32 minutes ago, teescom09 said:

MQB is just the chassis platform, . I think you will find they are very reliable

 

Even VAG don't class MQB as a chassis platform.

 

"MQB is not a platform as such, but, rather, a system for introducing rationality to different platforms that have transverse engines, regardless of the ten body configurations the company manufactures for any of its eleven vehicle brands"

 

MQB introduces common mechanical/suspension/electrical and electronic systems that are common across the brands.

 

Some of the common failures we see are MQB model specific like the wheel bearing issues. Some are more mechanical or electrical issues that were introduced for MQB models.

Like the EA288 diesel coolant/temperature issues.

 

I'm pleased you are happy but I've had 13 Skoda's and been on here for 16 years. The MQB models boards are full issues and people not happy, more than I've seen before.

 

It's clear with what we see on just the Mk3 Octy board and Karoq board that the issues are turning people off the brand. The build quality isn't there and the reliability isn't there.

 

Lee

Edited 17 July, 20196 yr by logiclee

I'll echo the complimentary comments on the performance and/or economy of our manual 2014 1.4tsi.

I also agree with the opinion that the dry DSG has too many reported issues to be considered a reliable 2nd hand purchase.

 

Going by the consumption returns for the 1.5tsi reported in this forum the added complexity of the variable turbo and cylinder deactivation (etc) only offer marginally better returns than I get with my 1.4tsi, probably due to the higher emissions specs.

 

I did have to replace the water pump and housing earlier this year due to a slow leak which was expensive, but unusual as I think it is the first reported incident for a 1.4tsi in this forum at least.

 

The 1.4tsi is still sold in the Octavia in Australia as we have lower emission standards than the Europe and the USA.

 

 

36 minutes ago, benterrier said:

One of the reasons I stick to DERV.

DPF!!! 

15 minutes ago, logiclee said:

 

Even VAG don't class MQB as a chassis platform.

 

"MQB is not a platform as such, but, rather, a system for introducing rationality to different platforms that have transverse engines, regardless of the ten body configurations the company manufactures for any of its eleven vehicle brands"

 

MQB introduces common mechanical/suspension/electrical and electronic systems that are common across the brands.

 

Some of the common failures we see are MQB model specific like the wheel bearing issues. Some are more mechanical or electrical issues that were introduced for MQB models.

Like the EA288 diesel coolant/temperature issues.

 

I'm pleased you are happy but I've had 13 Skoda's and been on here for 16 years. The MQB models boards are full issues and people not happy, more than I've seen before.

 

It's clear with what we see on just the Mk3 Octy board and Karoq board that the issues are turning people off the brand. The build quality isn't there and the reliability isn't there.

 

Lee

Nah, just people take part more, a lot more simple as that. MQB is a chassis platform no matter how you dress it up. 

 

Old Skodas were/are worse in almost every respect. Simple Fact. Bloody horrible things compared to modern cars. 

3 minutes ago, teescom09 said:

Nah, just people take part more, a lot more simple as that. MQB is a chassis platform no matter how you dress it up. 

 

Old Skodas were/are worse in almost every respect. Simple Fact. Bloody horrible things compared to modern cars. 

 

Not according to the people on this board who say their Mk2's were built better, were more refined and drove better than their Mk3's.  Myself included.

Edited 17 July, 20196 yr by logiclee

Stuff having a Euro 6 TDI / SCR / DSG out of Warranty, be that from Skoda, SEAT, VW or Audi.

& as to the TSI's with GPF's, be that 1.0, 1.4 Hybrids, 1.5 or 2.0's, only time will tell.

 

People have said on here like in the Fabia Mk3 section there will be no issues with a TSI with GPF, but we will know how true that is in another year or three.

14 minutes ago, teescom09 said:

DPF!!! 

I won't keep it that long for it to clog up.

Thank you all for your comments, there are some worrying ones though. I don't see myself buying a car in the knowledge that there are issues. My wife is not used to an auto and it is slow speed manouvres , on the drive etc, which are the biggest concern. Between the doubts about the DSG gearboxes in the autos and the kangarooing in the manuals, Skoda/VW have really *******sed the car up. Maybe this is why the deals are so attractive on Drivethe deal for these (almost 6k off a 1.5 tsi estate). It's possible to pay almost as much for a used 1.4, in which you have no idea how the important first few thousand miles have been driven. It's enough to push you towards a 2 litre or, perhaps more likely, the dreaded reliable, but so dull, Japanese alternatives.

There are good discounts at the moment because it is the end of the Mk3 Octavia. The Mk4 is expected towards the end of this year and will cost more. 

Personally I think folk have held VW-group up as a shining example of how to make cars, they are better than this or that etc. for a long time. Perhaps in the past but really in the modern world there is not so much difference between the different makes. Cars are complex things and they can and do go wrong. 

Others learn and move technology on and get snagging faults.

 

VW carry faults on from generation to generation, and then pretend the faults do not exist.

They have never got the hang of water cooled engines needing reliable water pumps, or rubber seals sealing, Chain Tensioners tensioning etc

Paint and paint preparation acting as rust inhibitors.

