Hi all

52 reg 4x4 hatch has done 68000 miles. It was bought at 6500 miles and been to the same main dealer for servicing since (variable). Looking through the service book the other day I noticed that the haldex oil has NEVER been changed, they have just ticked the 'no' box at every service :eek:.

I have been back to the dealership and they have admitted that they have never changed the haldex oil, indeed they have "never changed haldex oil in any 4x4 octavia they have serviced"!!! They realise this is wrong and should have been done every 20000 miles.

What is the potential damage this may have caused to my haldex system? Naturally, my concerns are around if my Haldex fails and I have to foot the bill.

What do you think the responsibility of the dealership is in this situation and should I also contact Skoda UK?

Thank you for any advice

Chris

Hmmm

I'm not 100% sure that it will have caused damage however I would not be best pleased.

If they are a franchised garage and you have instructed them to carry out the correct service operations on your car then I would imagine they have some sort of responsibility towards you.

I'd be inclined to make a call to SUK and sound them out first. You'll certainly be looking for an immediate oil change on the car before you consider any other options.

Things to consider are -

Loss of resale value - It doesn't have a full service history (TBH I doubt anyone would notice but it's not the point)

Potential damage to the valve block by the dirty oil.

Hi Chris

You’ve missed my thread on this very subject “4x4 is now 2x4” (I’m new to this and not sure how threads work– do they sort of disappear off the “radar” after a few days?) Anyway, have a look and you’ll find someone with similar problems!

My car has also been serviced at a main Skoda dealer from new but there are some differences:

- Haldex stopped working last month (and winter’s a’coming – nice!)

- service book shows the dealer did just one change in 76k miles (oil & filter)

- when queried they said it wasn’t important

- they’ve now just serviced the car (and changed the Haldex oil + filter – but a bit late now perhaps?) and say the Haldex is “fine” – laptop diagnostics show no problem and test drive is also “fine”.

I’ve driven the car for 5 years and I know exactly what four wheel drive and two wheel drive feel like and drive is definitely not going to the rear wheels. But how can I show them they’re wrong?

I rang Skoda and asked if there is a mechanical test that can be done (clearly the electronics are OK). They said just the test drive which the dealer’s not obliged to do. Well the dealer’s done this and simply said that the Haldex “only comes in after a delay so you should expect some front wheel spin” and the rear tyres are more worn than the fronts so that could account for how the vehicle “feels”.

Well I’m sorry but I’ve never had front wheel spin on roads in this car, no matter how wet – until now. But if the dealer says they’ve performed all the tests required by the manufacturer it seems the only way I can get this sorted is to fork out £95 for a four wheel rolling road test at a firm 20 miles away!

Unless anyone else out there has any bright ideas?

And does anyone know if the Haldex unit can be dismantled & repaired and what costs are likely to be?

Thanks guys.

BillH - sorry to hear about your problems. The frustrating thing is if we were still in warranty and didn't get the car serviced properly then we would be liable for any failures. They get it wrong an "it won't make any difference"!

I am going to get the work done asap and have a chat to Skoda UK.

Cheers

interesting article here for those wanting to understand more about haldex...

http://qbn.rdefined.com/HALDEX.pdf

Haldex Traction Systems - About Us - Job Opportunities

Find somewhere, preferably off road, with gravel or mud and boot it with esp off and see if all the wheels spin - and its good fun!

On another issue how come it says that the Haldex needs an oil change etc at 20k when the car can be on variable servicing? When I get home I'm going to check my handbook but I'm fairly sure thats not what it said

there is the mystery of the sense in "variable" servicing IMO ...:confused:

what about when anything else needs replacing during the stupidly long variable period? Brake pads or whatever...