My Mum’s 2011 Skoda Yeti has just scrapped itself, so needs replacing pretty quickly. The Yeti was perfect for what was needed, so plan A is to replace it with a 2016/2017 model.

I know there are some Yeti fans on the forum, so any advice on differences in the newer models? The old one was a 2L manual.

Any advice on how the 1.2L petrol compares, as they seem to be fairly common? Is the DSG version OK?

I had a 1.2 DSG SEL for a couple of years. Bought used with 7k miles on it at just over 1 year old. Had problems with the DSG, Clutches, Slow to start during the time I had it.
Skoda were dreadful to deal with and made no attempt to put things right.

The 1.2 DSG uses the DQ200 gearbox which is known to have issues. The most common fault is premature clutch wear. (mine started to go at 12k miles). And VERY expensive to fix. VW wouldn’t even look at it and I offered to pay.

By the time I part exchanged it, it was shuddering when changing from 1st to 2nd and in reverse. 3rd and 5th gear jumped at specific revs. And it took a while to start each morning. Skoda even drove the car with me and said they couldn’t find a fault.

The rest of the car was great. Very comfortable and easy to park. When the DSG worked, it performed like a race car. Just wish I’d gone for a manual instead.

I had a 2015 2ltr diesel (150ps) 4wd for 3 years. It was an absolutely superb car. It was generally lovely to live with. It was the L&K so was very well specc’d. The engine was powerful and fairly refined, but not as efficient as you might hope (mid 40s max. average). We had the manual, so can’t comment on DSG. If you’re looking at any diesel, bear in mind adblue, which is an utter PITA. In the 4wd, the tank for the adblue is tiny, so you need to top it up often or the car will have a tantrum.

We had the flex rear seats, which were removable to make it into a van. A really handy feature. The pano roof is brilliant too, as were the heated seats / screen.

I drove lots of the old (up to 2010) 1.2 petrol with work. I always thought the were surprisingly quick for what they were, but not particularly frugal.

Also, as with many a VAG product, they have a tendency towards the rear calipers sticking. Ours were replaced under warranty.

What happened to the old one, to scrap it?

I have the 1.4 petrol 4×4 and do like it a lot, if a little thirst for such a pretty large/heavy car. The 1.2’s are 2 wheel drive only, but do get a lot of decent feedback from owners, though I’ve never driven one or investigated them well (not at all well going by mjsmke’s post). Not a lot of difference between the face lift/old version other than looks. It’s VAG DSG system so well liked/reliable (or not, looking above), I was recommended the auto, but I don’t believe mine came with it as an option (none I looked at had it). If I did more mileage, I’d be looking at the diesel versions, as they are going to last longer than any petrol & are seemingly much better on the fuel (or I’ve just been listening to the old guy’s who do 30mph everywhere).

My Mum has a 2017 1.4tsi 4×4 (L&K). Really good engine, very smooth & economical. Almost feels like someone with a soul designed it.

Watch for door bottom corrosion. My own 2013 yeti needed two new rear doors. The mk2 had revised film on that area. Front mud flaps seem to reduce this. No signs of it on my mum’s.

4×4 system is generally ok on Mk1s. Mk2s have the electric haldex pumps (Haldex5) which are finnicky and much slower to react. Listen for rear prop shaft resonance at 70-80mph. There’s a gates style coupling before the haldex unit that perishes. The fix is a new propshaft. I was quoted £1.5k for the part & that wasn’t from VW!

Had a proper mehr with the tow bar on my mk1. Dealer fitted a non-vw unit (witter). Blew the BCM’s brain to the point that the headlights would occasionally operate entirely independently of each other. Needed the whole body loom and ecu replacing, along with a proper westfalia bar and electrics!

Really miss mine. We replaced it with a Kodiaq which was 1/2 as clever inside. Flex seating was genius. Karoq just isn’t the same thing at all.

Thanks for all the feedback – very helpful. We’re now leaning towards replacing with another manual diesel.

What happened to the old one, to scrap it?

Fuel filter leaked on to the fan belt which shredded and went into the cam belt. At 10 years and 150k miles, it’s beyond economical repair.

If you test drive one, drive it when the engine is cold. Ideally left overnight. The problems I had would initially go away after 20 mins of driving so don’t let the dealer warm the car up first. They did this on mine which ‘masked’ the problems. Eventually the problems got worse and were still present when warmed up.

Probably best to turn up to a dealer unannounced so they can’t warm it up first. Also research into the cost of parts and fitting for the DSG.

VW/Skoda 1.2 and 1.4 petrol engines had issues with camchains. Hence current models have gone back to cambelts.

Seems like the Yeti went to a cambelt around 2014/2015.It was 2013 for the Octavia I think. So 2016 shouold be OK. Skoda cambelts are usually a 5 year 05 60k change which can be pricey. Around £400-£600. So if buying a 5 year old 1.2 Skoda check the cambelt has been changed or your first service will be expensive.

We’ve had a Diesel 4×4 for about 15 months now. Can’t really fault it. Seems very capable in the snow/frost (which we have regularly). AdBlue doesn’t need topped up that often, but getting to the tank is a bit of a PITA. Seems to handle well enough. There is a bit of wind noise from the A pillars at speed but nothing too drastic.

Had our 1.2TSI since new in 2014, just short of 80k on it now. It has been faultless, with the one notable exception of the turbo failing last year, £1300 to replace. The warning sign was light white smoke/vapour from the exhaust even when it had been running a while. Whilst I’m still annoyed about that, it has been a great car for us over that time, very versatile and no minor little faults, gremlins or worry that it wouldn’t start etc.

I did a bit of research a couple of years ago.
My choice would be a diesel manual with a nice spec.
Too many horror stories re timing chains and dsg boxes.

