Hi folks,

Apologies in advance as this is a long tale of woe that I writing to hopefully get a good resolution to my current situation with my car.

 

Firstly though, I've owned my first Skoda, a 66 plate Superb 2.0D 190 BHP, hatchback Sportline in lovely red, for about 15 months now and I'm still pretty happy with it. 

 

We planned a trip to southern Brittany in France (3 adults, 1 child), and although the boot space and legroom are cavernous, I bought some roof bars and a massive roof-box so we could take loads of luggage without compromising interior comfort. The trip was from Manchester to Portsmouth (260 miles), then Caen to Ploemeur (220 miles).  I have an extended warranty with AA European breakdown cover, so no worries there. We planned in plenty of travel time so there was no need to break any speed limits at any point of the journey.  The English leg of the trip went without hitch, however our nightmare started literally 15 minutes after we left the ferry. We arrived in France at 7am to a gloomy 20°C and speed limits of 110 kmh (68 mph).

 

On the Caen ring road my engine overheating warning flashed up and the temperature needle was pointing to 130°C, it's usually 90°C.  Fortunately there are plenty of exits so I immediately pulled off the ring road and the temperature stabilized at low speed. The radiator fan seemed to be doing it's job. I chanced another stint on the ring road and the temperature began to climb again so I pulled over, rang the AA and was recovered on a flatbed truck to a back street garage in Caen. The mechanic plugged his diagnostic tool into my car and told me, through google Translate, that my head gasket had failed and the car was undriveable. 😞

 

I'll spare you from the logistical nightmare that we endured from the rest of the holiday (Fiat Tipo hire car) and concentrate on the Skoda. Please bear in mind that most of the next bit occurred over the course of the next 2 weeks when we were 200 miles away in Brittany. 

 

The car was recovered to a Skoda main dealer in Saint-Lo, 40 miles away from Caen where they performed a diagnostic and told me that the car was OK and I could collect it. They hadn't checked it for overheating at high speed. So I got them to perform a high speed test and again they told me that the car was fine. However, based on the fact that I'd told them that the car had overheated they recommended that they should replace the water pump which included replacing the timing belt at a cost of 1130 Euros. This however would not be covered under the warranty as they and their diagnostic power test hadn't actually identified any problem. 

 

I declined their kind offer and after confirming that the car was driveable at low speed, decided to drive it slowly back to the ferry, get it back to Blighty and get it recovered back home. It drove faultlessly back to the ferry reaching 110 kmh with the temperature gauge staying solidly at 90°C.

 

So we are now back home after our worst ever holiday experience and I'm none the wiser as to what happened to cause my car to overheat that first morning in France. I'm pretty convinced that the original backstreet mechanic was either incompetent or dodgy and trying to make a few hundred Euros out of some stranded tourists. I've had to incur the 97.60 Euro cost of the Skoda diagnostic because they couldn't find any faults. We contacted the Skoda warranty who told me that both the head gasket and water pump would both be covered, however it would need diagnosed by Skoda. I need to get this sorted, however I'm loathed to hand over another £100 for them to tell me that my car is OK.

 

Has anyone on here had any similar experiences, dealings or advice that they could impart to me regards to this sorry saga.  Thanks in advance.

 

Mart

35 minutes ago, MartinMc1973 said:

Has anyone on here had any similar experiences,...

I haven't managed to fully understand all the details, but some Skodas (not clear from an account that doesn't include the engine code if this is one of them) have a variable volume water pump, which sometimes sticks giving symptoms like overheating. That you don't report any symptoms other than high engine temperature makes me think this may well be the case.

The bad news is that I'm afraid it doesn't really leave any "evidence" that engine diagnostics will find.

Edited 3 September, 20223 yr by KenONeill

2.0 TDI have common fault of sticky thermostat sleeve that is built into the pump. Only resolution is to replace the pump. It's usually cambelt driven so worth changing that at the same time.  So sounds like the French dealer might have been on the money albeit on the cautionary side.

I don't think anyone with those symptoms have had a head gasket failure but that doesn't mean it's fine. I'd guess a pressure test would solve that. Certainly cheaper than an actual replacement.

 

How many miles has the car done and has it had a belt change ever?

Hi KenONeill,

 

Do you know how would be able to find my engine code? 

 

The car is a 2 liter diesel, 190 BHP with an auto DSG gearbox. It was registered in Feb 2017.

 

That occurrence in France was the one and only time that I have witnessed any engine issues with the car and it seems to be fine now. However, as you can imagine i'm nervous about driving it now. 

 

Mart

Hi MarkyG82,

 

The car has done 42,000 miles, I've done about 10,000 of those. As far as I'm aware It's not had the belt replaced yet. The warranty guy that I spoke to said that the water pump was covered, but I think that it would have to fail completely for them to authorize and conduct any repair.

