This should prove to be quite interesting (leaky Fabia owners, take note)

[Scoo123]

For reference, here is the poll that I started a while back. Over 80% of owners said that they'd had leaks!

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/fabia/fabia-door-water-leaks/80673/

Cheers for that.

I'm going to put something in writing to Skoda UK and send it recorded delivery this week to the following effect:

1. That I expect my car to be inspected, diagnosed and rectified free of charge, and that if they do not do this, I will be getting my own independent mechanic to do a full report on the vehicle which will then be used as part of any action I then take against Skoda UK.

2. That I expect them to do the decent thing and admit that as a result of inherent design faults / apparent lack of QA testing of their vehicles before they are sold, they will recall all Mk1 Fabias which haven't already had the remedial work carried out, and carry out the work free of charge, regardless of the vehicles age.

I will also point out at this stage that the very fact they produce the sealant kit to be used to rectify problems relating to the ingress of water into their vehicles is proof there is a problem with this vehicles - no problem, no need to produce and sell a sealant kit.

3. That if they do not comply with the above, further bad publicity for Skoda UK will ensue by way of various media sources being contacted and asked to investigate this issue further on behalf of the owners of the afflicted vehicles concerned.

Awesome Sarah: You've got more of an insight into all of this than any of us could hope to have - are you prepared to stand up and relate some of what you've said above to other interested parties should it be necessary to go down the route set out in point 3 above?

[AwesomeSarah]

I will stand to take on the challange with SUK

But I do belive thst we have to approach them with a mannor a bit different to demands

SUK have been great so far and do know of this issue as there is a bulletin

But I dont think demands are the way to go

Maybe ask if they will put this issue on to a 5th year of warranty?

Sarah

[ExAudiSi]

Sarah,

I agree with you about not making demands. However, SUK Customer Services will not even acknowledge that there is a problem unless really pushed. The first reply which I received was that there was "no inherent problem" with the design / sealing of Fabia doors which is patently not true.

They suggested to me that any manufacturing defects should have shown themselves within the original 3 year warranty and that they would not discuss the matter any further with me. My car had obviously been leaking before I got it and I am told that it appears someone else had tried to seal it, whether that was a Skoda dealer or not I don't know and SUK were not going to admit to a failed repair attempt through there network.

[AwesomeSarah]

Oooh the little tinkers

I can tell them that I have done possibly between 50 to 75 door seals in my warranty history at a Skoda dealer in Mansfield

Oooh I say

Tell you what I will do a letter to Skoda UK tomorrow on my day off

I will copy it and get it up here for you

The little monkeys!!!!!

Sarah

[Scoo123]

I will stand to take on the challange with SUK

But I do belive thst we have to approach them with a mannor a bit different to demands

SUK have been great so far and do know of this issue as there is a bulletin

But I dont think demands are the way to go

Maybe ask if they will put this issue on to a 5th year of warranty?

Sarah

I think I'm quite within my rights to demand they rectify my car free of charge given I've already been advised by the dealer who supplied the car from new to the previous owner, that they *never* cover 100% of the cost in cases like these, and the fact that Skoda UK won't commit to doing anything.

All they have said is that I need to get the car inspected by a Skoda dealer at my own cost... given the issue is down to a design fault of their own, or rather the factories, making, I don't see why I should be paying for the inspection.

And then... they will 'see what they can do as a gesture of goodwill' - I don't want them to 'see what they can do', I want them to confirm that if the car is leaking (which it is), they will rectify it at their own cost.

Not unreasonable to expect something concrete from them before money / keys change hands is it, really?

As for the rest of the Fabias out there - if they know it's an issue, and they've gone to the lengths of issuing bulletins regarding the matter (something us mere customer mortals wouldn't have been made aware of, so thank you for that input), then maybe they should consider that everyone remembers the Watchdog investigation into wandering Mondeos , and regardless they should have done a recall by now having identified the problem rather than waiting for customers to make a complaint about their vehicle leaking / smelling before taking action- it's not like it's something that's just affected the odd one or two cars, is it, and even if they do sort out the actual leak points, according to the dealer I spoke to, they don't cover the cost of new carpets / underlay or getting the existing items valetted - the only reason these smell is because Skoda have sold us all a defective product with what now appear to be issues they privately acknowledge but refuse to deal with unless prompted, and I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not happy paying £6k for something that rapidly starts to smell like a soiled cat litter tray. :thumbdwn:

The point is... if they'd done the decent thing and issued a recall, or simply just said 'Yes Mr Scoo... please book your car in and we'll ensure the work is carried out in retrospect', then none of us would be having this discussion in the first place.

[Scoo123]

Oooh the little tinkers

I can tell them that I have done possibly between 50 to 75 door seals in my warranty history at a Skoda dealer in Mansfield

Oooh I say

Tell you what I will do a letter to Skoda UK tomorrow on my day off

I will copy it and get it up here for you

The little monkeys!!!!!

Sarah

Good stuff!

Like I said earlier in the thread, if enough of us group together and complain as a group rather than scattered individuals, this together with negative publicity if they still won't budge, will hopefully make them see sense and sort this issue out for *all* Fabia owners.

[Scoo123]

Update:

I was off work yesterday, and for seemingly the first time since I've had the car, I was around to have a look in it after it had sat on the drive having been pelted with heavy rain for some time.

Water ingress through all four doors, with the drivers door and NSR doors being the worst offenders.

Had to use the car and the side windows didn't demist at all. :(

I took it back to the independent dealer I bought it from and they've agreed to have it back in on Friday - we didn't use the phrase 'under warranty', so I'm going to clarify this with them before I drop the car off tomorrow night.

Still... at least I've now seen it with my own eyes as to exactly where the water is getting in.

Fingers crossed the dealer will do the decent thing and fix this FOC for me.

But even if they do, I'm still not happy about the fact that Skoda have effectively buried their head in the sand with regards to this inherent design fault... so I'm still keen to ensure that they do the decent thing and issue a recall for all cars not already modified to alleviate this problem.

[simtub]

had mine for 2 months and doesnt seem to have any signs of leaks yet anywhere and it's been rainly loads lately here in the north west.

Is the leaking fault at the same place for everyone? where exactly does the water get in? Is it actually the seals on the outline of the door or through the window seals?

Can someone clarify? it's just so I know where to look

[ExAudiSi]

The water comes from inside the doors.

If you run your hand around the bottom of the door cards (between door card and the metal door), this is where it will be wet if it is leaking.

[Scoo123]

The water comes from inside the doors.

If you run your hand around the bottom of the door cards (between door card and the metal door), this is where it will be wet if it is leaking.

If like mine, it had puddles forming on the drivers footmat yesterday!:thumbdwn:

[woodenspatulas]

had mine for 2 months and doesnt seem to have any signs of leaks yet anywhere and it's been rainly loads lately here in the north west.

Is the leaking fault at the same place for everyone? where exactly does the water get in? Is it actually the seals on the outline of the door or through the window seals?

Can someone clarify? it's just so I know where to look

surely yours being a last of the line SE vrs wouldnt have this issue?

although weve got a 56 plate fabia here thats beggining to smell, im stating to think this one needs to be resealed before its sold. i certainly wont be selling it if it is the case!

[*tim*]

I doubt SUK would ever issue a recall for leaking doors, after all its not a safety issue. Well apart from if you got wet shoes from the floor, which then in turn slips

off the pedals

They (SUK) have already offered some form of goodwill if you take it a Skoda dealer for an approved repair. Remember the car is out of warranty, and they're not going to agree to a repair without first inspecting it.

I feel the main issue are, a) skoda stating the problem is not wide spread as it is. And more importantly the garage selling a car 'not for for purpose' to coin a phrase. I would ask the supplying dealer to cover your costs, if they are unwilling to do the repairs themselves. Don't all used cars come with some sort of warranty?

