The Mk3 Octavia TDI water pump thread

[JosipB]

Year of Registration - Feb 2015

Model - 2.0TDi 150PS

Problem First appeared - July 2018, 120,000 kms

Problem Fixed Today, 30 August 130,000 kms

Garage goodwill - Sinnotts in Wicklow offered 30%-50% discount on parts/labour for a water pump and timing belt change which I thought was reasonable since it was out of warranty so I didn't push for more.

Total cost, €350

 

Additional info, may be useful for anyone away from home when it happens

Our pump started giving trouble in Greece where I first found the overheating thread on briskoda.

At that point, stopping the car and turning it off was enough to reset the pump.

By the time we were coming through Croatia however, restarting wasn't enough and we'd have to run the fan on 4-6 + hot for up to 30 mins to keep it out of the red before it reset.

The worst we had was across Northern Italy with fan on 6, heating 3/4, windows open for 90 minutes in 34C before it fixed itself.

But we were always able to keep it out of the red and continue driving at normal speed with just the fan to control temp.

One advantage of having driven an 83 Fiesta and Yugos

[chelon]

• Year of registration 2014

 

• Engine 1.6 diesel

 

• Mileage when fault occurred 64,000

 

• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other) Spirit Skoda Dublin - offered fixed price of €680 for water pump and timing belt. Tried two other dealers who said diags were needed first at a cost of around €100

 

• Warranty or goodwill contribution? Nothing offered

 

• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) I have a mate (independent garage) who will do both the pump and belt for me at short notice (the dealers are all booked out for a week or more) so I think I'll take my mate's offer to do the work. Anyone know if there would be any issues with a backstreet garage doing this type of job?

Also the dealers here are telling me the recommended belt replacement interval has come down to 4 years or 130,000 miles, whichever comes first. Since my car is 4 year old it needs done anyway but I thought the mileage figure sounded very high for a car of that age?

[pist0nbr0ke]

On 18/08/2018 at 20:24, pist0nbr0ke said:

Well...I can't quite believe this but I've just had the water temp needle go into the red, the audible and visible dashboard warning and then all back to normal in about 30 seconds...coolant is absolutely fine and no lights on the dash at all.

 

I thought it was only earlier cars that were affected?! Mine was new in May 2016 and has just 34,000 miles on it.

 

Sod's Law, got a week's driving holiday coming up, and the car was booked for a service at Mitchells in Chester two days after I get back...  I'll be letting them know it has happened as soon as possible on Monday, and will see what they say.

 

Ironically, just been driving a relative's Disco Sport today too, and the aircon decided not to work on that...! I was thinking 'what a POS', then this happens to the Octavia 

 

Well, Mitchells have been absolutely brilliant. The fault hadn't reoccurred in about 800 miles when it went in for its second service at 35,000 miles - but they replaced the water pump under warranty with zero hassle, based solely on my verbal evidence of it having warned of overheating once!

 

Fantastic service - really couldn't fault them.

[Emb]

Hi folks, first time posting and having a nightmare so go easy on me! 

• Year of registration

 63 plate

• Engine

2.0 tdi

• Mileage when fault occurred

39,000

• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other)

Garland Skoda, Aldershot - no response yet as they were not very helpful about fitting it in to even diagnose (car has completely broken down)

• Warranty or goodwill contribution?

 no idea but potentially looking at severe engine damage so......

• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?)

Full skoda service history but independent mots.

 

So the car broke down on holiday and had to be towed home. Pulling off at a roundabout at slow speed, engine started vibrating and sounds like a tractor. No messages on the dash, no warning lights. Skoda refused to look at it for weeks so had to take it somewhere else. Investigation shows it is the water pump has leaked and engine over heating. Not able to assess the subsequent damage yet but technician was not hopeful...... Did a bit of research and came accross this thread. Contacted skoda customer services and of course they wont accept that it is an inherent fault unless they look at it so now stuck with a car that won't go and can't get it to skoda as they didn't want to know. It seems the response is patchy but i cant afford the potential 2k+ to fix and currently without a car and a child to get to a nursery and a job to get to..... Is there anything official I can take to Skoda to support? This particular dealer seems like a shambles and i really didnt want to take it there. Sorry for the long post but having a nightmare (first world problems and all that) thanks in advance x

[Stu77]

Hi everybody, not sure I’m in the right place but thought I’d give it a shot - I’ve got a 63 plate 2.0TDi, just over 30k on the clock. Car runs fine but every single morning when it turns over for the first time I get a coolant level warning. Coolant level is fine, no sign of leaks.

No problems with overheating or performance (except the car seems to run a dpf regen an awful lot...?)

whats driving me mad is, as soon as I drive the car to a garage for diagnostics and they connect it to a computer there is no fault because the lamp only comes on at first turn over. I think they think I’m mad...

