nta16

I'm not so sure you are sorry, you seem to me to be more adversarial but I could of course be wrong about this, I'm not offended by you asking questions why on earth should I be. No one, sorry, I put it badly, what was in my head didn't get fully typed by me, I meant others have said their battery is good when it isn't. I will edit my post to make it clearer. The batteries are not charged to 100% every time, I meant each time of recharger use which would be very occasional especially over the cycle of charging and discharging of use of the car particular a start/stop car. We could also discuss 100% of what for what 100% is and when, and percentages overall, but why complicate simple things like what recharging that used to be just average driver maintenance, rather than it being stuff left to garages now or just replacing, good for the economy it might be. If I've missed anything, and you have already witnessed I can before, I'm not the best typists even one-fingered, please just ask.

That's great if you do 25 mile journeys and you have checked the battery's fine, Thing is it's not the same for all owners/drivers plus some are like teenagers living at home and not paying any bills with their electric use whilst driving and parked up. Plus of course you have a 2018 built car those with say 2019 and later may have much higher use. A number of times over the decades I have been told the battery is good [ ETA: - by others with a problem with their cars and I look at the cars - ] but when I check it isn't, loose battery terminal clamp(s) particularly after a battery has been replaced, by Dealerships, garages and retailers nowadays, but also often overtightened by someone with more muscle than finesse, or of course the battery is just in too lower state of charge for what is required. With modern by the time the battery won't started the car it has been severely depleted sometimes, depending on previous use, abuse and neglect by owners, drivers and those supposed to be serving and maintaining, may be beyond reasonable use recovery. Lights can look bright enough even when the battery is in a lower state of charge than the computers like. If you or anyone else doesn't want to buy or use a battery charger that is fine I'm just trying to prevent owners becoming part of the statistic of the number one cause of breakdown callouts and having all sorts of unexpected warnings and issues with their VWŠkoda.

I just zoomed in on the image and get a fright. it has "ITALY" on it! :yikes: 😆 It's an "Ambient Air Temperature Sensor" according to VW Parts 820 820 535 B. Certainly surprising but not totally unexpected that it should be something at a tangent given how over-complicated VW's computer systems are, possibly they out-"Simply clever" themselves sometimes. Or it might be something physically related rather than (only) computer. Well done to @hayeksbane on finding that and possibly learning how complex these things can be, but if you had a spare one you might already know a lot..

Thanks. You have already done well and a lot better than some other VWŠkoda owners who have replaced their batteries at 3 and 4 years use with newer models, VW in the Owner's Manual for my wife's 2015 Mk3 Fabia has to replace battery older than 5 years and IIRC it dropped to 4 years for newer models. ETA: I would expect the battery to last a lot longer with use of a battery charger maintainer particularly if the battery is recharged to full each time of use. 26k-miles in 6 years is a low average annual mileage but not as low as some but of course battery drain and longevity does depend on the use of the car and how much electric is consumed and returned to the battery by the alternator in car use or if an appropriate battery charger maintainer is used in accordance with the car's Owner's Manual and charger maintainer's instructions for distress and preventative rechargers. You could possibly get a lot longer out of your battery by recharging it fully now, as described, previously, and occasional as required or when you feel full rechargers. Or just replace and 'code' in a new replacement battery when required.

A big differences with the two batteries above is the figure for Ah (amp hour capacity) 60Ah against 74Ah and the (unspecified specification) CCA (cold cranking amps) of 600A against 750A. The higher CCA would be particularly useful for a diesel and automatic. A rule of stick to is for the new battery to be at least the same Ah and CCA (EN) as the one fitted by VW when the car was new and a bit more would probably be a bit better than VW's cost concious choices. Nothing wrong with Powerline batteries it's just the brand of Tayna Batteries. Bosch (like some of their stuff) is just a sticky label for Varta batteries I am told.

I like the look of that. (but personally not from Amazon). Unfortunately It's not manufactured in the UK - "Made outside the UK on behalf of: Maypole Ltd 162 Clapgate Lane Birmingham B32 3DE UK Maypole Touring Ireland Ltd 40 Mespil Road Dublin 4 DO4 C2N4 Ireland". https://www.maypoleltd.com/product/mp7423-4a-6-12v-electronic-smart-charger/ User's instructions - https://www.maypoleltd.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/20250212-MP7423-Manual-Version.pdf 20250212-MP7423-Manual-Version.pdf

Tom, I'm not saying you should worry but consider if your start/stop only began working for a short period then the battery hasn't been charged enough with that longer journey. The accumulated effect of having the battery in a lower state of charge will be a shorter life for it. This is no problem or concern unless or until it causes the battery to be low enough for the computer systems to throw up warnings and lights and perhaps unseen error codes and all sorts of unexpected issues as often reported here in threads and posts. But you could just replace the battery and have the new battery 'coded' in, just more frequently than if the battery wasn't in a lower state of charge so often. How old is your Karoq and its battery?

Obviously I don't know as I wasn't there but by what is reported it is clearly the Dealership at some sort of fault. AA not at fault at least for it being driven if the car was perfectly driveable, which it must have been and still is otherwise the Dealership would have found fault(s) and wouldn't have said they can't find anything and that the problem is unlikely to happen again. Plus of course how can the Service Manager possibly know it won't happen again if they couldn't find a cause. Seeing the error codes and full report would obviously be very useful but it still might not pinpoint the cause but hopefully give some indicators for further diagnosis for those with training, knowledge and experience and with or allowed the time and inclination, which can exclude many now unfortunately,

Yes you want an appropriate charger maintainer and fully recharge the battery by following the instructions in your car's 'Owner's Manual' and charger's instructions. Best to recharge the battery fully at a low rate of amps (2, 3, 4-amps) which may take very many hours, I'm going to disagree there, not necessarily, you have to over-use, abuse or neglect the battery a lot to need to set the charger to anything like a recondition/recovery mode. With this you are reacting to the situation whereas it's better to be proactive with very occasional recharges to fully charged, more are needed in the case of vehicles not used frequently and/or on short journeys. A "smart" (no devices are really smart} charger maintainer will generally do all this is required unless the battery is in an extremely low state of charge and health then you might need special settings but then they might or might not work, for the average car owner best never to get the battery that bad and if so replace it and learn from the mistake. Not required on a "smart" charger and these chargers don't need to be over-priced like the CTek, Lidl/Aldi sold perfectly good ones for very low prices or as just one example here's one from Ring Automotive Ltd. (I see 15% is off at the moment making it an even better price). - Smartcharger 4 - https://shop.ringautomotive.com/rsc904-4a-smart-battery-charger-maintainer.html

Yes I must have been many times and each time I must have been very bad or evil to have suffered with the British motor trade so much in this life. 😣

I know it is fashionable but it is not the best colour for somewhere that gets a lot of sun (or even the UK (40.3c)) but you have it and it can be sorted. I must admit I missed you are in Italy until I saw 500 Euros but in the UK anyone that does car paintwork without an expensive building and location to support might look at it and be able to do the work at short order and in a quick time for not too much cost. You might have to ask around to find these chaps and I have no idea of how things are in Italy. Good luck.

I do understand your cynicism as I have enough bad experiences with the English motor trade to have a mountain of it but do have to give credit where it's deserved. OK yes it might be just upselling but if it is needed then it is, if is not of course that is another matter and if they want to sell it or actually offer a service then yes they need to give more information as an explanation of the benefit or need. In this case you put that they asked if you have a battery charger so it's not an out and out up sell, if they are finally advising customers about the need for battery recharging on these modern cars it is a good thing because as I put before many older drivers have forgot about this simple easy, clean hands car maintenance that can save a lot of time, hassle and money from car problems and breakdowns. It may also be the case that older drivers don't realise the greater need with the more modern cars but they should know really, where does the energy come from for all the driver comforts, "aids" and "assists", Just think of a list of all the electric items on a modern car, just with the buttons you can press to use them let alone all the ones the car itself uses. Let me assure you that from a previous life and experience generally I know that not all customers are great and many just want the bare minimum done to the vehicle often they don't really even the bare minimum but are forced into for some reason and even then they may ignore things like safety and statutory requirements and it's not a matter of they can't financially afford it. Obviously I have no idea of the state of charge of your battery and the Dealership could have been trying it on (again) but it is possible that the battery might need recharging it depends on many varying factors, or it might not desperately need recharging but might be best recharged. To force the undersized boot on to the other foot you did not have the figures for state of charge to know anyway, which is bad on their part. Also state of charge is not the full story about the battery but an indicator. There are many threads and posts on Briskoda for the various models of the issues that a battery in low state of charge has caused with the poster often unaware that the low state of charge is the cause of these unexpected warning lights, messages, error codes and issue(s). Of course not all issues are caused by low state of charge but many more than the average driver realises, the car 12v battery is very important and always has been but especially now on a more recent modern car. That may or may not be the case with your car, I can't know, or it could be a con I would never rule this out, but certainly there are many cars where it could well be the case that the battery needs recharging, to be more dishonest they would try to sell a new battery. I've not seen battery replacement mentioned at 2 years but I have 3, even VW put 4 years but there is no reason why those batteries could not have lasted a lot longer by the use of recharging, best done as a preventative measure than a distress need. Some people prefer to just use, abuse and neglect the 12v battery and replace it which is fine and their choice, to me that seems wasteful and expensive but it keeps the economy going round. So have you checked your battery to see if it does need recharging, that of course would be now rather than when at the Dealership.

