Cranium6

Like others I decided to reject my PHEV Skoda. Fortunately my dealership was very helpful and supported my claim. The process took about a week. As mentioned in another thread I reserved the right to reject my car when it broke down after 13 days. Skoda CS were of little help and could offer no date for a fix. For the 2 months I had the car the number of problems/errors grew and so I was left with no choice - a pity as I liked the car very much. Having had problems with 2 previous new cars (a Citroen PHEV and a Fiat EV) although not as serious as the Skoda, it is clear manufacturers are pushing these technically advanced cars out without being properly tested.

After several calls to Skoda CS regarding this problem they could offer no date for when a fix would be issued. In the meantime more warning messages appeared if the car was not used for two days - I think due to the 12v battery becoming v low. After 4 days unused I had two more problems - the drivers window would not shut when opened briefly, it would bounce back to half open and required a shutdown/restart. The second problem was the car refusing to power up - after 3 attempts it said move the steering wheel ! It then started? I decided a week ago to reject the car and learnt later in the week this had been accepted. (I had reserved the right to reject the car when it broke down after just 13 days of ownership). For the 2 months I had the car the Skoda dealership were very helpful and supportive - something I was very grateful for. A great pity as I liked the car very much but had no confidence in Skoda issuing a fix(es) in any reasonable timeframe.

It is annoying having to turn off the various assists but not too difficult with shortcuts. Some assists are positively dangerous, lane keeping on narrow roads for ex. I think the bigger issue will come when insurance companies refuse to pay out after an accident because the assists have been turned off or they are not working due to grime on the sensors. Has this been tested yet?

Update: Collected my car this morning all working, but no update when fix may be available. Supposed to get an update from Skoda CS but not heard from them this morning. Did learn: Problem does not apply to DC charging. It is possible to set a reserve EV charge level for later use. If set to max charge the engine operates the majority of the time - tried this on my way back from the dealer and it works. Planning to measure/monitor the 12v battery level to see if discharging when parked up and when charging the EV battery.

This follows on from my thread , "no electric drive". It applies to the MY25 PHEVs My 2025 Superb PHEV lost electric and engine drive after 2 weeks of ownership. Fortunately I was parked at home. It was recovered to the dealership by low loader the following day. (Skoda assist and Enterprise car hire another story!) I will mention the AA diagnostic system would not connect to the car so no diagnosis possible. I managed to get the car working for it to go on the low loader the next day by fully charging the 12v battery. It transpires there is a Skoda technical bulletin warning this problem may occur if a particular EV charging scenario is followed. Skoda are keeping this very quiet and as yet have no fix. Over the following week the dealership ( who were very helpful and communicated what they were doing) proved this scenario caused the electric and drive systems to fail. So what is this scenario: The 12v battery should charge when the engine is running or the EV battery is on charge. Having parked up the car if it is then left standing for more than 6 hours and then put on charge the 12v battery is NOT charged but DEPLETED. When the car is then started the 12v battery holds insufficient charge for the "systems" to work and all drive is lost. I am collecting my car this morning and will "work around" the problem. I have registered that should I breakdown away from home or Skoda do not fix this problem urgently then I will be forced to reject the car. Skoda customer services are supposed to contact me today with an update on timescales to fix the problem - I am not hopeful... Additional info: I do not know if this applies to other Skoda models with the same PHEV system or ALL Superb PHEVs. Bad batch? Also if it applies to VW models with the same PHEV set up. I do not know if it applies to DC charging. 12v battery drain in PHEVs is a common problem to many brands when the car is used a lot in EV mode. - I experienced this on my previous car, not Skoda. The difference is that most PHEVs allow selection of EV or engine drive or both (hybrid). The Superb does not allow engine only drive - something I wish had known. it means you cannot reserve EV power for city use after driving to the city for ex. I will see how things go and update accordingly.

Car with dealership for 7 days. Looks to be a PHEV specific problem which may apply to all later Skoda PHEV models (and possibly VWs with same running gear). Skoda as yet do not have a fix and are being cagey about releasing any details. 12v battery depletion is the problem - something I have experienced on my previous PHEV and according to the AA and the low loader driver something they see a lot of ! I will start a new thread on this as it's specific to PHEVs. Currently hoping to get the car back tomorrow.