 

I've not actually spoken to Skoda about this yet as I wanted to gather as much knowledge as possible on how best the deal with the issue. 

 

Mart

Your car has a sticking sleeve on the waterpump, if its not overheating now then it has retracted, all you need to do is disconnect the wiring connector to the actuator and your car will behave perfectly and reliably for the next million miles, it will however be a little slower to produce heat from the heater on a cold morning, that is the only downside.

 

A diagnostic tester will not tell a breakdown mechanic that a vehicle has a blown head gasket, he likely typed into Google Translate "comment puis-je arnaquer ce pigeon Anglais?" (how can I rip off this dumb Brit?) 🤣

9 hours ago, MartinMc1973 said:

Do you know how would be able to find my engine code?

It's on the options sticker, usually on the boot floor/floorpan, sometimes also in the service and/or owner's manual, somewhere on the engine block. and you may be able to derive it from the V5 and/or the chassis number.

Everyone’s comments are here are right on the money.

 

the water pump shroud is what allows the engine to maintain temperature. This is a known failure point and can intermittently stick in either open or closed position or somewhere between the 2.

 

because of how efficient new diesels are, they will happily run at low load and be able to self regulate their temperature without any assistance.

once under a bit more load the shroud retracts allowing coolant to flow freely through the radiator and assist cooling. This explains why at low speeds you’re just fine.

 

Yours sounds like an intermittent sticking fault and will need replacing. This is a part of the cambelt drive system so should be done with a cambelt (5 year intervals). Personally I would be fitting what’s called a non switchable water pump. This simply does away with the shroud and although engine warm up is ever so slightly increased in time, there is no point of failure anymore.

 

dealers I’ve seen quote between £700-900 for the job including water pump.

not sure about independent garage prices.

If you’re anywhere near London I also offer it as a service. If not, personally I would go for an independent garage and fit quality parts such as INA or Continental and make sure they get a modified water pump with no shroud. 

Hi,

 

I had the same issue. You can read how it went for me (and some others) in the thread below: 

 

BE prepared to have your water pump replace. For me I was only charge for 10%, Skoda France paid the remaining 90%. But, since I decided to replace the cambel at the same time (not coverd by Skoda warranty), I nevertheless had to pay ~600€ in total.

Not very happy with Skoda policy, snce normally, the cambelt is to be replaced at 21000km an TDI190, the waterpump being only recommended for replacement at the sametime. I would have appreciated Skoda to cover 90% of the cambelt too.

 

Regarding the french Skoda dealer, I don't know what strategy he had, but I assume:

- There's a lack of knowledge. Some dealers know can't do any repair properly if VCDS doesn't say anything. No VCDS fault code = Vehicle OK...🙄😬 In this case, since the water pump sticks, this is purely mechanical, so no reason to get a fault code... Ho man (mechanic), use your brain!

- Since your not a french owner, the dealer probably felt it'd be a mess to sort it right with Skoda France (though Skoda warranty is Europe wide). He probably chose the lazy solution... 😬

 

Good luck to get it solve soon!

Thanks for all the great replies folks. I'd say that you've nailed the issue down for me there. The next thing is to figure out how to get it sorted as quickly and cheaply as possible, either with our without Skoda's assistance. Thanks again. Mart

Agreeing with everyone else, I'd imagine this might be useful reading:

 

Gaz

The issue with getting it done under warranty is proving the fault as it only occurs at warmup under load. A dealer might not be willing to go through that process to prove it unfortunately. Best bet is to phone around and ask while explaining it's covered under warranty if proven faulty. But also be prepared to pay full price for the work if you can't get it proven. Then you'd be best shopping around independents for the best price.

 

Forgot to respond to your mileage reply. 42k is right on the money for these failures. They tend to go between 40 and 60 I think.

Edited 4 September, 20223 yr by MarkyG82

In my case, I didn't prove anything.

I went to my dealer, I explained what happened. I said I had notice this seems to be a common issue on TDI190 on many VAG vehicles. The dealer opened a claim by Skoda France, even though my Mk3 was clearly out of warranty (4 years old when it happened, and never went to any dealer once the normal 2-year warranty was over, since I do all maintenance operations myself).

I didn't have to argue, prove or beg. The dealer did his job as every professional should! 👍

 

I hope it will be that simple for @MartinMc1973  .

 

I had the cam belt and water pump changed last year when the car was 5 years old but had only covered 28,260 miles and I've had no problems with overheating.   It wasn't cheap, but it gives me peace of mind not worrying about them possibly giving trouble.

 

This summer we went on two trips abroad; to Croatia in June and Lithuania in August.  We didn't take out any breakdown cover as we're covered for a year after each annual service with ŠKODA Roadside Assistance, which covers us in the UK and throughout Europe, so it offsets some of the difference if we'd used an independent.

Just had a chat with my local main dealer in Rochdale. They don't seem to be as benevolent as your dealer Bap33. They are willing to do a diagnostic on it however, if nothing is found then I'll have to pay for it again at a cost of £109. This would be the only way they could initiate a claim with Skoda warranty. When I told them that I'd already had an inconclusive diagnostic in France, they suggested that I could take the car back to France and get them to do the repair. (Don't spill your coffee).

I'm going to give the warranty a ring tomorrow to see if I can get any joy with them, but I won't hold my breath.

I know it maybe a long shot but I've got dashcam footage of the moment it happened. I'm in slow moving traffic and you can clearly hear a warning sound coming from the car and my wife reading the dashboard warning 'Engine overheating?'

As if breaking down wasn't bad enough, we've had an absolute nightmare with Skoda's (AA) European breakdown. So much so that we've had to put a complaint in with them.

Sorry about this miserable post folks.  🙂

2 hours ago, MartinMc1973 said:

they suggested that I could take the car back to France and get them to do the repair. (Don't spill your coffee).

Wow 😲😲 ! How do they dare call themselves as professional official dealer! unbelievable !!! 😡

Simple suggestion, go to another official dealer if feasible.

11 hours ago, Bap33 said:

Wow 😲😲 ! How do they dare call themselves as professional official dealer! unbelievable !!! 😡

Simple suggestion, go to another official dealer if feasible.

 

+1 

 

If they think that's  a rational or reasonable response, I'd suggest it might also be a qualitative comment about what else they might find acceptable (e.g. in their workshops).  Vote with your feet, your wallet and go elsewhere IMHO.

 

Gaz

 

 

I spoke to the warranty people today who told me that they'd be happy to process a claim, however I need to get the problem diagnosed be a Skoda main dealer. Great!

So I rang up Rochdale and asked to speak to one of their technicians, instead of the service manager.  I spoke to a really helpful lad, told him my plight along with my concerns about paying for another diagnostic that potentially wouldn't find any faults.  He reassured me that this is a very common issue, so much so that there's a bulletin from Skoda, they keep the parts in stock and so hey don't even do a road test, they just do a basic strip down and can easily identify a faulty water pump. Then they'd initiate a claim against the warranty. The only issue that could arise would be if they found any signs of previous tampering with the pump. So feeling a bit more reassured I've booked it in with them on Tuesday.

The garage in France recommended that I replace the timing belt as the car is now over 5 years old, so I mentioned this to the technician who agreed that it was due and that it would reduce future labour costs if I had it done at the same time. so I think I'll get them to do that too.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Mart

Fair enough quoting £110 for a diagnosis, but being a Participating Dealer they should be telling you that the first 30 Minutes is £60 and that may be all the time needed. 

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/506325-kodiaq-overheating-at-random

 

You might think this is not their full time job at a Skoda Dealership and everyday they are surprised that new issues are arriving that they never heard of ever.

 

They love actual Warranty Issues that they still get paid for by customers just to increase the profits doing jobs they get paid for already.

 

On 06/09/2022 at 13:59, Penpusher said:

I had the cam belt and water pump changed last year when the car was 5 years old but had only covered 28,260 miles and I've had no problems with overheating.   It wasn't cheap, but it gives me peace of mind not worrying about them possibly giving trouble.

 

This summer we went on two trips abroad; to Croatia in June and Lithuania in August.  We didn't take out any breakdown cover as we're covered for a year after each annual service with ŠKODA Roadside Assistance, which covers us in the UK and throughout Europe, so it offsets some of the difference if we'd used an independent.

Just checking, are you saying that if you get your car serviced at a Skoda dealer you get breakdown insurance throughout Europe included in the price of the service?

On 07/09/2022 at 20:36, MartinMc1973 said:

I spoke to the warranty people today who told me that they'd be happy to process a claim, however I need to get the problem diagnosed be a Skoda main dealer. Great!

So I rang up Rochdale and asked to speak to one of their technicians, instead of the service manager.  I spoke to a really helpful lad, told him my plight along with my concerns about paying for another diagnostic that potentially wouldn't find any faults.  He reassured me that this is a very common issue, so much so that there's a bulletin from Skoda, they keep the parts in stock and so hey don't even do a road test, they just do a basic strip down and can easily identify a faulty water pump. Then they'd initiate a claim against the warranty. The only issue that could arise would be if they found any signs of previous tampering with the pump. So feeling a bit more reassured I've booked it in with them on Tuesday.

