I have an 03-plated 1.4 16v Fabia Comfort (mileage 53,000), and have just been told that the piston rings are on the way out (at a quoted cost of £1400!). Maybe I'm missing something, but this seems very early on a comparatively low mileage vehicle which is less than 5 years old. It was bought 2nd hand from a Skoda dealer with 13,000 on the clock.

Looking at other posts, there appears to be anecdotal evidence that this is a 'known problem', stretching back some years. What I need to know (if anyone can answer it) is when the problem was first highlighted, and how Skoda reacted (does anyone know, for example, whether any recall was made, or if there were any manufacturer servicing bulletins to dealers about the problem). Unfortunately for me, the first I heard of it was when my dealer gave me the bad news on Monday!

The car is clearly well out of warranty, and the SOGA '79 only allows for liability on the seller's behalf up to six months after sale. The citizen's advice bureau indicated that we may still be able to claim something under SOGA; but I think we'll need more than hearsay on the longevity of this problem to get action!

If anyone can offer advice, information or help, I would be VERY grateful. Thank you.And I quite liked my little Fabia...

Sell the car if it runs fine...

That engine has known problems.

I would think you have comeback somehow as the car was defective at the time of sale so to speak.

Welcome

For that sort of money I would decide how much the car was worth to me and think about passing the problem on

That or a short block, but you could end up with one no better than you currently have :(

Which engine code do you have?

Is it AUB or BBZ?

whats the difference between the CODE? AUB OR BBZ. I have recently noticed that my oil level has dropped quite significant. I assumed after the service they did not top the oil up fully, but I am starting to feel a little concerned now as I too have the 1.4 16v engine though it is on 54 plate and having only done 20,000 miles seems a little early to be having major problems like the ones stated above?..

Thanks!

A concerned Skoda Driver!

John, as an after thought, have you checked the block breather? If the breather is blocked, that would promote oil loss/usage.....

Like the ARB and leaky door guides, is failed piston rings a "certainty" on the 1.4 16v engine? Any one got any feelings on a rough % of these engines that are affected? I'm just a bit worried now as I've got this engine in my Fabia, 6 years old with 33,000 miles and it sounds like I've got this to look forward to imminently although it seems ok at the moment. If you get past a certain age/mileage can you then assume you've not got a duff one and that everything is ok?

mine is an AUB, 8 years old, 72000 miles and uses about a pint every 5000 miles, and that is SWMBO town driving. I think Lummox posted somewhere that is luck of the draw.

Shouldn't really be about 'luck of the draw'; and if that's the case, then a growing number of us have been 'unlucky'!

We have had an oil weight test done, which measured oil loss over a fixed mileage. This confirmed the problem as the piston rings. We're having it fixed next week (he said, not completely with hope); Skoda have agreed to pay a quarter of the £1400 bill (they argue that, as it's an 03 plate, it's tough; we argue that a modern engine that hasn't been thrashed ought to be capable of a 6-figure mileage before a major problem of this nature occurs).

I had an old Peugeot 205 which managed 154,000 miles without this type of problem (not that I like Peugeots!). I'm disappointed and I don't think I'm being unreasonable in expecting a bit more reliability from the modern VW/Skoda...

Am very interested to hear from other people who have experienced this problem, with age of car/mileage and the date the problem occurred...:(

Am very interested to hear from other people who have experienced this problem, with age of car/mileage and the date the problem occurred...:(

Well, I'm coming up to 50k miles on a 2000 plate so I'll let you know if I have any problems, but so far it's running OK. No problems with the car that aren't "self inflicted".

Mines a 1.4 16v Fabia Elegance with 40k on the clock, '04' reg, I bought it 14 months ago and this week mine was diagnosed as piston rings failure - quoted approx £1000 to fix by Skoda dealer. I had previously been using 1 litre of oil about every month and mentioned this to the garage but they just said this was normal for my engine type!

Mines a 1.4 16v Fabia Elegance with 40k on the clock, '04' reg, I bought it 14 months ago and this week mine was diagnosed as piston rings failure - quoted approx £1000 to fix by Skoda dealer. I had previously been using 1 litre of oil about every month and mentioned this to the garage but they just said this was normal for my engine type!

What's your engine code? Mine's a 1.4 16v on an 04 plate with similar mieage, hence my interest.

When I bought my AUB 1.4 16v 15 months ago the ex-skoda dealer told me "It's had the piston rings done on the warranty.. it's a known problem with Skoda"

dunno if this helps anyone..

Just had my ARB's replaced (as well as allot of front end suspension rebuild due to STUPENDOUS Skoda dealer torquing up the front with the wheels hanging down when the PAS pump was replaced).. anyways

just the leaky back doors to look forward to now then?

My lil AUB has done 67k alomost.. still pulls fine, don't think it's drinking to much oil (but will check now).. it rather tappity when cold though.... but it's done 67 so we can let that slide. ;-)

Rob.

"When I bought my AUB 1.4 16v 15 months ago the ex-skoda dealer told me "It's had the piston rings done on the warranty.. it's a known problem with Skoda"

Would love to get that in writing (officially from Skoda - hahaha some hope)! This is clearly not an isolated problem; and if a manufacturer tries to justify it, then they're going to struggle to sell cars in future.

May sound like I'm whining on about this; sorry if it does! But as I'm going to be over a thousand quid lighter in the pocket by the end of the week on a vehicle with a modest mileage, I'm pretty gutted.

I want so badly to be able to say nice things about the Fabia; and in fact in the past have sung its praises to anyone who'd listen, assuming that I did have an excellent piece of automotive engineering. Then it sat up and bit me on the a**e! If I'd done 100k plus, or been using the car to race (!), I'd keep my mouth shut; but I'm a sensible driver with a 54k engine and... Anyway, more examples of the same problem, please. I don't intend to let this rest! All I want is a fair deal (50% of the repair costs? I'd settle for that).

If anyone from Skoda UK reads this: come on guys, what have you got to lose by playing fair? Or is there more to this than meets the eye?

I had the piston rings done over a year and a half ago. Hasn't used any oil since. Still got it, although I don't have a lot of confidence in it. I do wonder if it will reoccur, I can't remember if they said they were modified rings or not.

They did it for roughly 50% labour, parts at cost and the cambelt done at same time. It was £600-650. Dealer gave free new oil though they said they were going to reuse it to cut cost as it had just been serviced at another dealer (although from the colour of it they probably raised an eyebrow). Let me have a free courtesy car for a couple of days and didn't charge me for the excess waiver, though it was an old one.

Wasn't automatic by any means, the dealer spoke to skodauk not me. They wanted to know the following:

- Full service history

- Serviced on time

- Serviced by Skoda

- Mileage, was only 27,000

- Fault within a certain time period, although mine was outside by a little, and they had just extended the period by a year. I was told by first dealer if I was the first owner skoda uk would have paid.

I think you've done pretty well to get a quarter. If yours hasn't had it's cambelt get them to do this as a part of it as that will remove the sting a little.

Mine was also complicated as it had just been serviced and had too much oil in it, so I was of the opinion this had caused it, piston rings going being such a shock on so low a mileage, and first dealer had to explain this was not uncommon and showed me the papers for someone who had just had theirs done.

That engine has known problems.

I would think you have comeback somehow as the car was defective at the time of sale so to speak.

is that the same for the 05 reg

isinglas - thanks for your comments. They are helpful; they also show that I am not alone!

We had the cam belt done last year, before we were aware of any problem with the engine. Like you, we hardly burned any oil until things started to go crusty. I think you're right in that we'll struggle to get more from Skoda; but I think there is a point of principle here. How often does the little guy get worked over by the big corporates because they really don't care? One complaint; a dozen? It's a drop in the ocean, really. But if we sit back and do nothing then the manufacturing standards will continue to nose dive and the 'throw away' culture will triumph... Quick! Hide that soap box...

