Thanks Devdath. Took the car to service center today. It seems its normal for Laura with AT gearbox. I dont know whats the link in this though. They have asked to check oil level in 2 weeks interval and top up when it is dropping. I couldn't digest this oil fumes, oil level drop and frequent top up requirement, anyways i will live with that. They even showed me three new cars with the same fumes coming out. Many thanks for your input.
I checked the same on my safari and xylo but they are neat. No oil fumes from dip stick.

Update:

My mechanic took out and cleaned my turbo yesterday (the A** also said that turbo was the problem - after they first said the EGR was the problem) to see if that solves the problem. Prima facie nothing looked wrong with the turbo. We didn't open the core, just checked the actuator operation and vane operation from outside. Post fitting the turbo, we took the car for a ride. The oil feed pipe to the turbo gave way, there was a screeching sound from the turbo and then the turbo went kaput. So I am now looking ath this;

skoda octavia 1.9 tdi turbo-charger diesel unit 5439-970-0022 bv39-022 | eBay

Things keep going from bad to worse :(

Shucks this is bad news. Guess my initial apprehension was correct and your turbo bearing has seized completely. For your next course of action, you can go for two options: either import a genuine turbo yourself from a website like skodaparts or get it imported an fitted through an independent garage like Emw. The 1st option may save you 20k but may cause future troubles. My suggestion is to go for the 2nd option. Third option also is to go for a used turbo from an accidented car.
Hope that you find a reasonable solution.
Regard,
Behemoth

What would be the cost of this turbo unit if we get it replaced at the A S S?

I had spoken to a service advisor last time generally on the Turbo cost for the current gen Laura and he said that it costs around 1L for the Turbo through Skoda A.s.s and additionally around 10K for labour. This is one of the most expensive components and it can be a very costly exercise to get it changed.
I feel that for the old gen Octavia too, the Turbo cost might be similar or slightly less if done through A.s.s.
There are also a few Skoda parts importers, maybe CESC can check with them on the Turbo cost locally:
Skoda Octavia Spare Parts. Genuine Skoda Octavia Spare Parts
Car Accessories India |Skoda Spare Parts India | Toyota Spare Parts India | Car spare Parts India
http://www.spare-mart.com/contact.html

Regards,
Behemoth

OT: Just to draw an analogy, I had called Toyota and asked them the price of the turbo charger for the Fortuner and was given a quote of INR 90,000.00 plus taxes of 14%.

Seems that Toyota spares aren't that cheap after all.

Hey guys,
I had some queries reg. my Skoda Laura DSG and started a separate thread. Mods pointed me to this one..

My laura has run 60k kms and has some noise coming from the front (below the engine) on hard acceleration. Also, I hear funny sounds off and on (not predictable). I have had it diagnosed by 4 diff. mechanics and they say it is the drive shaft. Now, I checked at Skoda A.S.S (Gurudev) in Chennai and they say the total cost ~ Rs.125k (105 parts + labor + VAT) and includes 2 year warranty.

I checked with an independent mechanic near my house. He says he can source used 'original' drive shaft and incl. labor fit it for Rs.30k and also give a 1-yr warranty. I am naturally inclined to go with the 2nd option. My question is "Is there anything else in the way of the drive-shaft while removing it" - like the differential/ gearbox etc.? I know the gearbox is right in the middle.. I want to make sure he does not take away parts other than the drive-shaft from my car.. For e.g., Are parts like Mechatronics, etc. removable easily from the car? Also, is the drive-shaft replacement a cause for extra scrutiny? Meaning will something else go bad if the driveshaft is replaced by an independent garage? He says he does about 5-10 replacements a month (across diff. brands, mostly skoda)..

Solicit your views please..!

Thanks

I recently turned my car (Laura L&K 1.9 AT, 2006) in for its routine service and some repairs at the local A.S.S. The car has done about 54K.

The repairs I requested were:

1. Replacement of left CV (Constant Velocity) joints (Inner and Outer). The car was making a lot of noise (clicking) during turning which progressively got worse over a few months. Unfortunately the A.S.S never spotted during regular service that the rubber boot over the CV joints was torn/cut and most of the grease had leaked out. It was only during a tyre rotation just after the service that I notice this. I strongly urge all owners to check the integrity of the rubber boot on the CV joint on a regular basis. If detected in time the repair is a simple replacement of the special grease and rubber boot rather than an expensive CV joint assembly.

2. Suspension check & overhaul. The ride had become harsh and every little imperfection on the road could be felt.

In addition to the service and repairs I had requested, I was informed pretty much at the end of the day when I was expecting to collect my car that there was a circular from Skoda and certain parts needed to be replaced. I was told that these will be done free of cost (though my car is out of warranty).
The S.A. unfortunately was not able to explain why Skoda was replacing these parts other than that they must have modified these parts based on some problems. I agreed to the changes though it meant leaving the car for another day. The warranty parts replaced as per the invoice are:

1. 000010006 - Sticker x 2 pcs
2. 03G199207G - Support (Engine mount) x 1
3. 045109147A - Toothed Belt Cover x 1
4. 1K0129621H - Intake Air Duct x 1
5. N10655802 - Bolt, Hex. HD. with x 1
6. N10683301 - Hex Bolt with Intern x 1

I was not given the old parts (since it's a warranty repair) else would have shared pictures. Part #4 above is easy to spot in the car. The engine support & related parts are deep in the engine bay. They had to hoist the engine block to replace these parts.
Scan of the invoice is attached. I also found a VW technical bulletin related to the Engine mount/support (03G199207G). It summarizes the issue as "Rattling noises from engine compartment. Under certain driving conditions engine support mount bolts may loosen and cause engine compartment noises. Engine block fracture may occur."

