No Service Schedule Logbook

[ForCar40]

Hi, my Fabia recently had its first service and I was surprised to find that there was no Service logbook any longer, its now recorded only on Skoda's database. Now whilst you can keep the paper record of what was done, I like to know is going to be done to the car at certain intervals or mileage in the future. Has anyone found a way to find out what work should be done at the respective service intervals prior to having it done?

 

What is required for service of the DSG was of interest as have heard oil changes can be expensive if required, but obviously not something to scimp on, so will be done whatever the cost, just nice to have a shock!

Edited 15 April, 2019 by ForCar40

[FabiaGonzales]

edit: Skoffski covered it below!

Edited 15 April, 2019 by FabiaGonzales

[Ootohere]

Main Dealer Servicing is not much getting done.

Oil & Filter, Fixed 10,000 miles / 372 days or sooner.  18,000-20,000 miles / 24 months on variable.

Look see's etc.

Pollen Filter and Major Service.

Maybe Spark Plugs at 2nd major service / 4 years, 40,000 miles, same with Air Filter.

Brake Fluid at 3 years if you pay extra.

 

Best get what you need to how your car is used.  Maybe at an Independent after 3 years.

[FabiaGonzales]

I will suggest to stick to fixed servicing, 20K miles on one oil change is not something i would recommend if you want your car to last, depending on what mileage and what kind of use I've been putting on my car, i occasionally do an extra oil change myself after 5K miles.

[Ootohere]

@ForCar40

Your DQ200 DSG has no Service Interval or Scheduled Maintenance, so nothing to pay to have done so not expensive. No oil change, no charge.

 

Cars that have 6 & 7 speed wet clutch DSG's are £179 for a service under the Skoda UK Fixed Price offer at participating dealerships, 

That is not relevant to your DSG.

Edited 15 April, 2019 by Skoffski

[ForCar40]

Thank you for all your replies, matter covered and concluded to my satisfaction :-)

[alltorque]

On 15 April 2019 at 21:28, FabiaGonzales said:

I will suggest to stick to fixed servicing, 20K miles on one oil change is not something i would recommend if you want your car to last, depending on what mileage and what kind of use I've been putting on my car, i occasionally do an extra oil change myself after 5K miles.

The sometimes alluded to problems with 'extended' oil change intervals owes more to personal belief than evidence. Having spent more than a few years in the lube oil industry, with an oil major, I know that modern engine oils are more than capable of handling  what the engine makers specify. Use the correct specification, known brand lube, keep level topped up and always use good filters. Having run A Volvo S60 with a D5 turbo diesel for 9 years and 130k miles, it didn't use any oil between services, at 18k miles and the emissions were as good as new throughout its time with me.  That's not an isolated lucky story. There is a huge amount of work goes into lube oil formulation, testing and production.  Thousands of hours on test beds and real world test driving. Not all oils are created equal. Top quality oils, and filters, are the cheapest maintenance you can buy. Changing good oil more frequently is not actually doing any real good in terms of engine life on all but the most highly rated competition engines.....and they have a very short life between strips and rebuilds. However, we all spend our cash as ee see fit.

[Ootohere]

If everything in life was as reliable as a VW Designed tested and built engine the world would be in a worse state than it is.

 

Volvo petrol T5 engines from when Ford owned Volvo were very fussy about oil.

Plenty issues back then and still with some, some with replaced engines.

 

Some of the VW TSI engines have been known to be pretty rubbish over the past decade, some Euro 4 & Euro 5, and actually even recent Euro 6 & Euro 6d temp, 

what went wrong with the R&D there? Turn out engines, never sort them out fully before discontinuing and carry on some fundamental design, manufacturing and component / QA issues.  Never get the hang of tensioners, be that for chain or belt...

So a small capacity petrol like the so far un-proven 1.0TSI 3 cylinders might just be better off with Fixed Oil / Filter services.

 

There is nothing special with VW Group OEM oil filters, and if using Castrol with all the advertising but nothing actually special about it, maybe best forget the Long Life aspect and if using it do Fixed Services.