 

is this anything to do with the water pump? Or is there anything else I can check first?

[Sonak]

 

•  Year of registration 2013
• Engine 2.0 TDI
• Mileage when fault occurred 51200
• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other) Blade Skoda, fault would require investigation (£120) plus repair if fault was confirmed (£495). They said water pump and cam belt need changing every 5 years or 80k
• Warranty or goodwill contribution? Nothing offered as it was due replacement.
• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) Bought directly from Skoda, full service history with Skoda. Nothing mentioned about the replacement being due after last service and health check (June 18).

[Ronnie_b]

Has anyone had any joy escalating this where you've been told there is no goodwill available? 

 

If so,  where did you escalate to? 

[jtypecav]

I've now had this happen twice. On mobile so won't do the copy and paste yet, but 45 and 80k respectively, first time under warranty on my 2014vrs and was in the south of France in 32degree heat when the needle shot from middle to top end, very scary!

 

Second time no costs covered, £480 quoted. Both platinum bath, but didn't go there the second time as they'd tried to charge me 600 for front discs and pads!

 

Don't really want cambelt as a service item a third time, so hope the second pump fitted 2018 lasts...

Edited 26 September, 2018 by jtypecav
Typos!

[KevC_Derby]

14 hours ago, jtypecav said:

I've now had this happen twice. On mobile so won't do the copy and paste yet, but 45 and 80k respectively, first time under warranty on my 2014vrs and was in the south of France in 32degree heat when the needle shot from middle to top end, very scary!

 

Second time no costs covered, £480 quoted. Both platinum bath, but didn't go there the second time as they'd tried to charge me 600 for front discs and pads!

 

Don't really want cambelt as a service item a third time, so hope the second pump fitted 2018 lasts...

 

The replacement pump should be under Warranty.

[jtypecav]

I tried everything, but Platinum were definite in that I'd have to pay full whack for it as car was out of extended warranty. I tried to argue that the repair they did should have lasted more than a year and they said that's how long the work was warranted for. It was 18 months later(!), with no car to drive I took it to a local be specialist in sheer disgust. Wonder if I have any comeback with SUK as clearly a major issue and has put me off another for now, where the car has been perfect otherwise.

[Emb]

On 11/09/2018 at 14:41, Emb said:

Hi folks, first time posting and having a nightmare so go easy on me! 

• Year of registration

 63 plate

• Engine

2.0 tdi

• Mileage when fault occurred

39,000

• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other)

Garland Skoda, Aldershot - no response yet as they were not very helpful about fitting it in to even diagnose (car has completely broken down)

• Warranty or goodwill contribution?

 no idea but potentially looking at severe engine damage so......

• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?)

Full skoda service history but independent mots.

 

So the car broke down on holiday and had to be towed home. Pulling off at a roundabout at slow speed, engine started vibrating and sounds like a tractor. No messages on the dash, no warning lights. Skoda refused to look at it for weeks so had to take it somewhere else. Investigation shows it is the water pump has leaked and engine over heating. Not able to assess the subsequent damage yet but technician was not hopeful...... Did a bit of research and came accross this thread. Contacted skoda customer services and of course they wont accept that it is an inherent fault unless they look at it so now stuck with a car that won't go and can't get it to skoda as they didn't want to know. It seems the response is patchy but i cant afford the potential 2k+ to fix and currently without a car and a child to get to a nursery and a job to get to..... Is there anything official I can take to Skoda to support? This particular dealer seems like a shambles and i really didnt want to take it there. Sorry for the long post but having a nightmare (first world problems and all that) thanks in advance x

I have an update that might help fellow sufferers..... I took the car to the dealer who offered a measley 35% towards the cost (deapite denying it was a known issue....) They also admitted to failing to do the cambelt at the recommended service interval which is when they would have checked the waterpump for any faults. I then argued that this may have not happened if they had done this and i would have been none the wiser and paid for it. Skoda uk and the dealer then offered 55% towards the cost. I argued that this is a known issue, they failed to do the cambelt when they should have and there were a few other failings along the way.....  Long story short they covered the full cost of the cambelt and waterpump replacement. Car is fixed! Dont give up folks. 

[SteveCox]

Hi Octavia Drivers with pump failure be warned it may lead to total engine failure.

 

• Engine 1.6TD Skoda Octavia estate 2014
• Mileage when fault occurred 57000
• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) Full skoda History

I first noticed a problem with the cars internal heating system the bottom vent was blowing cold air even when I turned it up to maximum. This could of been the case for many months as I rarely use bottom heating vent.