The CV joint repair and suspension overhaul has made a huge difference to the the ride quality. With the warranty replacement items I am not sure. I think in my case these are just a preventive replacement since I did not have any rattling of the engine block. I still don't know why the air duct was changed.

Hope this helps.

Attached Images

 

Attached Files

10-07-02.brm-mount.pdf (74.5 KB, 815 views)

Manuc,

That was quite an informative post. When you refer to the CV joints (inner & outer) for the left side, are you referring to the Wheel side CV joint + the differential side joint? Usually, if you hear click on turning/ complete wheel lock, it is your 'wheel' side CV joint going. Did you not have problems on the right side? Per Skoda, if one side has an issue, they advise replacement on both sides, either way.. !

It is also quite interesting to note that you got a few suspension items replaced even though car is not under warranty. I have also felt that the car might not be very smooth (as expected) over rough surfaces. Do you think the dealer would do it if I just ask them to?

Yes, I am referring to both the wheel and differential CV joints of the left side.
In my invoice scan, Left CV joint outer (wheel) is item # 8. Left CV joint inner is item # 9.

The 'advise' I too got from the A.S.S. before they even looked at the car was that both sides are replaced; outer is the one that makes the noise etc. etc.
I had done my research so first asked them to start with a visual inspection. The inner CV was clearly gone so that was replaced. With the outer it first seemed just the rubber boot and special grease may need to be replaced. After the left inner CV was changed the car was test driven by the A.S.S. test driver who reported that all sound is gone (bear in mind that they claimed that outer CV causes the sound so he had no answer when I asked how come that the sound had disappeared with inner CV replacement!). I then test drove the car and the sound was almost completely gone but at certain turning angles and speeds I could hear a very faint & intermittent clicking. The A.S.S. also acknowledged this after some more extensive TD with me. I then got the car hoisted again and shaking the CV, drive half shaft etc. revealed a very slight play. The left outer CV was then replaced and no noise was detected during TD.

The right CV (inner + outer) & boots were checked and were found to be rock solid (no play or sound while driving) so the mechanics and I concurred that it did not need to be replaced.


I am the original owner but over the years got accustomed to the worsening suspension. I could however still recall how the suspension behaved when new over certain speed breakers and such on the route that I commute regularly. Looking at the relatively low mileage I was hesitating to get any suspension work done but finally concluded the ride was getting a lot harsher. The bad roads of Gurgaon and some weekend trips I made over the years had taken their toll. I realized the full extent only after the suspension work though. The car is just great to drive now.

You can ask the A.S.S to do a suspension check and replace parts (bushes, certain struts, links etc.) that generally wear out if the roads you typically use are not the best.
My shocks were found to be in good condition so they were not replaced. The bushes with bearing on top of the front shocks were replaced. In my invoice scan the suspension parts are items # 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 14.

Hmm...

Skoda A.S.S here says that the individual components cannot be replaced on a piece meal basis. The entire shaft needs to be replaced (given the milling/ spline involved). That would add to the cost also.. Please stress on warranty on the 2 parts that they have replaced. This way you dont face any consequences of not replacing the entire 'shaft' as they recommend..

Happy to hear about ride improvement after replacing these suspension parts. Looks like you spent ~ Rs.20k on suspension work. Well worth it!

40k for CV joints is the reason why I rarely go to Skoda A**.

For OE quality:
CV Joint Kit, Outer SKODA OCTAVIA 04- | eBay

That's 9k with delivery to India. Outer + Inner would be less than 17-18k. And there's a flood of other standard quality products out there for around 8k (with delivery) and 2 year warranty. The prices that Skoda A** charges for parts are just out of this world.

@dkaile - Turbo for Skoda Laura is 1.2L plus tax at A**. The same turbo is 48k outside. The full turbo can be imported for 36k from UK/Germany and the core of the turbo can be imported for 12k.

Exactly my thoughts. This bill of nearly 75K for servicing and parts is just too expensive for a 54K driven car. This is what worries me with Skoda. Need to have some backup plan for my Superb if and when I am in a similar situation.

You will definitely need a backup plan with Skoda. Servicing costs are still fine, it's the cost of spares that is a killer. I recently bought a laura DSG AT (the car whose turbo issues I am trying to resolve these days) and while going through the service records for that car I found that the previous owner had spent more than 1.5L in the past 18 months on parts replacement and servicing - without any major part replacement like a clutch change in the list. That's almost 10k a month - a crazy amount of money to spend on mantaining a car that is not really in the premium category.

As and when your warranty runs out you will be faced with a choice of either paying through your nose or mantaining your car on your own. I chose the latter many years ago (had an Octy L&K before). I really do like the cars Skoda makes, it's their reliability and A** that is a huge sore point.

On the bright side you will get to know much more about your car than other brand owners if you do decide to maintain the car on your own.

That's why an extended warranty plan is essential. It's a good thing that they started the 2+2 warranty so that at least for 4 years we can have peace of mind. After that it will be time to sell the car and move onto something else!
Cesc, did you finally get your turbo replaced and which option did you go for?
Regards,
Behemoth