Got in my Octy vRS this morning and noticed for the first time that Service was flashing up on the mileage display. I thought I was meant to get a countdown from 1000 miles? Has it skipped this, because there is something more seriously wrong?

What also puzzles me is that the car was last serviced by the previous owner at 2 years old and 16,000 miles. This was done on 31 May 2005. In the last year the car has covered just under 10,000 miles, so shouldn't be showing a need for a service, as it's on variable.

Now I don't know what to do. The car was only in the garage last week to have a warranty fix put right, and I was expecting it to need to go back until sometime next year just before its four birthday. Is there a chance the computer has been set up for fixed rather than variable servicing?

I don't really want to pay

I had this...

Car was serviced by garage at 18500, supposed to be put back on variable.

Noticed the service countdown at 27,000 (ish - i forget).

Phoned the garage. The only thing we could come up with was that the indicator had been reset by the dash (which makes it fixed for that interval). Service manager told me to do the same and I'm now on 34000, waiting for the light to come on soon.

The countdown thing on an Octy is a bit of an odd one in that it only comes on for a few seconds at the start and is pretty easy to miss if you are not looking for it.

Check if the last service used the right oil for variable, and if it did i would suggest that they probably set the thing to the wrong service type. A quick call in at the dealers should see this set correctly if this is the case.

The countdown thing on an Octy is a bit of an odd one in that it only comes on for a few seconds at the start and is pretty easy to miss if you are not looking for it.

Check if the last service used the right oil for variable' date=' and if it did i would suggest that they probably set the thing to the wrong service type. A quick call in at the dealers should see this set correctly if this is the case.[/quote']I agree that the countdown is very easy to miss unless you look at the odometer display each time you start. I believe that you will need to have the car serviced before the service indicator is reset for variable service intervals otherwise there is no valid starting point from which to calculate when the next service is due, ie fresh Longlife oil for starters.

Cheers everybody for the help.

I do know when the last (and only service) was done as I have all the paperwork for it from the previous owner, would that help the dealer to reset the computer?

I definitely never saw the service countdown though, as I noticed 'service' flash for a while this morning. Is there just a chance that I am low on oil or something similar?

I have to say Denis is rarely wrong, so I'd agree with what he says about using it as a starting point.

I'm think you won't get the service light unless the car thinks it needs a service oil levels show a different light :(

I do know when the last (and only service) was done as I have all the paperwork for it from the previous owner' date=' would that help the dealer to reset the computer?

I definitely never saw the service countdown though, as I noticed 'service' flash for a while this morning. Is there just a chance that I am low on oil or something similar?[/quote']Channels 43, 44 and 45 in the instrument module need recoding at the same time for variable service intervals following an inspection service. Channel 43 should have a stored value of 30 which is the correct value for a maximum oil change interval of 30,000km or 18642 miles; 44 should have a stored value of 730 which is the maximum number of days between inspection services; and 45 should have a stored value of 2 for oil quality indicating that the oil is Longlife. Your dealer can check those settings using their diagnostic equipment and confirm what service regime your car is set for, but there isn't any scope in those settings to retrieve the situation you are in.

I had this...

Car was serviced by garage at 18500' date=' supposed to be put back on variable.

Noticed the service countdown at 27,000 (ish - i forget).

Phoned the garage. The only thing we could come up with was that the indicator had been reset by the dash (which makes it fixed for that interval). Service manager told me to do the same and I'm now on 34000, waiting for the light to come on soon.[/quote']If I were buying a secondhand Skoda I would do a check with VAG-COM for any error codes and I would also check the Instrument module to see what the service settings were. It would be easy to spot in a case like yours that whilst the Service Schedule recorded that the car was on variable service intervals, Channels 43, 44 and 45 would show that it was in fact set for fixed service intervals. Also Channel 41, which shows the actual number of days since the last service, would be counting the days from when the dash was reset rather than from when the last service was done. I would ask to see details of the missing service and would query why it wasn't recorded in the Service Record.

Denis, you think he could get away with just an oil change?

If so you can probably speak to the dealer and get a compromise on the cost of the oil change.

Denis' date=' you think he could get away with just an oil change?

If so you can probably speak to the dealer and get a compromise on the cost of the oil change.[/quote']A variable service could be due anywhere between 9320 and 18642 miles so it is possible that Zetec-S' car is indicating the need for a service correctly. I think that if I were in his position I would have an inspection service done now including spark plug change but leave the brake fluid to the 4 year point. An alternative is to have a standard (fixed) service consisting of an annual service plus an oil change service now, then an inspection service in a year's time when the car would be put back on variable servicing. Not an easy choice and both entail unanticipated expense. :(

If the car was bought secondhand from a dealer, and that dealer had set the service indicator incorrectly, I think I might be float the idea of some form of discount for the unexpected service now due. But as Zetec-S didn't pay for the original service, it would be a bit tongue in cheek.

Cheers for the help Denis.

I just have a nagging doubt in my mind that this might have something to do with work that they did last week on my car. I instructed them to carry out the work detailed in technical bulletin 56, which I believe was just the replacement of a hose, which has much improved low down acceleration. Is there any change that the car is using more oil as a result?

Also if the service indicator has been reset incorrectly, would a dealer be able to tell now. Could it just be a simple case that it has been set to fixed rather than variable?

When I bought the car (from a non Skoda franchised dealer) I did actually contact the previous servicing dealer Alex Lawrie (who also originally supplied the car), to check that the car was set for variable servicing and they told me it was. However I had previously contacted Skoda UK which told me it was on fixed servicing. V Strange.

They can tell wether it is on fixed or Variable by asking the ECU.

From what you say I think the previous dealer may have been confused and thought you asked can the car be on variable servicing rather than is it. Although i may be wrong skoda UK should be able to see whats what from what the dealers put in.

If it is on fixed then it is probably now time for a service and you can have it changed to variable at this service. Have to say I'd probably take the safe option and get it done, knowing you have piece of mind of a 'known' service on your car.

I had a similar thing with my Octi; At the last service the dealer was asked to switch it to variable servicing, which the paperwork says they did, and longlife oil was used.

Then approx 11 months and 8300 miles later the 'Service in 1000 miles' indicator pops on. I took the car back to the dealer to query it, and they confirmed that, yes, the car should be on variable servicing. They then took the car into the workshop to check and found that it had not been properly set-up for variable at the last service. They then changed the settings and said that the car was now on variable and that indicator would come on at some point in the future, just as if the car had been properly set-up at the last service.

Which setting(s) were wrong, I don't know, but at the next service I'll ask them to double-check them and give me a print-out showing what the channels, as Denis has listed, are set to.

They then changed the settings and said that the car was now on variable and that indicator would come on at some point in the future, just as if the car had been properly set-up at the last service.

So the maximum 2 year/20,000 miles service interval started afresh, but with oil that had already done 8,300 miles? How on earth can the 'system' correctly calculate when the next service is due if 11 months and 8300 miles have effectively been erased between consecutive services? :confused:

How on earth can the 'system' correctly calculate when the next service is due if 11 months and 8300 miles have effectively been erased between consecutive services? :confused:

I did wonder about this myself, but am not too worried, because if the 'service in 1000 miles' indicator hasn't come on before 23 months or 17,500 miles since the last service, I'll book the car in for a service anyway. Plus, I may get paranoid and have an oil & filter change before then anyway.

Also, the oil life monitor sensor in the sump is still active, and if this is able to tell if you've topped up with more than half a litre of non longlife oil it should be able to tell if the (longlife) oil needs replacing. No?

And, could the dealer have 'tweeked' any of the channel values you mentioned earlier in the thread? e.g. could channel 43 have been set to, say, 16 (16,000km / 10,000miles) to take into account the 8300 miles already covered, or channel 44 set to 395 (395 days instead of 730) to allow for the 11 months since the last service?

Either way, when the car is next serviced, I will remind them of this issue and ask to see proof that the correct values are set.

A bit of an update on this.

I took the car down to the local dealers on Saturday, having booked it in initially for them to check if it had been set to the correct service intervals.

Surprise, surprise it hadn't. The car was set for fixed intervals. As the previous owner had kindly left the sales invoice from the first service done at 2 years old as a variable service, the techinican was happy to conclude that the car should be on variable servicing, as it clearly stated long life oil and 20,000 mile variable service on the invoice.

They then gave me the option of either resetting the computer for variable or fixed, in order to get the service indicator to turn off. Seemed no point in setting it to variable as this would reset everything, I wouldn't have a clue when the car needed a service, so instead decided to have it reset for fixed. In any case the car is due for an MOT in January so I will probably just have a variable service down then and have the computer set back to variable servicing.

A bit of pain though as it took 30 minutes in the garage and a small charge of