MK3 Octavia - List of Defects, Faults and Issues

[gadget007a]

I have noticed over the last few mornings after a stretch of driving on the highway then stopping at lights when taking off there is a large white cloud from the exhaust. It only does it the once then is all good so I suspect it is moisture in the air condensing in the intercooler and when the car is taking off it is being drawn through the engine resulting in a cloud of steam out the back. First time i saw it I checked all the fluid levels and there was no change.

Anyone else experience this? my car is an RS Diesel

[hobbie2k]

A few days ago my wife started our car (1.4l 103 TSI, manual). It fired, revved to high idle then died. It did it a second time. The third time, my wife feathered the throttle for a few secs and it returned to normal. The issue hasn't reoccured. We will mention it when it goes in for first service next week.

[Snail Style]

Umm it's an rs so whichever they have. It does the headlight movement at start up. Then says check left dipped headlight. I check... It's out... But if I restart the car on the key, it clears itself..

Punch me through a VIN#, I know the superbs had issues with their headlight control modules the Octavia's might have the same concerns.

[99Reza]

I picked up my car last Friday after nearly two weeks stint at the dealership. 80% of the time is just waiting for parts to arrive, I couldn't be bother going back and forth so I let the dealer 'babysit' my car.

They fixed 4 issues:

• Speaker not working - Took a while to fix this, solutions was to replace control unit.
• Dead Right side DRL - Brand new headlight, BIG job as bumper need to come off.
• Coolant loss - MFD screaming red to check coolant level, very low level in the expansion tank. Tech identified small leak from the radiator, only apparent after the engine has warmed up. Luckily the bumper was off while replacing the head light.
• Wheel bearing replacement - Loud rumbling noise, I drove over a slightly exaggerated size rock on the highway which may or may not contribute to wheel bearing damage

All replaced under warranty and car came out washed and vacuumed. Dealer has been good with the communication, quite happy with them.

[woofy]

Geeze that's quite a list, sure the big rock didn't hit the radiator as well

I had my car delivered with bulges in the front headlights which was weird, but they were both replaced a week later, and on the MkII they just pop out the front. I've had no other issues since. Guessing the MkIII lights are harder, makes me wonder how fun they are to change bulbs in?

[brad]

[*]Dead Right side DRL - Brand new headlight, BIG job as bumper need to come off.
.

It's not that big a job - a couple of hours. Good apprentice job.

Geeze that's quite a list, sure the big rock didn't hit the radiator as well

I had my car delivered with bulges in the front headlights which was weird, but they were both replaced a week later, and on the MkII they just pop out the front. I've had no other issues since. Guessing the MkIII lights are harder, makes me wonder how fun they are to change bulbs in?

Supposedly bumper off for all bulbs but I've seen some references to people doing it in-situ. They were in a foreign language so maybe I translated wrongly.

[99Reza]

Geeze that's quite a list, sure the big rock didn't hit the radiator as well

I had my car delivered with bulges in the front headlights which was weird, but they were both replaced a week later, and on the MkII they just pop out the front. I've had no other issues since. Guessing the MkIII lights are harder, makes me wonder how fun they are to change bulbs in?

Come to think of it, it might did a number on the radiator lol.

I'm pretty sure changing the main light can be done in-situ without bumper off. I can clearly see the bulb just by opening the sealing cap. The rest of the bulbs I'm afraid is a bumper off job.

[sillyboy]

I picked up my car last Friday after nearly two weeks stint at the dealership. 80% of the time is just waiting for parts to arrive, I couldn't be bother going back and forth so I let the dealer 'babysit' my car.

They fixed 4 issues:

• Speaker not working - Took a while to fix this, solutions was to replace control unit.
• Dead Right side DRL - Brand new headlight, BIG job as bumper need to come off.
• Coolant loss - MFD screaming red to check coolant level, very low level in the expansion tank. Tech identified small leak from the radiator, only apparent after the engine has warmed up. Luckily the bumper was off while replacing the head light.
• Wheel bearing replacement - Loud rumbling noise, I drove over a slightly exaggerated size rock on the highway which may or may not contribute to wheel bearing damage

All replaced under warranty and car came out washed and vacuumed. Dealer has been good with the communication, quite happy with them.

Did they supply you a loan car while the car was there?

[99Reza]

Did they supply you a loan car while the car was there?

I didn't request one but is available. I wanted to get the car in asap, I would have to wait longer if loan car is requested.

[Lucki]

Anyone else experienced their MK3 to not remember the last played audio source when starting up the car?

Mine's been doing it randomly these days. I turned the car off listening to AM the other day and the next time I started the car, the Jukebox was playing. At other times it has been the SD card instead of radio.

I've also noticed that the MFD sometimes does not show the volume level overlay when I am using the steering wheel volume control.

Maybe there is a firmware update available for the audio unit??