croquemonsieur

E13. Thanks, according to last year's Skoda Dealer check list, the air filter was replaced at 6 years - but clearly the new garage must have thought it needed doing again. Maybe it gets dusty at the edge of the East End of London. The spark plugs have been renewed once, 3 years ago I recall and due again next year (when car will be 8yrs old). My garage man wonders if this will be necessary - in his experience - in view of my limited 7,000miles per year, with at least half being long distance, but he said it's up to me, so if you and others think they should be changed, I'll insist. R193. thanks - yes Maxidot, I remember now. Will have a go at changing via the scroll bar.

I decided to have my MY2019 Karoq 1.0 SE Tech DSG serviced and MOT'd at a local garage, who had impressed me last year when they did the MOT. Previously, servicing had always been by the Walthamstow Skoda Dealers, who to be fair had on the whole been pretty good, but my All-in-Ones, Warranties etc. finally expired last year. My car has the non digital speedo & rev counter instruments, but the display in between - forget the name - is digital and seemingly has various setting options. The car came back from service with a different setting, now displaying a big friendly speedo character. I'd rather have what I had before (can't recall all the exact features) but I can't see in my handbook, how to choose the options. Can anyone help? If I'd gone to the Skoda Dealers, they would have changed the brake fluid, as the car is 7 years old (44,000miles) and that's what the service schedule says, but my new garage tested the fluid and said it was fine and not needing topping up - so that saved some money. I noted last year that the Skoda Dealer was previously (2 years ago) suggesting that I'd soon need new brake pads (identified by their MOT place), but my new garage said the pads were fine and the car passed the MOT last year and this, no problem. The new garage said they'd look at the air filter too, even though not due for replacement and must have decided to change it. Car economy seemed to improve a little after the service, so not unhappy. I found a 2nd good garage locally, who had replaced the shock absorbers with Konis - Special Active that I supplied them with, a few months ago. i thought the workmanship charge reasonable and they noted that the brake pads had plenty of wear left and were OK (that's why I trust them too), but did comment they rattle around a little in the calipers, which i notice only when the windows are open. They said there are better makes that fit better and don't rattle - I forgot to write down the names.

Octy-FEV - Annoyingly, I can't answer as I pulled forward a bit before getting out, probably so as to be able to examine the damage, of which there wasn't any, of course. I don't know if I can pluck up courage to try again as I'll probably panic and apply the brakes early once the beeps & red warning come up, as thamestrader describes. Anyone else willing to try? Benja77 - More and more cars on the road will have been fitted with this emergency stop feature, so maybe the day will come when such a collision will hardly ever happen!!!!

Actually, there might still be something in that tailgate sound hook sound deadening business. I tried similar with my manual tailgate using a bit of thin foam sheet wrapped around the bar that the tailgate catch hooks onto. Also put some of the same material around the adjustable stops on the side of the tailgate and there has been a further modest but noticeable reduction in road roar and thrumming over sharp road ridges. Panel resonances can be a subtle phenomena and whether I've reduced vibration transmission to the tailgate panels or whether the tailgate movement was driving panel resonances in the main car body, maybe a bit of both, but partial isolation of the transmission has had some effect. The foam won't last long though before it shreds. Also the noise reduction may only be noticeable following all my other obsessive noise reducing measures I've undertaken.

Parking in a tight space between 2 cars yesterday afternoon, my attention slipped for a moment while reversing slowly towards the car behind me and the car stopped very suddenly with a sort of bang, which at the time sounded rather like a small collision. Oops I thought and I got out to see if I had pranged the other car, but no - no scrapes or dents. The rear proximity sensors must have actioned the emergency stop procedure, whatever it's called, which is reassuring. Maybe in future I could be a little more relaxed when parking in tight spaces, knowing that the car itself will stop me in time, or maybe that's trusting technology too much to work consistently every time.

