What's Bad

Wiper rain sensors over sensitive.

Individual climate controls may not work properly.

Complaint that rear view mirror is too narrow.

Spacesaver spares complete with jacking kit from www.skospares.com or www.theskodashop.co.uk

Diesel Particulate filter problems on 2.0TDI DSG because uses extra fuel injection into combustion chambers to regenerate and this requires more heat than a car used even for 10 mile runs will get to in the winter.

Don't expect more than 40mpg from a 1.4TSI 122 with DSG.

Some 2007 build cars with 6-speed boxes suffered from a planetary gear fault due to incorrect assembly. Cars fixed quickly by TSB when in dealers for servicing or other problems. Fairly high incidence of exploding manual transmissions due to this fault and puncturing transmission casing. Same fault also occurs on the Golf V and Audi A3. If not VAG serviced then the fault may not have been fixed by TSB.

Rainwater collects in the bottoms of the doors of the 2010 model, which have a different draining arrangement from the earlier cars.

With DSGs, protective software can delay the message from brake switch to ECU that brakes have been released, allowing car to enter a junction or roundabout on the fuel in the combustion chambers, then momentarily shut off mid-junction.

What to Watch Out For

All engines apart from chain cam 1.6FSI and new chain cam 1.4TSI need new timing belts and tensioners every 4 years or 60,000 miles whichever comes first. Plastic timing belt tensioners of 1.4 16v engines now failing regularly, though fortunately the belts are rarely flung off when this happens.

Individual climate controls may not work properly. A chafed cable shows up on the OBD II diagnostics as a faulty control panel. Worth knowing because the control panel is £300. Confirmed by another reader. The cable chafes between the engine bulkhead and the dashboard causing an intermittent short.

Four speed rotary switch for ventilation fan has problems running only on full speed. A resistor component that connects into to the fan circuit fails. As well as replacing the resistor, a repair also needs to be made to part of a wiring loom and costs £200 - £250. May or may not be the same chafed cable problem above.

Failure of Zexel or Valeo a/c compressors is common, usually a year or two out of warranty and dealers can quote £1,304 for new compressor, condensor and expansion valve. Sometimes goodwill of about £300 offered. But cheaper to buy a new Sanden compressor for £287 and have it fitted by an independent a/c specialist for about £150. Internet forums, particularly in USA are full of postings concerning failures of Zexel and Valeo compressors, seems a case of "when not if".

Software problem with electro-hydraulic power steering system. Reports of battery leakdown drain from radio.

More from reader Peter Taylor on his 2.0TDI DSG: "But it's not all roses. The engine's a bit noisy, which you remarked on, though I personally don't find it troublesome. The ride is a little too stiff; another of your observations. It's fine for Switzerland and France where we were a few weeks ago, but for British roads it needs toning down a bit. Next, there's the road noise; on poor surfaces there's too much of it, and it compares badly here with the BMW. My final gripe is that the beam pattern of the (optional) Xenons is antisocial, and I haven't finished complaining to my dealer about them. There's a very pronounced left-hand triangular lift to the beam which is just about ok when you're behind someone, and there's no problem with oncoming traffic, but overtake a car and that upward sweep illuminates their interior like it's on fire. As you know, you are discouraged from adjusting then yourself, and to switch then to "continental" mode requires a visit to the dealer. That's an outrage."

2007 models can suffer water ingress through failed door seals. If this happens, Skoda will replace all seals on all four doors.

In winter, must only use Skoda approved screenwash, otherwise rear screenwash pipes can pop off filling spare wheel well with washer fluid. Skoda dealers often want £100 to fix even when car is under warranty.

On diesels used as taxis, DMFs and clutches typically last around 40,000 miles.

Easy to damage the roof when fitting standard Skoda accessory roof bars.

ESP warning light can indicate Fault Code "Boost Pressure Sensor G201". This is embedded inside Teves Mk 60 ABS systems and requires replacement of ABS control unit/pump. Seems to be age-related, occurring mainly in 3 - 5 year old cars. Does not necessarily lead to an MoT failure. More on the problem and independent rebuilds of the unit at: BBA Reman or ECU Testing.

9-6-2011: Statement cfrom Skoda re ECU change of policy: “A repair kit is available for ABS modules that is applicable in many cases. We encourage its use to minimise the cost of repair and our retailers have access to all the information necessary to determine whether the repair kit can be applied. We have published very specific guidelines to the Skoda retailer network on what goodwill is available for the repair or replacement of ABS modules for Octavia models fitted with ESP. Any customers who have concerns should contact their Skoda retailer, who can contact Skoda Customer Services should they require further assistance.”

On 6-speed twin shaft manuals the gearchange from 1st to 2nd can become still. First stage dealer cure is to replace the transmission oil. If that fails, it needs a synchro ring replacing. So if your box stiffens up, make sure it is attended to before the warranty expires. Some 2006/2007 build cars with 6-speed boxes suffered from a planetary gear fault due to incorrect assembly. Cars fixed quickly by TSB when in dealers for servicing or other problems. Fairly high incidence of exploding manual transmissions due to this fault and puncturing transmission casing. Same fault also occurs on the Audi A3 and SEAT Leon. If not VAG serviced then the fault may not have been fixed by TSB. 

