CJJE

Bring back the choke knob, and SU carburettors

You do seem to ask the same question time and time again There's a Skoda explanation here https://www.skoda-storyboard.com/en/models/skoda-4x4-your-best-bet-in-the-snow/ which talks about how to drive a Karoq in the snow, and it mentions that "Of course, the throng of electronic stability systems, combined with the Snow driving mode, have got your back and will help to keep the car under control even in fraught situations. On the other hand, if you switch to a sportier mode for wheel spins and bigger skids, you’ll find gliding and watching snow fly in all directions a lot of fun." It then goes on to say that "Needless to say, 4×4 drive ŠKODAs are not afraid of off-road terrain, even when it’s covered in snow. As with on-road driving, when you’re off-road, fluidity, correctly gauging your speed and sensitive handling are essential. The wheels need to be in constant rotation because if they lock or spin you won’t be able to actively control the car." and "Turning on the Off-road driving mode can be a great help as it allows the car to overcome obstacles that would otherwise be insurmountable. And if you’re unsure what exactly is lying in wait for you ahead, don’t hesitate to get out of the car and walk some of the route on foot – this is still easier than having to shovel your car out if it gets stuck. “If you know what your car is capable of and what its limits are, you’ll be able to enjoy your 4×4 ŠKODA to the full,” explains Stuck." I've also seen it stated that "Off-Road mode is an extraordinarily complex assistant for more challenging off-road situations. The Off-Road Mode works at a speed up to 18mph, and its function can be divided into three main groups: start and traction support, braking support, and steep downhill support. When it’s activated, all the related assistance systems are switched into a special setting suitable for off-road driving. It is only suitable for driving on unsurfaced roads, and when switched on, it alters the characteristics of the ESC, ASR, EDL and ABS systems to give improved traction. (ESC helps to stabilise the vehicle by braking an individual wheel, ASR reduces the power to the wheels when they spin, EDL brakes a spinning wheel and transfers power to a different drive wheel, and ABS prevents a wheel locking under braking.)" While "Snow mode changes how the assistant systems behave so that they help the driver as much as possible on low-adhesion surfaces. The ABS anti-lock braking system, for example, allows for more wheelspin when braking to allow snow to accumulate in front of the tyres to increase the braking effect (the “wedge effect”). In turn, the anti-skid system allows for greater wheel rotation for better grip on winter tyres. The transmission shifts to higher gears at lower speeds than usual, and the accelerator pedal responds more slowly so as to prevent the wheels from jumping into spin with the added torque." Chris

You can get good prices from https://www.roofracks.co.uk/ . My preference is always for Thule bars and carriers, because they work well and can be kept and adapted with new feet when you change your car. To reach up on the roof, I find a small folding stool handy Chris

I've been reading through the owners handbook on this, and it seems to be linked to your Skoda User Account. I think it stores your personalised info to the 'cloud', and presumably accesses it via the car's mobile data link. The benefit seems to be that you can use your settings in any connected Skoda not just yours - although obviously your key won't work in it so I'm not too sure how! Have you signed up for the Online Services? And can anyone confirm this is a prerequisite for the personalisation to work??

Fair enough... I use a private plate as well which is one reason I wasn't bothered about buying an 'old' plated car, but I buy rather than lease so the discount covered the extra depreciation. Enjoy

If the dealer wants you to register it as a '20' reg rather than a '70' car, I'd push him for a discount! He's meeting his targets for August sales but you're getting a car that will not be worth as much as a '70' car. My VW dealer gave me £350 off my Golf SV when I agreed to let him register it on the 24th of Feb as a '64' car rather than a '05'.

Not sure that they'd allow all modes to be customised, but just having an option in the car settings menu would be possible.

If you mean can you update a MIB2 system to the latest MIB3, I think that is very unlikely to be just a matter of updating the software.

Did you have Hill Hold operating? Manual or DSG gearbox?

If you add too many goodies to almost any Kodiaq from SEL up, you run the risk of the list price plus options exceeding £40,000 - and then having to pay the higher rate VED for the next 6 years. Note the the list price is before delivery and OTR charges so the configurator will tend to exaggerate the problem as it quotes the full price.

@Tim1631 Mine will be a 2.0TSI Sportline when I get it. (As stated in my sig ) So it will apparently be fitted with the Soundaktor device, which will probably drive me nuts!

VAG bosses themselves have been critical of Skoda for being overcompetitive with VW pricing because of their cheaper labour costs in Czech factories as opposed to German ones. (And Seat Atecas for instance are built on the same line as Skoda Karoqs.) Presumably when Skoda had to shift some Karoq production to Germany while they refitted the Czech factory paint shop they had to just shrug and accept the extra costs involved!

Or fit it with a simple on-off switch at least!

It's always advisable to have the same tyres all round on any car, and so I rotate them every year so that they wear out together. (Although this does also contradict advice to have more tread on the rear wheels than the front for front-wheel drive cars!) Although if you say the rear tyres had worn out first, perhaps you'd already rotated them??

@e-Roottoot My experience was obviously much more limited than yours. I only drove one occasionally in the 1960s, and remember it mainly for an incredibly hard clutch and low rations which would see you revving like mad and getting nowhere fast!

Further reply from Carista to my enquiry whether I could use Carista to disable to Soundaktor: "Hello Chris, "We do have that feature in our app, and it's available for those models. We just don't know whether your specific vehicle supports it in advance. When you connect Carista to the car, the app will connect to your car's electronic modules and show you what customizations are possible for your specific vehicle. "From a technical point of view, there is no way to know the level of equipment in your car before you connect to it. That's the reason why we provide a sample of customizations on the website. The full list of available customizations for your specific vehicle will be available when you connect to it. "Let me know if you need more info, and I'll be happy to provide it. "Ivan Angelov "Head of Support @ Carista" So it still seems to be buying a pig in a poke... you need to buy it to be sure what it will do for you! Chris

Not sure if it's just the 190PS 2.0 TSI & 2.0TDI??