Skodadriver88. Would it be possible to attach a photo of the tailgate metal hook with the sound deadening you added to it - I'm intrigued, it would seem that the tailgate does vibrate and your deadening helps isolate the vibration transmission. I similarly found that adding sticky pads to the boot floor didn't really reduce noise from the rear, but i did find that ensuring parts of the spare wheel were firmly pressed against the boot floor through firm foam pads, did reduce the noise. I briefly experimented with really firmly tightening the spare wheel down via the wheel nut, but it seemed that slackening off just a little reduced noise a bit more, but can't be 100% sure about this. I refer to my 28 March 2024 message about stiffening the underside of the rear parcel shelf with timber battens and weighting down the top with heavy mats was effective, but maybe a bit inconvenient if you want the parcel shelf to rise when you open the tailgate and only works on the rigid type fibre shelf that comes with with non removable rear seats. Recently changing the shock absorbers to Koni Special Active (they soften up when wheels hit sharp ridges) did reduce bump thump and and also road noise a bit more and there were modest improvements overall to the ride. Interestingly a previous vibration under the dashboard, which seems a common Karoq issue, disappeared when the new shockers were fitted, showing that maybe less vibration is now passed through to the cabin. However not a cheap modification and I only did it, as the car is 7 years old and I want to keep it a good few years more.

Interesting or maybe not? When I had the shock absorbers changed to Koni Special Actives 7 weeks ago, I got the garage to swap the wheels around front to back & vica-versa. Previous to this the slow puncture in the front left hand tyre would trigger the dashboard warning every 10-14 days. This wheel got moved to the rear LHS and it is only now after 7 weeks that the tyre has become sufficiently deflated to trigger the warning again. Just shows how much harder front tyres work on front wheel drive cars than do rear tyres. As I'll be replacing all 4 tyres next spring, I'm now thinking I might get away without getting that slow puncture repaired - pumping up the tyre and resetting the TPMS every 7 weeks is no real hardship.

Thanks. Wouldn't mind trying out Lane Changing then, to see if I'd get on with it. Probably OK, as I'm usually prepared to adapt my driving style to the way a car handles and rides to any driver assist systems incorporated, including any foibles.

Fair enough if are still able to turn it off, on the latest cars I assume that Lane Changing only works properly on motorways and possibly other dual carraigeway roads with proper lane markings, but even with the latter, I imagine Lane Changing gets in the way when trying to traverse a roundabout? So the "issue" if driving on ordinary single carraigeway roads, without no lane markings - wouldn't that confuse the system and the car maybe just want to drive down the middle of the road. Surely you shouldn't have Lane Changing engaged in such circumstances, but I'm just speculating as I've never driven a car with Lane Changing and don't know the ins & outs.

Does that mean that all new cars have to incorporate permanent lane keeping amongst other safety features - could be awkward on ordinary roads. I wonder if the incorporation of Lane Keeping within VAG Travel Assist allows for its sneaky removal by turning off Travel Assist.

I'm a car expert - Volkswagen, Ford and BMW cars all have 1 amazing feature Luke Chillingsworth, Express 10 May 2026 This item cropped up on Microsoft Edge browser today. It seems car manufacturuers are starting to include Lane Keeping within ACC. It doesn't say if the Lane Keeping can be optionally turned off though. Luke seems to rate the VAG system highly and it is available on some Skodas - but on the Karoq? The Article :-- A motoring expert has praised one amazing technology feature that really stands out in Volkswagen, Ford and BMW models - adaptive cruise control. Jamie Edkins, Carwow news editor, has revealed his top cruise control picks, with the Volkswagen Group Travel Assist tool coming out as a clear winner. Unlike cruise control, which maintains a constant speed, adaptive cruise control is an advanced technology that automatically adjusts speed to maintain a pre-set distance from the car ahead. Despite this, drivers aren't using the tech. A Carwow survey of 1,290 drivers found that one-third said they 'barely use' the tool on motorways. A whopping 85% of drivers polled have adaptive cruise control in their vehicles, but only half (52%) use it every time, with 30% 'rarely' using the feature because they find it too frustrating. Of those who regularly turn their tools off, 49% said it was because the adaptive cruise control brakes too harshly, with 31% claiming it feels like they are fighting vehicles for control. Jamie stressed that Volkswagen's tech stands out from the rest, with the technology praised for its smooth handling. Jamie said: "My favourite adaptive cruise control system is Volkswagen's Travel Assist, which you'll find on various models from VW, Skoda, Cupra and Audi. My Skoda Octavia vRS Estate has it, as did my Volkswagen ID7, and it's always worked flawlessly. "It sits bang in the middle of the lane and feels rock-solid. The steering wheel doesn't twitch in your hand at all, and it's easy to take over when changing lanes or exiting the motorway. The only annoying thing is it gets fussy about your hands on the wheel. If I'm not applying enough pressure to it then it'll bong at me to take over the steering, but a light input will settle things down." BMW's Symbiotic Drive tool was the second pick, with the technology really good at spotting slower-moving traffic from a distance and slowing down cars gently. Jamie stressed that he was most impressed by the hands-free feature, with the car driving on motorways completely by itself as long as drivers remain paying attention to the road ahead. BMW's tool can also change lanes automatically, with the feature fitted to the iX3 and soon to be on the i3 saloon. Jamie added: "It's really impressive, but it's a shame that it's not currently legal in the UK." Ford's Bluecruise system rounded out the top three, with the manufacturer praised for its hands-free tech. Unlike BMW's, Ford's adaptive cruise control system is the only hands-free system approved for use on UK roads. The Bluecruise tech allows road users to let go of the steering wheel completely, and it's currently fitted to the stunning Ford Mustang Mach-E, with more models expected to follow later this year. Jamie added: "You can use it on most motorways, but if you're on a road where it's not allowed then the system won't engage. I was apprehensive when I first turned it on, but the nerves quite quickly subsided after some trouble-free, hands-free miles."

