Hi all, as title say I've got a Superb 190 DSG Sportline, didn't have a problem getting it our caravan home from storage 2 days ago but just took it back to storage from our house which is a journey of around 4 miles, its hot so had air con on, got stuck in roadworks after a mile for about 2 minutes, also noticed the start/stop had switched off and it was possibly starting a regen, after around 3 miles accerated away from a roundabout a bit quicker than I normally would due to traffic and when I pulled off the roundabout the car came up with a warning about over heating, to pull over and read manual, which just said let the engine cool down, wait for the warning light to go out and continue your journey, it was in the red at about 120°, we was only just around the corner from the storage so pulled in and the car started to cool down, I was surprised nothing smelt hot so turned the engine off expecting the fans to overrun but surprisingly they didn't! I decided to take the car and caravan on another drive just to test it, for the first mile the engine was obviously still a bit hot so it would rise to 95° and cool to 90°, it did this 3 times and then just sat at 90° like I'd normally expect, took it for a long drive, which was quite hilly and it sat steady as a rock.

Could this have been a freak combination of circumstances or is it a possible sign of a problem rearing its ugly head? I've been for a good drive and everything seems fine!

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Cheers all.

 

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by yesman

Water pump sleeve sticking.

11 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Water pump sleeve sticking.

Ah that's a new one on me! Is it something that could or will happen again or as it seems to have unstuck itself this time it will be fine?

Are you sure your fan pack hasn't died? It won't show an error (apart from the overheating) but will store a fault code.

Would definitely expected to hear the fan running at 100°+

 

Edited to add: Taking it on a run will get air through the rad. Slow driving will show up the issue. Take it for a run and get the engine up to temperature. Pull over, keep the engine running and set the AC to LO. Does the fan kick in?

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by Patent

Perhaps the fans are triggered from a different temperature sensor, one in the radiator core or circuit?

 

In 4 miles the engine would not have have reached that temperature except if the warm up strategy of shrouding the waterpump was maintained too long (shroud stuck) and there was no circulation through the radiator.

 

Good advice re testing with the aircon

1 hour ago, Patent said:

Are you sure your fan pack hasn't died? It won't show an error (apart from the overheating) but will store a fault code.

Would definitely expected to hear the fan running at 100°+

 

Edited to add: Taking it on a run will get air through the rad. Slow driving will show up the issue. Take it for a run and get the engine up to temperature. Pull over, keep the engine running and set the AC to LO. Does the fan kick in?

The fans were definitely running when we stopped in the caravan storage and quickly cooled it down to 90°, you can't miss the bloody things can you they're that noisy, I just meant I was surprised they didn't run on when I turned the ignition off like when it does a regen.

I did a good 8 mile drive towing the caravan, on some good hills after it had cooled back down to 90° and it stayed rock steady at so it sounds to me like it could be this water shroud problem that's been mentioned, I've got a years warranty from when I bought it that runs out in June so gonna book it in to a VAG specialist I use, its due a cambelt change at the start of next year so I was getting ready to pay for a water pump and cambelt change anyway, hopefully I can get the warranty to pay towards it.

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by yesman

If you have a warranty then it's less of a concern!

4 minutes ago, Patent said:

If you have a warranty then it's less of a concern!

My only concern with the warranty, and I already imagine the conversation, it's the water pump at fault not the timing belt and they don't pay for timing belt changes on a warranty!! I can see it coming. 

Yeh I've been on the receiving end of a similar conversation with mini, they generally offer a bit of goodwill eventually

Plus at present it is in "no fault found" (but we will still charge you £75 for diagnosing what we already know we are going to tell you) mode.

 

Keep an eye on it and be ready to throw it back at the dealer when it hopefully becomes a permanent fault.

 

With luck it will then be them trying to convince you to contribute towards the timing belt replacement while they have the old one off to replace the waterpump.

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by J.R.

21 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Plus at present it is in "no fault found" (but we will still charge you £75 for diagnosing what we already know we are going to tell you) mode.

 

Keep an eye on it and be ready to throw it back at the dealer when it hopefully becomes a permanent fault.

 

With luck it will then be them trying to convince you to contribute towards the timing belt replacement while they have the old one off to replace the waterpump.

To be honest I'll be happy with that, It's a warranty where I can take it to any garage of my choice and then make the claim, I know that's a bit dangerous but it's a possible water pump failure so I'm not leaving it for them to tell me what to do.

