JayLibove

Hi @john999boy, Yes, it would require that, there was never any doubt. So, are you saying that the Octavia MkIII (2020) definitively lacks this more advanced tire pressure monitoring system, and has only the wheel spin speed differential idiot light display? thanks, Jay

On my 2020 Octavia MkIII Scout, with the Tire Pressure Monitoring System, the only user interface that I find for it is in the Car settings, to set "the tires are good now". I don't see any way to see what the monitoring system currently is detecting. On this car, is TPMS just an "idiot light"? That is, get the pressure in the tires right, "set", and there will never be any interaction with the system unless/until the system detects that a wheel is spinning differently than the others/ than before? It would be nice if it would actually show "Your pressure is ..." for each tire. thanks, Jay

Thanks everyone. I guess I should have prefaced - I'm a computer/software engineer (focused >20 years in security/privacy), so although I am new to Long Coding, nothing that I've encountered in how all of this works (the basic engineering of modules, buses, configurations, software that knows some things about something, less/bit-coding about other things, and probably gets some things completely wrong because, hey, the software is crowd-sourced and the manufacturer really doesn't worry about keeping their constantly-"improved" stuff compatible with whatever we tinkerers may have [thought we have] found over time ... heh). So, yes, backups first, records of everything I do, and no tinkering with things that I expect might be able to "click here to kill everyone" by interacting too badly with a physical system. I have looked at many of the known tweaks, and for example have successfully enabled Traffic Sign Recognition, Refuel volume estimate, and Show blower speed when on Auto. I'm trying to get mirrors-dip-in-reverse to work; from something I read by the inestimable @SashaGrace I understand that a particular mirror assembly part# is needed - looking at what OBDeleven finds of my mirrors, I would seem to have a just slightly newer version of that part number series, but I haven't yet succeded in getting the mirrors to dip.. So, yes, lessons taken, thanks. What in particular has OBDeleven been known to mess up, by the way? @langers2k I'd be more than happy to supply you with whatever information I can to contribute to tribal knowledge! Drop me a private message and I'll do my best. I hugely appreciate this community; waaaay back in the early Internet days I did this sort of thing for computers, operating systems, network stacks, etc to help others. Now I'm older and lazier and mostly consume, but will happily contribute as I can! Oh, about writing an OBDeleven coding how-to guide, actually I've had zero difficulty taking VCDS instructions and doing the same tasks in OBDeleven, and there are OBDeleven how-to guides out there in other fora, so anything I might create (other than specific knowledge about "on this year-model-feature car, X worked, Y didn't") would just be duplicate and probably not as well done as things already available... So, any thoughts on the specific apparent mismatches I've found? (I'll add another - my car does have front fog lights - the headlight control dial has two pull-out positions; but one of the Long Coding items, for front fog lights, is set to not-installed.) I assume it's just that there's so much detritus from years and generations of software, that the bits I've found that talk about e.g. "front fog lights" relate to some older car models and technology, and simply aren't where _my_ car's software goes looking for information about _the_ front fog lights that _it_ has... 😅 cheers, -Jay

Thanks @Milentije (would it be so difficult for Skoda to make this stuff more clear? Heh). So, my car does have both of those features. Which brings me back to wondering, why when I read Long Coding with OBDeleven in my car do I see in the Control Unit: Dashboard both "Lane Assistant" (set to yes) and "Lane Change Assistance" (set to no)? regards,

I agree, there would need to be a temperature sensor in/on the steering wheel itself. My guess is that the "Steering wheel heater auto mode" software option is common in software between my Octavia and other VAG cars, but possibly it's not an option in the Octavia. @brettikivi you noted that you can set automatic steering wheel heat on a Golf 8 / Octavia MkIV - could you please elaborate; how did you find to automate turning on steering wheel heat on these newer cars? thanks,

