We have Skoda superb  4x4 estate petrol TSI 280 year of manufacture 2016 . Three times in the last 18 months fuel has leaked out of the petrol tank through the filler cap - Skoda have had the car for over 2 months in total (under warranty) but don’t seem to be able to fix the problem despite changing the fuel tank . Has anybody else had the same problem please 

Got me thinking. Mines a 2016 too. Revently bought and I was noticing a petrol smell after each drive when fetching my bag and jacket from the driver side back seat. Took it to dealer for service and they could smell it - workshop guy in the car oark as I stopped so called him over before it blew away on the breeze. They had the rear seat base out but couldn't see a cause.

Moving the deicer blade I had a look at the petrol cap and noticed the rubber 'neck' on the filler was a bit high on one side, gave it a jiggle snd eased it straight. Ive not noticed the smell all week, but it has been cooler. I think the raised neck may have been preventing an air tight seal wirh the cap inner rim.

I recall someone saying to stop filling on first 'click' rather than brimming it. Are the leaks after filling up?

No sadly the leaks are not after filling up the car but when the car is about half full normally - it has the saddle bag shaped petrol tanks so maybe this is a fault they have ? 

The fault happened twice when the weather was very hot so we wondered if that was causing the problem but today the temperature was only about 10 degrees so it cannot be a high temperature problem 

Faulty fuel cap maybe?

Surely Skoda would have thought of that as they have had it for 2 months trying to fix the problem ? But maybe not - It seems as if there is a build up of pressure inside the fuel tank 

Seems very strange how fuel manages to get back up the filler neck despite the tank not being full. What was the fuel gauge indicating when you took that picture?

Edited 25 January, 20197 yr by SuperbTWM

Half full 

That has to be one of the wierdest problems I have ever seen reported on Briskoda.

It has Skoda confused too - they take it in for a month tell me they have fixed the problem and then it reoccurs 

I would be demanding they keep it and test it themselves before they even give it back to you.  Tell them its a health and safety issue. And you do not feel safe with petrol leaking out of your vehicle. If you were to be pulled over at one of the random spot checks where the police and the dvla do spot checks, you will prob have your car taken off the road till its fixed....  

I agree - but the problem is that skoda take back the car and do various things to it 

"carried out Guided Fault Finding, which is part of our computer diagnostic procedure, we have sent reports to Skoda technical department and have been discussing the fault with them over the last few weeks, we have checked the pipes and breather assembly, we have removedara the fuel tank and checked the tank, fuel pump and filters. We have replaced the fuel pump and o’rings on both sides of the tank." And then return it to us saying that it is fine then a couple of months later the petrol comes out of the petrol filler again but not constantly on a ad hoc basis . I take a video of it skoda take it back in do more checks and return it to us yet again saying it is fine and then the fault reoccurs again -

THe 36 month warranty runs out this July and skoda refuse to extend the warranty if the petrol tank has this problem again after this date.  What can we do but sell the car which is a fantastic car apart from this one reoccurring problem.

I am an ex warranty manager having worked at vw audi and skoda dealers.  As this fault was reported within warranty it  will still be covered. On the warranty system when we put the claims down we put a reception date and the repair date.  The reception date is the date of when it 1st came into the workshop ( some instances if its reported before it goes to the workshop, we use to just raise the jobcard on the day. As it is the date  on the job card that gets audited.)   as its not been fixed the initial reception date should be used.   Make the dealer keep the car and test it for longer when they think they have fixed it, eg if the service manager uses it just to see if it reoccurs.  I just feel as its a safety issue it needs to be done this way.  Also do you have kids? If u do you could be saying its making them feel ill in the car etc. 

They are full of sh!te.

 

The system is required to seal even when the car is upside down if in a crash.

 

So They the Dealership & Skoda the Importer in whatever country need to take the car off the road until safe and not a fire hazard.

 

If they have tried, tried and tried again as they often do,  The Robert the Bruce system that VW Group like so much it is time for them to scrap the car and give you a new one.

Or they can flog it in the Trade as they usually do and let someone with a bit of mechanical knowledge fix it.