 

We will see in time just how good the VW508 / 509 so 0w 20 FS LL oil is, which VW Group went to to get the WLTP / RDE results they needed to get.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes

 

Edited 21 April, 2019 by Skoffski

[Eccles]

All very interesting and yes I decry the lack of a proper service book in the kit especially as I use a very reliable and knowledgeable mobile mechanic (why shouldn't I? Interestingly I do only around 4000 miles a year and my man says they don't seem to cater for folk who only do low mileages which he thinks is not very good. On his advice I usually leave it for another 3 months from when the wretched message comes on before having an oil change. I did ask the local main dealer about spark plugs and filters the last time I used them (2 or 3 years ago) and they said 40k for the plugs and air filter and 20k for the pollen filter. So at my rate of mileage that will be at least another three years. Actually I have never had a pollen filter in my life before and don't suffer from hay fever even though I live in a rural area. I might just get my man to take it out and chuck it sometime rather than bother with the expense. Another matter is the timing belt which VW say to change at five years but in the past I have generally had it changed at 60k which in my case will probably not be until the car is at least 8 years old. I would welcome any knowledgable comments on this matter.

[GeneralPurpose]

On 21/04/2019 at 22:00, alltorque said:

The sometimes alluded to problems with 'extended' oil change intervals owes more to personal belief than evidence. Having spent more than a few years in the lube oil industry, with an oil major, I know that modern engine oils are more than capable of handling  what the engine makers specify. Use the correct specification, known brand lube, keep level topped up and always use good filters. Having run A Volvo S60 with a D5 turbo diesel for 9 years and 130k miles, it didn't use any oil between services, at 18k miles and the emissions were as good as new throughout its time with me.  That's not an isolated lucky story. There is a huge amount of work goes into lube oil formulation, testing and production.  Thousands of hours on test beds and real world test driving. Not all oils are created equal. Top quality oils, and filters, are the cheapest maintenance you can buy. Changing good oil more frequently is not actually doing any real good in terms of engine life on all but the most highly rated competition engines.....and they have a very short life between strips and rebuilds. However, we all spend our cash as ee see fit.

 

Completely right alltorque. I was in engine design and development for years as well as being a master tech. Part of my job was testing engines to destruction after we had finished initial design and development builds. Oil can make a huge difference to engine life and reliability, but if someone goes 'off piste' and starts using some unknown dodgy spec oil it can really seriously affect the engine life. Oil is the biggest single thing that affects your engine life. Good oil of the right spec is all that's needed to make it last, and making sure you are on the right service regime ie: fixed or variable. One of my BMW's from a few years back went 28k between oil changes. It was on variable service regime. It was fine and I covered 230,000 miles in that car in 5 years. Oil used to come out completely black and looked like total ****e. But if tested, it was still actually in spec and doing it's job. We found during testing of our engine builds that black looking oil didn't affect engine wear at all as long as the oil was in spec still and within it's designed mileage use. It's largely a myth that changing oil more often is good for your engine, UNLESS you are doing short journeys where the motor doesn't often reach full working temperature and stay there for long periods. In those cases, changing the oil and filter more often is recommended. 

[rum4mo]

3 hours ago, Eccles said:

All very interesting and yes I decry the lack of a proper service book in the kit especially as I use a very reliable and knowledgeable mobile mechanic (why shouldn't I? Interestingly I do only around 4000 miles a year and my man says they don't seem to cater for folk who only do low mileages which he thinks is not very good. On his advice I usually leave it for another 3 months from when the wretched message comes on before having an oil change. I did ask the local main dealer about spark plugs and filters the last time I used them (2 or 3 years ago) and they said 40k for the plugs and air filter and 20k for the pollen filter. So at my rate of mileage that will be at least another three years. Actually I have never had a pollen filter in my life before and don't suffer from hay fever even though I live in a rural area. I might just get my man to take it out and chuck it sometime rather than bother with the expense. Another matter is the timing belt which VW say to change at five years but in the past I have generally had it changed at 60k which in my case will probably not be until the car is at least 8 years old. I would welcome any knowledgable comments on this matter.

 

Personally, and this is what I will be doing with my wife's August 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110PS is to replace the oil and filter every 12 months or 10K miles which ever comes first, her car runs about 7.5K miles a year. Plugs and air filter every 4 years or 40K miles with ever comes first, pollen filter which is a Frecious version as pollen sensitivity is in our family and maybe even with me as I get older - gets replaced every 2 years, cam belt - well I'm not going to be the first person to trial the durability of that item, so it will get replaced at or just before the 5 year mark!