(Sorry for the flood of posts today, new toys and all...) So, I've got an OBDeleven for my new 2020 Octavia MkIII Scout, and have been looking through lots (and lots) of settings. In the Control Unit: Dashboard I see both "Lane Assistant" (set to yes) and "Lane Change Assistance" (set to no). My car has the feature where it will both show me on the virtual cockpit display whether I'm staying in lane, and also tug on the steering wheel to help keep me in lane. It also has blind spot detection with the blinking orange lights embedded in the sideview mirrors. So, what's the difference between "Lane Assistant" and "Lane Change Assistance"? thanks,

It would probably have been better to have never ordered the OBDeleven but it's hard to separate a boy (or girl) from the toys he (or she) can buy... Ahem. So, 2020 Octavia MkIII Scout, bought new in October 2020. Just got an OBDeleven. Looked through pages and pages (and pages) of Long Coding settings to get an idea of what's in there. Found several things that seem to disagree with the physical configuration of my car (that is, I found bits in Long Coding which have names provided by OBDeleven and which are set e.g. yes/no, active/not-installed in a way which is different than what's really in my car). Just curious if others have found these disagreements, and whether any of them are worth playing with (since the features DO work as delivered from the factory). Under the Control Unit: Air conditioning, where it lists various aspects of the car (For example, it's a diesel 4x4 wagon, all good), the "Roof" item says "Standard". But, my car has a powered panoramic roof. (I forget in which other Control Unit) Tire Pressure Monitoring is set to "no" (although, right after that is the setting Tire Pressure Monitoring Display, set to yes); my car as a Tire Pressure Monitoring System reset command in the head unit (though I don't see anything at all about tire pressure anywhere else except for the "reset", in other words "tell the car that the tires, as they are now, are good"). I guess it's an "idiot light" sort of thing? .. where it's completely invisible unless/until it detects that a tire's pressure has changed? Anyone see anything ever about tire pressure monitoring other than the reset page in the head unit settings? It would be nice to be able to see that it was working... (I guess I could stop at an air pump and manually let some pressure out of a tire and slowly drive around the parking lot to see if the car alerts me, but it seems like the sort of thing that ought to have a status page somewhere...) (I forget in which other Control Unit) Collision warning is set to "no", but I know my car has collision warning, because I occasionally get that spurious red "radar" image (accompanied by the piercing shriek) as described in this other thread: (Again I forget in which other Control Unit, sorry...) Pedestrian Protection,BAP distance is set to "no", but I'm pretty sure that my car has pedestrian detection (i.e. it'll detect if someone is about to walk behind me when I'm in reverse gear to back out of a parking space). So, what does it mean, that there are these various Long Coding settings which seem to disagree with things that I know are actually intalled in the car, and which are working (Well, in the case of tire pressure monitoring, which I assume is working)? thanks!

Hi @MikeTheThinker, How did you get that full options list for your car? One thing that did and still does frustrate me about my experience buying my 2020 Octavia MkIII Scout in late 2020 is that I found it impossible to know exactly what feature codes the car has. Every description that I've found from Skoda or that the dealer gave me about "my" car seems to be a hodgepodge of standard features and options, so some things listed aren't really there (because my car has upgraded options), or aren't there (because they're included in the description as things that might have been optional purchases but weren't actually on the car that I bought). So, how can I get an exact list like the one you posted here? (Apologies for hijacking the thread to ask this). Thanks!

So, I got my OBDeleven device, and have been poring over the many, many (but, many) settings that our computers-with-wheels (aka, our cars) have... I see settings that look like they might be able to have the heated steering wheel heat turn on automatically if the temperature is low enough. (My car does have the heated steering wheel, and it works just fine, but manually of course - I press the button and select the heat level). What I found, looking through OBDeleven, is: Control Unit: Air Conditioning, Long Coding; item "Steering wheel heater auto mode", with options "not installed" (which is what it was set to), "Steering wheel temp" (which is what I've changed it to), "Outside air temperature", and "Reserved". Even assuming that my car's steering wheel has a thermometer in order to know what its current temperature is, in order to be able to automatically turn on steering wheel heat if the steering wheel temperature is "too low", somewhere there would have to be further settings to tell the car at what temperature to automatically turn the heat on. I don't find such a setting. So, does the Octavia MkIII even actually support this option that I see in the Long Coding bits under the Air Conditioning Control Unit? And, if so, what are the other bits to flip to fully enable it, and to configure the temperature below which it should automatically turn on? (A Google search did not turn up this option, except in this thread https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/3262/control-unit-setup which lists all the options). thanks! -Jay

