Any recent activity on the various Skoda clutch issues?

[Scaramanga007]

Hi

 

I'm looking for some help with an issue which seems to be all over Briskoda....

 

My wife has an 18 month old Skoda Kamiq 1.0 TSI with 8,700 miles on it, bought from new via a local Skoda dealer. She recently had problems getting the car into first gear whilst pulling away so with the help of the AA and Skoda Assist, had it towed back to the original garage.

 

It's taken them a week to look at it (another topic) but we've now had a quote of £1,500 to remove the gear box, inspect the clutch and replace if needed. Apparently they've asked Skoda if it's covered under warranty - apparently not - and also for a goodwill gesture - also apparently not.

 

Couple of thoughts on this which I'd be interested for views on:

 

- I've seen the various threads on the Skoda clutch webinar from 2020 and will be seeking their view on this. I'll also be getting hold of the clutch once replaced and ideally, getting it assessed by an independent assessor (any idea where I can find one in the South West) - so far as I'm aware, clutches should last longer than 8k miles and it's certainly not been harshly driven.

- If I am forced to bite the bullet and pay for a replacement (which I'm not happy about), what's the usual cost of a clutch replacement from a Skoda dealer? I thought it was circa 5-6 hours work and about £400 parts - £1,500 feels a bit punchy.

 

Any other thoughts or help would be very much appreciated - am also going to call the Motor Ombudsman if at all helpful!

 

Thanks

[petrolbloke]

£1500 seems steep but doesn't surprise me at main dealer rates.

 

A clutch should not fail at that mileage under normal/average driving conditions. As you've pointed out there have been numerous other threads on here about premature failures. It seems highly likely that yours has failed due to a manufacturing fault and not normal wear and tear.

 

I would do the following:

1. Email the dealer outlining your position (unfit for purpose, not of satisfactory quality) and that you believe it to be a manufacturing defect and not normal wear and tear due to the type of driving and examples of other premature failures. Request that they repair the fault at no cost to you.

2. If they don't play ball then get it repaired (probably at a Skoda dealer as it may hold more weight later on if needed) and make sure you keep the parts.

3. Email again requesting reimbursement for the costs.

4. (if applicable) Email finance/credit card company - I believe they are jointly and severally liable under section 75 of the consumer credit act.

5. If no joy with the above then get an independent report on the failed parts. I believe there was a thread on here before where somebody did that and got a favourable result in the end so I would try to dig that thread out and maybe use the same company/person to do the report.

6. Repeat steps 3 and 4, adding the cost of getting the report done (+ postage costs!)

7. Small claims court. If you get to this point you will be able to demonstrate you've tried to keep costs down by giving them options at step 1 and 3 before getting to 6.

 

Hopefully you won't need to get to step 7! Take a look at the Citizens Advice website and possibly give them a call.

 

Can you keep this thread updated with progress? (you may need to be a bit light on some of the details like the exact dealer involved)

 

Good luck!

[J.R.]

Front wheel drive?

 

A couple of hours labour plus parts, no DMF to worry about at that mileage so the clutch kit should be cheap enough.

 

But you cannot expect a reasonable price from a main stealer, they have a reputation (as robbers!) to protect!!!!

 

Nothing you have written so far suggests that the fault is definitively the clutch and a garage especially a main dealer should not have to remove the gearbox and clutch to make the diagnosis, having got you on the hook the chances of them ever saying "we removed the clutch and it was fine so we put it back" are zero but it might prompt them to look at the gear linkage cables and adjustment.

[Scaramanga007]

Thanks both - all very sensible advice and yes, a FWD.

 

Am going to try to speak to the garage again today - have left 4 messages so far without response... will see what the response I get to raising the webinar output but at the very least, it's all going in writing. At the moment, all I've got is a video short telling me it needs urgent attention!

 

Will keep everyone posted...

 

 

[Rory]

There's someone on an Ateca forum who paid and then took the supplying dealer to small claims court and got an AA approved expert to say a clutch should last 70-140K miles if properly driven.  The Court accepted that and awarded him the repair cost.

 

Think there was a bit of an issue on some Atecas with autohold being slow to release, so the clutch was working to overcome that.

Edited 9 December, 2023 by Rory

[Seasider]

On 06/12/2023 at 08:49, Scaramanga007 said:

Thanks both - all very sensible advice and yes, a FWD.

 

Am going to try to speak to the garage again today - have left 4 messages so far without response... will see what the response I get to raising the webinar output but at the very least, it's all going in writing. At the moment, all I've got is a video short telling me it needs urgent attention!

 

Will keep everyone posted...

 

 

I had an issue with my garage over where they were unwilling to recognise a couple pf problems so eventually I raised the matter with Skoda UK via online chat asnd this had the desired effect.

[kodiaqsportline]

1 hour ago, Rory said:

 ...if properly driven.

 

+1   And there lies the problem with any part that's subject to wear and tear; how do you prove the car was properly driven?

 

 What would I do?     I'm assuming the above is a manual transmission?  Just to confirm, we're not talking about a DSG are we?

 

1st thing would be to establish the problem. Has the garage not said what diagnostics they've carried out to establish the need for a gearbox removal? The car should be able to drive away in 2nd gear - has anyone tried that?

 

As the car is at the dealer and isn't drivable then I'm not sure what other options are open to you other than have that dealer look at the issue. But I'd certainly make them aware that I want all faulty parts retained as they'd need to be checked by a 3rd party to make sure they weren't faulty from manufacture. I'd also get quotes from other local indi's on how much it would be to replace the clutch on your car and if substantially cheaper, I'd present them to your main dealer. ( price match if not already covered by warranty? )

 

I'm defo not one of those above who call dealers 'stealers' ( the ones that do tend not to have new'ish Skodas and therefore have no experience of using dealers - they rely only on prejudice). You'll get good dealers and you'll get bad dealers - same as everything in life, but they're not all the same.  I'm certainly not reading your problem like some others have. To be fair to the dealer and Skoda, how can anyone determine the car be repaired under warranty if they don't know what the problem is? 🤪

 

As my recent experience with brakes proved, the main dealer wasn't much more expensive than the vast majority of the fast-fit centres and was actually cheaper than a few local indi's recommended in the good garage guide. I managed to fix my issue by shopping around but to do I knew what the exact problem was. So that's your first goal.

 

I have to say it doesn't sound like a clutch if the only issue is not getting into 1st.  Master cylinder perhaps?  If it were a clutch issue then I'd have thought it would have been apparent over a period of time -  it normally wouldn't fail just like that.

 

hope that helps. 

 

 

 

Edited 9 December, 2023 by kodiaqsportline

[Rory]

2 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

 

+1   And there lies the problem with any part that's subject to wear and tear; how do you prove the car was properly driven?

 

 

That point was apparently addressed in court by the Judge saying the dealer couldn't prove the car hadn't been driven properly.

 

If this works, here's a link to the post with the outcome:  https://www.atecaforums.co.uk/threads/failed-clutch-on-my-ateca.1916/post-31485

 

Worth bearing in mind that small claims court case results can be pretty random.

Edited 9 December, 2023 by Rory

[andreiro221]

major issue with 1.0 TSI clutch is the clutch master cylinder. wellknown issue, ....