New Octavia - Central Armrest Ratcheting Issue

[jonboyuk]

Hi all, I'm having a bit of an issue with Skoda service dept (Bristol) and I wondered if any of you can give me some feedback just so I know I'm not going absolutely mad.

 

On the day that I collected my Octavia (2 months ago), I noticed the central armrest just flopped back down and wasn't ratcheting properly.

 

Initially the salesman I got it from said, "The armrests don't ratchet anymore". (Lies!)

 

I took it for a repair yesterday and they said they'd sorted it. Apparently I was using it wrong,  and I have to lift it up very gently to find the first ratchet, then it works. As he could get it working (with a very particular action), he said there was no fault and that it's not covered by warranty.

 

He also said all Skoda's are like that now (including his Octavia). I didn't believe him. I checked ones in the showroom and went in his Octavia, and they all made the clicking sound and worked as (I) expected. He said they should be like mine, and noiseless and that it was "probably one of the simply clever features".

 

I saw the service manager who echoed his junior. "I can get it working, so I deem it not to have a fault, sorry".

 

I explained that they are supposed to work without me having to gently find the correct ratchet position to which he said, 'well it works and I deem it okay'. I explained that I wasn't happy so he said he could book it in for a full inspection, but it involves "stripping the car down" and if they can't find a fault then it's not covered. Then they have to send photos to Skoda to get authorisation to get the replacement part. He was also semi implying that maybe I broke it.

 

I'm fuming because there IS a fault and it's as if they're all trying to make me think it's okay when it's clearly not. All my old Skoda's (Karoq/Fabia etc) all ratcheted properly and made a sound.

 

Here's a video:

https://youtu.be/bWuSBcbFt_k

 

Please tell me I'm not going mad 😞 Thanks.

[Mario_Delgado]

Negative, you are not going mad. Mine it does that ratcheting sound without the need of being gentle. 

[jonboyuk]

3 hours ago, Mario_Delgado said:

Negative, you are not going mad. Mine it does that ratcheting sound without the need of being gentle. 

 

Phew. Do you think they are being ridiculous with me then?

[inspectorman]

You are not going mad. The ratchet sound (four positions) happens no matter how I grip the armrest. Your ratchet mechanism is faulty. PM me if you want a comparison video.

[jonboyuk]

12 minutes ago, inspectorman said:

You are not going mad. The ratchet sound (four positions) happens no matter how I grip the armrest. Your ratchet mechanism is faulty. PM me if you want a comparison video.

 

Thanks man. I thought so!

 

I did check other Skoda's, so the fact that they are telling me it's not faulty because they can make it work is just bull. Why are they making such a meal out of it?!

[inspectorman]

Looks like it has the same part number as the Mark 3 - albeit with an extra E.

 

 

If Part 28 pops off easily you should see the offending ratchet bits

 

But it should be them sorting this, not you.

[jonboyuk]

1 hour ago, inspectorman said:

Looks like it has the same part number as the Mark 3 - albeit with an extra E.

 

 

If Part 28 pops off easily you should see the offending ratchet bits

 

But it should be them sorting this, not you.

 

Nice! That's what I thought. He said well it's £350 for a new one and if it's not broken then Skoda won't replace it. Also so much for a "full strip down" of the interior! 

[Tishout]

Funnily enough, my armrest "lost" the "ratcheting feature" at some point - the same issue as the one on the video. I was procrastinating raising this with the dealer for a while, and one day it suddenly started working normally... So, definitely, there's something wrong with the armrest. 

Edited 20 September, 2023 by Tishout

[jonboyuk]

On 20/09/2023 at 16:41, Tishout said:

Funnily enough, my armrest "lost" the "ratcheting feature" at some point - the same issue as the one on the video. I was procrastinating raising this with the dealer for a while, and one day it suddenly started working normally... So, definitely, there's something wrong with the armrest. 

 

Thanks for confirming. They've ordered a new one now, but it's on 'backorder' so will take 6 weeks to arrive. Oh well, hopefully they will actually do it. I'll keep this thread updated.

[jonboyuk]

Just to let you know they eventually replaced it. It's fine now!

[spcdust]

Slight, but related, tangent.  What's the movement needed to raise the height of the central armrest.  I had it so it was nicely raised and extended enabling you to rest your arm on it which was good for a long drive but weirdly can't seem to do it now.  Thinking about it I'm not sure mine makes a clicking sound when you pull it up (I'll have to check) so possibly is related?

[GWoodhouse]

Mine doesn't 'click' but there is definitely a knack to making it work. I've added it to the (long) list of things that are slightly worse in the MkIV than the MkIII 🙄