 

They build some beauts and then discontinue, or pass old tech around to SEAT or Skoda from VW or Audi, and in the past used SEAT to try things out, now sometimes they use Skoda.

 

Basically it is a Corporation that always blames suppliers and never their engineers or bosses and now the best talent in the world are scared to work for VW Group because you can end up in jail.

 

They lied, cheated & were caught and got financial penalties and now they screw customers and dealerships to keep them in the life style that the VW Board and some Union bosses and chosen investors like to have.

If they were doing more R&D and less spin on what they will do in the future sometime and bother less about Plastic Chrome and bling they might do a bit better.

But then they are the biggest in the world, just not making much profit on each vehicle, or not showing they are enough to pay the taxes.

Have you and your wife had an extended test drive in a dsg 1.5 ?

If you have ok, if not you both need to drive one.

Try and get one for 24/48 hours and go drive it, then make up your mind.

Never just rely on the views of others.

 

Just my personal opinion.

34 minutes ago, fergiet said:

Have you and your wife had an extended test drive in a dsg 1.5 ?

If you have ok, if not you both need to drive one.

Try and get one for 24/48 hours and go drive it, then make up your mind.

Never just rely on the views of others.

 

Just my personal opinion.

+1 

A common sense opinion, and a method which has always worked for me.

I had one arranged around a week ago,   but the salesman at the Doncaster dealership forgot about it, didn't know whether he had a petrol DSG in stock, and when he finally found one, it was blocked in. I'd been there for half an hour at this point so walked away. We intend to drive one, obviously, but if it drives perfectly it doesn't follow that the one I buy will. I was trying to establish the scale of the problem and whether Skoda had produced a fix

Although it has it's odd foible the 1.5TSi engine with the 6 speed manual box in our Karoq really shouldn't be a good choice for economy but the ACT really does work.

i have the new 1.5 TSI ACT with a DSG.  Wouldn't take the 1.5 anymore. Beware when the eco sign starts, you can hear a buffeting noise in the car. I've taken it to 2 dealers and they say it's 'normal'. The test car was a 1.4 DSG, that was fine.

 

17 minutes ago, cr_2dman said:

i have the new 1.5 TSI ACT with a DSG.  Wouldn't take the 1.5 anymore. Beware when the eco sign starts, you can hear a buffeting noise in the car. I've taken it to 2 dealers and they say it's 'normal'. The test car was a 1.4 DSG, that was fine.

 

Most likely you are hearing the 'puffing' note that the inactive cylinders introduce into the exhaust. It is normal, but annoying as hell.

18 hours ago, harrylime said:

Thank you all for your comments, there are some worrying ones though. I don't see myself buying a car in the knowledge that there are issues. My wife is not used to an auto and it is slow speed manouvres , on the drive etc, which are the biggest concern.

 

Well, DSG, particularly the dry clutch DQ200 is possibly the greater concern, as slow speed manoeuvring with these is sometimes not an easy or graceful task in my experience, and delicate precision manoeuvres can be incredibly difficult. 

 

If you get a test drive, do make sure the engine/gearbox combination 

what you would be buying and try out some hill parking.

 

18 minutes ago, cr_2dman said:

i have the new 1.5 TSI ACT with a DSG.  Wouldn't take the 1.5 anymore. Beware when the eco sign starts, you can hear a buffeting noise in the car. I've taken it to 2 dealers and they say it's 'normal'. The test car was a 1.4 DSG, that was fine.

 

 

The buffeting (similar to when you have just the rear windows open) occurs when ACT switches to 2 cylinder mode at low engine revs. Its most obvious when the engine revs are at the bottom end of permitted 2 cylinder ACT operation (1400-1550rpm) and power demand is near the max allowed while in this mode (25% of max available 4 cyl torque for the rpm). The DMF is not large enough to completely remove the buffetting at these speeds. And will be maxed out, so possibly this is DMF damage territory, I don't know for sure.

 

It affects the 1.4tsi ACT as well, but varies greatly with individual cars/builds.

 

Simple way to avoid the effect is to either, press the throttle more and ECO 2 cylinder mode will cancel, or more elegantly, drop a gear, and let the engine revs stay above say 1900 rpm, the buffeting will be indiscernible and the engine is far more economical than at lower revs in my experience despite the dash nagging you to change up. It also stays in fuel saving 2 cylinder mode longer.

 

 

34 minutes ago, MoggyTech said:

Most likely you are hearing the 'puffing' note that the inactive cylinders introduce into the exhaust. It is normal, but annoying as hell.

 

No the centre 2 cylinders are shut completely and dont draw air or pump into the exhaust. Its due to the crank/flywheel inherently speeding/slowing during unbalanced 2 cylinder mode along with the DMF operating at full tilt.

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by xman

16 minutes ago, xman said:

 

Simple way to avoid the effect is to either, press the throttle more and ECO 2 cylinder mode will cancel, or more elegantly, drop a gear, and let the engine revs stay above say 1900 rpm, the buffeting will be indiscernible and the engine is far more economical than at lower revs in my experience despite the dash nagging you to change up. It also stays in fuel saving 2 cylinder mode longer. 

