Hi, a standard vehicle check on my L&K Superb has shown that both front suspension rods are leaking badly and need replacing. The car is only 3 years old, just out of warranty, and has only done 35000 miles, mainly on motorway. No significant pot holes or anything else. Has anyone else had problems or am I just unlucky?Dealership quotes £1200 to replace!

There have been others that have had leaks fairly early on, but they are normally changed under warranty.

 

Potentially it could be a manufacturing fault, but not clear why it was not detected at MOT (or a service) which is normally done before the warranty runs out (I'm aware of MOT extension, but if warranty was running out, would be normal to get a service or inspection and any rectification work), maybe you were unlucky and didn't get noticed in time.

 

Driving on almost smooth roads could have resulted in very little vertical travel, so any wear has been concentrated in one part of the shaft.   Mileage is not going to be good indicator of wear unfortunately because it isn't related to how many bumps and ripples you went over.

 

Difficult call, could try and ask Skoda for a contribution (might not get, but if don't ask, wont get anything) but that will be against franchised dealer charge rates, or try and save some money and find a good VW group independent.   Why not get quotes both routes initially to see which is most likely to save you money.   £1200 seems high price for parts and doing a job that is basically undoing a few bolts to slot in replacement

Thanks SurreyJohn, I expect it would have been picked up before the warranty ran out, but at that time the country was shut down. I'll give them a try anyway.

Ring them and tell them that it started during lockdown but none of their dealers were open to look at it, and ask them about warranty extension. Some manufacturers have extended warranty’s by 3-4 months to allow for lockdown. 

At £1200 I assume you have DCC? If not that is far too much. If you do end up paying to replace definitely get quotes from else where.

Yes, it appears that these particular parts are only available from Skoda. I've put a call in to Skoda customer care and should have a response in 48 hours. They might be sympathetic, service has always been first class so far. 

front DCCs replaced under warranty on 43k and 47k Km

On 16/09/2020 at 16:27, Andyleemo said:

Thanks SurreyJohn, I expect it would have been picked up before the warranty ran out, but at that time the country was shut down. I'll give them a try anyway.

 Cynically and from previous experience, I wonder if the warranty would not cover this as it could be classed as wear and tear. I hope it does for your bank balance sake. 

Maybe consider none OEM replacement? Pretty sure they make a b4 DCC version. They definitely make a by version but I imagine that would be quite expensive and you would need to do all 4. B4 should go straight in without touching the rears.

After much chasing on my part, Skoda have agreed to knock 10% off, but not really much help when their prices are double that of my local garage. Happily driven Skodas for 20 years but this will be my last. 

Dont rush to change them.

 

Are you sure they are leaking or are just "misted"? Have you checked them yourself?

 

Misting is quite normal and due to an overpressure brought on by a slight overfill during manufacture which then blows by the seals during hot and hard work conditions. Settles down when the correct level is acheived. It affects quite a few cars in initial years not just Skoda and is known to mechanics and MOT testers who will not fail if it is just misting rather than leaking but will but issue an advisory to monitor.

 

Clean/wipe down the shocks and recheck them after a few hundred miles.

 

All skoda parts in the UK are sourced through TPS, which will also supply the trade. AFAIK there are no such things as Skoda only parts. Ask your independent to contact TPS, most already do.

 

"a standard vehicle check on my L&K Superb" translated into english = "Lets see what we can upsell (fleece the customer with) - start with the brakes, suspension etc"

 

 

Genuine parts available here too

https://www.skoda-parts.com/catalog/superb-3/spare-parts/chassis/front-axle/shock-absorbers-stop-buffers-bearing-110.html

 

If you get the part no, there are alternative aftermarket parts

example ....

https://www.buycarparts.co.uk/bilstein/7949490

 

Edited 25 September, 20205 yr by xman

I have just discovered the same issue on my vehicle, just over 4 years, less than 40,000 miles.

 

Quoted £300 for each one (part only) plus fitting costs.

 

What phone number did you use to contact them.

03330037504. Good luck. If you have,any luck, please let me know.

If actually needing to replace definitely go with Bilstein B4 DampTronic instead of OEM. It's an OEM-compatible damper that provides similar ride but twin-tube technology and much more reliable in general.

Ebay shows it's available for £265.61 per unit, also have them installed at a reputable third-party garage instead of paying Skoda's labour prices. Like that you should end up several hundred £££ less than what Skoda quoted you and with better dampers.

Good to know, thank you.

Has anyone fitted the Bilstein B4 DampTronic, is there any issues with the car computer system not recognising them and causing issues.

 

thanks

newbie69 has just started a post on DCC compatible Bilstein B6 units.