Octavia Starting problems!

neil1965

On March 1st I picked up an 06 Skoda Octavia 1.9 td1 (Skoda approved) from a Skoda dealer. Lovely car but we seem to be having starting problems when re-starting the car from hot. The engine will turn over but not fire, the most worrying thing though is the sound it makes ( the phrase a bag of spanners springs to mind) a really, really nasty noise. The first time it happened was on a Saturday when we went to pick up a boot liner from our local Skoda dealer. One of their mechanics came out and listened to it and said he thought it sounded if part of the turbo had dropped into the engine. They were very helpfull and arranged a recovery lorry to take the car back to the dealer we bought the car from.
On the Monday I called the dealer and asked if they had found the problem and they said the car had started up fine from cold but that they would take it out for a run and see if the problem would re-occur. They had the car a week and coulnt seem to find the problem, but thought it might be the throttle body sticking closed when hot. So the engine was acting more like a vacuum pump than an engine. They cleaned the throttle body and this seemedto have cured the problem. After a couple of weeks though the problem is re-occurring again. After a good run 30-40miles the car is reluctant to start from hot ( 1 in every 4 times) It will start eventually but you have to fight through the horrendous noise and feather the throttle.
I have booked the car into my local dealer next Monday and will leave them the car for a week to see if they can sort the problem out.

The main reason we bought the Octavia was the rock solid reliabilty and the ongoing starting problems have me more than a little woried for the long-term health of the car (forgot to mention that when the problem occurrs the crankcase pressurises and you can see oil seeping from around the oil filler cap).
What sort of rights do I have? If the dealer cannot fix the problem after 3 attemts can I ask them to swap it for a similar vehicle.The dealer has been very good so far but I would like to have some idea of my consumer rights if things do go pear-shaped!

Many thanks for wading through this rather stodgy post!

Regards Neil

Sus1e

The USA has a law called the Lemon law which does the whole, if it can't be fixed they have to give you a refund.

In the UK, there is no such law. You are covered by the standard laws and your normal consumer rights.

dieselglider

neil1965 wrote: »

They had the car a week and coulnt seem to find the problem, but thought it might be the throttle body sticking closed when hot. So the engine was acting more like a vacuum pump than an engine. They cleaned the throttle body and this seemedto have cured the problem.

The bit that would concern me is the fact that it's a diesel, and thus doesn't have such a thing as a throttle body. Diesels' always work with a full supply of intake air, just adding fuel via injectors to run and vary revs. The 'throttle' sends signals to the ECU, which in turn signals the injector pump/injectors to inject the necessary amount of fuel.

piggeh

Firstly try asking on briskoda.net - lots of people on there who may have come across the same problem.

As for your rights - document the efforts made, and give the garage a chance to investigate properly. However, if it's not fixed properly then you can refuse further offers of repair and ask for a refund or a similar vehicle. As you have a warranty then if they cannot fix it, the item is not as described and not fit for purpose (given the 'package' you bought also includes the warranty side of things, as well as the motor). You will be perfectly within your rights to reject it but you need to document the repair attempts and give them a decent chance at sorting it. Ultimately if it goes to court you will need to show you've been reasonable throughout.

They are nice cars overall though.

neil1965

many thanks for all the above advice. The car is in for another investigation next week. I have documented all fault occurrences and will be asking a friend to lend me a digital camcorder so I can record the fault. Just about to head over to the briskoda site to see if there are any replies to my post.
Many thanks, Neil

wroughtironron

I have a 2005 model (bought new) and it has been brilliant, having now covered over 80,000 miles. It sounds like yours has serious mechanical issues, something very rare in the new Skodas.
I'd be tempted to ask them to change it for another Octavia. Mine averages 56mpg despite some fast motorway driving and still goes quicker than most boy racers.