[Ootohere]

Short journeys being the important thing. & preventative servicing and maintenance and not just 'Oil filter' type services and look sees and not much done from New to first MOT.

The Air Filter maybe never even checked.

Maybe wheels never off the car and winter after winter past and nothing much done.

http://volkswagen.co.uk/owners/servicing/regimes

 

[rum4mo]

Yes, I missed out even ever considering having a proper regular service done on the brakes, that for me is a job I carry out while swopping winter>summer wheels/tyres over, though I've heard it is possible for others to do this even although they don't use winter tyres/wheels!

 

And yes, Preventative Maintenance being the name of the game to minimise breakdown or VOR.

[Eccles]

1 hour ago, rum4mo said:

 

Personally, and this is what I will be doing with my wife's August 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110PS is to replace the oil and filter every 12 months or 10K miles which ever comes first, her car runs about 7.5K miles a year. Plugs and air filter every 4 years or 40K miles with ever comes first, pollen filter which is a Frecious version as pollen sensitivity is in our family and maybe even with me as I get older - gets replaced every 2 years, cam belt - well I'm not going to be the first person to trial the durability of that item, so it will get replaced at or just before the 5 year mark!

Well of course they base their 5 year cam belt replacement on the average mileage of 12k = 60k of course which is why other manufacturers say 60k. What if you were a high mileage driver as some are and did 30k per annum would you wait for the 5 year mark? I think not. How did you get on before the advent of pollen filters which was for at least 40 years in my case. Then of course we all know that air filter behaviour depends on where you do your driving - in my case in a relatively clean atmosphere which is why my reliable and knowledgeable mobile mechanic has a good look at it before deciding whether to replace or not. Of course he is a cut above the average doofer which is found in a main dealer's workshop. I could tell you more about what happens in main dealers' workshops because my bro was a main dealer service manager before he retired last year but we'll leave it there for the moment.

[rum4mo]

Well, going by your written assessment for how long in years or miles to leave a cambelt - and all the other bits that tend to be included in "cambelt kits" - if you did 1K miles a year, that belt would be good for maybe 60 years, hum? You have missed the point over higher mileage drivers maybe waiting longer, the manufacturer's advice gives a mileage and time limit to the service life - someone would need to be a bit thick not to understand that which ever suggested service limit had passed was the one to use when considering replacing a cambelt, oil, oil filter, air filter etc.

There are many ways to reduce the spend for keeping a car reliably running on the road, but I've yet to consider championing testing the ultimate number of miles and years or magic figure where 80% remain lucky and free from engine failure, you do know that typically the cambelt area remains 100% perfect in terms of audible warnings before it either fails or some of its drive train start getting noisy?

Pollen filters, it is up the individual if they want to fit and use pollen filters, no one is going to alert me to that fact that they are unnecessary or undesirable, from almost 30 years ago all my cars had pollen filters and that suited my wife and kids, though we live and/or drive in the countryside where pollen levels can get quite high.

[FabiaGonzales]

4 hours ago, Estate Man said:

UNLESS you are doing short journeys where the motor doesn't often reach full working temperature and stay there for long periods. In those cases, changing the oil and filter more often is recommended. 

 

I did about 6k miles in a couple of months of very short stop-start journeys where the engine never fully got up to temperature. Noticed after a while that it started running a little rough at idle when cold, and oil temperatures shot up to 105+ with relative ease when before they rarely touched 100c. I changed the oil, gave it a screaming up and down part of the M1 with no cameras, then changed the oil again, the oil had a marbled effect as if it was two different kinds of oil, mostly clear with darkened blotches that didn't seem to mix. After the second oil change the engine was back running much smoother and even a little quieter at idle, and oil temps refused to go above 100c any more.

 

I now mostly just do motorway miles so everything sits in the optimal ranges without issue. Though now my gearbox has issues, and i daren't use 3rd or 5th because of the horrible noise it makes, despite being told it's fine, but that's for the dealer to sort on friday...

 

Just my experience at least.

