Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but do you think the dealer will end up blaming "external forces" for the damage to the casing i.e. stone, and they will want payment?

I got in first and said that I was absolutely sure (as I am) that I had not hit anything on the road or heard any bangs from below the car (I had only driven for about 15mls from the garage when it started to play up.

Dealer then admitted that the puncture was in an unusual position, to the rear of the box and above where the driveshaft exits and "seemed" to be accepting that it was unlikely to be an object on or thrown up from the road. Will see for my self later in the week as to where the damage is and take it from there.

Discussions have been fairly civilized so far and I hope it remains that way. However, as I am in the insurance business myself I know that almost all motor traders have public and products liability insurance and that the "products" part of that covers them if they damage something through faulty workmanship - therefore if dealer makes a claim it won't cost them to much. My car insurance policy also has legal expenses cover which can provide up to £50,000 worth of legal cover for contract disputes and third party loss recovery - so two routes to go here - claim of my own insurance if dealer become adamant that it's accidental damage and get my insurers to fight it out, or play the contract dispute card.

Hope I don't have to get heavy but have got the ammunition if I need it.

the sorry saga continues.

...... Then proceeded to investigate and stripped off the driveshaft that was fitted just before it broke down and I have been told that they found some "strange" marks and a small puncture in the gearbox casing.......Well I told them that there was a lot of oil around that area when the RAC man rescued me 6 weeks ago!!!

On the plus side my faith in teh mechanical soundness of the DSG box is restore and the service managed has been very honest and upfront.

Its fine for your garage to be open and upfront about this but it really does beg the question - why was this not looked into/checked six weeks ago??????????

Its fine for your garage to be open and upfront about this but it really does beg the question - why was this not looked into/checked six weeks ago??????????

thats exactly what I want to know. I get the impression that their attidute at the very beginning of this was "that it couldn't possibly be anything they had done". - new driveshaft is attached without any actual invasion of the gearbox, so they said there could be no seals damaged ect. I am beginning to suspect that there may be one individual that has caused the problem and has been trying to cover it up.

I was probably too much prepared to accept the initial diagnosis thet the oil splattered round the engine bay was grease from the driveshaft that had heated up and been splattered around.

What a palava.

Do keep us informed of any updates.

A thought just occurred to me; If your dealer will not 'play ball' ask if he would mind if you got an Independent engineer to examine the damage (AA or RAC or similar) and advise as to the cause.

But overall it would be best if you can agree a solution with your dealer.

A thought just occurred to me; If your dealer will not 'play ball' ask if he would mind if you got an Independent engineer to examine the damage (AA or RAC or similar) and advise as to the cause.

But overall it would be best if you can agree a solution with your dealer.

As you say, I would like to be able to agree a solution.

However in order to be fore-armed I have spoken to the legal advice line with my car insurer today. Their advice - If the dealer is negligent then they must put me back in a position no worse than I was before the incident. They must be given an opportunity to rectify and repair the problem. This may mean a repair to the puncture in the gearbox casing, provided that can be done successfully and in a permanent manner. I am perfectly entitled to ask for a written guarantee that the repair, and any possible secondary damage, will be guaranteed for a satisfactory length of time (as long as I own the car should be the minimum position).

if the dealer does not accept responsibility then I should, in the first instance, seek an independent engineers report. Presuming the outcome of the report was favorable there would then be 3 courses of possible action.

a) further pressure on dealer to repair.

direct legal action under sale of goods act ( the "sale" being their workmanship)

c) Claim through my own insurance (as the only other possible explanation is that an external object hit the gearbox) but let my insurers know that I think the damage was caused by the dealer, and let the insurance companies fight it out.

I should probably add that I am an agent for the company that insures my car and therefore have a fair bit inside knowledge and direct contacts with the claims assessors.

I sincerely hope it doesn't come to any of the above. I have always had a good relationship with the dealer and do believe them to be fair and honest - but frore warned is fore armed and if I have to drop a few hint on the above I will.

Well I visited the dealers this morning and saw the damage for myself - a full and frank discussion ensued. They were very apologetic about the delay and not finding the source of the problem earlier - a whole near the top of the gearbox that resulted in loss of oil and oil pressure.

The cause of that damage is not so easy to determine. The damage has ben caused by a foreign object, probably metal, hitting the driveshaft and being propelled into the box. That is not in dispute by either party.

My stance is that someone left a tool or such in the engine bay, this fell and did the dirty. Garage say that there every possibility that something was thrown up from the road, but admit that my theory is possible. I have to also admit that their theory is also a possibility - I had driven the can for about 15mls from the workshop before I noticed the gearbox playing up and did not hear any "bangs" below he car.

So a bit of a stalemate and the bill for this could run to a good few K, so neither of us want to pick up the tab. Other than the obvious damage to teh casing there is teh possibility that some metal from the puncture has entered the box and caused further damage, it also ran low on oil for about 10 -12 mls.

We eventually agreed to inform our insurers and let them sort it out. Not the ideal solution, but to give the dealers their due it was a very open and non-confrontational discussion, with both of us wanting to find a solution to get this mess sorted out. I have protected NCD on my policy and the garage has said that if the two insurers decide the cost is on my policy or even 50/50 they will stump up for my excess.

Posted some photos pf the damage, note the scrapes on the driveshaft housing where the object has "pinged" past.

I'm a little curious reading this thread. I also have an octy 2 (L&K) 1.9 tdi with DSG box. I'm finding that it seems to slide back on hills when pulling away in traffic etc. A bit like a learner driver that hasn't got the hang of hill starts yet.

Is this normal or a fault? Any other automatic that I have driven will creep forward or at worst remain stationary on release of the brake pedal.

I've only had the car for a few weeks, and admit that I do like it. The gearchange is a lot different to my previous car (Superb tdi auto) but the improved fuel economy and excellent accelleration makes this easy to get used to.

The DSG isn't like a traditional auto box - when you put your foot on the brake the clutch in the DSG box disengage. When you take your foot off the brake the clutch will engage, and it's this transition where the car can roll back a bit.

However my Octy has hill hold so when I take my foot off the brake on a hill the brakes stay on to give me time to press the gas and away you go with no roll back. However there are some small slopes where the hill hold won't come in and there is a small amount of roll back.

you have to remember that a DSG isn't an automatic it has clutches so just like a manual, you need to hold it on a hill using the footbrake and start pressing the throttle pedal as you lift off the brake (this is much easier if you use your left foot on the brake then you can press the throttle a little before letting off the footbrake)

Thanks for your reply guys - I'm impressed with the speed of this community. Just one question, What is "hill hold"? Is it something that needs to be specified with the car or can it be added?

I don't know whether hill hold was standard with DSG, optional or part of another option - I have a feeling it is part of an option.

Anyhow, on mine if I'm on a steep enough hill, when I remove my foot from the brake pedal, the brakes stay on until I press the accelerator (or 2/3 seconds anyway). This gives me time to move my foot across and there is no roll back.

You should never hold a DSG in gear with the handbrake - the clutch will be up in the box and the car won't be moving causing a big heat build up and I understand the DSG will disengage itself if the heat build up is too much.

Thanks for the tip about the handbrake, Runboy. Because guess what!! that's what I had started to do. :eek:

I'm surprised that the dealers, who are normally very good, didn't tell me this. Having traded an auto against this car, they must have known that I was used to a conventional auto.

Anyhow, it's good to know that there is probably nothing wrong with my car.

Hello Slider, I was a vehicle technician in a past life, and having read about the problems with your car I would say somebody at the garage has made a mistake causing the damage to your gearbox.

What are the chances that within 20 miles of the driveshaft being replaced you would hit something on the road, that was small enough to get caught up in the driveshaft, but big enough to puncture the gearbox casing ? (and you not hear it happen). Somebody has left something where they shouldn't, or has been rough removing or installing the driveshaft. Personally I would get the parts examined by independant engineer.

My guess looking at the photos is that the mechanic has left his socket, extension in one of the driveshaft bolts, when he has first moved it after the repair the tool has hit the casing and forced the hole in it. The tool probably fell out then leaving the marks on the shaft.......

Hello Slider, I was a vehicle technician in a past life, and having read about the problems with your car I would say somebody at the garage has made a mistake causing the damage to your gearbox.

What are the chances that within 20 miles of the driveshaft being replaced you would hit something on the road, that was small enough to get caught up in the driveshaft, but big enough to puncture the gearbox casing ? (and you not hear it happen). Somebody has left something where they shouldn't, or has been rough removing or installing the driveshaft. Personally I would get the parts examined by independant engineer.

My guess looking at the photos is that the mechanic has left his socket, extension in one of the driveshaft bolts, when he has first moved it after the repair the tool has hit the casing and forced the hole in it. The tool probably fell out then leaving the marks on the shaft.......

I fully agree with your comments but the difficulty is proving this....

This is now in the hands of our respective insurance companies. hopefully I will get the car back on the road shortly and the insurances will have to sort it out. I am an agent for my insurance company and know the staff engineer that is dealing with this, even he says it will be very difficult as the theory that something was kick up by he wheels is perfectly possible.

One of the perks of my job is that I have unqualified No claims Bonus protection and no excess, so I'm not going to lose out.

Hi - sorry to hear bout your problems, would have thought the mechanic would have road tested the car after fitting the shaft, stange nothing happened then, dont know how the Joint is fitted to the box, but to me looks like the size of an allen key hitting the casing. Any gearbox issues , the ist thing to check would be to check if there is any oil in there. Day to day work for me this stuff as a road transport engineer

Hi - sorry to hear bout your problems, would have thought the mechanic would have road tested the car after fitting the shaft, stange nothing happened then, dont know how the Joint is fitted to the box, but to me looks like the size of an allen key hitting the casing. Any gearbox issues , the ist thing to check would be to check if there is any oil in there. Day to day work for me this stuff as a road transport engineer

Car was, reportedly, road tested after the drive shaft was fitted.

Garage said that they did check the gearbox oil as soon as the car was towed in. I had voiced my concerns that the oil had been lost but was told that there was still oil in the gearbox. They later said that "most" of the oil was still there but enough had been lost to cause pressure problems. They supposedly did lots of tests and were in contact with SUK to discuss the read outs.

Anyway - after much wrangling the insurance company have now said that they will pay for the repair as accident damage. The assessors report states what I have said all along - there is a possibility that the garage mucked up, but that can't be proven, but there is also a real possibility that a piece of metal was kicked up of the road and propelled into the box by the driveshaft - as evidenced by the marks on the shaft.

It's been a long haul but hopefully I will be back in my own car by early next week - have done about 6000mls in various courtesy cars over the last wee while so at least its kept the mileage down.

Good to hear that you have got a result and will get the chance to enjoy your car again soon.

more delays..:finger: dealer has now told me it will be another week to 10 days before they can get a 'box from Skoda.

Oh well by that time I'll saved my car another 7-800 mls and put that milage on the dealers car:thumbup:

she's back - all nice a shiny and fully valeted:):):)

just need to remember iv'e only got 2 peddles again:eek: