CJJE

Hi Fux, The air recirculate button is the 2nd from the right at the top of the picture. (With an icon showing a circular arrow in a car) Chris

Yes, I realise that, but I understand the car will revert to Normal each time it's started. The OBDeleven experts tell me that they don't think the MY21 Karoqs have been SFD'd, so we should be alright for the time being. My car was built last week, and is now en-route to Emden, so I should know whether buying the OBDeleven widget was worth it or not in a few weeks time.

I received an email from Skoda UK on the 30th of July saying, “We’ve received your new Škoda Karoq order. Christopher, your order has been received. Our journey starts here. We have now received your order for your brand new Škoda Karoq. Our expert technicians will soon be putting your new car into production. They’ll make sure it matches your specifications and requirements exactly before it leaves our factory in perfect condition. And just so you know, we’ll keep you up to date with the progress of your car. So please keep a look out for any future emails from us. “Where you’re at: Order confirmed.” (The next stages were shown as 'In production', 'On its way', and 'At Retailer'. However, I've not received any more emails from them. Instead, I contacted Skoda UK via Twitter Direct Messaging, which produces very fast responses. Ideally they want your eight digit order number, but they were able to track my order from my name, address, email address, and retailer. On the 21st September, they told me, "Your order number is xxxxxxxx for future reference. We can confirm that your KAROQ Sportline 2.0 TSI has been Factory ordered and has an unconfirmed production week. The unconfirmed production week is the week commencing the 12th October 2020.” On the 8th of October, a request for an update produced, “Your Karoq has been given a confirmed build slot of week 42, so will go into production during next week.” On the 20th of October, I was told that it was currently in the production process (although that was week 43). Then today, I was told it had a build date of the 21st October, and was now on its way to Emden. So why they promise updating emails only to then ignore you I do not know. Skoda UK should either follow through with updating emails or not promise them in the first place!

You haven't got the air recycling turned on have you? (That closes off the air intake and prevents fresh air - and smells - from outside the car, but will make the car mist up more quickly.) If you also have the air-con turned off, turn that on as it dehumidifies the air (as well as cooling it in summer.) I always leave my climate control set to Auto Air Con for this reason. It prevents nasty smells and problems in the air con that can arise when it is turned off for long periods, and the effect on fuel consumption is pretty negligible.

LED bulbs are not type approved and so the MY21 Karoq will still use filament bulbs for the rear indicators and reversing light. For the amount of use they get, LED bulbs would not be cost-effective as they are much more expensive and the fuel savings through their reduced power consumption are negligible. (And of course the unofficial replacements use a power-hungry resistor to keep the CAN Bus happy, so they don't save any power at all.) The facelift Karoq will probably be the MY22 car!

If KESSY had been an option on my new car, it's one I wouldn't have chosen! I'm quite happy to press a button to unlock my car, and KESSY seems to be more trouble than it's worth! I know you can disable the KESSY function each time you lock the car, but that doesn't help if the keys themselves are at fault. I wonder if you can order the normal keys if use those instead?

That's handy... the My Volkswagen screen for my present Golf SV only tells me it was delivered (to me) on the 24th of February 2015 and not the build date.

The main problems people are reporting are due to the battery failing quickly if it wasn't being charged regularly while the car was in storage. Apparently the latest Stop/Start batteries don't take well to being left for months in a discharged state. So something to bear in mind should you have any battery problems while still in warranty.

Depends how pedantic an insurance assessor might be when you really need that insurance cover?

Looks like there is some good news about the SFD issue. An owner of a French MY21 Karoq reports in the OBD forums that he has managed to add many options and tweaks, but can't add long coding to the A5 module.: Hi everyone ! Just got a new MY21 Karoq last week (France) and Obdeleven dongle (the white one), and already managed to add many options & tweaks, this is just great ! When it comes to activating Lane Assist I have to do some long coding in A5 Module. Here is my problem, only adaptations work in this module, I cannot save any long coding as I get error 31 (function unavailable). Correct password entered, and I tested all the services available, nothing will do... I would like to know if there's a way to activate modifications in A5 Module, maybe some of you have faced the same issue ? So hopefully the Soundaktor access will be OK.

Hi DSL, The small print lower down explains this... * Full UK and European Roadside Assistance cover for 1 year from day of service. Applicable to all ŠKODA cars with the 3rd-10th service only when booked online. So we're covered for the first 3 years, but this kicks in after that, as long as you book a service online. (Does this include using the Connect service built-in to the car I wonder?) Chris

I think another reason is that the manufacturers are moving to sell additional features after the initial sale by letting the dealers enable them. Interestingly, this may evade the £40k VED hike if owners buy a car just below the threshold, then buying the extra options afterwards. But of course they don't want you adding the features yourself by accessing the software! I've also seen reports for Telsa cars where drivers had added options to their cars (via the dealers) and the options are then deleted when the car is P/Xed.

Many thanks for your reply. I'll try your coding on my car when it arrives and hope this control unit hasn't been locked down. My car will be a MY21 car, and it is not clear from the VAG info whether the SFD protection will only be added to new models, or to existing cars in production from spring 2020 on. The details of the changes are here: http://www.vag-com-espanol.com/EN_SFD-Manual_for_UMB.pdf Certainly from complaints on the OBD forum at https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/8199/post-2020-models-obd11-devices they seem to have seen newly produced cars that they can no longer access. I haven't seen any reports that the change is being rolled back onto older cars that I have seen.

Having bought an OBDeleven - primarily to turn off the childish Soundaktor device on my forthcoming Karoq - I am more than somewhat miffed to find that it might be more use as a paperweight! According to the OBDeleven forum (see https://forum.obdeleven.com/thread/8199/post-2020-models-obd11-devices ), VAG are locking down access to their cars' software via what is called SFD protection. It appears this will be used on all cars made from 2020 on (and not just new models as I understand it) so that only official dealers will be able to scan, read and edit the data. This will impact all scan tools apparently, unless they but a token from VW to enable access. Has anyone else come across this problem on new cars?

Perhaps the online map updates? Do you have to pay extra for the data downloads, or is it included in the free one year subscription? I can't see any details of this anywhere.

Yeh... sorry. I couldn't find the tongue in cheek icon :(

Isn't it just coloured wee? So could you just top it up for free??

MY21 Karoqs don't have a rechargeable torch in the boot anymore:( But if you move fast you can buy one from ALDI for £5.99! See https://www.aldi.co.uk/lightway-rechargeable-torch/p/801912398188200 I always like to keep a torch in my car, and this little one is fine for emergencies and recharges from a USB socket (with the appropriate adapter) or 12v adapter. Chris

See this thread for a discussion over the legality of adding unapproved LED bulbs to the exterior of a car: As they are not road-legal (acknowledged by reputable traders such as powerbulbs) you fit them at your own risk.

I updated my factory order in July (to add the Area View cameras) but didn't bother with the extra USB-C as the price seemed excessive and I'm not planning to add a dashcam. I hope I don't regret that decision in years to come!

Only provided if you thought ahead and selected it from the option list in the UK!

And I've also seen a thread on a VW forum from someone with a VW Arteon with the same problem. There it was suggested that the satnav only recognised a postcode once it had been near it! As the MIB3 satnavs download updates over the air when needed, I wonder if that means once you get near the destination it updates its local maps, and then has full postcode data for that area? And if you leave it long enough, will it update the whole of the UK maps to solve the problem? Thread at https://www.volkswagenforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=37021&p=129803#post129803 Dealers seem at a loss to solve the problem, but hopefully the November map update will help (assuming all the VAG software engineers haven't been diverted to working on the iD3/iD4/Enyaq!

This seems to be a software fault in the new MIB3 satnavs. There's a discussion about it in the Kamiq forum at

They seem to really want you to buy the USB-C socket on the internal mirror!

Frome the GEM website: "Not only is it an offence to supply car parts that purport to comply with certain regulations, yet do not, but also fitting and using them on the road is not permitted. However, it is possible that a car can pass an MoT Test with an LED conversion bulb fitted to an exterior lamp; this is because the MoT Test, generally, does not enforce Type Approval laws. Yet, you still risk being stopped by a police officer and prosecuted for driving an unroadworthy vehicle with them installed, as well as invalidating your insurance cover. "New bulbs are one of the few aftermarket replacement parts that have to comply with compulsory technical standards. The UK’s Road Traffic Act (1988) cites that it is an offence to supply, fit or use vehicle parts that do not comply with the required Construction and Use stipulations. Selling an LED conversion bulb might incite the driver to commit the offence of driving an unroadworthy vehicle, leading to a risk of a prosecution under Road Vehicles Construction and Use Regulations (1986) and the Road Vehicle Lighting Regulations (1989). Not even UK companies that specialise in automotive lighting and retail LED bulbs could tell GEM why they might not be breaking these regulations." If you modify your vehicle in a way that makes it unroadworthy, then your insurance will be invalidated.