RE: 2006 vrS OWNERS STUTTER - SKODA UK FIX

[gordonw]

I had an Octavia 1.9 TDI Estate for 4 years - great car - consistently got 58 mpg going to work. I can only get 48 mpg on my new Fabia 1.9 TDI Estate (done 2.5K now) and there is definitely an engine hesitation when accelerating which sometimes results in a thump that feels like a loose engine mount.

Skoda dealer was adamant there was no problem with the car, but after seeing the posts on this forum I know I'm not imagining things. They did admit there was a problem with the vrs, but it seems to affect all the new VAG engines.

Anyone else suffering heavy fuel consumption?

[backpacker]

I had an Octavia 1.9 TDI Estate for 4 years - great car - consistently got 58 mpg going to work. I can only get 48 mpg on my new Fabia 1.9 TDI Estate (done 2.5K now) and there is definitely an engine hesitation when accelerating which sometimes results in a thump that feels like a loose engine mount.

Skoda dealer was adamant there was no problem with the car, but after seeing the posts on this forum I know I'm not imagining things. They did admit there was a problem with the vrs, but it seems to affect all the new VAG engines.

Anyone else suffering heavy fuel consumption?

Sorry to hear about your problem. I had a Fabia 1.9TDI for four years, great car and very economical to run, averaged 54 mpg overall but could easily return 65 mpg on a long journey. Replaced it Feb 2006 with a new Fabia 1.9TDI and quickly realized there was a problem, stutter hesitation and poor fuel economy.

The new Fabia was much more fuel hungry than my previous car, never able to better an overall 45 mpg and motorway 54 mpg. The Skoda approved fix did nothing to improve the stutter or fuel consumption.

I have now traded the car for another make and will not buy another Skoda.

[hornead]

Can anybody confirm that they have used VAG-COM to reduce the opening of the EGR valve (on a 2006/7 vRS) to get rid of any stutter ? The guys at ross-tech haven't tested this on the vRS. I don't want to end up wasting my money on VAG-COM otherwise.

[jopo]

I had a 1.9TDI Elegance Estate from December 2001 until March 2004 and over 22K miles the OVERALL consumption was 54 mpg. This was calculated from the total miles divided by the carefully recorded Litres purchased, not the reading on the instrument panel.

My current car is exactly the same model except for the EU1V mod, and the overall consumption is 52mpg in 3K miles.

The dealer did the gasket mod after a fair amount of argument including the remark that the Stutter only applied to the VRS -- not true !. I am happy with the result inspite of an incomplete cure, as it only seems to suffer when driving the first few miles from cold at about 2000 rpm.

In between the two estates I had the VRS, BEAUTIFULL, but too fast for the wife !

I love Fabias

[Jim_VRS]

Mines just been in for the stutter, but the people at DM Keith have changed their minds and the modification might have detrimental effects on the car....

...wish they'd make up their minds as last time i went in the bloke said the mod would have no implications on the car what so ever.

am i being led up the garden path!?

[Zebra]

Yes.

But that is DM Keith all over.

And Jim, you know my feelings about them from long ago, before you got your Furby.

[Jim_VRS]

Yep I sure do Zebra... I didn't buy it from them though (took your advice), but they're the closest and easiest to use....maybe it's easier going to Lightcliffe and having a day off work to walk round huddersfield?

[autojumbler]

I have got a 2006 Octavia Elegance 1.9 PD TDI its my 5th Octavia Diesel this one has had a stutter/shudder in it since day one . They fitted a new fly wheel at 8,000klms , its worse, then they kept the car for a week gave it back and said there was nothing wrong with it. The argument is still going on 7mths later.

[Mike VRS]

I've had my Fabia Vrs for a year now, I bought brand new in January 06 , I remember reading about the stutter problem, but, never really thought mine suffered from it, I got it remapped in April, and had noticed a bit of a stutter but it didn't seem viable enough to contact the dealers, but over the last few months i've noticed what I thought might be the common stutter problem, as- if I ease of the throttle at average speeds above 30 and accelerate a bit more the car seems to 'judder' like a slight hesitation before accelerating as it should, its not because the revs are to low that the engine cant handle it, but, that its like a fuel starvation or alike, but only for a moment, its just started to make think I should get it resolved, does this sound like the symptoms of the common stutter? And if I contact my dealer what do I say I want corrected? and is it a listed fault, it was in for a recent service and the paperwork stated that no recalls where due for my model? Just want to know what to ask the dealer for before contacting them.

[Jim_VRS]

Mines just been in for the stutter, but the people at DM Keith have changed their minds and the modification might have detrimental effects on the car....

...wish they'd make up their minds as last time i went in the bloke said the mod would have no implications on the car what so ever.

am i being led up the garden path!?

O and I forgot to mention....the cheeky buggers tried charging me roughly

[Stuart_J]

O and I forgot to mention....the cheeky buggers tried charging me roughly

[handyandy]

Are new 2007 cars affected by this? ... Hope not mine arrives in 6 weeks to replace my 2005 one!

[Mr Jack]

Are new 2007 cars affected by this? ... Hope not mine arrives in 6 weeks to replace my 2005 one!

My late 56 plate vRS does have a slight stutter but it's so mild as to be not worth mentioning. I've only done 3k so far though and some people have said it may get worse with distance.

[euphoria205]

Had the stutter fixed on my 06 plate vRS by Capitol in newport when was in for its 10k service and that was just over 1000 miles ago now and touch wood the car has not stuttered since.

Dont know if it is related at all either but previously i found it hard to deliver over 50mpg on my commute from cardiff to bristol but am now easily getting 55 doing steady 70-80mph where i had to stick below 70 previously to get 50mpg.

