Ski hatch handle - its come off!

[jonesinamillion]

As per the title, the internal ski hatch handle (i.e. in the back seats) is no longer attached; appears that one of the mounts has snapped off.

 

The boy (5 yo) managed to pull it off simply when attempting to open it; this shouldn't be the case, a 5 yo fingers shouldn't be able to snap it off.

 

I'll be approaching a main dealer for repair so I'm just asking your thought son if this is a warranty issue or not?

 

Either way, I'm looking to get it repaired so does anyone have nay knowledge as to how much of the assembly will have to be replaced? If I end up paying for it myself then I obviously don't want it to be costing lots... I'm sure its something I could attempt myself if I could locate the parts?

 

[Rossy75]

Same happened to me last week, I got put in the back of my Sportline to look after our 7month old and went to get his bag from the boot, lifted the handle and pulled nothing, lifted a wee bit more and the handle came off in my hand.... nothing on the handle looks broken but I definitely heard pieces dropping off in the assembly itself.

 

Not impressed at all and I will be going to see the dealer to see what they say, hopefully covered under warranty. Still opens from the boot side but you need long arms to push the lock down.

 

Interesting to see if there is anybody else out there that has had the same issue. 

[jonesinamillion]

2 minutes ago, Rossy75 said:

Same happened to me last week, I got put in the back of my Sportline to look after our 7month old and went to get his bag from the boot, lifted the handle and pulled nothing, lifted a wee bit more and the handle came off in my hand.... nothing on the handle looks broken but I definitely heard pieces dropping off in the assembly itself.

 

Not impressed at all and I will be going to see the dealer to see what they say, hopefully covered under warranty. Still opens from the boot side but you need long arms to push the lock down.

 

Interesting to see if there is anybody else out there that has had the same issue. 

Good luck, keep me posted... good to know its not just me I suppose!

[jonesinamillion]

...as you look at the hatch (where the handle was!) there should be two protruding notches / pivot points, the LHS of mine has snapped off but the handle itself looks intact.

[Rossy75]

Same as mine. This must have been the bit I heard dropping back inside. It's a different material so may not need a new hatch. Just the hinge bit itself.

[jonesinamillion]

3 minutes ago, Rossy75 said:

Same as mine. This must have been the bit I heard dropping back inside. It's a different material so may not need a new hatch. Just the hinge bit itself.

exactly that!

[jonesinamillion]

Not a warranty issue apparently. The little hinge mounts do indeed push in... I've pushed the other one in too  

 

Need to get it off & opened up but no obvious ways to access it. Otherwise parts are £100 + vat + labour 

[jonesinamillion]

Had it off, separated the upholstered seat from the hatch, retrieved the missing clip but still can't get in it, sealed and no way to get in it ☹️

[splinter]

This happened to me the first time I tried to open it.

Went to dealer as car was not even one week old to be told that it was not covered under warranty.

The next few minutes where quite eventful as I explained to the with loads of f..ing and blinding that was not happy with just taking delivery of a £40000+ car with all the extras.

As I have had five cars from them they replaced the whole unit and no problem since but then again I don't think I have tried it since.

I would advise to stand your ground and they will probably replace it under warranty.

[jonesinamillion]

Thanks, 3 ppl with the same issue... Any more? 

[GaSelle]

I’ve had mine open a few times, and the handle is still sitting where it should...

[nodigital]

Yeah, same problem here, same side too.  Took delivery of the car (second owner after 2500 miles) and found the handle was in this condition...

[paul_7_7_7]

Just opened ours for the first time and handle came off, exactly like pictures above. Starting to look like a design fault and is absolutely a warranty issue.

[nodigital]

My car has just come back from the dealers where they flatly refused to fix the handle under warranty, even having explained if you look at the pristine condition handle there's no sign of force.  Totally unacceptable standpoint.

[paul_7_7_7]

If you have any credit agency, credit card etc. in the transaction get them involved. Either it is a warranty issue or it is not fit for purpose. One way or another Skoda need to fix it. If necessary there is always the small claims court. If the parts are fit for purpose there should be no possible way to break the handle as the hatch would open and there would be no way to exert sufficient force to break it. Ours didn't even take any force and certainly felt to snap it just came straight off - I get the feeling the left hand hinge had already dropped out while driving around. From looking at the right hand hinge it looks thicker/stronger than the plastic on the handle itself so even if someone was to somehow exert excessive force I would have expected it to be the handle that broke first not the hinge. At the moment I suspect the hinges aren't being pushed in properly in the factory and are coming loose and dropping out. If they refused to fix it did they show you a snapped part and explain how you would break it before the hatch opened?

Mine is in next week to have it fixed, no mention on the phone at time of booking that it won't be covered.

[JR RS]

I've opened and closed mine many many times, as have my 7 and 3 yr old kids - still going strong.

 

[paul_7_7_7]

From the inspection I've done I think it is an assembly issue where one of the hinges isn't being clipped in properly and is then dropping out as you drive around. Or in my case it may have never been put in at all as the handle just fell off the first time went to open it. Good to know that when properly assembled people are using it without issue and that once fixed it should hopefully stay fixed.

[paul_7_7_7]

Mine has just been done under warranty - changed the whole arm rest from what I understand and sent the old one back to Skoda. 

[alf.onso]

I managed to break mine on the first use. Went to the dealers warranty master and told him what happened. He explained me how to properly use it (to push it down first and then pull the leaver) and changed the broken piece under warranty. 

 

That "first push down" thing is a *******s and it's a design error from Skoda. Ski hatch should not come with a user manual of its's own

[penguin17]

This happened to me on first use.  No force exerted; I actually don't recall pulling on the lever, it literally came off in my hand. 

 

Car is two weeks old today so I'll be visiting my local dealer to get this sorted.  

[penguin17]

**Update**

 

Went into my local dealer this morning; the service manager had a look and is going to order the relevant parts (likely the full assembly) then give me call to get it booked in, when the part(s) arrive. 

 

Warranty job; no complaints or resistance from the dealership. 

[paul_7_7_7]

Yes, mine had to change the whole armrest assembly

[penguin17]

52 minutes ago, paul_7_7_7 said:

Yes, mine had to change the whole armrest assembly

Roughly how long did it take to do?  A few torx screws or do they need to remove the whole bench? 

[paul_7_7_7]

I don't know, they had the car in for a few days as it was in for other work and they had to order the parts. I don't think they had too remove too much as my hatchbag liner hadn't been disturbed much.

[penguin17]

**UPDATE** 

 

Part (whole assembly) has arrived with the dealer.  Car is booked in for the 19th June, approx 1hr workshop time.