A week after this low coolant light came on. I topped it up then a week after that there was Coolant gushing from the cars water pump. Replaced water pump, heating matrix still not working. Got Skoda to flush engine coolant out and replace coolant vessel. Apparently some type of gunge inside.  This allowed internal heating to work. 4 months on from this my engine has overheated again and I need a new engine at a cost of £5.8K. What I believe has happened is the water pump has not been circulating enough coolant around engine which has caused engine to overheat and coolant to overheat. 

[DavidY]

9 hours ago, SteveCox said:

Hi Octavia Drivers with pump failure be warned it may lead to total engine failure.

 

• Engine 1.6TD Skoda Octavia estate 2014
• Mileage when fault occurred 57000
• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) Full skoda History

I first noticed a problem with the cars internal heating system the bottom vent was blowing cold air even when I turned it up to maximum. This could of been the case for many months as I rarely use bottom heating vent.

A week after this low coolant light came on. I topped it up then a week after that there was Coolant gushing from the cars water pump. Replaced water pump, heating matrix still not working. Got Skoda to flush engine coolant out and replace coolant vessel. Apparently some type of gunge inside.  This allowed internal heating to work. 4 months on from this my engine has overheated again and I need a new engine at a cost of £5.8K. What I believe has happened is the water pump has not been circulating enough coolant around engine which has caused engine to overheat and coolant to overheat. 

 

This sounds similar to what happened to me, although fortunately my engine hasn't yet totally overheated - sorry it's so severe for you.

 

I've just been updating a thread I'd started about my heater problems, following the water pump issue which is the topic of this thread.

 

The gunk in my case seems to fit with logiclee's theory on yet another heater thread that it's from the coolant expansion bottle. I guess the engine gets too hot, splits some sort of silicon bag in the coolant bottle due to heat, which then provides the gunge to jam up the coolant system, including the heater matrix but also other parts needed to cool the engine.

[zore89]

also have this fault.

 

2.0 TDI RS

engine: CUPA 

Year: 01.2015

waranty: No waranty becouse i bought car from another country and one service was not made by Škoda, so i did it by myself

Millage: 159.000

[Mc27ski]

Hi All

 

this has just happened to me!

not had a problem with car until the temp gauge went to max and the warning lights cam on. I stopped the car turned it off and on and all was fine again. I steadily drove the car back to a garage I know and trust.

the issue has been diagnosed as a faulty water pump. When I purchased the car I was given a warranty with THE AUTOGROUP..what a shower of ****!

I have been quoted £400 for new cam belt kit and water pump fully fitted, however these muppets will only cover the cost of the pump (£85) and 30 mins labour as that should be sufficient !

im going to try Skoda direct tomorrow to see if I can get anywhere...

 

2015 vrs estate with 23k on the clock, bought from a main dealer (Mazda dealer)

 

Warranty or good will.......not from the muppets at AUTOGROUP 

 

[jtypecav]

Surely this is widespread enough to be in recall territory?!

[Russ77]

I think mine showed the first signs of this on the way home tonight, was cruising in traffic, around 50mph, 8 miles from work, 8 miles from home and I got the coolant temp warning up.  Pulled into a garage, turned it off, opened the bonnet and started it again, coolant temp dropped off and I drove home the rest of the way in stop/start traffic without issue.

 

December 2014 registered

2.0 TDi CR Elegance

82K miles

 

As the car is nearly 4 years old and only saw a dealer for it's first service I know I'm getting no joy with any kind of recompense from Skoda so I'm going to get me mechanic friend to change the water-pump and cam-belt in the near(ish) future.

[boozeroo]

• Year of registration  - March 14
• Engine - 2.0TDi 150 SE 4x4
• Mileage when fault occurred - 40,000
• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other) - N/A
• Warranty or goodwill contribution? - Warranty. Failed once after 2 years 11 months. Was fixed at 2 years 11 month and 3 weeks. At this point car was my company lease car which I then bought at 3 years old. 2 weeks after the water pump change,  when the car was 1 week out of warranty and now my own car, the cam belt slipped 3 notches. The dealer recovered the car and investigated the problem. Repair invoice states ' Investigate power loss. Replaced engine. Price 0.00' . There was no proof it was caused by the work two weeks earlier and with car now out of warranty, I guess that was goodwill; a lot of it!
• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) - Mix of main dealer and Halfords Autocentre

[Nickj633]

Reading these posts suggests that the majority of issues are with pre Jan / Feb 2015 registered cars. On this basis, but to be on the safe side I contacted Skoda UK to try and find out any further information, and whether my June 2025 Scout had any risk of developing this fault..

 

here is their reply:

 

I can confirm that there are no known issues or recalls for your vehicle. The content of internet forums is often based on personal opinions, rather than facts established by the diagnosis of the vehicle from an approved ŠKODA Retailer. It is for this reason that we would offer no comment on the content of such forums.

