Register of Complaints - Add your details

[pg220]

I am trying to gauge how many owners have or are suffering damaged tyres due to incorrect geometry / camber or anything else that is causing this. As I have previously said I am not mechanically minded so bear with me on the title.

How many of us are out there wondering what to do about it. How has dealer treated you. Add your deatils as follows and lets see:-

January 2010 Octavia VRS TSI Estate DSG

Dunlop SP Sportmax fitted

Problem started at about 6000 miles

Sawtoothing to all tyres on Inside edge, rears particularly bad.

Skoda dealer altered geometry settings under warranty no arguements

Still suffering droning, tyres knackered only done 9000 miles.

[PowerMalc]

Jan 2010 Octavia VRS CR170 DSG hatch

OE Dunlop Sportmax GT

Did not notice a problem until I swopped front to rear and vice versa at 10000 miles just to even up the wear.

I then noticed the drone which has got steadily worse, now on 14000 miles

The sawtoothing on the rears is now quite bad but tyres are wearing OK, 5mm on three and 3mm on one

Recent visit to dealer got there head tecnichian to admit they had quite a few cars with this noise

Service manager denied (!) they had problems and they would not be able to put a warranty claim into Skoda either for tyres or geometry check

My car did have a FOC geometry check when the car was 2 weeks old but this was pothole related, everything OK

When I change tyres I will look for a tyre that has a continuous band of rubber on the inside rather than individual blocks of rubber that the Dunlop's have

[Scotydog775]

March '10 VRS CR DSG Hatch

Dunlop Sportmaxx

Never had a problem never been to the dealer.

Got the fronts replaced at 20k

Both rear tyres are now worn on the extreme inside of both tyres on only the last inch or so.

This was unnoticeable when the tyres were on the car even when you used your hand to check the tread.

This problem seems to be related to extremely bad camber set up.

The dealer have said tyres are not a warranty item and they wont replace them

They have said they will look at the geometry when it goes in for a service this week (will be requesting a copy of the printout)

They have also said they haven't seen tyres worn in this way or by this degree before (will get this in writing) but have seen "a number" of worn tyres on VRS models.

Skoda UK have initially said they wont do anything about the tyres. But they seemed to blame sawtoothing (which this isnt). Im going to ring them again tomorrow and update them with what the dealer has said and pursue this further.

Edited 30 January, 2011 by Scotydog775

[wantaskoda]

Sept 10 2.0 L&K DSG diesel 13.7k

Bridgestone tryes (at first SUK told me that this was the problem, a charachteristic of the tyre. have told them to keep the recording of this comment!!)

problem with tyre noise started after 10k. went to dealer who said it was pot holes.

currently communicating with Skoda UK who have paid for geometery once, and have asked for it to go back as they are not happy iwht the settings.

going back in two weeks as I do not have the time to go before. will have about 14.5k by that time.

am writing to them this week to suggest that they change the tyres at the same time, and see what their response is.

even dealer now saying he is seeing more cars coming back with the same issue.

[Dominocdp]

2009 Octavia VRS TDI DSG Hatch

Problem was noticed at approx 8K when tyres swapped to even wear car was 8 months old at this point

OEM Dunlops

Tyres were sawtoothed and noise and vibration on now front was unbearable - tyres swapped to rear were exhibiting same problem within 1500 miles

A small battle with Skoda UK to even get the geometery checked as SUK were denying the existance of a problem.

They only agreed to pay for the check after I wrote to SUK MD.

Car was "in spec" to the original factory figures so no offer of contribution for replacement of tyres.

Unfort I killed the car shortly after so couldn't tell if a change of tyres would have sorted it.

I didn't think before about either going to dealer or Dunlop with SOGA, as there is obviously a problem with the combination of Dunlops and VRS.

Have made a point with the dealer that I do not want the replacement I have ordered if it is on Dunlops from the factory, as the tyres are not upto the job.

[Deepjoy]

December 2009 FL Octavia vRS CR DSG Hatch. Mileage now 14000.

OE - Dunlop SP Sport Maxx fitted

Droning first noticed at 10,000 when on a long drive with the family (I guess I didn't notice earlier as it just developed slowly)

Sawtoothing appears to be prevalent on rear tyres though about 4mm tread left.

Front tyres about 2mm. Because I also have a sidewall bulge I am planning to replace the fronts very soon; and will probably put the backs on the fronts.

Bought through DtD on 0% finance, but have not had to use my local dealer at all to date - so have no relationship of any sort.

AM considering taking the car to Merityre Specialists in Leatherhead as they appear to do a full geometry check; will mean paying for myself but not sure how much I can rely on Skoda to do that and don't want to find out I have the same problem down track with the next set of tyres. Means paying this myself but given the urgency re the fronts that I only really picked up on this weekend, don't really see a satisfactory option.

Never had anything like this in 30 years of driving.

[IanJ]

May 2010 FL Octavia vRS CR Hatch.

OEM Dunlop Sportmaxx.

First noticed uneven wear and droning at around 15k miles. Car serviced at 19k at a local Skoda dealer who noted uneven wear on the rears from 6mm inside down to 3mm outside.

The dealer offered to check the geometry but I called Skoda UK to request replacement tyres at the same time as I have generally managed 40k (motorway) miles out of rear tyres on previous cars. The fronts are down to 3mm now, evenly worn.

Awaiting Skoda UK's response.

[FatblokeVRS]

Jan 2010 Octavia VRS - we got the vehicle at 6 months old.

Droning noise from around 12000 miles.

Dealer swapped fronts to back etc and adjusted rear geometry - suddenly lost 80 miles per tank.

Took back to dealer to have geometry rechecked - no change - all ok allegedly.

Still losing 80 miles per tank a few weeks later and wanted to get front geometry checked - took to CLCM in Edinburgh.

All 4 wheels out of alignment - all adjusted - car drives much better and we got 493 miles when the fuel light came on not 400 as per previous few months - before that we used to get around 480 miles.

Now have winter tyres on but the Dunlop SportMaxx that were on the rear are heavily sawtoothed. These are the worst tyres ever - can't wait to change them.

Maybe we need a petition to give to SUK.

Cheers

Dave

Edited 31 January, 2011 by FatblokeVRS

[banksie]

FL Octavia VRS Petrol March 2010

OEM Sportmax

8000 miles, droning from the rear as though wheel bearing U/S

Tyres significantly "sawtoothed".

Tyres changed to winter tyres no droning!

Spoke to D M Keith Leeds "no reported problems!"

Waiting to see how this thread develops and my winter tyres run (now up to 13000 miles) before "I open an industrial can of whup ass!"

Count me in!

[Freddie]

Hi

(First post here, long time lurker but as I had nothing sensible to say I kept quiet)

Anyway, I have had my Octavia Estate 1.4 since the summer and clocked up 6500 miles so far. Generally very happy with the car only one minor niggle which I THINK may be the 'droning' mentioned here but I am not sure.

Basically, when I hit 65-ish (sometimes less, sometimes more and seemingly dependant on the type / smoothness of roadsurface) there is a vibration noise from the rear passenger side of the car.

Difficult to descibe the actual noise but It hink it's almost teh sound you hear when the bass on the radio is too low and the speaker is of low quality. (Hope that makes sense).

So, could this be the droning noise mentioned here? Does it happen that it's only on one side of the car or should I expect this on both sides or both front and back on a certain side. Does the droning generally happen at a certain speed?

Cheers

[Rab-k]

Jan 2011

On basis of posts on this site, took car to CLCM Edinburgh.

Toe on 'Fronts' (both sides) outside tolerance - sorted.

Everything else 'Fronts' OK - 'Rears' all OK.

£39.50 well spent IMHO.

[jbconno]

2007 VRS PD.

OEM Dunlops

Saw toothing to inside of rear tyres resulting in droning noise similar to rear wheel bearings.

Started to really notice it about 15K but in reality probably started earlier.

Dealer (Grasmere Skoda Macc) altered the rear suspension settings, got HSBC to change the tyres and was fine until it went back at 60K.

Fronts were fine.

Incidently my colleagues 59 plate FL VRS CR has had the EXACT same problems although his started about 6K. Same tyres, symptoms and result etc.

[prolfe]

2010 CR vRS

OEM SportMaxx

notified dealer at service - not a warranty item - they have no geometry equipment so cant check it. failed to mention to me that the rear nearside was illigal

Have new tyres on now. Conti SC3's

Rang Skoda - "its a charactristic of the Octavia and other VAG cars with same platform", "dont use Dunlops"

very alarming.

[pg220]

2010 CR vRS

OEM SportMaxx

notified dealer at service - not a warranty item - they have no geometry equipment so cant check it. failed to mention to me that the rear nearside was illigal

Have new tyres on now. Conti SC3's

Rang Skoda - "its a charactristic of the Octavia and other VAG cars with same platform", "dont use Dunlops"

very alarming.

Am I right in thinking Skoda said "Don't use Dunlops" As if we have a ******* choice !!!!

Get that can of Whoop Ass out. (Made me chuckle that !)

