Jim2015

The 12 volt battery was flat this morning, which I discovered when I tried to unlock the car. Skoda Assist (AA) came out. The resting voltage was 4-1, so something had flattened the battery overnight. I can't imagine what it was, unless the heater came on overnight. I checked the 12 volt battery yesterday evening and it was 12.1 volts. The dealer can't lend me a loan car until January 24th, so Skoda Assist will arrange for a hire car tomorrow, to be delivered to the dealer. Normally it's two days only, but if the fault cannot be cleared, then the hire period will be extended. The AA man did some tests - the battery is fine, so for now I have a trickle charger under the bonnet to keep it topped up ready for tomorrow. Under the fuse box cover is the +ve terminal and the -ve terminal is nearby on the bulkhead. I asked whether the car could be relayed to the dealer, but because it can be driven, it's not possible. The 12 volt battery is in the boot next to the 400 volt battery and it was awkward to remove the nuts securing its cover. A tip: don't use the puncture repair gunk as it usually means the tyre fitter won't try to repair it, so always call out Skoda Assist as they carry a 'get you home' spare. Also, practice using the emegency key: it's difficult to get the cover off on the passenger door handle, so have a practice so when it's need you can be in quickly.

I have a voltmeter permanently in the 12 volt socket in the boot. Today the resting voltage was 11.8 volts, but after a 20-mile drive in hybrid mode (and a very satisfying 88mpg) it was 12.2 volts. If I plug in the main battery charger, the voltage increases to 13.1 volts. In case anyone thinks this is low, a very good post from VAGProf dated 29th July in this thread explained it. 'The reason why there is only 13.1 or .2V is because the 12V battery is monitored by the gateway, it knows the charging state, so if it is above 80%, ther is no need to charge it, purely wasted energy to keep the system at 14V all the time. This is why the converter only supplies 13.2V to the system to just prevent the battery from discharging.' So a correctly functioning iV should never suffer a flat battery.

Our Octy was due to go into the garage last Monday for a couple of days, but it was cancelled as the technician who fixes software had suspected Covid. In a way I was relieved as only software was involved, so I'd like to wait until a full fix is rolled out. Everything works as it should, except Skoda Connect and I'd be upset if this issue was fixed, only to be replaced by something else. Out of interest, I had a look at car buying sites to see whether Octy iV's had a high residual values and it seems not. However, when looking at details of Octy iV's for sale, the average price is aroung £30k, but all those on sale were low mileage, between 2 1/2k and 8k miles. So I wonder how many have faults and how the dealer copes with an unhappy second owner when applying for warranty claims. When I next visit our dealer, I'll ask around to find out whether the Mk 4 model has spoilt their reputation.

Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, but the figure of £2.16 I quoted is for electricity at 16.66 pence per kWhr. The iV battery is 13kWhr, so even at 20p/kWhr it would still only cost £2.60 for up to 35 miles of motoring. Of course, if you go to ALDI or Tesco, plug into a PodPoint and can hang around for 5 hours, the charge is free. I've frequently seen the same Tesla at ALDI which the owner plugs in, then walks away, either to work for the day or to catch a bus home. So 7kW output for several hours in the day or even longer overnight is very useful, even for a Tesla. (I live in Yorkshire so the Tesla owner may just be a canny Yorkshireman!)

Hello Rich. You are correct. On the left hand virtual instrument display is a 'bar' showing the amount of e-power being used and a rev counter on the other segment when the IC is being used. The battery only comes in either at low speeds in town or if accelerating hard. I also find in hybrid mode that it takes a couple of miles to 'settle down' as the IC takes precedence, than the battery kicks in.

I had a servicing voucher from Skoda for the inconvenience whilst they were fixing the car, as well a significant amount from VWFS Finance after I withdrew my intention to reject the car. Whenever the car was collected I asked the dealer to recharge the battery. Throughout the period of dispute I was firm but polite and established a good rapport with the Skoda UK contact. I've had no problem getting a loan car and on both occasions I was lent an estate so that we could take our dog out with us.

We have the iV Estate. Our home town is very hilly and we are next to the N Yorkshire Moors, so on e-power we can get about 30 - 35 miles on the flat, but 25-ish over the Moors. A full charge costs £2.16 but when we get a smart meter, at 5p/kWhr, a full charge will cost 65 pence. (Octopus Go, if you are interested). Our motoring is a mix of local and longer distance drives (about a 50 - 50 split) so for shopping etc we use e-power. Now the weather is colder, our range is about 25 miles. Today we travelled 26 miles - for 13 miles on e-power, the battery used 70% of its charge, but the heater was on, together with wipers and lights. and it was 4 degrees outside. The return was in Hybrid mode and the total mpg was 126. In June I did a 126 mile each way journey, mainly dual carriage way and motorways and on the forward journey we achieved 70mpg. The battery always retains an indicated 1% charge and so far always starts on e-power. I was able to fully charge the battery (which was down to 1%) during our visit and on the return achieved 74mpg (this was based on the in-car data). Based on real data (brimming tank) our overall mpg is 90mpg after 3427 miles. Therefore the fuel tank capacity of 40 litres in not an issue: I estimate IC alone we get 46mpg. Overall cost for petrol and electricity is 9p/ mile. This compares favourably with our Karoq. For several months I was only doing 8 miles a week during lockdown, so this would skew the results, but it cost 18p/mile for the time we owned it when the average cost of fuel was £1.22 per litre.

The Mk 4 Octy estate is one of the best looking cars on the road today. The ride is excellent, despite the low profile tyres and the seats are really comfortable. Have a look at the thread 'The good, the (not so) bad and definitely not ugly Octavia iV Estate' thread for a more detailed review. The only gripe is the software issues, although ours has only minor glitches and these are forgiveable as the car is a dream to drive, excellent acceleration, good economy (90mpg over 3700 miles consisting of about 50% e-power and 50% IC, with about 30 - 35 miles on e-power) . However, because the car is so heavily dependent on software, we won't keep it after the three -year warranty expires - it's due its third software update in a couple of weeks. Contrast this with our Mk 2 Octy diesel, which was exchanged after nine years!

The head unit or infotainment system is the user interface with all the touchscreen controls to operate the various functions, including sat nav, radio, vehicle data and so on. The MIB unit is an acronym for the original German phrase for the control box, which is located behind the glove box. In September our MIB unit was changed for another one which when coded finally enabled us to save favourites and recent destinations on the satnav. However we were then unable to link with Skoda Connect, so that the car could not be accessed from the MySkoda app. This is no great loss as the aircon on time and charging times can be set on the Infotainment unit. Our car is due for a further update in mid-December, taking two days, so I'll find out what is being changed. Everything else works in the car. other than the odd glitch which is fixed by switching the car off and on again. I'll report in my thread 'The good, the bad and the (not so ugly) Skoda Octavia iV.

I've felt the plug and it's never even been warm.

240 volts AC to 400 volts DC the onboard charger is rated at 3.5kW but the current draw is about 10 amps, perfectly adequate for the use of a standard 3-pin socket.

I suppose most of the latest hybrids will display quirky faults. Perhaps I ought to get a restored Morris Minor 'woody' from the Morris Minor Centre in Bath! A screwdriver and a set of spanners would be all I needed for any mechanical work.

Another clever feature. The interior lights and the USB C sockets have an illuminated border when the main lights come on. So today, when we were driving through a forest, out of the corner of my eye I saw the front cabin light border, confirming the lights were on. It's a shame that there isn't a light in the console to show that the dipped headlights are on, but perhaps because they come on automatically, Skoda didn't see a need.

Thanks Sir Ron. I only heard the reported noise once and it sounded very loud. The handbook shows how to charge the 12 volt battery with an external charger, but my battery charges either when the 400 volt battery is on charge, or (so I was informed in another thread) when the car is being driven in hybrid mode. I check the resting voltage regularly using a voltmeter plugged in the boot socket and it's always between 12.1 and 12.3 volts, rising to 12.5 volts when the main charger is on. As for dealers, I think they are good at selling cars and at routine servicing but anything else they are less useful. This is why I didn't take the car in - it's running well and I'm certain that the diagnostics would not show anything and even if it did, what could they do? I would not dare keep the iV beyond three years owing to its complexity, so after 18 years with Skoda (or 21 when a change is due) I'm likely to go for one of the Korean hybrids with a long warranty.

I contacted the service manager at our dealers asking whether this was a known issue, but was asked to take the car in for a check-up. As it's running well, I cannot be bothered going on a 60 mile return journey!

