Unfortunately I had the dreaded error:drive system message back again, first time in a long time soon after starting a drive back from Cornwall at the weekend. I had the first 70 miles of every few seconds pinging on and off and trying to go into Limp Mode. Stopped overnight in Wellington, and continued the rest of the 180 miles home without any problems. Booked into dealer... again... for the beginning of Oct. I despair. 

Oh, dear! Sorry to hear that. Hendy Skoda of Bournemouth managed to replace the sensors on my 2.0 DSG diesel Octavia and in the past 3,500 miles I haven't heard the dreaded "bong!" once. If it would be any help, your Skoda dealer in Wellington might get in touch with the Service Manager at Hendy Bournemouth, Steve Dixon. He supervised the service and knows all the details of the problem: 01202 069004

Thank you for your reply and your skida contact details.  I thought my problem had been solved. That was the first time in months, I think Feb was the last time. Although it went into Skoda in May I think it was to have the fuel pump part changed. But strangely the car was sluggish starting on the morning it happened (a battery issue?), and for a few seconds after starting loads of different error messages flashed up, and disappeared very quickly. I was reluctant to turn the car off while getting a few other things sorted, and then carried on our way. I'm wondering if I had turned the engine off and give the car a chance to reset itself I'd still have the error:drive system message. I've done about 400 miles since with no issues. When fhe car goes in to the dealer again next week, I've asked them to check the battery is charging ok. Glad your car is running OK.

Ask them the check the sensors as well. There was no doubt, according to Bournemouth Skoda, that the sensors were faulty and sending false error messages

Yet another 2,000 miles and no repeat of the warning. I am now SURE that the sensors were faulty and that the replacement completely solved the problem.

Hello All, how's the driving system error warning going for everyone? I've been fault free on this one for about 6 months, a clear record based on experience, until today. A year or so ago, I went off to a work meeting a few hours drive away, and the obligatory drive system fault starting on the journey and was binging on and off in typical fashion. I got to the destination and turned the car off, and as I was waiting for a colleague, I grabbed some stuff out of the boot but kept the boot open and sat there for about 15-20 mins. The car kind of shuts down after about this time period, turns the interior lights off etc, and as I was grabbing something out of the front I noticed the clock reset itself to midnight. At this point, i grab my bits, locked the car up and went on with the meeting, returning a few hours later. Lo and behold, the drive system error warning didn't re-appear on the return journey, which in typical style it would have done, only resetting itself after leaving it overnight I've found.

 

Fast forward to today and I thought I'd give this a try as I wasn't under any time pressures. Warning starts bing bonging this morning on a local trip, I get home, turn the car off, open the boot, grab my keys and head inside for about 30 mins leaving the car unlocked, before then heading back out. Et voila, no reoccurring drive system error warning. I imagine it would work the same if you just left the car door open and you were sat in it, but the ignition needs to be off as if you're about to leave the car but don't lock it. You're waiting for that timer out function when it shuts the systems down. 

 

Maybe I've just been lucky on this occasion, but in the hindsight of any fix materialising, it's worth a shot next time you're wondering how much worse Mk4 ownership can get! 

Yet another month, yet another 1,500 miles and not a single bong! I am more convinced than ever that the faulty sensors were to blame. (Thank you Steve Dixon of Hendy Skoda Poole!)

Hi "HenPan"

I have the same problems that the Skoda service center can't solve it more then one year. When I'm towing a caravan, I often get the message "Error: drive system. Please visit workshop" and the car has limited power.

HenPan, do you know exactly what they did to your vehicle at the service station to solve the problem? This would be very helpful in solving my vehicle problems.

I am from Slovenia and unfortunately I cannot have my vehicle serviced in the UK.

Thank you for any help