Good luck, and I hope it all works out okay for you in the end.

[Scoo123]

I doubt SUK would ever issue a recall for leaking doors, after all its not a safety issue. Well apart from if you got wet shoes from the floor, which then in turn slips

off the pedals

Depends on how much you value:

Your existing customers - I can't be the only person unhappy with a fault like this developing on something so new / expensive

Your products reputation - I suspect quite a few Skodas have sold to people over the last few years who wouldn't have normally considered one, but were swayed by the JD Power survey accolades etc. Skoda have received.

It's a modern car with a reputation for supposedly good build quality - having seen the puddles in my car on Tuesday, I'm now not sure this is the case?

They (SUK) have already offered some form of goodwill if you take it a Skoda dealer for an approved repair. Remember the car is out of warranty, and they're not going to agree to a repair without first inspecting it.

They (SUK), have offered nothing concrete other than 'we'll consider a gesture of goodwill if you pay for an inspection of the car', and it's only down to the honesty of the dealer who originally supplied the car that I know that 'a gesture of goodwill' equates to a maximum 50% towards the cost of the actual work done to rectify the problem.

It doesn't cover the cost of the inspection... and if this was a one off problem with one particular car that they'd not seen on others before, I could understand why they'd need to do this, not least because from what others have said in here, if fixed under warranty, they've normally just done all four doors as a matter of course?

It also doesn't change the fact the car has obviously been suffering from this problem for some time, and given it's just outside the warranty period, I'm annoyed at the fact it wasn't rectified as a matter of course when the car was newer - all I can think is the previous owners were elderly, and therefore their own brand of 'smelling of wee' masked the cars attempt to fit right in with them.

I feel the main issue are, a) skoda stating the problem is not wide spread as it is. And more importantly the garage selling a car 'not for for purpose' to coin a phrase. I would ask the supplying dealer to cover your costs, if they are unwilling to do the repairs themselves. Don't all used cars come with some sort of warranty?

Good luck, and I hope it all works out okay for you in the end.

As I have already said, if Skoda have been aware this is an issue with Fabias for some time, (and they are), then they should have done a recall or issued a bulletin to dealers to do the sealant fix as part of a service FOC when the car was still within warranty.

Not only that, my car is a 2004 model - four or so years into the production run?

Unless this issue only affects cars after a certain model year (which it doesn't, given it's an inherent design fault), then do you not think perhaps it would have made more sense for the factory to have reviewed and modified their assembly methods to ensure the doors were sealed up properly at the time the cars were manufactured?

You can't seriously expect me to believe, unless the above applies, that by the time they came to produce my particular car, they weren't aware of this issue.

[*tim*]

own brand of 'smelling of wee'

modified their assembly methods to ensure the doors were sealed up properly at the time the cars were manufactured?

Surely they don't leak straight from the factory, just a short time afterwards

Again, hope you get it sorted. Let us know how you get on

[Conshine]

I have had the rear doors sealed at the dealers and now the back doors are wet AGAIN!!!! what the f**k do they do now? it's taking the **** a bit now?????

[Scoo123]

Surely they don't leak straight from the factory, just a short time afterwards

Again, hope you get it sorted. Let us know how you get on

Even if they do... Skoda UK have seen enough cars now to know this is 'an issue', is my point.

I'm going to look into getting it traded in for something else this weekend

[Scoo123]

I have had the rear doors sealed at the dealers and now the back doors are wet AGAIN!!!! what the f**k do they do now? it's taking the **** a bit now?????

...another happy Skoda customer.

I do hope someone from SkodaUK is reading this thread - it's not good enough, you know.

[Kablam]

mine 7 years old and doesn't smell at all. 2nd from that year and neither had the problem.

[Chrispy]

It's a similar thing with the front console bushes. Skoda have been known to refuse to replace them under the 3 year warranty and yet Sharky (who went and got a Punto Grande Sporting instead) asked Fiat the same question and they said they would replace them without a doubt if within the warranty period.

Skoda have got a lot to learn about customer service it seems.

If your car is outside the original 3 year warranty but has an extended warranty on it (if say bought from a dealer) then they wont cover the water ingress as it says in the book that such things are not covered. Many design faults on the car are not acknowledged by Skoda as such and so if outside the original warranty you're lucky to get anything out of them.

Same went for BMW and the dual VANOS system on the E36 M3 Evo AND the Nikasil engine block fitted to the M52 engines. They were covered under warranty but BMW refused to do anything about them outside of that even though they were notorious design flaws. Some people were lucky to get 'goodwill' gestures from them though to help with the cost of replacement.

[Scoo123]

Update:

Picked the car back up from the dealers last night, to find the smell of stale cat wee replaced by the acidic smell of sealant.

Apparently the official Skoda sealant kit was used, so fingers crossed that's the end of the water ingress.

They also did a four wheel alignment check on the car as it was still pulling to the left, something which I pointed out needed doing when I testdrove the car before I bought it, and they said they'd done this as part of the PDI.

Anyway... it seems to be as it should be now, so living proof some independent dealers aren't so bad, given neither of the above was technically covered by the warranty I got with the car, but having said that, I think perhaps the water ingress at least was something they would have been legally bound to do if trading standards etc. got involved.

I've been offered £5k PX on it against something else by two other dealers locally... I'll see how I feel about it after I've been on holiday in it next week (1200 miles worth of driving I should think), and then decide whether or not it's the car for me.

[Conshine]

I had mine sealed a few weeks ago and the rears are leaking again!!!!! It's going back as the warranty runs out in a weeks time!!!!

[Scoo123]

I had mine sealed a few weeks ago and the rears are leaking again!!!!! It's going back as the warranty runs out in a weeks time!!!!

Get rid of it... that, or park a HGV in the side of it.

It's the only way to be sure.

[GnatG]

Will have to keep an eye out for this next time it rains! Remember a friend telling me about his golf - on the Mk4 Golfs (5 door models) there was a known failure of plastic parts on the leccy window regulators breaking, whereby the window would drop into the door (imagine this if driving along the motorway!) which VW did not carry out a recall for in the UK. In the US, several people took out a class-action suit against VW as they believed this was a design flaw. The outcome: redesign of the window regulator, fitted free (full US recall!) and an extension of the warranty by 3 or so years. Just have to know how to complain I suppose. Had a leak from the rear window of my Mk2 golf - maybe the leaks started when VW took over!

Scoo - you may get more than that selling it privately - despite inherent faults the TDis are still in high demand and short supply. Although I'd stick with it if the car is otherwise in good condition.

[Scoo123]

Will have to keep an eye out for this next time it rains! Remember a friend telling me about his golf - on the Mk4 Golfs (5 door models) there was a known failure of plastic parts on the leccy window regulators breaking, whereby the window would drop into the door (imagine this if driving along the motorway!) which VW did not carry out a recall for in the UK. In the US, several people took out a class-action suit against VW as they believed this was a design flaw. The outcome: redesign of the window regulator, fitted free (full US recall!) and an extension of the warranty by 3 or so years. Just have to know how to complain I suppose. Had a leak from the rear window of my Mk2 golf - maybe the leaks started when VW took over!

Scoo - you may get more than that selling it privately - despite inherent faults the TDis are still in high demand and short supply. Although I'd stick with it if the car is otherwise in good condition.

Minefield trying to sell something privately if you still have outstanding finance on it... which this has.

[GnatG]

Agreed. Have they got anything 'Japanese' you could trade it in for? Hondas & Toyotas rate fairly highly for reliability - would have gotten one if it wasn't for the mundane drive. Have to say Germans do make the best diesel engines. Shame the UK aftercare is so lousy.