Hello! 

I would like to know what to do with a car that doesn't lock, the immobiliser doesn't work  nor does the alarm. To all appearances they  do but the reality is that they don't. The night it got stolen, I had locked it with the key so it took them 14  mins to get into the car. The repairer  tells me it is not his responsibility to fix these which is true so whose responsibility is it ?  Is it mine ?

I bought it on the 15th May last year. It got stolen in November and I have only just got it back. Can I send it back via  CEVA or is there  somewhere in Australia where I can get these things fixed ? Would anyone have  have any idea of costs? It was classed as a new vehicle because it was sold within the 2 year period here in  Australia  so the final costs were around  $38,000. I don't have the exact costings at hand.Then Service NSW told me recently that the 5 year warranty expires 2025 because it goes from the year it was manufactured. So....

The reason I still have it is because it has a steering wheel lock on it now as recommended by several people. This is because in my town I  was told it was going to get stolen again. All the bad people in town know it doesn't lock and my insurance company is not likely to pay out on it again . My rating plus plus is going to look worthless if I have to claim on it again.. Numerous times when travelling I have come back to a car fully open with windows down, so obviously the windows don't lock either (?) Apart from what is meant to be there, I leave nothing in the car except a locked steering wheel.

It is  a shame really because I spent a couple of years checking out Skodas and decided on what I wanted so when in Brisbane  I was told there was a service car for sale and the rest is history. It was going to be the car I was going to go tripping around this big brown land in with my friend who is now a widow. In retrospect I would  never expect a very reputable car yard to sell a car without doing a complete service on it. But the truth is that they did. It is a beautiful looking car that is an absolute sham. No one I knew wanted me to buy a Skoda but I did.  So my family and friends no longer talk about my lemon but I would like some people on here to give me some constructive  suggestions please as to what I can do with it . In the  meantime, it drives lovely and is wonderful to sleep in  and is a beautiful piece of machinery as only a Skoda could be.

 

 

Welcome.

 

Sorry to hear this. Sorry can not offer any advice.

I will flag this for a mod to move to an appropriate section. 

Thankyou ...I doubt anyone can do anything but I remain hopeful that someone somewhere could offer some practical advice. This is the only site I can put it on. I did join Briskoda last year and mention that I thought I'd bought a lemon  but you know the car is not even 3  years old and it is a Skoda. It is a beautiful quality piece of machinery that has some very unfavourable features. Perhaps i need to go live somewhere where it will not be stolen.

This is the Project section and your post might be getting missed.

I will ask a mod again to move it to the Octavia Mk4 section. 

 

???????????

Does the Manufacturers Warranty really run from when Manufactured, leaves the factory?

GET THE TERMS OF THAT MANUFACTURERS WARRANTY IN WRITING SHOWING WHAT YOU WERE TOLD TO BE SURE THEY ARE ACTUALLY BEING HONEST.

 

Not in the UK. 

The Warranty starts From First Registered.

Cars can sit months even possibly a year before First Registered, not just the Covid years, in Europe they were bunkered for months waiting for the WLTP certification.

 

?

Why not get an aftermarket alarm fitted, maybe even better than the factory one?

Certainly better than your factory fit. 

Edited 10 April, 20242 yr by Rooted

The warranty in Aus starts from date of first registration.

It was first registered in June '22. 

Made in July '21.

Edited 26 April, 20242 yr by Jemm
Added extra info. Also can someone tell me what the badges are please.?

On 09/04/2024 at 04:03, Jemm said:

I would like to know what to do with a car that doesn't lock, the immobiliser doesn't work  nor does the alarm.

 

If it's been previously stolen, it's probably had various modules messed with to disable the immobiliser. You might need a new ECU, instrument cluster etc...

 

On 09/04/2024 at 04:03, Jemm said:

The repairer  tells me it is not his responsibility to fix these which is true so whose responsibility is it ?

 

I'd suggest speaking with your insurance and let them know the car has not been repaired to a satisfactory state.

 

At a guess, it might need to go to a Skoda dealer for various replacement modules along with the appropriate coding/parametrisation.

I did make arrangements to send it to the nearest  Skoda dealer but my insurance company  refused their assistance  and told me that I had to accept their choice of a repairer  and not Skoda.  The night my car was stolen I locked it with the key as the fob was again flat.  The supermarket shut at 10pm so I had 18 minutes to dash in and pick up my order  and they broke into and stole it in 14  minutes  thru continually pulling on the drivers door handle. This was according to where I parked it under the cameras. The key fob still goes flat. And I have 1 key  still.   I am taking it down to the Skoda dealer tomorrow to get all my fuses checked as I am unable to open the fuse box myself and I want to know why the alarm no longer works. I now use a steering wheel lock and have ordered an upmarket one . I was advised that my car was going to be stolen again so this is just prevention. I spend a lot of time in my car  and have just returned home after a month away . My car is the loveliest thing I  have owned in a long time  and I intend to keep it for as long as I am able. It was meant to be my retirement present to me  So it is in my best interests to keep it as a viable vehicle on the road for as long as possible. Thnx .

Surely your car insurance company needs to ensure that the car is returned to the state it was in before the car was stolen?  That's the very essence of car insurance.  If these issues existed before the car was stolen then you are responsible for getting them fixed.

I know that my internal lock, locked and now it is a case of hit and miss. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.  The night my car was stolen I had my dead second key on the seat in a bag. Intending to buy another fortnightly key battery when I bought petrol on the way home.  The dealership told me that they were not aware it had a problem. Which means no one ever reported a problem. Immobiliser  for the keys will cost $2000 and I have not yet signed off on my insurance claim as the police are holding the other key as evidence for when it goes to court this month. 

Skoda told me the repairs to my car would cost just on $10,000 but the 'preferred repairer' for my insurance company  charged  them  $22,000. And the keys are yet to be added to that cost. I have to ask  what exactly did they fix ? I drove it for 12 days after the car was returned and apart from the graffiti on the car it seemed fine. We had a massive electrical storm  over  our local dam which I had driven up to on  winding back roads. Had a near miss with an electrical charge and screens didn't return to normal for several hours but it was OK to drive home. 3 days later it just stopped.

And it was 5 months before I got it back. So now I have hire car on my insurance because I don't ever want to be in that position again. Regarding keys etc all will be fixed before the end of this month.. but it has been a long haul. My first ever car that was stolen and thank God for insurance.

So the thieves drove the vehicle away using the key that you had left in the vehicle then.

 

You were very lucky that the insurers paid out, did they know about the key being left in the vehicle? If not they may well do when the court case is heard.

@Jemm   what is the fortnightly battery buying all about?   Did they really only last a couple of weeks? 

I have to confess, I am confused and don't quite understand this whole post.

It's either a prank or a very niche security concern.

It has me bemused too. So many things happening to this Skoda from theft to malfunctions and near miss lightening strikes, new details keep coming to light. I also fail to understand how Skoda could quote $10k for repairs whilst the insurer's preferred repairer charges $22k and seemingly gets away with it? Many would know (but I can also tell you first hand), that major insurers have repairers under eye-watering price controls whereas dealers are the pricing mavericks, something doesn't quite compute.

On 02/05/2024 at 11:45, Jemm said:

I know that my internal lock, locked and now it is a case of hit and miss. Sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't.

 

What do you mean by internal lock? Do you mean the button next to the hazard light button and above the air vents?

 

By "hit and miss", do you mean that the internal lock button will only work sometimes or do you mean the internal lock button works all the time but, the key unlock/lock buttons only work sometimes?

 

On 02/05/2024 at 11:45, Jemm said:

Intending to buy another fortnightly key battery when I bought petrol on the way home.

 

You should be getting about 6 - 12 months from a key battery. If you're keeping it in your pocket or in a bag, make sure that nothing is pressed against it. Sometime the other keys on my key ring will press against the buttons and I'll find my windows have all gone down - FYI pressing and holding unlock makes then windows go down.

 

On 02/05/2024 at 11:45, Jemm said:

Skoda told me the repairs to my car would cost just on $10,000 but the 'preferred repairer' for my insurance company  charged  them  $22,000.

 

It might help if you shared any quotes or itemised invoices? Remove any personal info if you do of course.

On 02/05/2024 at 19:31, J.R. said:

So the thieves drove the vehicle away using the key that you had left in the vehicle then.

 

You were very lucky that the insurers paid out, did they know about the key being left in the vehicle? If not they may well do when the court case is heard.

I am not interested in fairytales. The car was locked from the key and I checked the handle before I left the vehicle. So by janking on the handle continuously they eventually got the door open. Or so I assume,  but hey what do I know ?

I originally  paid a deposit on a Skoda Scala which they sold after a few weeks  so they offered me the Octavia. The dealership had just been given a big award from Skoda so buying a used car from them , should have been a breeze . The other thing  that nearly put me off altogether was that  the salesman who was in constant verbal contact with me was let go and didn't receive a bonus for the sale which I found extremely unfair. If you do the work you should be paid for it . I had planned originally to fly interstate and pick up my car and drive the thing home. But family commitments  in Brisbane just got held up  so I bought  it sight unseen except for photos  and relied heavily on the fact that I was buying it from a reputable dealer.  That is why my car is so trouble prone. They needed someone like me to buy it and I did. So if I ask for  assistance anywhere on this site,  it is because I have never had a car like it and I have been driving for over 50  years. 2 of my sons are mechanics and are both Toyota guys  and have refused to touch it so I really am on my own . My last vehicle was a Toyota Coaster diesel with the original certified motor  in it which I drove  for 8  years. So thankyou for reading. .

3 hours ago, Jemm said:

The car was locked from the key and I checked the handle before I left the vehicle. So by janking on the handle continuously they eventually got the door open.

 

@Jemm does your car have KESSY/keyless entry? If it does, you could have unknowingly unlocked it, when you pulled the handle to check if it's open.

 

If the car was locked and the thieves kept pulling at the handle, even to the point of ripping the handle off it wouldn't unlock. The locking mechanism is inside the door not in the door handle.

 

Then, in the case they smashed the window, the alarm would go off and the internal door handles wouldn't work because of the SAFELOCK system. Then the immobiliser would prevent the car from starting.

 

However, If you left a key in the car - even with the key battery flat, then the car won't lock to prevent you from locking yourself out. It'll even make a special chirp to remind you you've left a key in the car and flash the indicators.

 

Maybe you should have a look at this video about how the KESSY system functions:
 

 

3 hours ago, Jemm said:

so I bought  it sight unseen except for photos  and relied heavily on the fact that I was buying it from a reputable dealer.  That is why my car is so trouble prone.

 

Just because you buy a car sight unseen doesn't guarantee you a problematic car.

 

3 hours ago, Jemm said:

2 of my sons are mechanics and are both Toyota guys

 

That's unsurprising based on the typical attitudes Toyota owners have towards European cars in Australia.

 

3 hours ago, Jemm said:

Toyota Coaster diesel with the original certified motor

 

That's a 22 seater bus. That's like comparing a Tractor to a lawn mower.

Edited 8 May, 20242 yr by aaaaplay

8 hours ago, Jemm said:

I am not interested in fairytales.

 

And yet you write them well.

On 08/05/2024 at 13:51, aaaaplay said:

 

@Jemm does your car have KESSY/keyless entry? If it does, you could have unknowingly unlocked it, when you pulled the handle to check if it's open.

 

If the car was locked and the thieves kept pulling at the handle, even to the point of ripping the handle off it wouldn't unlock. The locking mechanism is inside the door not in the door handle.

 

Then, in the case they smashed the window, the alarm would go off and the internal door handles wouldn't work because of the SAFELOCK system. Then the immobiliser would prevent the car from starting.

 

However, If you left a key in the car - even with the key battery flat, then the car won't lock to prevent you from locking yourself out. It'll even make a special chirp to remind you you've left a key in the car and flash the indicators.

 

Maybe you should have a look at this video about how the KESSY system functions:
 

 

 

Just because you buy a car sight unseen doesn't guarantee you a problematic car.

 

 

That's unsurprising based on the typical attitudes Toyota owners have towards European cars in Australia.

 

 

That's a 22 seater bus. That's like comparing a Tractor to a lawn mower.

Short wheel base.

22 hours ago, J.R. said:

 

And yet you write them well.