Tested. Works fine. So, attached to the rear of the rearview mirror: bad; pegged on the windscreen just at the far edge of the black dots (just visible to the driver past the rearview mirror): good! Thanks!

Hi everyone. After a ridiculously long customs delay (on an item that in theory shouldn't even have had to have gone through customs, being shipped by OBD Eleven from Lithuania to me here in Spain), and then further delayed by me being away over the holidays (I put 3400km on my Scout; MAAAAAN this car makes long drives easy and comfortable), I finally got the OBDeleven device and did some adjusting today... Traffic Sign Recognition is enabled and works. I only got the "limited" warning once, though I fully turned the car off and back on again I think three times after finishing the coding. Anyway, I can certainly live with that. The current OBDeleven app has the long coding bits already text-labeled for the Adaptation in the Multimedia Control Unit under Car_Function_List_BAP_Gen2 (which I had to find in German, I think 😅) 'traffic_sign_recognition_0x21', and 'menu_display_road_sign_identification', as well as Dashboard Control Unit long coding text 'Road sign detection'. (Though, now that I think of it, I'm not sure that I have seen any new options appear in the head unit under Car -> Settings). Anyway, traffic sign recognition works. Thanks!

Indeed, thanks! Per the Wikipedia article on "frits", these dots are ceramic, not metal.

Thanks very much @nidza! Really curious - those instructions show the toll device being placed ON the dotted-block stuff on the windshield (which I think are there to reduce glare in the driver's eyes when looking at the rearview mirror) and which I assume contain metal! I didn't see in those instructions a dotted area on the windshield, just text describing what I'd already tried, and the picture which, per the above, surprises me. When I drive along several hundred Km of toll highways in a few days, I'll test my toll device in my hand right in the middle of the windshield, to see if maybe I just got unlucky and it needs to be replaced.

Thanks @nidza. That seems to ring a bell, but I've just re-read the manual that I have ("OWNER'S MANUAL Vehicle and Infotainment SKODA OCTAVIA", manual barcode number appearing in the bottom right corner of the 2nd and 3rd pages "5E0012720AR"), searching for "dotted", "rearview", "rear view", "toll", and some other words, and I don't see anything about it. Could you please post a screen shot or excerpt of that part of the manual that you have? Many thanks!

I've got a "Via-T" (one of those automatic toll collection RFID[I-guess] devices which let you drive on toll roads without having to stop to collect tickets and pay the tolls in cash/card on the spot). I'd installed it on the back (that is, the forward facing) side of the rear view mirror in my 2020 Octavia Scout, on the passenger side as low down on that side of the rear view mirror as I could place it. (There's a sensor on the forward facing side driver side of the rear view mirror, so I didn't stick it on the driver side). On a small number of occasions the toll device has completely failed to read, and on a couple of other occasions it has read very late. Where do you stick your toll collection devices on your Octavias? Has anyone else encountered a problem with (I don't know, maybe something embedded in/ decaled onto the windshield just in front of the rear view mirror) interference with a toll collection device, either when stuck to the rear view mirror like I've done it, or elsewhere? thanks! -Jay

I finally tested this today, and it does keep the virtual cockpit display across turning the car off and back on again. It really does suck that "personalization" being on causes the driver's personal setting to re-set at power off. Just makes no sense. Thanks again,

