D M Keith Ltd - Huddersfield.

[pee81]

Hi,

 

The only problem I had whilst collecting our new Yeti from DMK at Huddersfield this afternoon was that my wife Bron was still too ill with cold and cough to accompany me; I too have suffered the cold and cough but mine is finally getting better. I parked Monte for the last time and wished Monte well by which time Greg had joined me in the car park with a very warm and friendly welcome; Monte's mileage was taken then we headed for Greg's desk. Lots of papers to read and sign regarding buying the new Yeti and trading in Monte; Greg also taxed the Yeti for a year only costing £30.

 

All this took quite a while; Greg went into every little detail explaining things fully; as I had approached the showroom I wondered where our Yeti was because when we bought Monte new two years ago Monte was sitting looking very pretty just outside the showroom entrance? I was introduced to Ian in the stores; other customers were in the showroom some at desks others in the waiting area;  I had passed a covered vehicle just inside the showroom doors as I entered but thought this must be a new model or something; I was amazed as Greg went to this vehicle and with a flourish unveiled it revealing our Yeti in all its glory; I felt just so proud standing there with a lump in my throat soaking it in whilst other customers were also enjoying the moment; a small touch but thank you so much for this it was the icing on the cake.

 

Greg and I then climbed into the Yeti where Greg took me through all the controls explaining the stop/start technology and Bluetooth etc which were totally new to me; the basic controls are as in the Monte but this Yeti is much more advanced. With all the formalities sorted out Greg said he would phone us in a couple of days to confirm we were happy and that all was well; with an handshake and best wishes from Greg I was in the Yeti homeward bound to let Bron have a good look at what we had bought; Bron still felt unwell but we had a ten mile run in the Yeti and I can say what a lovely car it is to own and drive; the ride compared to Monte is much more refined and gentle; road problems aren't transmitted into the cabin anywhere near as much highlighting just how firm Monte's suspension was. Bron soon settled in and enjoyed the ride. When I drove away from DMK the average mileage read 22 miles but as we returned home after our run out the average mileage had shot up to 47 and I think as the Yeti runs in and we drive further this will improve even more.

 

It's easy to come onto forums and complain if there is a grudge against dealers but considering the size of DMK dealership there must be an awful lot of satisfied customers who don't post on Internet forums; Bron and I have no connection with DMK or DMK staff other than being returning customers; we were treated very well indeed when we bought Monte and again today when I collected Yeti; couldn't have been better DMK and thanks once again Greg.

 

Kind regards, Colin.

Enjoy your new car col, I will have to keep my eyes peeled for a shiny black yeti next time in over Huddersfield way

[Dean-]

Did Gregg have glasses? 

I believe I have met this chap before and he is very friendly.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Sorry for the late reply Dean but I was admitted into hospital as an emergency ambulance case being only discharged this Thursday (Crohn's).

 

No Greg didn't have glasses but he was very helpful emptying our piggy bank? At last our new Yeti is almost worn out with just over 100 miles on its clock; once I feel well again Bron and I will be putting some miles on it; just driving it locally I'm amazed to see up to 55 mpg; next Friday all being well we will be visiting friends in Hull so will give it a good run out; When the Yeti shows the average MPG does this start afresh each time or does it record previous MPG as well? Do i need to re-set the trip? I've been so ill I've simply not had the time to study the owners manual in depth? The Yeti is a delight though and I now note our much beloved Monte is up for sale at DMK here in Huddersfield for a very fair price indeed; well done DMK you were fair when we traded in and the new future owner will get what looks like a brand new car at a very fair price.

 

http://www.dmkeith.com/used-car-details/used-skoda-fabia-12-tsi-105-bhp-monte-carlo-hatchback-corrida-red-manual-petrol-ID_1515605841743.aspx

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Yesterday I fuelled the Yeti for the first time and as our local BP station has a choice of diesel I will run on BP Ultimate Diesel. Back home I did the sums and found the Yeti had averaged exactly 50 mpg which is amazing considering the only decent run it had was over to Meadowhall 23 miles away. Driving to Meadowhall the M1 motorway had the usual mile after mile of 50 mph average speed checks but as we pulled off the motorway I was amazed to see the on-board average fuel to be reading 68.4 mpg; I wonder if ever it will trip 70 mpg?

