As the title says, my car gave up on me yesterday and is now at the local dealer awaiting repair......a 2014 plate on 43k miles doesn't inspire confidence in the marque....

Jumped in and the clutch pedal dropped to the floor and would not return.  AA recovered the car to the dealer, leaving a trail of fluid on the driveway.

I had little time to decide so figured I would take the hit at the main dealer and may get some Skoda 'goodwill' and at least a repair warranty and some degree of comeback.

Diagnosed as clutch concentric cylinder so its a full on gearbox out job with new clutch kit etc.  Being 4x4 does not help the labour bill..... 

Not quite as bad as the 'Clutch Eats Bank Balance' thread with the SACHS clutches machining the gearbox but still a big dent in the wallet. 

Dealer confirmed it is a LUK clutch/DMF that's fitted.  I asked that they inspect the DMF and they have said it seems fine and no reason to change....I fear this is the gamble I will have to take ?

The price at the moment for the repair is around £760 which includes 35% Skoda UK 'GoodWill'....  If I wanted the DMF changed they are pricing it at £560+ VAT and that is their 'best price' which I think is crazy given some of the prices I have seen elsewhere.

With everything I have read on the SACHS issue I am thinking since it wasn't the clutch itself but the cylinder that failed, I will go with the repair and take my chances but would be interested in hearing from anyone who may have had the same issue.

Not a good week for the old steed and the wallet....

 

The DMF prices are ridiculous from the dealer. I've just had to change mine, and was quoted the same price (mine is a DSG, though). 

I bought the same LUKS flywheel from Euro Car Parts for £304 inc. VAT. 

 

I did ask the dealer if they would fit a flywheel that I sourced, but they refused saying it had to be a VAG part. That's totally ludicrous, given that LUKS make the part for VAG. 

It might be worth asking your dealer if they would consider fitting a flywheel you supply?

Given your mileage, I would say it's unlikely that the flywheel is on the way out, but it might make sense to change it if the price is right. 

 

Picked up the car tonight, to be fair it was a quick turnaround.  You wouldn't know there had been a problem and the silky smooth clutch has returned.  Now that I compare to the past few weeks clutch operation it was a bit snatchy at times and that has probably been fluid contamination causing clutch slip but didn't really raise any alarm bells with me.

Received a very detailed invoice and was surprised to see the amount of new bolts that were fitted - they must throw most of the old ones away as they strip the car !

Didn't go for a new DMF in the end, time will tell......

Apart from the wallet being considerably lighter I am glad to be back on the road.....hope there is nothing further for many miles now....

Edited 6 December, 20187 yr by TasMan

Nice one!

 

It's amazing how quickly some places turn around this sort of major work once fully diagnosed. I had a gearbox rebuild (all bearings & seals) done on a whining gearbox on mrs bigjohn's Panda 1.2 and a full clutch kit & clutch arm. Drove it into a gearbox specialist 8:30 am - they called just after 1pm to say it's ready!

 

 

Edited 6 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

6 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

It's amazing how quickly some places turn around this sort of major work once fully diagnosed. I had a gearbox rebuild (all bearings & seals) done on a whining gearbox on mrs bigjohn's Panda 1.2 and a full clutch kit & clutch arm. Drove it into a gearbox specialist 8:30 am - they called just after 1pm to say it's ready!

 

 

 

That I find hard to believe.

 

Care to name these guys?

17 hours ago, xman said:

 

That I find hard to believe.

 

Care to name these guys?

 

Wallis Auto Engineering in Hull  (http://www.wallisautoengineering.co.uk/gearboxes) - Hope I'm allowed to mention on this forum - Nice quiet Panda now! My job was a bearing replacement as the gearbox had only done a low mileage but had developed a bad whine - like a diff noise. All bearings replaced and seals (asked for driveshaft seals to be done as I had previous issues with a Punto) . I asked for every clutch component within the bellhousing to be replaced as I know Fiat clutch arms can fail (I've owned a Punto before). The only things that were not changed were the clutch hydraulics as they were external to the bellhousing.

 

Saying that I won't buy another Fiat (we inherited this one)  - became noisy with only 38k miles! I've not had that happen on any of my Skoda's or VW's. I suppose my old Octavia (well my son's now) had a clutch done recently but it is nearly 18 years old and has done 4 times the mileage. My old 2003 Superb (under new ownership) at 210k miles has never had a clutch yet (er or battery or exhaust)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 7 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

Wow, that is a quick turnaround.  I was pretty disappointed with the clutch failing but it seems I am not alone with clutch issues going by the threads on here.

I've spent a fair bit on the car this year between tyres, brakes, interim service, Haldex pump, and the clutch so I am hoping for some trouble free mileage going forward.

I do know that I will be due a timing belt and water pump next year so better start saving....!

14 hours ago, TasMan said:

Picked up the car tonight, to be fair it was a quick turnaround.  You wouldn't know there had been a problem and the silky smooth clutch has returned.  Now that I compare to the past few weeks clutch operation it was a bit snatchy at times and that has probably been fluid contamination causing clutch slip but didn't really raise any alarm bells with me.

Received a very detailed invoice and was surprised to see the amount of new bolts that were fitted - they must throw most of the old ones away as they strip the car !

Didn't go for a new DMF in the end, time will tell......

Apart from the wallet being considerably lighter I am glad to be back on the road.....hope there is nothing further for many miles now....

Glad you got it sorted okay. 

The bolts being replaced is nothing unusual. They are stretch bolts, and therefore should only be used once. If you re-use them, then you can't be sure that the torque applied results in the correct tightness. 

Thanks, hadn't thought of that fact.  One thing for sure, my wallet has been stretched !!!