BlackCat3000

All working again. I'd left the headlight switch on manual when fiddling around trying to get the warning display to sort itself out. Set it back to Auto and the coming home / leaving home is working normally again.

Thanks, DDYER79, it's reassuring that others have seen this and that it sorts itself out. Sure enough, this morning it was almost back to normal - everything is ok now except the coming home & leaving home lighting functions, which seem to have stopped working. I've been through the setup in the MFD and disabled/re-enbabled them without success. Maybe they'll just re-appear in the next day or so? If not, I can wait until the next service is due and have it looked at then.

2009 Superb SE 2.0 CR 170, 22,500 miles. Just got into my car again this evening after driving home (when everything was fine) and had the following problems: The courtesy lights came on only for a couple of seconds. The dashboard display indicates a blown bulb. The MFD display cycles round "Check front right indicator bulb", "Check front left inicator bulb" and goes through every bulb in the car. The indicator repeater in the dashboard flashes and ticks at double speed, suggesting a blown indicator bulb. However, all bulbs appear to be working, so I'm at a loss to explain any of this. Any ideas, anyone? Thanks, BlackCat3000

I've had lots of problems with the HRW on my 2009 2.0 TDI hatchback. I found that the HRW had failed completely shortly after I bought the car at 9 months and 2,200 miles old. The window was replaced under warranty in 2010 and was working again but I was never very impressed with it. It failed completely in December 2011 and went to my Skoda dealer in January for repair but they couldn't find anything wrong with it. Worried that it might run out of warranty while this problem existed, I contacted customer services at Skoda UK and they arranged for it to go back to the dealer, advising them what to check next. It turned out that of the two earth wires that go from the tailgate to the roof, one was damaged and the other was burned out (!). After 2 visits to my dealer and a total of 4 days driving a courtesy car, the HRW is now working very well indeed - better than ever, in fact. I can't believe I've tolerated it for the last two years in its badly-working state. Skoda UK has offered to perform the next service for free as compensation for all the inconvenience - how's that for customer service? :love:

Hello Richard. Yes, the repair to the ignition switch has fixed everything - not a hint of any problems now, it's like they never happened. Cheers, BlackCat3000

Roadcrafty is correct here but it leaves me wondering what is the real purpose of the HRW in Skoda's eyes, since the dealer told me that the demisting of the interior glass surfaces is a function of the car's ventilation system (above 4C, at least). Guess that's their take on it but I'm not inclined to agree entirely. My old Superb's HRW would shift condensation from the outside but this one doesn't. Reckon I'll just have to learn to live with it and get a life. :yes:

There's more than just a whiff of BS in the air. This morning it was 6.5C and I squeegee'd the condensation off the outside of the rear window before driving off. Within a couple of minutes inside of the rear window fogged up a bit so I turned on the HRW, thinking I was going to be wasting my time. Sure enough, though, the heater cleared the window reasonably quickly, so this 4C thing is definitely garbage. Maybe the heater is just feeble compared to the one on my old Superb?

Mitchell Skoda told me that the heated mirrors operate on the same principle - if you switch them on above 4C then they won't actually do anything unless the temperature falls to < 4C. This is, supposedly, so that you can leave the switch set on all the time without using juice to power them unless it is really necessary. I've logged a question with Skoda UK to see what is their take on this. If the 4C thing is true then I won't know for sure whether the flipping thing works until next October/November!!

My rear window heater has never worked properly since I've had the car. Mitchell Skoda diagnosed a faulty heater element and the rear window was replaced under warranty about 10 days ago. This morning was the first chance I've had to test the repair; there was a thin layer of condensation on the outside of the window and I switched on the HRW to clear it. The dashboard warning light and the Bolero display confirmed that it had been switched on (as did the relay "tick" from the depths of the dashboard) but there was no effect whatsoever on the window. The ambient temperatire was 9C - 10 C. I called Mitchell Skoda to ask about this and they told me that the HRW does not work above 4C, even though the tell-tales suggest that it is on. Any fogging up of the INSIDE of the window is supposed to be sorted out by the car's ventilation system but the outside - well, that's your problem. Can anyone confirm that this is how their HRW behaves or am I being spun a yarn? It seems very odd that Skoda would decide for me that the HRW should not work obove 4C - we've all seen windows fog up at temperatures much higher than 4C. Is this taking the control of global warming to extremes? :-) Many thanks, BlackCat3000

I had a similar problem with the airbag warning light, although I was seeing a few more faults as well. Mine was traced to a faulty ignition switched and I've had no further problems since it was replaced under warranty. Good luck with getting it sorted out.