No offence intended but I'll never ever buy gap insurance from a dealership again; a friend on UHM forum suggested I try ALA Gap Insurance; what a revelation; the two ladies I dealt with Charlotte and Dawn at ALA were simply brilliant; the Yeti now has three years gap insurance costing a very low £128 which affords gap insurance cover up to a maximum of £12,500 which is ample. Not only am I delighted with ALA but ALA will transfer outstanding cover to a new vehicle and there are no admin costs involved; compare this to our previous gap insurance costing over three times as much for less cover and when we traded in the gap insurance still had ten months to run but we didn't receive a penny refund and it wasn't transferable in short just a rip off. Very well done ALA  I'm now highly recommending you to all our friends.

I also washed the Yeti for the first time yesterday and thought I was washing a bus; I had bought a very big high quality chamois using this to dry off with leaving a streak free finish. I had to use a pair of steps in order to reach the middle of the roof but washing the Yeti seemed easier than washing the Monte?

Bron loves riding in the Yeti and I love driving it; I always wanted a Tonka toy and I'm not at all disappointed with the Yeti.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Our Yeti still delights us but it actually bit me?

 

I was washing the Yeti and working around the rear bumper I suddenly felt something very sharp; blood was pouring from an open deep wound on my finger; up into the bungalow to wash the wound and receive some sympathetic TLC from Bron who made me a brew and patched my finger with Germolene and a sticky plaster. The exhaust tail pipe end is razor sharp and had attacked me.

 

I emailed Skoda to inform them of my injury and received a nice reply suggesting I return to DM Keith's for DMK to resolve the matter. I haven't bothered because I've already suffered a bite so am now well aware of the danger; anyone else been bitten in this way?

 

During our recent rare hot spell of weather the driver's door started to make a creaking (?) sound near my right shoulder; not loud but noticeable; I thought it must be the door rubber seals so I gave all the door seals a wipe over with WD40 and the sound has now completely disappeared. The Yeti though is a joy.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Bron and I received a welcome phone call from Ash with good news saying we were to get a £68 gap insurance refund; Ash was most helpful and said he would phone again with policy details etc yesterday afternoon but he didn't; each time I try to contact Ash his phone is constantly busy and the call back service doesn't work either. Looks like I'll have to spend more time digging out the policy; I'm too busy to be playing around like this with more to think about. Why can't insurance companies simply have the option to charge extra on comprehensive cover for those wishing to receive full new value of their car in the event of a total write off; still it's much better to complicate things if at all possible; why have one insurance policy on a car when two separate policies can be had? Am I correct in thinking a car bought new and fully comprehensive insured in the event of a total write off in the first year the insurance will pay full price of the car; if so then a three year gap insurance surely only covers two years and it would be better waiting a year from buying the new car before paying for gap insurance; when is comprehensive not comprehensive; perhaps a better description would be "Partial Insurance". just a thought?

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

What a palaver. Ash didn't phone back as promised so I spent a while gathering the documents regarding the Monte gap insurance and whilst at it gathered full details about the Monte and Yeti in case they would be needed. I hadn't even realized the gap insurance was through Skoda insurance; armed with all the information I phoned Skoda Insurance and spoke to a lady; the outcome was that this lady confirmed Ash had indeed been in touch but that she would not give any refund unless I could prove the Monte had been traded in? So Skoda no longer trust Skoda? I was asked to scan just one page and email it to Skoda Insurance to which I agreed. Having a recently new computer my 3 in 1 needed connecting up then I could scan; pity though that on the Skoda Gap Insurance I couldn't see an email address to send the scanned document to so this was now just really starting to annoy and becoming increasingly silly. I was very busy and wanted to be elsewhere and this gap insurance was now occupying a lot of my time.

 

A couple of days ago I phoned DMK service department to book our Yeti in for a simple fuel gauge repair the fuel gauge reading permanent full tank even though it accepted £20 of diesel; this simple task blew out of all proportions and tied me in knots; I didn't expect being questioned as to how I fill the fuel tank nor did I expect a long and comprehensive explanation as to how fuel not only fills the tank but also partially fills the fuel filling pipe meaning the sender unit float rests against the top of the tank so that depending on how the Yeti is driven it could take quite a few miles before the level of fuel in the tank dropped sufficiently for the fuel gauge to start reading the lowered fuel level; reluctantly after all this the Yeti was finally booked in for next Thursday. Having ridden powerful motorcycles and many many cars over the last 50 years it's likely I can suss out when the Yeti has a fuel gauge/sender unit fault? A few years ago a friend with a very expensive vintage car needed a repair doing to the car's petrol tank sender unit the wire wound potentiometer track had gone open circuit; I treated this on a forum as a project and I made a brand new potentiometer from scratch but made this a bespoke unit to match a replacement gauge.The actual project shown at the link below.

 

http://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/showthread.php?t=60050

 

Yesterday morning I phoned DMK Huddersfield and cancelled the Thursday appointment and was asked why to which I politely replied enough is enough; I've been grossly messed around through the Skoda Gap Insurance; I've had the trouble of cancelling the Monte Servicing Contract and now I've received a lecture on how fuel level in the tank is recorded.

 

Ashley very kindly phoned me and was most apologetic for not phoning me back but as usual I had one foot out of the door so Ashly kindly arranged to phone back last night. I was able to get on the computer a bit later so rather than wait until Ashley and I spoke again on the phone I knew I would forget lots of relevant details so I emailed Ashley with my complaint explaining in detail the problems I had encountered I also stated I had absolutely no intention of phoning Skoda Gap Insurance again the refund involved simply not worth all the hassle which I could do without.

 

Ashley emailed with good news saying he had sorted the problem and that a cheque from Skoda Gap Insurance was now in the post and I replied with my thanks.

 

I'm always polite to a fault and I don't jump up and down becoming angry when things go wrong but I confess I was absolutely furious regarding the gap insurance and it wasn't sitting at all well with me; DMK Huddersfield had absolutely no problems arranging the gap insurance or the servicing contract on the Monte but it was left up to me to sort out both when the Monte was traded in against the Yeti. Bron and I are just customers at DMK Huddersfield; we don't wish to know the hierarchy of Skoda or have to contact Skoda direct to cancel gap insurance or servicing contract; we bought both the Monte and Yeti through DMK we didn't buy directly through Skoda. Something so simple and yet becomes very complicated indeed. Skoda Gap Insurance is hugely expensive.

 

As I've stated in previous posts Skoda dealers cannot please everyone all of the time and I fully accept we all make mistakes; I'm not in any way angry with the staff at DMK Huddersfield who have always been most polite and courteous in all my contact with them and I'm not in any way trying to put anyone off dealing with  DMK Huddersfield which would be wrong of me; the Fabia and now the Yeti are wonderful cars; the deal on the Yeti was excellent and I would still recommend buying a Skoda from DMK Huddersfield.

 

Bron and I are just so fed up with all the hassle and had more or less decided to find another dealer which is sad because DMK are good in many ways; I'll give it a lot of thought because we are not kids who like to fall out when things go wrong; I've not gone round corners and hopefully not offended anyone in any way but been absolutely straight with DMK Huddersfield and Ashley's apology is accepted regarding the gap insurance which has finally been sorted out by him. Thank you for this Ashley. The fuel gauge isn't a big problem and can wait until the Yeti is due it's first service. So this is the story up to date.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Since posting this morning I've been very busy again. I arranged to go over to Stanningley this afternoon to collect 18 x 48" new scaffolding boards but as the boards were 13' long I took along my powered jigsaw to roughly cut the boards to length allowing them to fit into the Yeti. Setting off from home I entered the stanningley address into the SatNav and saw the fuel gauge still reading full tank; I collected the boards as arranged after the SatNav ran me into a dead end cul de sac nearby. I selected "home" on the SatNav and as expected the fuel gauge was still reading full tank as I departed. The journey is only 18 miles each way and both ways the traffic wasn't too bad so I was able to keep moving. As I backed the Yeti into our driveway I noticed the fuel gauge had now dropped to the large marker below full? The gauge which had been stuck on full tank for a couple of weeks suddenly dropped from full to the first big marker in under 20 miles; how weird.

 

On the outward journey and half way back home the fuel saving auto stop/start decided it wasn't playing although yesterday it was fine and I hadn't touched it before setting off; I stopped in a traffic queue about half way home when the engine died; it's nice to have everything on the Yeti working again. Has anyone else suffered similar problems or am I a one off?

 

Now all I need is for our Samsung TV and smart Samsung blue ray DVD player to behave whilst I'm near them; I can connect the player to the computer allowing Bron to watch YouTube movies and she has no trouble but when I go near it says "Error" and knocks off; not once it does this a lot; perhaps I'm surrounded by a powerful magnetic field knocking nearby electronics out; I don't think I'm an alien but strange things keep happening.

