So the dealer got in touch. As @liam_vrsiv and @Edela have said on the forum, there's a leak in the heat exchanger causing an overpressure in the HV coolant system. Warranty company now talking to main dealer as it was ONE day out of manufacturer 3yr warranty.

Just run into this issue with my second-hand SKODA SUPERB SE TECH IV PHEV S-A (2001).
Warning light came on:

 

Checked coolant:

 

Interesting to see that there's no tamper seal on the coolant reservoir - should there be?
If so it could be indicative of a prior problem that the previous owner encountered.
I'm 1 month and 12 days past the manufacturer's warranty... really annoying.

I'm wondering if I should go to our main Skoda dealer (who I really don't trust as they tried to rip me off for a botched clock spring replacement on our previous Superb) or if our local German Auto specialist garage could sort it...

Any advice from the forum super welcome  thanks in advance

I'll add any updates to this thread.

Even if out of Manufacturers Warranty go to a Skoda Authorised repairer.

A Known issue, a fundamental design or material / manufacturing fault.

 

They need to own their failures.   Get everything in writing and do not let Dealership staff pan you off. Get the Area Warranty Manager involved.

On 12/10/2024 at 14:29, SuperbDuperb said:

Just run into this issue with my second-hand SKODA SUPERB SE TECH IV PHEV S-A (2001).
Warning light came on:

 

Checked coolant:

 

Interesting to see that there's no tamper seal on the coolant reservoir - should there be?
If so it could be indicative of a prior problem that the previous owner encountered.
I'm 1 month and 12 days past the manufacturer's warranty... really annoying.

I'm wondering if I should go to our main Skoda dealer (who I really don't trust as they tried to rip me off for a botched clock spring replacement on our previous Superb) or if our local German Auto specialist garage could sort it...

Any advice from the forum super welcome  thanks in advance

I'll add any updates to this thread.

My garage's reply (local main dealer) states that an internal defect within the air-con heat-exchanger's construction allows the aircon gas to escape into the cooling system which blows out the coolant!!!

In spite of this, Skoda are refusing the garage's request for a good will payment towards the >£1000 cost of repair & replacement. (My Skoda was 1mo, 12days out of warranty when the fault occurred.)

I'd be very grateful for any advice on how to approach Skoda  - thanks v much.

@SuperbDuperb  Have you paper work on this?

The Master Techs Diagnosis & Report to Skoda / VW UK, and the reply from Skoda UK stating that there is no fundamental design, material or manufacturing failings? 

 

It sounds to me like BS as to the issue with your car.

 

Has this gone to Skoda UK management and a Warranty Manager and a Communication / resolution manager? 

Edited 22 October, 20241 yr by Ootohere

6 minutes ago, Ootohere said:

@SuperbDuperb  Have you paper work on this?

The Master Techs Diagnosis & Report to Skoda / VW UK, and the reply from Skoda UK stating that there is no fundamental design, material or manufacturing failings? 

 

It sounds to me like BS as to the issue with your car.

 

Has this gone to Skoda UK management and a Warranty Manager and a Communication / resolution manager? 

Thanks Ootohere,
Yes, I've got paperwork (investigation report) and an email from the main dealer saying:

1.  it's a manufacturing defect with the aircon heatexchanger
2.  Skoda have refused the dealerships request for a goodwill payment

Trying to get in touch with Skoda via live chat now....

 

@SuperbDuperb

 

Hybrid Coolant is a Safety Critical issue when it is that.

Not something they can just wash their hands of. 

 

It is actually Skoda executives you need to get to.

So past this crowd who refuse everything. 

Edited 22 October, 20241 yr by Ootohere

I need a piece of advice from those of you who got the HV coolant error. This afternoon I was checking stuff under the bonnet (I do that from time to time - bad habit), and the fluid level seemed low on the second circuit - see attached video. It was usually close to the maximum, and as I can see it now, it's barely 1-2mm above the MIN marker.
A bit of context: the outside temp was 19-20 degrees C, and it was just after a 12 km drive in EV-mode, so the coolant should have been a bit warm. The thing is I don't want to wait for the warning/error to come up on the dashboard, since that would render the EV-mode unusable. As it would take some time to get an appointment with the dealership to evaluate the problem and some time after for the components to be delivered, I'm probably looking ahead at 1 month of driving ICE exclusively... 😡 
So I'd like to evaluate the issue before the car "runs out" of EV-mode. Did any of you get a service diagnosis before the coolant reservoir was empty? (or before the level got below the MIN marker?)
 

P.S. the car is a Cupra Formentor, but it has an identical hybrid system...

