Octy-PHEV

I've found this to be a particular problem on single track rural roads. If I meet someone and need to reverse smartly into a passing place, there's nearly always a blade of grass there that causes the brakes to slam on (if I haven't remembered to disable that 'feature'). The other driver waiting to pass must think I'm a total wally!

The link between the ACC speed target and what TSR thinks the limit is, is controlled by a setting called "speed limit preview". See https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/538558-hows-this-for-good-range-but/?do=findComment&comment=6009108

You can disengage ACC from changing the target speed based on what TSR is reporting (at least you can on my 2023 PHEV). The setting is not well described. It's something like "speed limit prediction". I wasn't so bothered about it reducing to 50 when passing the site of long completed motorway roadworks ( with no signs now present). It was the automatic speeding up to 70 when it had passed the site that I found alarming. I set my ACC to 60 or 65. I think it is dangerous for this to ever get automatically raised to higher than you've chosen manually.

This works for an Octavia, so probably will also for a Superb: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/538755-reset-oil-change/

Try this ( links to a YouTube video, which worked for me): https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/499496-oil-and-service-inspection-reset/

I've found that, even in places where there are no traffic signs, the speed limit indication is markedly different if you have traffic sign recognition enabled. I know this, because I had a month's free trial of TSR, but was glad when it ended. With TSR it seems to be accessing a second on-line data set, different from the sat nav one. I was getting all sorts of phantom limits showing for which there were absolutely no signs for the camera to spot - mainly 50 mph on motorways for sections where there had presumably been roadworks in the past. If you do have TSR, it may be this second data set that's causing the problems, which would explain why an update to the sat nav data doesn't help. When my TSR trial ended, I found the normal sat nav data to be much more reliable.

I find Park Assist on my 2023 Octavia useful. When parallel parking, I think it can sense the kerb line (if distinct enough), not just vehicles either side. It seems to always put the tyres a neat 10 cm from the kerb. For 90° parking it's got me safely into really tight spaces I wouldn't have risked trying myself, with as many as 10 forward and back movements before it's happy! There does have to be a car either side for this - it can't interpret the white line around the bay. The problem then is how to open the driver's door sufficiently to get out!

I found during my one month free trial of Traffic Sign Recognition that the most noticeable effect was to pickup some remote data source different from the normal satnav. I also had phantom 50s where there had previously been roadworks, but now there was not a sign in sight ( on the M4 in my case). It also routinely gave me 70 mph when I was on a 30 mph road passing over a 70 one, and some other repeatable errors. It did also actually read some signs and was about 80% accurate in reading overhead variable limits on the motorway, and picked up a limited range of warning signs to show for just 7 seconds after passing them. Overall, I was relieved to go back to just the (pretty reliable) satnav indication of permanent limits.

I didn't need my email address or PIN, but it did revert my chosen measurement units. Is US gallons really the default for working out mpg?

I think that's a mild hybrid MHEV. You can't plug it in but it recuperates energy when decelerating into a smallish (48V?) battery.

Same for me. It was on version 1940 when I collected it in November 2023 and it's been perfectly behaved ever since, including getting 2 over the air updates.

Lots of cars of various makes have had the front radar sensor stolen, and they can still pass the MoT. Seems to be a particular problem with VW Golfs, and it costs £1000s to replace, so some people don't bother (particularly if they park in an area where such theft is prevalent).

Yes, good point. I really didn't expect to be successful when I started, so I wasn't thinking of recording my efforts as a tutorial 😕

I thought other Octavia owners might have had this problem, but couldn't find anything posted. So here's how I fixed it. The black plastic lowest portion of the rear bumper popped out from being connected to the body-coloured part immediately above, as a result of a light contact with a low barrier when parking. After levering up the tabs, so that they would engage with the slots in the coloured bit, no amount of pushing or thumping on the black bit would get them to re-engage, as the coloured plastic just deflected backwards. I thought I was going to have to take the bumper off, as access to the back of the coloured plastic is hampered by the steel reinforcing strut in the bumper. I managed to do if without by placing a suitable length of stout wood pressed tightly against the black plastic and secured to the ground behind the car, and then rotating an L-shaped steel bar from under the car against the back of the coloured plastic (just under the strut) as each tab position. It gave a very satisfying click when it re-engaged! Hope that helps someone (and it's a reminder to me, in case I ever need to do it again 😁)

When 100% charged, the highest electric range my 2023 Octavia iV has ever told me I have is 41 miles (=66 km). As others have said, that takes into account my driving style on recent trips (mainly level, fairly slow urban driving with the air con off). I do get roughly the range the car indicates with the same type of driving in the summer. With the heating or a few hills though, it drops dramatically.

Is it under warranty? Many years ago I had the battery fail on an 18-month-old Passat. Got it to the dealer by jump-starting it, and they replaced the battery for free. So they can fail early if there was some manufacturing fault.

On my 2023 Octavia iV I get a range of about 40 miles in the summer with the air con off and about 35 in the winter. The most electric range it's ever told me I have is 41 miles. This is on urban trips of up to 5 miles on fairly level roads. However on longer trips on just electric I've often had the car report consumption of 4.7 miles/kWh. That implies that if (say) 10 kWh of the battery is usable, the range ought to be 47 miles. It's very dependent upon gradients though - it's much lower if you have some hills to negotiate.

I found that for the month I was trialling traffic sign recognition on my 2023 Octavia, I was getting lots of phantom 50 mph warnings popping up (also mainly on M4) even though there were no such signs. Presumably it was remembering where roadworks were. But now the trial has expired, the speed indication on the satnav is correct. My conclusion is that 'traffic sign recognition' is doing more than just looking for signs. It seems to be accessing some static GPS-based dataset, separate from normal satnav one. The trial wasn't very effective for picking up variable speed limits on the overhead gantries. It only got about half correct.

I've had to switch off in my 23 Octavia the link between the car's idea of the speed limit and the ACC target. I've had the same as you on the M4: several times my chosen cruise speed was suddenly upped to 70 when I reached the end of a former 50mph temporary limit. To do this you go into ACC settings and switch off "Speed limit preview". But it remains poor that the car thinks so many sections of former roadworks are still 50 mph. If the map data is only updated a couple of times a year (if that), it shouldn't have temporary limits in at all, as they will be long gone before the map is next updated. And why isn't the camera being relied upon more to make use of observed signs, or absence thereof?

I've just signed up for a month's free trial of TSR. So far it has recognised the following UK warning signs: Roadworks Children (school) Bend (left/right distinguished) Side road or crossroads (all rendered as crossroads) Road narrows Other danger ( ! sign) Warning signs it doesn't recognise include low bridge, ridden horses, traffic signals. On the 'binacle' display behind the steering wheel, the warning sign is shown beside the current speed limit for about 7 seconds. On the map on the central infotainment display it appears with the speed limit superimposed on top of it, so is unreadable! I'm still trying to work out how the interaction between the stored map data and the observed signs affects what speed limit is shown. It's always the same on both displays (after a 1 second delay), but they're quite often wrong for short distances. It's often too high (in one case showing 70 on a 30 mph road), so it's not just picking the lower one.

It's common for the 12V battery to fail, but I don't recall any recent mentions of the messages "Electric Drive not working," or "Engine limited to 3000rpm".

I've only got 50 out of 100 for "Night driving/ Rush hour"! What does the app think I'm doing wrong ? Is any driving after dark or in times it considers rush hour marked down as bad? Is it monitoring speed and frequent stops to try to deduce congestion? Luckily this just makes the overall score less valuable to an insurance company or anyone else snooping.

Yes, agreed. That's how I use it. I sometimes go several weeks without starting the petrol engine.

Sorry, I don't understand your comment. My post was just about a 29 mile journey all on battery. What makes you think I use the petrol engine when not necessary?

My daughter and I did the identical 29 mile journey starting on M25, then through rural roads, keeping one behind the other at the same speed. Her 2025 Born did 4.8 miles/kWh. My 2023 Octavia running purely on electric did 4.7. I think that goes to show that there's no penalty in lugging around an unused petrol engine and fuel tank in a PHEV over the extra weight of a larger battery in pure BEV.