[Eccles]

58 minutes ago, rum4mo said:

Well, going by your written assessment for how long in years or miles to leave a cambelt - and all the other bits that tend to be included in "cambelt kits" - if you did 1K miles a year, that belt would be good for maybe 60 years, hum? You have missed the point over higher mileage drivers maybe waiting longer, the manufacturer's advice gives a mileage and time limit to the service life - someone would need to be a bit thick not to understand that which ever suggested service limit had passed was the one to use when considering replacing a cambelt, oil, oil filter, air filter etc.

There are many ways to reduce the spend for keeping a car reliably running on the road, but I've yet to consider championing testing the ultimate number of miles and years or magic figure where 80% remain lucky and free from engine failure, you do know that typically the cambelt area remains 100% perfect in terms of audible warnings before it either fails or some of its drive train start getting noisy?

Pollen filters, it is up the individual if they want to fit and use pollen filters, no one is going to alert me to that fact that they are unnecessary or undesirable, from almost 30 years ago all my cars had pollen filters and that suited my wife and kids, though we live and/or drive in the countryside where pollen levels can get quite high.

Ah well, my real point is that I suspect that someone is playing games here to keep their dealer's workshops happy. If one has a glance at the service intervals for other makes such as Ford, Renault,Nissan, Toyota and Audi, they all say 60k. Does VW then use belts which are inferior to those used by these other makes? You and I hope not and I seriously doubt it. Nevertheless I have to admit that I will get mine changed at 5 years even though my mileage is likely to be only 20k. TBH I would rather have a chain as in our little KIA Picanto, now nearly 8 years old and still going strong with no chain rattles. Maybe next time I buy a car I will select a chain driven engine, rather interesting is that BMW swapped over to chains in 1993 and all models are now so driven, can't afford one though LOL.

Edited 28 April, 2019 by Eccles

[rum4mo]

I was going to edit that reply I posted but just left it, what I was going to add was, when the front wheel drive Escort was first launched, one of my neighbours who knows nothing about cars, and his friendly local Ford agent, ie smaller than a proper main dealer size but still branded up as a Ford garage, knew this as well, bought a new Escort 1.3L! At round about that time I also bought an Escort Ghia 1.6 but seemed to find the need to move up to an Orion 1.6 Ghia Injection before the 4 year time was up, so I never had to bother about boring things like replacing the cambelt! Round about the 5 year period, my neighbour still not knowing much about cars, was driving home when "bang" cambelt either came off, stripped or broke! So as he was within maybe 3 miles of home and his supplying and servicing Ford dealer, he got it taken in there, when they checked it all they said was "cambelt gone - you should have replaced it by now!" - now that was not what he should have expected, while he was "under their wing" service wise, he should have been advised to get that belt replaced within the advised miles/years period! Not good!

Quite a few years later I moved away from Ford and bought a very slightly used VX Cav GSI 2000 16V 4X4, when I bought it the change period for the cambelt was, I think 8 years or 90K miles - then when it was 5 years old, I accidentally read that VX had, based on experience, changed the cambelt change advice to 5 years and either 45K or 60K miles - I booked that car in immediately to avoid any nasty unexpected bills.

Ten years later I had a VW Passat 4Motion 2.8V6 which used the Audi engine gearbox and quattro system, as my plan was to keep it for 10+ years, I booked it in to my local VW dealer to get the cambelt etc replaced - well the service rep had a bit of a laugh "these cars have a chain - don't you know that?" a workshop mechanic agreed, so I pushed harder and the master tech and service manager looked into this and eventually agreed that that engine did indeed have a cambelt - don't you just love them!

It is quite annoying needing to replace these belts at 5 years or 60K miles, by now I would have expected the cambelt and its drivetrain designs should be aiming for something towards 10 years or 120K miles, but it seems that no one has bothered to try to achieve that, so every 5 years it will be for me with the Polo 1.2TSI 16V 110PS engine - but I will probably use a respected VW Group Indie as these guys, from past experience tend to replace a few other small parts that if left unchanged can trash the next belt (and engine) before it is time to replace that next belt.

Really down to trying to provide my cars with a sensible level of preventative maintenance, and in going so spending slightly more than is absolutely necessary, but it makes me feel that I'm playing safe.

