After 5 years of loving our Octavia VRS estate, we needed an upgrade.

Circumstances changed and we needed a car to tow a horse box. So we got a Kodiaq 150 manual gearbox.

Got it late August. Bout horse trailer 2 weeks ago. No problem towing, other than its gutless at low revs.

2nd time out and wife was towing it up a steep hill. Car in front stopped. When she set off, it wouldn't move without loads of revs. This was followed with a cloud of white smoke and the smell of a burnt out clutch.

When she returned back to the yard, she let the clutch out and it stayed on the floor. She lifted it up with her foot and all ok.

Horse box was 900kg and 450kg pony. Well in the weight.

Skoda may change the clutch as its only done 1000 miles. Problem is, we don't trust it. Could have killed the horse and rote the car off

Anyone else had problems?

You don’t say what model it is you have but I presume it is the 5 seater you have as the 7 seater is not homologated for towing.

Could it be that your wife still needs to get used to the car, and/or towing?

 

"gutless at low revs" and "wouldn't move without loads of revs" might suggest a problem, but it could be that she's needs a little more practice?

1 hour ago, Kenny R said:

You don’t say what model it is you have but I presume it is the 5 seater you have as the 7 seater is not homologated for towing.

 

He also doesn't actually say if it is the 150 petrol or the 150 diesel...

 

1 hour ago, dredge3 said:

When she set off, it wouldn't move without loads of revs.

 

Any chance the trailer could have been faulty - brakes on it not releasing or something like that?

3 minutes ago, WiggosSideburns said:

 

He also doesn't actually say if it is the 150 petrol or the 150 diesel...

 

Ah I just glanced at his signature and saw oil burner, now that I’ve looked again I can see his signature hasn’t been updated. Apologies.

32 minutes ago, Kenny R said:

Ah I just glanced at his signature and saw oil burner, now that I’ve looked again I can see his signature hasn’t been updated. Apologies.

The signature was from the VRS.

Its the 150 oil burner. Edition 5 seat with factory tow bar.

She doesn't drive like a women. Shes really good. Trailer is like new.

I would have said the electric handbrake sometimes sticks a bit, but she manually released it once she found it wouldn't set off easy.

I have to say, I have never stalled a diesel car in  my life... until we got this. Total gutless until its on a roll. No low down power at all. I can dump the clutch on my transit and it never stalls.I am sure its a week clutch, along side poor low down power that's the issue.

No trouble towing it on normal roads (keep revs up), just steep hill starts.

By the way. Bad driver or not. It takes a hell of a lot of abuse to make a clutch smoke like that

 

Edited 6 September, 20187 yr by dredge3

We have the same vehicle bought new in April 2018 and our clutch ‘disintegrated’ within a few months. Skoda replaced it under warranty and within 6 months it happened again. Both times in a short 10 minute journey on the motorway travelling at 70mph in cruise control. The second time they replaced that part with a different part type and again a few months down the line it’s gone again. The car has done less that 8K miles in 18 months. I spoke to Skoda and it was escalated within customer service to top level. I asked whether it was a known fault and they advised they had a number of vehicles where this had happened but it hadn’t reach the number required to issue a recall. I’m minded to go to Watchdog as it’s only a matter of time before there is a serious accident as a result and I certainly don’t want that vehicle back to chance it if we are 4th time lucky!!! I thought I should post on here so that you know there is clearly a wider issue.

Were you towing?

 

Are they replacing the clutch, or a related component?

 

To burn through three clutches is good going. Even if they were from a bad batch, to get three bad ones on the trot is extremely unlucky.

 

Sounds like a related component that is somehow prematurely but drastically shortening the life of the clutch?

Sounds like there may be a recurring issue on tdi manual kodiaq's from last year. My local vet has a tdi manual which was new first quarter of last year, his clutch went at less than 6 months old (although he would have done a fair amount of miles in that time). I believe he had everything squared away under warranty including the much more documented duff batteries issue. 

Haven't been speaking to him lately to see how he's getting on with it now though...

No towing on any of our occasions but I don’t think yours is likely to be towing related as it sounds just like what happened to us and what I’ve heard has happened to others with this vehicle.

 

Yes they are replacing it but this time I’ve said exactly the same thing as the comment above - it must be a connected component given it is unlikely to be a clutch manufacturing issue as they tried a different part this last time and it’s happened again. It’s ridiculous, we’ve done 60K on our other car and no clutch issues at all but this vehicle is becoming a nightmare!

You now need to be firm (but fair) with Skoda UK Customer Services. They've had ample opportunity to fix things, and for reasons of no concern to you they've failed.

 

I would be making clear your expectations.

 

- Have you lost confidence in the car, are you wanting them to buy it back, and source you a discounted replacement?

- Are you looking to give them an ultimatum, if this latest fix doesn't work, you're handing the car back / taking legal advice?

- Should they look to put in writing some kind of warranty on the clutch, to protect you once the 3 year / 60,000 mile warranty expires?

 

What do they need to do to make things right?

7 hours ago, silver1011 said:

You now need to be firm (but fair) with Skoda UK Customer Services. They've had ample opportunity to fix things, and for reasons of no concern to you they've failed.

 

I would be making clear your expectations.

 

- Have you lost confidence in the car, are you wanting them to buy it back, and source you a discounted replacement?

- Are you looking to give them an ultimatum, if this latest fix doesn't work, you're handing the car back / taking legal advice?

- Should they look to put in writing some kind of warranty on the clutch, to protect you once the 3 year / 60,000 mile warranty expires?

 

What do they need to do to make things right?

My husband and I are both lawyers so will be looking into the options carefully before making any requests but I have zero confidence in them fixing it and I will definitely not be prepared to drive that vehicle again given the risk to us and other road users.

The problem is it'll be difficult to demonstrate to you that the issue is resolved with a further replacement of the clutch.

 

The dealer and/or Skoda UK will reassure you that all is now good, but you won't know for sure for another 6 months, when the car lets you down again.

 

If you've lost faith in the vehicle and don't want it back then you're looking at rejection, which after 18 months will be a challenge.

Skoda are now trying to argue it is wear and tear. So it looks like it’s going to be even more complicated.

Raw deal or watch dog? 

Bad national press usually gets their attention. 

Edited 11 October, 20196 yr by Gmac983

3 clutches in 18 months isn't wear and tear, unless you have extremely poor clutch control.

I had an issue 10 years ago with Audi A3... was doing a reverse up a really steep hill and clutch was smoking..

 

Then it had a mild judder..

 

Went to dealers supposedly for wty ... no it was like £700 for a new clutch kit.....  not covered under wear and tear... car was only 3 months old..

 

That was the last Manual VW I bought... all have been DSG since.

 

However I agree - there is no way you have burned through 3 / 4 clutches in that time - something has to be wrong in the operating mechanism... or something else.

 

 

 

 

 

Considering we’ve done over 50K miles in our other car with no issues there is no way it’s our method of driving. It’s just how we can go about proving it all?!

Have you tried contacting the CEO of skoda UK, or just bog standard customer services? 

Look up CEO email and contact skoda UK CEO (or his/her team anyway) directly to see what spin they put on your situation. I have tried that move a few times in other consumer areas, can work a treat, as Sh!t falls down and the minions don't like it. 

Although you guys being solicitors is a big advantage as you could let skoda and your dealer dig a hole for themselves on consumer rights then drop the bomb that your solicitors. 

Edited 12 October, 20196 yr by Gmac983

I just posted this in another thread;

 

I will start by stating that my wife has been driving for 15 years and has always driven a manual. She has run a nissan micra for 2 years (first car no power steering either!), a brand new fiat 500 for 5 years, a brand new VW new beetle and a used mini country man for 3 years all with regular servicing and maintenance and has never had any serious issues.

 

Last week her 2018 plate Karoq broke down on a busy junction, transmission totally disappeared without warning. She did not have any indication of an issue until she tried to pull away in 1st and couldn't. The car was recovered and taken to the nearest open Skoda/Seat dealership. On monday they called to ask for permission to remove the gearbox to investigate stating that if it was found to be wear and tear then it may not be covered but it was likely that it couldn't be wear and tear given the age and mileage. Low and behold they call yesterday to advise that they have found signs of overheating on the clutch/flywheel/etc and the whole lot needs replaced. They have advised this could only be down to the way it has been driven (effectively blaming my wife). I have never known her to over-rev or to ride the clutch in any car so can't understand how after less than 8000 miles this could be possible. This car has had its first annual service and so far as I'm aware has not had any recall work done it - I believe there is a software issue to prevent kangarooing in 1st/2nd).

 

Has anyone else experienced any similar issues and would anyone suggest an alternative to user error that may cause over heating and damage to the clutch?

 

I would add that the dealership are passing all responsibility for the decision to refuse a warranty claim or goodwill onto skoda and have advised us that they are looking for £300 for the investigation and in total it will cost £1700 to replace.

 

The car is on a lease which is up in May and my wife is not the registered keeper on the papers - not sure if this makes a difference.

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Adam

Is there a way of me contacting you directly to discuss? We have just resolved our disagreement with the dealership & Skoda. It was exactly the same issue with our clutch and fly wheel overheating to the point it just ‘disintegrated’ on three occasions with the same vehicle.

Hi

 

if you want to contact me on 07737433279 I’d appreciate any help with this

 

adam

I appreciate the need to discuss legal matters offline, but if either of you are or have already made progress or resolved your issues then please post as much information as you're able to.

 

This is the only way we can work together as a community to prevent Skoda from blaming unsuspecting and innocent owners for their own manufacturing defects.

 

Edited 6 November, 20196 yr by silver1011

"The technician has removed the gearbox as per authority and inspected the clutch and related components. Found signs of overheating due to clutch slipping, causing it to burn out. The flywheel also has signs of overheating and face damaged metal to metal. We are unable to carry this repair out under warranty as we have not been able to find any defects in the components within the gearbox that could cause this."

 

This is the technicians "report" following inspection

So your issue sounds different to that of @dredge3 and @Smith-Swain?

 

dredge3 had the clutch pedal stick to the floor after a severe bout of clutch slip.

 

Smith-Swain's clutch 'disintegrated'.

 

adamdun's clutch prevented his Kodia from setting off, was this due to the clutch pedal, lack of drive or a slipping clutch?

 

Have you been able to speak to Smith-Swain, there was a suggestion that their issue was known by Skoda?