 

I love the Yeti though as does Bron; now everything is back to normal I can relax at last; I'll accept Ashley's apology with good grace and not throw my rattle out of the pram; the Yeti is wonderful and now behaving; the gap insurance refund is on its way to us and I've learned not to bother again with Skoda gap insurance or Skoda servicing contracts. Life's too short for bearing grudges and for falling out; DMK Huddersfield are not perfect and neither am I so Bron and I will remain DMK customers and continue to be a pest if things go wrong. For a change today has been a very good day; the sun's been shining the Yeti is a delight and I'm pleased I've chosen new scaffolding boards for the decking.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[RapidPaul]

The stop/start function will operate only when certain conditions are met. There are all sorts of circumstances that will cause it to stop operating temporarily, such as having the air con on when it's warm outside, if the engine is cold or if there's too much load on the battery. Mine will go through phases of operating or not operating all on the same journey. I trust the car to know what to do most of the time!

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Many thanks RapidPaul for your welcome information; much appreciated. When the stop/start function works it's brilliant but I don't like things which work one minute and not the next; I know it's not the end of the world but I like my car to be predictable? I'm aware I can deactivate the function very easily but I'd like the function to work full time?  I hope I'm not turning into a miserable moaning customer; I emailed Ashley saying I accept his apology and that Bron and I would start over having our Yeti serviced at DMK but perhaps the damage is now done because I've not received a reply so I'm now looking for another dealer and start afresh.

 

Kind regards, Colin.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

A refund of £84.88 has now been received regarding the gap insurance; so much misery could have been avoided had this been done two months ago.

 

This afternoon in very heavy traffic in Bradford city centre I had left the stop/start function switched on after all it switches on automatically every time the engine is started with the ignition key; the engine died as usual at traffic lights but then would not restart by depressing the clutch which I tried a number of times neither would the engine start with the ignition key so there I was at traffic lights with a queue of vehicles being held up unable to pass by whilst the Yeti sat there with hazard lights running; after a number of attempts to get the engine running using the key it finally fired up and I was able to drive on; a few more successful stop/starts later the same thing happened so in future I'll switch this function off each time I start the engine with the key; I no longer trust it.

 

Kind regards, Col. 

[nbramwel]

Obviously something wrong.  Take it back and get the dealer to fix it.  Worst thing you can do is ignore the problem.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Many thanks for your reply nbramwel. I was treated like an erring school child when I recently tried to book the Yeti in with a fuel gauge problem at the dealers only for later the fault cured itself; sticking float arm? I'm now stuck with another problem but no longer trust the dealer.

 

Bron and I have over many years owned brand new; Reliant Robin; Citroen 2CV; nine Nissan Micra's; two Toyota Aygo's; Skoda Fabia Monte and now the Yeti. In all these years we've never encountered problems with dealers apart from now with DMK. This morning I emailed Hayselden to enquire if they could service and repair under warranty if needed our Yeti at their Barnsley VW dealership; Hayselden have a Skoda dealership in Doncaster. We are now beginning to regret buying this Yeti which is a shame; perhaps we should have bought a much cheaper and more basic Dacia Duster of which I see more and more recently on the road? We've been talking about the problems with the Yeti and Skoda in general deciding this will be the last Skoda we buy. This Yeti and DMK have turned me into another moaning customer; what have I done wrong? I can live quite happily without the stop/start function pity I can't simply cut the leads to it. I'm about to fuel the Yeti up again; will the gauge stick again on full? The dealer obviously doesn't read this forum or simply doesn't care about decent polite customers?

 

I'm now just so fed up that I've asked on another forum if any member has used this service?

 

 

http://www.servicingstop.co.uk/car_servicing_explained.html?gclid=CJ3nqP3jqM8CFS0z0wod3XQLrQ

 

We aren't falling out with DMK or throwing stones we'll just find another dealer to service the Yeti then at trade in find another make; we've done absolutely nothing wrong but I did email and offer to kiss and make up to start over but this was not replied to so obviously we are no longer wanted by DMK as customers. It must be good when a dealer can let cash customers walk away. Dacia or Hyundai next?

 

Kind regards, Col.

[RapidPaul]

When your car failed to restart upon depressing the clutch, did the maxidot display show a message along the lines of: 'Restart engine manually'? If not, it sounds like there's a problem. You bought your car from stock so it must have been standing in the showroom for a while. I wonder if the battery needs a good charge?

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Thanks for asking RapidPaul. I haven't a clue if any messages were displayed; it was an horrible experience looking like a total fool who cannot drive his car holding up a long queue of traffic; (twice) I bet the following vehicles simply thought I had stalled the Yeti whilst I tried desperately to restart it; I tried numerous times depressing the clutch to no avail then I tried the key not counting the attempts but at least half a dozen times; the Yeti just died and didn't want to restart in a hurry. The battery will be fully charged because the Yeti isn't just used locally it gets some decent motorway journeys; I've not noticed any error displays on the dash at all; when I start it first thing in a morning it bursts into life. Today I've been up the village to fuel it but I switched the stop/start function off; after refuelling though I forgot to switch the function off and returning home our private estate is located off a steep junction so I slowed right down in first gear not cutting the corner and there was a distinct judder as the engine very briefly cut out then almost immediately it fired up again as though it couldn't make its mind up; it's actually done this a few times over the two months of ownership. I've been using the stop/start function and was settling with it after all it's fitted and by factory default the function engages each time I start the engine with the key.