So a thumbs up from me for teh fix that Capitol have done. And also a big thumbs up for the service they have given me for those that have not read my other post.

[Shoukie]

My vrs has a very slight stutter so was wondering whether to bother going for the 'fix'.

But if it does somehow improve economy, i'd be very interested, as i struggle to get more than 45mpg. And thats mostly driving at 70mph on motorway.

[backpacker]

You are correct in suspecting the stutter for the poor fuel economy. At motorway speeds the accelerator is operating most of the time within the range where the stutter occurs since you require only slight throttle to maintain road speed unless accelerating or needing increased power for a steep gradient.

Under these conditions the stutter is hardly noticable, because the momentum of the car carries it through the hesitation which is much more noticable the lower the speed, but the stutter is still there and at steady speed causes engine revs and power to drop off. Iin turn this requires regular application of throttle to correct causing the the adverse effect on fuel consumption. This happens whether driving manually or in cruise control.

My previous Fabia with the 1.9 TDI engine consistently returned well in excess of 60 mpg under extra urban conditions and 54 mpg overall whereas my 2006 Fabia never bettered 45 overall or 54 mpg extra urban. If you keep an eye on the rev counter when on the motorway, the drop off in power and speed will be quite noticable.

In my case the Skoda fix did nothing to reduce the stutter or improve the fuel consumption.

[Mike VRS]

Im going to contact my dealer this week to book the car in for the stutter fix, its getting more and more annoying, can someone please tell me what I need to ask them to repair/ adjust under warranty? No doubt they'll say they've never heard of such a problem.

Thanks

[Shoukie]

Me too, booking mine in ASAP. Printed out a link from somewhere earlier in this thread in case they try to deny the problem exists. I'd attach it, but can't find it anymore.

[BrOwS]

Im going to contact my dealer this week to book the car in for the stutter fix, its getting more and more annoying, can someone please tell me what I need to ask them to repair/ adjust under warranty? No doubt they'll say they've never heard of such a problem.

Thanks

Fabia-vrs.com - Hesitation around 1800 rpm - Fabia vRS - BLT engine code.

[hornead]

In the 06+ model do you suspect that not only did they fit a wider gasket in the factory to re-circulate more exhaust gas, but also changed the ECU settings to open the EGR valve wider ?

Perhaps this would explain why the gasket fix alone doesn't completely work ?

Does anyone know which remaps fix the stutter and get the fuel economy promised ?

[Mike VRS]

Fabia-vrs.com - Hesitation around 1800 rpm - Fabia vRS - BLT engine code.

Superb

Thats getting printed out shortly, for when I contact the dealers in the morning,

Thanks:D

[VRStu]

Superb

Thats getting printed out shortly, for when I contact the dealers in the morning,

Thanks:D

Could I ask that for the benefit of others you don't do that. There is no need as they will have their own copy and if I am asked to remove it by the authors then it will spoil it for all and may even prevent you getting other useful information yourself.

[CRoN]

Hi all,

Not posted here in a while since I got rid of my Octy VRS... in the market for a new car atm, and looking seriously at a new Fabia VRS.... but its not going to happen. I emailed Skoda directly to see if this issue affected newly built models... and this was the response.

While it might not be a big deal for some people I just know from what i've read it would annoy the living hell out of me.

"Thank you for your email regarding the 1.9 engine in the Skoda Fabia vRS.

I can confirm we collated all the necessary information and carried out an in-depth investigation and identified that the hesitation was related to the operation of the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve.

Our findings were reported to the Factory and technical specialists came to the UK to carry out their own investigation. It would seem that when the throttle is opened after being on overrun at around 1800rpm, the rapid change in EGR quantity causes the hesitation. This is a requirement for this engine in order for it to conform to EU4 emission legislation.

Having fully investigated this matter we must conclude that the hesitation is a phenomenon resulting from ever more stringent exhaust legislation. It is not a manufacturing defect and has no influence on the durability or usability of the vehicle.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and I trust I have been able to clarify this matter.

Yours sincerely,"

[sharkrider]

Hi all,

Not posted here in a while since I got rid of my Octy VRS... in the market for a new car atm, and looking seriously at a new Fabia VRS.... but its not going to happen. I emailed Skoda directly to see if this issue affected newly built models... and this was the response.

While it might not be a big deal for some people I just know from what i've read it would annoy the living hell out of me.

"Thank you for your email regarding the 1.9 engine in the Skoda Fabia vRS.

I can confirm we collated all the necessary information and carried out an in-depth investigation and identified that the hesitation was related to the operation of the Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) valve.

Our findings were reported to the Factory and technical specialists came to the UK to carry out their own investigation. It would seem that when the throttle is opened after being on overrun at around 1800rpm, the rapid change in EGR quantity causes the hesitation. This is a requirement for this engine in order for it to conform to EU4 emission legislation.

Having fully investigated this matter we must conclude that the hesitation is a phenomenon resulting from ever more stringent exhaust legislation. It is not a manufacturing defect and has no influence on the durability or usability of the vehicle.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and I trust I have been able to clarify this matter.

Yours sincerely,"

that sucks. their attitude suck.

[Mouse]

I had the fix done. Brand new car August 2006. Knew about the stutter from this forum and was prepared to take the chance. One of the 1st 006 VRS to have the fix applied, but 6,000 miles,later (8,500 at the mo). The fix was temporary, in my opinion the stutter is back as it was when i got the car new. I am looking for a permanent fix, EGR gasket etc and i will do the job my self.