Rory, yes, I did change all four and I did note your earlier comments about your preference for the Ateca ride. I should have noted that the Special Active shocks are supposed to improve ride over higher frequency bumps, like ridges and broken roads. The damping is reduced in these conditions, but increases on more gradual bumps. I kept the original shocks as they are OK (a bit of misting) just in case I didn't get on with the Koni's, but I doubt I'll now put the originals back.

Having talked about it now and again for a while, I had these fitted 3 weeks ago to my MY2019 Karoq 1.0 DSG SE Tech. Results - well probably just about worth the £900 (£600 from Koni, £300 to fit), but maybe just a bit disappointed. They are better on sharp ridges, broken roads etc., but still firm over these and I continue to be much aware of such road surfaces. They are definitely better over speed bumps - but that's not a standard Karoq strong point. Less thumping over broken surfaces and a bit less low frequency road noise on coarse gravel finished tarmac. Possibly a bit firmer over some middle frequency road surfaces unfortunately, but more controlled over a big but smooth depression in one road near me. But they've definitely not turned my Karoq into a Citroen CX like ride - so I probably should look into a DCC equipped car sometime. Actually Koni indicate the same replacement shockers for the SEAT Ateca which may indicate something. Regarding road noise, there's one further modification I made a year ago in the boot - thumping on the spare wheel there previously would produce a sort of boom, indicating some sort of car panel vibration down there. So I placed 4 firmish foam pads between an appropriate part of the wheel underside and the boot floor and tightened the big central plastic wheel nut fastener so that the foam pads pressed firmly against the boot floor - thumping the tyre then produced a much queter and damped sounding noise and I found it was worth further experimenting with the tightness - slackening off a little led to the quietest noise and this all resulted in less road noise once on the move. The only other slight improvement in ride and road noise now likely in this car is replacing the current Hankook AW tyres this time next year when they wear out. Current thinking is Pirelli AW tyres, but I'll see if anything else interesting emerges this Autumn. As an aside, the garage who fitted the shocks noted a rattle from the brake calipers when carrying out the final road test. Nothing wrong with the pads themselves with plenty of wear left after 45,000 miles. They said certain makes do tend to do this but there are some pad makes that don't seem to rattle - he did give a couple of examples but i forgot to note these down. I do notice the caliper rattle when driving with the front windows open, but not when shut - the Karoq does very effectively isolate the interior from outside noises. While they were at it, I got the garage to do one final swap over of front and rear wheels , just to even out tyre wear. One final observation - before the works were done I used to get a vibrating noise under the dashboard over certain road surfaces, but this has now gone - maybe it's something to do with a recent change in temperature or maybe the new dampers are reducing vibration transmitted to the car.

On my 2019 Karoq, driving above maybe 55mph, yes that's how ACC works and won't let me drive faster than traffic in the adjacent right hand lane, unless I use the throttle. However, below that speed my ACC seems to ignore traffic in the adjacent RH lane and lets me 'undertake' that line of traffic. In some ways, I think that ACC feature above 55mph is a crude if rather imperfect safety feature and don't worry about it. Say you're stuck in an outer lane travelling slowly or at standstill, I think it's very dangerous and inconsiderate for traffic on the adjacent inner lane to be travelling fast. Yes undertaking is OK in such circumstances but not at reckless speeds.

Yes, the warning does say which tyre is the problem