Hi all as regulars will know I own an 05 Vrs with 35k and full dealer history. Yesterday I was nearing the end of a journey from Torbay to Tavistock when,without and warning there was a loud screeching howl from under the bonnet and a loss of power. I pulled over straight away and called the AA and the guy said it was prob the variable vanes sticking and recovered it to a dealer. I am furious and want to know if I need a new turbo. I will also be pursuing Skoda for good will as I have a lot of mechanical sympathy. I have never thrashed the car from cold, I always allow a few minutes idle at the end of a run and use 4500rpm a few times a week when warm to clear the muck out.
I thought this was a reliable turbo set up and the AA guy said it is rare. As I say it is a whine at idle building to a scream when the car is taken off idle. there was no smoke or blow up and the car starts ok.Anyone had the same problem and anyone got some advice? My love affair with this car and Diesel is over and I think it will have to go.
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The engine as you know is a VW unit. These, and the turbo are very reliable, but one will fail from time to time, as any turbo-diesel can. A whine at idle that increases with speed, may be no more than a leak on the pipework from turbo to intercooler, then on to the inlet manifold.
Only guessing of course, but split air pipes are much more common than actual turbo failures.
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Hmmm the recovery guy could find no loose or split pipes.
Meanwhile I am lumbered and will have to train it back to Kent. As I say this happened at the end of a longish run on an A road. I was doing about sixty when I became aware of a whine like that of an old SSK Merc Supercharger and then a loss of power.
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I meant any loose pipes!That is what comes from emailing on and iPod...
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I had a Saab LPT several years ago. It allegedly failed 200 miles from home and I called the AA who could not find the fault. I had a look, borrowed some spanners and tightened up a loose turbo housing. That part of the car never failed again.
So, may be an inoccuous fault easily fixed. I hope it is.
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Meanwhile I am lumbered and will have to train it back to Kent.
Have a look on this site briskoda.net/ as no doubt some may of had the same problem and can tell you how to resolve it.
Also what part of Kent do you come from as someone may know of a Skoda/VW specialist in your area.
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>The engine as you know is a VW unit. These, and the turbo are very reliable,
VW South Africa have just recalled 5,000 TDI Polos for turbocharger problems. Only the 1.9L 96kW versions at the moment but owners of other VAG models are reporting problems.
Up until the recall VW had been telling owners that it was their fault by using poor quality fuel.
Kevin...
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>I will also be pursuing Skoda for good will as I have a lot of mechanical sympathy. I have
>never thrashed the car from cold, I always allow a few minutes idle at the end of a run and
>use 4500rpm a few times a week when warm to clear the muck out.
Redlining it beyond the max power point (4000 rpm) up to the rev limiter on a regular basis doesnt sound like mechanical sympathy to me.
90% of Fabia VRS owners, remap/chip/mod their cars - I have no sympathy with them when their engine goes tits up and is a good reason to never buy a 2nd hand VRS as the majority hide the history and dont appreciate the effect these mods have on the service life of their oil.
So, mattbod are you in the 90% or not? (Your statement above leads me suspect you are in.)
If you bought the car 2nd hand, I am reasonably confident that the previous owner will have run it modded without the knowledge of the dealer.
Turbo failures are rare, provided they are used in a normal service environment - without mods.
As for South African VW's, my brother worked for a long time in a senior position in Toyota SA, and he assures me that anything made in South Africa is of dubious quality. Take a look at South African produced coilpaks for instance.
On a more positive note, Skoda is usually fairly generous with goodwill provided you can prove a full and correct Skoda dealer history.
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Pass the crystal ball Brum, I want a shot.
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>As for South African VW's, my brother worked for a long time in a senior position in Toyota
>SA, and he assures me that anything made in South Africa is of dubious quality.
Did the quality improve when he left?
Kevin...
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No, in fact Toyota SA were involved in a massive catalytic convertor recall after he left (retired)
And yes I appreciate your comment was intended to be derogatory.
Edited by brum on 22/03/2009 at 23:55
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>And yes I appreciate your comment was intended to be derogatory
Wow, well done. It certainly was intended to be derogatory, just like your condemnation of South African products.
Kevin...
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Meanwhile lets get back to the OP's question.
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90% of Fabia VRS owners remap/chip/mod their cars
Not true.
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Based on the research I did before investing my hard earned in a mechanically identical mk4 Golf GT TDI, turbo failure on these engines, assuming no daft mods and correct servicing is very rare. They are prone to MAF failure, the timing belt change intervals should be halved, and sometimes the variable vane gubbins on the turbo seizes up (this can be cleaned / repaired) but other than that they're bombproof old lumps.
A 90% remap rate on the vRS seems high to me, but I suspect it's a significant number, given the numbers involved. 40 bhp for £400 is ludicrous value for money in tuning terms.
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I thought the redline was 4500rpm, though its not usually worth using anything over about 4000 on that engine in unmodded form as not a lot happens up there...
I think a lot of them use tuning boxes (£250 ish) to tune them, DP...
Edited by b308 on 23/03/2009 at 09:20
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>>A 90% remap rate on the vRS seems high to me, but I suspect it's a significant number, given the numbers involved. 40 bhp for £400 is ludicrous value for money in tuning terms.
Quite a few people seem to wait or claim to wait for the 3 year warranty to run out and then remap or fit a tuning box. I too think it is a high number judging by the high percentage of modded cars on enthusiasts forums such as briskoda.
