Skoda Octavia Engine Problems

So far the scandal has only affected diesel models, so you could be able to buy a petrol model with confidence.

The oil fill listed in the owner's manual includes the oil filter, which will be half a litre or perhaps more. I would warm the engine to operating temperature, turn it off and drain the oil again, and check the amount of oil that comes out. Remove the oil filter and drain. Then see how much oil goes back in.

I believe VW introduced a recommendation to change the belt every four years to prevent belt failures, and I would guess that the recommendation from your mechanics is based on the fact that your car is six years old. Quiz them by all means, but I would err on the side of caution and have the belt changed.

All of the cars you name meet your criteria of size, economy, performance and handling.

You could also add the Mazda3 and 6 to the list.

Of all of those I would nominate the Camry as the great all-rounder.

On the surface, it sounds like the electrical system is somehow letting you down, Todor. The no-charge light comes on because the engine has stalled and is not driving the alternator, so that’s probably not the root cause here. But only when the glow-plug light appears (which it should every time you turn the ignition on ready to crank the engine) will the engine fire. That’s the clue that whatever glitch is at work here has settled down and is allowing the electrical system to work properly. Of course, a diesel engine doesn’t have a spark (electric) ignition system, so we could be barking completely up the wrong tree here. That said, the modern diesel engine does use a series of electric fuel pumps, and a faulty pump could easily cause the problem you’ve described.

With that in mind, the absolute best advice is to take the car to a workshop with the necessary diagnostic gear and have the car scanned to see what fault codes it coughs up. Until you do that, and can isolate the problem, you can run around in circles for months changing perfectly good components in a costly process of elimination.