Car question - engine management warnings

[subaqua]

Get yourself a Tdi landrover defender, they have an interior light (and it even works sometimes!)

but not if there is the faintest trace of moisture in the air.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

Engine management light is permanently on in my avensis...it's deffo the O2 sensor...

I've got a Vodaphone so I guess it wouldn't work then.

 

[2PedalsTez]

As has already been said.. The car is in limp mode (hence engine limited)
I would personally recommend the guys at Briskoda.net I am sure they will have the answer and at the very least, be able to point you in the direction of a service agent that doesn't charge silly money to have the fault codes looked at.

 

[asterix]

When my Scenic kept doing about 5 yrs ago that I had to take it back to the main dealer to get the computer rebooted. They charged £70 for diagnostics and found nothing wrong. Soon the light came back on so I took it back again. When they presented the £70 bill I told where they could put it and AFAIK they did as they were told. Now I have a Honda.

 

[simon.r]

[QUOTE 1809302, member: 45"]The trouble is, I was out in the car yesterday and it won't go over 4000 revs. I'm assuming that it's in some kind of safe mode because of the warning light? Without going to the garage can I pin this down to one or two possibilities, or could it be anything?[/quote]

This is probably totally useless info, but I'm bored so I'm going to type it out anyway:

I had a Vauxhall Vectra Turbo-Diesel a few years ago which would do just that (go into 'limp home' mode on a regular basis). Stopping the engine and re-starting would always cure it. Numerous visits to the garage failed to identify a problem until one day when it happened I had a good look under the bonnet and saw that a 4" diameter hose had come adrift. I think it was something to do with the turbo (I ain't a car mechanic!). I re-fitted the hose with the jubilee clip that was on it and the problem never happened again. My guess is that it had been loose for a long while and was part dropping off from time to time, causing the electronics to think there was a problem and putting the car in 'safe' mode.

So, FWIW, my sugestion would be to poke / prod / jiggle anything you can see under the bonnet and check for loose hoses / pipes / electrical connections.

 

[Black Sheep]

ford tried to charge me £80 to do diagnostics and figure out why my temperature gauge wouldn't read anything

told them to get lost and that I didn't believe that they'd done a diagnostic - the receptionist got quite snotty about it until I managed to point out a 1980's fiesta didn't have an engine management system for her to plug her machine into

2 mins of a mechanic's time and I was in the parts dept buying a new temp sensor

 

[Maz]

ford tried to charge me £80 to do diagnostics and figure out why my temperature gauge wouldn't read anything

told them to get lost and that I didn't believe that they'd done a diagnostic - the receptionist got quite snotty about it until I managed to point out a 1980's fiesta didn't have an engine management system for her to plug her machine into

Cheeky buggers. You should've paid the 80 quid using 1980s tenners like this [i.e. useless!]...

 

[oldfatfool]

I was going to suggest posting on Briskoda.

Quite a few members over there have Vag Com and will be only too happy to check and clear fault codes for you if you can find one local or travel to a meet, might ask you to join Freedom or for a beer token but we are generally a good bunch.

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/74720-list-of-vag-com-diagnostic-system-vcds-owners/

 

[compo]

Pity you are in Birmingham. I have both a Skoda and a diagnostics scanner/resetter.
I agree with Oldfatfool about Briskoda, brilliant site.

 

[Alembicbassman]

I had a 2001 Fabia estate 1.4 100BHP model, did exactly the same. Warning light came on, car went into limp-home mode. I beleived all the VW hype about Skoda, my Ford Focus, traded in for the Skoda, was a better car. Skoda was traded in after 4 months ownership for a Ford Fusion (better car also). I heard from the dealer that after I traded the Skoda in the next owner returned it for a refund due warning light probs too.

Back doors leak on Skoda Fabias also, the flange on the inner panel was designed incorrectly allowing water to drain off the rear windows into the rear footwell instead of out the the bottom of the door. Not covered by Skoda warranty, have to fix it with bath sealant.

 

[oldfatfool]

Back doors leak on Skoda Fabias also, the flange on the inner panel was designed incorrectly allowing water to drain off the rear windows into the rear footwell instead of out the the bottom of the door. Not covered by Skoda warranty, have to fix it with bath sealant.

Not quite accurate, the mk 2 had a problem whereby the seal on the inner membrane failed allowing water to ingress past the membrane and onto the door cards. This was fixed under warranty even for cars well after the 3 year warranty expired.

As for warning lights, you can read horror stories on every model you care to mention from Skoda to Veyron, even Ford aren't exempt I believe one Ford Fanboy a certain Mr. J Clarkson even got to the end of his tether with his £100k ford supercar due to dodgy electrics.

The op's warning light and problem could be anything from a faulty angle sensor to a clogged up MAF the problem with modern cars is the 'computer says' syndrome that effects all garages and especially non specialist/or non dealers of that marque without the experience of seeing a problem before.

 

[Alembicbassman]

Hayselden Skoda Doncaster would not fix the leak under the Skoda Used Car 12 month warranty - I tried.

 

[oldfatfool]

Hayselden Skoda Doncaster would not fix the leak under the Skoda Used Car 12 month warranty - I tried.

Did they look at it?? It may be the 'repair' had already been carried out and subsequently failed, or indeed the repair had been done by the previous owner under their own steam.

A quick search on Briskoda, per se , and you will see it was a very common fault with many dealers opting to fix all 4 doors even when only 1 was found to be leaking. It was also quite common for owners to opt for a self fix as an easier or less time consuming option.

If the car was bought from Hayselden second hand then I would certainly have been returning it as unfit for purpose, especialIy as dealers where only too aware of the fault,I am afraid that since VAG took over Skoda the dealership experience imho as deteriated considerably, yes you might get a plate glass showroom instead of a woodhut and a cappuccino rather than a mug of nescaf but service?

 

[Fab Foodie]

I had what sounds like a similar problem on a Peugeot 406 Diesel. Sometimes it ran fine, sometimes rev limited.
Neigbourly mechanic looked under the bonnet and noticed a small diameter loose hose to one of the sensors. Once firmly reconnected no further probs.

 

[oldfatfool]

I had what sounds like a similar problem on a Peugeot 406 Diesel. Sometimes it ran fine, sometimes rev limited.
Neigbourly mechanic looked under the bonnet and noticed a small diameter loose hose to one of the sensors. Once firmly reconnected no further probs.

That certainly sounds like it was the MAF in your instance