It's a warranty so I know it's going to be a fight!!

Edited 2 May, 20215 yr by yesman

Well car back today and it was a failed water pump, so cambelt changed as well, £430 bill, After a bit of negotiating with my warranty company who were not prepared to pay for a cambelt as that wasn't "the faulty part" we settled on a £200 contribution from them towards the pump and half of the labour cost. Quite happy as the cambelt change which would have included the water pump was due in 10 months so got it done a bit early and for £230. Result.

Edited 6 May, 20215 yr by yesman

Warning: there's a car nearby

Warning: door open

Don't forget your mobile telephone!

Ooo don't go and reverse into that wall 50 feet behind you!

Put a hat on, it's cold out.

 

Water pump? Dunno mate, haven't got a sensor for that.

 

Car makers need to start concentrating on useful stuff and not pointless gadgetry that's only accessible via s massive touchscreen.

 

Anyway, happy towing.

So how has it been since replacing the water pump? Just bought a 68 reg Superb SEL-Exec estate, tdi 190 dsg 4x4 only to be informed that this configuration

is only suitable for a factory fitted tow bar. Apparently needs a fair bit of expensive adjustment including uprating the cooling system.

And there was me thinking a great version to buy used & fit a towbar!

On 06/05/2021 at 18:34, unclerichy said:

Warning: there's a car nearby

Warning: door open

Don't forget your mobile telephone!

Ooo don't go and reverse into that wall 50 feet behind you!

Put a hat on, it's cold out.

 

Water pump? Dunno mate, haven't got a sensor for that.

 

Car makers need to start concentrating on useful stuff and not pointless gadgetry that's only accessible via s massive touchscreen.

 

Anyway, happy towing.

Good post, at least he had a gauge not some silly light that illuminates when engine cooking is complete!! 

7 hours ago, MikeM46 said:

So how has it been since replacing the water pump? Just bought a 68 reg Superb SEL-Exec estate, tdi 190 dsg 4x4 only to be informed that this configuration

is only suitable for a factory fitted tow bar. Apparently needs a fair bit of expensive adjustment including uprating the cooling system.

And there was me thinking a great version to buy used & fit a towbar!

Maybe I'm stuck in the stone age but I'd never consider any type of auto box suitable for towing especially the monstrous caravans you see being hauled around now. Regulations regarding towing, suitable vehicle, correct licence etc were introduced here in Ireland a few years ago and because they're actually enforced have made a huge difference. 

18 hours ago, MikeM46 said:

So how has it been since replacing the water pump? Just bought a 68 reg Superb SEL-Exec estate, tdi 190 dsg 4x4 only to be informed that this configuration

is only suitable for a factory fitted tow bar. Apparently needs a fair bit of expensive adjustment including uprating the cooling system.

And there was me thinking a great version to buy used & fit a towbar!

 

I'm towing a caravan without upgrades (but mine's not DSG/4WD and only 150bhp) my engine runs warmer and the fan runs noticeably, and much much more than even spanking it solo, but a rural run cross country (50mph) to a caravan site sees not much extra heat at all, however a faster motorway run at only 60 is always very hot and needs probably 20+ mins off motorway for it to get down, or the fan will run on for ages, and even then the whole front is hot - think DPF regen hot. A sedate motorway run sat in with the lorries is never as hot a run, and the fans are not needed if you've had about 10 minutes to campsite at normal speeds.

 

I think an after-market rad fan/oil cooler fitted by a local specialist is likely to be way, way cheaper than VW group parts upgraded at full dealer retail/workshop rates. The expense in a dealer upgrade is labour in removing the old bits first then installing the new bits at the full retail, rather than just the price difference of those part numbers swapped at build. Coding would be needed for any towbar, most towbar fitters do it themselves.

 

 

I've just come back from holiday and towed my caravan with my Superb iV from Glasgow to Silverdale, then Keswick, then back to Glasgow.  Having previously towed with the 2.0 turbo diesel Superb, I wasn't sure what to expect.  But I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.  I got it fully charged before leaving, had it on hybrid and in 'B' mode on the DSG box, and it handled the journey no problem.  No overheating, 30+ to the gallon even when pulling just on petrol and handled all sorts of terrain from Motorways to hills to very tight and windy country roads. 

I have the factory fitted tow-bar so maybe that helps.

