Hi all,

Got my first Skoda on Friday, Octavia estate 1998 diesel.

It has been fine, including a trip Nottm - London and back on Sunday, and lots of general running around on Saturday.

But yesterday, and possibly Monday now we think about it (maybe before??), it hasn't been starting well. More than half the time it starts fine. Sometimes it cuts out just after starting, ie the ignition turns the engine, it sounds like it has caught, but it stops. Usually it starts second time, and I thought maybe I was being too tentative.

But yesterday evening my wife was using it and just couldn't get it to start at all. She tried a good few times. She called the AA and when they arrived 30 mins later it started first time.

So I took it out later and after a couple of miles pulled over and just tried starting it a few times. Mostly it was OK, sometimes it needed two goes. One time the immobiliser light on the dash came on, flashing. At this point I didn't want to try again in case I got stranded so I drove it home. The light flashed all the way. At home I stopped and started it again was OK, no light. It started OK this morning. My wife is out and about in it now delivering children to schools and herself to work, and has texted to say one time it took three tries to start.

We have two keys, both seem the same, so we suspect the car not the keys.

We bought it used from a Skoda dealer and it has a warranty, so we can take it back to them. In the meantime, does anyone have anything to suggest, like anything obvious we might be missing, or that would be very simple for us to try?

Many thanks

Andy

I've just done a search for threads related to TDIs dying (or failing to start), and come up with these (I knew I'd seen something about diesel problems recently). Could one of these hold the answer?

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3522&highlight=diesel

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/showthread.php?t=5183&highlight=octavia+tdi

Sounds like a fuel pump relay, my old Octy estate tdi on a 98 plate also suffered the same thing.....something not uncommon on VW tdi,s

if both keys bring up the immobiliser symbol on dash then it is definatley a problem with the wiring loom between coil reader (behind ign switch) and immobiliser control unit (in dash) take it to your dealer and if they are any good? they will replace the wiring loom (picks up interfernce from other electrical items).