My Mk3 DSG 190 bhp is 3 year old in a few days.  I bought it from a Skoda dealer with 8K on the clock - ex Demonstrator.  I have had it serviced in line with the manufacturer's spec.  As it is nearly three year old I took it in for its first MOT.  It FAILED!  Both rear shockers were leaking.  I went to the dealer and asked if they would carry out the repairs under the warranty.  They wouldn't as it has 68K on the clock and the shockers were wear & tear.  They approached Skoda customer care to see if they would make any goodwill gesture.  They wouldn't.  Skoda have quoted me £359.00 to replace both rear shockers.   I said that the car was serviced by them on the 30th May, 8 weeks ago and that this issue should have been picked up then.  They said that in all probability they were leaking then.  I am feeling very let down by Skoda.  In my view the shockers should have lasted longer than that.  I have 3 other cars in the family under my care and the oldest is a Peugeot 206 which is 16 year old.  All of the cars have not suffered the same demise.  Any one else had their shockers fail within 3 years?  Have I a case here?

Unlikely failure. where was the MOT done?

 

Both shocks leaking in the same narrow time frame at such an early age and mileage is highly unlikely especially the rears. Light misting of shock absorbers is common and not an automatic fail.

 

Slight seepage causing a film of fluid on a shock absorber is not a reason for rejection. 

 

Check them yourself. My warped opinion is that business is slow and they are trying it on.  Rears because they are cheap and easy, max profit. Think job bonuses. They may even have sprayed oil on them.

 

Get car back, jack it up, examine yourself, wipe the shocks down, removing evidence of oil and retest somewhere else where you can, in worst case,  get standard shocks changed much cheaper. MOTs at F1 autocentres or Kwikfit at around £25 with topcashback or quid co.

 

It likely to fly through without changing imo.

 

BTW Your dealer is wrong, shock absorbers are (should be) examined at an inspection or interim or minor or major service.

 

*Vehicle inspection: inspection of all lights, instruments, bodywork, glass, locks, battery, drive belts, suspension, steering, fuel lines, brake pads/shoes/discs, hoses, wash/wipe system, exhaust system, engine components, fluid levels and tyres.

 

 

FYI , usual cause of shock absorber seal failure is due to ingress of dirt via the upper telescopic shaft which in turn happens when the upper plastic dust shroud has detatched or become damaged and fallen down, exposing the lightly oiled shaft.

Edited 25 July, 20187 yr by xman

You mention they approached skoda customer services?  I don't believe that one bit.  It is a customers responsibility to approach customer services now. I am an ex warranty controller for skoda vw audi.  If the car has always been serviced at this dealer, the way goodwill from customer services is down to dealers contributing towards it. 

 

Eg.  On the system they can check for factory goodwill when systen says no (this is instant) they can then put in a % the dealer is willing to help the customer (you) customer services automatically match whatever the dealer percentage is on either parts or labour or both. So if dealer is willing to help 25% towards parts and labour, customer services will automatically match that. Which leaves you with 50% of the bill.  

 

I would ask them for the reference number given to them by customer services if they "claim" to have approached them. 

 

Adrian

I had mine checked recently under a tpi for leaking shocks....

 

worth mentioning it to your our dealer I would imagine.

1 hour ago, cheezemonkhai said:

I had mine checked recently under a tpi for leaking shocks....

 

Were they standard or DCC shocks? Were they leaking?

Non DCC.

 

on a service they had wiped them down, then asked me to come back in for an inspection in a few weeks to see if the oil was back.

 

there is a tpi for leaking shocks on the Octavia and it wouldn’t surprise me if it was across a wide range of mqb vehicles.

Edited 26 July, 20187 yr by cheezemonkhai

I might have missed this, but where did you take it for the MoT? And what was the wording of the reason for failure?

Serviced to manufacturers spec means nothing, be it Fixed Servicing or Variable.

9,400 miles / 372 days or maybe 18,500 miles / 24 months.

 

Oil & Filter, Pollen Filter, maybe an Air Filter, look sees and report and Free Wash & Vacuum.

 

So are the Dampers leaking because it can be wear and tear / environmental damage, or Fundamental design, manufacturing and material and workmanship / quality control,  

but then the car is nearly 3 years old with 68,000 miles covered and there was no reports of issues with 'Servicing to manufacturers spec'.

 

Get the Dampers checked and if a Skoda Dealership failed them wrongly then kick up the sharn.

 

The dampers should last longer than 3 years, many do not though hence replacements are available and often fitted.

 

Have a conversation with a Skoda UK Customer Services Handler, do not accept the excuses and the 'Dealerships know best crap.

Keep it all in writing and when they say 'case closed' say on your bike.

http://skoda.co.uk/about-us/contact-us 

 

?

Who was the Dealer / Dealership Group?

Edited 26 July, 20187 yr by Offski

Thanks all for your advice and valuable comments.  To clarify, I had the test done at an independent garage.  The failure was listed as MAJOR.:

 

Repair immediately (major defects):

• Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))
• Offside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))

I know them well and the tester took me under the car to show me the leakage.  I then took the car straight to the Skoda dealer in Weston super Mare.  Their guy put it on their ramp because he doubted the MOT tester view, thinking that the oil seen was what was there from new.  He then had to agree with the tester's view saying they were definitely leaking.  I have written to Skoda customer care and await a reply.  Problem is the dealership cannot fit me in for over a week and technically I should not be driving the car as it has a failure.  That being the case I have booked the car in to have OEM shockers fitted this coming Monday at another independant garage (where I actually work as a Compliance Manager!). I shall only pay trade price for the parts and maybe some of the labour cost.  This might make any "goodwill gesture" by Skoda difficult to settle.