I emailed the suppliers recently to ask whether I could disable the Soundaktor in a Karoq Sportline, as they said you could do that in other VAG cars with a Soundaktor, but their response was not encouraging! All they could advise was that I should buy one to find what it could do!! As I told them, I consider that to be an odd marketing proposition - buy our product to find out whether it is useful for you! Other than that, a lot of the features seem to me to be reproduced in the car menu system, and others are of no interest to me (and some are illegal in the UK anyway. Their website quotes "Sample Customizations" as: Chassis & Engine Disable auto start/stop system (method A) Yes (12.1V limit) / Yes (12.0V limit) / No (9.0V limit) / No (8.2V limit) / No (8.0V limit) / No (7.8V limit) / No (7.6V limit) / No (7.4V limit) / No (7.0V limit) Disable auto start/stop system (method Yes / No Power steering default mode Driving profile selection / Comfort / Automatic / Dynamic / Default Throttle response behavior Gradual, controlled by time / Direct, controlled by threshold ESC / ASR ESC button inactive / ASR off / ESC sport / ESC off / ASR off / ESC off version 1 / ESC sport / ESC off version 1 / ASR off / ESC off version 2 / ESC sport / ESC off version 2 / ASR off / ESC sport Dings & Warnings Seat belt warning Enabled / Disabled Seat belt warning type Disabled / US/Canada style / Euro style Speed warning at 120 km/h (75 mph) Yes / No Ding when key is left in ignition Off / Driver's door / All doors Driver Assist Adaptive cruise control default distance menu in MMI Enabled / Disabled Dynamic start assist Early / Normal / Late Hill start assist disengagement Early / Normal / Late Heater & A/C Remember recirculating air state Yes / No / Timer based Show A/C blower speed when in AUTO Yes / No Temperature adjustment for hot countries Enabled / Disabled Instruments: Displays & Nav Gauge needle sweep at startup Yes / No Developer menu screen in MMI via holding MENU for ~10 seconds (req. Discover Pro) Enabled / Disabled Start screen logo (infotainment) None / Type 1 / Type 2 / Type 3 / Type 4 / Type 5 / Type 6 / Type 7 Start screen logo (instrument cluster) Type 1 / Type 2 / Type 3 / Type 4 / Type 5 / Type 6 / Type 7 / Type 8 Microphone sensitivity -16 - 16 dB Driver information system (DIS) display Enabled / Disabled Allow enabling oil temperature display via MMI Enabled / Disabled Oil temperature display Enabled / Disabled Efficiency program display Yes / No Refuel quantity in MFD Enabled / Disabled Show digital speed in dashboard (BC) Enabled / Disabled Telephone menu display Enabled / Disabled Battery charge display (req. instrument cluster support) Enabled / Disabled Navigation compass display Enabled / Disabled Compass display position Right of the time display / Left of the time display Ambient temperature display Enabled / Disabled Allow "Car" settings in MMI while car is in motion Yes / No Allow "Tuner" settings in MMI while car is in motion Yes / No / No (use with VW Jetta only) Allow "Media" settings in MMI while car is in motion Yes / No / No (use with VW Jetta only) Allow "Phone" settings in MMI while car is in motion Yes / No / No (use with VW Jetta only) Show "Follow traffic regulations" disclaimer in infotainment Yes / No "Offroad information" screen in MIB (req. MIB2 and Navigation) (step 1 of 3) Enabled / Disabled "Offroad information" screen in MIB (req. MIB2 and Navigation) (step 2 of 3) Enabled / Disabled Instruments: Language & Units Time display format 24h / 12h am/pm Date display format dd/mm/yyyy / mm/dd/yyyy / yyyy/mm/dd Temperature display units Celsius / Fahrenheit Distance display units km / miles Speed display units km/h / mph Consumption display units mpg (UK) / mpg (US) / l/100km / km/l Pressure display units Bar / PSI / kPa Volume display units Liters / Gallons (UK) / Gallons (US) Lights: Bulb Checks Bulb check: front left fog lights Disabled / LED lights / General headlights / LED light module / 4* 3W Bulb check: front right fog lights Disabled / LED lights / General headlights / LED light module / 4* 3W Bulb check: rear left reverse light (inside) Disabled / 12W general light bulb / 27W general light bulb also H15 / General LED up to 12W / LED brake lights / General LED up to 12W / General LED / General LED Bulb check: rear right reverse light (inside) Disabled / 12W general light bulb / 27W general light bulb also H15 / General LED up to 12W / General LED up to 12W / General LED / General LED Lights: Coming/Leaving Home Coming-home lights Enabled / Disabled Coming-home lights mode Manual: flash high beams to activate / Automatic: when it's dark (req. auto headlights) / Disabled Coming-home lights trigger When ignition is switched off / When door is opened Coming-home lights use… Low beams / Fog lights Coming-home lights duration 0 - 90 sec. Leaving-home lights (req. auto headlights) (step 1 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Leaving-home lights (req. auto headlights) (step 2 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Leaving-home lights duration 0 - 90 sec. Lights: Daytime Running Lights (DRL) Daytime running lights Enabled / Disabled Allow configuring daytime running lights via dash display Yes / No Scandinavian DRL: daytime running lights activate taillights and parking lights Yes / No Turn off daytime running lights when parking brake is on Yes / No Parking light activates daytime running lights (DRL) Yes / No Daytime running lights on only when switch is set to AUTO Yes / No Lights: Exterior Lane-change turn signal auto-flasher Enabled / Disabled Lane-change turn signal auto-flasher count 2 flashes / 3 flashes / 4 flashes / 5 flashes Right taillight when trunk is open (non-NAR) Enabled / Disabled Left taillight when trunk is open (non-NAR) Enabled / Disabled Right taillight when trunk is open (NAR) (step 1 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Right taillight when trunk is open (NAR) (step 2 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Left taillight when trunk is open (NAR) (step 1 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Left taillight when trunk is open (NAR) (step 2 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Auto headlights activation threshold Low / Normal / High Turn off front fog lights when high beams are on Yes / No Flash rear fogs along with flash-to-pass when headlights are on Enabled / Disabled Flash rear fogs along with flash-to-pass when headlights are off Enabled / Disabled Flash brake lights in emergency stopping Yes / No Flash brake lights in emergency stopping (Phase 2) Yes / No Flash hazard lights in emergency stopping Yes / No Puddle lights driver side Enabled / Disabled Puddle lights passenger side Enabled / Disabled Puddle lights while driver-side mirror is folding Enabled / Disabled Puddle lights while passenger-side mirror is folding Enabled / Disabled Left cornering light (using fog light) Off / On Right cornering light (using fog light) Off / On Cornering lights activation Disabled / Steering wheel is turned (method A) / Steering wheel is turned / blinker on (method A) / Steering wheel is turned (method / Steering wheel is turned / blinker on (method / Not defined Cornering lights minimum activation speed 0.0 - 127.0 km/h Cornering lights maximum activation speed 0.0 - 127.0 km/h Lights: Interior Footwell lights (Step 1 of 3) Enabled / Disabled Turn on interior lights when trunk is opened Yes / No Locking: Automatic Auto-lock doors when moving Yes / No Auto-unlock doors when key is taken out of ignition Yes / No Auto-unlock doors when shifting into park (P) Yes / No Locking: Beep & Blink Allow configuring beep when locking/unlocking Yes / No Beep when locking with remote Yes / No Beep when unlocking with remote Yes / No Menu for configuring beep when locking/unlocking Enabled / Disabled Beep when locking/unlocking doors comes from the… Alarm system / Horn Mirrors Allow auto-folding mirrors Yes / No Auto fold side-view mirrors (req. power folding mirrors) Yes / No Auto unfold side-view mirrors when vehicle is unlocked Yes / No Allow configuring auto-folding mirrors in infotainment Enabled / Disabled Auto fold mirrors via… Long press / Single click Allow lowering passenger-side mirror when in reverse gear Yes / No Lower passenger-side mirror when in reverse gear Yes / No Menu for lowering passenger-side mirror when in reverse gear Yes / No Synchronous mirror adjustment menu in infotainment Enabled / Disabled Seats & Steering Wheel Auto-activate steering-wheel heater Disabled / Use steering wheel temperature / Use outside air temperature Remember driver's seat heater level Yes / For 10 min only / No Remember passenger's seat heater level Yes / For 10 min only / No Trunk Pop trunk via remote Enabled / Disabled Windows & Sunroof Enable settings for opening/closing windows and sunroof Enabled / Disabled Allow configuring open/close windows with remote via infotainment Disabled / View-only / Adjustable Open windows via long-press on remote (step 1 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Open windows via long-press on remote (step 2 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Close windows via long-press on remote (step 1 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Close windows via long-press on remote (step 2 of 2) Enabled / Disabled Open sunroof via long-press on remote Yes / No Close sunroof via long-press on remote Yes / No Sunroof action when opening via remote Slide / Tilt Close convertible roof via long-press on remote Yes / No Blink turn signals when done closing windows via remote Yes / No Allow power window operation after ignition is turned off (except North American models) Yes / No Stop one-touch window movement after a door is opened Enabled / Disabled Other Windscreen heater (if equipped) runs for a duration of 0.00 - 85.09 min Rear window heater runs for a duration of 0.00 - 85.09 min Enable remote control buttons when ignition is on Yes / No

