Octavia vRS II ignition problem (a.k.a. the vampire skoda)

Hi all,

I picked up my '06 reg vRS on 16/05/07 & immediately started to have problems. Whenever I got home form work (30 miles on the M6), the car would not start again until the engine had cooled. The RAC guy said the starter motor solenoid was faulty, so my local dealer (Autosales, Bilston) fitted a new one.

This didn't solve the problem. A second RAC chap said he had never seen this problem on a Skoda, but had seen it on Golf, Passats, Tourans, etc. It seems that if the ignition switch gets warm, the wiper arm distorts & no longer touches the contacts until it cools down! I had to get a push start to come home from work today since the car had been standing in the sun all day. I'm booked in for a new ignition switch on Monday (04/06/07), but I can't help doubting if it will do any good to replace it as the basic design is obviously flawed.

Has anyone else had this problem? Did changing the ignition switch solve it? I'm supposed to be going to the far north of Scotland in a couple of weeks & I obviously need a reliable car up there. I could get stuck miles from anywhere.

This car was to be nicknamed Darth Skoda, but Dracula seems more appropriate now as it is killed by direct sunlight!

(Really miss my ZS180 saloon at the moment - it was a far superior car).