The garage in France recommended that I replace the timing belt as the car is now over 5 years old, so I mentioned this to the technician who agreed that it was due and that it would reduce future labour costs if I had it done at the same time. so I think I'll get them to do that too.

I'll let you know how I get on.

Mart

If you get satisfied with the job they do, It may be worth come back to the 1st silly guy who told you you could have your car repaired in France. Just to explain him that fortunately some of his colleagues are more professional than he is.  

 

On 07/09/2022 at 21:18, superbrex said:

Just checking, are you saying that if you get your car serviced at a Skoda dealer you get breakdown insurance throughout Europe included in the price of the service?

Yes, I get the insurance annually from Sinclair Skoda in Swansea if I have the car serviced by them.  I'm not sure if its only through this dealer or if it's nationwide.  This is what I get a week or two after the service:-

 

Dear Mr Penpusher, Welcome to your ŠKODA UK and European Roadside Assistance. It’s simply our way of saying thank you for having your ŠKODA serviced at Sinclair ŠKODA. It's a completely unique package and something you can't buy anywhere else.   Not only does it offer peace-of-mind with feature packed cover, but it also means you can save money by reducing your need for roadside assistance with your car insurers. Best of all, you can be sure your ŠKODA will remain in the very best hands should anything unexpected happen!         Your cover includes:    24 hour roadside assistance, 365 days a year  Breakdown and self induced faults (e.g. running out of fuel)  Recovery to a ŠKODA retailer or other destination of your choice  UK and European breakdown cover  Home assistance  Onward travel   Your ŠKODA Roadside Assistance cover starts from 07.09.2021 and runs until 07.09.2022. And remember, you’re not just covered here in the UK, but throughout Europe, too.   The numbers you need Call ŠKODA Roadside Assistance     UK: 0800 526 625       Europe: 00800 1330 3939   If your details aren't correct, please call 0800 526 625.   Cover provided in association with the AA.   Please click here to access your ŠKODA Roadside Assistance Handbook.

22 hours ago, Bap33 said:

If you get satisfied with the job they do, It may be worth come back to the 1st silly guy who told you you could have your car repaired in France. Just to explain him that fortunately some of his colleagues are more professional than he is.  

In a bid to not come across as a male chauvinist I may have omitted that the original person I spoke with was indeed a gal. The reason I rang a second time was because I got the impression she just booked the vehicles in and didn't have any technical knowledge of the test, so I wanted to speak to someone who did.

 

As for the European cover, it may do what it says on the tin, but If the service is anything like what we received, pray that you'll never need it.

5 minutes ago, MartinMc1973 said:

In a bid to not come across as a male chauvinist I may have omitted that the original person I spoke with was indeed a gal. The reason I rang a second time was because I got the impression she just booked the vehicles in and didn't have any technical knowledge of the test, so I wanted to speak to someone who did.

 

As for the European cover, it may do what it says on the tin, but If the service is anything like what we received, pray that you'll never need it.

I dont think that comes down to gender. The people that work in the showroom/aftersales 99% of the time have about as much knowledge as a 10 page powerpoint presentation when they first joined that covers the bare minimum. Male/Female doesnt matter theyre main job is simply to book vehicles in and not provide any technical knowledge. 

That being said, sometimes the 'technicians' have just as much knowledge as front of house staff... ie, none. 

So I got a call from my local dealership yesterday asking if I'd still be dropping off my Superb today at 10am for the diagnostic.  I  confirmed and asked how much it would cost to replace the timing belt.  £600 was the reply so I told them that I'd leave it for now. 

I than rang around a couple of garages for alternative quotes and the best I got was from a local specialist who quoted me £525 to replace both the water pump and belt.  My thoughts were that if the pump couldn't be fixed under warranty then I'd take my business elsewhere. But then I recalled the that the technician that I'd spoken to previously had told me that the labour cost to replace the belt would be less, as they've already stripped the parts down to check the pump.  So I rang the girl back to inquire if this was the case and was told that they'd only be able to confirm the costs after the technician had stripped it down. Great! 

 

So I dropped my Superb off with them this morning, hoping that they'd diagnose the water pump as faulty. To be honest, I was expecting them to say that it's perfectly fine, they can't find any issues and I owe them £109.  Then surprise surprise, at 2pm I got a call from them telling me that the pump was indeed faulty and would be repaired under warranty.  Fab news, what about the timing belt though? Well with the reduced labour cost and belt kit that'll come to £332.44. Would you like us to go ahead with that?  DAMN RIGHT I WOULD!  So I've left it with them and it will be ready to collect sometime tomorrow.

 

So all in all I think that's a pretty good result. Now I just need to sort my claim out for unplanned hotel costs with the European AA.  🙂

 

Mart