Ahhhh....the repertoire  of  an A.M with attitude... we are actually discussing  Skodas not bedtime stories. But thanku for your comment.

I'm not really sure what else to say at this point.

 

No amount of pulling the door handle will unlock the car. I obviously haven't seen the footage but they must have done something at the same time to get access - maybe something a simple as a bend coat-hanger but this is not a place to be discussing car entry methods. Once they have physical access to the OBD port then probably possible to bypass the immobiliser. This is not a unique problem to Skoda or VAG, lots of cars are vulnerable to this style of attack.

 

You really should take the car to a Skoda (maybe a VW) dealer to see what state the electronics are in. It might need modules restoring to the factory settings and various things updating. If nothing else, they should be able to repair to the stage where the locks, immobiliser and alarm (if fitted) work. Some modules may need replacing depending what happened when the car was stolen.

 

Your best next steps are to contact the repairer and you insurance stating it's not been repaired to suitable standard. If that doesn't work, you may need to seek legal advise and take it further.

13 minutes ago, langers2k said:

No amount of pulling the door handle will unlock the car. I obviously haven't seen the footage but they must have done something at the same time to get access - maybe something a simple as a bend coat-hanger but this is not a place to be discussing car entry methods. Once they have physical access to the OBD port then probably possible to bypass the immobiliser. This is not a unique problem to Skoda or VAG, lots of cars are vulnerable to this style of attack.

 

On 02/05/2024 at 03:45, Jemm said:

The night my car was stolen I had my dead second key on the seat in a bag

 

On 09/04/2024 at 05:03, Jemm said:

Numerous times when travelling I have come back to a car fully open with windows down, so obviously the windows don't lock either (?) Apart from what is meant to be there, I leave nothing in the car except a locked steering wheel.

 

Lean in through open window, remove nothing key, open door, start car and drive away.

18 hours ago, langers2k said:

I'm not really sure what else to say at this point.

 

No amount of pulling the door handle will unlock the car. I obviously haven't seen the footage but they must have done something at the same time to get access - maybe something a simple as a bend coat-hanger but this is not a place to be discussing car entry methods. Once they have physical access to the OBD port then probably possible to bypass the immobiliser. This is not a unique problem to Skoda or VAG, lots of cars are vulnerable to this style of attack.

 

You really should take the car to a Skoda (maybe a VW) dealer to see what state the electronics are in. It might need modules restoring to the factory settings and various things updating. If nothing else, they should be able to repair to the stage where the locks, immobiliser and alarm (if fitted) work. Some modules may need replacing depending what happened when the car was stolen.

 

Your best next steps are to contact the repairer and you insurance stating it's not been repaired to suitable standard. If that doesn't work, you may need to seek legal advise and take it further.

To aaaaplay, thankyou for attempting to solve the mystery.

I was always under the impression that  cars could be stolen in under 3  minutes...however I do remember seeing the car when it was initially brought back to the police yard. It had quite a lot of " scratches " (?) underneath the driver's side door handle.  It took them 14 minutes to get the door open as shown in the footage  of our street cameras. They got into the car at 9.56pm .I checked my watch at 9.42  to see if I actually had enough time to go pick up the trolley  which was a 3 minute walk from my car. The little kid they have charged would have had a LOT of trouble reaching the accelerator  from the position the seat was in. Because I have it pushed right back  to accommodate a physio cushion. As to where they went with my car ? On Friday night I had checked to see how long till the service  was and when it was returned, it had done 545klms with the aircon turned off.  .I went nowhere on Saturday. Whatever they picked up , the rear seats were put down  to fit it in.

Our town at times is full of nice little black cars and when I got down to Woolies they were drag  racing up and down the street which on reflection would have  killed the alarm or any other noise ...for some reason I have only just thought of that . It didn't seem  important at the time... just part of life in our town. So I apologise to you for omitting this detail. Were they there for me or was it just coincidence. because when I came out the street was completely quiet and empty.

Re: door handles....A friend told me she spent about 30 minutes of pulling on her handle after leaving the keys in her Kia in a similar situation. {Lastly, possibly a 'spiritual' approach to removing obstacles could have been used too (??) Certainly not unheard of   I'm sure.}