Keld

Very interesting. Thanks

Thanks to all for the many responses to my question. However, the responses quickly turned into a discussion about software and firmware. I realise that the software level of the infotainment system probably has nothing to do with the draning of the battery. And yet, an infotainment system that doesn't shut down properly when the car is turned off may still drain the battery. The bottom line is that I have no overall knowlegde about how the various systems and computer units in my car interact with each other. Anyway, I just wanted to know how to locate my 12 Volt battery. My intention was to replace the battery myself when the time comes. And it will come, sooner or later, because no acid lead battery can endure repeatedly being discharged below 12 Volt. But now I have learned that a replacement of the battery can only be done by someone who knows about the coding of the battery. I assume that this coding is some kind of chip built into the battery in order to prevent us mortals from interfering with the servicing of our own cars. I'm afraid that the same level of ignorance as mine exists among a large percentage of the service persons at the dealers. People who are supposed to help me instead of telling me fairy tales.

I don't think that I am reticent. I am obviously unable to solve the problem by myself so I have a running discussion with my Skoda dealer who doesn't seem to realise that there is a problem. His only advice to me is to connect a charger to my 12 Volt battery with regular intervals, apparently not realising that the repetitive drainings of the battery will kill it eventually and much too soon. Anyway I'll ask him to do the latest software updates to my car. Do any of the updates like the 1941 or the 1969 solve the problem with the draining of the battery?

A well written software would put the system into sleep mode when the battery tension drops below 12.5 Volts. If the system drains the battery in sleep mode then somebody at Skoda needs to go back to the drawing board. According to what I have heard and read about PHEVs then the 12 Volt batteries have had problems in several PHEV car brands incl. Ford. It seems as though some of the car owner´s drive patterns difer from what the car builders expected. If you, like I, drive many short trips in e-mode then you will regularly have to put a charger to your 12 Volt battery. The charging of the High Voltage battery alone doesn't seem to suffice. Choosing the hybrid drive mode seems to keep the 12 Volt battery happy. Then you could ask yourself why the Skoda PHEV defaults to e-mode when starting the car. I still haven't tried long time parking at an airport. (I don't dare)

There is a 12 Volt cigarette lighter socket in the bagage compartment and no, there is nothing plugged into this socket. Modern computer controlled cars will have some draining of the battery while parked, but a well written software would prevent the battery from being drained beyond the point where the car would be unable to start let alone be able to open the doors with the electronic keys. If some specialist can change the battery then so can I. I just needed to know where to look for the 12 Volt battery, so thanks to all for their contributions to this thread

I fully agree with both of you. But this question of mine is not a about a flawed software, allowing this condition to exist, but a question about how to locate my 12 Volt battery.

Thanks for your answer. I realise that the 12 volt battery is charged while charging the HV battery but that does not suffice. After charging the HV battery I can measure 13.5 volts on my 12 Volt battery but it only lasts a few hours. The tension then slowly drops to 12,1 volts after 10 hours. and keeps on dropping. Somebody at the Skoda dealer tried to convince me that it would stop at 11.5 Volts and that a tension of about 11.5 volts would be fully acceptable. A statement that I cannot accept, having dealt with 12 volt acid/lead batteries for many years. But it still leaves me without knowledge about where to locate the 12 Volt battery in my car. I could of course start removing several covers in the back of the car, but I hoped it would be easier to ask here.

Last year, in May 2023, my local Skoda dealer finally caved in to my demands about replacing my car´s 12 Volt battery with a new one under the warranty. After having experienced several incidents with a car that did not react to the electronic key and thus barred the access to the car, I demanded that Skoda should fit a new 12 Volt battery in my car. Of course I was able to get access to my car using my mechanical key. Opening the bonnet and measuring the voltage of the battery to below 6 Volts made me realise that this battery was damaged beyond repair. At that time the car was less than two years old. My first car in 1966 was a Triumph Herald. In spite of its beauty it was an industrial heap of junk but the battery lasted all of its lifetime (8 years). Now, 58 years later, I must accept a battery lifetime of two years unless I regularly connect a charger to the terminals in the engine compartment. I have to, because I mostly drive short distances only in e-mode. This was why I purchased a PHEV. And now I would like to know if anybody could tell me where to find the 12 Volts battery in my car because sooner or later I will have to replace it again and I would hate to pay Skoda for doing it.

So, if I should draw a conclusion from this thread then it would be to let your Skoda dealer do the necessary upgrades unless you want to risk ending up with a car with greater problems than the ones you want to solve. I hate to say this because I agree with those who say that Skoda should finish the job and deliver a flawless software instead of charging their customers for the shortcomings of Skoda´s software. In my world, a chargeable software is one that will provide you with new functions and benefits. It's a disgusting policy to charge for an upgrade that will only repair faults found in earlier versions of the software.

Hi: This is my first post in this forum. My car's software level is 1803. I've been following this thread with great interest and been wondering whether update 1941 or 1969 will have any influence on my problem with my navigation system that last october suddenly forgot all of its favorites and also forgot its home address. Reentering its home address will only make it remember it until the car is shut down. Very annoying since I have spent several hours entering my favorite places, copied from my Garmin GPS.