Can anyone explain to me if it is possible to extract from the car computer information on when a service has been performed or if/when the service interval has been changed? Is information stored forever or is only the latest information available?

 

Asking since the seller of my car (Fabia from 2017) claims that the workshop, that carried out the first inspection and oil change after 2 years, forgot to switch the service interval from 2 years to 1 year. I bought the car when it was nearly 3 years old and have been driving it since without performing any service and receiving no warnings that service is due. Now, approaching the end of year 4, it turns out a second inspection and brake fluid change, which are due after 3 years, were never carried out (although the seller gave a one-year warranty and claims to have performed an extensive check-up prior to selling the car to me, which of course seems questionable).

In the UK? 

 

Service records now all seem to be digital only, but a friendly Skoda dealer should be able to tell what they've got recorded on their computerised systems I should think. Was it bought (and previously serviced) by a Skoda recognised dealer/workshop?

 

Chris

 

Thanks, Chris. It is in Sweden. The Skoda service department has indeed been very friendly and it is a fact that only the one service I mentioned has been carried out. The dealer and the workshop are, interestingly enough, both recognised.

 

What I am trying to figure out is if the car in fact still is on a two year service interval due to a mistake of the workshop or an inspection warning has deliberately been cleared by the dealer prior to the sale (without any inspection being carried out). Would there be any ”evidence” stored in the systems of the car itself?

I think if you can get the exact previous service date, then it might give a clue if you compare to when car thinks the next service due (in infotainment, car, settings, service)

 

From memory it can only be set to fixed or variable and it gives exact number of days, I forget exact numbers but it is about 372 days or 737 days, therefore it should be showing the service date plus exactly one of these.  (you can calculate this on excel) but If it has any other date then has been changed at another time.

 

The mileage / distance part won’t tell you anything as that varies depending on driving style

I'd think that your best plan now is, at or before its 4th birthday, get your local dealership to carry out a year 4 service, inspection and brake fluid change, and maybe helpful to include a full wheels off brake service, and maybe even an AC service including gas charge check and pollen filter. Then, if it suits your expected usage, request they change the service scheduling from variable to fixed.

Edited 5 February, 20215 yr by rum4mo
Spelling!!!

7 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

I think if you can get the exact previous service date, then it might give a clue if you compare to when car thinks the next service due (in infotainment, car, settings, service)

 

From memory it can only be set to fixed or variable and it gives exact number of days, I forget exact numbers but it is about 372 days or 737 days, therefore it should be showing the service date plus exactly one of these.  (you can calculate this on excel) but If it has any other date then has been changed at another time.

 

The mileage / distance part won’t tell you anything as that varies depending on driving style

Thanks a lot! In my case the time between the date when service is due and the date when service was performed would be 730 days (assuming the invoice date I have is the date the service was actually performed). Service is due in 77 days and I received the car 324 days ago, which I guess rules out the other option. :-)

6 hours ago, rum4mo said:

I'd think that your best plan now is, at or before its 4th birthday, get your local dealership to carry out a year 4 service, inspection and brake fluid change, and maybe helpful to include a full wheels off brake service, and maybe even an AC service including gas charge check and pollen filter. Then, if it suits your expected usage, request they change the service scheduling from variable to fixed.

Thanks! I will definitely have a complete service, probably including oil change, done (and try to make the dealership pay for it). :-) As I understand it my car is on a QI6 variable service plan. That should mean that, if the usage remains normal, the inspections from now on are due every year, brake fluid change every other year, but oil change is done every 20 000 miles/30 000 km (although the very first one was done after 2 year exactly).

I don't think that the inspection period changes, but maybe you didn't mean that it does, so normally Inspection is carried out every other year. With variable servicing, it all depends on how you use the car as the oil change warning could appear after 15Kms or up to 30Kms. Fixed servicing just changes things so that the oil change warning comes at 15Kms or 12months (or maybe even 375 days), many people like to keep the oil change period to a maximum of 15Kms and 365days especially as the car gets older. You know the old saying "oil is the life blood of your engine", maybe not essential but a reasonable way of doing things to help look after your engine.

 

Edit:- my guess at 375days could be wrong, 372days maybe as said earlier!

Edited 5 February, 20215 yr by rum4mo
annual = 372days and not 375days, maybe.

19 hours ago, rum4mo said:

I don't think that the inspection period changes, but maybe you didn't mean that it does, so normally Inspection is carried out every other year. With variable servicing, it all depends on how you use the car as the oil change warning could appear after 15Kms or up to 30Kms. Fixed servicing just changes things so that the oil change warning comes at 15Kms or 12months (or maybe even 375 days), many people like to keep the oil change period to a maximum of 15Kms and 365days especially as the car gets older. You know the old saying "oil is the life blood of your engine", maybe not essential but a reasonable way of doing things to help look after your engine.

 

Edit:- my guess at 375days could be wrong, 372days maybe as said earlier!

As I understood the Skoda service department here, the inspections are from year 2 and onwards yearly (or more often if you have a high usage), the brake fluid changes are from year 3 and onwards bi-yearly. Maybe I was wrong about the oil changes. They seem to be bi-yearly too from year 2 and onwards (or more often if you have a high usage). I guess that´s requires long life oil then? But it would be advisable to do it more often, at least if you plan to keep your car for a long time?

 

Does anyone happen to know how many days in advance the car will start giving a service warning? And is day zero normally the latest day by which the service should have been performed, e.g. for warranties to remain valid, or an approximate date? 

Countdown is 30 days, day zero is overdue for service (and will show as service now) 

 

Ideally you should book car in to be serviced between countdown day 7 and 1 (which is the week over 1 year (days 366-372)

 

Edited 6 February, 20215 yr by SurreyJohn

 Update.. At the instruction of the dealership which sold me the car, I had the extended inspection and brake fluid change done at a certified workshop (the same workshop that by mistake reset the inspection countdown to 730 days about two years ago). I added the oil change service and paid for it myself. Believe it or not, the inspection countdown was again reset to 730 days (i.e. next inspection is according to the indicator due in February 2023, not 2022 which is actually the case). I told them right away after receiving the car and they took it back to fix it. While waiting, I talked to one of their managers and he mentioned something about connecting to OBD and also connecting to Skoda HQ to reset the service interval. Is that really true?

 

After trying for about 15 mins they told me it could not be done because of a ”bug at Skoda” or something like that. There was not much more to be done then, it was past closing and I can still file a formal complaint. I am curious, though, about what the real reason could be.

 

Did they make the same mistake again and is it after that actually not possible to change the setting? Or is the reset actually somehow reported to Skoda, meaning it would show if the same workshop made a second reset the same day? Or is there actually some error in specifically my car, which does not allow the service interval to be changed?

 

Any thoughts appreciated!

I can see the logic in it getting connected to ODIS and so to Skoda mothership, that would be sensible so that the service records are also updated on Skoda's database.

 

The issue with trying to change from flexible servicing to fixed servicing could be causing a problem just because the service person does not frequently get this request and so has forgotten the procedure - remember they will just be "one click monkeys" anything requiring a bit more effort will be a tech's job.

I understand that they can make mistakes or were not aware that in my case the car had not already previously been switched to fixed, but still, as I understand it, the switching to one-year fixed intervals would be a standard procedure on many 2 year old cars (Skoda and probably other VW Group cars too). According to Skoda here there is, at least in Sweden, no other option than doing inspections every year after passing the first one (after 2 years).

If the car is on fixed oil changes then this is 372 days / 15000 KM. in the UK.

If you reset the oil change from variable to fixed you cannot change it back.

A dealer might be able to do this.

 

An oil change service is different from an inspection service but can be done at the same time, check mileage / time for what is checked.

The Inspection service will stay at 2 years but if an inspection is done at the same time the oil service is done it can be reset then.

 

This is for mine:-

 

SKODA Fabia III (NJ) 1.2 TSi (CJZD) 01.2015 - 01.2017
Maintenance / Repair manual / Service indicator reset (2014 - )
Service indicator reset
Vehicles with keyless entry system:
Close all the doors
Close the boot/tailgate
Close the bonnet

Oil service reset:
Press and hold button (1)   Button 1 is the trip reset button marked ' 000/SET'

Turn the ignition on
'DELETE OIL CHANGE' appears on the display
Release the button
Select 'Reset oil change interval'
Press and hold button (1)
The system is reset.

Inspection service reset:
'DELETE INSPECTION' appears on the display
Press and hold button (1)
If necessary:
Turn the ignition off
Repeat the procedure
After turning the ignition off and on again
Press and hold button (1) for 2 seconds
'DELETE OIL CHANGE' appears on the display
Release the button
Page 1 of 2
Press button (1) again
The system is reset.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

 

 

 

 

On 27/02/2021 at 15:46, AGFalco said:

If the car is on fixed oil changes then this is 372 days / 15000 KM. in the UK.

If you reset the oil change from variable to fixed you cannot change it back.

A dealer might be able to do this.

 

An oil change service is different from an inspection service but can be done at the same time, check mileage / time for what is checked.

The Inspection service will stay at 2 years but if an inspection is done at the same time the oil service is done it can be reset then.

 

This is for mine:-

 

SKODA Fabia III (NJ) 1.2 TSi (CJZD) 01.2015 - 01.2017
Maintenance / Repair manual / Service indicator reset (2014 - )
Service indicator reset
Vehicles with keyless entry system:
Close all the doors
Close the boot/tailgate
Close the bonnet

Oil service reset:
Press and hold button (1)   Button 1 is the trip reset button marked ' 000/SET'

Turn the ignition on
'DELETE OIL CHANGE' appears on the display
Release the button
Select 'Reset oil change interval'
Press and hold button (1)
The system is reset.

Inspection service reset:
'DELETE INSPECTION' appears on the display
Press and hold button (1)
If necessary:
Turn the ignition off
Repeat the procedure
After turning the ignition off and on again
Press and hold button (1) for 2 seconds
'DELETE OIL CHANGE' appears on the display
Release the button
Page 1 of 2
Press button (1) again
The system is reset.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks, AG Falco

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! Don’t think I’m going to change anything by myself, guess that would void my warranties, and I’m fine with the oil change being on variable. Not sure I understand the inspection part though - can they really be on variable? Shouldn’t it be possible to reset them from 2 years to 1 year while keeping the oil change variable?

You are not invalidating a Warranty servicing to the Manufacturers Recommendations / Guidelines, they do not use the word schedule.

 

The Inspection & Service is a mix up of Skoda / VW's making.   There is no 'Inspection' the car goes in for without a Oil & Filter change as well.

 

It was Minor and Major Service time about,  then they called it an Interim service and major service if Fixed / 12 month services, and a Major each 2 years.

 

Now it is a Oil & Inspection Service each year and Extended Scope done on each 3rd year.

 

If the Service Indicator is on Variable Servicing and you want to service each year then there is no issues doing that.

The car uses Long Life Oil and can go to the 18,000 or 20,000 miles between changes, or do it each 12 months if you want.