[Sarge]

2010 FL vRS CR estate

OE Dunlops

All four tyres affected, front off-side particularly bad. Noticed them getting noisy c10k. Spoke to dealer who recognised the problem and said to contact Skoda UK. There's not much of a choice of places to go for geometry check up here so intend taking to 'local' Audi dealer in Inverness (they have the Hunter equipment) but it's £105 inc VAT for a check! Will also be replacing the front tyres about the same time.

Sarge.

[prolfe]

Am I right in thinking Skoda said "Don't use Dunlops" As if we have a ******* choice !!!!

Get that can of Whoop Ass out. (Made me chuckle that !)

Wonder if Dunlop are aware of this.

[banksie]

Was thinking whether Dunlop were aware of this. I will give them a ring to see if I can take my tyres down to Dunlop HQ in Birmingham for them to have a look at. Should be easier for them as they are off the car at the moment.

I will also ring Skoda to see if I can get them to confirm in writing that "its the tyres", unless someone already has something from them. If you do I would be grateful for a copy to take with me to Birmingham and also to let my dealer know that the Scout that is on order for my wife, won't be being driven out of the showroom with them on!!

[Clarky]

March 2010 FL VRS petrol

Dunlops

Droning became really noticeable around 7000 miles

Dealer advised rears sawtoothed at first service and agreed to revise geometry and swap front to rear. Droning and vibration even worse so it went back again and I was told wheels out of shape and needed replacing. After throwing my toys out of the pram I managed to get two new Continental Sp3 fitted at no cost.

Much better drive now but still worried about geometry settings and wear especially seeing people on here claiming a problem with fronts as well as rears. I left Dunlops originally fitted to front on the rear and will change to Contis in next month or two once I'm sure everthing OK. Checked tyres pressures tonight though and noticed that these have also worn unevenly (on the outside).

I guess I've had a result but all I want to do is get on with driving the bleddy car without the worry that I'm destroying £600 worth of rubber everytime I nip to the shops.

[banksie]

Just had this e-mail back from Dunlop, my e-mail to them at the bottom :-

I was sorry to read of the noise in your Octavia.

Tyre noise can become quite prevalent if the tyres have worn unevenly. In

theory though a tyre should only wear in the manor it is being presented to

the road. See Pic

http://i1205.photobucket.com/albums/bb423/banksie39/pic04750.jpg

Should you feel the above answer does not cover your issue our passenger

tyres are warranted for 5 years from date of manufacture or date of

purchase if proof can be shown. The warranty covers any manufacturing

defect but not accidental damage, wear caused by a vehicle, driving styles

etc.

We offer a tyre inspection service for any tyre dealer or member of the

public.

Vehicle main agents and tyre dealers can send tyres back for inspection if

they have an account with us. If they do not have an account the return

can be made through their wholesaler who will then arrange to return the

tyre here on their behalf. With regards to returns it is always best to

give the product to the person who took your money for it when new. This

best covers you under the sale of goods act.

Should we during our inspection give an allowance (allowances granted are

not an admission of liability) it will be % based and is worked out using

the remaining tread depth of the tyre. We then advise the recommended

allowance to the account holder by letter. A letter advising you of the

results is also sent as long as your name and address have been included on

the complaint form that dealers raise. If the dealer has no forms or

electronic version on their computer they can obtain pads from the BTMA on

01787 226995.

The allowance will be made to the account holder who returned the tyre to

us. It will be based on their purchase price of the tyre from us. Most

dealers will then normally reflect that allowance back to their customer

based on their payment price should of course the tyre or a replacement

tyre have been brought from them. You will need to speak to your dealer

regarding their complaint tyre policy and allowance reimbursement to

yourself.

If no allowance is advised on your tyre we will hold it for 14 days. The

tyre will then be disposed of. Should you require your tyre back you will

need to arrange for a carrier to pick it up within the 14 day period. The

return cost would need to be covered by yourself. Carriage costs from the

account holding dealer to ourselves are covered by us regardless of the

outcome.

Regards,

Peter Wayte

Product Support & Service

E-mails are monitored by more than one operative.

To help with enquiries where further correspondence is required please

attach this and any previous e-mails.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

May Contain Confidential and/or Proprietary Information -

May not be copied or disseminated without the express

written consent of Goodyear Dunlop Tire & Rubber Company

Hi, have some Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres fitted to my 2010 Skoda Octavia

VRS which were OEM fit. The car started to make a droning noise like a

wheel bearing breaking up. I have taken the tyres off and fitted my

winter tyres and the noise has stopped. The tyres have done approx 8000

miles and looking at the rear tyres it apears that the tread blocks

have a sawtooth appearance to them.

Would it be possible to let you have a look at the tyres to see if

there is any manufacturing defect or whether its a geometery problem

with the chassis?

Regards Iain Banks

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I was wondering whether we could all get together and send tyres back at the same time or at least take the e-mail to the dealers and ask them what they can do about it. Not sure how those with no second set of tyres would go on but it I was thinking that if they have to send the tyres back then they have to give you replacements while yours are away which means hassle, which means something might get done.

I will e-mail this Peter Wayte back still asking if I can "just pop in" rather than send the tyres too see what he says and to get a diffinitive answer.

Edited 1 February, 2011 by banksie

[rainbowsend]

FL Octavia VRS 170 CR December 2009

OEM Dunlop Sport maxx GT

Around 7000 miles droning from the rear (mileage now 10k).

Both rear tyres significantly "sawtoothed".

Dealer said not a warranty issue ( !! ) had to pay £65 + Vat to have alignment checked and found to be within 'limits'

Swapped tyres from front to back as dealer/Skoda suggested, noise even worse now rear tyres are on the front.

Will be lucky to see 12k before tyres need changing, thats if I can stand the droning for that long !

The car is treated and driven with upmost care....I am no spring chicken....60+ !

[SFrazer]

FL Est vRS TDi 170 Jan 2010

Bought through Carquake, sold by Carlisle dealer, local dealer is DM Keith, York

Dunlop Sport Maxx GT

Droning obvious at about 7000 miles but took it for service at 9500 with DM Keith. Initially told the rears were saw-toothed due to potholes. Further discussion & they slipped the news that they'd seen other cars affected. I then looked at this forum & saw this is common. on subsequent discussion I used terms like "design fault" & "not fit for purpose". Currently my local dealer says he's contacting skoda UK "but it can take 2 weeks for a decision". That sounds like b@ll@cks & I am going to email the UK CEO as soon as I get a moment. I called Consumer Direct (aka Trading Standards), they were little use, just said that SOGA means the dispute is with the dealer.

I don't think this should be resolved by attempting to go at Dunlop. Threads here show that other tyres do the same thing. I feel this is a Skoda UK issue & they are trying to bury it.

Bottom line, owners need to have confidence that the combination of a geometry fix and a particular type of tyre will work & the problem wont return in another 6-12 months.

We should not be trying to guess which tyres to fit & what geometry works. We need Skoda UK to accept the problem and research the solution. So far I can't see any evidence of this.

Everyone with this problem should press their dealer to sort it out under warranty but at the same time everyone must contact watchdog and Which? so that Skoda is made to resolve it. A class action is also worth considering.

Scott

[zimmerman]

March 2010 vRS on dunlop Sport Maxx tyres

First noticed droning from the rear at about 12/13,000 miles. the rears were wearing excessively on the inside edges and had an uneven wear or 'sawtoothing' to the blocks.

When the front tyres required replacement I had the rears swapped to the front. The noise and vibration from swapping the dunlops onto the front is driving me nuts, far louder than they were on the back.

I spoke to the dealer nearest my office (Central Skoda, Birmingham) and they were unhelpful to say the least, boardering downright rude. They told me that the alignment can only be looked at under warranty up to 6 months/6000 miles and wouldnt entertain looking at the tyres or anything. They wanted £120 for the full alignment check.

Next port of call is to speak to Skoda Customer services. I will update when I have.

[BowsG]

Octavia 1.9 TDI Saloon '57 reg.

At approx 2 years Old and 40,000 miles noted that tread wearing badly on the inner edges of both rear tyres.

4 wheel alignment carried out by local dealer. Toe on rear R/H wheel was one minute of arc out of tolerance (wheel was 11 minutes max allowable range was 0°0' to 0°10'). All other angles were within specification tolerances.

The toe on the rear R/H wheel was re set to 0°05 and the problem seemed to be cured.

I got rid of the car at 60,000 miles.

The car was under waranty but I was told that Skoda would not pay for the work - cost me about £130

[Freddie]

Just to understand if I have this problem or not. Is this 'droning' noise always there? Or is it just at a certain speed?

It's because I have a noise coming from the rear passenger side but only round the 65 mph mark on certain (mainly rough) road surfaces. Go slower or quicker and the noise dissapears...

[IanJ]

Skoda UK got back to me after 9 days to tell me that they couldn't do anything until I have proved to them the cause of the problem by having the geometry checked.

I'm going to book it in to have it done and send them the results. However, the dealer originally told me it was pointless to align the wheels when they are so unevenly worn, can they just check the alignment?

In the meantime I'm drafting a letter to Skoda Finance to see if that gets a better result.

This is definitely becoming a 'Watchdog' story - I can't be forking out for rear tyres every 19k.