Hello,

 

Realise I should say Hi, I was a member for a while when looking at Fabia as my next car,many moons ago,can't remember if I introduced my self, live in Cornwall,retired in January, 

 

Just about to collect the car mentioned, didn't realise they had a cambelt until reading here after I had put my deposit down😵,have read all the different points of view regarding belt replacement schedule on this site. The car only has 5000 miles on the clock.

 

Does anyone know if these are interference engines? All the posts I read assumed engine damage,does anyone know of a Citigo having it's belt fail?

 

I tried a normal 1.0 litre 60ps prior to deciding on this one,seemed a bit perkier,but only had me and the wife on the test drive,the second test drive the salesman (15 stone) came with us,assuming this would have an effect on these tiny engines.

 

Thanks for reading

I just had the cambelt changed at 5 years old. They need inspection at 160,000. I changed as a precaution, not worth the risk of breakage.

There has not been a report of cambelt failing on here. Though how many have gone over the 5 years without having it done is anyone's guess. They are far less stressed on this engine as the waterpump is elsewhere, which is why the 160,000 mile check is recommended, though you will probably get a different answer off every dealer you go to. I, personally, have no intention of doing the cambelt on mine, it's only done 12500 miles even though it is just coming up to 5 years old. 

Edited 20 May, 20197 yr by peter3197

Like waiting 16 years if you do 10,000 miles a year or 32 or more years if you do under 5,000 is simply clever.

Thanks for your input gents,

can't find anywhere if this is actually an interference engine or not,when cam belts first came on the scene,it was fairly easy to find out, I've got about 2 1/2 years to find out,wonder if the Germans,Spanish or Czech population have suffered a belt failure. Anyone multilingual?

I've got a year's warranty with the car,can't wait until Wednesday.

Just to update this post,I contacted Skoda to ask whether these engines are interference types, and sadly they are. This information came from Skoda UK via a really helpful customer service lady,who checked with their technical department and phoned me this morning.

Really impressed with their attitude.

It was always going to be, there aren't many engines now that aren't now. The cam belt on this isn't something I'm going to worry about, I'll have it checked every year at service by someone I trust and if it breaks it's not as if my car will be worth a lot at that point as mine is 5 years old already. 

Hi 👋 we had Genuine Vag belt and sundries changed/fitted at around 72k and 4 1/2 years old, for me I wanted peace of mind and for the cost which wasn’t anywhere near the value of our car,I was very happy to pay to have it done, I hope you enjoy you’re Citigo, Tasha loves hers, great little cars 👍

Edited 29 May, 20197 yr by Wurzell

I agree these are exceptional cars ,only had ours a week and really enjoying driving it.

It is 3 years old in July, and will probably be our last car, so I do want to keep it in the best condition I can, for as long as I can.

What sundries did you have done if you don’t mind me asking?

I have an excellent local independent garage, think I will check with them for price, and get it done in 2 years time.

Hi 👋 cambelt, Tensioner, pulley and I’m sure there were also bolts replaced as part of the job, they ordered the full kit to do the job from Skoda all in it was around £300 fitted, they also had to buy the special tool required to do the job, I’ve used the garage over the last 24 years and trust them to do the job they’re being paid to do 👍