Octavia 3 engine coolant warm up 150bhp diesel

[bmbmdmb]

Hi, 

There is a similar thread about how the octavia 3 takes a long time to warm up the engine coolant. 

The car is going in to dealer for what looks like a blocked sunroof drain. I want them to look at the thermostat also, but as I did not own car from new it is difficult for me to compare its past warm up behaviour with now.

 

How many miles does it take your Octy 3 to warm up engine coolant to 90C? 

I have diesel Lk 2.0. On a 5 or 6C day it takes 7 miles with just me in car and steady driving to reach 90C. I appreciate there are a range of factors that can affect this.

On a colder day like with the Beast from the East, below zero C, even longer. The maxi dot engine oil temp never reached 90C but got to 70C after 15 miles last weekend. This was city driving with few 60mph busts on A roads.

 

All the above is with the fan off and Ac off and temp on Lo. I wear coat in car and use electric demister to clear screen.

 

this is the weird bit. Anyone noticed the engine coolant drop from around 65C back to 55C . There is no rhyme or reason when it does this but on the same journey and with climate control on low and fan off the car sometimes shows this behaviour.  

I called the dealer only to be told about the electronics and multiple thermostats. Now I am thinking there might be a dodgy thermostat at play?

 

My other Skoda, a 10yr old diesel , warms up coolant to 90C in 4miles in cold.

 

[BNT1985]

2.0TDI here.

 

Usually around 6 miles in winter for the coolant to come up to 90C this time of year, around 3-4 miles if ambient is above say 8C.

 

Having driven home 17 miles in -11C last night with strong winds, I can say that my coolant was usually around the 60C mark due to the heaters being on. 

Coolant would rise to 80C with the heater off, but would quickly drop to 60C or there abouts when I cranked up the heating.

Car struggled to pump out heat in the cabin, given how cold it was and given its a diesel without AUX heaters I am not entirely surprised.

 

My oil would usually be about 80-85 for this time of year on the normal run, due to lower speeds because of snow and ****ers that shouldn't be on the road (the 5-10mph crowd) oil never got above 55C.

 

 

Yours sounds like mine; I am not worried about mine.  Seems typical behaviour to me 

[GoneToBeemer]

Yeah my L&K was the same, it took an age in the really cold weather to get up to temperature / get warm air out of the vents.

[Gabbo]

As I stated in the other thread, my vRS is fully warm in less than 10km with 5° outside temps.

I'm not sure a 3miles difference in warmup means theres a problem. It dépends a lot on drivng style, Wind, heater request etc.

If it was taking a long time like in the other post then perhaps you could point to one of the thermostats.

In my last Mondeo, I could drive 12miles to work & the needle wouldnt even move from cold in the winter.

 

A drop in coolant temperature on the gauge is usually a sign that a thermostat has opened & cold coolant has mixed with the hot.

I cant say I've ever noticed it on my car & have never had problems with heating.

AC is always on (for demisting & dehumidifying) & I leave the temperature set at 23 all the time & let the auto-climate do its thing.

[bmbmdmb]

Thanks for the replies so far. Keep them coming. Dealer said diagnostic might flag a fault. Thermostat is mechanical though? It is the sporadic drop in coolant temperature, always at 65C and drops to 55C that is baffling me. Yes, a thermostat opening early could be the reason.

[bmbmdmb]

Add on Q.

Does DPF regeneration need coolant temp to be 90C or engine oil temp need to be 90C? Dealer thought the former, but was unsure.

[Alpha2110]

I have a 2.0d 150, i dont think it has anything to do with how many miles you do. Its dependent on engine power output. I can do 5 slow miles from cold and the engine wont be at 50 deg. My regular drive to work, i get on a duel carrage way after a mile, then 70mph and the cars up to temp in 3 miles. Note this is water temp, it takes far longer to get the oil at 80-90. It heats up even faster if it needs to regen.

[amwphotos]

Usually takes about 4-5 miles normally, but took about 7 miles at -3'C

 

I have been contemplating an electric pre heater, but not brave enough to go for it! Would like a webasto but a bit too expensive really.

 

As for dpf regen, the oil doesn't need to reach running temp, although as it takes 10mins or so for exhaust to get up to temperature the water is also up to temperature in this time too.

 

I've been watching dpf using the VAG dpf app.

[bmbmdmb]

On a drive out today at -1C the car made 60C within 2miles. But not long after it played up again, coolant temp dropping back to 50C , then a steady rise to 70 and a slower rise to 90C. The coolant temp hovered at 85 to 90C for a mile which is probably because the cold radiator coolant is being mixed with the engine coolant - thermostat working normally .

The dealership tech said the drop in engine coolant temp seemed odd and not to be expected. Tech volunteered info about the waterpump sleeve problem. It typically causes overheating since the sleeve sticks closed stopping engine coolant circulating .

 

I wondered if the sleeve is actually sticking open on my car? Not closing on the warm up phase of engine coolant except today when the engine coolant warmed up relatively quickly to 60C in 2 miles at 20 to 30mph speeds cold start at minus 1C.

 

Car is booked in with dealer and might have diagnostic trouble codes. 

 

I'll report back when I know more.

[bmbmdmb]

Dealership had car in for sunroof leak and replaced seal around panoramic sunroof under warranty.

 

On the matter of the rise then fall then rise in engine coolant temperature, the tech said the engine coolant should not fall but might stay at same temperature for a short time then continue its rise to 90C. This might be associated with the 'engine sleeve' blocking the coolant circulation around the engine, the one that has been reported to be sticking and causing the opposite symptom of an overheating engine. 

 

Apparently photos are not accepted by Skoda UK, instead a video is needed of the event. Which I now have, showing a 12C+ drop in temperature over 30s from 62C to below 50C (car engine coolant does not read below 50C).

 

Has anyone else had this 'problem'?

 

Thanks

 

For brevity I have not posted the next 5 images showing the gradual rise to 90C

 

Mileage 48.3 miles on trip image 1 62C/63C

48.7 miles image 2 below or 50C

49.4 miles image 3 56C

53.9miles image not shown 86C   Oil temp 60C

 

[Rooted]

What will happen tomorrow if say it is 2*oC, you get in the car wack the temp setting to 22*oC, A/C on and drive the car?

 

See how long the Coolant takes to show at 90*oC, then the Oil Temp gets to an Indicated 50*0C, then eventually to 80, 90, or 100 if you are going far enough.

 

If it is not like at 50*oC Oil after 6 miles and at 90 by 15 miles something is wrong, as if the coolant gauge is up and down like a prossy's knickers.

 

Get the Technician to diagnose the fault then fix it.

[bmbmdmb]

Tech said they checked for diagnostic codes, nothing.

Tech volunteered info about the engine sleeve problem. Also, told me this behaviour is not normal. Everything needs to be signed off by Skoda UK before they touch the car. 

[Rooted]

The Master Tech has to support that there is an issue to investigate. Skoda will pay for the warranty work.

So if they are Deaf Dumb and Blind that can not happen, but seeing as the are Qualified and work 5 or 6 days a week on cars they know there is an issue to diagnose / investigate, and that it is a Warranty Issue. 

None of it is rocket science, just mechanical engineering and giving a tosh.

[bmbmdmb]

The dealership seemed to care, just any deviation from procedure, like not sending a video and it would get bumped back from Skoda. 

 

What I'm interested in is whether this happens to anyone else who has an Octy 3 diesel. 

 

I don't think it is a faulty radiator thermostat. The morning the above photos were taken the temperatures were a few degrees below 0C.

When the engine coolant reached 87 to 88C it hovered for a few mins then reached 90C. The coolant in radiator must have been very cold. At least I know radiator thermostat is not stuck fully open.

[Rooted]

This distance video diagnostics is good for Doctors but Skoda UK are taking the pith i think.

 

Have a read here, maybe all that is required.  Ask the Master Tech.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/445467-dsg-equipped-cars-second-thermostat 

[bmbmdmb]

Thanks Awa. Looks interesting possibility.

