smipx

And... I do pay a great deal of attention to what's going on in front of me and to suggest I don't is a bit rude frankly.

What rubbish. With the main lights off the drl lights are on and bright. My comment on the sunglasses was merely to demonstrate that the light level was plenty sufficient for normal vision. The constant turning off and on of the lights and the impact that has on the satnav (causing more distraction than if they dud nothing) and the impact it might have on other drivers seeing a change to the lighting most certainly could be considered distracting - especially so when the light levels are clearly not very low. The constant on/off is also a potential distraction as opposed to using some logic to leave the lights on if they are cycling too frequently. I respectfully disagree with your analysis 👎

Plenty of other things to do with ya hands when driving with ACC and Auto everything

So I went on a short holiday this weekend (first break for many many many months). There was a lot of driving up and down roads with some tree cover and my Auto lights were coming on and off more times than I can count. When going into a slightly shaded area the lights popped on and............ 1. The cars I was following must have thought I was a right tit turning my lights on and off about 20 times in a 5 mile stretch 2. Some of the road was narrow (you know - the lovely roads where the while lines in the middle just dissapear and you are supposed to realise instantly that you are about to be side swiped by a large car or white van - what ever happened to the flaming "road narrows" signs - have Devon County Council just given up on them???) I am sure on more than one occasion the oncoming car may have thought I was flashing them to go ahead and take up the middle of the road when in fact it was just the crazy Auto lights deciding to turn on at the most dangerous moment. 3. Android Auto maps was going from White to black each time and it was most irritating and distracting encoraging me to look at he "flashing" android auto screen that was having a bout of schizophrenia. Are these Auto lights meant to improve safety - for my journey on that day they did exactly the opposite. I have tweaked the settings to "Late" but it seems to have made virtually no difference whatsoever I have managed to enable the developer options in Android Auto and set the map to "Day" only. I did try "Phone Controlled" in those settings but that seems to still turn the map "black" even if it is before "lighting up time" when the lights come on - it is supposed to not do that so another "fail" from Android Auto for that non working feature. I do really like the idea of auto lights (for tunnels etc.). but to keep coming on and off when driving down a road with a few trees is crazy. I was wearing sunglasses and on the "darker" stretches it did not even feel in any way dark while wearing my shades. It's just a bit shoddy. Also, if the lights come on more than, say, twice in a 5 minute period then the system should realise this and leave them on for, say 15 minutes before taking another reading. that would make much more sense. Not turing them off and on every 10 seconds, distracting other drivers and actually making the drive less safe. I really am stuck between a rock and a hard place because I love the idea of them but I can't live with the obvious deficiencies so I guess they will remain off - thus defaeating what would otherwise be a really useful feature if implemented with a bit more care and sense. Cheers, Paul

This image in their sales blurb looks interesting. A special plastic bit under the connector - maybe to cure the smear in that position??? They get mixed reviews though - as is always the case with reviews but.... if it fixes my specific problem then maybe worth punt. The HH2618ST seems to be the right size.

Could be. I have used them for 3 months now though. I hear Heyner make some good ones. Here is a thread I was following with great interest: http://www.vwaudiforum.co.uk/forum/showthread.php/146517-Smearing-wiper-common-issue I might get some if they do the right size. :-)

I have had some issues with the Bosch blades to be honest. The old blades were a bit rubbish (original fit) so I got a set of the 3397007864 A864S for my 2019 Karoq and the first set I noticed a bit of a smear on the return wipe on the drivers side blade. The smear is right in the line of sight in the middle (under where the connector to the arm is. I duly used some cleaners to completely and thoroughly clean the screen in case of wax but it did not improve. I returned them to the supplier (who was not happy) and then ordered a pair from another supplier (Parts in Motion). Same problem. I then went through a process of checking the blades to make sure there was not a pucker in that position - seem fine. I also then started an experiment to bend the arm slighly inwards (few mm) - no imporvement then outwards - also no improvement. I believe thee is an angle of incidence adjustment/check that can be made but also think (from the workshop manual) that this is not applicable to aero type of blades?? It also requies an £80 adjustment tool so I have not gone down that route. I just know that if I go to the dealer that they will change the blades again, then add some silicone cleaner to the blades (which may help for about 2 hours) and then say its a normal characteristic so I can't be bothered with taking it in. I was wondering if anyone else has this issue. It is very specific (centre of blade on the return wipe - drivers side only) and some googling has thrown up a common thread on a lot of other VAG cars but with not resolution that I can find. I was thinking of trying some other brands but not sure which ones may be better. thanks Paul

What is DSG slipping clutch? That's a new one for me. Thanks Paul

I wasn't suggesting you were a kid by the way - I meant your kids or the kids - not you personally 🙂

For me personally - I just don't get the point of a tent on the roof of the car but then I am a "grumpy middle aged g*t". For me I would feel that I was taking a risk by doing anyting near the ultra expensive panoramic roof and creating a solution to a problem where none exists. I guess if you are kids though it might be fun. I can just imagine a nice heavy metal CREE torch being dropped onto the pana roof from 3 or 4 feet and having it shatter into a thousand million pieces or needing a "comfort break" in the night and having to fumble with the ladder (if its taken up like a drawbridge) and scratching the lovely chrome rails!!

Hi, Just a word of slight caution - I know nothing about these however I know "Kids" and I know the the roof on the Karoq (and Fabia) is paper thin and very flexible/prone to dings from even a tiny pine cone falling from 5 feet. Be careful if you care about dents in the roof - they are expensive to get pulled out due to the location and size of the panel. My wife parked under a tree in her new Fabia a few days after taking delivery and a tiny (really tiny) pine cone caused a dent that I notice every day from the upstairs window. 🙂 Not worth getting fixed for us as she is sometimes forced to park under trees at work. Cheers, Paul

Hi All, I have the Karoq 1.5TSi DSG with (I think) the DQ200 gearbox. Now I know all the stories / facts over the internet about earlier versions of this gearbox being a bit of a lemon so - that aside I have a quick question. The car only has around 4000 miles on the clock and its due for its 1st oil change quite soon. Very occasionally I notice a bit of a whine when pulling off from a standstill. It only seems to happen after I have stopped on a journey and am going uphill on the start again. This is not during the warm-up phase either this is after driving for maybe 20 minutes. You know the kind of thing - driving up a country lane hill with overtaking places and having to stop to let a car coming down the hill pass. When I then accelerate (reasonably swiftly but not silly fast) to make progress I hear a whine coming from the engine/gearbox that can only be described as the sort of whine you get from the gearbox on an original old Mini or other car of the 70's era of that type. It only happens until the fist gear change and then all is well again. It really only happens very occasionally too (because I only have to stop quickly going uphill and then pull off again rapidly occasionally). Once it's happened - if I then (on the flat) try to replicate it is does not happen and never seems to happen on the flat. It doesn't feel like the clutch is slipping at all, it accelerates just fine and the wheels are not spinning or anything - its just a bit disconcerting sounding like a 1970's mini gearbox and because of the tales of woe on the DQ200 it makes me (possibly) over analyse the situation. Would this be a normal characteristic - can anyone else let me know if they have had / get this? I was thinking (as its uphill) it could either be: 1. normal - gearbox under more load than normal 2. the engine oil is too low / too high and needs checking (not so easy for me as my drive is on a hill) 2a. Could it be that when uphill at a stop it starts off in 1st but normally it starts off in 2nd and this is why I only hear it occasionally - ps I am in the standard driving mode in full auto) 3. There is something badly wrong and Skoda need to look at it I want to get it looked at during the 1st service but because its so intermittent I just know whats going to happen / going to be said. thanks all, Paul