smoke Smoke and Crackling in Car

[kieranharvey95]

Hello,

 

I am new to this site but have a problem with my car that is really concerning, more so that Skoda cannot find a problem.

 

Last week I was driving up the motorway at 70mph, very hot heatwave conditions with Air-con and recirculating air on. I noticed all of a sudden a vapour of some kind coming through the vents, but didn't seem like smoke. Pulled over, checked it all out, seemed fine. I then continued and on return journey about 20 minutes later, I heard a strange popping/crackling noice, accompanied by a burning smell and then actual smoke (only a small puff but smoke none the less) coming through the vents. Again this was at 70mph.

 

Fearing it to be a possible fire risk, I was recovered and the vehicle taken to Skoda to investiagte.

 

After a few days, I was asked to collect the car. I was told the resistors had blown for the fan, as they wasn't working unless on high setting and they had also found and fixed a leaking auxiliary coolant pump and a belt that has something to do with that too.

 

On the journey home from the garage, I was once again doing 70mph on the motorway, having just turned my Air-con off, I again smelt a burning smell accompanied shortly after by a gradually louder crackling/fizzing noise from somehwere between me and the windscreen. I pulled over again, agitated by this point and obviously in a panic. I called Skoda again and explained what happened and was again advised to not drive the car; it was recovered ironically straight back to the garage I had just picked it up from about 45 minutes earlier.

 

They are struggling to find anything wrong with it, and it is really worrying me. The last thing I need is a car catching fire on me. It's only happened when doing 70mph on motorway and is normally when I do something with the fan system like turn off or on the aircon or something. Every time it has happened has been in pretty hot conditions.

 

Has anyone else got any ideas, or experienced similar issues?

It's still under a finanace agreement and I do not know what I can do if they cannot find an issue, and it keeps doing it.

 

Car is a 2014 Skoda Fabia Monte-Carlo black editon, 1.2 TSI engine - Petrol.

[kieranharvey95]

Looking through recalls for similar vehicles, found this for a VW Polo. Sound simialar?

 

http://www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/expand.asp?uniqueID=5F4A01214AC9F97280256BB9002691CE&freeText=FIRE RISK&tx=

[Ootohere]

^^^

That 22 year old Recall sounds nothing like similar.

Edited 8 July, 2017 by Awayoffski

[kieranharvey95]

1 minute ago, Awayoffski said:

^^^

That 22 year old Recall sounds nothing like similar.

 

Fair enough, I'm just trying to find out what's wrong with my car mate. Any ideas? 

[Ootohere]

Did you pay the Trained & Qualified Technician to fix it and they failed, or was it a Warranty Job?

 

They need to find out what is wrong, that is their job, what they are seemingly doing 5 days a week in a Skoda Dealership.

 

So Monday morning they need to collect the car or you drop it off and they get on with what they should do.

Corporate Responsibility, safety, not killing owners by fire.

[kieranharvey95]

28 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Did you pay the Trained & Qualified Technician to fix it and they failed, or was it a Warranty Job?

 

They need to find out what is wrong, that is their job, what they are seemingly doing 5 days a week in a Skoda Dealership.

 

So Monday morning they need to collect the car or you drop it off and they get on with what they should do.

Corporate Responsibility, safety, not killing owners by fire.

 

It's under warrenty still at the moment it's still under its finance agreement.

 

I agree they need to really find out what's wrong, as I had only just picked it up for the same issue when it did it again.

 

It's been recovered to their garage again yesterday so Monday they will probably be working on it the most.

 

I really hope they can definitely find the issue and be sure it won't happen again as even in my hire car I'm getting really nervous about driving now, had a bad experience with fire in past which I needed councillors for so this hasn't helped very much.

 

Thanks for your response mate

 

Edited 8 July, 2017 by kieranharvey95

[Ootohere]

?

Have they supplied a Courtesy car at no additional cost to you for insurance?

[kieranharvey95]

35 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

?

Have they supplied a Courtesy car at no additional cost to you for insurance?

They have mate yeah, can't fault them on that side of things. Driving a VW Polo at moment.

[kieranharvey95]

So an update as of 12/07/2017:

 

Got a call from Skoda. "Car is ready to collect Mr.Harvey, we wasn't able to find any fault with the car. We also looked at your dash cam footage (without permission) to look at the moment you stopped on motorway and couldn't hear or see anything you described, we are marking it safe and would like you to come get it, it has no faults." Aside from feeling like I'm being called a liar I decided fine guess it is what it is.

 

Minutes later a second call. "Hello it's Skoda again. I've just been informd by the technician, that he had replaced the blower motor in your car, and upon driving it a short while a go, confirmed he had a lot of smoke coming through the vents in the car, so we are going to keep it longer, and find out what is causing it, the car now isn't ready for collection."

 

I couldn't help but feel a bit smug, as I genuinley felt like they were accusing me of making it up and finally just managed to re-create the fault, now the technician has experienced it for himself they can actually hopefully find what the issue with the thing is, I am not driving it if it's going to catch fire on the way home from the garage. To be honest it is all doing my head in.

 

One thing I do know now: it is nothing to do with the blower motor, as it was replaced and smoke still came through the vents.

 

Fingers crossed they'll get to the bottom of it.

[mrgf]

Good that they replaced the blower motor then.... Had mine done and it cost over £400 from an independent! Skoda quoted £300 -odd just for the motor. (Climatronic so resistor is built in, not plugged in). Full dash out job!

[kieranharvey95]

4 hours ago, mrgf said:

Good that they replaced the blower motor then.... Had mine done and it cost over £400 from an independent! Skoda quoted £300 -odd just for the motor. (Climatronic so resistor is built in, not plugged in). Full dash out job!

 

Ouch, I hope they've done it on warrenty as a goodwill gesture as after all it's quite a serious issue with the car, I've had to emergency stop on a motorway twice already because of it.

 

they haven't mentioned anything needing payment yet.

[mrgf]

Yeah, they'd not let you drive off the site without payment if it was owing... How can they make you pay/prove you haven't payed already otherwise?

[kieranharvey95]

7 minutes ago, mrgf said:

Yeah, they'd not let you drive off the site without payment if it was owing... How can they make you pay/prove you haven't payed already otherwise?

Well they are still working on the car, I haven't been to garage to discuss what has been done and when I can collect it, I would like to think if they were doing anything off warrenty they'd ask me or tell me first and not just do it and expect payment when I get there, as I said considering it's a fault with their car I don't think I should be paying anything warrenty or not.

 

well have to wait and see I guess :(

[mrgf]

I think they'd have told you when they said its for collection. Also, by calling back, they admitted the fault was not what they changed and they most likely won't want to re-fit the old but functioning fan as too time consuming. I think thats safely "In the bag"!

[ESS]

Hows the car now ?

[JGrindel]

Very stange... I was going to say get the fan motor replaced but they seem to have already done that! Weird... your lucky its under warranty!! Hope they can solve this for you quickly

 

[pearce_jj]

Frankly that call from them is awful. No one would make that Up three times, inconveniencing themselves with garage time in the process.

 

In my view you are owed a writen apology and financial compensation for your time due to clearly inadequent investigative works earlier AND having reported to you work was done that wasn't.

 

Please name the dealer here too

[kieranharvey95]

Well, it's coming up to my holiday and I needed to know what car I would be having parked by the parking people i've booked. They've said they are still waiting on Skoda Germany. From what I can tell no problem has been found and now they are saying i'll have it back by end of month, bit odd, they said they've done road tests and road test again and again with the dash stripped etc and without and found no problem or no re creation of the fault. So now I am being given it back in the hope nothing goes wrong with it again. If it does I'm not going to be a happy bunny at all especially as I am relying on it for the airport run when I go on holiday 11th Sept. Pay £275 a month for it and havent had it a month, fair enough I've been in a hire car, but one that's only a 1.0l, hardly the same as my 1.2 TSI. I don't know where I stand on if I am owed money for it or not guess i'd have to go through head office as there is no way they'd be happy to pay anything i don't think. They are quite friendly and polite and I understand they are waiting on Germany for response but it really shouldn't have taken this long to get basically no repair done. Anyway, hope that nothing goes wrong again I guess.

 

Is Beadles Skoda in Maidstone, Kent.

