Skoda Yeti warning lights - ECP and oil

[Jonetc15]

Many apologies for what will seem to some folk a very basic question.

Our Skoda Yeti is five years old, low mileage, and has been almost nowhere since mid-March due to our shielding at home. It's been regularly driven up and down our sloping drive and turned at the top. A warning light 'ECP' has come on, together with an oil warning light. I've topped up the oil, which was very low. At first the ECP light went green and disappeared. The oil warning went green. Then both went back to yellow.

I can't find anything specific in the handbook by way of a possible solution and can't get to a garage tomorrow. The handbook mentions that the engine will be in emergency mode, and we need to drive about four or five miles tomorrow. I'll be really grateful if anyone can comment.

Many thanks in advance

Jon

[Breelander]

The general rule is that a yellow warning light means action should be taken soon, but you can continue to use it for a few more miles. A red warning light means stop immediately.

Red warning lights mean you should stop the car as soon as it is safe.
Yellow warning lights mean that action is required.
Green warning lights are for information only.

The oil light can be yellow or red. When yellow it means:

Permanent light: Top up the engine oil accordingly as soon as possible.
Flashing light: The sensor has identified that the oil level could be incorrect. Check your oil level and top up if necessary.

ŠKODA Warning Lights | Complete Guide with Images
https://www.jardinemotors.co.uk/servici ... ng-lights/

Skoda Fabia EPC warning light - If you see this EPC warning symbol illuminated in your Fabia it means there is a fault within the engine management system. The fault can be very complex or quite simple. In most cases though it will be a faulty part or sensor such as a camshaft sensor, crankshaft sensor, ignition coil or MAP sensor etc.

http://www.diagnostic-world.com/pages/s ... 265754.cfm

[Jonetc15]

Many apologies for what will seem to some folk a very basic question.

Our Skoda Yeti is five years old, low mileage, and has been almost nowhere since mid-March due to our shielding at home. It's been regularly driven up and down our sloping drive and turned at the top. A warning light 'ECP' has come on, together with an oil warning light. I've topped up the oil, which was very low. At first the ECP light went green and disappeared. The oil warning went green. Then both went back to yellow.

I can't find anything specific in the handbook by way of a possible solution and can't get to a garage tomorrow. The handbook mentions that the engine will be in emergency mode, and we need to drive about four or five miles tomorrow. I'll be really grateful if anyone can comment.

Many thanks in advance

Jon

Even by your exceptional standards you have excelled yourself Bree in providing me with such a clear reply. Yet again I really am most grateful. Many thanks.

ATB

Jon

[bungeejumper]

By "emergency mode", I'd guess that your handbook means limp mode. It's a common response to something going amiss with the fuel/power system, and that could in turn mean almost anything. From camshaft sensors to a failed catalytic converter! Or (I believe?) just a build-up of damp in the exhaust system. My wife's 1.4 Polo had it when the emissions sensor in her exhaust played up. But only when driving uphill! (Because the engine was working harder and the bad gases were more concentrated. It corrected itself after a while.)

Unfortunately it will probably need a scan at your garage to home in on the issue properly. And although your car will start and run in limp mode, it probably won't have very much power at all. It'll get you four or five miles (as long as it doesn't turn red!), but you won't enjoy the experience.

https://mechanicbase.com/engine/epc-light/ lists just a few of the potential reasons for his confusing little multi-purpose light to illuminate, but a low oil level would be a new one on me personally. I think that might just have been a coincidence? Try not to let the oil level drop that low again.

There are those who say that an EPC light can be fixed by disconnecting the battery and waiting half an hour, and then reconnecting so as to reset the car's computer. OTOH, that might just make it harder for the garage to find the error codes, so I'd be cautious.

Hmmm, good luck. And since nobody else has asked, is this a petrol or a diesel car?

EDIT: Of course, if you've got home start breakdown cover, they should be able to diagnose the problem on your drive? (If it really won''t pull much at all?)

BJ

[Jonetc15]

By "emergency mode", I'd guess that your handbook means limp mode. It's a common response to something going amiss with the fuel/power system, and that could in turn mean almost anything. From camshaft sensors to a failed catalytic converter! Or (I believe?) just a build-up of damp in the exhaust system. My wife's 1.4 Polo had it when the emissions sensor in her exhaust played up. But only when driving uphill! (Because the engine was working harder and the bad gases were more concentrated. It corrected itself after a while.)

Unfortunately it will probably need a scan at your garage to home in on the issue properly. And although your car will start and run in limp mode, it probably won't have very much power at all. It'll get you four or five miles (as long as it doesn't turn red!), but you won't enjoy the experience.

https://mechanicbase.com/engine/epc-light/ lists just a few of the potential reasons for his confusing little multi-purpose light to illuminate, but a low oil level would be a new one on me personally. I think that might just have been a coincidence? Try not to let the oil level drop that low again.

There are those who say that an EPC light can be fixed by disconnecting the battery and waiting half an hour, and then reconnecting so as to reset the car's computer. OTOH, that might just make it harder for the garage to find the error codes, so I'd be cautious.

Hmmm, good luck. And since nobody else has asked, is this a petrol or a diesel car?

EDIT: Of course, if you've got home start breakdown cover, they should be able to diagnose the problem on your drive? (If it really won''t pull much at all?)

BJ

Very many thanks indeed BJ for your time and trouble replying so comprehensively. In fact our car is petrol.

We used it a couple of days ago for a brief essential appointment and came home on a bypass. As passenger I thought that the car needed to accelerate and suggested that my wife should put her foot down, but when there was no immediate response I assumed that she was already nearly up to 60 mph and thought that it would be prudent not to ask again! She now tells me that she felt that the car wasn’t responsive... Interestingly, for a year or more I’ve wondered about the exhaust, but it passed the MOT. With the car virtually unused since mid-March this might possibly be the cause.

Anyway, I plan to book a major service and MOT test a.s.a.p. I’m reluctant to take up the suggestion of a breakdown insurance visit just now because we got a flat battery rescue late last year. We’ll be cautious in the meantime. Thank you very much again, and best wishes.

Jon

[bungeejumper]

Anyway, I plan to book a major service and MOT test a.s.a.p. I’m reluctant to take up the suggestion of a breakdown insurance visit just now because we got a flat battery rescue late last year. We’ll be cautious in the meantime. Thank you very much again, and best wishes.

Sounds like you've got a plan, Jon. Yes, it's possible that non-use may have allowed something to build up in the background, but a scan should allow the garage to pinpoint it.

Maybe it's worth me saying that limp mode really does mean limp with a capital L - you're on half power, at best, and sometimes a car on limp will struggle to make 15 mph. (As when my wife's Golf had an injector fail, two years ago.) The AA callout van was able to tell exactly which injector had failed. Impressive!

On which note, don't feel you've got a "quota" of callouts beyond which you can't decently go - the breakdown people really don't mind how many callouts you make, as long as you don't keep on calling them out every three weeks with the exact same fault every time, and don't do anything about actually getting the problem fixed. (There are people who'll do that, unfortunately.)

The bottom line is that any garage should be able to check out your car's warning system, and its error codes, in two minutes flat. The main dealers might charge £80, though. My local independent does it for £25. An AA call-out van will do it for free.

If the car's capable of 60 mph and the light is amber, not red, and the oil's up to level, it sounds like you should be okay to use it for local driving for a while. This half-informed opinion does not constitute an unqualified guarantee.

BJ

[DrFfybes]

On many modern cars one issue can be a low battery which causes all sorts of spurious faults to come up.

IF you have the radio codes etc you could try charging then disconnecting the battery for 10 mins, however if you have Home Start or equialent then I would do as suggested and just phone them up and say "ooh, I just turned it on ad all these light came on the dashboard". You might mention topping the oil up but I wouldn't mention you'd been further than the end of the drive.

Paul

[Jonetc15]

Anyway, I plan to book a major service and MOT test a.s.a.p. I’m reluctant to take up the suggestion of a breakdown insurance visit just now because we got a flat battery rescue late last year. We’ll be cautious in the meantime. Thank you very much again, and best wishes.

Sounds like you've got a plan, Jon. Yes, it's possible that non-use may have allowed something to build up in the background, but a scan should allow the garage to pinpoint it.

Maybe it's worth me saying that limp mode really does mean limp with a capital L - you're on half power, at best, and sometimes a car on limp will struggle to make 15 mph. (As when my wife's Golf had an injector fail, two years ago.) The AA callout van was able to tell exactly which injector had failed. Impressive!

On which note, don't feel you've got a "quota" of callouts beyond which you can't decently go - the breakdown people really don't mind how many callouts you make, as long as you don't keep on calling them out every three weeks with the exact same fault every time, and don't do anything about actually getting the problem fixed. (There are people who'll do that, unfortunately.)

The bottom line is that any garage should be able to check out your car's warning system, and its error codes, in two minutes flat. The main dealers might charge £80, though. My local independent does it for £25. An AA call-out van will do it for free.

If the car's capable of 60 mph and the light is amber, not red, and the oil's up to level, it sounds like you should be okay to use it for local driving for a while. This half-informed opinion does not constitute an unqualified guarantee.

BJ

Very many thanks BJ for your advice, especially on call-outs.

