Hi all,

Im a cabbie here in Ireland with a major problem. My new (for me) 2003 skoda octavia automatic is absoloutly guzziling diesel.Ive always been a Toyota man due to their reliability. My last car was a 1.6 petrol avensis that was heavy on juice but reliable as a clock. I decided to change to a diesel skoda due to their legendry fuel consumption and the automatic gearbox is great in traffic. The car looks perfect,drives perfect, 74,000 on the clock,1 owner but hell does she drink juice.I know Im a heavy driver, most of my driving is done in the city at night and I dont hang around but on the first few fills ive barely being scraping 29 mpg out of her...Its been as low as 26..When I bought her, the guy said he did the timing belt and replaced the radiator due to a light crash....My own mechanic said that it was a small crash and that the repairs were top class...any ideas anyone..........help..oh also I forgot to mention, sometimes but rarely...once a week or so...when im stopped for a bit and go to start her the engine wont fire...she turns but wont fire....then all of a sudden she will start and run perfectly on the 4th or 5th attempt.

Is the air filter clean?, failing that it could be an engine coolant temperature sensor, the air mass meter or even the fuel pump timing. Have you had it checked for any fault codes?

when was it last given a proper service?

she just had the timing belt done and fuel,air and oil filter.............she was left unstarted for about 2 months, would that do anthing to her.....if all else fails ill have to get the codes checked...aghhhhh....thanks for your replies guys

cuple of members on here[dub area] hav vag com..

just wondering if an ecu reset would help to help it re learn?? what do others think??

At 29mpg if the exhaust isn't belching black - you're losing diesel somewhere.