[Ootohere]

Sorry what has Skoda Germany to do with anything,?

[kieranharvey95]

38 minutes ago, Awayoffski said:

Sorry what has Skoda Germany to do with anything,?

 

Becuase they couldn't find a cause, so were liaising with the head in Germany that's all I was told, just assumed it was normal?

[Ootohere]

Pefectly normal,  tell customers a load of bull ****e..

 

[kieranharvey95]

So I'm told I'm getting it back tomorrow. They haven't yet been able to get reply from tech in Germany? They're saying it was a leaking radiator pump or something and have road tested it in all kinds of conditions (hot, wet, air con on, recirc on etc) and had no fault occouring so they're confident in getting it back to me. I've been pushing them to get it back as I've been without it two months and had valet parking at airport booked for it Monday which would cost to re-arrange. They're confident it is fine but will request it back if German technicians are concerned about it at all.

 

fingers crossed as I'm relying on it for airport run, worst case scenario I'll keep vents off and just get there and back or I don't know what I'll do if it all goes wrong it certainly won't be me paying for the taxis and God knows what else.

 

Ive considered asking for two months worth of repayments back but dunno where I stand there after all I've worked out that they have probably paid up to £3000.00 worth of hire car through enterprise cars so that's if they're paying day by day. Through a stroke of luck I blew a tyre on the crap VW 1 litre hire car and the only replacement that they could get was a 1.6 TDI VW Passat which is very nice to drive I must say.

 

wish me luck I guess...

Edited 6 September, 2017 by kieranharvey95

[kieranharvey95]

On 9/6/2017 at 21:34, kieranharvey95 said:

So I'm told I'm getting it back tomorrow. They haven't yet been able to get reply from tech in Germany? They're saying it was a leaking radiator pump or something and have road tested it in all kinds of conditions (hot, wet, air con on, recirc on etc) and had no fault occouring so they're confident in getting it back to me. I've been pushing them to get it back as I've been without it two months and had valet parking at airport booked for it Monday which would cost to re-arrange. They're confident it is fine but will request it back if German technicians are concerned about it at all.

 

fingers crossed as I'm relying on it for airport run, worst case scenario I'll keep vents off and just get there and back or I don't know what I'll do if it all goes wrong it certainly won't be me paying for the taxis and God knows what else.

 

Ive considered asking for two months worth of repayments back but dunno where I stand there after all I've worked out that they have probably paid up to £3000.00 worth of hire car through enterprise cars so that's if they're paying day by day. Through a stroke of luck I blew a tyre on the crap VW 1 litre hire car and the only replacement that they could get was a 1.6 TDI VW Passat which is very nice to drive I must say.

 

wish me luck I guess...

 

Get a call again saying Skoda Germany? have gotten back to them and instructed them not to give me the car back.

 

Now I am really annoyed after I explained multiple times that I need to know what car I will have for my holiday.

 

I am told I will need to take the car to the Gatwick Enterprise to return the vehicle and then they will based on the flight details I sent them get one arranged for when I return.

 

As a result I had to cancel my valet parking and in the process lost £75! I am told they'll se what can be done about that...

 

Absoloutly livid, it's taken them two months to tell me I can't have it back, after telling my I could on the 31st, then the 6th and now refusing to give it back.

 

I get that my safety is their concern but to be messed around like this is horrible and stressful.

 

No update as of yet on what the problem is but I'm starting to think i'll never get it back :(

[Ootohere]

Do you have all this in writing from Skoda UK Customer Services / Warranty, or does this nonsense all come from the dealership?

Have you had a copy of the SKODA GERMANY communication that the Dealership received? , if not ask them for that..

http://skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us 

 

PS, 

since the car is on finance you do not own it, you are just the Registered Keeper, have you contacted the Finance Provider who do own this depreciating car that a Skoda Main Dealership seem to not have the ability to repair.

The Dealership might need to have the car as a Buy Back and source another, and Skoda UK Customer Services may have to assist them 

if really 'SKODA GERMANY' are saying the car is unsafe to return to you.

 

Smells of BS from the Dealership though.

Edited 9 September, 2017 by Headinawayoffski