Yeti went in for it's second MOT. No problems but whilst it was there I thought I'd ask for a squeaky tailgate strut to be replaced - been going on for a couple of years - each time it goes in for a service or MOT it is lubricated which solves the problem for a few days but no more. There was about 5mm side to side play and as I bought the extra two years warranty  shouldn't have been a problem. Wrong. First of all the dealer couldn't find any record of the extended warranty - despite selling me the car - then found it on the sales invoice - but couldn't be sure what it was a warranty for!! (You couldn't make this stuff up). Finally decided that it wasn't a warranty item, even though I had an email from SKoda UK  confirming it was covered by warranty. Dealer says its "not defective" although had been happy to stick a new one on at the previous visit for just short of £100.

 

Service manager is now looking at whether he can persuade customer services at Skoda to replace as goodwill but frankly if it's an easy job and I can't break anything I'd rather now buy a strut and do it myself (I really have better things to do than hang around a dealer's forecourt for three hours). So for those skilled in the arts of such things - is it as easy to change as You Tube would have me believe? And if so, any recommendations of makes to go for. Thanks folks.

 

(From the prices I've seen on the internet a new strut is probably less than a tenner in the trade and fitting it take little longer than it took to lubricate the part - companies spend a fortune on surveys and trying to boost their customer ratings but with this one incident they've turned me from "How am I going to find anything as great as my Skoda Yeti"? to "I wonder what else there is out there?".

Yes easy, have someone hold the tailgate open while you do it.
Lift the retaining clips a little with a small screwdriver and pull the strut end off, just click the new ones on.

Mine groan a bit at times, I have put silicone grease on the end, that sorted it for a bit but I think it's from the inside of the strut.

2 years extra warranty was well worth it then?

do a google search on sgs struts, they do 'em, I think I was the first to ask/buy for my first yeti some 5 or 6 years ago, a by return postal service

15 hours ago, Frenchtone said:

do a google search on sgs struts, they do 'em, I think I was the first to ask/buy for my first yeti some 5 or 6 years ago, a by return postal service

I have bought from SGS on several occasions for different vehicles. The product is 5* and service the same. A great company to buy from. 

I find I can balance the tailgate on my head when changing the struts but I’m 6’7” so that helps!

 

 

Thanks all. I think people have given positive recommendations on SGS before on this forum. I did have a quick "play" with the top fixing and got the clip of (and with a bit of a struggle back on again) so thanks Urrell for the video. And it was interesting at the end when the presenters warns against lubricating the strut as it reduces its working life! Mine's been dome three times now.

 

As for the extended two year warranty, well it did give me peace of mind, even if it seems it is a placebo (an expensive one).

Glad your so chilled,Skoda are good at taking your money for 2 extra years £££££££ warranty then deciding it won’t pay up ££