spcdust

I would call the selling dealership speak directly to the manager and read them the riot act. Say you are contacting Skoda directly whatever as clearly they haven't done the necessary checks and then see what they might offer. Obviously follow everything up with an email. I honestly feel for @sam8520 as the whole thing just leaves a bad taste in your mouth and having such a negative experience. After your home, the cost of a car is a huge financial outlay and it's dis-respectful that they are so gung-ho in their approach to selling you a vehicle.

Yes and no, they aren't great but I managed to squeeze them to pay for a firmware update that the local dealer had no choice but to charge me for.

Does not install faith in the Skoda Approved Used car scheme at all. What do you propose to do? Go back to the seller with this and allow them the opportunity to pay for the necessary work. If the car is otherwise sound that would be my inclination as then you know everything is good once work is completed but understandable if you just reject the car outright. Another option is to contact Skoda UK directly, I have the email address of the CEO, you can email him - obviously, he doesn't deal with it but you are assigned a single point of contact in the Executive Team who could address these issues. Not to put too fine a point on it the report is damning and completely undermines the Skoda Approved Used Car promise - it's potentially something a consumer rights journalist would be interested in.

Happy to be corrected but I thought hard wired it’s 15 Watts but via the actual USB port, the wattage is lower. Honestly, don't take that as gospel as I likely picked that information up from some forum source

I believe the wattage is limited by the output of USB-C port in the car so I guess even if you got a 15 Watt capable device it would only give an output of around 7-8 Watts.

I think you have a strong case for them to fix any brake issues and, asking for a copy of the checklist for the vehicle is a smart move - sends a strong signal that you aren't a walkover. Getting the 2-year warranty, service, and MOT package thrown in at no additional cost is a great deal. Hopefully, it will all get sorted and then you will have a great car but you have to question why they make it all so damn hard in the first place making the customer do all the running around. I have my own tale of dealing with Skoda to get my car to where it needed to be and whilst my local dealership does seem to be good (independently family-owned and not part of a wider network) Skoda UK customer service is terrible.

I think we can take a lot of the multipoint checks with a pinch of salt as they clearly aren’t that rigorous in the application of them. However, at least there is the 12 month warranty that we can use across the Škoda dealer network which is actually worth something.

Interesting posts. Bought mine with 16600 miles on the clock and done approximately 8000 miles and. fingers crossed, no brake issues that I am aware of.

It's tricky when purchasing a used car - you think you have done all the necessary research but unless you know what specific issues to look for you can easily miss them. You mention known brake problems on the Mk4 Octavia - I seem to have missed this but interested if you have links to any discussions on this. Good to have knowledge in case of anything in the future.

If the brake issue is sorted and they apply the right software updates they are excellent cars and a pleasure to drive. Skoda / VAG dropped the ball initially releasing shoddy unstable software which, after an extended time, they have now fixed via updates. What it does mean is there are a lot of cars still out there with unstable versions of the software that need updating.

Worth noting, The Skoda Approved Used Car warranty excludes software/firmware updates - I find this laughable as modern cars revolve around software and module firmware. You should be okay as these should have been done as part of the pre-sales checks and also you are experiencing specific issues but worth knowing for the future if a workshop throws that back at you/

Brake shudder I can't comment on, but points 2 and 3 should all be fixable through software and firmware updates. The Telematics module will need a firmware update which should solve the SOS / Pop Pop issue and the same for Cruise control. Also, insist the dealer update you to at least infotainment software version 1941 if not the very latest 1969 version which has only been available for a few weeks. Do not accept the line "We can't do that, but it will you'll get it OTA". They can and they should. I have an SEL Estate First Edition and it's good now. When I first got it the SOS module would crash almost every journey, usually accompanied by Pop Pop sound, which would also affect the Infotainment software, specifically Sat Nav position. Purchased mine in October 2023 Skoda Approved but, like many, despite the promise that the software would be all updated it came with an older version that was very unstable. Had to take it to my local Skoda dealer to get the Telematics module firmware updated as well as the Infotainment system software. My advice, write down a list of issues you are experiencing and what resolutions you expect so there are no "misunderstandings", try to talk directly with the Master Technician and confirm on the phone, before collection, precisely what they have done (the service front desk are often clueless so speak with the Master Tech). Read through the forum, I posted a pdf of a Skoda-issued TPI document (basically a document that details symptoms and what the workshop should do to resolve them) which you could print out and refer to.

I tried the onboard navigation when I had an active subscription and found it very lacking. Seemed to not be aware of some major roadworks and sent me down a dead-end route adding 5 miles onto my journey due to the road being closed. For me, the speed camera database is imperative as is the way it warns you and I can't fault Tom Tom Go via Carplay. Every camera seems to be logged, audible alerts in good time as you approach a camera even if you are under the speed limit, and shows your average speed whilst driving through average speed camera zones, also includes traffic light cameras and obviously live traffic. You can localise the maps to your phone and these are very regularly updated. I pay £29.99 a year for a family subscription so is shared with my wife and worth it. I do sometimes use Waze for my short commute in London as its routing choices can be useful in rush hour.