I tow an 8' body twin axle box trailer a lot with mine and I don't notice any real difference engine oil temp wise other than on a long drag climb on an A road for example, but the increase might be 5°c. The water temp seems to sit at 90°c regardless. Mines DSG and works fine. It does have the factory towbar though.

 

My dad has done tens of thousands of miles towing caravans around Europe with various 'trad' auto boxes with zero issues. The only thing we have always done to his vehicles is fit a Kenlowe oil cooler rad into the gearbox oil cooling loop on each of them. His current Mondeo is DSG and has also do thousands of towing miles with zero issues and no extra cooler as there isn't really anything to cool.

 

I'll had this here rather than start a new thread:

I have a 72 reg Superb Estate, 2.0 TDI/150 PS and manual transmission, bought second hand from a Skoda dealer earlier this year. We had a towbar fitted to Skoda specs and tow an Xplore 304 caravan at around 1200kg - plated as 1350. 

Currently on holiday in France. Drove from Caen via various Autoroutes picking up the A89 a tad north of Clermont Ferrand and headed west. The A89 climbs to around 1,000 metres at gradients steeper than UK motorways and with crawler lanes. Has a near miss for coolant temperature with a previous car after being baulked in the crawler lane and unable to accelerate. 

Skoda handled that just fine with temperature never above 110. 

Left the A89 and followed D roads around La Bourboule to Le Mont Dore. Took the ‘Route de Besse’ up to our destination campsite at 1400 metres. Temperature in upper twenties. 

Coming through Le Mont Dore noted temperature rising to 110. Climbing  up the Col it hit 120 then 130 (red pilot light). Just as we reached our site the overheat warning beeped and red lights  came on on dash.

Followed manual and let it cool down. 

Been fine since. Hit 110 a couple of times but sorted out and dropped back to 90.

During the last few miles the EPC light came on with a message about a ‘stop start fault’; a recurrence of a problem that’s popped up several times but dealer investigation has only produced a No Fault Found outcome.

Any ideas as to cause? FWIW the radiator fan seemed suspiciously quiet during the overheat. I think the dealer investigation of the EPC fault threw up a code related to the rad fan but I might have misheard.

Soooo, been into Skoda about the overheat and they say it needs an auxiliary fan for towing.

Anybody seen or heard of such a thing?

Yes, it is standard on cars that come with towing preparation.

12 hours ago, Bromptonaut said:

Soooo, been into Skoda about the overheat and they say it needs an auxiliary fan for towing.

Anybody seen or heard of such a thing?

I have a manual 190tdi 2016 model and I bought it and found out there was a detachable westfalia towbar. So I have been using it to tow a caravan this past year and haven't had any overheating issues. I assume mine don't have any additional cooling fitted. Furthest I've towed is 240 miles to north Devon and on the return home we went straight through without stopping and had no cooling issues.

The bit I don't get is on the vin plate of the car it gives you the 2 weights and you can work out what the car can pull. Surely it should be able to pull that without further modification. What is the point of stating a car can pull 2000kg if it can't without being modified?

And where would an auxiliary cooling fan go. The engine bay of my 190 is pretty filled up already. Or would the remove the existing fan and fit something else?

It depends on model and engine as to what is required.

Found this for Karoq but nothing for Superb

On 29/07/2025 at 06:20, Itsrelfy said:

I have a manual 190tdi 2016 model and I bought it and found out there was a detachable westfalia towbar. So I have been using it to tow a caravan this past year and haven't had any overheating issues. I assume mine don't have any additional cooling fitted. Furthest I've towed is 240 miles to north Devon and on the return home we went straight through without stopping and had no cooling issues.

The bit I don't get is on the vin plate of the car it gives you the 2 weights and you can work out what the car can pull. Surely it should be able to pull that without further modification. What is the point of stating a car can pull 2000kg if it can't without being modified?

And where would an auxiliary cooling fan go. The engine bay of my 190 is pretty filled up already. Or would the remove the existing fan and fit something else?

It's a bigger and more powerful fan with extra blades. Supplying dealer was downright obstructive about quoting to supply/fit. They also told me I'd have to remove my towbar before they'd investigate some supposed consequentials of the overheat!

I was left in a position where I paid £20k for a car that was not fit for purpose.

Now found a dealer in Mansfield who will supply/fit a fan upgrade.