 

 

 

Correct. I tank 98 Super (E5), and have the RPM Above 2000. So i'll have to pull the DSG out of automatic and into manual mode, which defeats the purpose of a DSG.

This is the first time anyone mentioned in technical terms where the noise can come from.

What's more strange that i'm the only one complaining about this. (says the dealer).

 

18 minutes ago, cr_2dman said:

 

What's more strange that i'm the only one complaining about this. (says the dealer).

 

 

It depends on your threshold of what's acceptable. Just like peoples opinion on whether 1.5tsi misbehaviour is a problem or not 

 

Dealers are the last ones to trust when it comes to admitting other customers have experienced problems. They will either lie, possibly as company policy, or simply don't care.

 

Personally, the ACT buffeting in my 1.4tsi manual Superb is very low level and not annoying but acts as an audible indicator I should change down a gear instead of slogging at low engine speed. 

 

Awkard if you have DSG though 

 

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by xman

21 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

Not according to the people on this board who say their Mk2's were built better, were more refined and drove better than their Mk3's.  Myself included.

 

Go to any forum an you'll see the same - the old cars were better.

 

Part of it is psychological because we all look at the past thru rose-tinted specs and part of it will be thru economics. But emissions and safety play an enormous role. There's a need to make cars both stronger and lighter thru ever more strict standards.

 

You mention above people are leaving Skoda but you don't say where they're going? You also fail to mention that people are leaving other brands and coming over to Skoda.  Out of all my family, friends and neighbours I can only think of one person who's loyal to a brand, and as long as it gets them from A to B, that person has no interest whatsoever in the car or indeed if it makes any rattles, squeeks or if any of car's functions work in getting them from A to B.  

20 minutes ago, Scot5 said:

 

Go to any forum an you'll see the same - the old cars were better.

 

Part of it is psychological because we all look at the past thru rose-tinted specs and part of it will be thru economics. But emissions and safety play an enormous role. There's a need to make cars both stronger and lighter thru ever more strict standards.

 

You mention above people are leaving Skoda but you don't say where they're going? You also fail to mention that people are leaving other brands and coming over to Skoda.  Out of all my family, friends and neighbours I can only think of one person who's loyal to a brand, and as long as it gets them from A to B, that person has no interest whatsoever in the car or indeed if it makes any rattles, squeeks or if any of car's functions work in getting them from A to B.  

 

OP didn't ask for a MK2 /MK3, but wants to choose between 1.5/1.4 tsi. I would never go deactivation cylinder technology again.

 

 

8 hours ago, cr_2dman said:

 

OP didn't ask for a MK2 /MK3, but wants to choose between 1.5/1.4 tsi. I would never go deactivation cylinder technology again.

 

 

If Bentley can shut down 6 cylinders on their W12 engine you'd think VW could manage 2 on a small 4 cylinder engine without any problems

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by ords
Addition

8 hours ago, cr_2dman said:

 

OP didn't ask for a MK2 /MK3, but wants to choose between 1.5/1.4 tsi. I would never go deactivation cylinder technology again.

 

 

 

Why do folk make random statements without explanation?  It's like the final spoken line in a soap opera such as Eastenders or for the older members, Dallas...

 

I would never go deactivation cylinder tech again.   "And cue theme tune...."

 

Ok I'll take the bait, why would you never go cylinder deactivation again? 

 

I have 150bhp 1.4tsi in my Skoda and the 150bhp 1.4tsi in my SEAT.  Is there something I should be worried about. Is my SEAT about to suddenly self-combust?  For feck sake, if I knew there were going to be so many things to worry about I'd bought a single gear bicycle instead.

 

Edited 18 July, 20196 yr by Guest

10 hours ago, Scot5 said:

Ok I'll take the bait, why would you never go cylinder deactivation again?

 

For me, the reason is the awful sound that the 2 cylinder makes, it is really like driving an open window. 2 dealers looked into it, and said, 'they all do this', as they test driven mine and a similar 1.5tsi octavia. the sound it's like driving 1 open window around 50Km/h. but, if you keep the engine above 2000rpm, it doesn't have it. Yes i did buy the 1.5 tsi without a test drive 😞

The engine is more complicated that one doesn't have ACT. Hopefully my next car is going to be electric, so no combustion anymore. (i hope they will be affordable in 5 years, as prices now are a bit high)

(see: https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/new-cars/2019-07/no-end-in-sight-for-volkswagen-15-tsi-engine-problems/)

 

 

Quote

have 150bhp 1.4tsi in my Skoda and the 150bhp 1.4tsi in my SEAT.

 so it's not the same engine, the 1.4 and 1.5 have different cycle and are heavier, so the noises the engines make are different. The 1.4 tsi you have is an ACT ?

 

 

Quote

single gear bicycle instead

for my daily commute to work, i do take the Bike (18km / 12 miles). they also break down 😞

 

 

EDIT:

What would you recommend? The 1.4 or 1.5 TSI / with our without ACT?

 

 

 

Edited 19 July, 20196 yr by cr_2dman