2+ years of bad starting cured by.........................

[dstev2000]

..................Fitting a new cylinder head!

Finally, after weeks of fighting Skoda they agreed to pay to have the head removed and tested, the result of the test were encouraging.

Cracks were found between both inlet ports on cylinders 1, 2 and 3 as well as some other leaks that weren't visible.

the upshot of these cracks was pressurisation of the coolant system and coolant leaking into the bores when the engine was off, result? poor starting the next morning if it started at all.

Skoda were adamant the problem was caused by a lack of fuel, they have replaced the lift pump, tandem pump and various bits of fuel line, result? no change.

It was only after a long discussion with the technician looking at my car did the idea of a dud cylinder head/head gasket come up. Trouble is, Skoda wouldn't pay to have the cylinder head removed and taken away for testing, the bill was approaching £1000

After several arguments Skoda finally gave in and authorised it.

The end result? The car starts in less than a second compared to 5-10 seconds. the mpg has shot up, average before was 38, average now is more like 45-50mpg. The car also idles smoother and pulls better, better than when it was brand new in fact, it never started 'on the button' which makes me wonder whether the head was any good from day one.

Why has it taken all this time to find the problem with the car? its been to lots of different dealerships and had all manner of tests done on it but the fault has never been identified until now.

Also -

What is the definition of a reconditioned cylinder head? where do they come from? what has happened to the head that means it can be reconditioned but not melted down or thrown away? I will be chuffed to bits if the recon head is another duffer waiting to happen in 13 months time.

[Golf-Fiend]

Glad you got it sorted - finally! I bet you are relieved. What a PITA you have had to go through though!

[Nick P]

Hallelujah!!!!

[cheezemonkhai]

At £1k for removal and testing, you have to wonder why they didn't just put a new head on it anyway as the cost can't have been much to them.

Still, at least you've got it working now

[Tom_vRS]

Reconditioned = as good as new, so don't worry about it.

[dstev2000]

Thanks chaps, glad to have it sorted even if it took all that time and faffing about to do it.

A big thanks to the staff at West Sussex Skoda who had to put up with me and Skoda UK whinging about the car for so long. Plus I bent the courtesy car which didn't help matters

But it is worth noting that my (June 2007) 07 plate 2.0 TDI suffered with a problem that was supposedly 'cured' by 2006 with a revised cylinder head (revision C IIRC), maybe my car had an older revision B cylinder head or engine that had been sitting round for a while or it just simply slipped through the net. That was part of the problem - Skoda simply wouldn't accept that the problem could be caused by the head as the car was "too new".

It certainly pays to dig your heels in and be persistent.

[vRSLen]

Another fooked head..... how many more are out there...........

[durhamfisher]

Well done for sticking to your guns and getting Skoda to pay for it.

[Dr Zoidberg]

Now get them to pay for all the fuel wasted!

[dstev2000]

110,000 miles with an average loss of lets say 10mpg would be a tidy sum of money. (too ill and too tired to work it out!)