Try [email protected]. He's the MD and supposedly reads all his e-mails. It worked for me as I was given a named contact who proved to be very helpful.

Try silicone spray in the runners.

Yesterday evening, I put the car on charge and immediately I heard a very loud noise, like cooling fans running at high speed. I turned off the charger, then on again and the same happened. so I left it off-charge for the night. This morning it charged as normal, but when I went out later, the clock was wrong and had changed to manual. When I set it to internet time, it immedieately showed the correct time. Is this just another glitch or something more serious?

Interesting comments Martin. If we had a larger garage I'd like to have a Superb as it's the best car Skoda ever made. We wanted our latest car to be a hybrid and I looked at every one on the market. The Peugeot 3008 was the favourite, with the Citroen based on the same floor pan second. However, we wanted a Skoda if possible as the aforementioned makes have a less favourable reputation plus we've had them for 18 years. After we saw the Mk4 estate 'in the flesh' and found access easy, that made our minds up, plus the others were rather sluggish compared with the Skoda. Although our car is now fully fixed, it did take a while and the Mk4 iV should not have been released onto the market before all the issues were sorted. So when we change our car, in a couple of years or so, i'd like to test drive a Hyundai Tuscon. I had a look at one a few weeks ago and like all its features, as well as the long warranty. If adverse comments about Skoda continue, then that will make our minds up.

Our Octavia iV Combi is the best car I've ever had and I absolutely love everything about it. It's restored my enjoyment of driving. The shape is lovely and a big improvement on the Mk 3 estate. The acceleration from a combined 202 bhp is stunning and the roadholding is excellent, particularly welcome here in our twisty windey part of North Yorkshire. The boot is huge and with the seat down it's enormous. There were some irritating glitches, but non prevented us driving the car and all but Skoda Connect is now working. I'm sure that you won't regret your choice of vehicle.

If you manage to get SkodaConnect or the MySkoda app to work, you can set the aircon on from the comfort of a warm building. (I cannot access either but Skoda UK is 'working on it'). Alternatively, this can be programmed in advance in the car's infotainment unit..

I will clarify my comment. The 110mpg figure was displayed in the data after a 34 mile drive in Hybrid mode, when the battery was providing much of the power (the left-hand dial shows when e-power or IC is being used and a lot of the time, other than when I was travelling fast, the battery was in use). The long-term mpg, based on the measured amount of petrol put in the tank, is 92. I can go for around 700 miles between refills. On battery alone with a range of 35 miles, this costs about 6p/mile at present. When we get Octopus Go off-peak at 5p/kWh, the cost will drop to about 2p/mile. The next section might interest 2793Jerry, so here is a more precise set of figures I copied from one of my other threads and is based on actual electricity and petrol usage. I've been able to calculate more accurately how much electricity is being used to charge the iV. I have been comparing bills for now and 12 months ago. This is based on our electricity use being fairly constant but does not include for the fact that the electricity was slightly cheaper last year. At the last refuel the car had done 2630 miles and cost £162.34 for petrol and £96.88 for electricity or 9.9p/mile. When the cost goes down from 16.66p/kW hr to 5p/kW hr with Octopus Go off-peak electricity, this will reduce to £29.07, or assuming a 50/50 split between IC and e-power, 2630 miles for £191.41 or 7.3p/mile compared with £335.20 on petrol alone or 14p/mile. Our Karoq cost 17.8p/mile for fuel.

I get 35 miles on battery alone. You can also use hybrid and either 'X' auto or set it to hold charge. Yesterday in hybrid I did 34 miles and obtained 110 mpg in hybrid. Set regen to maximum (no 2) and you'll hardly need to use the brakes.

I am now using the cruise control like a hand throttle. Because it increments up or down in 1 or 5mph intervals I can set a precise speed according to road conditions. If I approach another vehicle, the ACC adjust the speed by using the regen braking to keep to a safe distance. Also, the roads round here are very hilly and winding when I get to within 20 miles of home, so if I set CC to the lowest setting of 20mph, then drive manually, when I'm either going downhill or approaching a speed limit, engaging cc applies an impressive amount of braking so I now hardly ever need to use the brakes. In fact, the wheels are very easy to keep clean as there is never any brake dust on any of the wheels.

Yes to all three. The first one worked after the MIB (control) unit was changed.