You can never be sure what to believe. My Škoda workshop say that I should receive OTA updates but, let’s face it, they often don’t know the full facts. Same with Škoda UK customer service who are particularly clueless. I wouldn’t be surprised if all hardware configurations are capable of receiving OTA updates, bear in mind, that version 1941 would have been the first major update that was delivered OTA, but the staggered rollouts could leave you waiting for a long while before it gets to you. Also, the way Škoda updates are delivered is not great, you get a quick message flash up which you have to quickly say “Yes” to but then scant information how the update is progressing and no history of what or if an update was applied.

Curious to hear wether and//or how you have resolved this. One thought was to redownload the update, put it on the USB stick, and see if you can initiate the update cycle again. A checksum error could indicate that one of the downloaded files got corrupted and when the system does a comparison of the file to the hexadecimal checksum it can see there is an issue?

As far as OTA Infotainment software updates go, and some other smaller updates such as car manual updates, as long as you are on the version prior to 1941 (version 1896?), don’t all Octavia MK 4 cars, in territories that support it, get these updates OTA? They are not just limited to more recent MK4 cars with specific hardware, it's more of a question of when your vehicle will be on the staggered roll-out schedule for the OTA updates. As far as firmware updates go, makes sense to limit these to being applied in the workshop as often the modules are critical to the operation of the vehicle. To some degree, I also understand the thinking “if it ain’t broken then don't fix it” that the workshops seem to adhere to. Although sometimes a little flex would be good it’s often a case of if the diagnostic systems don’t offer it they won’t apply it unless you push that you are suffering a specific issue.

Had a feeling the difference in user experience was likely due to Manual vs Automatic gearbox. I could see why it could be annoying in that scenario.

I am sure there is a perfectly reasonable answer but why do people have an issue with the Start/Stop function? I had it on my last car and now on my Octavia and never had an issue, always very responsive. I drive a petrol 1.5 TSI Manual gearbox if that makes any difference.

Check this thread out. I have posted new download links that you should be able to download the file from:

The fact that it was a VAG-wide issue still doesn't excuse the problems people faced. When someone pays £25,000+ for a new car and feels that they are Beta testers for badly implemented software, which is the centre of modern cars, that has multiple issues an apology, after the event, doesn't mean that much? Reading through the forums the frustration experienced by people going back to dealers time after time seeking a fix and none being available due to the inordinate amount of time it took VAG to get a stable version released leads to a very poor customer experience. It undoubtedly damages customer confidence and hurts brand reputation. It's all pretty stable now and luckily I bought my Octavia last year so escaped the worst of it, although I had to actively get the software and firmware updated to get a stable system. I love my Octavia but the damage to the Mk4 Ocvtavia reputation had already been done for many long-term Skoda customers.

Did you fit these without using the fitting template? They recommend you do but the template costs more than the sill protectors themselves' Llooking at the video it looks like they would be easy enough to fit without the template guide:

New Download Links: I have uploaded the file to a couple of my cloud services, and no password is required. Give them a try and let me know if they are working okay for you. The first link will likely become unavailable when it hits a bandwidth limit so best to download ASAP. https://e.pcloud.link/publink/show?code=XZVfN9Zh62r0cJ7y4YQMaldlQMJxbP78tTV Hopefully this link should work okay: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rT0eItntrx6zeUz0dMAnzpBKL5Ktswg7/view?usp=share_link If requests become to much I will likely have to restrict downloads but for the time being I'll keep them live and un-restricted.

Very unlikely they would update the Infotainment system software as a matter of course if you have not reported any associated issues - basically work on the principle of “if it isn’t broken….”. If you request they update it they of course would do it but as a chargeable job. As a side note it’s worth checking what your extended warranty covers. I have a Skoda Approved Used Car warranty on my 2021 Octavia but software, and I assume firmware, problems and updates are excluded.

Skoda now has a firmware update for the SOS / Telematics module which solves the issues and, it would seem, is no longer physically replacing the units. I assume, originally, they hadn't formulated a fix so replacement was the only course of action available. My module had the firmware updated and it went from crashing 8 out of 10 journeys to now being rock solid. Agree with @Markeknows, now the software issues are sorted it's a great car. Unfortunately, I think Skoda has damaged customers' trust and its reputation by initially releasing shoddy software and then taking a long time to sort it out.

Cannot argue that Skoda / VAG initially released shoddy software which they then took an inordinate amount of time to fix. I was fortunate that I bought my 2021 Octavia in October 2023 so, after applying software updates, it has been rock solid - had I experienced the grief that early purchasers endured I would have been very frustrated. The software has been good for quite a while now, especially since infotainment software version 1941, however, there are going to be cars still out there that need the updates to get them to that point. These forum groups are an invaluable resource for car owners.