 

What worries me and Bron is if the engine dies as we pull out into fast moving traffic and not being able to accelerate away; it could prove dangerous. I no longer have any faith in this stop/start function and would like it to be deactivated permanently; in our case perhaps the default should be in the off position each time I start the Yeti with the key not the other way around; now each time I start with the key I have a button to press to deactivate the function; Bron is now starting to dislike our Yeti because we've owned so many new cars over the years without problems and now in our two month ownership of this Yeti it's already thrown up two faults; the fuel gauge sticking on full and now more serious the stop/start function.

 

Thinking about what you say regarding a low battery; I normally drive with the stop/start function activated but what happens in a city or town in heavy traffic the like of which I suffered yesterday with the function being activated at many traffic lights and stopping in the queue; perhaps this might have caused the problem? Whatever is causing the problem I'd now like to be rid of this function completely because it's too much hassle; the idea is a good one but not for me thanks.

 

I've filled the Yeti with diesel today until the pump kicked off so it's now got a full tank; is the gauge going to stick on full again after I've run off say £20 of diesel?

 

In spite of these two problems with the Yeti I still love it; I enjoy owning and driving it in fact it suits me down to the ground; Bron and I have had more problems with DMK than with the Yeti resulting in we are now at odds with DMK even though I offered to kiss and make up starting with a clean sheet but having not received a reply to my email I'm afraid it's now reached the stage to move to another dealer which is a problem because there are few Skoda dealers with DMK having the monopoly locally; as I say I love the Yeti but if we cannot find a dealer willing to look after our Yeti then in a couple of years we'll trade it in and never buy another Skoda; life's too short for moaning all the time and feeling like a pest

 

Our friends in Hull who bought a new Fabia elegance about three years put us onto Skoda saying how good Skoda are; on the back of this Bron and I bought the Fabia Monte which we ran for two years enjoying it so we had no worries about buying the Yeti. Our friends have traded in their Fabia about a month ago and bought a brand new Hyundai i30 which they are so far delighted with; this surprised me because they did a lot of mileage in their Fabia with very little trouble; the reason given was that they don't like the look of the new  Skoda's and they didn't want to own a car with a three cylinder engine? I can understand why they chose the i30 after looking at other makes; the i30 is very well equipped; it comes with a full five year warranty and five year breakdown cover also it is supplied with a spare wheel as standard; we have a local Hyundai dealer at the top of our village only a mile away making Hyundai look very attractive indeed; Bron and I have already discussed whether we would buy another Skoda when we next trade in and after the two months of Yeti ownership we won't be buying another Skoda. Three year warranty; three year breakdown cover and having to buy a spare wheel at Skoda it's time Skoda got a grip?

 

Bron and I run new cars so that we don't suffer car problems?

 

Our friend and neighbour across the street runs a big Jaguar and he too has fallen out with the stop/start function no longer using it; I now understand why.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[RapidPaul]

I think you can set the stop/start so that it no longer operates permanently, but you'll need to find someone with the appropriate equipment (VCDS software) to do it. I doubt Skoda would be willing to help as the stop/start function is central to the 'official' CO2 output of the car. I must admit I had a mild panic after I ordered my Yeti and realised that stop/start would be present as a standard feature, but I'm amazed how quickly I got used to it. If at any point I don't want it to engage, I tend to just leave my foot on the clutch.

 

Incidentally, my stop/start failed to operate completely on the way to work this morning. Normally it cuts in and out quite happily, but I accidentally left my dash cam plugged in overnight, so the battery was probably depleted to a level below that necessary for the stop/start to operate.

 

These are the parameters for operation of the stop/start function:

 

Conditions for the automatic engine shut down (stop phase):

 

› The gearshift lever is in Neutral.

› The clutch pedal is not depressed.

› The driver has fastened the seat belt.

› The driver's door is closed.

› The bonnet is closed.

› The vehicle is at a standstill.

› The engine is at operating temperature.

› The charge state of the vehicle battery is sufficient.

› The stationary vehicle is not on a steep slope or a steep downhill section.

› The engine speed is less than 1200 1/min.

› The temperature of the vehicle battery is not too low or too high.

› There is sufficient pressure in the braking system.

› The difference between the outdoor- and the set temperature in the interior is not too great.

› The vehicle speed since the last time the engine was switched off was greater than 3 km/h.

› The front wheels are not turned excessively (the steering angle is less than 3/4 of a steering wheel revolution).

 

Conditions for an automatic restart (start phase):

 

› The clutch is depressed.

› The max./min. temperature is set.

› The Defrost function for the windshield is switched on.

› A high blower stage has been selected.

› The START STOP button is pressed.

 

Conditions for an automatic restart without driver intervention:

 

› The vehicle moves at a speed of more than 3 km/h.

› The difference between the outdoor- and the set temperature in the interior is too great.

› The charge state of the vehicle battery is not sufficient.

› There is insufficient pressure in the braking system.

 

So there are quite a lot of opportunities for the system to decide it's not going to play nicely. If you couldn't restart the car with the key though, that's more concerning. Thinking on it, if it were the battery at fault, then the system would never have operated in the first place, so it can't be that.

 

If it behaves itself in future, I agree that you should just concentrate on enjoying the car. Choosing a car is very much a personal choice, but the Yeti is a very good car. I looked at the i30 before I bought my last Skoda (a Rapid) but I didn't like the interior and the 1.4 petrol is woefully slow. As with much in life, choosing a car is a personal thing based on your needs and wants at a given point in time.

 

Paul

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

Many thanks RapidPaul for going to so much time and trouble to add so much information which I do truly appreciate; very decent of you.

 

I have used the stop/start function and was nicely getting used to it so all the criteria must have been met to make it function but the trip over to Bingley last Saturday afternoon put me right off using the stop/start function again; when the function works it's brilliant and I can understand the reasoning in saving fuel however I no longer trust the function because it's much too complicated; I was taught never to ride the clutch because by doing so it imposes extra wear on the thrust bearing and also the friction plate if the friction plate is rubbing but not fully engaged by the pressure plate.

 

Strangely though after the Yeti refused to start by depressing the clutch numerous times then refusing to start with the key at least half a dozen times it then suddenly burst into life; I had done absolutely nothing regarding touching controls other than perhaps indicators as required whilst driving; the Yeti appeared to have a mind of its own and I certainly wasn't in control for a couple of short periods the periods seemingly to last a lifetime as I frantically tried to restart the Yeti whilst blocking a long queue of traffic; I never ever want to experience such a thing again and it happened not once but twice. I had more than enough to contend with in trying to negotiate such busy traffic in an unfamiliar place whilst trying to find a destination; the Yeti deciding to misbehave itself was most unwelcome.

 

I owned my own garage in my early twenties but in those days it was cars such as Ford Anglia's and Ford 100's doing repairs and second hand sales. I've not worked on a car since Bron and I bought our first new car it being a Reliant Robin about 40 years ago so I'm well out of touch with modern technology; when I had the garage it was common in those days for repair shops to change ring gear on the flywheel and also the Bendix on the starter motor; the  engines used to stop in the same place hence the ring gear and Bendix suffered; I have no idea how the modern stop/start function works but can't help wondering what wear is being imposed by this function?

 

Our Yeti is having a laugh; returning home today the low tyre pressure icon started to blink then came on solid; no problem I'll check the tyres at home because I have a compressor and tyre gauge etc. As I checked the tyres with my stick pressure gauge I thought typical of my luck as I checked the third tyre to find the three OK so it must be the fourth tyre but no all four tyres were exactly on 32psi? I turned the key to illuminate the dash and again the icon was showing so what the heck is happening now? This Time I asked our neighbour Terry who owns a tyre company to pop over to witness all the tyres were correctly inflated Terry explained how types of reading are obtained but he suggested as it's a new car it be returned to the supplying dealer; Terry also asked if my old stick pressure gauge had ever been recalibrated which it hasn't ? However I have also have a reasonably new clock tyre pressure gauge and this gauge gave a reading 1 psi higher than the stick pressure gauge.  I gave this problem a bit of thought and if the pressures are showing low then why not increase them a bit to see if it makes any difference; at 34 psi not a bit of difference after a short drive; I was browsing the Internet looking for information and one website stated the spare wheel could also be monitored; I'd forgotten about the spare so went to check and found I had slightly over inflated it the spare reading 37 psi so I now re-adjusted all 5 tyres down to 32 psi; the icon still displays even though the Yeti has been run round our private estate.

 

First the fuel gauge reading permanently full then curing itself; last Saturday the stop/start function not working correctly and now the tyre pressure icon illuminated full time.

 

The fuel gauge as I say is at the moment behaving at least I think it is because I only fuelled up a short while ago and the Yeti hasn't done much mileage since; it will be interesting to see if it sticks again? The stop/start function is now switched off each time I start the engine using the key so another problem to ignore and now the illuminated low tyre pressure icon lit up; I've no solutions to any of these and I'll book the Yeti in when it finally quits on me.

 

I've been searching for a dealer who can look after the Yeti and us; I emailed Hayselden (VW) Barnsley twice and have been reported by the mail postmaster for abuse each time; here is a copy of the top of the rejections; both emails short and as usual very polite;

 

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I then emailed Hayselden Doncaster the Skoda centre and not received a reply however I've been looking at Skoda owners reviews and am dismayed by the number of complaints; are Skoda UK on the way out due to upsetting customers?

 

Bron and I only collected the Yeti in July so we feel we've had too much hassle with it already; Bron suggested cutting our losses to dump the Yeti before something more serious goes wrong with it; the Skoda dealers appear unable to sort problems out and DMK have the Skoda monopoly pretty much sewn up locally; Hayselden who are an alternative to DMK receive bad comments so where does this leave us for servicing and warranty repairs.  Bron and I will never own another Skoda which is a pity because the Yeti really did suit us but we cannot settle with it. We won't touch a Dacia Duster either due to owners bad comments. I'm at a loss as to what is happening; Bron and I were loyal DMK customers and we accept things go wrong but these can usually be put right with a bit of give and take; in all the years of owning over a dozen brand new cars we've never found ourselves at odds with any of the dealers until now. The problems started with lots of pestering by DMK to have servicing carried out on our Fabia Monte including extra pestering to have the air con serviced; after all this the air con service was not carried out.

 

We accepted the apology and went on to buy this Yeti paying cash. Then came the incredible amount of trouble with the gap insurance refund and us having to sort out the Monte servicing contract directly with Skoda; then hassle trying to book in a simple stuck fuel gauge under warranty; DMK staff promising to phone but not fulfilling the promise resulting in loss of faith in DMK. I sincerely hope I have not been in any way abusive or impolite to any of the DMK staff even to the point of kissing and making up to try to start over but unfortunately I didn't receive a reply so at least I have done my best to be decent and now time Bron and I moved on to leave DMK alone; we did a very good deal with DMK buying the Yeti and we don't want to fall out with anyone because life's too short so we'll walk away. How sad.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

An update. I've just been reading the Yeti owners manual and have now reset the tyre pressures on the dash (easy) at 32psi but why has this been necessary because all the tyres apart from the spare were exactly at 32 psi when the tyre icon lit up; our Yeti keeps behaving strangely. I hope I don't seem totally negative about our Yeti or DMK. The Yeti is a delightful car to own and drive and the problems thus far encountered with the Yeti itself are not life or death and if it now settles down I can still enjoy owning it; all Bron and I now need is a dealer who is willing to help and look after us and our Yeti. I've been incredibly busy working on our bungalow hence this hasn't helped either because I've not had the time to sit down and spend time studying the Yeti owners manual but now I'm getting on top of all the work I'll be able to relax a lot more and take stock; I hoped DMK having read our story might have been in touch to resolve the assorted problems then I could return to praising rather than condemning; I did email DMK but without reply; Bron and I never wanted problems and this is why we always buy brand new cars. We've been watching YouTube videos on Nissan and Toyota pick up trucks; our friends have a new Rav4 which Bron fancies. 

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

At last I've had some spare time today and I'd like to thank DM Keith's Huddersfield for supplying the Yeti in a very hard to beat deal.

 

Bron and I are now moving on; I contacted RRG Skoda; Rochdale sending an email enquiry if they could look after us and our Yeti for when our Yeti needed servicing and could they do warranty repairs if needed adding if so Bron and I would pop over to introduce ourselves. I was amazed by the blistering speed of the reply; no sooner had the email left me than the reply arrived from Chris Belch Sales Executive confirming both servicing and warranty work was no problem Chris also saying RRG would love us to visit. What a very good start to a new relationship. I was further informed by Chris to ask for either Carla or David in servicing upon arrival.