The only question is what box or whose remap are they running and have they got a nice picture of the rolling road printout of the 40 bhp to 60 bhp gain they can post - don't forget to photoshop out the car registration details - you don't know who's looking!
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Has the OP mentioned a re-map ???
Can we focus on his question !
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It is focused.
I'm saying turbos are generally very reliable, but once you start modding, reliability can go out the window.
Most VRS Fabias were bought for performance, not looks. Street cred that they can blow off BMW's etc. and hence a high proportion get modded - its cheap and easy.
Until mattbod states honestly that he is 100% certain his car has always been standard, I don't think its fair to slag off the manufacturer for bad reliability.
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I've had the car from new and it is bog standard. I have never been tempted to chip it for the reasons you state Brum.Yes I know the Briskoda site and think a lot of it. I will be posting on that site soon about the matter as I am on it quite a lot. And Brum the advice to rev to 4500rpm is given by the man in the top left hand corner. Diesels that are pottered around and never opened up occasionally WILL coke up and be at risk Turbo and EGR problems see FAQ running in a Diesel car on this site.
Edited by mattbod on 23/03/2009 at 15:28
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In that case contact your local Skoda dealer and discuss it with them. My experience of my local Skoda dealer is that they are probably the nicest and most reasonable dealers of any make in my area.
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Well the car is languishing in Devon but the dealer has confirmed a knackered Turbo and is going to pursue goodwill. It is the last Skoda I will be buying and I don't think I will have a other oil burner either.
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Or any petrol car with a turbo??!
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Yup! My bro in law works for Ford so maybe a 1.8 or 2.0 Focus to replace.
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Ford are also moving to small turbo petrol engines. All down to emissions.
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mattbod,
I know it's small consolation, but for what it's worth I think you've been unlucky. These engines are not known for turbo failure, or any other expensive problems for that matter. Of course, there will always be isolated incidents. Having not long had a four figure bill thrown at me, I know how intensely frustrating such an experience is though, and understand how it can affect your view of a manufacturer (I sold my Renault as a result!). Hopefully, you will get some goodwill from Skoda. It depends how much influence VAG have had on their customer service policy (the less, the better).
If Skoda aren't paying, I would recommend avoiding the Skoda dealer and taking it to a turbo specialist or good indie. I would be surprised if a reconditioned, warrantied turbo for this engine came to much more than £300 plus fitting.
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I think the vRS uses a KKK unit rather than the Garrett VNTs on other PD130 variants, but on other forums there are specialists that can refurbish far cheaper than the cost on buying a new replacement, as DP says above.
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The usual arrangement with VW goodwill (I expect it is similar at Skoda) is either they cover 50% or 100% of the parts cost (100% in more likely in your case) but you will have to foot the bill for labour and the dealer has to do the repair.
(I hope you didnt mention the regular 4500 rpm blasts though......they wont like that and may use it as an excuse)
Good luck, don't lose your temper in front of them (that rarely works in your favour), just keep talking to them - don't let things go cold - they will interpret that as you are not bothered.
Edited by brum on 25/03/2009 at 12:04
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I never lose my temper but I am good at putting my points across as I am a trained solicitor. I have not mentioned anything about my driving habits but my comments may have been misinterpreted by Brum.Normally I seldom use more than 3-3500 rpm with this engine but I read in HJs "running in a Diesel" on this site that it is a good idea to use 4500 occasionally as a "blow through". This is not a "boot it hard" rev but steady, progressive acceleration with a fully warm engine through the gears. As I have said I never labour the car, I don't rev a cold engine hard and I always idle the car after a long run. In any case the car is at a dealer 250 miles from home so it will be hard to visit an independent.
I am not a car breaker I assure you as my Pug 106 1.1 did over 100,000 trouble free miles and my first FIAT Uno 45 FIRE did near enough that as well.
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It's a highly stressed component which should last a lot longer but in this case, hasn't achieved the intended service life.
Good luck, I hope you get a contribution. If not, rebuilding is a valid and cost-effective option.
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...I am good at putting my points across as I am a trained solicitor...
Wish you'd come and train some of the solicitors I see at court - impenetrable wordy drivel would be one way to put it.
Agree with the way you treat the car, I treat my diesel turbo just the same.
If your driving has contributed to the failure, then the turbocharger must be made of chocolate.
Edited by ifithelps on 26/03/2009 at 09:48
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I take it you are one of our esteemed Justices of the Peace iffithelps! I understand where you are coming from regarding my colleagues! I am not practicing at the moment but I was in Commercial Property anyway so didn't do much advocacy.
Back to the issue at hand though. Skoda have said that they will pay for the turbo and associated parts which comes to over a grand so that is a result to be pleased with. I still have to pay £350 quid in labour though, have lost two days wages (I am teaching English at the moment saving up for an MA) and have had to shell out train fares to and from Devon and Kent and I have had to pay a fortune in Petrol running my dad's old Merc C280 from Medway to Canterbury every day. I have lost money but something is better than nothing and at least Skoda have had the grace to admit the part was faulty. I have cheekily asked for them to pay the labour as well and they said they will get back to me.
Cheers all for your input!
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I'd say you've had a bit of a result and regardless of what extra you do or don't achieve, Skoda UK have done the decent thing when they could have easily done otherwise. Have to say I was keeping an eye on this and expecting the normal VAG rubbish response that others have experienced. Speaks volumes for the Skoda brand. Well done!
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