Trebor77

I think we have drifted off my original Q a bit? I was trying here to understand how disabling the a/c compressor (via the 'econ' setting) could allow the a/c to operate., ie 'cool' the ambient air. If the ambient T is 16, and I want 18, I turn on the heater. My original Q concerned the mpg drain caused by the a/c in cold weather.

Hi & sorry I only just picked this up! I've looked through it and I find it difficult to interpret. The Introduction states that the average vehicle doing an average 12000 miles per year uses an additional 62 gallons of fuel because of its a/c. If I do 12000 miles at 50 mpg I use 240 gallons. 62 is about 25% of 240 ?? The report is USA and 'averages' are messy to interpret, but what conclusions did you draw?

This is interesting. In what ways have modern a/c systems (with climate control) become so much more efficient than older versions? They both use a volatile refrigerant fluid, a compressor driven by the engine, a condenser, a throttle valve to drop the pressure, and an evaporator? Which of these has become so much better? I'm very interested in these things

But 3mpg difference is enough to cloud the results from testing the A/C effect

I know quite a lot about Thermodynamics. I do not understand this, sorry. How can it possibly do so??

Correction, should read 'about 5 or more mpg worse' (sorry)

Does this mean that it just turns the a/c off ??

Does this not mean that the a/c is turned off entirely ?

This all very helpful and interesting, but I worry about relying on the Car info display for mpg data. I routinely calculate my mpg by dividing my mileage by the amount of fuel I put in at the garage, over a significant period of time. Sadly it is about 5 or more mpg lower than the Car's calculated average. KK

This is an important point, thanks. The impact of a/c depends on time & speed. For a short local journey the impact is significant, for a longer trip it is much less important. A good point

This is a new one on me . I can change the a/c settings ? ??

Agreed

Hi, The auto heating system turns on the A/C even in midwinter. How much does it cost me, in terms of mpg. I have a 1.4 petrol DSG Octavia Thanks KK

Hi, I read something here about checking the battery charge state via the menu system. I didn't note it down, so could someone point me in the right direction please? Mine is a March'16 Octavia and the manuals are incomprehensible. Thanks, K

Hi, this manual is different in several ways to my March 2016 version, for obvious reasons. In particular there are far more details on the voice commands available, eg for the satnav. Does anyone know if the same voice commands are applicable to my March '16 car. I have not really experimented with 'voice' . Thanks, KK

I dont' think mine does, does it need to be activated somewhere ?

covers the whole car ? or just the screen ?

Hi This morning it was very cold and I had a nice layer of frost on the windows. I saw a neighbour pouring water over the windscreen to clear it, When young (a long time ago) I was told never to do this as I might crack the glass. I suppose windscreens are different today than they were, but ought I pour cold/warm/hot water over the screen when it's frozen up? Can I do it on the other windows Not really an Octavia Q I suppose , but hope you will advise. Thanks KK

OK thanks

If I use an independent garage, and they use Skoda parts, does that invalidate the warranty?

I find it essential. I am a big guy, and even with the steering wheel adjusted up (as far as it will go) I find it tricky getting in.

Why should disabling stop-start affect the battery charging ? K

So I am right to switch to manual heating in the early morning ?, before reverting to auto ?

Hi, why does the A/C come on in very cold weather? 1st thing in the morning, trying to defrost the car, I need maximum heat to the car and especially the windscreen. Currently I turn off the auto-heating and set heater controls to the windscreen manually. Does anyone else have this experience? Thanks. K

I didn't see that. I have checked & do have HBA, perhaps I need to activate it via the menus system, I assumed it was on by default.