Hey all, I've been a long time lurker on and off over the years, having owned many a Skoda :)

I recently acquired a 2021 Superb Combi L&K iV with a pretty impressive spec (to me, anyway). I bought it from Carsupermarket.com. On the evening after I'd driven it home, I noted the A/C wasn't working. I visited a local specialist and they checked everything, took the gas out, refilled and they said there were no leaks. The A/C was cold and I was happy. The dealer paid me back without quibble.

A few days later, the coolant error came up on my dash. Checked the reservoir, and, sure enough, the battery coolant reservoir was empty. Did some research, relieved the pressure in the system by undoing a hose and things were good for a time.

Long story short, I had the heat exchanger replaced at skoda Bedford yesterday under my full works service package. All was good for a time, but on a drive to Exeter today, the coolant error came up again!! So annoyed! Anyone else experienced this fix having been done (the cost, for info sake, was £1500!!) and the same issue coming up, please?

I'm now thinking about rejecting the car back to the dealership, which i don't really want to do as it's lovely!

2021 Superb Combi Hybrid iV L&K

Quartz Grey, Black leather

19" Vega Aero wheels

Travel assist

Flappy paddles

Black Alcantara headlining

Massage seat

Retractable towbar

Wireless phone charging

Boot backrest release levers

Hmm I’d reject it or get them to fix, I believe the battery coolant should have a pin on it to stop owners from ever opening it, so if it didn’t have that then someone’s been there before trying to fix it, gave up then p/x’d it

It's already been in to Skoda for a fix. Hopefully it was just a silly tech not bleeding the system properly. The reservoir is officially sealed and has, this evening, been topped up by Skoda Exeter - much kudos to them for doing it at the end of the day at short notice!

My experience with Superb’s and problems that appear and won’t go away when in for a first time repair is to exercise your consumer rights within the 30 day period. Maintain all communication with regards this in writing and following the advice on the Which Magazine website about template rejection letters and how to reject. If you let it go on too long you’ll have a car which is never right and your rights have been dramatically reduced!!

I’ve had to reject two cars from Skoda main dealers for issues that they had to know were present - I know one of the dealers absolutely knew about one issue and all they wanted to do was fob me off. Skoda Brockenhurst! I got my money back but boy were they evasive!!!!

Is this a common issue? And was it fully resolved in the end? Literally about to take delivery of a 2021 l&k next week from a main dealer and this has worried me 😂

4 hours ago, Jabba3 said:

Is this a common issue? And was it fully resolved in the end? Literally about to take delivery of a 2021 l&k next week from a main dealer and this has worried me 😂

I collected the car again yesterday. So far, so good. They reckon the original tech didn't bleed the air out of the coolant circuit, which is what I suggested to them. I've no idea how common it is, however, if there's a technical bulletin it's happened enough to be diagnosed. Bear in mind it's only on the PHEV iV model.

The way I figured it out was to use a hose clip device to take the coolant hose off the reservoir (battery side). There was significant pressure within that circuit - enough to spray coolant everywhere if you're not careful. I kind of 'burped' the air out by moving the hose to gently let the air escape. The EV coolant side is a low temperature circuit, so shouldn't be over 40°C.

Ultimately, when it came up with the coolant error on my drive to Exeter, the coolant reservoir wasn't pressurised, so the A/C didn't seem to be pushing A/C gas into the cooling circuit. The level of coolant was low in the reservoir, so I could only assume that the air lock bled itself to the reservoir. It was topped up by Skoda Exeter, but obviously not bled there as I arrived at 17:30hrs, so there was no time to do so. I then left it with Skoda Bedford when I got home to sort. Collected it yesterday and haven't driven far.

If you're buying the car from a dealer, you will probably get a warranty. For the £38 a month it costs, I'd suggest the All In package for warranty and servicing - it's great peace of mind. I bought the all-in warranty the day I purchased my car, it was at the dealer on day 29 of the 30 day no claim condition. The dealer claimed on day 31 and it went straight through with no quibble.

If it fails again, I shall be rejecting the car within the 60 day consumer protection as unfit for purpose and not of merchantable quality. I've written records of everything (including the issue on the day I bought it) and I paid a £200 deposit by credit card, so my credit card company is jointly liable for the issue under current clause 75 protection.

I don't want to give it back, as it's a fantastic car, trouble aside.....

Edited 28 August, 202528 Aug by Stunts

So, nearly two weeks on and all is going well. The coolant level in the reservoir has remained at the mark. Seems it was just a cretin of a tech that couldn't follow instructions......!

3 hours ago, Stunts said:

So, nearly two weeks on and all is going well. The coolant level in the reservoir has remained at the mark. Seems it was just a cretin of a tech that couldn't follow instructions......!

Really good to know. I noted when I got mine that the coolant had been done at the last service 3k ago and had no issues so assume it just needs someone to do it correctly and purge and it’s all ok. 👍