Hey guys! I need some help with my piece of crap skoda octavia 2012 (mk 2).

 

I use it for my job as taxi driver and I bought it off another driver approx 7 months ago, ever since I had it the glow light has always come on (flashing) which would put car into limp mode (slower but still driveable) - which would often go away when restarted the engine.

 

Over the past 2 weeks, the ecu light started coming on with the glow light - this would out car into unbearable limp mode, going slower than usual - barely managing to get over 25 revs, but now restarting the engine does not make the lights go away. A few days after this, the dpf light started coming on too!!

 

I've taken it to garage and they've had it for past week trying various things. From what I remember, they tried cleaning dpf system (liquid + vapour), cleaned egr valve, replaced pressure sensor, used diagnostic machine, and God knows what else.

 

The mechanic told me that he did manage to get the egr and ecu lights out BUT not the glow light. He took it out for drive and the other lights came back. The diagnostic machine is coming up with some kind of 'implausible error' message. He says that because those lights went out then there is no problem with my egr valve - which is why he then replaced the pressure sensor, but the problem still persists! So now hes thinking it might be the wiring for the pressure sensor.

 

Has anybody else had this problem? Or does anybody have any idea what could be wrong?

 

I am going out of my mind trying to get this fixed. I dont know if it's best to leave it at the garage it's currently at, take it to different garage or take it to auto mechanic. What do you all think?

Ask your garage for the fault codes and post them here.

 

If he's using a generic code reader instead of VCDS then chances are he's not going to glean as much info about the faults as he could.

The Mk 2 Facelift Octavia is a good car.

 

The DPF fault could possibly be a consequence the other issue if it's making the engine burn dirty. Glow plugs are inexpensive to replace if one or more have gone but it does need to be done with care and the right tools as they have a fine thread and are easy to strip the thread off, which will cause you a world of pain.

 

I agree with Silver, you would be in a much better place if you could get a proper VCDS scan done rather than use a generic code reader. It will give you data on why the fault code was thrown rather than just the fact it was. Can you find someone near you in the VCDS section of this forum who can read the car or would you consider buying your own copy of VCDS? I got mine from Gendan. I would strongly advise you to get it from one of the two official UK dealers and not from eBay as there may well be pirate copies there. When the mechanic said the error he saw was "implausible" I don't think he meant that the error message was implausible to him. Error messages that begin with "implausible" indicate that one of the sensors on the car has returned a reading that is so far outside the normal operating range that the car knows it's wrong and suspects the sensor/wiring are faulty. Will the mechanic tell you the exact number of the fault code? If you can post the number here, it may help us to help you.

 

This may sound a bit strange but has the battery been changed since the car was new?  If not, your battery is about 6-7 years old now and this is the time I've often seen quoted for the life of a battery, particularly if you do a lot of stops and starts, which I would imagine you do. The 2FL Octavia is famous for experiencing strange electronics problems and returning bad sensor readings when the battery starts to go soft, even though it still has enough juice to start the car easily. I would consider replacing the battery, if just for peace of mind.

Edited 1 February, 20197 yr by Papfox

13 hours ago, silver1011 said:

Ask your garage for the fault codes and post them here.

 

If he's using a generic code reader instead of VCDS then chances are he's not going to glean as much info about the faults as he could.

The mechanic only has a generic reader so had to borrow a vcds off a different mechanic. We did have the code but neither of us can remember it now and hes given the reader back - it takes him forever to do the simplest jobs, so I actually went down there last night andbstole my car back with my spare key (I told him via text) and was planning to take it to auto electrician today - but now its snowing and my car barely goes over 20 revs so hills in this condition is a no-no

your ''mechanic'' sounds like a cowboy.

 

go out and spend £50 on a vag reader and post the codes on here. failing that just take it to a decent garage / skoda specialist and get it fixed properly.

 

if im totally honest with you the car isn't suited to be a taxi - if you spend a lot of time sat at idle you are always going to have issues with the emissions

 

 

6 hours ago, Papfox said:

The Mk 2 Facelift Octavia is a good car.

 

The DPF fault could possibly be a consequence the other issue if it's making the engine burn dirty. Glow plugs are inexpensive to replace if one or more have gone but it does need to be done with care and the right tools as they have a fine thread and are easy to strip the thread off, which will cause you a world of pain.

 

I agree with Silver, you would be in a much better place if you could get a proper VCDS scan done rather than use a generic code reader. It will give you data on why the fault code was thrown rather than just the fact it was. Can you find someone near you in the VCDS section of this forum who can read the car or would you consider buying your own copy of VCDS? I got mine from Gendan. I would strongly advise you to get it from one of the two official UK dealers and not from eBay as there may well be pirate copies there. When the mechanic said the error he saw was "implausible" I don't think he meant that the error message was implausible to him. Error messages that begin with "implausible" indicate that one of the sensors on the car has returned a reading that is so far outside the normal operating range that the car knows it's wrong and suspects the sensor/wiring are faulty. Will the mechanic tell you the exact number of the fault code? If you can post the number here, it may help us to help you.