4 hours ago, SkOmk4 said:

The thing is I don't want to wait for the warning/error to come up on the dashboard, since that would render the EV-mode unusable. As it would take some time to get an appointment with the dealership to evaluate the problem and some time after for the components to be delivered, I'm probably looking ahead at 1 month of driving ICE exclusively...

Are you talking about some restriction on Formentor to use HV system? Because if not, you shouldn't drive on ICE either, since it is going to regenerate and charge battery, which heats it the most. Draining battery does not heat it up much, but any sort of charging does.

As far as I knew - please correct me if I'm wrong - once there's no coolant (or low level) in the hybrid circuit, the car will restrict the EV mode. I haven't got any warning yet, but I'm anticipating I will... I'll keep an eye on the coolant level.
I'm guessing the hybrid system is able to override any user-setting, and put regen to off/zero, so driving on ICE wouldn't be a big issue I suppose. 

P.S. this morning, after the surprise I had yesterday evening, I decided to also check the ICE coolant level... it's below minimum! What on Earth are those guys doing at the 1 year service - I had it done about 1 month ago...

 

Edited 24 October, 20241 yr by SkOmk4

2 hours ago, SkOmk4 said:

As far as I knew - please correct me if I'm wrong - once there's no coolant (or low level) in the hybrid circuit, the car will restrict the EV mode.

Octavia does not do that. I had empty tank and error on dashboard, it still drove in EV mode no problem. When assistance came to pick up my car, they also said I could drive a bit on EV, just to exit underground parking for them to pick it up outside.

Annoyed by the fact that both fluids are low (one below min.) I dug a little further, and checked the Service Manual. The cooling system for the HV-system has a dedicated section obviously.
It seems that only for the Factory delivery it's ok for the coolant level to be at the weld seam. For ALL the following service checks the coolant level has to be brought up to the MAX marking:

 

This piece of info is in agreement with what I noticed since I got the car (new): the coolant level was at the edge of the weld seam. However, at the first oil change service they should have filled it up to MAX level, according to the Procedure in their Service Manual:

 

Besides that, what bothers me most, is that at the first oil change service that I had more than one month ago, the service sheet that I received clearly mentions that they checked the coolant level for the HV-system and the integrity of the seal...
However, the fact that the level is at the minimum for this one and 1 cm below min. for the ICE coolant is clearly indicating they didn't check a damn thing. The probability for both fluids getting so low since the oil-service is too small.

 

On 22/10/2024 at 11:22, Ootohere said:

@SuperbDuperb  Have you paper work on this?

The Master Techs Diagnosis & Report to Skoda / VW UK, and the reply from Skoda UK stating that there is no fundamental design, material or manufacturing failings? 

 

It sounds to me like BS as to the issue with your car.

 

Has this gone to Skoda UK management and a Warranty Manager and a Communication / resolution manager? 

Update: Both the main dealer (Mon Motors) and Skoda UK have actually been really helpful.
Skoda UK has agreed to go 50:50 on the cost of the repair, and main dealer, Mon Motors have been a really pleasant surprise: communicative, reliable, open, honest.
They've both been super helpful, called back when they said they would and they've fixed the issue.

I pick up my fixed car later today.

I cannot thank @Ootohere enough for your guidance and pointers - without which I wouldn't have had a clue - Cheers

I had the "error: cooling system" "please visit workshop" message pop up last Saturday. I managed to get into the dealership today, and they confirmed the heating element has gone.

 

The car is 3 years and 6 months old. (Octavia estate IV 2021) So my warranty had run out.

 

£1350 to fix 🤢 

On 17/01/2025 at 18:03, jpg86 said:

The car is 3 years and 6 months old. (Octavia estate IV 2021) So my warranty had run out.

Push Skoda to contribute as it is a known design flaw. There are people who got it fixed for free or for a fraction of cost after warranty was expired.

34 minutes ago, Edela said:

Push Skoda to contribute as it is a known design flaw. There are people who got it fixed for free or for a fraction of cost after warranty was expired.

Is there any evidence you can point to (or I can point them to) as proof of it being a design flaw?

Oh dear, just heard back from non dealer garage who have diagnosed the coolant error warning as a broken heat exchanger with aircon liquid and coolant all mixed up... car is 3 months beyond warranty and we've already (just within warranty) had the infotainment system replaced. Sadly, we haven't gone extended warranty, though reading this thread makes we think we probably should have :(

Please can anyone advise the best way to try and get Skoda to address what very much looks like a known manufacturing issue? Our local dealer was useless, although confirmed no recall or log of the issue on Skoda system.