Mechatronic unit problems with DSG/S-tronic can case an initial delay when setting off followed by a sudden surge. A replacement Mechatronic unit cures this. See www.DSGwoes.co.uk . In the USA, VAG has been forced to increase the warranty on the DSG/S-tronic to 10 years.

DSG failures occuring on cars as little as 6 months out of the 3 year warranty. In once case the customer was faced woth a bill of £3,583.890, reduced to £1,612.30 because the car had only done 26,660 miles.

Very useful information from FBE659 in The Backroom:

VAG diesels will run to starship mileages if you buy the right one and maintain it properly. Doing both of these things is not as easy as it might seem.

The pre-PD diesels were reliable but are all getting too old now. The economy was excellent but they lack the power of the PD units.

The best PD units are mid-period 1.9s with solenoid injectors. Avoid the later piezo injector engines.

The best vintage PD is probably an '04 1.9 130 (AWX) - the 150 HP units are not as reliable and don't actually go much better.

All PD engines require oil to VAG spec. 505.01 (fixed servicing) or 507.00 (variable). Camshaft wear will be the result of variations from this spec. - although the fully-synth 507.00 is fine for both, but a little more expensive. There is a general consensus, which I share, that variable servicing is not good for engine wear unless operated under the most favourable conditions - which few are.

I change the 507.00 oil in my AWX every 7k miles. So far, very good.

The latest CR engines run very nicely and are smoother than the PDs (but without the "shove") but I am beginning to hear of far too many (piezo again) injector failures and HP pump failures. Best avoided for now unless under warranty. The beauty of the PD system is that the highly stressed pump plunger followers are oil rather than fuel lubricated. It makes a considerable difference.

2.0TFSI VRS suffering "coil pack failures", but the fault appears secondary to oil leakage into the packs.  More at: www.seatcupra.net

22-1-2011: If ESP/ABS amber warning light comes on intermittently and will not re-set, you might not actually have the ATE Teves Mk 60 ABS/ESP problem. First check circuits and start at the ABS fuse and holder (no 9 on a Golf, on scuttle edge by driver door). Pull it out, have a look and if okay replace it. The warning light may then go out. Sometimes they slip out a bit and become wobbly, which is enough to set off the warning. See Skoda policy on this above.

14-3-2011: Digital LED display can be corrupted by below zero temperatures.  £830 for a new instrument cluster (including the speedo and rev counter). ‘Cluster Repairs’ at  www.Clusterrepairsuk.co.uk. quote £180 to fit a new LED unit to the existing cluster. Instrument cluster removal is a DIY job using the Haynes manual. Existing data; mileage, fuel consumption data etc. is preserved intact.

22-6-2011: Learned of service bulletin relating to water ingress into the wiring connector for the radiator fan controls causing the fans to run. There is also a potential fault with the micro switch at the end of the ignition key switch that can cause the same effect.

7-7-2011: 1.8TSI and 2.0TSI VRS have dual mass flywheel that can fail.

21-8-2011: Moisture ingress to windows and locking ECU inside drivers door causing windows to open when car is left standing.

7-12-2011: If high level LED brake light on Octavia VRS Octavia Estate ceases to function, it poses a big problem because it cannot be accessed without removing the spoiler and the spoiler is glued into place onto an alloy surface.

11-12-2011:  Nick Read tells us: 2.0 PD Octavia not subject to oil pump drive problems because it used an engine from the Golf with a simplified oil pump drive design (very like the 1.9 TDi PD), without the known troublesome balancer shaft module setup that afflicted many 2.0 PD Passats, Superbs etc. The 2.0 PD in the Octavia can have issues with turbo failure, and some early 2.0 PD can suffer with porous cylinder heads, but oil pump drives are a non-issue as far as the Octavia 2.0 PD is concerned. 

17-12-2011: Reader report that 85,000 mile 2007 Octavia Estate Laurin & Klement, used mainly for long distance driving to and from SW France, became unreliable. Since September 2011 needed a/c condenser, compressor and elecronic fan replaced in succession, followed by a throttle motor. Total cost, including a service was £3,600. This was followed by the particulate filter getting blocked as a result of oil leaks in the head, resulting in the turbo being affected, which has been sent away for repair or replacement. Also, the heating has just failed, giving constant cold air on the passenger side, and continuous hot air on the drivers side. This requires the complete dashboard to be removed and two heater motors to be replaced. The ball park figure for all this is around £5,000.

2-4-2012: Comment on twin wet clutch DSG by taxi driver JN: "I bought Skoda Octavia to use as a taxi on 2008 and I know this DSG better than someone who designed it. Soon I received my car I felts the problems, Skoda respond was good and never admits the problems. I have to say I would never ever suggests it even to my enemy. DSG on my car goes wrong after each year and so far had been replaced 4 times and I payed only once. This time I believed I should changed the car rather than repair it. It's awful driver this car despite of good engine, most of time when braking the gear ground each other badly which caused the car jerking while stopping. This goes on and on until the gearbox pack up, which takes about 30,000 to 40,000 depending on your driving. I am telling to every one who considering to buy automatics ( DSG) don't do it. It's not just only me, ever one who bought this DSG gearbox on taxi business are not happy and few of them changed their car already. Got Toyota instead . I hope this information come handy."

