One year old Kodiaq acting up - Faults

[MSD007]

Hello.

I am new here. I have a 2018 model of Skoda Kodiaq 150TDI 4x4. The mileage is around 19.000km (11.800 miles)

 

Intermittently it has sometimes been having trouble starting up when it's cold outside, like if the battery doesn't have enough juice in it to start up. I took it to the dealer and the repair guy had seen this problem before and claimed a new battery for me even though he measured the battery ok. He told me it was safe for me to use it while we waited for the new battery. 

 

Few days later it was again cold outside (around 2°C) and I started the car, put the AC on full heat and went back inside the house for a few moments to get my stuff. When I came back out after around 10 minutes the car had smoke in the cabin and a bad burning smell, like burnt plastic or rubber. I switched off the AC which seemed to be the problem.

I took it immediately back to the dealer which didn't want me to drive it anymore in this condition and they loaned me a car to drive while they investigate this issue. I haven't heard back from them yet.

 

Have any of you guys had similar experiences with your Skoda Kodiaq? I am wondering if the AC fault is connected to the battery fault and if this is a known issue. I've had used Octavia and Superb before which were great and reliable cars for our family. I bought the Kodiaq brand new last year. I am already having doubts about reliability even though the car is almost brand new.

 

 

[silver1011]

The battery issue is a known issue and been discussed on here (and across the other model threads too) in quite some depth. Basically a bad batch of MOLL branded batteries.

 

Smoke in the cabin!? No idea but it can't be good. Let us know what your dealer reports back...

[MSD007]

The dealer found issues with the AC and some wires inside some unit (can't remember what it was called) that were melting and burning up. They didn't recommend driving the car while they are waiting for the spare parts so I got a loan car while they fix the issue. They will also be replacing the battery.

[silver1011]

So a fire risk then.

 

I very much hope they've reported the fault back to Skoda so that the faulty part can be returned and inspected.

 

A one-off manufacturing defect is one thing, a systemic design fault, another.

[MSD007]

Just an update. So they are taking the car to a Skoda specialist in the main dealership in my country. Skoda want to get the faulty part shipped to them in a one piece so they can investigate the faulty part.

If I understood the mechanic correctly then the AC uses two elements to heat the car. One is the water heater from the engine and the other one is electrical so the AC will get warmer quicker on cold days. The connectors and wires that connected to the electrical element were burnt over and melted. That caused the smoke being pumped in the cabin and that bad smell of burnt plastic/rubber. 

The battery issue was another fault and not connected to this one, or at least that's what they think.

 

I can't say that I am happy with buying a brand new car and after one year I need to be without it for 3 weeks because of issues like this. Yes they loaned me a Octavia to use while the Kodiaq is in repairs, but still. I bought a brand new car exactly to avoid long repair times like these. My old Superb is proofing to be much more reliable than my new Skoda Kodiaq.

[Ootohere]

There were 2 threads on here last year and this with burnt out cars with fires in the Battery / Dash areas.

Not sure if Superb's or Octavias and cant check for the threads just now.

 

I would have Skoda get you a Kodiak as a loaner, a like for like car, they will have plenty in the hands of staff, or they can hire one.

[MSD007]

The news now are that they will be replacing the PTC heater, wires, plugs and casings around it if I understood the information correctly. 

Hopefully my Kodiaq will soon be whole again. I do wonder if they will do something about the smell in the car though, when I took it in for repair it stunk really badly of burnt plastic and rubber. I don't have leather seats, hopefully the smell won't stick in the fabric. 

[silver1011]

This would be making me really nervous, there have been some very high profile cases recently in the media with Vauxhall (Opel) and their Zafira, as well as BMW and their 3-Series with several cases of cars setting on fire.

 

Not sure I would be able to trust my car again if it had the same issues as yours.

 

[MSD007]

I agree completely. There have also been high profile cases with the Nissan Qashqai, a 2015 model just burned down recently in my area and made the news. 

 

I will have a very hard time trusting this particular Kodiaq again. I am still on a loan car at the moment, I am not sure when my Kodiaq will be ready. They are expecting the part to arrive after the weekend.

I live in a cold area so we have a habit of turning the car on, running back in the house to get school backpacks and stuff for the kids ready and then go out when the car is warm. I am not sure I can do that anymore. I will at least never again leave my kids alone in the car anymore while it's on. I have been trying to make this point out to the dealer but not quite sure if they comprehend the seriousness of the situation. Maybe I should contact Skoda international directly. I told the dealer we wanted this car replaced but they can only offer me a new one and they will not do that unless I pay them extra for trading mine in. I will probably only get a small discount of a new one.

All in all a very crappy situation to be in with a 1 year old Skoda Kodiaq. Now it has been 3 weeks and counting since my Kodiaq has been in for repairs. This will probably at least stretch to 4 weeks I assume, if the part arrives on time.

 

I do wonder what would have happened if the car would have stayed on for a few more minutes, if it would have eventually caught on fire or not.

[Ootohere]

@MSD007

You would hardly expect a Dealership to offer a straught swap for a new car if they can pan you off wth a fixed car eventually,

or one they hope is  fixed and you need to keep your fingers crossed about !

 

What they think they can get away with on exchanging a car means nothing, they do not have to drive and own the car.

?

Do you own this car outright and what country are you in?

[MSD007]

Yes I own this car outright, I am in Iceland. I assume a straight swap is very unlikely unless the manufacturer (Skoda) steps in and pulls something off with the dealership in Iceland. They seem to want to know why this happened and investigate it thoroughly. 

 

But how these things are handled does decide for me what brand to choose next. This is the first time I fork out my hard earned cash on a new car. I have never been without one of my cars for this long before because of repairs...and believe me, I have owned some old ****ty cars in my lifetime 😁

[Ootohere]

Skoda Iceland will surely want to be seen doing the right thing, someones life put at risk is just unfortunate but then 'attempting a fix' and it happening again would be more than 

'simply stupid'.

News can travel fast on the Social Media, like a wild fire or burning down a street of houses.

 

Remind Skoda of corporate responsibility. &  Not all publicity is good publicity.

Edited 6 October, 2019 by Roottootemoot

[MSD007]

Yes I am still hopeful of a positive outcome. I really like the Kodiaq in general and I have always been a Skoda fan, so I really hope they will pull through in this unfortunate case.

[MSD007]

I am still without my Kodiaq. I was told the part will arrive today so I assume they will start working on it this week. That's going on almost 4 weeks now in total that I have been using a loan car because of issues with the battery and the PTC heater burning over.

 

I got an offer from the dealership. I paid 42,850 euros for the car 1 year ago when it was brand new. They offered to buy it off me for 33,770 euros and I can buy a new one from them for 47,280 euros (same edition as mine but a 7 seater). So I need to pay 13,510 euros if I want a new one. If I take it as a 5 seater it will cost 46,410 euros. The price of these cars has gone up since I bought mine.

 

I think I will need to contact Skoda directly and skip the dealer here in my country. This is getting ridiculous.

[26DIPP]

On 27/09/2019 at 14:00, MSD007 said:

Just an update. So they are taking the car to a Skoda specialist in the main dealership in my country. Skoda want to get the faulty part shipped to them in a one piece so they can investigate the faulty part.

If I understood the mechanic correctly then the AC uses two elements to heat the car. One is the water heater from the engine and the other one is electrical so the AC will get warmer quicker on cold days. The connectors and wires that connected to the electrical element were burnt over and melted. That caused the smoke being pumped in the cabin and that bad smell of burnt plastic/rubber. 

The battery issue was another fault and not connected to this one, or at lea.......

 

......

 

The auxiliary cabin heater elements have been a reoccuring problem on VAG cars for years. They have a very high current draw and the wire and element are sometimes poorly crimped together causing a high resistance in the connection and smell of melting plastic

[MSD007]

I have been trying to get in touch with Skoda Customer Care since October but no luck yet. I keep getting replies from [email protected] that they have forwared my request to Skoda Customer Care and say they can't give me a direct email to get in touch with them. I wanted to complain about the official dealership in my country and the lack of info and service they provided during this long process.

 

How can that be that a giant manufacturer like Skoda won't give up the email address to the Customer Service department? I have worked in service and usually you have like a standard email like [email protected] and when you send them an inquiry you get a standard reply saying that a case has been opened and they will get back to you. Usually you get a service desk number or service ticket number or something like that so you can track the case. 

 

At least Skoda's Customer service department in Europe is getting an absolute F from me.

Edited 26 December, 2019 by MSD007

[silver1011]

Have you tried ringing them?

 

 

Or social media can be a good option...

 

 

 

Edited 26 December, 2019 by silver1011

[MSD007]

So just to clarify. I finally got an email from Skoda Customer Service after waiting for a reply since October last year. They said that they regret this issue and apologized. However they just pointed me back to the dealer, which I was exactly complaining about.

 

Quote

We regret very much that you have had difficulties with a product of our company and we apologize on behalf of the manufacturer. We examined your complaint and passed it for direct handling to our representation in Iceland, company HEKLA EHF. The importer organization representing the brand ŠKODA is entitled to respond to all queries, comments, claims / complaints of customers in accordance with current legislation of your country and warranty and claim conditions as well as with the approved repair technology.

 

I honestly give up. Skoda doesn't want to get involved and I have already had a meeting with the dealer's quality representative which was basically just rude and defensive about this issue.

This will be the last time I buy a new car directly from the official dealer in Iceland. 

This issue is also getting on my nerves:

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/453532-grinding-noise/page/2/?tab=comments#comment-5351730

 

I plan to sell the vehicle before the 5 years warranty is up. If I replace it with a Skoda I will be importing it myself to my country from Europe for a cheaper price and I will be dealing with an alternative workshop (not HEKLA) for warranty repairs and service which are authorized for VW and Skoda warranty repairs directly to the manufacturer. It seems that many smaller car dealerships in Iceland are now importing Skoda and VW vehicles directly from Europe and when people ask about the international Skoda warranty they point them to this workshop I mentioned, excluding the official dealer HEKLA in Iceland since they are likely to deny or give you worse warranty service since your vehicle is not imported/bought by them.

[silver1011]

Just bombard them on social media instead.