 

RRG are only 21 miles from us and the M62 was an easy drive taking about 40 minutes; we had no trouble locating RRG and as we pulled onto site we had a choice of car parking spaces which is a bonus. Entering the spacious showroom we were warmly greeted by the young lady on reception who guided us to Carla's desk Carla not being there; David was busy at his desk on the phone but by the time we were seated Carla arrived and introduced herself; what a good ambassador Carla is for RRG being very friendly indeed as she made us most welcome. It was a pleasure to talk to Carla; nothing was too much trouble and she listened to us; absolutely no pressure as Carla suggested a servicing contract which we politely declined explaining the problems we had in cancelling our previous servicing contract through DMK; Bron and I were given plenty of time to ask any questions and we were informed that collecting our Yeti by RRG to have any work done or servicing carried out on it was no problem neither would be the loan of a courtesy car ; top marks Carla; you've gained two new customers.

 

It was interesting to note that the fuel gauge on the Yeti registered full tank as we set off for RRG but as we departed from RRG it now had dropped well past the first big marker in only such a short drive; if the fuel gauge keeps behaving in this manner I'll live with it until next April when the first service is due; it's a minor problem. I switched off the stop/start function so enjoyed the journey both ways; this is more like it.

 

Bron and I are still unsure as to whether we are going to keep the Yeti because in all our years of buying brand new cars we've never had the slightest trouble until now; RRG will get our business whilst we have the Yeti so we'll see how we now get on; we are going to visit the local Toyota dealers to look at new pick ups and Rav4's shortly.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Fabcol]

Hi,

 

An update now we've had the Yeti quite a while. Bron and I did visit the Barnsley Toyota dealership looking at new pick ups but decided we would be swapping one lot of problems for another lot of problems and after looking at the new pick ups on display we returned home without even speaking to a sales person.

 

We've now settled with the Yeti and like it a great deal; I've got into the habit of setting up the SatNav & dash cam for every journey however short the journey may be and also I now remember to switch off the stop/start function which no longer annoys me. I'm prompted to add the update because I've just visited our local BP station up the village; the fuel gauge has been behaving but this morning it was reading empty; I visited the BP station and pumped in £22.55 of Advanced diesel filling the tank and as I departed the fuel gauge was still reading empty; I visited the post office on the way home and climbing back into the Yeti the fuel gauge now reads full?

 

Not a huge problem at all because I top the fuel up every week and so far it's never been below half tank full. Although we bought the Yeti in June last year it was actually registered in April last year so it's likely the first service will fall in April; the service will be carried out at RRG in Rochdale and I'll also book in the fuel gauge problem at the same time avoiding another lecture from DM Keith's on how to fuel the Yeti?

 

I'm pleased I calmed down and didn't dump the Yeti to buy a Toyota pickup; the Yeti is delightful to own and to drive it being perfect for us; dropping the rear seats I can transport quarter sheets of MDF or ply etc; with the spare wheel in place it nicely levels up the loading area in the boot leaving no lip to lift things over allowing heavy items to be loaded/unloaded without breaking my back; given its size the Yeti is remarkably fuel efficient; running locally it easily returns 40 mpg but on a decent run it really does come into its own. I was a bit concerned buying the diesel Yeti wondering how it would cope whilst only travelling under 9,000 miles per year but as its turned out it couldn't be better; it gets used for short trips to the local supermarkets but every week it gets a good run of over 25 miles each way warming it up so exhaust sooting up shouldn't pose a problem; I bought 5L of Adblue but so far it remains unopened.

 

The Yeti has an endearing water feature whereby on occasion it likes to water cool the drivers seat as I open the door after it's been raining. The tyre pressure indicator decides to light up even though the tyres are correct pressure but easily fixed. One thing I noticed years ago with tyre pressures is that parking our car in the driveway the sun hits the nearside tyres and these can then read up to 3 psi higher than the offside tyres in the shade but once the sun goes down all four tyres then read the same pressure.

 

Usually we trade our car in at three years old buying another new car but this Yeti is a gem and perhaps one to keep longer assuming all goes well; we loved our previous Fabia Monte Carlo but the Yeti is even better and certainly is more comfortable over the pot holes and many speed humps having deeper tyres unlike the Monte's rubber bands also the taller driving position is much better. The cruise control is also proving useful now I've got used to it especially on the miles of motorway average speed limit.

 

I've never been vindictive or looking for trouble and although we got off to such a bad start with DM Keith with this Yeti our second purchase from DM Keith I'll not throw stones because anyone can make a mistake; many times simply walking away and calming down works wonders. No dealership is perfect in pleasing everyone.

 

It's nice to be positive rather than moaning.

 

Kind regards, Col.

[Wulf]

I give the service department an A+.  Abbie is one of the best and most helpful customer service people I have ever dealt with.  She makes you feel like she will do anything to help.  For me, she went above and beyond the call.