2012 2.0D Manual – 50k in three years, zero issues. Decent economy, enough power. Sat Nav was rubbish and no car play in that one. Loved the panoramic roof (ex demo so all the toys)

2015 1.2 TSI DSG. 45k in three years. Had a rattle from new traced to a loose hand brake cable and a misfire that needed a new coil pack. Both done under warranty. I was worried it’d be a bit gutless but actually it was fine, and the DSG was fab. Convinced my better half to spec one when she bought her Fabia.

I have a Koraq now which is a better car all round but I miss the Yeti. It was just a fun thing to own and drive. The seats are super clever and useful.

Thanks again for the input. A diesel manual is being delivered a week on Monday! A bit more expensive than equivalent petrol options, but it does sound like safer bet overall, particularly as my mum was perfectly happy with the old diesel manual.

It’s a shame they’re discontinued, as they do seem to do a uniquely good job of getting the benefits of an SUV without the bloat.

If anyone has the Jungle Green yeti, I have a paint chip kit that is hardly used. Can send it out for cost of postage.

I have had a 2015 2ltr diesel for for 3yrs, bought it with 13k and now has 52k on clock, not had an issue, great for the bikes on the towbar mount but would love a set of roof bars for it. In jungle green….I will PM you

@whyte101

would love a set of roof bars for it. In jungle green….I will PM you

Where are you? I have a set of genuine yeti bars and 1/2 a set of the special bolts for the rails.

We’ve had 2, 2ltr diesel 4×4 elegance but swapped that for a 1.4 petrol 4×4 L&K as it was time for a change and we dont really do the miles for oil burner, both well specced and cheap to run. With roof box and bike on the towbar it cant take a surprising amount of crap. nearly traded it in last year but decided to keep until a decent EV replacement can be found. New Enyaq looks interesting but worried its a bit big.

@hot_fiat I’m in the North East and I travel with work so might be interested providing your not in Plymouth!

Wife has 2016 1.2 TSi DSG 35k miles . No mecahnical faults with engine or DSG.

I don’t like the way DSG gearboxes ‘pull away’ from rest. But all the ones I’ve driven are the same.

weve had a 1.2 sel yeti for the last four years .been a great car if a tad thirsty.ran it this winter with winter tyres on and its been superb.does the twice year cornwall run no problem at all.

We have loved ours.

2 things I have learnt though:

On diesel: cleaning the throttle body should be considered a regular servicing activity. The egr system usefully fires lovely sooty exhaust gases against the flow of the intake, toward the throttle body butterfly slowly coking up the throttle body.

On 4*4, all specialists do a proper filter clean and oil change to rear diff. Skoda don’t even recognise there is a filter on their service schedule. Very expensive consequences for a quick strip and wipe of filter.

As above, I believe there are a lot of 4×4 yetis out there that are actually 2wd. Pre facelift model runs the gen4 haldex that needs a regular filter and oil change to avoid burning the pump out, the gen 5s I don’t think even have a removeable filter so need the oil and filter gauze cleaning regularly.

Turbos can fail at low mileages if servicing isn’t kept up.

Some issues with zinc and rust corrosion on rear doors

Best model I would say would be a pre facelift 140 or 170 2.0 CR 4×4, although the 170 are like hens teeth.

That said a 140 with a stage 1 tune should give 180bhp with decent mpg, longevity and no smoking.

Exit: haldex issues don’t throw a warning light, so vcds is very useful when checking out a used 4×4 vAG vehicle

I had a 1.4tsi 4×4 L&K Yeti for 2 years..was a lovely car to drive, and the high position WAS nice.
But it’s hard to tell how much of that was simply the fact it was a new car?
I’m not fussed about 4×4, but ours came with it..

The panoramic sunroof was nice actually..

MPG was a terrible, which surprised me as it was jsut a 1.4 petroleum lump, but it is a box on wheels i guess…

DrP

Exit: haldex issues don’t throw a warning light, so vcds is very useful when checking out a used 4×4 vAG vehicle

True for pretty much every function on a VWG vehicle. Everything is hidden behind a sub controller, will have its own logs and doesn’t necessarily report back to the bcm (e.g. each door on our t6 has its own individually addressable log.)

Running haldex tests is a good one to try with VCDS. If you don’t have a copy just do some standing starts – yetis, even the 110bhp 4x4s, take off like scolded cats. Any front wheel spin will soon tell you if the haldex is working correctly.

If it hasn’t had its Haldex service even with a filter and a fluid service it’s probably borked. They are very sensitive to service intervals. I think if I was going to service it I’d just put a new haldex unit in, it’s only two bolts. (Even if it’s had a fluid change the filter needs doing at the same time. Impossible to tell it’s been done properly unless you do it yourself.)

I just read all of this with interest as I’m looking for a new family wagon/bike hauler to replace the 2 seater Tranny Connect that I just sold.

I did want an Octavia in Scout or VRS flavour but a nice one is strong money and I keep suffering from budget creep. Pre facelift Yeti’s are within budget and but some of them look haggered.

This is my closest Yeti which looks like a non trashed example- Linky

I might go for a look after work next week. Anything I should be testing for or quizzing the dealer about?

That looks in good nick, but imo bit overpriced.

I paid £3500 for one the same age a few months ago, same engine size and spec I think, though it was nearer to 100k on the clock.
Mine also had a towbar installed already. Which was nice.

I’m not a mechanic, but I checked for FSH (mine was all main dealer), how recent the belt was done (every 60k I think), and gave it a good rag on the test drive.

Very happy with it 2 months down the line.
Getting approx 55mpg on my commute, and it’s great for family & bikes, etc.

How did it scrap itself?.

I really wanted one years ago, but they were bloody expensive. Ended up with a nearly new fabia estate, which actually had a bigger load bay than the yeti.