Doesn't have to be VAG specific just VAG appropriate, that is has the full programs for VAG and their models, those will include VW Bentleys too, also the program(s) need to cover the specific model and year (VIN) and be fully up to date before using the scanner, plus car and scanner if appropriate scanner not with a battery in a low state of charger otherwise spurious results can be given. Some scan tool owners/users are too lazy to bother with all the updating. You are using one set of computer programs on another and we all know these have "glitches", "patches", "updates" and original program errors and omissions. So that's two dumb computers so you don't want a third dumb element added in.

I am not one for defending Dealerships, usually quite the opposite but no it's modern drivers (and older drivers that have forgot) that have no idea about electric consumption in (home or) car. Also mainly a male thing (machoism, ego, arrogance or any combination of the three) of being incapable of reading instruction manuals for the car (or battery chargers). Can't blame those that don't know as we all learnt for a first time. The German marques particularly have had for decades over complex computer systems now with start/stop and all the driver electric comforts and "aids" and "assists" on the cars the consumption and work for the battery (and alternator) can be very high particularly this time of year, just turning the electric powered steering uses a fair bit of power). Many modern and older drivers think that if the engine starts and the lights seem bright enough then the battery won't be in a low state of charge which is wrong. The computers don't like a low state of charge and can play up from this by throwing up all sorts of unexpected warnings and lights and unseen error codes and cause issues and problems. First sign of low state of battery charge is the stop/start doesn't work when it should but most ignore this, it might go away with driving the car only to return again and be ignored again until the battery gets too low. VW making revenue and profits out of spare put in the book to change the 12v at 5 years then 4 years (might be 3 by new for all I know) so if the Dealership is promoting the use of (appropriate) battery chargers (maintainers) is at least a small step in the right direction. The reason they may offer this service is vast experience of car owners and drivers and their often lack of carrying out driver maintenance on the vehicles. A quick recharge of the battery at the Dealership is better than nothing but if the battery is in low a good depth and long(er) lasting low (amps) slow recharge on a battery charger takes hours and can take very many hours. Charging (or recharging with an appropriate charger maintainer) may also need to be done after very hot weather in the summer. But for winter here's why they might offer. -

Passing cars that are turning off the road and more than the car width plus plenty more will alarm the alarm and it stays on a while later as an incorrect scolding, no braking but an incorrect telling off. Lane "assist" is even more fun, so many conditions where it won't operate correctly yet can it be startled by a bush 10 foot back from a verge. Drivers that rely on these systems to drive the car for them (while doing something like rollin' a fag, messing with the Tw*tNav or infotainment, watching a video, taking a selfie) may cause themselves and others problems.

To me VW 4-cylinder petrol engines have always sounded a bit badgers, and I'm used to old British engines, but I've also had Japanese cars which were generally built better than modern German marques cars, which is why I thought you might as well have VWs with a diesel engine for the engine noise. My wife's 2015 Fabia Mk3 1.2 TSI engine bay makes lots of different noises at different times (can't hear them now over all the suspension noises) but not as loud as that. With these (over) complex intertwined VW cars' computer systems you need a scan tool to point you in the right direction to the possible cause(s) as well as the usual mechanical diagnosis and checks. Note Dealerships, garages, mechanics, auto-electricians, DIYers do all make mistakes when working on cars even with very simple things like engine oil and filter changes that VW call a "service" so never neglect the basis simply driver maintenance checks like correctly checking the engine oil level with the dipstick - do not just rely on the car's computer systems and warnings as they can activate when it's too late, the lights used to be "idiot light" and sometimes with some justification. If you read and refer to the Owner's Manual for the car you will know more about it than many long term owners, you don't need to know much about cars or many skills just lack of male ego and arrogance to read instructions before use or refer to instructions when required. - https://manual.skoda-auto.com/004/en-com/Models For a scan tool you could look at the list of Briskoda members and see if anyone is near you, most offer at least a scan report of error codes (if any related o this or not) or more for beer tokens, a few may be professional with a different renumeration. - https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/262215-list-of-vcds-owners-previously-known-as-vag-com-vcp-owners/#comment-3091029 Check your engine oil level, to book, and see when (if) the engine air filter and spark plugs where last changed and let us know. Good luck.

Quick thoughts - computer programming isn't always the best, hence "glitches", " patches" and "updates", sensors, wiring connectors can go wrong or can be put out of full alignment, one program or system might be different to other you load the two cars differently (particularly the luggage areas perhaps) you drive differently in one than the other. I take all these driver "aids" and "assists" as being like a very nervous passenger that can also take over braking and steering, always remember computers are not "smart" "intelligent" or "Simply Clever" they are very dumb and just following the input instructions, an error, fault or omission in those and things might not go the way planned or expected. Never rely on them fully.

