Car concern, on my own with dc and very stressed

Yep agree, something I’ve taught my daughter to check every time she uses her car. A 30 second walk around to visually check tyres and lights. Check other levels and pressures on a regular basis.

I know nothing about cars but I asked chatgpt...

If the garage means:

"This part commonly fails on this engine." That's different from a manufacturer defect. Many parts have common failure patterns, especially as cars age, and owners are generally responsible for the repair once the warranty has expired.
"Škoda has acknowledged a manufacturing defect or issued a recall/service campaign." In that case, there may be circumstances where Škoda would cover some or all of the cost.

An oil separator (often part of the crankcase ventilation/PCV system) can cause a variety of engine management faults. If it fails, it can create incorrect crankcase pressure or air leaks, which may trigger the engine warning light and put the engine into a reduced-power mode. So the diagnosis is certainly plausible.

Is £330 reasonable?

For a 2020 Škoda in the UK, around £250–£400 for replacing an oil separator (including parts, labour and VAT) is within the range I'd expect, depending on the model and engine. So the price itself doesn't immediately stand out as excessive.

If it's a known issue

It's worth asking the garage:

Is there a Technical Service Bulletin (TSB) for this issue?
Is there any goodwill contribution available from Škoda, given the car is only a 2020 model?
Has the car been serviced according to Škoda's schedule?

If your car has a full Škoda service history and isn't very high mileage, it's sometimes worth contacting Škoda UK customer services and asking whether they'll offer a goodwill payment, even if the manufacturer's warranty has expired. There's no guarantee, but it can be worthwhile.

Could you tell me:

Which Škoda model is it (Octavia, Kamiq, Karoq, etc.)?
Which engine (e.g. 1.0 TSI, 1.5 TSI, 2.0 TDI)?
How many miles has it done?
Was the repair done by a Škoda dealer or an independent garage?

That will help judge whether £330 is fair and whether there's a realistic chance of getting Škoda to help with the cost.

Is it under warranty? Unless it is subject to a recall, you will have to pay.

I do actually have a classic sports car (30 years old) as well as my daily drive. One of us checks over all 3 of them on a Sunday (DD has been trained up and she isn’t old enough to drive yet.)

Glad to hear it’s no longer showing. If it comes back and the car is a diesel it could be a blocked particulate filter.

I would take the car to the garage that did the service. Call first and book it in, tell them that the EML came on and the message about 4,000RPM

They will be able to use an OBD reader to see any stored faults

I never rev my car over 4,000 RPM so until then I don’t think it should be too much of an issue with sensible driving. Or, you could just do nothing and it might never come on ever again. That’s unlikely though, I’ve seen cars at work with EML’s vanish and they usually come back eventually, something triggered it

Is it a diesel? If so it could be your DPF (diesel particulate filter), when they get clogged it limits the power the engine can produce. Won’t cause you to break down but you’ll struggle to get much over 30mph until it’s sorted.

My Skoda goes into limp mode whenever my husband drives it because he forgets it has a 6th gear and drives everywhere in 5th and it seems to make it wig out. If I drive it properly it’s fine and the light will go out and then not come back on.

I am aware I'm meant to check them but I reckon I check them about once every 3 months, certainly not once a week. I have never needed to top my oil up since I had a car made later than 2002. I don't think I have ever needed to top my coolant up. Washer fluid I keep in the boot and top it up when required. Tyres I do probably check every 6 weeks or so with a little pressure monitor my dad got me for the birthday after I bought my first car.

Google the warning with make/model/age. Also go back to the garage. The service may have messed with a sensor or connection. Have you got breakdown cover? Download Uber and look into hire cars in case you need them.

I was taught that when I learned to drive 12 years ago.

Here

I'm not disagreeing with checking being a sensible thing to do but weekly checks on modern cars with oil warning lights and tyre pressure sensors etc aren't quite the necessity that they were when you were 6. Or are you driving a 40 year old car?

Google the make and model and type in the specific message it is showing and it should bring up what it is likely to be

Was it struggling to go above a certain speed when you were driving, and is it a diesel?

I was taught to do it by my father from the age of about 6 and it was part of my driving test to know what needed checking in 1995…..

Well that explains why so many drivers have broken headlights and bald tyres.

www.think.gov.uk/campaign/vehicle-safety-checks/

Is it a diesel? If so it could be a blocked dpf ( diesel particulate filter). I’ve got a 2013 diesel so much older than your car but if I’ve not done long high speed journeys for a while and I accelerate too hard and in low gear it sometimes goes into limp mode and the engine light comes on. Mechanic told me it needs a regular blast on the motorway at speed, stay in 4th and get over 2000 rpm for like 30 mins and it’ll blast out the build up of soot, seems to work for me but this might not be your issue so take it to the garage and get it checked out.

I was thinking that, been driving 34 years & never checked the coolant! Worried now!

No idea who says we're "meant" to do that but if be amazed if any significant number of drivers actually do