The traditional Land Rover 4x4 had a permanent four-wheel drive and you could lock the diffs to ensure drive to all wheels. (But of course you could only do this on snow or off-road without wearing the tyres out in no time The VAG 4x4 system relies on electronics to drive the rear wheels when required, and more electronics to control spinning wheels. So perhaps modern technology has caught up with the Landy??

I leave my Climatronic aircon running all year long (as it is also very effective for reducing humidity as well as lowering the ambient temperature) and have been advised by aircon specialists that you only need to service aircon when it smells (usually affecting those who only use it in summer) or no longer pumps out cold air. And they only charge around £75 to regas the aircon too! It's not listed as part of the regular service requirements by VAG, so I see no need to pay a dealer so much extra for something that is not necessary. Chris

When I went on a tour of the Bentley factory a few years ago, I was told the same. and matching leather as well! How the other half live!

Sounds like Traffic Jam Assist if you've got that feature?? Though you've presumably got a manual gearbox so the car won't actually move forward on its own as well??

That's reassuring as I went for Progressive Steering & Dynamic Chassis Control too to ease the move to 19 inch wheels from my present 16 inch!

Many thanks, So the only hope is OBDeleven Pro I guess. (I'm asking the same question for that as well Chris

The Karoq Scout has "wood" panels on the front doors, so these must be available as parts you could fit. But it doesn't have any wooden panels for the dashboard or gear lever surround 😞