Well done. It can sometimes be difficult spotting our own mistakes and a second person can see what we have overlooked, and often it can help to have someone who doesn't know about cars (or really care) and get them to get you to follow the process or instructions and get you to strictly follow their instructions, thus following the instructions to the letter in the order given, My very, very relucent glamorous assistant may bring me a mug of tea see me struggling with something not going back on right and say something like "it looks like you are fitting that with the top at the side" and sure enough I am. Decades of running 20-50 year old cars as dailies means she has much experience of breakdowns and repairs and noises recognition without ever wanting to. She is much better at noises than me and previously has said thing like, that sounds like a bearing, or another time its the brakes or when I said the hood frame rattles she assured me it was the passenger seatbelt spool. A number of times I said she's got it wrong but it was me that was wrong, as you say I learnt, not to ignore her suggestions or audio diagnosis. Are you sure your TMPS works off a tyre valve transmitter, if so it needs pairing, if it's the other system (off ABS ring) then it might be a problem with the sensor, its connection(s) or wiring at sensor end or anywhere back to reporting module. Usual diagnostic checks and using all the diagnostic tools available and not just scan tool as outlined before and shown in good diagnostic videos like the ones Milligan Auto Diagnostics posts and a number of other good and proper diagnostics people. Never just trust what a computer, or any other diagnostic tool, tells you without first checking the tool is fully functioning and then check and cross reference any results. If you follow a machine/tool error from the machine or you not setting up or testing it then you can waste lots of time and possible introduce more errors and issues. Good luck.

Ootohere might reply with the links later. If I forget to turn of the stop/start on my wife's 2015 5-speed manual the engine will restart when stationary can't remember the details, perhaps when releasing clutch in neutral, perhaps with handbrake on but I can't remember, I do know the engine will stop when I stop to sift to reverse gear to line up to reverse car on to hardstanding which is a PITA and not "simply clever" of VW's computer programming engineers, the car thinks it knows what I am doing, and perhaps with more modern system it also thinks it know what I want to do, but it can be wrong with both, the computer programs are far too dumb for that, yet, or ever. Having stop/start with a manual boxes has enough quirks for me I'd not want to combine it with an auto box. If you get answers from VWSkoda it'd be interesting to know them.

Sorry I can't find anything either but I don't think I imagined it, @Ootohere is good with DSG and searches, I'm stuck for what words and terms to try Gogle jumps on the words that give a different result. I can't even find stuff I know I've put up nowadays, perhaps Elon is against me. 😁

Only the usual, Dealership, eBay, it is perhaps more P&P than it's worth from Skoda parts suppliers abroad but you could look. https://www.skoda-parts.com/online-store.html https://7zap.com/en/catalog/cars/Skoda/ Yeah well known to some "classic" car owners, if your engine is the CAXA then this is the oil I found but never trust any source of information on things like this without checking and cross referencing for yourself, Multivis CST HP 5W-40. - https://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/ https://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/products/auto/automotive-engine-oils/multivis-cst-hp-5w-40-engine-oil.html https://www.morrislubricants.co.uk/products/16_5f2006e71b8ea.pdf 16_5f2006e71b8ea.pdf

I do not know the carb at all so better for others to comment. if the read lines are those very small red lines then, to me it looks low but the float is very deep and depends what all those markings are about.

Sorry yes I did by your test track thing. For DSG start stop brake pedal thing also have a look here and in Mk3 Fabia and other model forums for what other owners have found with this and do about it.

Depends on the space available and angle but the two-hammer method can work, particularly with a second pair of hands on a lever bar if room. Working of a car from the ground outside is not ideal or fun (or sensible for later in your life). Too late now, but in UK we have places that can make real steel springs for low cost that could outlast the car, they can be made to the size and rate you want or to factory, much better than the factory or replacements, I am surprised you don't have such places, as the UK has lost all it's skills but still has a few of these types of places around. Great to have such a report/guide to such work. I think the dampers must have been in a shocking (pun intended) state possible from when you got the car, as said there is loads of travel for a wheel to hang down a pothole. You thinking all old cars are slow and do not drive well is common to what others that do not know think which is why I always suggest where possible to try driving as many many good mechanical/electric examples of the same car before buy so that you know how well they could or should go compared to potential purchases. But life is all about learning and experiences, just that it is less expensive to learn from other people's mistakes, I have about six lifetimes of them for cars old cars alone. 😆

A good call as sticking could be away from point of idle, not noticeable under foot and pedal and carb return to normal resting so not showing up at idle. Also free movement of accelerator pedal, pivot point or bush if pendant type or hinge if floor mounted type. If accelerator cable is bent or frayed it best replaced. Again it might not be cause or sole cause but worth checking on an old car new to you if you have not already done so.