they are good bad or indifferent.

Ian

 

 

The trouble with that  is that experiences vary greatly from customer to customer. My local dealership came highly recommended, I personally  know 2 people who have bought cars from them for a number of years, and they swear by them. They have been in business for a fair while, so surely  they must know what they are doing, even if, to me, it  doesn't look very much like it. At all.

 

In any case, if anybody has any info about Border Skoda in Dumfries, please let me know

[crampedsky]

Well, it looks like they are trying a little harder now.

 

Apparently they raised  the central locking issue to factory level, whatever that means. As a result of that, they are going to replace the body control module. They are waiting for the part to arrive so we need to wait a few days still.

 

As for the other issues, they haven't reappeared whilst the car is with them so they can't do anything about those.  I was initially told that the Spaceback never had hill hold control, which led to a minor exchange of opinions. I think, (hope), they now know the car does have this feature, after all,  it was fitted, and paid, as an optional extra.

 

Hopefully things are moving in the right direction now.

[crampedsky]

We got the car back on Friday, apparently a new Body Control Module has been fitted.  Then on Monday an amber light airbag error came up.

 

Took the car back to the dealer on Tuesday and waited while they did their thing. While it was obvious there was a fault somewhere, they couldn't trace it. They told me all airbags circuits were tested and no fault was found, so they reset everything and all is back to normal now.

 

I don't wish to be unduly harsh on them,  but given the short length of time they had the car this time (2 hours), and their track record, I have a feeling it was one of those "disconnect battery and wait half an hour" jobs. Only time will tell i suppose.

 

In the meantime I've asked for a written copy of all work carried out on the car since day one.

 

Nine months old car and it's already spent more time at the garage than the 12 year old car it replaced spent in the 6 years we had it. We'll see how long we manage to stay away this time.

[oxonboxn]

It seems that choosing a car, and a dealer, can be the "luck of the draw"......I had four Fabias, two at a time, over a period of twelve years - very little went wrong but the few problems I had were put right quickly. I nearly chose a Rapid in 2013, but went for a Citigo instead. The car has been to the dealer's workshop three times...1st service, 2nd service and 3rd service (yesterday). The services are done quickly and to a good standard  and I get a 30% discount off Skoda's "official" service price. I get a courtesy car and don't even have to replace the fuel I've used.

So, there ARE good Skoda dealers around...I'm just lucky that there's one near me!