I just crusising down the A26 in France last week at 130 when first the ESC warning light came on followed by lots of others. The engine cut out and I stopped on the hard shoulder. Ffeter a few minutes rest the engine was able to restart and the car drove ony the recovery vechicle.

 

We were recovered and the car taken to a Skoda dealer in St. Quentin. A week or so later they looked at the car and said it needed a new fuse box. A couple days later they said that a water leak had led to a lot of corrosion and they were not sure what else was damaged, including something that was translated as the "engine beam" whatever that was. They were not prepared to repair the car and the car is being repatriated (thanks to breakdown insurance).

 

Has anyone else encountered this problem and if so what did they do about it?

 

John

Hi John - and welcome to the forum.

 

Sorry to hear (read) of your woes but thank god for a decent insurance scheme whilst on holiday.... 

 

Not heard of a fuse box 'failure' before but it will be interesting to see what the dealer/garage says about it.

 

A water leak would need significant time to 'corrode' something - how old is your car?  Sounds like it might be water ingress that has simply shorted the system. My own thoughts (not a specialist!) is that you might have clogged drainage vents/holes ahead of the scuttle so water does not drain away and overflows.

 

My wife is French and I asked what a translation of 'engine beam' might be...no clue sadly....keep us updated as you go.

 

Dave 

Thanks for the reply Wile7. I suspect it means wiring loom but not totally sure. We seem to have been driving through heavy rain all winter so it could be water incress especially since a couple blades of the front grill are missing due to an unfortunate incident with an owl in January. But that seem to recent for the corrosion to have set in.

 

The trouble with main dealers is they just want to replace things such as the fuse box without ever attempting to repair anything so I will get it to an independent garage in the UK as soon as it gets back to these shores.

 

Oddly I cannot find any mention of this fault anywhere on these pages and I have been a member for years (I reregistered under another name cos I couldn't remeber my pass word!

Does your Superb have a sunroof? Mine has the panoramic roof which has leaked badly allowing water to run unseen down behind trim on the A pillar where it then meets electrics. So far no electrical issues but i do worry about the long term effects.

no sun roof, but I wonder if a damaged front grill (owl related incident) allowed more water into the engine compartment. Apparently there is a lot of corrosion around the fuse box,, but I have a feeling a relay has failed. It was clicking away like mad when the car stopped

Ah..i hope you get it sorted soon then.Is it back in the Uk now?

15 hours ago, italian job said:

Ah..i hope you get it sorted soon then.Is it back in the Uk now?

The car is still in France. It should be back in the UK in 10 to 14 days