Hi @e-Roottoot, I think we may be talking about different combinations of features, which Skoda may package one way on one vehicle and another way on other vehicles. Here's what the 2020 A7 Scout manual says about Offroad mode: "Offroad mode includes functions that help to overcome routes that are difficult to navigate when travelling on non-paved roads. The following functions are integrated into Offroad mode. Hill descent assistant ESC Offroad ASR Offroad EDS Offroad ABS Offroad" As far as I can tell, these feature - particularly Hill descent assist - are ONLY available when offroad mode is enabled. Moving on to what the manual says about Hill descent assist: "The hill descent assistant (hereinafter referred to as assist system), with its automatic braking action on all wheels, ensures a constant speed is maintained on a steep slope when driving forwards and reversing. The assist system is automatically engaged under the following conditions. The engine is running. * For vehicles with Manual transmission the shift lever is in the neutral position and or the 1st, 2nd, 3rd gear, or reverse gear is engaged. * On vehicles with an automatic transmission, the selector lever is in the R, N, D/S position or in the Tiptronic position. * The downhill gradient is at least 10 % (when driving over sleepers, the limit can briefly drop to 8 %). * Neither the accelerator nor the brake pedal is pressed. Driving speed Initiate the downhill descent at a reasonable speed of approx. 2 - 30 km/h, the assist system constantly maintains this speed as you travel downhill. If a forwards or reverse gear is engaged on vehicles with a manual transmission, the speed must be high enough to avoid “stalling the engine”. The driving speed can be changed by pressing the brake or accelerator pedal. This is true even if the shift lever is in the neutral position and the selector lever in the N position. Engagement of the assist system is resumed after the pedal is released. WARNING For the correct operation of the assistant the road surface must be sufficiently adherent. The assistant cannot properly fulfil its function on slushy soil due to physical reasons (e.g. ice or mud). - there is a risk of an accident!" So, we can only get hill descent assist when offroad mode is enabled. Hill descent assist is limited to what I'll describe as "less challenging" offroad conditions (as the manual says, above, that hill descent assist won't work in particularly slippery conditions). My questions here related to hill descent assistant specifically, not to offroad mode generally. The relation seems to be imposed (by Skoda, on the 2020 Scout, at least) by making Hill descent assist only enablable when offroad mode is enabled. None of the above suggests that hill descent assist should NOT work well on a well-paved (but steep, defined above by Skoda as being at least 10%) road. And none of the above explains why my 2020 Scout's hill descent assistant is jerky, while others have reported not encountering this, and when I used another recent VW-group vehicle (2020 Tarraco)'s hill descent assist I found it smooth. I'd appreciate if we could set aside the arguments that I shouldn't be doing this (unless someone can find an actual reason why that's the case; simply claiming that I'm "not off-road" when I'm on a steep, well-paved concrete track" is an opinion, not an engineering or statement-by-the-manufacturer reason/justification), and focus on what engineering cause could result in this - other than possibly that my specific vehicle's hill descent assistant maybe isn't working correctly. thank you

Hi @Rodge, what you say is true, of course. The question remains, why would we expect the Hill Descent Assistant - a thing meant to hold a specific speed so that the driver may concentrate on other things - to behave _worse_ on a _better_-than-it-could-be road? And, this still doesn't explain why it behaves worse for me than for other Scout owners, and worse than what I experienced of what I assume to be the same technology in another VW-group car (a 2020 Seat Tarraco 4WD)?

Back to the original poster's original question (which I see has occasionally been mentioned before: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/409786-glare-from-air-duct/?tab=comments#comment-4700501 https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/350631-what-about-the-things-that-annoy-you/page/26/?tab=comments#comment-4642705 Me too. (Brand new 2020 Octavia Scout, default dark grey colour scheme). The reflection of the dashboard top/windscreen air vents is often visible towards the bottom of the windscreen, and a bit too frequently it's too distracting. So, other than electrical tape or spray paint, no fixes? I've never understood why manufacturers would EVER put something in a car that obviously interferes with the driver's clear vision of the road... :-(

Interesting. Here's what the A7 Octavia Scout manual has to say about Offroad mode: "Mode Offroad Read and observe on page 241 first. The mode Offroad is suitable for driving outside paved roads. Further information » page 213, Offroadmode." (Page 241 is just a brief overview of the existence of Drive Mode Selection, and a mention of on what vehicles certain of the Modes exist; in particular, for the Octavia, Offroad exists only on the Scout). Page 213 includes the same notice that you see for your Kodiaq: "■ Offroad mode is not designed for use on common roads." This of course leads to the question of what Skoda things is a "common road". I suspect that 10%+ descents on lightly corrugated concrete pavement is not a "common" road. In any case, why would we expect my particular vehicle's downhill assist/ descent control feature to be jerky when on such a road, just from reading "■ Offroad mode is not designed for use on common roads."? The description of Hill Descent Assistant says that a road must have sufficient adherence. So as far as the requirements for this feature, a steep, well-paved concrete road would be ok. Looking at other aspects of Offroad mode, to try to find anything that should suggest that a not-"common" (but also not-"wildly slippery rocky steep uneven just-barely-within-the-Scout's-capabilities") road should make the Hill Desent Assistant behave in a jerky fashion, we see that in Offroad mode the ESC allows a little bit of over- and under-steering, which isn't relevant to this case; Traction Control/ ASR in Offroad mode allows a little bit of wheel slip - again, not relevant to this case; EDS Offroad mode WOULD behave more harshly - IF the condition required it ("A spinning wheel or wheels are braked earlier and with more force than with the intervention of the standard EDS system."), but that's explicitly not the case on this well-paved steep concrete road; and finally ABS in Offroad mode allows a small amount of wheel-locking in order to help accumulate a small pile of material on/over which to (re-)gain some traction - again, not relevant to our current case. So, why would "Offroad mode is not designed for use on common roads." suggest that on this perhaps edge-case road the Hill Descent Assistant (on my car, not as reported by other owners) would be jerky? I'll arrange to demonstrate it to the service department and see what they say. Though since they'll have seen very few Scouts here, I hope that their experience on Kodiaqs, Tarracos, etc, gives them enough for comparison.

Hi all, could someone please help me resolve my ignorance, and suggest how I might implement @langers2k's recommendation to "turn off personalization via the headunit"? thanks, Jay

So I had the opportunity yesterday to test again, on a concrete road in excellent condition, dry and clean, moderately steep (10% ?), and the downhill assist performed badly. I got a call from Skoda's Spain national customer service office, only confirming what the delivering dealer's shop manager had told me - that there is no configuration or adjustment for this feature, and that my car lacked no software updates. So the next step will be for me to set up an appointment with the shop to have them experience it for themselves and tell me if they think I'm right that it should be more smooth, or if I'm just expecting too much. I'll keep you informed.

Thanks everyone. I'll do more tests, and also Skoda Spain have contacted me about the feedback I'd provided about this issue to the dealer and they (Skoda Spain) are raising the question to Skoda (the brand, engineering). Not sure if they'll actually get back to me, but if they do, and when I have done more tests of my own, I'll come back here with information.

Good point. My tests were, first, where I specifically noticed that I just plain didn't like the way that descent mode worked, were with the default summer tires (not, in my case Pirellis; my car came with Goodyear "EfficientGrip Performance" tires, which actually are GREAT for summer on good pavement. Really quiet and smooth. But, perhaps, not at all good on more challenging surfaces. Although, one of the tests was on excellent (just, steep) concrete, so it shouldn't have given any tires any difficulty. The next test, where I still wasn't completely satisfied with the descent mode, was after I swapped these summer tires for Michelin CrossClimate+ M+S tires. I'll do more tests over time, and report back. thanks, all.

Hi ScoutCJB, what year, engine, and transmission do (did?) you have? thanks.