 

This may sound a bit strange but has the battery been changed since the car was new?  If not, your battery is about 6-7 years old now and this is the time I've often seen quoted for the life of a battery, particularly if you do a lot of stops and starts, which I would imagine you do. The 2FL Octavia is famous for experiencing strange electronics problems and returning bad sensor readings when the battery starts to go soft, even though it still has enough juice to start the car easily. I would consider replacing the battery, if just for peace of mind.

Thanks for your advice. I dont know the first thing about cars so I just googled failing glow plugs symptoms and from what I read, my car doesnt have this problem - my car starts fine all day (a bit slower first thing on cold mornings), there's no smoke, its not missing or not rough idle.

 

I would certainly consider buying a vcds if they are cheap enough, I cant afford to spend too much at the moment. I didnt realise there was a section on here for that so will look for someone local to me. I dont remember the code he came up with (probably wont be able to find out again until I take it to auto electrician after the snow), but the problem seems to boil down to the pressure sensor. I have read on here that the sensors should be bought directly off skoda, and not other companies like Euro Car Parts - do you recommend this? My old sensor was from Malaysia (not sure where the new one is from) and I've read on here that sensors from Malaysia are faulty?? 

 

As for the battery, my car isnt showing any symptoms of it failing - car starts fine, headlights are still nice and bright, no clicking sound when I turn the key. One of my passengers (who was a mechanic) told me to try disconnecting the battery for 10 mins and see if that restarts the cars systems - would you recommend this?

26 minutes ago, Gissin said:

your ''mechanic'' sounds like a cowboy.

 

go out and spend £50 on a vag reader and post the codes on here. failing that just take it to a decent garage / skoda specialist and get it fixed properly.

 

if im totally honest with you the car isn't suited to be a taxi - if you spend a lot of time sat at idle you are always going to have issues with the emissions

 

 

Oh believe me....he is most definitely a cowboy! I only used him since a (FB) friend recommended him and I wish I didnt now. He tells me hes waiting for someone to drop something off, I ring him few hours later and hes no longer at garage cos he had to pick up his gf or kid, etc..etc...He had It for 6 days and still no change so I stole the car back last night. 

 

I would imagine skoda will want to charge me hundreds just to change a light bulb....I've never been there so just going off scare stories I've heard.

 

I was desperate for a car at the time and this skoda was only car available to me at the time - one of my biggest mistakes ever!

If you do manage to get the fault code, this website is very useful for providing the symptoms and what you should check in an effort to fix it. It's saved me a few times...

 

http://wiki.ross-tech.com/wiki/index.php/Category:Fault_Codes

Thanks! I just bookmarked that page so I will check the code as soon as I have it. Just trying to find a cheap reader to buy myself, preferably want something cheaper than £50 tho since I'm running out of funds. Do you know of any cheap decent readers?

9 hours ago, Argy204 said:

The mechanic only has a generic reader so had to borrow a vcds off a different mechanic. We did have the code but neither of us can remember it now and hes given the reader back - it takes him forever to do the simplest jobs, so I actually went down there last night andbstole my car back with my spare key (I told him via text) and was planning to take it to auto electrician today - but now its snowing and my car barely goes over 20 revs so hills in this condition is a no-no

 

Even a cheap generic reader should display the fault number. Look the number up on Ross-Tech and it will usually give you a short list of the things most likely to cause it to happen.

 

Quote

I would imagine skoda will want to charge me hundreds just to change a light bulb....I've never been there so just going off scare stories I've heard.

 

That has definitely not been my experience. My Skoda dealer has always been very fair and even given me money off work. My car has never gone in and the bill been more than they said. Getting them to read the car with the official software, have a look at it and give you a list of what's wrong should cost you an hour's labour, around £80. If you are close enough, I recommend Garland Skoda in Aldershot to you.

 

Quote

I would certainly consider buying a vcds if they are cheap enough, I cant afford to spend too much at the moment. I didnt realise there was a section on here for that so will look for someone local to me. I dont remember the code he came up with (probably wont be able to find out again until I take it to auto electrician after the snow), but the problem seems to boil down to the pressure sensor. I have read on here that the sensors should be bought directly off skoda, and not other companies like Euro Car Parts - do you recommend this? My old sensor was from Malaysia (not sure where the new one is from) and I've read on here that sensors from Malaysia are faulty?? 

