Hi all, I purchased a Skoda superb mk3 from Canterbury Skoda this year in January with 12 months warranty included. Last week I booked the car in for a coolant change and they couldn’t do it as the silica bag in the coolant expansion tank had split contaminating the system. Then having a bill of £1,089.24 shown to me to flush the whole system and go without the car for a few days whilst it would be done.  They said they’ve never been successful getting this covered under warranty before and that I will probably have to pay even though it’s still under warranty. Has anyone ever had this issue and been successful getting it covered under warranty?
 
Thank you 

Hello Scott, welcome to the forum. Is that a Skoda Approved Used warranty? I can see no reason why that would not be covered, the issue is well known - to the point that VAG brought out a revised expansion tank without the 'Mit Silicat' insert. 

Edited 14 November, 20232 yr by Warrior193
typo

Thank you for the welcome, yes it’s the Skoda Approved Used warranty, I purchased my 2018 superb from them this year in January. They say it’s not covered by warranty. Do you think I should try another dealership? 

Is it the dealer you purchased it from?

Yes It’s the dealer I purchased it from

I was told, very clearly, by my local VW that if I removed the 'Mit Silikat' bag from my 2018 Golf GTI's header tank that I would void the cars warranty.  I'd asked them to remove it during a planned service, which they declined to do.

 

Bought new, but not from the local VW.  I took the bag out once the 3 year manufacturers warranty expired.

 

Gaz

 

NB:  Not Superb, but worth a read:

 

 

 

Edited 15 November, 20232 yr by Gaz
Added a link

Should be covered by warranty IMHO, as they essentially sold a defective car to you.

 

Is the warranty a skoda warranty as if so I’d be tempted to talk to other dealers in the background if this lot are refusing.

 

I wouldn’t be driving the car anywhere though with a split bag.

17 hours ago, ScottSuperb said:

Thank you for the welcome, yes it’s the Skoda Approved Used warranty, I purchased my 2018 superb from them this year in January. They say it’s not covered by warranty. Do you think I should try another dealership? 

Politely ask the Dealership MD to point out to you in the Approved Used Warranty where this defect is excluded and why.

VWFS_11815379_SKODA_AUW_Booklet_0922E.pdf

4 hours ago, cheezemonkhai said:

Should be covered by warranty IMHO, as they essentially sold a defective car to you.

 

Agree with the sentiment, but without knowing otherwise, the defect could've occurred after it was sold.

 

My take is that an installed part of the cooling system has failed.  The car is under warranty, so remedial action should be taken via the warranty.  It's the dealers problem.

 

It'd probably be worth discussing with Trading Standards/Consumer Direct to ascertain rights and expectations, including rejecting the car if it was bought within that timeframe.

 

G

 

 

?

Why was it booked in for a Coolant change?

 

Was it not a Skoda Approved Used Car with a Warranty and Serviced to the Manufacturers Guidelines, Recommendations, Schedule or Specifications? 

With the history of that!

Rigorous PRE SALE CHECKS,  which is why a Premium is paid to buy an APPROVED Used Car.     (Lost my flying pig again.)

 

Was it burst and having issues hence the Coolant change, or did they burst it? 

I booked it in for a coolant change just for peace of mind.  No issues or anything. I had the cambelt and water pump done there at 51,346 miles as the cars 5 years old this year.  Now it’s at 56,000 miles so the split must of only happened recently. I didn’t realise that when they do a cambelt and water pump change they also do the coolant change at the same time. It was only when I looked and my bill a few days ago that it showed that coolant and distilled water was included in the bill. 

Is the dealer doing this work the dealer you purchased the vehicle from? If so I would ask to speak to the Dealer Principal. The silica bag issue is well known, and well documented. The risk of a considerable financial bill due to the bag splitting is practically a given. To the best of my knowledge Skoda now no longer fit this bag in new vehicles because of the damage being caused. If the dealer has sold you the car with the bag still in situ I would suggest they need to acknowledge some degree of responsibility. If you get push back from the dealer I would take the matter up with Skoda U.K. Customer Services. If there is still no joy I would consider seeking legal advice via any legal helpline you have with your car or home insurance. The dealer should deal with this as a warranty issue and should they state they won't I would ask for those reasons to be given in writing. At the very least they should make a gesture of goodwill by accepting a significant part of the costs. Good luck!! 

