Skoda Octavia 1.8 20v Turbo 4x4 Elegance Review
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From 13 reviews
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“After 30000 miles engine management light on and...”
★★★★☆
written by mark1965 on 11/04/2006
Good Points
Performance, stability, ride, smoothness of power delivery, build quality, paint finish.
Bad Points
Unresolvable faults
General Comments
After 30000 miles engine management light on and dealer unable to rectify problem even after replacing (or so they say) many parts unnecessarily. Meanwhile performance began to suffer. Finally Skoda agreed to replace 'faulty' ecu. Well now my Octavia performs like never before, stunning performance but, yes you've guessed it, the lights still on but all problems resolved with the exception of a hot starting problem. To be more precise this is more of a problem relating to running after starting while hot. For a minute or two the car runs like a stubborn ass then settles down and busts into life. Dealers haven't got a clue!
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2002
Year Manufactured
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3.5yrs
Length of ownership
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5
Doors
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Performance
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Practicality
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Value For Money
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P C Buckland's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 04/05/2006
Same model, same problem. The light is still on after several part replacements. The situation has been made worse by a singularly incompetent autogas conversion which I foolishly allowed the garage where I purchased the car to arrange. Light on all the time so I do not know whether there is a fault. The car runs superbly on gas on the open road, but cuts out in slow moving traffic, so one has to manually switch back to petrol. The Skoda dealer hasn't a clue and the gas conversion people don't want to know, although they are happy to keep changing parts with no guarantee that it will be fixed. On balance, gas conversion of the Octavia is well worthwhile but don't let the dealer arrange it.
Millers's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 14/11/2008
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.
344939_Maximus1274's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 13/02/2008
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.
277671_Cuffit's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 08/02/2007
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.
Moss's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 20/06/2006
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.
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<br>I'll let you know how it goes - fingers crossed.
P C Buckland's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 17/06/2006
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
Moss's Response to mark1965's Review
Written on: 13/06/2006
Hi PC, I'm sorry to hear about your experience with the LPG conversion. I'm just about to buy a 1.8T 4x4 and also have a gas conversion in mind, the car seems ideal for it given its deep spare wheel depression for the gas tank. My current car, a Ford Escort, has been running on LPG for 6 years now and doing very well. Converted by a local garage who have been converting cars for about 7 years. Did your local dealer have much experience of LPG conversion? Have you heard of any successful conversions? Any info. would be much appreciated.