Apparently the turbo has gone and has to be replaced at very considerable expense (an understatement...). Our very helpful and trustworthy garage will find out what a new unit costs tomorrow, but supplying and fitting it could be a four-figure sum. I'm not surprised in one way. I had to give up driving for medical reasons well over three years ago and my wife has never done more than the very occasional 30 miles each way trip - i.e. for the last three years it's done numerous three/four mile trips into town, every day and often several a day, and since mid-March it has sat in our drive through extremely changeable weather, including two heatwaves.

Qué será, será, as I think they say.

Jon

[bungeejumper]

Very many thanks BJ for your advice, especially on call-outs.

Apparently the turbo has gone and has to be replaced at very considerable expense (an understatement...). Our very helpful and trustworthy garage will find out what a new unit costs tomorrow, but supplying and fitting it could be a four-figure sum.

Ouch! And on a low mileage five year old car? That's really lousy luck.

Sigh, at least we know now why your oil level was so low. Turbos usually fail because the oil pressure has dropped, and then there isn't enough oil pressure to lubricate the bearings, and then the high-pressure oil seal has gone, and it all wears out in very short order. The chances are that there's been a lot of oil squirting around the place under the bonnet, and a fair amount of it will now be in your intercooler (which can be cleaned). You'll also probably need a new oil pipe, plus a full flush and service, of course.

I had a turbo fail about ten years ago on an eight year old diesel Focus, and the solution (for me at least) was to get a remanufactured turbo fitted instead of a new one. About a third of the cost for the unit - or in my case about £300 plus five or six hours for the fitting. The total damage in 2010 came to around £650, which was cheap even then.

Turbos are basically very simple devices - but built to incredibly exacting standards - and by the time the remanufacturers have replaced the oil seal and the bearings, and checked the blades, they've covered just about all the moving parts and here isn't that much left to go wrong. Mine was from the unpromisingly-named Essex Turbos (https://www.essexturbos.com/), who were fine to deal with, and very quick.

Fully appreciate, though, that you may prefer to go with the manufacturer's new-part option instead. See what your garage says?

BJ

[Jonetc15]

Very many thanks BJ for your advice, especially on call-outs.

Apparently the turbo has gone and has to be replaced at very considerable expense (an understatement...). Our very helpful and trustworthy garage will find out what a new unit costs tomorrow, but supplying and fitting it could be a four-figure sum.

Ouch! And on a low mileage five year old car? That's really lousy luck.

Sigh, at least we know now why your oil level was so low. Turbos usually fail because the oil pressure has dropped, and then there isn't enough oil pressure to lubricate the bearings, and then the high-pressure oil seal has gone, and it all wears out in very short order. The chances are that there's been a lot of oil squirting around the place under the bonnet, and a fair amount of it will now be in your intercooler (which can be cleaned). You'll also probably need a new oil pipe, plus a full flush and service, of course.

I had a turbo fail about ten years ago on an eight year old diesel Focus, and the solution (for me at least) was to get a remanufactured turbo fitted instead of a new one. About a third of the cost for the unit - or in my case about £300 plus five or six hours for the fitting. The total damage in 2010 came to around £650, which was cheap even then.

Turbos are basically very simple devices - but built to incredibly exacting standards - and by the time the remanufacturers have replaced the oil seal and the bearings, and checked the blades, they've covered just about all the moving parts and here isn't that much left to go wrong. Mine was from the unpromisingly-named Essex Turbos (https://www.essexturbos.com/), who were fine to deal with, and very quick.

Fully appreciate, though, that you may prefer to go with the manufacturer's new-part option instead. See what your garage says?

BJ

Very many thanks indeed BJ.

I've now discussed this with our garage and we both feel that the only safe option is to get a new Skoda turbo. I hope that it doesn't sound pious if I say that my wife and I feel that this is trivial compared to the massive and widespread disruption and hardship that other people are suffering. We're both really grateful for your (and others') advice and help given on this and other problems on various boards on a rather regular basis!

All the very best

Jon

[bungeejumper]

I've now discussed this with our garage and we both feel that the only safe option is to get a new Skoda turbo.

Sounds good to me, Jon. Frankly I'd do the same myself, now that life and retirement have moved on a bit for me, and I'm maybe a little better off than I was. There's nothing quite like the wrap-around reassurance of fitting a factory part and knowing you'll be in the best of good hands if that very small risk of a component failure should ever materialise. And doubly so if it's your wife who'd have to cope with the situation if it did?

I hope that it doesn't sound pious if I say that my wife and I feel that this is trivial compared to the massive and widespread disruption and hardship that other people are suffering.

Not pious at all - I couldn't agree more. And in the meantime, a lot of us are taking a long look at the state of the world and reassessing our priorities, and concluding that the loss of some money is a relatively small thing compared with any potential loss of four-wheeled mobility, exactly whenever and exactly wherever we want it. Whatever it takes to keep that mobility as secure as possible is what we want.

Best wishes to you and your wife. Hope the turbo job goes well for you.

BJ