Found it thanks. Now facing more serious problems - see "no electric drive" thread.

Update: AA attended late pm - couldn't get their diagnostic equipment to work, tried for an hour and had to admit defeat. Requires 2FA before they can access!. Car now has no drive at all, engine will not start up. To make matters worse it's parked sideways on to a wall and at the front so getting it out now a problem. Putting in Neutral and disengaging park won't work - moves an inch and engages Park on drive and handbrake! Supposed to be picked up in the morning. Replacement car from Enterprise now a problem. 12v battery is not charging - checked handbook, its supposed to charge when you plug the EV battery in.

After just 2 weeks of ownership the car has to go back to dealer by Skoda assist. Charged car for 3hrs today. (having finally got flap open - frozen again). Start ignition only to change a couple of settings, all ok. then shut down and start car up to move it - message "error drive system please visit a workshop". Engine starts up and it will move but several warning lights, engine, car with ! and others. Advised by dealer not to drive - call Skoda assist. Checking the 12 v battery it reads 12.3v - I would have expected higher. Connected CTEK AGM charger and it shows a low charge. Currently charging to see if it improves things otherwise calling Skoda assist. Very disappointing. Anyone else experienced this issue?

Many thanks, did try to get that panel out - will have to try harder

Thanks - I was aware of Map issue, see prior posts. Battery must be in a different place on the Superb estate.

Can anyone tell me where the 12v battery is located on a Superb estate PHEV. I am aware there are terminals under the bonnet should I need to charge the battery, it's mainly for interest. I have a monitor(bluetooth) I used on my previous Phev (not Skoda) and may consider using it. Thanks

When mine froze it was +2C but with a wind chill taking down to -3C Ny traffic sign recognition sometimes get wrong - had this same problem on previous 2 cars. All this talk of cars being forced to stick to speed limits is not going to work if they rely on Traffic signs and/or GPS. Will raise battery location as a separate thread

2 weeks since I collected my SEL PHEV estate. As mentioned previously, the day before I collected the car I asked the dealership to check the latest SW was installed, and it was. On collection they told me the Map switch across to the drivers display was not working and they were waiting for an update. A little annoyed as during my test run of a PHEV Kodiaq I accidentally did the switch and it just said map loading. I explained this when I finished the test drive to the salesman whose car it was and was told, "dont worry". Thought I had somehow caused it. Would have preferred they just came clean on this. On second day of ownership several warning lights appeared. Contacted dealer who wanted the car returned. Having read this thread I decided to wait and see if it cleared. After a short run and a restart it was all back to normal. I have seen the odd "front collision" symbol at start up but it soon goes - frosty morning...perhaps. First attempt at charging was on a frosty morning - charge flap wouldn't open. There is no manual release for this. After several attempts lightly hitting the flap it opened - frozen perhaps - how would it work in Scandinavian countries?? Problem not reappeared. Also had the charge plug lock in. There is a manual release - best of luck getting to it! Involves removing plastic shroud over width of car below the windscreen wipers and then says take car to dealer. Locked/unlocked the car several times and it came free. Otherwise car has been free of troubles and I'm enjoying it. Still to work out and set all the many functions but doing it gradually. I see some have cured problems by charging the 12v battery. I am hoping this won't be necessary as on my previous car, C5 phev, if the car wasn't used for three days issues would arise, no keyless operation, no pure EV mode etc. Found I had to charge the 12v battery weekly to stop this. Citroen I discovered had even put an additional 12v battery in the boot, probably to overcome this. I have read somewhere that when charging the Superb EV battery the 12v battery is charged as well. Cant remember where I saw this - possibly in the hdbk. Hoping this is the case as it makes a lot of sense. Can anyone tell me where the 12v battery is on the PHEV model, I have yet to do a thorough search but pretty sure its not under the bonnet - no space (unless its buried ) and the hdbk says there are terminals under the bonnet should the battery need charging. It is concerning when virtually all new cars with so much technology are delivered with problems. The customer should not be the last Quality Control stage.

As sent by salesman: