Minding my own business and coming towards the end of a routine commute this morning when I stop at some traffic lights, press down on the brakes to trigger stop-start, and the MFD flashes up stop-start error. Then the EPC warning light appears.

 

Move off, no problem, but decide to pull over at the earliest opportunity and do my own stop-start (i.e., turn the car on and off again). Car starts normally, EPC light is on for a few seconds, then goes off. I drive off, pull up again and try the stop-start system. It works normally.

 

I’ve booked the car in just to be on the safe side (no slots for 2 weeks) but is this just one of those random glitches or a known issue? Car drove normally after the lights appeared.

Edited 20 February, 20188 yr by MorrisOx

Within the first few months of owning my Octavia I encountered 2 or 3 random EPC and limp-mode occurrances. These only occured during wet weather so I poked around under the car and make sure all electrical plugs were secured (firmly pushed together). I haven't had any problems since (4-years ago), and no errors have been recorded within any of the cars services.

Without knowing what fault code was set its difficult to say.

The engine warning lamp can set for many things but if it cleared on your next start with the ignition key then it would seem intermittant.

You can drive normally with the warning light set (as many taxis do for hundreds of thousands of miles).

The ECU will protect the engine from most non-mechanical failures & activate a limp-home/power reduction if it deems necessary.

 

As you've done, booking it into the dealer is the easiest way to get to the bottom of it.

Especially if you still have warrenty active.

Hopefully its just something as above with a sensor not fully plugged or something easy to change.

Thanks for the comments & advice - much appreciated.

 

What makes this particularly galling is that the car is less than a month from being returned at the end of its PCP. It’s still - just - in warranty, so I figured it was better to be safe than sorry with a check.

 

Pretty sure it’s a random fault and there seem to be a fair few with VAG electronics - I’ve had several random errors in the three years I’ve had the car and do wonder whether there is an underlying issue. The car’s never let me down (so far!), but these random warnings really do sap your energy sometimes.

I guess this is best as even if the dealer cannot find the cause/do anything you are covered from any comeback from the PCP company.

 

Fault has appeared again, in exactly the same circumstances, after a day’s normal running. Just to add to the fun, it has now been joined by an amber warning light which handbook says is the exhaust inpsection system. Car continues to drive ok, not in limp-home mode.

 

None of my local dealers can look at the car until next Thursday at the earliest, even if I took it in and left it with them. None will give advice.

 

Getting a really warm feeling about Skoda...

Edited 22 February, 20188 yr by MorrisOx

Update on this...

 

Dealer couldn’t look at it until 13 March, now the throttle has become flat/inconsistent so I’m taking the car in on Monday and just leaving it there.

 

Don’t know whether it’s a sensor fault of some kind or the electronic throttle. Or worse...

 

Car is due to be part-exchanged for a Superb later this month. Warranty runs out at the end of this month.

I’ve had the same thing happen today. Any update on what the cause was?

Sounds a bit like a lambda proble problem we had on an older car.

 

At the end of the day it’s under warranty though, so just leave it to the dealer. Especially when under pcp.

23 hours ago, manamp27 said:

I’ve had the same thing happen today. Any update on what the cause was?

 

It was turbo wastegate failure - the actuator rod which opens the wastegate had stuck in the open position, so all turbo pressure was lost. The actuator rod was so badly stuck that the turbo had to be replaced as well.

 

The fault occurred because the actuator pivot is made of different metals which expand and contract at different rates. Effective lubrication is vital in these circumstances, but the lube channel is very narrow and has a tendency to gum up - which is what had happened to mine. My Octy was an early 2015 car and there may have been a fix since them.

 

Cost was covered by Skoda under warranty. As soon as the fix was done I traded it in for a Superb!

Edited 7 April, 20197 yr by MorrisOx

Thanks mate. Fingers crossed mine is a simpler fix. Expecting to hear from the workshop tomorrow.