be wary....thge light coming on, with no apparent loss of assistance is the first "phase" of the fault..
The assistance seems to have 2 levels of assistance. At low speeds, the assistance is high (nice light steering), but at higher speeds, the level of assistance is reduced.
When the light comes on, I found that the assistance defaulted to the "low level" of assistance (i.e. it felt heavier than normal at low speeds). It is quite aubtle though, and you might not notice it.
As time goes by, the frequency of warning light illuminations may increase....and eventually the system can pack up completely without warning (no warning light). (Nearly caused an RTA in my case, and a pulled shoulder).
See my other reply to "Anu" in this thread. It is a common problem, and Skoda know it is. Don't be afraid to challenge them on it, before your car goes out of warranty.
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well you have my support we have talked before about my simular problems. I did get some of mine fixed, steering sensor was payed for by skoda under good will!. a faulty engine temperature sensor was also replaced under good will, my garage said that one of the main problems is earth connections. theres 2 which cause concern. the first is just under the battery, the second is behind the nsf wheel well, behind the plasic protector beside the washer pump motor, you will need to take the whole liner out which is not easy.
I am still waiting for something else to go wrong with the electrics though, I have zero confidence in it.
but after taking the car in for its 40,000 mile service I went to pick it up. Expecting just to pay the bill, and pick up my keys the garage mechanic said those dreaded words you should only hear with a 10 year old car "theres a few problems, could you walk this way and have a look at it on the ramp". The garage told me that the gearbox is leaking, the anti roll bar has a warn bush and the whole unit needs to be replaced and the door locks are going to snap, yes snap. They have warn badly and one day the barrel will snap inside. hmmmm
vw now do a repair kits its so common, --just leaves a bad taste really!
my advise for anyone who has warranty left is to get the car checked from bumper to bumper, engine, gearbox (behind the plastic seal) anti roll bushes, fuel and brake lines, locks? electrics everything! ohh na dnot by a skoda garage, pay for the AA it WILL be money well spent.
and for everyone like me who still has one and whats good trouble free long term motoring, get rid of it, as its seems to be one thing after another.
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That's scary - yours does sound really bad. Ever though about writing to BBC's Watchdog...?!
...with the lawsuits against the current and ex CEO's of the VW group for 1.0 and 1.4 petrol engine failures (yep - the engines fitted in the Fabia, Polo, Ibiza etc.....), I reckon the VW group need a few more wake up calls.
The days of "if only everthing in life was as reliable as a Volkswagen" have sadly passed. My mother has owned nothing but VW Polos since 1985. Her last was an X reg Polo 1.4. After the gearbox needed changing under warranty (20,000 miles), and when her friends who had similar Polos started complaining of fairly serious problems, she sold it, scared of what might fail next. She is now the proud (and delighted) owner of a Honda Jazz.
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I could try writing to a consumer program but the cars out of warranty and it doesn't explode ! so it may not make headlines for them. Its interesting to see the latest topgear survey. Skoda still at the top but VW starting to be at the bottom. I think its a trend that will continue, overall the skoda's been okay, the body is built well, no door rubbers creak! unlike my previous megane. Fuel is very good at around 50 to 55mpg, but its the niggly little things, I bought the car for long term ownership 4-6 years. Skoda resale values looked good at 50%. but to many things seem to be going wrong, things that should'nt need doing at this age. Break disks at 25,000?, complete new anti roll bar assembly on the front at 40,000, gearbox driveseal leaking at 40,000 and now door locks? window motor, ECM & DCM units, stereo repaired, etc etc.
I'm still not sure of the electrical system, the temp guage still seems to do strange things sometimes, and in these dark evenings when the headlights are on, if you turn the steering wheel quickly the headliht dim alarmingly.
anyone got a cure for that, I've even taken to turning off the interior lights to save possible charging problems with the battery, hmmmmmm
"The car in front is another skoda"
but I suspect that its the same for most makes of car, just not at this mileage!
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Locks and antiroll bar are common on this VAG platform at this mileage. For some reason the Skodas seem to have more elec. problems than the VW's.
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The headlight dimming is probably the steering angle sensor. Mine did that, until Skoda recently replaced the sensor (at long last !!!). Not only is the power steering fixed, but the headlights have stopped flickering.
There is some clear logic behind this. The electro-hydraulic power steering uses a large amount of electrical current. The benefit of this type of system, over a normal belt driven pump is that the system only switches on when it is needed (which makes your car more fuel efficient - normal power steering systems can sap quite a few horsepower). In order to know when the steering assistance is required, you need a steering angle sensor (mounted at the base of the steering column). It detects when the steering is moved, and turns the power assistance pump on, on a demand basis. Clearly, if the sensor is defective, it sometimes thinks the wheel is moving, even when it isn't (or if you are really unlucky, fails to see it moving it when you ARE turning the wheel!). This intermittent problem will cause the pump to be turned on/off/on/off - and this is when you see the lamps flickering.
Skoda will charge about £120 to change the sensor (incl labour) - but if you really make a fuss, they might do it for free. It's worth a try - it's a common fault, and the know it is.
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