Sounds like a quality issue, manufacturer defect. Will be interesting to see Skoda's reply. 

 

Am I right in thinking Erwin (€7 to access) will pull up any TPIs for a registration or vin number? 

1 hour ago, MChris said:

Thanks all for your advice and valuable comments.  To clarify, I had the test done at an independent garage.  The failure was listed as MAJOR.:

 

Repair immediately (major defects):

• Nearside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))
• Offside Rear Shock absorbers has a serious fluid leak (5.3.2 (b))

I know them well and the tester took me under the car to show me the leakage.  I then took the car straight to the Skoda dealer in Weston super Mare.  Their guy put it on their ramp because he doubted the MOT tester view, thinking that the oil seen was what was there from new.  He then had to agree with the tester's view saying they were definitely leaking.  I have written to Skoda customer care and await a reply.  Problem is the dealership cannot fit me in for over a week and technically I should not be driving the car as it has a failure.  That being the case I have booked the car in to have OEM shockers fitted this coming Monday at another independant garage (where I actually work as a Compliance Manager!). I shall only pay trade price for the parts and maybe some of the labour cost.  This might make any "goodwill gesture" by Skoda difficult to settle.

Yes in my time in the trade ive not seen it happen where goodwill gestures are given when the repair is done outside of the dealer network.  Due to the money from yourself not going into the dealer network for the repair. 

I would strongly advise people to keep their new cars upto 5 years within the network for goodwill purposes.  There are 2 types of goodwill. 

 

1. Factory goodwill

2. Customer care goodwill (uk) 

 

Both require you to have a full service record done in the main dealer network.  And factory goodwill goes upto 5 yrs on common items to fail. 

 

Customer care goodwill allows empowered dealers to make a decision themselves a percentage they put towards the repair and customer service will match that. 

For me you have a rock solid case for a goodwill contribution, but only if you have the new shocks fitted at a Skoda main dealer.

 

A 'major' MOT fail should have been picked up during the recent service, it wasn't, and the dealer has acknowledged that the fault was likely there during the service.

 

So, a contribution from Skoda UK towards parts suffering from a known manufacturing defect, and a contribution from the dealer for missing a safety vital issue during a service.

 

It all depends on how intent you are at holding them to account. You're past emails and letters, it needs to be sorted over the phone (Skoda UK) and in person (dealer).

 

Chances are the route you've taken could still be cheaper than using Skoda, even after any possible goodwill.

 

 

Edited 28 July, 20187 yr by silver1011

g

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner

Both the MOT garage and main dealer acknowledged they were faulty.

On 28/07/2018 at 08:18, VWGDT said:

Does the car knock from the shocks or bounce along the road? 

I’m with the guy suggesting foul play.

clean them up and run the car, if no oil returns, they may have induced the fail which is why it didn’t show on the service. 

They are wear items, especially at that mileage though.

No bounce noticed but an occasional knock or clunk when going over potholes etc.  I am totally unconvinced about foul play.  My garage where I work looked at them today and confirmed they were leaking.  The replacements turned up but were the wrong ones!!! I shall endeavour to purchase some and fit them myself.  Looks an easy job but I will report here when done!!

g

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner

VWGDT, 

the Bulbs like Shock Absorbers are Wear & Tear items in the Manufacturers Warranty and covered for 6 months / 6,500 miles which ever comes first, 

unless manufacturing faults, materials, design etc, hard to prove on a 3 year old car with 68,000 miles.

One that was already at 8,000 miles when bought from a Dealership.

http://skoda.co.uk/owners/warranty 

Edited 31 July, 20187 yr by Offski

Still awaiting a call back from Skoda Customer Services!  I don't hold much hope as I shall get the new ones fitted from the garage where I work (non technical).  One thing I have learnt is that currently you CANNOT buy rear shocks for the Mk111 Skoda Superb apart from dealer supplied.  I have bought two different sets and neither fit correctly.  The bottom bush is too narrow.  I have bought a set from a dealer via a back door approach (cheaper) and will get them fitted and the car re-MOT'ed by my garage on Monday.  Meanwhile the trip to my garage in the car will be without a current MOT.  Shhhhush!

Garages / Trade can buy them exactly the same as Main Dealers can.

http://tps.trade 

I would have got the bilstein b4 myself.

 

Skoda Customer Care contacted.  They actually offered me a reduction of 50% if I take the car back to the dealer but as they cannot fit me in for at least a week I opted to have them fitted at the independent garage where I work.  They also did the MOT.  The VAG shocks cost me £192.00 for both.  The labour & MOT were a freebee. The dealer wanted £360 so I would have paid £180.00 but then I would be without the car for ages and then would have had to pay for the MOT.  I think the job is a DIY task except I think you need an impact wrench to free the lock nut that holds the top shroud  to the strut.  Anyway, all sorted.  Thanks all for your advice.

Didnt work out too bad then