The rear window heater is due to an unrelated manuacturing defect in the heater element contacts. Mitchell Skoda is taking it up with Skoda on my behalf - apparently Skoda has to see the fault and approve the installation of a replacement rear window. Something to do with Skoda needing to see the fault and collate statistics and chassis numbers in case recalls become necessary. Also due to the fact that genuine Skoda Superb rear windows are a bit thin on the ground, so it seems. I found out why my Park Assist was cancelling itself every time I tried to use it; Mitchell's advised me to adopt a totally "hands off" approach to the steering wheel when engaging Park Assist - the slightest touch on the steering wheel and the system thinks you're avoiding a pedestrian and switches off. I tried it this morning and allowed the system to select a gap about 4 feet longer than the car (and which I would have probably bottled out of if I'd been parking the car manually) and the system popped the car into the gap first time. I am so impressed! :yes:

Hi Odsak. Apart from being unsure that my rear window heater is working (and still waiting for the right weather conditions to test it), all is well with my car since the ignition switch was repaired. If you have front parking sensors then there will be a switch front & right of the gear lever gaiter. It lights up in orange when activated. I think the front sensors are an option even on the SE - my car was previously owned by Skoda (for all of 2,200 miles) and they'd seen fit to install front sensors and Park Assist but I haven't had the courage to test Park Assist yet (maybe on a quiet road when no-one is looking...). As RoadCrafty says, the keyfob can be used to fold/unfold the mirrors but if you want to prolong the keyfob battery life then you can always use the mirror control joystick on the driver's door to fold them in and out. My mirrors don't unfold with the ignition, though (at least not just by switching on the engine), are they supposed to? I didn't get a first-aid kit with my car - is one supposed to be included? Good luck with getting yours fixed, BlackCat3000

Hi Odsak. Apart from being unsure that my rear window heater is working (and still waiting for the right weather conditions to test it), all is well with my car since the ignition switch was repaired. If you have front parking sensors then there will be a switch front & right of the gear lever gaiter. It lights up in orange when activated. I think the front sensors are an option even on the SE - my car was previously owned by Skoda (for all of 2,200 miles) and they'd seen fit to install front sensors and Park Assist but I haven't had the courage to test Park Assist yet (maybe on a quiet road when no-one is looking...). As RoadCrafty says, the keyfob can be used to fold/unfold the mirrors but if you want to prolong the keyfob battery life then you can always use the mirror control joystick on the driver's door to fold them in and out. My mirrors don't unfold with the ignition, though (at least not just by switching on the engine), are they supposed to? I didn't get a first-aid kit with my car - is one supposed to be included? Good luck with getting yours fixed, BlackCat3000

Nice car and a very stylish photo. With your car and photographic talent you could make good money doing weddings...

Hi Odsak. I'm glad this is of interest to you. The ignition switch was replaced today and it's early days, but so far the result is: 1. The airbag warning light has gone out. 2. The radio did not flicker on or off once during my 20-mile trip home. I'd barely gone 2 miles on the way to the Skoda garage this morning before it started to misbehave. 3. The parking sensor display comes on now (and replaces the radio display) when engaging reverse or selecting the front sensors. 4. The radio now switches off automatically when I withdraw the ignition key (to answer your question, it was staying on previously, so I don't think you're doing anything wrong). One other fault that came to light after my previous post was that the rear window heater was not working. Mitchell Skoda are fairly confident that it will work now that the ignition switch has been replaced but I need the right weather conditions to test it properly. They were spot on with their time estimate for replacing the ignition switch (90 minutes) and very kindly washed the car, too. Result! I'd keep an eye open for other signs of electrical weirdness, Odsak; it looks like the ignition switch problem can cause all sorts of seemingly unrelated problems. Cheers, BlackCat3000