Recently replaced cambelt snapped; advice please.
Discussion
Evening all,
I'm looking for it of help for my friend who has just had the cambelt fail on his Octavia vRS (1.8T)
He took the car to his local main dealer for a cambelt replacement 3 weeks ago and yesterday it snapped and has lunched the engine.
Having had it towed to the dealer they have inspected it and said that the engine is a write off but that it was caused by a seized water pump and so they are not liable for the failure. I told him that they should have replaced the water pump as a matter of course, but the dealer are saying that they inspected it and found it to be fine when they did the belt.
If anyone can give any advice on how he should handle this then that would be great. This is the supplying Skoda main dealer that have carried out all maintenance on the car and are so far dodging any responsibility.
I'm looking for it of help for my friend who has just had the cambelt fail on his Octavia vRS (1.8T)
He took the car to his local main dealer for a cambelt replacement 3 weeks ago and yesterday it snapped and has lunched the engine.
Having had it towed to the dealer they have inspected it and said that the engine is a write off but that it was caused by a seized water pump and so they are not liable for the failure. I told him that they should have replaced the water pump as a matter of course, but the dealer are saying that they inspected it and found it to be fine when they did the belt.
If anyone can give any advice on how he should handle this then that would be great. This is the supplying Skoda main dealer that have carried out all maintenance on the car and are so far dodging any responsibility.
I can't really help other than that the water pump is advised to be changed at the same time on the 1.8t. In fact it comes in the parts package.
Im not sure if this will help but if you could speak to another dealer and find out if this is fact then you could approach the dealer with evidence they should have changed it.
Im not sure if this will help but if you could speak to another dealer and find out if this is fact then you could approach the dealer with evidence they should have changed it.
The biggest part of the cost of a water pump replacement is the labour in getting everything out of the way, I would have expected a garage a change the water pump as a matter of course (obviously charging for the part). When my dads astra was done the water pump and tensioner were done, iirc the pump was under £30
Was it a main dealer or Indy?
Was it a main dealer or Indy?
Same thing happened with the father in laws passat, 2 weeks after all the belts got changed the water pump failed on the M40. Luckily the engine was ok, I told him the same thing, surely VW stated that the water pump should be changed. They insisted that it didn't need doing and charged him for new belts and a water pump stating the antifreeze in the water would have ruined the belts.
rufusgti said:
I can't really help other than that the water pump is advised to be changed at the same time on the 1.8t. In fact it comes in the parts package.
Im not sure if this will help but if you could speak to another dealer and find out if this is fact then you could approach the dealer with evidence they should have changed it.
I knew it was advised, but if it is in the parts pack and they decided against it that could help his case, ta.Im not sure if this will help but if you could speak to another dealer and find out if this is fact then you could approach the dealer with evidence they should have changed it.
I'd get a second opinion that is is actually the waterpump that has caused this.
Assuming they are telling the truth, then they should have changed it when they did the cambelt or explained to him how they are linked and offered him the choice.
If it is Skoda guidelines to do so and comes as part of the parts package then I think he has a strong case that the dealer should have sorted it.
Assuming they are telling the truth, then they should have changed it when they did the cambelt or explained to him how they are linked and offered him the choice.
If it is Skoda guidelines to do so and comes as part of the parts package then I think he has a strong case that the dealer should have sorted it.
H_Kan said:
I'd get a second opinion that is is actually the waterpump that has caused this.
Assuming they are telling the truth, then they should have changed it when they did the cambelt or explained to him how they are linked and offered him the choice.
If it is Skoda guidelines to do so and comes as part of the parts package then I think he has a strong case that the dealer should have sorted it.
Will advise getting a second opinion too. As far as I am aware no choice was offered in regard to the waterpump. Assuming they are telling the truth, then they should have changed it when they did the cambelt or explained to him how they are linked and offered him the choice.
If it is Skoda guidelines to do so and comes as part of the parts package then I think he has a strong case that the dealer should have sorted it.
Its too late now, but for anyone who is reading this, it is essential that when you have a cam belt service carried out, ensure that the tensioners and idlers are changed and most importantly ask for the old parts to be placed in a box in the boot of the car. It gives you a chance to inspect them first of all but also makes it more likely that they actually bother to change the tensioner and idler.
I do it with main dealers. The peugeot has just gone in and the main dealer was not surprised by my demands.
I do it with main dealers. The peugeot has just gone in and the main dealer was not surprised by my demands.
Vic Cooper said:
I guess they haven't changed the tensioner(s) and the waterpump, just the freakin' belt. Utter morons. Of course, the belt is a cheapest...
Agreed. I suspect they will have charged for the full whack, but have not bothered with tensioners. Be that for speed, or just being cheapskates I don't know. They are using the water pump as an excuse because they know it's a common failure pointon the engine. The tensioner will have failed.Unfotunately, it's a bit late now, because the dealer has had it back, but I would have been tempted to have got the recovery guy to have a look at the case bolts and surrounding plastc/ engine mount- check to see if these had been removed, after all, they may not have even changed it at all!!!
When getting a second opinion,I would insist the snapped belt is with the car, so you can check it really is new. After only 3 weeks, it will be very obvious if the belt is nearly new or 40k + miles old and was never replaced.
wmg100 said:
Well I've found a very reasonable specialist just around the corner from the main dealer so hopefully they'll be able to offer a second opinion.
If you're an AA or RAC member ask them to inspect it. You may find they'll do it as part of your membership.Do you have legal cover on your insurance. Might be useful if you tell the garage this and that you intend to pursue this if hey don't sort it as you hold them responsible.
How old is the car and what mileage BTW
Vic Cooper said:
I guess they haven't changed the tensioner(s) and the waterpump, just the freakin' belt. Utter morons. Of course, the belt is a cheapest...
On the other side, I bought a BMW X5 recently - with a brand new viscous coupling but an old, worn out belt on it. It costs £11 FFS!!! Now I have to do the same job of removing half of the front just to change the bloody belt so it won't snap form old age.Tyre Tread said:
wmg100 said:
Well I've found a very reasonable specialist just around the corner from the main dealer so hopefully they'll be able to offer a second opinion.
If you're an AA or RAC member ask them to inspect it. You may find they'll do it as part of your membership.Do you have legal cover on your insurance. Might be useful if you tell the garage this and that you intend to pursue this if hey don't sort it as you hold them responsible.
How old is the car and what mileage BTW
Car is 03 plate on about 60k iirc, was its second cambelt change.
I'd send in an independant engineer to have a look and give a second opinion.
I once had engine failure in a Golf and the main dealer said it was because I was driving the car through puddles(it had pulled water in and hydrolocked the engine).Because of this they wouldnt cover it.My independant engineer had a look and found out the real reason was because the car had dropped a valve.....
I once had engine failure in a Golf and the main dealer said it was because I was driving the car through puddles(it had pulled water in and hydrolocked the engine).Because of this they wouldnt cover it.My independant engineer had a look and found out the real reason was because the car had dropped a valve.....
rottie102 said:
On the other side, I bought a BMW X5 recently - with a brand new viscous coupling but an old, worn out belt on it. It costs £11 FFS!!! Now I have to do the same job of removing half of the front just to change the bloody belt so it won't snap form old age.
Sounds like a pain in the arse...But seriously, what professional can do an amateur mistake like that. Anyway You have to remove the whole cover and stuff, so what's the point NOT to change then every neccessary bits? I will never ever understand that.
Edited by Vic Cooper on Tuesday 4th January 21:15
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