 

VCDS isn't cheap but it way less than the official Skoda kit. A home user version that can be used on up to 3 cars is £225. https://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCV23.html I looked at the price as an investment, even if I didn't want to adjust settings on the car. If you walk into a mechanic's with a printout of all the codes and stats from the car in your hand, it sends a message to the person that they can't rip you off by charging you for unnecessary work as you already have a fair idea what the car thinks is wrong with it. If it stops you getting ripped off once, it probably paid for itself. I've also found it useful to pull the codes and email the report to my dealer before my appointment so they have an idea what's wrong and can have the parts in stock rather than having to wait for them. You can also post the reports on here to get more accurate advice from the community.

 

I've not heard the stories you have but, for sensors and other things vital to the good operation of the engine, I wouldn't use off-brand parts on any car. You only need to get a bad part once, since your income depends on your car, for your losses to be way more than the money you saved by going for non-genuine parts over genuine.

 

8 hours ago, Argy204 said:

I was desperate for a car at the time and this skoda was only car available to me at the time - one of my biggest mistakes ever!

 

The Octavia II is a really good, solid car. I'm on my second one (The first was written off when I got rear ended and I went straight out and bought another.) I get the feeling that the person who sold it to you may have known it was time to say goodbye to it because this particular one had issues coming and didn't give you fair warning. Please don't let these problems with this individual one colour your opinion of the model as a whole. Lots of taxi drivers have them and they deliver on their promise. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to my best friend.

 

9 hours ago, Argy204 said:

As for the battery, my car isnt showing any symptoms of it failing - car starts fine, headlights are still nice and bright, no clicking sound when I turn the key. One of my passengers (who was a mechanic) told me to try disconnecting the battery for 10 mins and see if that restarts the cars systems - would you recommend this?

 

I don't think doing that would hurt.

 

I say again... The Octavia II is famous for showing strange electrical problems when a battery starts to go soft, even though there are none of the overt symptoms of battery failure you would see with an old fashioned car, like trouble cranking or dim lights. When you crank the car, the battery only has so much umph to go around. The starter takes the bulk of the battery's current delivery ability. This leaves a limited amount left for all the sensitive electronics that make the car work. During cranking, if what's left over of the battery voltage dips below a certain value, the car's electronics won't start up properly and you may get all kinds of weird symptoms, even though the car starts fine and the lights look OK. Dim lights and trouble starting being the first signs of a battery on the way out isn't true any more. The electronics will already have got the hump before you get to that stage.

 

Replacing the battery may or may not help with the particular problems you are experiencing but, with the age of your car and what I imagine your usage pattern is, I would consider it a sensible investment in preventing problems further down the line.

Edited 1 February, 20197 yr by Papfox

On 01/02/2019 at 21:34, Papfox said:

 

Even a cheap generic reader should display the fault number. Look the number up on Ross-Tech and it will usually give you a short list of the things most likely to cause it to happen.

 

 

That has definitely not been my experience. My Skoda dealer has always been very fair and even given me money off work. My car has never gone in and the bill been more than they said. Getting them to read the car with the official software, have a look at it and give you a list of what's wrong should cost you an hour's labour, around £80. If you are close enough, I recommend Garland Skoda in Aldershot to you.

 

 

VCDS isn't cheap but it way less than the official Skoda kit. A home user version that can be used on up to 3 cars is £225. https://www.gendan.co.uk/product_VCV23.html I looked at the price as an investment, even if I didn't want to adjust settings on the car. If you walk into a mechanic's with a printout of all the codes and stats from the car in your hand, it sends a message to the person that they can't rip you off by charging you for unnecessary work as you already have a fair idea what the car thinks is wrong with it. If it stops you getting ripped off once, it probably paid for itself. I've also found it useful to pull the codes and email the report to my dealer before my appointment so they have an idea what's wrong and can have the parts in stock rather than having to wait for them. You can also post the reports on here to get more accurate advice from the community.

 

I've not heard the stories you have but, for sensors and other things vital to the good operation of the engine, I wouldn't use off-brand parts on any car. You only need to get a bad part once, since your income depends on your car, for your losses to be way more than the money you saved by going for non-genuine parts over genuine.

 

 

The Octavia II is a really good, solid car. I'm on my second one (The first was written off when I got rear ended and I went straight out and bought another.) I get the feeling that the person who sold it to you may have known it was time to say goodbye to it because this particular one had issues coming and didn't give you fair warning. Please don't let these problems with this individual one colour your opinion of the model as a whole. Lots of taxi drivers have them and they deliver on their promise. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend one to my best friend.

 

 

I don't think doing that would hurt.

 

I say again... The Octavia II is famous for showing strange electrical problems when a battery starts to go soft, even though there are none of the overt symptoms of battery failure you would see with an old fashioned car, like trouble cranking or dim lights. When you crank the car, the battery only has so much umph to go around. The starter takes the bulk of the battery's current delivery ability. This leaves a limited amount left for all the sensitive electronics that make the car work. During cranking, if what's left over of the battery voltage dips below a certain value, the car's electronics won't start up properly and you may get all kinds of weird symptoms, even though the car starts fine and the lights look OK. Dim lights and trouble starting being the first signs of a battery on the way out isn't true any more. The electronics will already have got the hump before you get to that stage.

 

Replacing the battery may or may not help with the particular problems you are experiencing but, with the age of your car and what I imagine your usage pattern is, I would consider it a sensible investment in preventing problems further down the line.

Thank you for that info Papfox, that was very informative! A very good bit of reading! I've since spoken with mechanic and he's (pretty) sure the implausible error code was: P2453 which translates to the DPF pressure sensor. He has already changed this but now I'm wondering if the new sensor is the wrong model? Or perhaps the fault originates in the plumbing? I have checked the code on the Ross-Tech website amd 1 of the solutions it says is to check the fuse - but where is the fuse??

 

As for replacing the battery, I would normally consider this but right now I am getting short on funds and spending £80+ on a new battery which may or may not work, is not a luxury I can afford right now. I am due to take my car to the auto electrician in the morning so hopefully he will do a better job than the mechanic, but I will mention testing the battery too.

 

I have also tried disconnecting the battery for 10-15 mins to reset the ECU but it didn't work, maybe it needs longer? Or maybe I wouldn't see any difference until I use a reader to delete the codes? I really have no idea what I'm doing, I'm just clutching at straws here grrrrrrr

Edited 3 February, 20197 yr by Argy204
Updating

The DPF pressure sensor has to be adapted to the car. Has your mechanic done this?

19 minutes ago, SuperbTWM said:

The DPF pressure sensor has to be adapted to the car. Has your mechanic done this?

I'm not sure, being a mechanic I would like to think so! But being the cowboy as he is then I'm guessing maybe not....is that something I could do myself or would I need specialist equipment?

2 minutes ago, Argy204 said:

I'm not sure, being a mechanic I would like to think so! But being the cowboy as he is then I'm guessing maybe not....is that something I could do myself or would I need specialist equipment?

you need VCDS or i'm guessing a very high end generic scanner may do it also

Ok thanks! I am taking car to auto electrician in the morning so will wait to see what he comes up with. I will definitely get myself a reader at some point in the future, just can't afford those luxuries right now

DPF differential pressure sensor must be adapted to the car once fitted BEFORE  the engine is started otherwise it is rendered useless.

This needs to be done with VCDS or dealer software (May be possible with Odis E also).

1 hour ago, Anddenton said:

DPF differential pressure sensor must be adapted to the car once fitted BEFORE  the engine is started otherwise it is rendered useless.

This needs to be done with VCDS or dealer software (May be possible with Odis E also).

I'm hoping the mechanic did adapt it, he is quite young so maybe he rushed it and turned engine on first, or maybe he ordered the wrong sensor version? 

 

Are you saying this cant be done with a cheaper vag com?

VAGCOM is the old name for VCDS. I understand that VAG got the hump with Ross-Tech over the name so Ross-Tech changed it to avoid legal issues.

 

Some codes do need to be reset to make them go away.

 

@Anddenton Have I understood correctly from what you said that, if you do start the car before you adapt the sensor it can't be fixed and you have to buy a new one?

14 minutes ago, Papfox said:

VAGCOM is the old name for VCDS. I understand that VAG got the hump with Ross-Tech over the name so Ross-Tech changed it to avoid legal issues.

 

Some codes do need to be reset to make them go away.

 

@Anddenton Have I understood correctly from what you said that, if you do start the car before you adapt the sensor it can't be fixed and you have to buy a new one?

 

I would think you can adapt it at any time regardless as long as the engine is not running

2 hours ago, Argy204 said:

I'm hoping the mechanic did adapt it, he is quite young so maybe he rushed it and turned engine on first, or maybe he ordered the wrong sensor version?

 

If he didn't have VCDS at the time or had borrowed it and didn't know how to use it properly then I'm not sure that's a safe assumption.

1 hour ago, Papfox said:

VAGCOM is the old name for VCDS. I understand that VAG got the hump with Ross-Tech over the name so Ross-Tech changed it to avoid legal issues.

 

Some codes do need to be reset to make them go away.

 

@Anddenton Have I understood correctly from what you said that, if you do start the car before you adapt the sensor it can't be fixed and you have to buy a new one?

That's what I was given to understand.