2011 Skoda Octavia Scout (No, I'd never heard of one too)
Discussion
I have a 2012 Octavia Scout 2.0 diesel. Paid £6k for it 3 years ago on 65k miles. Mine is an ex police car and has a chequered past (suspected front end damage, and a suspected cam belt failure). I also wonder if it has been clocked (no MOT records to check) due to the cambelt failure and low miles for a 2012 plate police car!
However, it was relatively cheap and drove well and was in good order.
I had it remapped by Celtic Tuning when I got it which improved the performance immeasurably (now 200bhp), which I thoroughly recommend doing.
The Haldex never worked, and I finally got around to sorting that out recently with a new Haldex pump for £230: https://haldexparts.co.uk/ That was an easy DIY fix.
The cambelt failure came back and bit me 6 months after purchase when a needle roller bearing, that was missed, found its way into the sump and got wedged on the oil pump and punched a hole in the sump! Caught it in time and a new sump sorted that.
The only issue now is a broken drivers seat height adjustment mechanism (stuck in lowest setting).
I also have a set of steel wheels and winter tyres, tow bar and roof rack fitted. It's a very useful vehicle and is now on 110k miles.
They are good cars - very comfortable and useful! Will keep running it until it dies!
However, it was relatively cheap and drove well and was in good order.
I had it remapped by Celtic Tuning when I got it which improved the performance immeasurably (now 200bhp), which I thoroughly recommend doing.
The Haldex never worked, and I finally got around to sorting that out recently with a new Haldex pump for £230: https://haldexparts.co.uk/ That was an easy DIY fix.
The cambelt failure came back and bit me 6 months after purchase when a needle roller bearing, that was missed, found its way into the sump and got wedged on the oil pump and punched a hole in the sump! Caught it in time and a new sump sorted that.
The only issue now is a broken drivers seat height adjustment mechanism (stuck in lowest setting).
I also have a set of steel wheels and winter tyres, tow bar and roof rack fitted. It's a very useful vehicle and is now on 110k miles.
They are good cars - very comfortable and useful! Will keep running it until it dies!
I also have a set of steels with winters though I'm looking at moving to 17 inch steels to regain the correct ride height.
I'm lucky that working for VW for 10+ years and having diagnostic stuff means I have a reasonable head start with maintenance.
My 4WD works but seems to be sluggish in operation. It also has a,pressure valve fault which can be hadlex control unit. So once the weather gets a little nicer and my 205 Gti is back out to play I'll whip the control unit off and check out the circuit board-it's common for water ingress.
It's now mapped which has made it a lot nicer to drive, and plans include a roof rack and light bar, some suspension raise blocks, 17 inch steels and better tyres and some additional water-proofing
I'm lucky that working for VW for 10+ years and having diagnostic stuff means I have a reasonable head start with maintenance.
My 4WD works but seems to be sluggish in operation. It also has a,pressure valve fault which can be hadlex control unit. So once the weather gets a little nicer and my 205 Gti is back out to play I'll whip the control unit off and check out the circuit board-it's common for water ingress.
It's now mapped which has made it a lot nicer to drive, and plans include a roof rack and light bar, some suspension raise blocks, 17 inch steels and better tyres and some additional water-proofing
A long overdue update.
The Scout has soldiered on remarkably since my last update. While it doesn't cover much mileage day to day (circa 15 miles) it gets a good regular run and this month has seen me put 550 miles on it in the space of about 3 days, at an average of above 60mpg.
The 4wd issue is still an issue however, and being very odd. In short, the Face-lift Octavia uses the Haldex 4 system, which unfortunately doesn't use a pressure sensor to measure pump pressure like the earlier haldex 2 systems. This is a pain in my case, as my issue is a haldex clutch control valve fault.
As I mentioned, I had my 205 gti back for the end of the summer as its been having some work done, which gave me the opportunity to remove both the haldex ecu and the control valve.
|https://thumbsnap.com/tyYdZneG[/url]
A super easy job, with only two bolts and two multi plugs to remove. It's situated on the side of the haldex unit so easily accessible with up on my ramps.
I then sent them to matt at Haldex repairs, somewhat confident that my issue was water ingress into the ecu. Matt received both parts and duely rang me.
Both the ecu and the valve were in perfect working order....
He returned them and I refitted them both and the saga continues. Its an odd issue; the 4wd either works or it doesn't. The valve isn't at fault, but the code is still there. I cant check pump pressure as there isn't a pressure valve, so I think next step is testing the output on the pump, which could possibly be sporadic in operation.
When it is working its absolutely fantastic; wet weather grip is massive and off road it can go further than it really has any right to.
It's had another oil change with an OEM filter and oem quantum oil, and I've just replaced the pillow filter which wasn't in the best of condition:
We're closing in on 157k and it still runs super well, I'd struggle to think what to replace it with if I had to.
Next on the list is a good clean and treat on the underside to keep the rust away.
[url]
The Scout has soldiered on remarkably since my last update. While it doesn't cover much mileage day to day (circa 15 miles) it gets a good regular run and this month has seen me put 550 miles on it in the space of about 3 days, at an average of above 60mpg.
The 4wd issue is still an issue however, and being very odd. In short, the Face-lift Octavia uses the Haldex 4 system, which unfortunately doesn't use a pressure sensor to measure pump pressure like the earlier haldex 2 systems. This is a pain in my case, as my issue is a haldex clutch control valve fault.
As I mentioned, I had my 205 gti back for the end of the summer as its been having some work done, which gave me the opportunity to remove both the haldex ecu and the control valve.
|https://thumbsnap.com/tyYdZneG[/url]A super easy job, with only two bolts and two multi plugs to remove. It's situated on the side of the haldex unit so easily accessible with up on my ramps.
I then sent them to matt at Haldex repairs, somewhat confident that my issue was water ingress into the ecu. Matt received both parts and duely rang me.
Both the ecu and the valve were in perfect working order....
He returned them and I refitted them both and the saga continues. Its an odd issue; the 4wd either works or it doesn't. The valve isn't at fault, but the code is still there. I cant check pump pressure as there isn't a pressure valve, so I think next step is testing the output on the pump, which could possibly be sporadic in operation.
When it is working its absolutely fantastic; wet weather grip is massive and off road it can go further than it really has any right to.
It's had another oil change with an OEM filter and oem quantum oil, and I've just replaced the pillow filter which wasn't in the best of condition:
We're closing in on 157k and it still runs super well, I'd struggle to think what to replace it with if I had to.
Next on the list is a good clean and treat on the underside to keep the rust away.
[url]I have owned four of the Scouts, all diesel. Bought my first brand new in 2008, no problems, fuel at around 45mpg (PD engine). I have had two 2012 type models (CR), better on the fuel overall, again zero problems other than noisy rear diffs starting around the 90k miles mark. Final one was a '66 plate. High mileage (about 70k in two years when I bought it). Only problem with that was the ECU lost track of the key fobs occasionally.
I'd imagine that the spare hasn't been cut correctly. I worked for VW for a decade and used to cut the keys; they're a pain. I'd take a close look at both to see any differences.
On a side note I had a chat today with the ever helpful Matt at Haldex repairs and he's sending me a spare control valve to try. I'm also going to fit a new filter and give the line from the filter to the valve a blow through, in case there is any debris causing issues.
Bar that, she's plodding along great. I'm looking for somewhere to clean and treat the underside to keep the rust at bay too.
On a side note I had a chat today with the ever helpful Matt at Haldex repairs and he's sending me a spare control valve to try. I'm also going to fit a new filter and give the line from the filter to the valve a blow through, in case there is any debris causing issues.
Bar that, she's plodding along great. I'm looking for somewhere to clean and treat the underside to keep the rust at bay too.
Small update time.
Scout continues to soldier on. Running on all seasons means it's brilliant in this weather.
One annoyance has been a cracked fog light. I bought it with it (given how cheap the car was I'm not complaining) however since then it's recently broken, leaving a nice hole and jagged glass. Not good.
£25 from ebay later and my 'new' one arrived, and on my lunch break today I quickly chucked it on.
A very easy job (thanks Skoda!) - simply prise the surround off and x3 torx screws later and we have a gaping hole.
One broken lense
And conplete with two working fog lights again
I will be popping some brighter bulbs in them soon.
On a side note another great inexpensive modification is a washer cap from a newer Skoda. It opens up to become a funnel of sorts, and makes chucking screenwash in much easier.
In fact I got one for my dad's golf and my other half's freelander 2
Scout continues to soldier on. Running on all seasons means it's brilliant in this weather.
One annoyance has been a cracked fog light. I bought it with it (given how cheap the car was I'm not complaining) however since then it's recently broken, leaving a nice hole and jagged glass. Not good.
£25 from ebay later and my 'new' one arrived, and on my lunch break today I quickly chucked it on.
A very easy job (thanks Skoda!) - simply prise the surround off and x3 torx screws later and we have a gaping hole.
One broken lense
And conplete with two working fog lights again
I will be popping some brighter bulbs in them soon.
On a side note another great inexpensive modification is a washer cap from a newer Skoda. It opens up to become a funnel of sorts, and makes chucking screenwash in much easier.
In fact I got one for my dad's golf and my other half's freelander 2
Jhonno said:
Haldex issues been sorted then?
Kind of. The system works 90% of the time (a big improvement) however I think I know what the problem is. Talking with Matt from Haldex repairs we think due to my Haldex filter coming out in a few separate bits, some debris has passed its way through to the valve. This would explain why when Matt tested the valve it worked. As it works the majority of the time.So plan is Matt is sending new a filter and with it a used but known to be working valve. I will remove the filter, clean the housing, remove the control unit and valve, blow compressed air through the feed line from the filter housing, clean up everything I can see, fit the used valve, new filter and new oil.
We hope this will resolve it then.
spreadsheet monkey said:
Octavia Scout Sterrato!
Definitely need to see pictures if you get round to doing these mods.
Ha, it definitely has a ring to it. Definitely need to see pictures if you get round to doing these mods.
First steps is getting the underside clean, and painted. It's - understandably - got quite the patina of surface rust over the axles etc, so plan is to get it up on some ramps, go at it with my wire brush attachment and then find some sort of underside paint to protect it.
Two front tyres will be needed soon, then after that I can start on the fun
Sporky said:
Nice - I have the VW version - Golf Alltrack. There was a Seat one too, I think it was the X-perience. If you think the Octavia Scout is rare and unknown you're in for a surprise with the other two. 
Believe it or not, I had no idea anyone made an Allroad equivalent in the VAG stable. It's only after getting the Scout that I now know lol. I knew Scouts were used by the ambulance services a lot (and still are), however I had NEVER seen a non-emergency Scout. Even today, now I know what I'm looking for, I can still count the amount of Scout's ive seen on the open road with one hand.Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff