[smrsraja]

Hello Friends,

I own a skoda fabia petrol for the last 7 years in Chennai. Smooth driving so far. Last friday when I was about to drop my kids in school, stuck with the problem. After ignition, the engine would go off. If i raise the throttle also, it would rise unevenly and would go off once i take my leg out of the accelerator. The car was running fine the previous day.

Called up, Mahindra First Choice guys, (because i got the car serviced from MFC last time, as I find the skoda authorised Gurudev motors as expensive and not trust worthy)

MFC guys came and found that wiring has got damaged because of rat bite. While checking they took out the igniter and was inspecting it. Then they patch worked the wiring and took the car to their service centre. After a day called me to say that the wiring is corrected and will deliver the car that day. Then again got a call that while driving the car they sensed that one igniter is having problem and has to be changed. But it seems we need to change all the 3 ingniters together to avoid further issues. They quote a price of 25k for the 3 igniters alone.

Though i like cars and driving, technically i am a novice still. So seeking advice from the experts

• Are these like issues covered in insurance? I am using Bajaj Allianz, which is the one provided by Skoda when i bought the car.
• Is this a serious damage to the car. should I take it back to Skoda authorised service center instead of MFC?
• What will happen if one of the igniter is not working properly? The MFC guys are saying less pickup, choking etc. Will it make the car undrivable?

[Jaggu]

Originally Posted by smrsraja

• Are these like issues covered in insurance? I am using Bajaj Allianz, which is the one provided by Skoda when i bought the car.
• Is this a serious damage to the car. should I take it back to Skoda authorised service center instead of MFC?
• What will happen if one of the igniter is not working properly? The MFC guys are saying less pickup, choking etc. Will it make the car undrivable?

- If it is a major expense you can check with insurance for rat bite. But being an old car, they might not agree easily.

- If they have identified wiring and ignitor as the issue, then you don't need to worry.

- Yes they are right and yes, as a practice if you can afford change all the ignitors aka coil packs together. If not you can replace the faulty one, but chances are the old ones can and might act up.

[nirmaljusdoit]

Please check once the condition of your spark plugs as well. Worn out spark plugs can affect the ignition coils. You may consider replacing the plugs as well. Driving around with defective coils will affect your mileage and also lead to engine trouble due to misfiring in the cylinders. It would need to be replaced as a complete set

You could also take your car to the authorised skoda service and ask them to diagnose as well. They could replace the ignition coils with a fresh set and see after a test drive. If the problem goes away then solution is confirmed ! 25K for set of 3 is quite steep !

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by smrsraja

...while driving the car they sensed that one igniter is having problem and has to be changed. But it seems we need to change all the 3 ingniters together to avoid further issues. They quote a price of 25k for the 3 igniters alone.

By "igniter", I presume you mean the ignition coils - which are best changed together as a set. Boodmo lists the price at around Rs.3700-3900 per unit, depending on the make. And what do they mean by "sensed"? A faulty ignition coil will show up as an error code and the ECU light will go on. There is nothing to "sense" by any individual in this.

Originally Posted by smrsraja

Are these like issues covered in insurance?

Never. These are faults that can develop in any car, and if you are out of warranty, you pay to fix them.

Originally Posted by smrsraja

Is this a serious damage to the car. should I take it back to Skoda authorised service center instead of MFC?

Doesn't appear so.

Originally Posted by smrsraja

What will happen if one of the igniter is not working properly? The MFC guys are saying less pickup, choking etc. Will it make the car undrivable?

Usually, yes, there would be a knocking and less pickup. But the Check Engine Light (CEL) will light up, and an OBD-II scanner will reveal the specific diagnostic trouble code (DTC) (something like P-0351) for the problem.