[Jim H]

I too like the OP, was surprised when we bought our Fabia (from a dealer) that it didn't come with a service book. We were only given a printout of when it was serviced not really showing what was done on each. Not having a book (or haynes) means I don't know what should be done or has been done. I'm guessing (on fixed) oil and filter changed every year (or 10k miles) with Inspection and brake fluid every other year.

 

We have a 2016 1.2tsi (90), does that have a cambelt, if so when should it be changed and what about Aux belt? What about filters and spark plugs?

 

 

[Ootohere]

Brake Fluid change at 3 years and each 2 if you are paying to have it done at an extra cost.

 

Some might check fluid levels, and even test the H20 content if any, and the coolant strength might get checked.

Dont bet your mortgage on it though.

 

Spark plugs should be at the 2nd Major Service, same as the Air Filter, so 40,000 miles / 4 years or sooner.

Checking the air filter should be annual though.  Pollen filter at 2 years or sooner.

They can be vacuumed, the area washed etc.  

Edited 28 April, 2019 by Skoffski

[Jim H]

When the 3 year warranty expires, we may take it to a trusted independent garage for serving and MOTs, from 4th year onwards. I presume I can ask my dealer for a service book?

 

Going back to Cambelts, does it have one? Is the same as Mk1, ie 60k miles or every 4 years (whichever sooner) or is now longer because they are less stressed than the old PD engines? I am always surprised at the variety of belt life other manufactures give. Ford recommends every 8-10 year or 100k miles and I believe the Ecoboost belts run in oil and are fitted 'for life of the car', whereas VAG give quite short intervals .

 

BTW, I apologise to the OP, for going slightly off-topic and slightly hi-jacking your thread. I did wonder about starting my own, but this was a similar subject so posted in this one.

 

 

Edited 28 April, 2019 by Jim H
Apology added

[Eccles]

Reading rum4 mo's post above shows yet again how it is often better to find a mechanic that you can trust with your life rather than some doofer in a main dealer's workshop and have a bit of knowledge oneself. This is where all too often women (and men who don't know much) get ripped off or badly informed with disasters following in my experience. I am so glad that I have a mobile mechanic who knows his stuff at present, however I expect to move house shortly so will have to begin hunting for a reliable mechanic all over again boo hoo.

[GeneralPurpose]

Eccles, I think for many it's the other way around. There are some seriously dodgy mechanics out there whether they work for independents or in some (but just a few cases) at main dealers. If you have a really good independent or mobile mechanic that's fine but they are few and far between in my area and often simply don't have the knowledge, equipment or training to match up to good factory trained dealer techs. In some cases these individuals are rejects from the main dealer networks because of poor workmanship.  I say that after 33 years in the motor engineering trade.

 

On the note about cambelts, get a PSA group car if you want good cambelt life. My Citroen C3 has the triple award winning 1.2 3cyl engine with 205nm of torque at 1500rpm, 110ps, and totally reliable, fully featured, and has a 12 year or 128,000 mile cam belt life. They don't break either. Driving to London each day on a 52mile trip each way it does on a good day cover 72+mpg (best 74mpg) but averages nearer 62mpg on busy heavy traffic days.  As a tech, I always keep my eye on the belt but you cannot always tell if a belt is worm by just looking at it. My local taxi firm has several Citroen and Peugeot cars alongside Skoda. They have the 1.2 3cyl engines with over 180,000 miles on the clock with no issues, most of them with the new EAT6 auto gearbox which I also have in mine. I'm just properly retired but took a temporary 6 month engine project for a manufacturer to develop a new engine. So my mileage is very high at the moment. After near 12 years of Skoda, it's been interesting to compare the new generation Citroen C3 to the Fabia. It compares very well too with a superior ride if you like comfort.

 

ForCar, sorry a bit off topic above. But your original point about service logbook is that you just don't need one. It's all online as you know and you can get a print out of everything that has been done to your car at anytime. Just ask. It is very detailed and lists dates and what the work was. It's best to do this especially if you intend to sell the car. All work for your car's service regime is in your owners handbook, at least, it was in mine for all my Skoda's including my last two Mk3's.

Edited 29 April, 2019 by Estate Man