I do appreciate that your expectations of reliability and build quality are high when you purchase a ŠKODA and that any failure is most disappointing. It is not possible to give a life expectancy on any component. There is always a possibility that a component may fail during its lifetime. It is for this reason that all new UK ŠKODA vehicles are supplied with a comprehensive three years or 60,000 miles warranty, whichever arrives first.

In an event where there is an issue, in order for us to investigate your concerns further we would require a diagnosis report to be carried out at a ŠKODA Retailer. Unfortunately, ŠKODA UK does not assess goodwill claims towards vehicle repair costs. All goodwill claims are reviewed and offered by our franchised Retailer Network. As a result, ŠKODA UK are unable to directly offer any support towards the repair of your vehicle.

Should a fault occur on a vehicle once outside of the Manufacturer’s Warranty, our UK Approved Retailer Network are empowered to review and offer goodwill support; where they feel appropriate.

If you have any further queries, please do not hesitate to contact me: 01144503304. My working hours are 08:30 – 16:30, Monday to Friday.

Kind regards


Neha Sharma
Customer Relations Manager
ŠKODA UK | Selectapost 34 | Sheffield | S97 3FA
Tel:  0333 0037504 

 

So in essance, they have denied any known issue with the water pump, and suggested that these reports on the forum relate to isolated incidents and not a trend of component failure.

 

never mind, it was worth asking.

 

 

 

 

 

[PetrolDave]

4 hours ago, Nickj633 said:

whether my June 2025 Scout had any risk of developing this fault.

Can I borrow your time machine please?

[Nickj633]

Ah, finger error, June 2015.....

[SteveCox]

On ‎01‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 12:23, SteveCox said:

Hi Octavia Drivers with pump failure be warned it may lead to total engine failure.

 

• Engine 1.6TD Skoda Octavia estate 2014
• Mileage when fault occurred 57000
• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?) Full skoda History

I first noticed a problem with the cars internal heating system the bottom vent was blowing cold air even when I turned it up to maximum. This could of been the case for many months as I rarely use bottom heating vent.

A week after this low coolant light came on. I topped it up then a week after that there was Coolant gushing from the cars water pump. Replaced water pump, heating matrix still not working. Got Skoda to flush engine coolant out and replace coolant vessel. Apparently some type of gunge inside.  This allowed internal heating to work. 4 months on from this my engine has overheated again and I need a new engine at a cost of £5.8K. What I believe has happened is the water pump has not been circulating enough coolant around engine which has caused engine to overheat and coolant to overheat. 

 

[SteveCox]

Following the above engine failure see post dated 01/10/18 I now have had fitted by Skoda a new engine and new water pump and cam belt with 25% of the engine cost paid by Skoda.

 

However, what I have now noticed is that the coolant temperature rises to about 60oC. It then decreases to about 55oC  and stays there for about a minute before beginning to rise again up to it settleing point of 90oC. Prior to having this work done the temperature steadily just kept rising. Is this normal???

 

Steve 

[xman]

That's probably the car heater circuit thermostat opening.

[WallMeerkat]

• Year of registration

December 2013 (Fault occured October 2018, nearly 5 years old)

• Engine

1.6 TDi

• Mileage when fault occurred

47k

• Dealer name & response (i.e. "don't want to know"/"yep, they all do that"/other)

n/a Didn't bother with dealer, a 5 year old car they would make all sorts of excuses.

• Warranty or goodwill contribution?

None

• Any other info. (Full Skoda service history/independent?)

Full Skoda history apart from the non-Skoda dealer I bought it off a couple of years ago serviced it before I picked it up, 2x Skoda services (last one last January, no mention of failing waterpump)

 

Symptoms:

Had it parked overnight in a covered car park, was driving it 10 miles home, doing about 50 mph as usual Sunday traffic - steady but not in a hurry, was not overtaking nor otherwise stressing the engine - about 4 miles before home the Dashboard bleeps loudly and a check coolant message appears in MFD.

 

Pull into the garage 1/2 mile ahead, coolant is extremely low in bottle, there is evidence of leakage around the plastic floor pan below the drivers side headlight general area. Top up with their water.

 

Drove home, keep close eye on temp - doesn't deviate from 90 - my driveway is on a slight slope and I reverse in, noticed soon after that there is a lot of fluid leaking down onto the pavement.

 

Local mechanic takes it and diagnoses water pump, is amazed it failed at a relatively low mileage. Fit uprated VW pump, timing belt and fresh coolant.

 

I didn't even bother with the local dealer (Mervyn Stewarts), I was not impressed with my last service with them, and they'd likely laugh at my 5 year and out-of-warranty car if I asked for goodwill. Driving to their close-to-city-centre retail park location with little to no coolant would've been too much stress on myself and the engine.

 

I thought these things were meant to be reliable? I never had issues like this with my Citroens, Peugeot or Alfa Romeo.