AllanDJ

There have been some issues with the 1.5 engine for quite some time, across a wide variety of different ŠKODA cars. The main issue being the car losing power and being unable to move on at all. Usually it’s when you’re slowing down approaching a junction and there’s nothing much you can do about it when it happens. It’s not usually a common occurrence but I’ve experienced it in three different cars. First one being a 2019 mark 3 Octavia, which had the so called kangarooing issue, when pulling away at low speeds. Skoda’s answer was a software update which increased the idling speed and made that particular car about 10% less economical. That issue never happened again with that car after the software update nuked the cars performance permanently. The ŠKODA dealers weren’t interested and just said that the car was within the normal range for that model. Next one is my current Octavia, a 2022 model, it conked out maybe three or four times in its first year and never again since then. The third car is my parents automatic Karoq with the same engine. Again in its first year it conked out about three times, on one occasion I was driving it and something ran out in front of the car. I had to brake sharply, at which point the car lost all power and the car behind me nearly rear ended me. This fault is not supposed to be an issue with automatic cars but very obviously is! With this engine fault, you have no control of the car at all for a short time and then it can seem normal. With my current car, it once conked out just before a roundabout, seemed to come back and then died again, just after the roundabout. It’s pretty alarming if you’re not expecting this and are in a dangerous location without the ability to move your car to safety.

I gave up trying to save radio favourites on my car a long time ago, as they always vanished without trace. It’s had a software update since then at the dealers, I should really try to save a few channels again, just in case they actually persist this time!

I had a Yeti L & K 1.4 a while back, currently have a 1.5 Octavia Estate and drive my parents 1.5 DSG Karoq occasionally, so know the strengths and weaknesses of all of these cars! The Yeti was quirky, well equipped but had tiny seats somehow compared to an Octavia or a Karoq. Very thirsty too, only ever low 30’s mpg. The Karoq is so much more refined than the Yeti, better cabin, seats and far larger boot too. Both give a nice high driving position. The Octavia Estate is much larger than the Karoq, particularly in the rear seats and the luggage capacity. Usually I’ll get low 40’s mpg doing a mixture of town and country driving. Motorway/ decent roads driving fifty plus mpg driving gently. It’s a very comfortable car if you’re doing a lot of driving. The SEL model is probably the best value for standard equipment, with the recent facelift, the new SE Tech models do now have heated seats as standard. However, since COVID car shortages time, new Skoda list prices have rocketed, mind you, so have VW and Audi prices too!

Funnily enough the mark 3 version is actually the more practical car for carrying large items! The mark 4 has certain improvements here and there over the mark 3 but has a messy iPad style interface, which is not easy to use whilst driving. Still safety issues with the 1.5 petrol engine losing power occasionally at low speeds with manual gearbox version, which have sadly been carried on from the mark 3.

It only wins if you’re loading it with small boxes, the roofline rakes back at a much sharper angle than the mark 3 did. I had a lot of things to move a few years ago, literally moving the contents of my shop from one location to storage and then to another location. This was all done with a mark 3 Octavia estate with raised floor. Everything fitted perfectly, even carrying a few large leather Chesterfield chairs. Tried to move an identical chair in the mark 4, not even close to going in. Boxes on back seats, without folding rear seats down, again it can’t carry as many because of the angle the roof slopes back.

The mark 4 is more of a coupe than a real load lugging estate car in the way that the previous model was. It looks more stylish and is nicer inside, just nowhere near as much space inside of it. Items that fitted easily in my mark 3 Estate car just won’t fit into my current car.

Never heard about it being acknowledged as a safety issue before. My previous car, 2019 Octavia with 1.5 engine was a pig to drive when cold and needed a heavy right foot to avoid the kangaroo style of driving. Other than that the car drove beautifully, powerful engine and fairly economical to run. Garage offered me the so called “fix” software update. Sadly the car was never the same again, engine was flat, fuel economy permanently dropped by 10% too. They denied that this was anything to do with the update. My own car needs to go back into the garage too but I know they won’t really do anything about it. All they seem to do is let a salesman drive your car for a day or so to see if they experience the same issue.

I’ve experienced this a few times on my Octavia mark 4, 1.5tsi. Last time was about a month ago, car lost all power as I approached a roundabout. Instant chaos behind me, managed to get it moving again but very slowly, then it seemed to wake up and then same thing again within a minute! Engine seemed to be on, definitely not stop start engaging, a very dangerous situation, which could easily have caused an accident. Also had this with my mark 3 Octavia with the same engine.

I’m the same height, can’t say that I’ve had any comfort issues with my SEL Estate car in the two years plus that I’ve had it. Loads of leg room and the steering wheel easily reachable. Seat is high enough too, any higher and my head would be hitting off of the roof!

I posted recently over on the Karoq forum about driving my parents fairly new car and it launching into a full emergency stop on a completely clear road. Front Assist warning lights and beeps, with nothing at all in front of the car or on side of the road, nearly ended up with car behind me embedded in the rear bumper as the car screeched to a halt on its own. Obviously, not a safety feature 🙈 Can’t say I’ve had much luck with Front Assist in any Skoda car that I’ve ever had, it’s very temperamental and not reliable in its operation!

False warnings are pretty much par for the course with Front Assist but it doesn’t often do the emergency braking. My first Skoda Octavia gave me the warning light the very first time I drove it, a loud screech and a warning symbol. Apparently, it didn’t understand that not all roads are straight and that the hazard it picked up was a car on the other side of the road. Garage hadn’t a clue what it was though! That symbol wasn’t included in the owners manual at that time.

I’ve had issues with this technology on various Skoda cars, including Octavia’s and a Yeti. Driving my parents 72 reg Karoq 1.5 DSG the other day, on a country road. Nothing in front of me, nothing on the side of the road. When next thing, Front Assist warning light comes on and car goes into full emergency braking. Car behind nearly ran into the back of the Karoq, not what I’d call a safety feature! Had similar experiences on other Skoda’s too, definitely not a fan of this technology 😂

Favourites kind of works for a while but my car will randomly lose saved stations every so often, forcing me to resave stations all over again. It’s done that at least four times already, something that never happened with my mark 3 car.

There isn’t a 1.6 diesel option any longer, just a lower powered 2 litre diesel instead.

Occasional warnings are about par for the course with this car, I’ve had loads since I got mine. Front Assist is often temporarily unavailable for instance and other random things too!