Hi, I bought a Mk III 132 TSI 4x4 wagon recently, second hand. Something I find unusual is that I can provoke a fair bit of front wheelspin in the car in the dry. Tyres are good - Michelin Pilot Sport 4. A bit surprised as the car isn't really powerful or anything and other AWD cars I've owned/driven can't really be provoked into wheelspin - my last car (Subaru Legacy GT) had a lot more power and I could never provoke it to wheelspin, even in the wet. Any suggestions on things I should do/check before I take it to the dealer? 

Edited 13 November, 20178 yr by MilesB

On my 2 wheel drive VRS, I found it was always easy to provoke wheelspin, just because of the weight transfer to the rear of the car when accelerating. 

 

Problem went away when I lowered the car onto a set of Eibachs.

I have a Mk2 4x4 and it doesn't wheelspin other than an initial slight chirp as the haldex decides to chuck power to the rear (Haldex V2).  Your's should be a newer version of Haldex (4??) that pre-senses when wheelspin might happen and hence shouldn't spin at all..

My guess would be a faulty Haldex. See here for a similar thread.

Edited 13 November, 20178 yr by Orville

was just about to write the same as Orville until I read his post.

seems there were a few people with the same error. Faulty haldex but no obvious error or warnings from the car.

I don’t get wheel spin in mine even when it is wet/slippy and uphil with the weight to the back.

 

I have had most of the previous Haldex models in various makes and this one (Haldex V) is by far the best. Not as much difference from the Haldex IV as there was from the Haldex III but enough that the improvement is noticeable. 

 

You should not be getting noticeable wheel spin, especially on only one axle. As above I would say you may have a Haldex issue. First thing I would check is that the Haldex unit has been serviced on schedule.

Your Haldex isn't working. There is no dashboard light to indicate failure. Check the fault codes on the AWD unit, probably the pump has failed (or something similar).

Thanks for the advice. I've booked it in for an inspection now. 

 

No real wheelspin on VRS Diesel 4x4, just a quick chirp, makes for confidence entering busy roundabout or junction, specially in the wet.

Hi MilesB

 

Is there any update on your 4x4, I have a similar problem, spinning wheels etc. on my Scout. It is booked in for a couple of weeks time.

I recently found that there is a TPI for Haldex clutch pump fault on the new Haldex 5 system after it failed on my Superb. There is a known problem with early failures, and a modified pump to hopefully fix the problem. Not sure if these Octavias  have Haldex 5 but if so this may be the problem.

2 hours ago, nicknorman said:

Not sure if these Octavias  have Haldex 5 but if so this may be the problem

 

All the MK3 Octavias have Haldex 5. Where did you see the TPI? had a quick look round on ErWin but couldn't see anything. Was it in the Skoda or VW section?

1 hour ago, flybynite said:

 

All the MK3 Octavias have Haldex 5. Where did you see the TPI? had a quick look round on ErWin but couldn't see anything. Was it in the Skoda or VW section?

It was mentioned by the service manager chap when I picked up the car after repair. A couple of weeks later I had cause to pay for an hour on Erwin (Skoda section) and it came up under my VIN. Power transmission section IIRC. Not a huge amount of detail, just that in response to customers complaining of wheelspin, the solution is to fit the modified type of pump.

 

Of course there is no guarantee that it would come up under an Octavia, but you would think so!

 

In my case, although there was nothing showing on the instrument panel, VCDS reported a clutch pump internal fault error. If I reset the fault, as soon as I put the car into D and moved off a few feet, the fault reappeared.

Sorry for the late update. The dealer sent me off on a drive with a tech to show them what was wrong. It was pretty obvious to the tech that the AWD wasn't working straight away. They did a scan on the car, which said the haldex wasn't working and basically traced it to a faulty pump. The car is just out of warranty, but the (out of town) dealer I bought the car from paid for the repair. 

 

Since the repair, I haven't been able to provoke any discernible wheelspin at all, even when I stomp on the accelerator to pull away from an intersection in the wet. 

 

Key message - if you can get wheelspin in your 4x4 in normal driving conditions, get it looked at.