 

 

52 minutes ago, SomersetSkodaSuperb said:

Skoda now no longer fit this bag in new vehicles because of the damage being caused. If the dealer has sold you the car with the bag still in situ I would suggest they need to acknowledge some degree of responsibility.

There is no offical TPI or recall for this so the dealer would have no reason to swap out coolant bottles constantly. 

 

You are correct that the superseded part no longer has the silica bag but this is only replaced on a failed basis or is fitted on brand new cars. 

 

It is still a silly bag and really should be a recall but as its not safety critical, the chances of that are.... well youll have to ask @Rooted for some of his flying pigs

1 hour ago, SomersetSkodaSuperb said:

To the best of my knowledge Skoda now no longer fit this bag in new vehicles because of the damage being caused. 

 

They no longer fit coolant tanks with the silica bag because they changed the type of coolant being used with newer cars.

 

The new coolant type (G12 I think) doesn't need the silica bag, which the old coolant (G13 I think) needed in order to last between service flushes.

Hence why it's no longer used with newer cars.

I suppose really whenever people get their timing belt changed, get a new reservoir and use G12 coolant

I just had my belt changed I removed the silica bag without spliting, so no need to change the reservoir. G12 Evo was used then.

1 hour ago, Txmax said:

I just had my belt changed I removed the silica bag without spliting, so no need to change the reservoir. G12 Evo was used then.

Some coolant reservoirs are double walled and the silica bag can’t be accessed so need to be replaced

Yes it’s the same dealer I purchased the Skoda superb from, I’ve spoken to a few Skoda main dealers across the country now and none of them have ever been successful getting it done through warranty. The best case scenario is a good will gesture at the very best. 

1 minute ago, ApertureS said:

Some coolant reservoirs are double walled and the silica bag can’t be accessed so need to be replaced

 

2 minutes ago, ApertureS said:

Some coolant reservoirs are double walled and the silica bag can’t be accessed so need to be replaced

It's not a hard job to swap them over. 10 minutes tops

Yes, I know, mine could be easily removed when changing the cambelt.

But do the double walled ones need replacing at all?
 

I thought the whole purpose of them was so that the crystals could never make their way into the main coolant circuit, there being a sort of sieve screen as the partition and the crystals being loose and not in a bag.

 

I cant work out what my, vehicle has, it does not have Mit Silkat marked on it I cant work out if it is double wall but its very opaque, there is no tea bag visible, however I mistakenly run the vehicle for 18 months with just tap water as coolant, at the end it came out clear enough to drink so I believe the system has Silkat in it as that is its raison d'être, to protect against corrosion if correct coolant is absent.

4 minutes ago, J.R. said:

But do the double walled ones need replacing at all?
 

I thought the whole purpose of them was so that the crystals could never make their way into the main coolant circuit, there being a sort of sieve screen as the partition and the crystals being loose and not in a bag.

 

I cant work out what my, vehicle has, it does not have Mit Silkat marked on it I cant work out if it is double wall but its very opaque, there is no tea bag visible, however I mistakenly run the vehicle for 18 months with just tap water as coolant, at the end it came out clear enough to drink so I believe the system has Silkat in it as that is its raison d'être, to protect against corrosion if correct coolant is absent.

Mines the double wall one jr ,sounds like yours is too as i cant really see the bag ,ive often wondered if these ones need changing tho as whats the point in the double wall that the bag sits inbetween ?

On 14/11/2023 at 22:15, Gaz said:

I was told, very clearly, by my local VW that if I removed the 'Mit Silikat' bag from my 2018 Golf GTI's header tank that I would void the cars warranty.  I'd asked them to remove it during a planned service, which they declined to do.

 

Bought new, but not from the local VW.  I took the bag out once the 3 year manufacturers warranty expired.

 

Gaz

 

NB:  Not Superb, but worth a read:

 

 

 

Having heard of the horrors stories about these bags bursting, I replaced my header tank with a new one, with no bag. I have paid for a 2 year warranty, recovery, 2 services and MOTs. Could they refuse to honour this because I changed the header tank.

1 hour ago, BillyParker said:

Having heard of the horrors stories about these bags bursting, I replaced my header tank with a new one, with no bag. I have paid for a 2 year warranty, recovery, 2 services and MOTs. Could they refuse to honour this because I changed the header tank.

Not at all. The mit silikat bag is the old part number and it supersedes to a new one without the silikat bag. That in no way voids any warranty.

The person above is being taken for a ride by the dealer that doesnt know what theyre talking about (no surprise there)