Hi All,

Keep getting the "overheating- Turn off engine" warning and guage shooting up to 120 on the dash when going up a hill but it quickly returns to normal when the car is level again.

I've had the car for around 8 months now and over many hills and long miles, i've not had the issue at all. I know it's been warmer recently but I can't fathom why it suddenly shoots the temp up.

I notice that there is a sensor on the top & back of the coolant reservoir so perhaps it's getting splashed with hot liquid on a hill? perhaps just a faulty sensor or air lock? or something to get a garage invloved, water pump etc?

Anyone experienced something similar?

What engine, tsi or tdi and what size?

How many miles has it done?

How warm has it been, which country are you in?

When was the strength of the Anti Freeze / Summer Coolant / Anti corrosion AKA, the Anti Freeze checked. ?

sorry! 1.6 TDI, c60k miles.

Based in the UK so it started happening during a recent heatwave c30 Degrees C but it also happened yesterday when it was only around 23.

After the second time it happened, I checked the reservoir and it was a little low (just below the min line) so topped it up with coolant to near the max.

I thought that the low level was the cause and was hoping filling would have resolved it.

I will check again if any has leaked but I can't attest to the quality of the stuff that was in there before as that was the previous owner. It might be that it's been topped up with water but it looked the same shade of pink.

That is no sign of guarantee, a little amount of coolant can "stain" a large quantity of water. This said, the water, when pressurized, holds its own temperature wise, so no 100% culprit to be found there, even if the mixture is old - which is no good thing regardless.

Not a Skoda, but I had same problem with a partially blocked radiator, until I blew the fan and destroyed it (among other things). Replaced the radiator, never seen high temps since ....

3 hours ago, Cptalexaa said:

sorry! 1.6 TDI, c60k miles.

Based in the UK so it started happening during a recent heatwave c30 Degrees C but it also happened yesterday when it was only around 23.

After the second time it happened, I checked the reservoir and it was a little low (just below the min line) so topped it up with coolant to near the max.

I thought that the low level was the cause and was hoping filling would have resolved it.

I will check again if any has leaked but I can't attest to the quality of the stuff that was in there before as that was the previous owner. It might be that it's been topped up with water but it looked the same shade of pink.

Does your expansion tank have a Silica bag in it? ( It should be stamped on the tank 'Mit Silikat'). These have a habit of spilling their contents into the coolant system and blocking the matrices which may be a possible cause of the overheating.

If it’s not had cam belt changed yet it could be the water pump being crap, fairly common I believe, not so much if it’s the revised water pump part

Does this engine have the electronically controlled water pump that restricts flow until warmed up? - oh and goes wrong!

12 hours ago, Danoid said:

If it’s not had cam belt changed yet it could be the water pump being crap, fairly common I believe, not so much if it’s the revised water pump part

It's a chain, it's a TDI so I doubt it would be an issue with this. It's also extremely intermitent and only on hills it seems whereas I would suspect the chain slipping would be much more often and more catastrophic!

I checked yesterday and it hasn't lost any fluid so I doubt it has a leak or is losing pressure.

18 hours ago, Gammyleg said:

Does your expansion tank have a Silica bag in it? ( It should be stamped on the tank 'Mit Silikat'). These have a habit of spilling their contents into the coolant system and blocking the matrices which may be a possible cause of the overheating.

It does- I can't see a sillica pack in there so this could be the culprit. I assume this would require a full coolant system flush?

12 hours ago, bigjohn said:

Does this engine have the electronically controlled water pump that restricts flow until warmed up? - oh and goes wrong!

Yeah and this could also be a factor, I live at the bottom of a valley so the engine is perhaps being strained too quickly by going uphill before it has time to kick in the pump/fan.

From the sounds of it, I think it may be time for a garage to have a look at!

@Cptalexaa Your 1.6 TDI CR has a Cambelt not a chain.

Edited 17 July, 202517 Jul by Ootohere

TDI water pump failures from 2014-2016 MY are quite common unfortunately.

The failure start to show in a similar way to yours, always at the same time after starting if you have very similar daily profile/route.

The temperature jumps quickly just before the redline and after some short time the electronic thermostat sleeve pops open and the temperature quickly returns to normal for the rest of the drive.

In the past skoda were offering 50% or more of the cost but I'm not sure this is still honoured.

A DTC check can usually confirm this kind of daily if you have an OBD Reader they'll be a thermostat position or control error

Hi, Joined to ask about this issue, Superb 2l Dti estate 67 plate 65k miles.

Just managed to limp into work, temperature warning was up into the red under load and going up hills to work. Stopped a couple of times and let it cool down, however the one bit of downhill on the road in caused the temp to go back to 90 and never move - even up more hills.

I am assuming this was the solenoid working and opening the valve properly.

I've read a few posts about disconnecting the water pump. I think I'm in a good situation in that it isn't currently jammed. Is this simply a case of taking the engine cover off and there it is? Will the water pump just work but slower to heat up?

I need to get home tomorrow ( I work on a hill at the **** end of nowhere! )

Hope you can help.

Yaffle

The known issue was related to different types materials of the shaft and sleeve which controls the flow.

One expands quicker than the other causing it to stick leading to overheating.

Once the temperatures equalise the sleeve pops open and allows the cold coolant to mix with the engine circuit.

Unless you live somewhere very cold, the sleeve will stay open for the rest of the drive until the engine is turned off.

I had this behaviour for a couple of months waiting for the part to arrive at the dealer.

Obviously don't drive to far with the temperature at the limit but once the temperature drops, you're usually safe to continue for the rest of the journey & it shouldn't occur again

Thanks Gabbo, I've got about 35 miles to go home, mostly downhill!

Is it an easy job to disconnect the pump?

Just remembered my first car was a Montego that I ran with no thermostat after it failed!

On 19/07/2025 at 15:09, Yaffle3 said:

Thanks Gabbo, I've got about 35 miles to go home, mostly downhill!

Is it an easy job to disconnect the pump?

Just remembered my first car was a Montego that I ran with no thermostat after it failed!

In a word - NO

To change the pump is very difficult but to disconnect the electrical connector so it always stays open might be easier??

There's a huge thread in the Octavia MK3 forum where some people did this instead of pay for the replacement.

Also if you go to a Skoda garage your can ask them if Skoda are still contributing to the cost of the replacement.

My car was 2 years out of warranty but Skoda paid 60% of the cost (albeit 7 years ago).

It's a long shot but it's also an expensive repair