Calling all 4x4 owners, advice needed

[yesman]

Hi all, as the title say looking for advice from any 4x4 owners out there, thinking about getting a 4x4 Superb3 for towing, I previously had a 170 4x4 Superb2 so know what good tow cars they are. Having had that car I knew about the haldex needing servicing regularly so I was trawling through the net look for what haldex was on the Superb3 and the service intervals. This is almost impossible to find accurately most say the Superb3 having the Haldex gen 5 system, a simpler system with no filter but a strainer gauze apparently but this has problems, Just wonder what other 4x4 owners experience with their cars are as the net is full off stories of Haldex failure due to dealers not sevicing them regularly enough and also not fully understanding what needs doing during the service, some are even claiming a full haldex service needs doing between 10-15000 miles. Anyone else come across this when owning or thinking of owning a Superb3 4x4? Cheers

 

[Mayoboat]

Hi Yesman

 

Every three years, or 30,000 miles which ever is the sooner, but you know that as you had a 4 x 4 Mk2

 

Hope this helps. You must get the gauze stainer filter cleaned / changed as well.

 

Mayoboat

[yesman]

15 minutes ago, Mayoboat said:

Hi Yesman

 

Every three years, or 30,000 miles which ever is the sooner, but you know that as you had a 4 x 4 Mk2

 

Hope this helps. You must get the gauze stainer filter cleaned / changed as well.

 

Mayoboat

I understand that but according to reports and articles on the Net the Superb2 had the Haldex Gen 4 system and the Superb3 possibly has the Haldex Gen 5 system, a simpler, some say budget system with is susceptible to problems if not serviced enough or correctly, just wondered if anyone else had heard or experienced this! Or which Haldex system is actually on the Superb3 as that's almost impossible to find out on the net, can't ring anywhere at the moment too for obvious reasons.

Edited 25 March, 2020 by yesman

[penguin17]

I spoke to my trusted indy specialist about haldex 5th gen servicing this week; the service he offers is a strip down and clean of the filter as well as cleaning the oil pump.  He also said he thinks for overall longevity, people should think about servicing every 25K miles as they do gum up quite a bit. 

[penguin17]

2 minutes ago, yesman said:

I understand that but according to reports and articles on the Net the Superb2 had the Haldex Gen 4 system and the Superb3 possibly has the Haldex Gen 5 system, a simpler, some say budget system with is susceptible to problems if not serviced enough or correctly, just wondered if anyone else had heard or experienced this! Or which Haldex system is actually on the Superb3 as that's almost impossible to find out on the net, can't ring anywhere at the moment too for obvious reasons.

Superb 3 defo has 5th gen haldex.  

[yesman]

13 minutes ago, penguin17 said:

I spoke to my trusted indy specialist about haldex 5th gen servicing this week; the service he offers is a strip down and clean of the filter as well as cleaning the oil pump.  He also said he thinks for overall longevity, people should think about servicing every 25K miles as they do gum up quite a bit. 

So is it something I should worry about when considering buying a 4x4? Do you have any concerns about it?

[penguin17]

21 minutes ago, yesman said:

So is it something I should worry about when considering buying a 4x4? Do you have any concerns about it?

I don't and I've just bought another 5th gen equipped car, hence why I phoned the indy specialist; 1. To ask if there's a way to spot haldex issues during test drive. 2. What maintenance I should do in the near term.  

 

His advice was as above; to have it serviced at 25K miles or sooner as I have no real idea of the cars previous usage/treatment.  I'll be booking it in for haldex and DSG service as soon as pick it up,  well in advance of the manufacturers recommended service schedule but I'll have peace of mind in knowing that I'm minimising the risk of major (expensive) failures.

 

I believe most failures of the system are pump related and as I was informed, the filters gum up and can become blocked, putting a lot of strain on the pumps.   So it seems logical to me that my indy specialist was giving sound advice, rather than trying to line his pockets. 

Edited 25 March, 2020 by penguin17

[unclerichy]

I'll add that my stealer refused to clean the gauze/strainer do-dad when I requested it as it wasn't in the official Skoda worksheet; they just did the oil change. Next time it's due I'll get my independent to do a more through job.  Mine was done at about 20k after 3 years (low mileage car).

[Esseesse200]

When I brought my 66 plate one the haldex on mine was shot. No fault lights but wheels spun on hard acceleration and came up on vcds as a fault. The dealer had to go down the route of cheapest thing first because even vcds and dealer software doesn’t tell them what part of the haldex isnt working. So pump was replaced first. Dealer said fixed but when I got home fault was still there in vcds and wheels still spinning under hard accel. Took it back, they then replaced controller. Said it was fixed but nope. Hard accel, axles tramped and fault came back up on vcds. So wiring was then checked (whole loom from front to back) all ok and only then did they get authorisation from Skoda to replace the haldex clutches. It had 30k miles on and they were shot to bits and the fitter showed me the plates and they had pretty much disintegrated. so new unit and it’s been faultless so far up to now and has 70k on. Will have the filter cleaned and oil changed at next service in 1k miles.

whilst all the above was going on I spoke to an independent haldex specialist and he said the 5’s are made of Cheese and he replaces about 4 a week on tt’s s3’s etc. If they are driven hard or used for towing aparently they wear quicker 

[yesman]

42 minutes ago, Esseesse200 said:

When I brought my 66 plate one the haldex on mine was shot. No fault lights but wheels spun on hard acceleration and came up on vcds as a fault. The dealer had to go down the route of cheapest thing first because even vcds and dealer software doesn’t tell them what part of the haldex isnt working. So pump was replaced first. Dealer said fixed but when I got home fault was still there in vcds and wheels still spinning under hard accel. Took it back, they then replaced controller. Said it was fixed but nope. Hard accel, axles tramped and fault came back up on vcds. So wiring was then checked (whole loom from front to back) all ok and only then did they get authorisation from Skoda to replace the haldex clutches. It had 30k miles on and they were shot to bits and the fitter showed me the plates and they had pretty much disintegrated. so new unit and it’s been faultless so far up to now and has 70k on. Will have the filter cleaned and oil changed at next service in 1k miles.

whilst all the above was going on I spoke to an independent haldex specialist and he said the 5’s are made of Cheese and he replaces about 4 a week on tt’s s3’s etc. If they are driven hard or used for towing aparently they wear quicker 

Even though I'm using it for towing looks like a 190 2wd Sportline for me then!!

[Esseesse200]

5 minutes ago, yesman said:

Even though I'm using it for towing looks like a 190 2wd Sportline for me then!!

The 4x4 is amazing tho. And although they have problems, there are many being used very successfully. I’ve had mine mapped and I think the dsg 4x4 makes the car. It is heavier and less efficient but makes up for it in the uk weather 

[yesman]

23 minutes ago, Esseesse200 said:

The 4x4 is amazing tho. And although they have problems, there are many being used very successfully. I’ve had mine mapped and I think the dsg 4x4 makes the car. It is heavier and less efficient but makes up for it in the uk weather 

To be honest it's the weight that I'm after, that's why I want a full beans Superb3, it hard to get a normal car, ie non-SUV, that's heavy enough to tow a larger caravan, I'm an experienced tower so can realistically tow up to 100% and our caravan weights 1500kg.

[shyVRS245]

1 minute ago, yesman said:

To be honest it's the weight that I'm after, that's why I want a full beans Superb3, it hard to get a normal car, ie non-SUV, that's heavy enough to tow a larger caravan, I'm an experienced tower so can realistically tow up to 100% and our caravan weights 1500kg.

My Superb 272 weighs 1,627kg with the 7 speed DSG and 4WD and with 360bhp and 514nm of torque would tow most caravans if a tow bar can be fitted to this model? Averaged over 42mpg on tonight's commute at an average speed of 44mph. Normal average is about 38mpg.

[yesman]

12 minutes ago, shyVRS245 said:

My Superb 272 weighs 1,627kg with the 7 speed DSG and 4WD and with 360bhp and 514nm of torque would tow most caravans if a tow bar can be fitted to this model? Averaged over 42mpg on tonight's commute at an average speed of 44mph. Normal average is about 38mpg.

The 272 is a petrol isn't? How do you get on with a petrol for towing and for day to day use?🤔

[shyVRS245]

8 minutes ago, yesman said:

The 272 is a petrol isn't? How do you get on with a petrol for towing and for day to day use?🤔

I don't tow. Yes it's a petrol and with a stage 1 remap my peak torque fell from 4,500rpm (359nm) to 2,800rpm with much more available (514nm) . The diesels have around 400nm as standard and it is torque which really counts when towing. The more the merrier.Normally get 550 miles per tank but quiet roads have seen this climb to over 600 miles per tank and petrol is cheaper than diesel to buy.

[unclerichy]

I tow a 1350kg 'van with a 280 and find it stress free. Same torque as my previous Mk II 170 and I can do 0-60 in 10 seconds dead if the need arises 😁.

 

Towing mpg is around 22/23 irrespective of road type. I don't do many miles a year anyway so that's never bothered me.

[Bigeater]

My motor is on 26k now, and there's no issues with the 4wd system. Well, none that I've noticed or felt.

Even being tuned to around 380brake, i'm getting 36-38mpg on a long steady run. 32mpg is my daily average commute though.

With the caravan on the back, I get 20mpg

[silver1011]

5 hours ago, penguin17 said:

I spoke to my trusted indy specialist about haldex 5th gen servicing this week; the service he offers is a strip down and clean of the filter as well as cleaning the oil pump.  He also said he thinks for overall longevity, people should think about servicing every 25K miles as they do gum up quite a bit. 

 

Do you mind if I ask who your specialist is, I'm in York and when the Kodiaq is needing its Haldex service I won't be taking it to Skoda if they don't clean the filter.

[Chazzy]

Main dealers dont like splitting the pump the clean the strainer in case they nick an O ring and it leaks after reassembly. Mine took a pic of the fluid being drained ( 2 yrs but 50000mils ish) it was still straw coloured not black and goopy like some if the horror pictures you see on the internet.   

[penguin17]

32 minutes ago, silver1011 said:

 

Do you mind if I ask who your specialist is, I'm in York and when the Kodiaq is needing its Haldex service I won't be taking it to Skoda if they don't clean the filter.

No worries, it's North East Auto Tech who are just the other side of Stockton, some 30 mins from me.  Probably too far for you. 

There used to be a well regarded indy specialist in York, who were another Revo agent but having googled them it appears they closed down a couple of years ago, JJB motors.  

 

 

 

 

[Groaver]

https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/34816-henrys-south-glasgow/?do=findComment&comment=5365497

Just had my oil changed last month. Quite a lot of gunk by the look of it.

[Bap33]

Superb 3 Haldex is a Gen 5 from the beginning (2015). I've found the information in the official Skoda Superb 3 presentation document for Workshops (French version).

Additionally, when looking at the Maintenance manual for Skoda Superb 3, the "Changing the oil in the four-wheel drive clutch" chapter (see p115) only mentions oil replacement. I didn't see any reference to filter replacement (or even cleaning) or any other part so far... May be I'm wrong (may be I missed it)... 

I don't say it's good. But at least, if the maintenance manual doesn't request it, I would assume that it isn't critical.

Please advise.  

Edited 25 March, 2020 by Bap33

[J.R.]

1 hour ago, Chazzy said:

Main dealers dont like splitting the pump the clean the strainer in case they nick an O ring and it leaks after reassembly. Mine took a pic of the fluid being drained ( 2 yrs but 50000mils ish) it was still straw coloured not black and goopy like some if the horror pictures you see on the internet.   

 

Hope it wasn't as clean as mine, you might want to carefully check the video.

 

Straw coloured is exactly what came out of mine. I correctly located the Haldex filler plug, directly underneath at the bottom of the casing was the drain plug right? Well nearly right, it was the differential drain plug 🙁

 

Remove pump losing oil in the process, refill from what was not empty and Bobs your Uncle, I should have guessed at that point because Bob was my father.

 

A tankfull later including a motorway and autoroute run to France and the dribble that came out of what used to be a functioning differential was somewhat darker than what I had drained earlier.

 

If it was Haldex fluid they drained, & I sincerely hope it was, then if it was clean the system has not ever been working, if it was dirty then the pump filter needs cleaning imperatively.

[silver1011]

9 hours ago, penguin17 said:

No worries, it's North East Auto Tech who are just the other side of Stockton, some 30 mins from me.  Probably too far for you. 

There used to be a well regarded indy specialist in York, who were another Revo agent but having googled them it appears they closed down a couple of years ago, JJB motors.  

 

Thank you!

 

I live in York but commute to Durham so pass Stockton via the A19 daily.

 

I'll be sure to look them up when the Kodiaq is due!

 

👍

[silver1011]

8 hours ago, Bap33 said:

..but at least, if the maintenance manual doesn't request it, I would assume that it isn't critical.

Please advise.  

 

I think that's what most people are saying, Skoda don't check the filter, their workshop manuals tell them to replenish the oil and that's it.

 

It would seem there have been cases where the filter has been contaminated and damaged the Haldex, meaning ignoring the filter (like a Skoda main dealer does) is not necessarily a good idea.