Quote

Skoda advised that they would not be able to extend the warranty beyond the standard 36 months and therefore would not be able to put this in writing.

I advised previously that we would take into consideration that we have looked into this before which means that if the fault does re-occur then we will look into this for you and speak with Skoda whilst investigating and try and get cover under goodwill for you. However, Skoda are not able to put into writing that this would be covered no matter what.

 

When we asked our skoda garage marshalls croydon about extending the warranty to cover the fuel tank the above was their reply -  nit very satisfactory 

13 hours ago, Avrile said:

It seems as if there is a build up of pressure inside the fuel tank

Correct. Yet no mechanic being able to solve it... this says a lot about their "knowledge", being just monkey part changers.

49 minutes ago, Avrile said:

 

When we asked our skoda garage marshalls croydon about extending the warranty to cover the fuel tank the above was their reply -  nit very satisfactory 

Thats a load of **** pardon my french.  But they can use the original date on the jon card.  I have had numerous audits from vwg auditors and in my 8yrs i have never had fine!  And we were only allowed  2% error rate. Even 1 missed signatute is an error!  

 

What they are saying is correct they cant extend it but if you ask them to look at the warranty guidelines book... Not the one customers get but the one the warranty man gets from the (WIN website - warranty information network) it cleary states faults must be notified/reported within the warranty period or to that effect.  You reported this fault WELL within the warranty period.... It is not YOUR fault the dealer cant fix it. So the issue lies with the dealer.   

 

If they have some mickey mouse warrantt clerk there he may not know what he is doing....  When i was in the trade, i worked for sytner group which is a v large dealer group and i had to other dealers to do internal audits and the stuff i saw was horrendous!  Some of those dealers would have been fined hundred and thousands! 

Thank you for all your help I will ask them to look at the warranty guidelines book- we love this car and we would love to keep it if we can sort out this one issue 

No problems. Let me know if u need further help.  Ime if this happened where i worked we wouldnt release this car till we were 100% sure we had solved the issue.  Safety matter!  The car needs to be tested over a few weeks after "they" think its repaired. Make sure u have a courtesy car as a replacement whilst its getting sorted.  

 

We would let our drivers/service manager use the car to test, that would just involve drivers using to get parts or drive another driver to a customers house and the service manager to take home/back each day.  This is aslong as the customer agrees to this. 

A Dealership Employee should not be driving the car or taking it out on public roads.

 

Skoda UK should arrange the uplift of the car and delivery of a Courtesy car, or Skoda Assist should.

The Dealership needs H&S into visit them and see who the responsible adult is in the Dealership, so that will be the Dealer Principal in this instance, 

and they might try buck passing, but they are on a hiding to nothing, they need a grip of the Workshop Manager & the Master Tech.

 

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

 

Power of the Internet,  Name & Shame.   

Skoda UK HQ will know about this thread by Monday, and a wider public.

PS

The Car should fail a MOT if one was done.

The Dealership is allowing a car on the road they know is unsafe and a MOT is as tested on the day, but even though the Certificate or Receipt for a MOT does not say it anymore, 

the car has to be roadworthy between MOT's and a leaking fuel tank or fuel getting out a fuel cap is not safe or roadworthy.

 

The Insurance Underwriter would be delighted if there was an incident / accident and 3rd parties were claiming and a Skoda Main Dealership were letting that car out on the road and driven by their Policy Holder.  

 

Skoda UK need to think on....  Corporate Responsibility, as does the Dealerships Directors / Share Holders.

It is pretty common for a responsible employee to be driving customers cars aslong as the customer agrees. All employees are fully insured to.  Drivers do this when collecting them from customers!  If it only happens when being driven it has to be used. It cant be given back to the customer each time! 

 

I also already mentioned about mot/dvla doing random road side checks etc.  

Technicians will only do short road tests as skoda/dealerships dont pay them to do road tests.  So usually this is done by a non productive.  You can't even claim road test times from skoda warranty.  

I'd like to see the parts fiche for the fuel system.

 

But would have thought there would be a small bore breather pipe between the top of the fuel filler neck & the tank.

 

If this became blocked or kinked I think it could give you that problem, of the filler pipe not draining back to the tank.