15-5-2012: Failure of both catalytic converters on lightly used 31k mile 2008 Octavia 1.6FSI. Quoted £1,138 by Skoda dealer; £646.80 by independent.

13-6-2012: Owner's comment: "This VW Group car has been a menace. I have had 3 replacement driveshaft gaiters in 4 years, trouble with cruise control, ignition key cylinder jamming requiring parts to be sent from Germany, all four windows winding down of their own accord on a number of occasions."

3-7-2012: Heavy oil consumption reported of new 2012 Octavia 1.8TSI (7 litres in 12,395 miles).

20-7-2012: Sporadic reports of high oil consumption of chain cam 1.8TFSI and 2.0TFSI engines. Apparently VAG considers 1,000 miles a litre to be "normal" oil consumption for these engines. The reason is probably filling the engines with synthetic oil on the production line and owners not revving the engines sufficiently to bed in the oil rings.

25-7-2012: Columbus computer system prone to crashing due to a software problem. if this occurs when the car is more than 3 years old Skoda will not replace the system or reprogramme the software.

3-8-2012: Report of water pump failure on a 1.4TSI 122 at 30 months old and very poor treatment by Skoda Assist in France.

16-8-2012: Dual mass flywheel failures seem to be quite common on 1.9TDIs at around 40,000 miles. Skoda reported on BriSkoda forum to be replacing Dual Mass Flywheels with Single Mass Flywheels when this happens and crontributing 15% to out of warranty costs.

23-12-2012: Dual clutches of 2011 1.2TSI DSG needed to be replaced soon after purchase 2nd hand from Skoda dealer.

11-1-2013: Warranty on DSG extended to 5 years or 150,000 kilometres in Russia, China and Australia. Sources: Indiancarsandbikes 1, vwwatercooled, Indiancarsandbikes 2 .

25-2-2013: Rear wiper failure on Octavia estate bought in December 2012, and still no prospect of a replacement unit. Same problem reported on an Octavia in February 2013.

27-2-2013: Another report of misfires and stalling at just under 3 years old. Dealer has fitted new EGR and high pressure pump but did not solve the problem. Probably a blocked DPF.

6-4-2013: By April readers were reporting that replacement rear wiper motors were coming through.

1-5-2013: Seems that the problem with the rear wiper motors is the carbon brushes which are too tight in their holders. It is just a DIY job requiring a nailfile and pins. Carefully remove the brushes and slightly file down the edges so that when placed back in the holder (using pins to hold brushes in place) they move easily within the holder. When satisfied remove the pins and replace wiper motor. If successful it is far cheaper than a new wiper motor. 

12-5-2013: Very soon after the timing belt was replaced for a second time on a 127k mile 2005 Octavia 2.0TDI, the bolt holding the tensioner in place sheared and the engine self-destructed. When timing belts are replaced on these engines every 60k miles, the waterpump. small plleys tensioner and also the tensioner bolt all need to be replaced at the same time.

Recalls

31-12-2011: Apparently, all VAG models with the 2.0TDI engine from around 2005 fitted with Siemens peizo injectors are subject to a recall which involves replacing all the injectors FOC. Job takes around 3 hours. A short circuit within the injectors causes the fuel system to shut down and engine cuts out.

28-1-2012: Manufacturer recall to replace Siemens Piezoelectric injectors of 2006 - 2009 2.0 TDI BMN engines. All the injectors from the the 2.0 TDI PD engines that use piezoelectric Siemens injectors and Siemens ECUs are affected by this problem. The most problems are on the Passat BKD 2.0 TDI 140HP. No problem from 2009 and the introduction of the common rail 2.0 TDI engine (CEGA).

3-7-2012: www.autoevolution.com reports We have been informed that owners of Euro-spec VW cars (Polo, Golf and Scirocco) are reporting similar problems to the ones that caused a massive recall in China (500,000-strong). The issue has been reported in France, where owners of the aforementioned cars started reporting hearing strange noises coming from the gearbox, which lead them to believe that there may be a design flaw which wears the mechanisms inside it prematurely.

The culprit is VW’s latest twin-clutch setup, the seven-speed DSG7, which reportedly makes the ‘strange noises’ when shifting from 4th to 3rd, 3rd to 2nd and 2nd to 1st, inside the car. However, outside, a different sound is audible, a metallic and repetitive sound which is made when the car goes over speed-bumps. Whatever it is, it sounds serious, especially since owners first began to hear it “a few weeks after delivery” (of the car) - nothing should wear out that quickly.

Also, since the problem in China was never really solved, as they just increased the warranty coverage to 10 years, it will be interesting to see how VW handle this problem in a market very close to home - France. Furthermore, the angry group of French VW owners claim that Seat, Skoda and Audi drivers are also reporting the same problems, so If this report turns out to be accurate, it will spark further outrage and may dent VW’s famed ‘bulletproof’ reliability record.

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