I checked mileage, took 9 miles to reach 90C with 4 persons, pram, 8C air temp. 30mph to 60mph roads. 2nd thermostat might be issue.

 

Dealer was making excuses about not being able to access video via cloud. I suggested vlc player but they don't seem to have software able to read mp4!

 

Will try another dealership.

[Gabbo]

The coolant should not drop back once it starts to increase.

This is not normal & as the dealer has suggested there is a problem they need to investigate.

 

The electronic thermostat has diagnostics which will tell you if the sleave is stuck so as they have checked it, its not the problem.

They can do a pressure test of the coolant system & check for an air lock & then try replacing the mechanical thermostat.

[coley8978]

On 01/03/2018 at 22:42, bmbmdmb said:

Hi, 

There is a similar thread about how the octavia 3 takes a long time to warm up the engine coolant. 

The car is going in to dealer for what looks like a blocked sunroof drain. I want them to look at the thermostat also, but as I did not own car from new it is difficult for me to compare its past warm up behaviour with now.

 

How many miles does it take your Octy 3 to warm up engine coolant to 90C? 

I have diesel Lk 2.0. On a 5 or 6C day it takes 7 miles with just me in car and steady driving to reach 90C. I appreciate there are a range of factors that can affect this.

On a colder day like with the Beast from the East, below zero C, even longer. The maxi dot engine oil temp never reached 90C but got to 70C after 15 miles last weekend. This was city driving with few 60mph busts on A roads.

 

All the above is with the fan off and Ac off and temp on Lo. I wear coat in car and use electric demister to clear screen.

 

this is the weird bit. Anyone noticed the engine coolant drop from around 65C back to 55C . There is no rhyme or reason when it does this but on the same journey and with climate control on low and fan off the car sometimes shows this behaviour.  

I called the dealer only to be told about the electronics and multiple thermostats. Now I am thinking there might be a dodgy thermostat at play?

 

My other Skoda, a 10yr old diesel , warms up coolant to 90C in 4miles in cold.

 

i thin it could be your egr cooler 

 

[coley8978]

try your egr cooler 

[bmbmdmb]

On 08/04/2018 at 19:18, coley8978 said:

try your egr cooler 

Thanks for suggestion.

The car is booked in at a different dealer to run the car alongside another car of the same model, year and engine to see if there is a difference in warm up times. Car has done 18k miles. I have had a blocked open egr valve on another car. 

I have had to read up a bit on egr coolers. Engine Coolant flows through it to cool exhaust gases before they are sent to egr valve.

Symptoms of a cracked egr cooler were leaking coolant into exhaust, loss of coolant, engine overheating. I don't have these symptoms. But, there was limited info online.

 

How do you think the egr cooler is carput? 

[coley8978]

On 09/04/2018 at 20:55, bmbmdmb said:

Thanks for suggestion.

The car is booked in at a different dealer to run the car alongside another car of the same model, year and engine to see if there is a difference in warm up times. Car has done 18k miles. I have had a blocked open egr valve on another car. 

I have had to read up a bit on egr coolers. Engine Coolant flows through it to cool exhaust gases before they are sent to egr valve.

Symptoms of a cracked egr cooler were leaking coolant into exhaust, loss of coolant, engine overheating. I don't have these symptoms. But, there was limited info online.

 

How do you think the egr cooler is carput? 

Is it getting hot air inside the car ie blowing hot air on your feet if you shut off all other air vents ..

[bmbmdmb]

Warm air from all vents including just the lower vents when selected alone.

 

Took to 2ndvdealer who has driven both my car and a superb with same engine and found it took 4miles at 14C to warm coolant to 90C.

 

Apparently all thermostats are electronically controlled. Tech said there was a mechanical thermostat on that opens at 120C. 

 

No diagnostic faults but wants to test drive another car with same engine dsg to replicate results. 

 

DM Keith very helpful. I said I'm happy of this is 'normal' .

The 1.6l D Monte Carlo got to temp 90C at about 3 miles at about 8C. Different engine though.