Skoda Octavia 1.8 20v Turbo 4x4 Elegance

I've just had the same problem with the grinding at the back when trying to park, so (almost) full lock, slow speeds, much grinding. Took it to a garage, and they figured out it was an electrical problem; the grinding noise is the differential locking, as it does when in mud/snow, so something is triggering it off. Only thing they could do was switch off the traction control - so it runs smoothly now, but unfortunately no traction control, or ESP...they say it's shorting out somewhere, causing the diff to lock, but don't know how to resolve it. I'm sure that at a more modern garage, with better diagnostic equipment, they will be able to solve the problem..hope this helps.

I have a 2002 model and I seem to get a grinding noise from the rear when I am turning on full lock, the car has done 20,000 miles, apart from that I am very happy with it.

I have the Octavia 4x4 on a 51 plate. I bought it with 51k on the clock and now its on 93k. As soon as I bought it I had it converted and it now has a Prins LPG system fitted. I was sold the system as bullet proof and I have to say that to date I have had no problems whatsoever. I have a dual filling system for the UK and the continent and just fill up wherever I go. Being a bit sad with the figures I have worked out that I get about between 24 and 27mpg on gas depending how heavy my foot is and whether it's in or out of town. The only thing that has gone wrong is the annoying bong sound when you leave the lights on and turn the engine off. This was a blessing till I realised my wife's nagging was more annoying than the bonging! Skoda want £120 to change some bits and can't guarantee it will fix the problem. Other than that I have no problems with my local dealer.

It's encouraging that on-balance you'd seriously consider LPG for your next car. As I've just acquired the Octavia I want to get to know how it performs on petrol for the next few weeks before I book it in for conversion. That way I'll be able to judge performance affects before and after. Also, it has a few weeks of the original warranty remaining so I won't risk this by arranging a conversion too early. My Escort had an early LPG kit and at that time it was not possible to install the LPG and have the air conditioning functioning - it had to be disconnected. The garage I'm planning to take the Octavia to assure me that with the newer LPG kits, which are much more sophisticated, there's no problem maintaining the operation of the climate control system. Also, the newer LPG kits come with a 2 year warranty for the engine, so it seems the manufacturers have more confidence in their product.

I'll let you know how it goes - fingers crossed.

The dealer (in Crewe) claimed to have arranged for a number of successful conversions for local taxis. Although I was never told the full story, it appears that the first company the vehicle was sent to failed to complete the work and it was switched to another company (in Warwick). The result was a botched job using different components and a refusal to accept any responsibility for failure (it failed during the first week after delivery). Several trips back to the company who had performed the conversion only resulted in them claiming that the faults lay with Skoda. After a recent failure I took it to another company (in Bournemouth), who commented that the cylinders had been drilled for injection in the wrong place and the engine set to run on too lean a gas/air mixture from installation. Another company (in Doncaster), advised by the installer, were prepared to attempt to find the fault but would not provide any guarantee to fix it, rather like opening your wallet and saying 'help yourself'. I did consider legal action over the initial incompetent fitting but I simply do not have the time to pursue this and I just accept that switchover has to be manual. That said, the conversion is not only clean but has saved me a lot of money over the last 70,000 miles. I shall eventually replace with another Octavia and yes, despite the hassles, I shall have it converted to LPG