I'm going to start making a list of Fabias with this problem. I've already seen quite a lot of examples, both on this site and elsewhere, although most of the information is anecdotal.

I wonder what mileage its reasonable to expect from a modern, well maintained engine before encountering such a serious problem? Maybe we could start a thread for people's guesses?

Just as an asside , is this engine still used , for example in the new Fabia and current Polo?

Lunanick,

by you doing pretty well, I meant some people have not got anything, reading through the forum. Another thing first dealer said to me while trying to deflect blame was that it was my own fault for buying a used car.

Must be nice for the dealers to get these fabias in requiring major engine work, nice little earner as arthur daley would say. I don't know how much it would cost at a general local garage.

Makes these a very bad used buy, russian roulette, at the price they are now people will be buying these thinking sensible buy, vw reliability, all the old polos and golfs lasted forever and then.....

is that the same for the 05 reg

No, I hope as your engine looks very much like one of the "B" series - maybe BBY ? Its type should be on some of your documentation - or maybe on the barcode label on the cambelt cover (need to lift the aircleaner to see it).

My daughter's 2001 Fabia Comfort 1.4 16v (AUB) with 56000 miles has possibly related problem. Engine management warning light comes on - so far it has had 2 Lambda sensors, EGR (twice), plug leads and piston rings replaced.

3 different garages have checked it over including Skoda dealer, resetting diagnostics etc. Each time the light comes back on again - sometimes after 30 miles, sometimes sooner.

Skoda dealer's last suggestion is new engine!

Engine runs fine. Oil consumption low. Emissions well within spec (no prob with MOT).

What have been your symptoms for needing rings changed - is it the warning light, or reduced compression or oil consumption???

Any fresh thought on the light problem?

Run the fuel tank empty/almost empty (Have a 5L of good fuel in the boot if empty) and then fill it up with a good quality fuel.

If it comes back on again ask the dealer to provide you with the fault code that has caused the light to come on to point you in the correct direction.

Piston ring symptoms:

• Oil consumption - not necessarily 'loads', you assume it's these modern vws innit
  
• Small children cry during low speed manouvers due to noise of the engine as you try to avoid stalling
  
• You curse the ignorant useless idiot drivers for being to close to you if you queue on a hill
  
• You find yourself scribbling 'euro4 throttle?' on pieces of paper
  
• the words 'one hundred brake horsepower' and 'couldn't pull the skin of a rice pudding' cycle through your mind at busy junctions
  
• you are embarrassed when old people stop to sniff the clutch fumes while you try to reverse up a kerb. 2500 rpm, 900rpm, 3000rpm, 900rpm, 4000rpm, 900rpm

Isinglass,

Thanks for the humour, I'd be grateful if you or others could be a little more specific on the piston rings symptoms as I'm a bit worried about my car. I've got the infamous AUB engine code I think. I've been keeping an eye on the oil level, it seems to drop about 4 mm on the dipstick in 100 miles of normal not racy driving, meaning it'd drop from max to min in about 600 - 800 miles perhaps. It starts first time ok every time (if a little tappety when cold), I don't notice any blue exhaust smoke upon starting or in normal driving. The tickover wanders a little bit (normally slowly by less than 100 rpm or so but very occasionally a bit violently by 100s of rpm. It accelerates and cruises fine to me, seems to pick up to decent power if you rev it over 3800 rpm. I'm having trouble getting the engine cover off, but when I do I'll have a look at the plugs to check to see if they looked sooted (would this be a useful diagnostic check?). I don't have any oil patches on the driveway, but the back top right of the inlet manifold look a wee bit oily like something has leaked down from where the oil filter goes. I've never had the ECU light come on. Any thoughts?

If the rings were going, would you really notice it in terms of poor engine performance, ECU light, blue smoky exhaust? Do the rings suddenly go or go gradually over 100's - 1000's of miles?

Thanks for any advice.