Mk3 Petrol vRS reliability

[theandywaite]

Looking to buy a 2nd hand Mk3 Octavia vRS Estate.

 

Quite fancying a pre-facelift 230 model with VAQ diff as they look the best IMO but keeping my options open.

 

Speaking to a local specialist* this morning they said they'd seen a few of the 2.0 tsi engines with major issues requiring rebuild / new engine. Not just from Octavia but in Golf GTI, Seat Cupra etc.  They were saying the diesels are stronger, but I'm really not keen on the idea of an oil burner.

 

Just wanting to hear from owners that have covered decent mileage in a TSI. Any horror stories? Is there any reliability improvement on the facelift 230/245 cars?

 

* Very knowledgeable and trustworthy specialist that I've been going to for years so I value their opinion.  I appreciate they're likely to only see the broken ones.

[Kenai]

There was a period of the 2.0TSI production when tensioners would fail and could result in fairly catastrophic failure and damage but this was a good few years ago now (2008 to 2013 I think). 

 

I'm not aware of the latest 230/245 engines being prone to failures. 

[Gerrycan]

Briskoda would only represent a small cross-section of Skoda owners but over the last 5 years I have been following threads I am having difficulty recalling a major engine failure report for mk3 vRS petrol.

Maybe a couple of turbo replacements but I honestly cannot remember whether petrol or diesel.

Other generic problems: there have been some complaints about wheel bearing quality requiring unreasonably early replacement; and some others have complained about quality of oem disk corrosion in wet/salt environments. 

 

I would not buy one but no reason related to reliability, it is just I value good consumption more than the potential performance (and associated consumption) I am unlikely to use.

[Ads230]

3 hours ago, theandywaite said:

Quite fancying a pre-facelift 230 model

I think you'd be lucky to find a Pre-FL 230 that hasn't been breathed on in some way or is full OEM. Current owners tend to hold onto them, although there are a lot more DSG variants in circulation than manuals (when I looked in late 2016, early 2017 and bought mine, it was 1 of 2 available on AutoTrader nationally!)

 

Market may have opened up since then though

[theandywaite]

3 minutes ago, Ads230 said:

I think you'd be lucky to find a Pre-FL 230 that hasn't been breathed on in some way or is full OEM. Current owners tend to hold onto them, although there are a lot more DSG variants in circulation than manuals (when I looked in late 2016, early 2017 and bought mine, it was 1 of 2 available on AutoTrader nationally!)

 

Market may have opened up since then though

 

I must be lucky - there's 3 unmodified ones for sale near me.

• An immaculate grey one but it's a manual, and the dealer was a bit useless when I went to see it
• A white DSG but it's a bit tatty and clearly hasn't been loved
• A black DSG with pan roof which looks okay but it's priced high and IMO black doesn't suit the car (all the black trim is lost)

[Ads230]

Lucky man  - I wanted a manual when I looked, and the only ones available were 2 x Moon Whites. It looks excellent with the Black Pack and other bits.

 

I think of that choice, I'd grab the manual (unless you're looking for DSG) and watch the dealer buckle under your excellent Brisky/Skoda knowledge!

[shyVRS245]

Said quite a few times on here but my 245 has been bulletproof, 100% reliable no rattles/issues in 22,340 miles now. Averaged 40.46mpg (actual not maxidot) which is a nice bonus. Black Magic manual hatch with electric sunroof and reverse camera. Owned since new August 2017.

[theandywaite]

1 hour ago, theandywaite said:

 

I must be lucky - there's 3 unmodified ones for sale near me.

• An immaculate grey one but it's a manual, and the dealer was a bit useless when I went to see it
• A white DSG but it's a bit tatty and clearly hasn't been loved
• A black DSG with pan roof which looks okay but it's priced high and IMO black doesn't suit the car (all the black trim is lost)

 

I do fancy a DSG to be honest. I drove both and the DSG farts won me over!  Plus I think it suits my mixed commute (auto for city traffic, vRS mode + paddles on the b-roads).

 

Of those options the black one is currently winning and would be an easy decision if it wasn't bloody black. I'd literally prefer any other colour in the range.

 

A bit further afield there's a pricer still black 245, also with pan roof, but I don't know if I like the whole split headlight thing on the facelift cars.  IMO the pre-facelift 230 in meteor grey or white is definitely the best looking of any Mk3.  Are there any other mechanical changes on the 245 other than the 15ps power hike (against the pre-fl 230)?

 

3 hours ago, Kenai said:

There was a period of the 2.0TSI production when tensioners would fail and could result in fairly catastrophic failure and damage but this was a good few years ago now (2008 to 2013 I think). 

 

I'm not aware of the latest 230/245 engines being prone to failures. 

 

I thought that was the later Mk2s?

Edited 30 May, 2019 by theandywaite

[theandywaite]

2 hours ago, Gerrycan said:

Briskoda would only represent a small cross-section of Skoda owners but over the last 5 years I have been following threads I am having difficulty recalling a major engine failure report for mk3 vRS petrol.

 

Thanks, that reassures me a lot.

 

I previously had an Ibiza Bocanegra with the 1.4 tsi twincharger setup (same as fitted to the Mk2 Fabia vRS) which was unbelievably bad and all the forums were full of people reporting very major issues. So no news is good news as they say.

[bspman]

From what I've seen there have been a few turbo failures (not many, but a few) but the EA888 Gen 3 engines are solid otherwise.

I have a gen2 and KIND of regret it. Oh well! I'll have to live with it for another 5 years at least since there's no money in the bank for the car.

[shyVRS245]

20 minutes ago, theandywaite said:

 

Thanks, that reassures me a lot.

 

I previously had an Ibiza Bocanegra with the 1.4 tsi twincharger setup (same as fitted to the Mk2 Fabia vRS) which was unbelievably bad and all the forums were full of people reporting very major issues. So no news is good news as they say.

The split headlights grow on you, don't forget they are much brighter being LED than Xenons on the 230 Pre FL. Wider rear track, faster steering on 245 and only Vrs to feature standard 310mm vented rear discs (brakes are same as Golf R and Audi S3).

Edited 30 May, 2019 by shyVRS245
MISSING WORD

[Kenai]

31 minutes ago, theandywaite said:

 

I thought that was the later Mk2s?

It was anything that had a 2008 to 2013 produced 2.0TSI in it, that's where the reputation came from. 

 

For the Octavia, yes, that was pretty much only Mk2s. 

[310golfr]

 a lot of golf r owners with 2015/ 2016 year cars had problems with water pump/ housing leaks.

its an awkward  and costly fix,

vrs engine basically the same, so maybe  one to look out for

[Gaz]

Mine suffered an unfortunate coolant problem which caused the turbo to fail.  On the bright side, despite ingesting the grenaded turbo, the engine survived unharmed.  

 

Apart from that and a couple of minor warranty niggles the car was very reliable.

 

Gaz

[Redboy]

Bulletproof so far....

[themanwithnoaim]

4 hours ago, Redboy said:

Bulletproof so far....

Same here, 20k miles, plenty of tweaking, driven like it's just been stolen at every opportunity WTF is not to like ?

Edited 31 May, 2019 by themanwithnoaim

[roaddetective]

Previously I had a 2011 Octavia VRS TSI. The engine problem on those earlier models, was the timing chain tensioner, so I invested in the new later upgraded tensioner and timing chains at 50k miles, just in case it all went bang. I traded in the car with 103k miles on the clock and never had a problem with it. I am so confident in the overall reliability of the MK3 VRS TSI, that is the car I now own. Going to be a long term keeper as well. 

[butchvrs]

I must have been unlucky.
2015 VRS bought new by me.
Drivers seat side squab wore through at 13K miles (2 years), Skoda didn't want to know anything about a warranty claim.
Engine started to breath oil at 22k (few months after warranty ran out) so got shot before anything major wore out.
Very disappointed overall compared to the Mk1 VRS that I had before it.

Ironically I bought myself another Mk1 VRS last weekend as an interim car until my current Italian Mistress (Maserati Gransport) sells, and I still think the Mk1 was built out of better quality materials, OK no bells and whistles but a good basic (by today's standards) quality car but at banger prices (I paid £850), 94K, FSH, 2 owners etc.

[flash222004]

Picked up my 245 in Mar this year and have been nipping back and forth between Suffolk and Central Germany and have done 4.5k already and really enjoying the car with no glitches, just gutted that the new VRS won’t be out by next March when I sell this one but may look at the Kodiaq VRS next as an option. Over the years I have driven a few Auto vehicles for shorter periods mostly Shogun/Pajero through work and I think I am sold on the DSG and doubt I will return to a manual vehicle now. 

Edited 31 May, 2019 by flash222004